WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 Welcome to Meteorology Matters, the show where 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:06.280 we really try to unpack complex topics and give 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:09.439 you the essential insights. Today, we're diving 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.800 into something that honestly sounds a bit wild 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:16.420 at first. What on earth do sharks, some of the 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:19.559 ocean's top predators, have to do with predicting, 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:22.129 say, the next big hurricane? It sounds almost 00:00:22.129 --> 00:00:24.149 like science fiction, doesn't it? It really does. 00:00:24.530 --> 00:00:27.469 But we're exploring this incredible connection 00:00:27.469 --> 00:00:30.410 between sharks and severe weather today. And 00:00:30.410 --> 00:00:33.469 hopefully by the end, you'll see both these forces 00:00:33.469 --> 00:00:36.149 of nature a little differently. Absolutely. And 00:00:36.149 --> 00:00:38.049 what's really interesting, you know, is that 00:00:38.049 --> 00:00:40.030 while this feels super cutting edge, maybe even 00:00:40.030 --> 00:00:42.310 brand new, scientists have actually been thinking 00:00:42.310 --> 00:00:45.090 about how marine life and big storms interact 00:00:45.090 --> 00:00:47.640 for... Well, for quite a while. Oh, really? So 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:49.560 it's not totally out of the blue? Not entirely. 00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:51.100 I mean, some of the really foundational work 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:53.179 in this area, it comes from top places, like 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:55.500 the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of 00:00:55.500 --> 00:00:57.859 Marine and Atmospheric Science. They've been 00:00:57.859 --> 00:01:00.399 looking into this ocean atmosphere dance for 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:03.399 ages. Rosenstiel. OK. I know that name. Yeah. 00:01:03.460 --> 00:01:06.099 It's a big deal in marine and atmospheric science. 00:01:06.260 --> 00:01:09.659 And it's a... Interesting context for listeners 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:12.000 who follow the field closely, meteorologist Rob 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.159 Jones, whose insights we often draw on. He actually 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:17.239 went to school there and worked there previously, 00:01:17.420 --> 00:01:20.079 too. Little Kenny. Yeah, so he's got this unique 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:22.900 perspective on exactly this kind of marine and 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:25.959 atmospheric interaction. It just underlines that 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:28.099 the shark research, it isn't some random tangent. 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.200 It's more like an exciting evolution of questions 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:32.879 scientists have been asking for a long time. 00:01:33.099 --> 00:01:35.530 That really sets the scene perfectly. So our 00:01:35.530 --> 00:01:38.909 mission today is to explore these, well, surprising 00:01:38.909 --> 00:01:41.629 shark behaviors during hurricanes. And maybe 00:01:41.629 --> 00:01:43.849 more importantly, how these amazing creatures 00:01:43.849 --> 00:01:46.310 might actually help us get better at forecasting 00:01:46.310 --> 00:01:48.849 the weather. You probably think you know sharks, 00:01:49.030 --> 00:01:51.250 right? And you definitely know hurricanes. But 00:01:51.250 --> 00:01:53.989 what happens when they collide? Get ready for 00:01:53.989 --> 00:01:57.150 some moments that might make you go, huh. Because 00:01:57.150 --> 00:01:59.430 these predators aren't just surviving storms. 00:01:59.790 --> 00:02:02.010 They might be teaching us about them We want 00:02:02.010 --> 00:02:04.010 you to get the knowledge quickly, but you know 00:02:04.010 --> 00:02:07.049 thoroughly Lots of cool facts along the way. 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:09.990 So let's zoom in then. How do these animals sense 00:02:09.990 --> 00:02:12.870 a storm coming? How do they react for a long 00:02:12.870 --> 00:02:14.370 time? The thinking was pretty simple, wasn't 00:02:14.370 --> 00:02:18.250 it? Yeah, the general idea mostly from studying 00:02:18.250 --> 00:02:20.610 smaller shark species was pretty straightforward. 00:02:21.030 --> 00:02:23.189 Big storm coming, sharks leave, get out of the 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:24.830 way. Makes sense. Seems like the smart thing 00:02:24.830 --> 00:02:27.050 to do. Right, basic survival instinct. Yeah. 00:02:27.310 --> 00:02:30.090 But there was this, like, big gap in what we 00:02:30.090 --> 00:02:33.289 knew about the large sharks. The apex predators. 00:02:33.449 --> 00:02:35.729 You mean like tiger sharks, bull sharks? Exactly. 00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:38.629 Tiger sharks, bull sharks, hammerheads. These 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:40.909 guys are at the top of the food chain. What they 00:02:40.909 --> 00:02:44.090 do, it really affects the whole ecosystem. So 00:02:44.090 --> 00:02:47.030 knowing how they handle a massive storm is, well, 00:02:47.210 --> 00:02:49.849 it's pretty crucial. Especially now with climate 00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:52.129 change potentially making storms more intense. 00:02:52.330 --> 00:02:54.449 What did the newer research find? Did they leave 00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:57.270 too? Well, that's where it gets complicated and 00:02:57.270 --> 00:03:00.210 really fascinating. Recent studies show a much 00:03:00.210 --> 00:03:04.430 more complex picture. Some large species do clear 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:07.389 out, yeah, but others, they surprisingly stay 00:03:07.389 --> 00:03:10.180 put. Or even weirder, they sometimes swarm after 00:03:10.180 --> 00:03:12.199 the storm. Swarm, like more of them show up. 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.199 Exactly. It totally challenged those older, simpler 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:16.939 ideas. OK, you've got to give us an example. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:19.400 That sounds wild. OK, so the big one, the real 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:22.240 eye opener, was Hurricane Matthew back in 2016. 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:24.199 Oh, yeah, Matthew was a monster. Category five. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:27.659 A total monster. Over 140 mile per hour winds. 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:30.620 And it made basically a direct hit on a research 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:32.560 area in the Bahamas where scientists already 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:34.780 had sharks tagged and were monitoring them. Wow. 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:37.199 Talk about timing. Unplanned, but perfect for 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.349 research. Incredible, right? A real -world test, 00:03:40.669 --> 00:03:43.509 intense as it gets. They had this network of 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:46.590 underwater receivers listening for the tags on 00:03:46.590 --> 00:03:49.409 the sharks. So what happened? Did the tiger sharks 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:52.090 bolt? That's what everyone expected, but no. 00:03:52.430 --> 00:03:55.169 The study showed that during the hurricane, the 00:03:55.169 --> 00:03:57.569 number of tiger sharks in that specific area 00:03:57.569 --> 00:04:00.560 stayed steady. They just stayed. One researcher 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.319 said they didn't even flinch. Against a cat five, 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:05.860 seriously. Seriously. Which was, you know, totally 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:07.219 different from what they'd seen with smaller 00:04:07.219 --> 00:04:10.139 sharks, but then the really mind -blowing part 00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:12.759 happened after the storm passed. Okay. In the 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.699 days after landfall. The number of tiger tarks 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:17.980 they detected in that area doubled. Doubled. 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:20.490 Doubled. Hold on, why? Why would more sharks 00:04:20.490 --> 00:04:22.949 show up after a devastating hurricane? That seems 00:04:22.949 --> 00:04:25.649 completely backward. Right, it does. But the 00:04:25.649 --> 00:04:28.649 main hypothesis, the leading theory, is scavenging. 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:31.209 Scavenging, you mean? Think about it. A storm 00:04:31.209 --> 00:04:33.949 like Matthew, sadly it kills a lot of marine 00:04:33.949 --> 00:04:36.550 life. Fish get stunned, turtles get injured, 00:04:36.649 --> 00:04:39.829 things get churned up and die. For an opportunistic 00:04:39.829 --> 00:04:41.889 predator like a tiger shark? It's basically a 00:04:41.889 --> 00:04:45.480 buffet. Exactly. A sudden massive abundance of 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:49.019 easy food. So instead of fleeing the chaos, they 00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:51.759 might actually be drawn to the aftermath, to 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:54.899 the feeding opportunities. It's a totally different 00:04:54.899 --> 00:04:57.019 survival strategy compared to the smaller sharks, 00:04:57.060 --> 00:04:58.759 who probably couldn't capitalize on that the 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:01.420 same way. Or the risk is just too high. So tiger 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:03.459 sharks are like the ocean's cleanup crew after 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:06.110 a disaster. Kind of, yeah. It raises all these 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:09.110 new questions about how different species adapt 00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:11.509 their specific roles. It's not just about running 00:05:11.509 --> 00:05:13.509 away. Sometimes it's about exploiting the chaos. 00:05:14.029 --> 00:05:16.410 Fascinating. OK, so that was Matthew and the 00:05:16.410 --> 00:05:19.029 tiger sharks. But you mentioned other species 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:21.029 reacted differently. Yeah. Fast forward just 00:05:21.029 --> 00:05:24.709 one year, September 2017, Hurricane Irma. Another 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:27.750 big one. Definitely. It passed northwest of a 00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:29.709 different research site, this one in Biscayne 00:05:29.709 --> 00:05:32.139 Bay, Florida. Now, Irma wasn't quite as strong 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:33.839 as Matthew at that point when it passed Biscayne 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:37.139 Bay, but it still brought significant wind, waves, 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:40.220 and crucially, that big drop in barometric pressure. 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:42.360 And what do the sharks there do? Well, this time, 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:44.720 the researchers were tracking nurse sharks, bull 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.980 sharks, and hammerheads. And these guys, they 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:50.980 all left. They cleared out before the storm really 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:53.759 hit the area. Ah, okay. So that fits the older 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.959 model more. Fleeing the danger. It does. That 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:59.230 behavior wasn't... you know, totally shocking 00:05:59.230 --> 00:06:02.350 based on what we knew. But seeing that compared 00:06:02.350 --> 00:06:04.209 to the tiger sharks sticking around through a 00:06:04.209 --> 00:06:06.750 cap five, that comparison really highlighted 00:06:06.750 --> 00:06:08.990 the difference. It made researchers ask, are 00:06:08.990 --> 00:06:11.069 some sharks actually attracted to storm zones? 00:06:11.569 --> 00:06:13.750 Can they track the storm's path somehow? Using 00:06:13.750 --> 00:06:16.569 those senses we talked about. Maybe using their 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:18.730 inner ear, their lateral line. Maybe it's more 00:06:18.730 --> 00:06:21.250 sophisticated than just. pressure dropping, time 00:06:21.250 --> 00:06:24.250 to go. Maybe they can sense the direction, the 00:06:24.250 --> 00:06:26.990 potential for, well, for that post storm buffet. 00:06:27.430 --> 00:06:29.589 It's clear not all sharks react the same way. 00:06:29.709 --> 00:06:32.649 Their responses are really varied. OK, so let's 00:06:32.649 --> 00:06:35.050 dig into that sensing part more. How do they 00:06:35.050 --> 00:06:37.389 know? You mentioned barometric pressure. People 00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:39.269 sometimes say they feel storms in their joints, 00:06:39.449 --> 00:06:41.970 but sharks have something more refined. Oh, way 00:06:41.970 --> 00:06:44.269 more refined. It's a good analogy, though, the 00:06:44.269 --> 00:06:46.769 feeling it in your bones. To get it, think about 00:06:46.769 --> 00:06:48.910 the air around us. We're basically at the bottom 00:06:48.910 --> 00:06:51.610 of an ocean of air, right? The atmosphere. Right. 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:53.870 Barometric pressure or atmospheric pressure is 00:06:53.870 --> 00:06:56.149 just the weight of all that air pressing down. 00:06:56.389 --> 00:06:59.029 At sea level, more air above you, higher pressure. 00:06:59.449 --> 00:07:02.569 Go up a mountain, less air, lower pressure. Simple 00:07:02.569 --> 00:07:05.230 enough. And hurricanes. Hurricanes need fuel. 00:07:05.990 --> 00:07:09.620 Two main things. really warm ocean water, like 00:07:09.620 --> 00:07:12.040 at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the top layer, 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:15.519 maybe 150, 160 feet deep, and the right wind 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:19.860 conditions, when that warm, moist air rises super 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:22.060 fast off the ocean, it creates low pressure. 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:25.079 Exactly. A rapid drop in pressure at the surface, 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:27.300 especially in the eye of the storm. That sudden 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:29.120 change, that pressure gradient, that's the key 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.800 signal for marine life. It's like a giant, something 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:34.560 big is happening, sign flashing in their environment. 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:36.720 So it's not just the waves getting rough, it's 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.360 this fundamental pressure shift they feel. Precisely. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.379 Long before the worst waves hit, that pressure 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:45.060 starts to clump it. And sharks, well, they're 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:48.540 exquisitely attuned to it. How? What parts of 00:07:48.540 --> 00:07:51.850 their body are picking this up? Two main systems 00:07:51.850 --> 00:07:54.170 are thought to be key. First, their inner ear. 00:07:54.329 --> 00:07:56.329 It's hidden behind those little holes on the 00:07:56.329 --> 00:07:58.930 sides of their head. It's not just for hearing 00:07:58.930 --> 00:08:01.269 sound and the way we think of it. It's aligned 00:08:01.269 --> 00:08:03.889 with these incredibly sensitive sensory hair 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:06.769 cells. Scientists are pretty sure these cells 00:08:06.769 --> 00:08:09.470 can detect those subtle but significant changes 00:08:09.470 --> 00:08:12.509 in pressure, like tiny biological barometers 00:08:12.509 --> 00:08:14.750 constantly monitoring the weight of the water 00:08:14.750 --> 00:08:17.370 and air above. Wow. And the second system, you 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:19.410 mentioned the lateral line. Yeah, the lateral 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:21.430 line. You can sometimes even see it like a faint 00:08:21.430 --> 00:08:24.149 line running down their body. It's basically 00:08:24.149 --> 00:08:27.370 a tube filled with sensory cells that detects 00:08:27.370 --> 00:08:30.089 water movement and pressure changes right next 00:08:30.089 --> 00:08:32.649 to their skin. So that helps them find prey in 00:08:32.649 --> 00:08:34.929 murky water. Right, by feeling the water pushed 00:08:34.929 --> 00:08:37.330 aside by a fish. But it likely also helps them 00:08:37.330 --> 00:08:39.350 feel the bigger pressure waves and turbulence 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:41.730 caused by a storm building up or passing over. 00:08:41.970 --> 00:08:44.090 It's like having sensors all along your body 00:08:44.090 --> 00:08:46.559 complimenting what the inner ear detects. It 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:49.639 gives them this 3D picture of the pressure environment. 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:52.159 An incredible toolkit. And they really need it, 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:54.340 don't they? Because it's not just windy topside 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:57.299 during a hurricane. Underwater must be chaos. 00:08:57.639 --> 00:08:59.879 Absolute chaos. It's hard to even imagine. We 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:02.779 see the damage on land, but underwater, you can 00:09:02.779 --> 00:09:07.059 get waves 60 feet high. 60 feet. And these create 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:09.419 powerful surges, underwater currents that can 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:12.679 go down hundreds of feet. maybe 300 feet deep. 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:15.480 300 feet. That's immense force. It is. Enough 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:18.639 to rip up coral reefs, stir up sediment, completely 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:20.960 change the underwater landscape. And it's not 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:23.639 just the physical force. Storms turn the water, 00:09:23.940 --> 00:09:26.860 mixing deep, cold, low oxygen water with the 00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:29.059 warmer surface water. So oxygen levels drop, 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:32.370 salinity changes. Dramatically. You can get areas 00:09:32.370 --> 00:09:35.370 that become hypoxic, meaning very low oxygen, 00:09:35.529 --> 00:09:38.250 or even anoxic, no oxygen at all. Lethal for 00:09:38.250 --> 00:09:40.269 most marine life. Plus that sudden temperature 00:09:40.269 --> 00:09:42.750 change from upwelling can shock animals. So for 00:09:42.750 --> 00:09:44.490 a shark, being able to sense the storm coming 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:46.490 isn't just convenient, it's... It's survival. 00:09:47.009 --> 00:09:49.809 It's absolutely critical. They have to read the 00:09:49.809 --> 00:09:52.929 signs and react fast. Get out, or hunker down, 00:09:53.090 --> 00:09:55.590 or maybe even like the tiger sharks. Prepare 00:09:55.590 --> 00:09:58.240 to exploit the aftermath. They don't have weather 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.399 apps. They have biology honed over millions of 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:03.919 years. It really puts our technology in perspective 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:06.620 sometimes. Okay, so doing this kind of research, 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:10.120 tracking these animals through hurricanes, it 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:12.919 sounds incredibly difficult. How rigorous is 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:14.980 this science? Oh, incredibly. The preparation 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:17.559 alone is immense. Just finding and catching enough 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:19.899 sharks to get a decent sample size, that's a 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:21.759 huge challenge right there. How many did they 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:23.909 tag in those studies you mentioned? In the Bahamas 00:10:23.909 --> 00:10:25.970 and Florida studies looking at Matthew and Irma 00:10:25.970 --> 00:10:28.990 over a three -year period, the team managed to 00:10:28.990 --> 00:10:33.769 tag 98 sharks, almost 100 individuals. 98, wow. 00:10:34.009 --> 00:10:36.169 And how do they catch them safely? Mostly using 00:10:36.169 --> 00:10:38.450 specialized fishing lines, often circle hooks, 00:10:38.570 --> 00:10:40.429 which are designed to hook the shark in the jaw, 00:10:40.929 --> 00:10:42.990 minimizing injury rather than being swallowed. 00:10:43.409 --> 00:10:45.070 Then they bring them carefully alongside the 00:10:45.070 --> 00:10:48.049 boat or onto a submerged platform. And the tagging 00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:51.340 is quick. Very quick. The teams are highly skilled. 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:53.940 They work fast to attach the tag, usually to 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:56.440 the dorsal fin, take measurements, maybe a small 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:58.879 tissue sample, and get the shark back in the 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:00.940 water, often in just a few minutes to minimize 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:03.840 stress. It's a very controlled, careful procedure. 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:06.860 Okay, so the shark is tagged. How do they follow 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:09.299 it across, you know, the entire ocean? That's 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:12.049 where the technology comes in. They use acoustic 00:11:12.049 --> 00:11:14.629 telemetry networks. Think of it like an underwater 00:11:14.629 --> 00:11:19.409 listening grid. They anchor these acoustic receivers, 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:22.769 dozens of them, to the ocean floor in strategic 00:11:22.769 --> 00:11:25.490 locations. In the Florida and Bahamas studies, 00:11:25.669 --> 00:11:29.149 they put out 64 receivers between 2014 and 2016. 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.879 And the tags on the sharks. They emit a unique 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:35.700 acoustic signal, like a little ping. When a tagged 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:38.120 shark swims within range of a receiver, maybe 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:41.120 half a mile or so, the receiver logs the shark's 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:44.070 ID number, the date. and the time. Ah, so they 00:11:44.070 --> 00:11:46.070 build up a picture of movement by seeing which 00:11:46.070 --> 00:11:48.850 receivers pick up which sharks and when. Exactly. 00:11:49.230 --> 00:11:51.250 By retrieving the data from these receivers, 00:11:51.789 --> 00:11:54.029 sometimes divers go down, sometimes they use 00:11:54.029 --> 00:11:56.590 remote methods, they can map out where the sharks 00:11:56.590 --> 00:11:59.690 were, and when, especially before, during, and 00:11:59.690 --> 00:12:02.330 after storms like Matthew and Irma passed through 00:12:02.330 --> 00:12:04.909 those specific areas. That's ingenious. And all 00:12:04.909 --> 00:12:08.029 this tracking, all this data, what did it tell 00:12:08.029 --> 00:12:11.429 us beyond some stay, some go? What bigger questions 00:12:11.429 --> 00:12:13.309 came out of it? Well, like we touched on, it 00:12:13.309 --> 00:12:15.730 really forced scientists to ask why the difference 00:12:15.730 --> 00:12:18.129 is. Is it just about food for the tiger sharks? 00:12:18.470 --> 00:12:20.710 Or is there something else drawing them to storm 00:12:20.710 --> 00:12:23.649 zones? Are they really tracking the storms actively? 00:12:23.870 --> 00:12:26.669 Using those senses? Potentially. Could their 00:12:26.669 --> 00:12:29.250 lateral lines and inner ears be sophisticated 00:12:29.250 --> 00:12:31.289 enough not just to sense pressure drop here, 00:12:31.629 --> 00:12:34.129 but to follow the path? Maybe anticipate where 00:12:34.129 --> 00:12:36.590 the storm is going or where the aftermath, the 00:12:36.590 --> 00:12:38.730 scavenging will be best. We don't know for sure 00:12:38.730 --> 00:12:41.889 yet. So many questions still. So many. But the 00:12:41.889 --> 00:12:44.429 big takeaway is just how diverse and complex 00:12:44.429 --> 00:12:47.730 their responses are. Some species are incredibly 00:12:47.730 --> 00:12:51.279 tough. unfazed by massive storms. It just shows 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:53.720 our understanding of these ocean ecosystems is 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:55.700 still very much a work in progress. There's so 00:12:55.700 --> 00:12:57.659 much more to learn. Which leads perfectly into 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:00.960 this next part, this idea of sharks as meteorological 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:03.700 allies. Yeah. That sounds like a leap, but given 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:05.960 the challenges in forecasting. It is a leap, 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:08.759 but maybe a necessary one. Look, meteorologists 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:11.980 have amazing tools, satellites, buoys, computer 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:15.509 models, but the ocean is vast. And getting temperature 00:13:15.509 --> 00:13:17.450 readings below the surface, especially across 00:13:17.450 --> 00:13:19.970 the whole Atlantic, is really, really hard. Satellites 00:13:19.970 --> 00:13:21.850 only see the surface temperature, right? Exactly. 00:13:21.970 --> 00:13:24.090 They can't see if there's a deep layer of warm 00:13:24.090 --> 00:13:26.370 water that could fuel a hurricane or a hidden 00:13:26.370 --> 00:13:28.769 layer of cold water that could kill it. We have 00:13:28.769 --> 00:13:31.929 robotic floats, Argo floats, and underwater gliders 00:13:31.929 --> 00:13:33.809 that can measure temperature at depth. They're 00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:36.980 slow. Yeah. And sparse. Right. They drift slowly 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:39.639 or move slowly. They're expensive. So you end 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:42.279 up with huge areas of the ocean, particularly 00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:44.440 in the tropics where hurricanes form, where we 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.039 just don't have enough real -time data about 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:50.019 that subsurface heat content. These are significant 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:52.799 data gaps. And that heat is the hurricane's fuel 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:55.659 tank. It's the heat engine. Knowing if a storm 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:58.580 is about to pass over a deep pool of warm water 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:01.720 versus cooler water is critical for intensity 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.399 forecasting. Get that wrong. And your forecast 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.779 for how strong the storm will be can be way off. 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:09.659 And these gaps are worst in places like the Caribbean, 00:14:09.899 --> 00:14:13.220 the Gulf of Mexico, off the East Coast, exactly 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:15.279 where we need the info most. OK, so there's a 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:18.740 clear data problem. How do animals, specifically 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:21.580 sharks, potentially help solve this. Well, researchers 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:23.559 started thinking, if the robots are too slow 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:25.919 or too few, what up using animals that are already 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:27.860 out there swimming through these areas constantly? 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:31.240 Animal ocean sentinels. Has this been done before? 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:34.179 Using animals for data collection? Oh yeah, it's 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:37.100 not totally brand new. Scientists have been tagging 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:40.029 elephant seals in the Antarctic for years. Those 00:14:40.029 --> 00:14:42.710 seals dive incredibly deep in areas ships can 00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:45.470 barely reach, carrying sensors that measure temperature 00:14:45.470 --> 00:14:48.210 and salinity. Same with narwhals in the Arctic. 00:14:48.529 --> 00:14:51.029 It's provided amazing data from polar regions. 00:14:51.230 --> 00:14:53.330 And even dolphins and whales for other purposes. 00:14:53.590 --> 00:14:56.870 There have been reports, yeah, of some military 00:14:56.870 --> 00:14:59.909 or intelligence programs exploring using marine 00:14:59.909 --> 00:15:03.210 mammals. But for hurricane forecasting in the 00:15:03.210 --> 00:15:06.570 Atlantic, sharks have some real pluses. Such 00:15:06.570 --> 00:15:09.139 as... Well, many species are faster swimmers 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:12.059 than gliders. They cover huge distances. They 00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:14.019 dive deep. They live in the hurricane breeding 00:15:14.019 --> 00:15:16.799 grounds. The idea is they could complement the 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:19.679 existing systems, not replace forecasters or 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:22.139 satellites, but swim through those data gaps, 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:24.480 collecting temperature and depth readings and 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.740 beam them up when they surface. Adding more data 00:15:26.740 --> 00:15:28.879 points to the models. Exactly. Working with the 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:30.659 current technology to fill in the planks. And 00:15:30.659 --> 00:15:32.419 this is especially relevant now, you mentioned, 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:34.480 because of potential funding issues for agencies 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:37.759 like NOAA. Right. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.000 Administration. There are always discussions 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.960 about budgets, staffing levels. If resources 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:45.320 for traditional monitoring like maintaining buoy 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:48.360 networks or flying hurricane hunter planes get 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:51.139 tight, then having alternative data streams becomes 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:54.399 even more important. Crucial. It makes exploring 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:57.879 innovative, maybe even lower cost solutions like 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:00.679 instrumented sharks not just scientifically interesting, 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:03.580 but potentially really vital for maintaining 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:07.039 or even improve our forecasting ability, especially 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:09.460 in a changing climate. It's about resilience, 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:11.360 finding multiple ways to get the information 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.740 we need. OK, so the concept is powerful, but 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:16.399 the logistics. How do you actually catch something 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.139 like a mucko shark and attach a sophisticated 00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:21.159 sensor? What's that process like? It's definitely 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:23.379 not trivial. The teams doing this are incredibly 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.399 skilled. They usually head way offshore, like 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:28.519 40 or 50 miles. They use bait, big chunks of 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:32.019 fish, and also chum. Like in Jaws? Sort of, yeah. 00:16:32.019 --> 00:16:35.470 It's basically ground up fish parts. blood, oil. 00:16:36.029 --> 00:16:38.549 They put blocks of frozen chum in the water. 00:16:39.049 --> 00:16:42.129 As it thaws, it creates this oily, smelly trail 00:16:42.129 --> 00:16:45.269 that drifts for miles on the current. Sharks 00:16:45.269 --> 00:16:47.509 have an amazing sense of smell, and it draws 00:16:47.509 --> 00:16:50.870 them in. OK, so you attract them. Which species 00:16:50.870 --> 00:16:53.610 did they start with for these weather tags? The 00:16:53.610 --> 00:16:56.830 initial focus was on shortfin makos. Why makos 00:16:56.830 --> 00:16:59.110 specifically? A big reason is their behavior. 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:02.139 Makos frequently come to the surface, and that's 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:04.839 critical because these tags need to break the 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:06.920 surface to transmit the data they've collected, 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.599 temperature, salinity, depth, via satellite, 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:12.200 back to the scientists. If the shark stays deep 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:14.279 all the time, the data gets stuck on the tag. 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:16.140 Makes sense. And the tagging itself, you said 00:17:16.140 --> 00:17:18.099 it's quick. Very quick and careful. Once the 00:17:18.099 --> 00:17:20.279 shark is alongside, the team works fast to attach 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:22.640 the sensor package. Usual to the base of the 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:24.779 dorsal fin, they're very conscious of minimizing 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:26.720 any harm or stress to the animal. Which brings 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:28.700 up the ethics, right? Yeah. Makos are endangered. 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:31.180 aren't they? How do researchers justify tagging 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:33.420 them? That's a really important question, and 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:36.140 the researchers are acutely aware of it. Yes, 00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:38.779 short fin makos are endangered, mainly due to 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:41.299 overfishing. It's a serious conservation concern. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:44.799 Globally, about a third of all shark and ray 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:46.819 species are threatened. So there's a real tension 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:49.119 there. There is. But the scientists involved 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:51.660 are usually passionate conservationists themselves. 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:55.079 They argue the data gain is vital for understanding 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:57.579 the ocean environment sharks depend on, which 00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:00.740 ultimately helps conservation. They stress they 00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:03.579 do everything possible to minimize impact. The 00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:06.019 procedure is quick, and the tags are designed 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:08.839 to eventually detach safely. They often say they 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:11.279 love the animals. And maybe this research helps 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:14.019 change how people see sharks too, away from the 00:18:14.019 --> 00:18:17.180 jaws stereotype. Absolutely, that's a huge side 00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:20.440 benefit. for 50 years since the original Jaws 00:18:20.440 --> 00:18:22.759 came out. And with movies like Sharknado and 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:25.380 others, sharks have been painted as these mindless 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:27.759 monsters that really hurts conservation efforts. 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:30.720 This research shows their complexity, their resilience, 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:33.380 their critical role, and now maybe even their 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:35.700 potential as allies in understanding our planet. 00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:38.200 It helps people see them as valuable, important 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:40.640 animals, not just threats. That's a powerful 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:44.180 point. So where does this shark sentinel project 00:18:44.180 --> 00:18:46.900 stand now? Is it working? It's definitely still 00:18:46.900 --> 00:18:49.099 in the proof of concept stage, but yes, it's 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:51.700 showing great promise. They've had one of the 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:54.279 first Mako's tags successfully sent back temperature 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:56.880 data, but it's very much a learning process. 00:18:57.079 --> 00:18:58.980 A debugging exercise, you could say. Exactly. 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:01.220 They're constantly refining the tags, the attachment 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:03.779 methods, figuring out battery life, how to deal 00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:06.299 with algae growing on the sensors, ensuring the 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:09.319 satellite uplinks work reliably. It's tough engineering 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:11.599 in a harsh environment. What are the plans moving 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:14.539 forward? More sharks. Different species? The 00:19:14.539 --> 00:19:18.000 plan is definitely ambitious. Tag dozens of sharks 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:21.220 each year to build up a network. And yes, while 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:23.259 makos were the starting point because they surface 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:25.859 reliably, they're looking at other species too. 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:28.880 Like great whites? Potentially. They've put a 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:31.279 location tag on a great white already, just to 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.269 track movement. Whites travel huge distances, 00:19:34.329 --> 00:19:36.230 so they're a strong candidate if they can get 00:19:36.230 --> 00:19:38.309 the temperature sensing tags to work well on 00:19:38.309 --> 00:19:41.009 them. They're also considering hammerheads, maybe 00:19:41.009 --> 00:19:44.069 even whale sharks down the road. Different species 00:19:44.069 --> 00:19:46.349 use different parts of the ocean, dive to different 00:19:46.349 --> 00:19:48.950 depths, so using a variety could give broader 00:19:48.950 --> 00:19:51.490 coverage. And the ultimate goal for all this 00:19:51.490 --> 00:19:54.650 data they collect. The dream is to feed it directly. 00:19:54.890 --> 00:19:57.869 in near real time into the hurricane computer 00:19:57.869 --> 00:20:01.029 models that forecasters use. Adding all those 00:20:01.029 --> 00:20:03.329 extra subsurface temperature points, especially 00:20:03.329 --> 00:20:06.170 from areas that are currently data deserts. Should 00:20:06.170 --> 00:20:08.589 make the forecast better. That's the hope. More 00:20:08.589 --> 00:20:11.170 accurate intensity forecasts may be better track 00:20:11.170 --> 00:20:14.009 forecasts, too. As one researcher put it simply, 00:20:14.349 --> 00:20:16.170 the more data we have, the better things will 00:20:16.170 --> 00:20:18.970 be. It's about reducing the uncertainty around 00:20:18.970 --> 00:20:21.309 these incredibly powerful storms. Well, this 00:20:21.309 --> 00:20:23.150 has been absolutely fascinating. We've really 00:20:23.150 --> 00:20:25.910 journeyed from the basic of how sharks sense 00:20:25.910 --> 00:20:29.670 storms to this futuristic idea of them becoming 00:20:29.670 --> 00:20:32.789 part of our weather monitoring network. We talked 00:20:32.789 --> 00:20:34.809 about how different species react, tiger sharks 00:20:34.809 --> 00:20:37.029 sticking around, maybe even benefiting from the 00:20:37.029 --> 00:20:40.029 aftermath of a cat five like Matthew, while nurse, 00:20:40.349 --> 00:20:43.549 bull, and hammerheads fled Irma, likely using 00:20:43.549 --> 00:20:45.910 their amazing inner ears and lateral lines to 00:20:45.910 --> 00:20:48.170 get an early warning. And then moving into how 00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:50.000 scientists are trying to harness that. using 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.259 acoustic tags to track them, and now these more 00:20:52.259 --> 00:20:55.339 advanced satellite tags to turn sharks like Mako's 00:20:55.339 --> 00:20:58.700 and maybe soon others into mobile ocean monitors, 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.559 filling those crucial data gaps, especially in 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:03.619 ocean temperature beneath the surface, which 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:05.839 is so vital for predicting hurricane strength. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:07.859 So the big takeaway for you listening is just 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:09.880 how interconnected and frankly how intelligent 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:12.769 the natural world is. These relationships, like 00:21:12.769 --> 00:21:14.890 between sharks and storms, they're complex. They're 00:21:14.890 --> 00:21:16.930 vital. And understanding them is becoming more 00:21:16.930 --> 00:21:19.150 important than ever, especially as our climate 00:21:19.150 --> 00:21:20.970 changes and weather potentially becomes more 00:21:20.970 --> 00:21:23.450 extreme. Yeah, it really underscores why we need 00:21:23.450 --> 00:21:25.990 to respect and study these animals, understand 00:21:25.990 --> 00:21:28.349 their roles. They're not just swimming out there. 00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:30.309 They're interacting with their environment in 00:21:30.309 --> 00:21:32.869 ways we're only beginning to appreciate. And 00:21:32.869 --> 00:21:35.190 sometimes they might even hold keys to helping 00:21:35.190 --> 00:21:38.690 us adapt. Absolutely. If this deep dive has got 00:21:38.690 --> 00:21:40.670 you thinking and you want to keep exploring the 00:21:40.670 --> 00:21:42.849 world of meteorology and the connections to our 00:21:42.849 --> 00:21:45.450 natural world, we definitely encourage that. 00:21:46.049 --> 00:21:48.250 You can find great insights from meteorologists, 00:21:48.549 --> 00:21:52.049 including Rob Jones online. You can follow meteorologist 00:21:52.049 --> 00:21:55.210 Rob Jones on Instagram. His handle is meteorologist 00:21:55.210 --> 00:21:59.049 on TikTok. He's TV meteorologist. And over on 00:21:59.049 --> 00:22:01.250 YouTube, look for Rob Jones hurricane. That's 00:22:01.250 --> 00:22:03.109 also where you can find the Meteorology Matters 00:22:03.109 --> 00:22:05.680 podcast playlist. Definitely worth checking out 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:07.660 and it leaves you with a final thought doesn't 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:10.420 it as we face these climate challenges as our 00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:13.000 technology keeps evolving What other natural 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:15.619 sensors what other biological systems might be 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:18.299 out there? Waiting for us to understand them 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:20.480 maybe even partner with them to learn more about 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:23.440 our planet Yeah, it really feels like the ocean 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:26.019 especially still holds so many secrets and maybe 00:22:26.019 --> 00:22:28.019 some of the most innovative solutions We need 00:22:28.019 --> 00:22:30.299 are already swimming around out there