Seals help scientists collect data

Unable to go directly to the research due to the harsh environment, Japanese experts mounted equipment on the seals' heads to let them "help".

A group of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) wear tracking equipment weighing 580g on their heads to help Japanese researchers survey the waters beneath the thick Antarctic ice sheet, Reuters reported on March 1.

Weddell seals mount equipment to study seawater under the thick Antarctic ice sheet in April 2017.

For a research project from March to November 2017, the winter period in Antarctica, Weddell seals are equipped with depth, temperature and thermal conductivity sensors on their heads, allowing scientists to Scientists collect data such as water temperature and salt concentration in areas with extremely harsh natural conditions.

Project leader Nobuo Kokubun said such studies help scientists track behavioral patterns of animals as well as ecosystems.

"In the summer, we can go to Antarctica with an icebreaker to conduct practical research and collect data there. In the winter, there are many places where it is impossible to do the work. like that," Kokubun explained.

"But even in that situation, many animals, such as seals, still live in Antarctica. So I think we should let them collect data," Kokubun added.

Successfully collected data from 7 seals shows that one of them went as far as 633 km from the Showa (Japan) research station in Antarctica, while another dived as deep as 700 m.

From the data, the scientists also learned that warm water in the upper layer of the offshore sea has flowed to Antarctica since March, through the winter of the same year. The water flows under the ice, carrying sea creatures such as Euphausia superba, a crustacean and an important food source for seals.

To learn more about the effects of global warming on Antarctic coasts, Kokubun hopes to make the device smaller to accommodate other animals, such as penguins.

"The benefit of the penguins is that they come back to the same place and we can collect data from them immediately. Also, we can also use the device on a large number of penguins to covers a large area," he said.