[ocean sounds] [music throughout]
Narrator: Cape Cod, MA is known for its beautiful beaches.
This scenic landscape is also home
to one of the most frequent marine mammal stranding sites in the world.
[dolphin breathing]
[dolphin breathing] Narrator: Scientist know very little about what causes
these animals to strand.
What has been proven is that a quick and efficient response in these moments
is a matter of life and death.
Katie Moore: If we can get there quickly and provide supportive care they have a much better prognosis
in terms of survival.
Narrator: Katie Moore works on the front lines, as the Deputy Vice President of Conservation and Animal Welfare at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Conservation and Animal Welfare at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Through Moore’s fine-tuned rescue efforts, she has increased the survival rate
from 14% to 75%, but the question remains:
Could it be possible to predict, rather than
react to, these events?
Katie Moore: If we develop an algorithm that pieces together the different variables
that may be causing mass strandings or driving driving them,
we'd have the ability to then prevent them.
We can have teams out on the shore, looking for animals in those hotspots, knowing that all those variables
have come together, and this is the likely point in time where we are likely to see it.
We can also have teams ready to respond, so that if they do strand, we are there that much faster,
and more animals will survive the event.
Narrator: In Cape Cod, the annual number of stranded animals ranges from less than 10 to over 200.
Some of the most affected species include
pilot whales and whitesided dolphins,
creatures that are typically found in deeper water, rather than along the coast.
The ongoing search for answers began 400 miles
away at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in Sterling, VA.
There, fellow marine biologist Desray Reeb had some initial thoughts on
triggers for these events.
Desray Reeb: For the large proportion of these strandings the animals
are across the ages, in pretty good health, and there's no really
immediate evidence as to why they actually strand.
[water sound] Narrator: Geomagnetic perception,
the ability to navigate using Earth’s magnetic field,
is a feature thought to exist in marine mammals.
Could changes in the magnetic field confuse the animals?
All the way down to the sea floor,
Sensors like magnetometers can detect changes
in Earth's magnetic field - called geomagnetic pulses or storms -
One cause of such changes is activity from the sun known as space weather.
Desray Reeb: Geomagnetic perception is one of the theories.
I thought, well, hmmm...if a magnetometer
can pick it up, maybe the animals actually can pick it up.
Dr. Reeb brought her hypothesis to Antti Pulkkinen, Research Astrophysicist
from the Heliophysics department at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
Antti Pulkkinen: The coolest thing was we realized
that nobody had really taken a cold, hard data science analysis look at this problem
Narrator: By combining Katie’s records
on marine mammal strandings in Cape Cod and Antti’s records of the changes in Earth’s magnetic field,
the team of researchers had a starting point.
Katie Moore: What we are trying to look at here was if there was a potential driver or
relationship or correlation between the occurrence of mass strandings
and any solar activity.
Antti Pulkkinen: So, the data we have correlated or analyzed so far is information about local geomagnetic conditions.
We have long data records from geophysical observatories
of the local geomagnetic field variations
and marine mammal strandings.
Narrator: When the team analyzed all the data, they found that measurements from the the same
time period or random time periods
produced similar results, meaning that there is no obvious
relationship between geomagnetic changes and stranding in Cape Cod.
If space weather wasn’t the trigger, what could be?
Desray Reeb: The easy fix correlation between the geomagnetic pulse
and “Ohh! A stranding!” doesn't seem to be very
evident, but what it does show is that there are multiple variables
involved in this equation. The geomagnetic storms could
be one very small part of it - significant still - but
it looks like there are multiple oceanographic and environmental elements
Narrator: The scientists considered what other variables
may exist in the air or water that could change animal behavior.
Tides or winds could be disruptive.
Ocean color - measurements of the water’s chemical and particle content -
could reflect changes in the food chain.
Perhaps sea surface temperature
was a factor too.
With the help of data from NASA Earth Science missions, they could also explore these possibilities.
[Antti talks to team]
Narrator: With more data in hand, it was time to expand the team.
They recruited statisticians, and the expertise of NASA Earth Science
data analyst and oceanographer Erdem Karaköylü.
Erdem Karaköylü: A data set, no matter its shape or content, it always
has a story to tell.
Trying to figure out how the different data are connected
requires a wide diversity of stills and background knowledge.
Katie Moore: For example, I'll be explaining
how a mass stranding how we respond to try and understand why
we are presenting the data in a certain way, and my colleagues from NASA will look at me and ask
questions that I wouldn't think to ask, because I take for granted my understanding, and they are coming
at it from a totally new angle with no background.
Narrator: The group hopes to combine these data sets in a way that reveals a pattern, allowing them to predict
the likelihood and location of mass strandings before they happen.
Desray Reeb: We've really just slowly peeled the first layer of this onion back.
I think there is so many more layers
that still need to be addressed and looked at.
I hope that we can actually find additional collaborators and funding partners to really bring all the data
that is really available to really give this the study
and the scrutiny that it deserves.
Antti Pulkkinen: And we are also going to make all these data sets available to the entire scientific community,
so that we can utilize the entire scientific community to attack and approach this problem.
and approach this problem.
Narrator: The project’s legacy rests not only in a predictive tool, but also as an example
for collaborative research moving forward.
Erdem Karaköylü: I think that there will be other things to take and run with,
get new ideas, maybe add more data. I'm hoping also that it will be a model
for how projects can then be open to the wider public.
[rescue volunteers talking]
Narrator: With the potential for an even broader collaboration ahead,
Katie's rescue team is optimistic that they will gain a deeper
understanding of strandings - and ultimately - save more lives.
Katie Moore: The ability to release animals after they have stranded is tremendous.
When we do that, that's the best feeling in the world after all that hard work.
Desray: those questions that seem unanswerable,
if you give them time, and support,
and effort, and put people on them, we can do amazing things.
[music]
[water sounds]
learn more at www.nasa.gov/beachings
special thanks to International Fund for Animal Welfare.
All marine mammal stranding activities are conducted by
International Fund for Animal Welfare under a permit agreement
with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
special thanks to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[tone] NASA Heliophysics
[spacecraft beeps] NASA
[spacecraft beeps] NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center www.nasa.gov/goddard
