Two research methods following the same theme

This first one is REALLY cool. What a fabulous idea -- except for the deployment aspect.


Blubbery 'researchers' lend fin to climate science

Basically, the climate researchers deployed instrumentation on the backs of elephant seals, and allowed them to investigate the temperature/pressure characteristics of Southern Circumpolar Ocean waters during their long-distance foraging.

Here are a couple of quotes to sketch this out:

"The fat-snouted pinniped, two ugly tons of blubber and roar, is plunging to its usual frigid depths these days in the service of climate science, and of scientists' budgets.

"It would take years and millions and millions of dollars for a research ship to do what they're doing," Norwegian scientist Kim Holmen said of the instrument-equipped seals, whose long-distance swims and 1,000-foot (300-meter) dinnertime dives for squid are giving investigators valuable data about a key piece of southern ocean."

and in addition:

"Institute teams captured 20 of the animals on Bouvet's stony shores where they are at their most ungainly, throwing hoods over their heads and gluing small instrument packages to their backs. The devices measure depth, salinity, water temperature and locations via the Global Positioning System."

Pretty amazing. Imagine throwing a hood over one of these animals, especially when they aren't in a good mood:























Now, continuing a similar theme, but mechanized:

British-built robotic fish to detect pollution

"A shoal of robotic fish which can detect pollution in the water are set to be released into the sea off Spain, British scientists said Thursday.

The fish, which are some 1.5 metres long and resemble carp, will be fitted with detectors which can identify the sources of pollution, such as ship fuel or chemicals in the water.

Five of the robots, worth some 20,000 pounds (21,000 euros, 29,000 dollars) each, are being released into the Bay of Biscay at Gijon in northern Spain as part of a three-year joint project between engineering consultancy BMT Group and researchers at Essex University in southeast England."

Let me just point -- those are EXPENSIVE fish.

The darned thing is: they actually work. (YouTube video)