Sharks could help scientists improve hurricane forecasts by collecting ocean data

12:15

By: Sahili Aya

Sharks could help scientists improve hurricane forecasts by collecting ocean data

Scientists are exploring an unusual new tool for improving hurricane forecasts: sharks equipped with miniature ocean sensors.

Researchers at the University of Delaware are testing whether tagged sharks can act as mobile scientific platforms, collecting measurements in parts of the ocean that are difficult to monitor continuously with conventional instruments.

The data could eventually help researchers better assess how powerful a hurricane may become before reaching the US East Coast.

Sharks become moving ocean observatories

The research team attaches small electronic devices known as CTD tags to selected sharks.

The instruments record temperature, depth and electrical conductivity, which can be used to determine changes in seawater salinity. As the animals move through the ocean and dive to different depths, the sensors gather measurements across the water column.

The information can then be transmitted through satellites when the animals reach the surface.

Aaron Carlisle, a professor at the University of Delaware's School of Marine Science and Policy and the study's principal investigator, said animal-mounted sensors had already been used successfully by ocean researchers, including on elephant seals in remote polar environments.

Sharks could offer a different advantage because several species are widespread and relatively accessible compared with protected marine mammals.

Why ocean heat matters for hurricanes

The research focuses particularly on the temperature of the ocean's upper layer, known as the mixed layer.

This part of the ocean contains heat that can provide energy to developing tropical storms. In general, warmer surface waters can support stronger hurricanes when other atmospheric conditions are favorable.

Understanding how much heat is stored beneath the ocean surface is therefore an important element of hurricane research.

Measurements gathered by sharks could provide additional information about these conditions, potentially helping scientists improve the ocean data incorporated into atmospheric and climate models.

Four shark species identified as candidates

The Delaware researchers are not simply tagging sharks at random.

They are looking for species whose movements and behavior can provide useful measurements for hurricane research and whose tags can regularly communicate with satellites.

Previous analysis has identified several promising candidates in the North Atlantic, including shortfin mako sharks, blue sharks, smooth hammerheads and juvenile great white sharks.

Their movements through different depths could give researchers measurements that are difficult to obtain through fixed observation systems alone.

From tracking animals to tracking weather conditions

Shark tagging has traditionally been used primarily to understand where the animals travel and which marine habitats they occupy.

The new approach adds a different scientific purpose: turning the animals themselves into temporary data collectors.

Because sharks naturally move through large areas of ocean, they could potentially gather observations across locations that would otherwise require extensive monitoring infrastructure.

The researchers are still testing how effective the approach can be, but the concept could provide another source of real-time ocean information for hurricane science.

An unconventional addition to forecasting systems

The project does not mean sharks will replace satellites, buoys or other established weather-monitoring technologies. Instead, researchers see the animals as an additional source of measurements that could fill gaps in existing observations.

As hurricane forecasting becomes increasingly dependent on detailed information about ocean conditions, data collected by marine animals could eventually complement conventional systems.

For scientists, the experiment demonstrates how biological behavior can be incorporated into modern environmental monitoring — potentially giving hurricanes another unexpected observer beneath the waves.