An international scientific team has used a dolphin-sized robot to measure the melting of Antarctic ice, in an innovative effort to collect data in remote polar regions.
The researchers used three robotic boats, each about two meters long, to measure temperature and salinity in the depths of Antarctica's Weddell Sea. Each boat cost about 190,000 euros. One of the "mechanical dolphins" was lost, but the expedition was still significantly cheaper than the last one in 2007, which used a ship that cost 30,000 dollars a day and collected less data.
The measurements showed how large eddies are driving heat into shallower waters around Antarctica, contributing to the melting of coastal ice. The findings confirm theories that heat travels south and provide a benchmark for measuring climate change. According to the relevant United Nations scientific committee, ice in both Antarctica and Greenland is constantly melting, raising ocean levels and causing unpredictable changes in many ecosystems.
"This is a revolution in data collection in the polar regions," said Karen Haywood, a member of the scientific team, noting the potential for collecting a larger volume of data at a lower cost.
Similar devices have been used on a larger scale in the Arctic in recent years to record rising temperatures that are pushing fish populations further north.
Source: defencenet.gr
