With the help of deep-diving seals, the ocean floor beneath the East Antarctic continental shelf has been accurately mapped for the first time — and it holds crucial information for climate research.
The depth and contours of the deepest parts of the Antarctic are difficult to explore.
Scientists have largely relied on mathematical estimations to make educated guesses about the structure of the ocean floor.
Now, a 20-year research project is filling in the gaps using data from tracking about 400 Weddell and elephant seals with satellite tags attached to their heads.
After tracking more than 500,000 dives, the researchers from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science came across a surprise.
“We found in some regions that more than 25 per cent of previous estimates of the ocean depths were wrong,” project lead Dr Clive McMahon and operations manager at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science said.
“We only know this now because the seals were diving hundreds of metres below those depths.
“In the most extreme case, they were diving 1,000 metres deeper than what we thought was the ‘ocean floor’.”
‘Remarkable animals’ prove to be reliable explorers
Remote and inhospitable, the ocean floor in the Antarctic remains an under-researched place.
Seals were an ideal explorer, said project co-author Professor Mark Hindell.
