When Scorch entered the Mystical dorm room after a fun game of fireball, she saw Felix doing a jolly little happy dance. She said, “What’s the occasion for the celebration?”
“Greek scientists have invented a system to find a sperm whale’s location. Using this information, ship strikes will be avoided,” explained Felix.
“That sounds fascinating,” said Scorch, “Could you please explain further?”
“Sperm whales are a species of toothed whales found in nearly every deep ocean in the world. They also have the largest brain of any animal on the Earth ever!” said Felix, “A distinct population of sperm whales lives in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Mediterranean Sea is a giant sea located between Southern Europe and Northern Africa. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean.
It is likely that only about 200-300 sperm whales are left in the Mediterranean Sea. This means they are endangered. Endangered species are animals or plants that are in danger of extinction.
Sometimes, ships collide with these whales. Such ship strikes account for at least half of all sperm whale deaths. That’s why Emmanuel Skarsoulis, research director of Greece’s Foundation for Research and Technology–Hellas, and his colleagues developed a new system called System for the Avoidance of Ship-Strikes with Endangered Whales (SAvEWhales).
The whales like to deep dive in the Hellenic Trench in search of prey. So, the scientists put three floating devices called buoys in this area. They suspended hydrophones 100 meters under the buoy. A hydrophone is an underwater device that captures ocean sounds. These hydrophones capture the clicking sounds of the whales. These sounds help identify the whales’ location which is used to warn ships and prevent ship strikes.”
“Wow, that is brilliant,” said Scorch.