Tracking Great White Sharks: There's an App for That
Sharks have cruised the current for more than 400 million years, yet details on their behaviors are murky at best. To bring the enigmatic practices of these apex predators to the surface, there’s an obvious conclusion: There should be an app for that.
Scientists at Stanford University and software developers at EarthNC created the Shark Net app as part of a larger effort to better understand the ocean planet. A suite of stationary buoys and autonomous, water-faring vehicles monitor acoustically tagged great white sharks, and data from these technologies are available on the app. One such vehicle is the Wave Glider, made by California-based Liquid Robotics.
The wave-powered gliders move at a speed of 1 to 2 knots and detect the presence of sharks. Location information is transmitted to the Shark Net app, which alerts its users with real-time notifications when tagged sharks are detected. “At a relatively low cost, these [gliders] can provide 24/7 coverage of remote ocean locations, giving information on the presence or absence of shark tags,” Stanford’s Dr. Randy Kochevar said.
Migration patterns of great whites are puzzling to scientists, particularly in an area of California’s coast referred to as the White Shark Cafe. While researchers say the area doesn’t ofer an obvious food source, great whites congregate there en masse every winter. The reasons behind this behavior are yet to be found, but technological advances like the Wave Glider offer a promising approach to studying them.
Kochevar said that the ability of scientists to monitor ocean ecosystems as they routinely monitor terrestrial reserves is a critical to protecting the ocean’s living resources. “This technology will reveal a more detailed view of where the sharks are and what’s happening in their surroundings so we can better manage them as we do other wildlife,” Kochevar said.
Keep up with the Currents:
The Neptunic Shark Suit | Critical Mass | Great White Sharks
Gerard Lacz/Age FotostockWhen it comes to tracking great whites, tech tools tell researchers where it’s at.
Sharks have cruised the current for more than 400 million years, yet details on their behaviors are murky at best. To bring the enigmatic practices of these apex predators to the surface, there’s an obvious conclusion: There should be an app for that.
Scientists at Stanford University and software developers at EarthNC created the Shark Net app as part of a larger effort to better understand the ocean planet. A suite of stationary buoys and autonomous, water-faring vehicles monitor acoustically tagged great white sharks, and data from these technologies are available on the app. One such vehicle is the Wave Glider, made by California-based Liquid Robotics.
Kip Evans/TOPP/Stanford UniversityThe Shark Net app provides users with location information on acoustically tagged great white sharks off of California’s coastline.
The wave-powered gliders move at a speed of 1 to 2 knots and detect the presence of sharks. Location information is transmitted to the Shark Net app, which alerts its users with real-time notifications when tagged sharks are detected. “At a relatively low cost, these [gliders] can provide 24/7 coverage of remote ocean locations, giving information on the presence or absence of shark tags,” Stanford’s Dr. Randy Kochevar said.
Kip Evans/TOPP/Stanford UniversityThe Liquid Robotics Wave Glider is an autonomous sea-faring vehicle used to detect the presence of tagged white sharks.
Migration patterns of great whites are puzzling to scientists, particularly in an area of California’s coast referred to as the White Shark Cafe. While researchers say the area doesn’t ofer an obvious food source, great whites congregate there en masse every winter. The reasons behind this behavior are yet to be found, but technological advances like the Wave Glider offer a promising approach to studying them.
Kochevar said that the ability of scientists to monitor ocean ecosystems as they routinely monitor terrestrial reserves is a critical to protecting the ocean’s living resources. “This technology will reveal a more detailed view of where the sharks are and what’s happening in their surroundings so we can better manage them as we do other wildlife,” Kochevar said.
Keep up with the Currents:
The Neptunic Shark Suit | Critical Mass | Great White Sharks
