How do Satellites Help Protect Animals on Earth?
- 7th May 2024
- Author: Scarlett Li-Williams
Throughout history, renowned animals have embarked on space missions, and the International Space Station has welcomed numerous animal guests over the years. But did you know, satellites play a crucial role in helping millions, even billions, of animals on Earth too? Satellites are used to protect, monitor, and manage wildlife in several ways. From investigating changes to their environments to tracking them directly. This blog will explore several scenarios; each looking into examples of situations that relate to animals, and how satellites can help.
From Toy Animals to Real Ones
On 10 January 1992, a container ship was on route to Seattle, having departed from Hong Kong, carrying cute bath-time toys including yellow rubber ducks, red beavers, green frogs and blue turtles, created by The First Years company. During its journey, the ship was hit by a fierce storm and 28,000 of the toys (soon be known as the Friendly Floatees), were thrown overboard. Many of these toys were set free from their packaging, off to bob and explore the open sea.
At this time, scientists were trying to understand how ocean currents worked but were facing limitations. Using satellite technology was not a realistic or easy option for most scientists. They certainly were not allowed to dump thousands of objects to track in the ocean. After hearing about the accidental toy spill, an oceanographer called Curtis Ebbesmeyer had an idea. What if we could use these plastic animals to help understand our oceans better?
He embarked on a project that would create a computer model known as OSCAR (Ocean Surface Currents Simulation) to understand our oceans. This model combined data from air pressure, weather systems, and worldwide bath toy sightings. OSCAR was a success and was able to predict where these plastic adventurers would end up (some travelling for 1000s of miles); and the Friendly Floatees became sensational - inspiring books, songs, TV shows, as well as other scientists.
In Come Satellites
Scientists today no longer have to wait until the next big toy spill to understand or predict ocean and climate patterns.
Today, we are all able to use satellites on a day-to-day basis, for checking the weather, finding directions, tracking our deliveries, sharing our location and many more. Satellites are utilised as a crucial tool for scientists to monitor Earth, including observing climate patterns, biodiversity, animal tracking, and assessing the effects of human-made dumping and spills (primarily oil and garbage, not so much for toy fatalities).
Tracking Animals in Antarctica
Scientists want to track animals for several reasons. These include helping conservation, to stop spread of diseases, and to understand behaviour, movements or migration that can assist in management and protection. It can be incredibly hard to study and understand animals, especially when they live in environments that we are unable to stay in.
Consider Antarctica. Despite being classified as a desert, and having no permanent human residents, Antarctica contains approximately 90% of all the Earth’s surface fresh water and is abundant in wildlife. There have been over 35 recorded disasters in Antarctica since 1819, and many explorers have died due to accidents, exposure, and the harsh landscape. Antarctica has mountain ranges with peaks exceeding 4,000 meters, dry valleys, ice shelves, ice sheets and high winds making it a dangerous and unpredictable environment. The animals themselves can be dangerous too. In 2003, a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) marine biologist and experienced diver was attacked by a leopard seal whilst snorkelling, and tragically died at only 28 years old.
In Come Satellites
In 2020, researchers published that they had discovered new colonies of Emperor penguins in Antarctica using satellite imagery, around 20% more than they originally thought were there. However, it was not by simply spotting individuals, it is all thanks to Sentinal-2 satellite images of poo, or as the scientists reported it as ‘guano staining’. The images of brown patches not only confirmed suspected colonies but also led to the discovery of new ones. But satellites are not just useful for spotting poo from space - they are used abundantly for GPS tracking. This includes birds, great white sharks, salmon, and larger mammals. In 2021, researchers at the University of Oxford developed the small and affordable ‘SnapperGPS’ tracker to monitor and protect endangered sea turtles from threats such as poaching. GPS tracking, using satellites, is very beneficial due to high precision and ability to collect real-time data on a large scale.
Oil Spills
Oil spills (crude oil) in our waters are likely more common than you think. Larger scale ones that we hear about on the news can happen in our oceans during drilling, transporting, and pipe breakages. However, smaller scale ones can occur simply when refuelling a ship or sea vessel. Ocean oil spills can harm or kill animals (and people) in multiple ways. Oil contamination is toxic to marine ecosystems, leading to direct mortality of animals through accidental ingestion or coating. It can additionally harm habitats, impact animal reproduction, induce illness and disease, and disrupt food chains.
In Come Satellites
Satellites play a crucial role in responding and monitoring oil spills. Satellites with specialised sensors and instruments, such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR), are used in early detection of oil spills and recognising the boundaries of the spread. Additional satellite technology such as satellite images and real time data can be used to not only monitor the spill extent but make predictions and assessments of the impact, as well as supporting the clean-up operations to identify priority areas.
Ocean Plastic
In 1997, Charles J. Moore and his crew were sailing in a yacht race from Hawaii to California, when they spotted a large amount of rubbish. Moore was shocked by the plastic he was confronted with, stating that he was not able to find a clear spot of water. This mass of rubbish is now known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
An estimation reported by the WWF is that around 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the oceans every year. Today, an estimated 75-199 million tonnes of plastic are in our oceans, which is hard to imagine. This is roughly 22-59 times more tonnes of plastic than all the blue whales currently in existence put together.
Litter in our oceans can be a fatal problem for animals. For example, larger objects such as plastic bags can be ingested by animals as they are mistaken for food. It is estimated by researchers in Queensland, Australia that approximately 52% of turtles worldwide (including all species) have ingested sea debris. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, 90% of seabirds have ingested plastic and 56% of whale, dolphin, and porpoise species. Another issue caused by large pieces of plastic is entanglement, where animals can become fatally caught or trapped. It is estimated between 500,000 to 1 million tonnes of fishing gear are discarded in the ocean every year.
In Come Satellites
When it comes to rubbish in the oceans, satellites are currently our leading technique for detecting and distinguishing not just plastics, but also wood and metal. Satellite technology can detect and map debris, monitor ocean currents to predict the debris’ travel path, support clean-up operations and monitor both the sources and effects of the debris.
For example, satellite remote sensing is used for detecting microplastics (plastic objects greater than 5mm). The European Space Agency (ESA) has funded 25 projects to improve the detection on marine litter; using remote sensing and imagery, it is possible to find plastic concentrations, transportation patterns (through ocean currents) and possible impacts. Researchers have used methods such as Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) and laser beams, combined with analysis techniques, including recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), to process data. Findings suggest that the litter visible on the ocean surface is merely the tip of the 'garbage iceberg'.
These are only a few of the ways space helps us protect our Earth; there are many other ways we use satellites to protect animals and our planet. Just to name a few: satellites can also help us monitor deforestation and forest fires, stop overfishing, catch illegal fishing and oversee other natural disasters such as volcanoes, tsunamis and cyclones that could endanger lives.
Full references/image credits:
(Banner) Litter in the Ocean. Credit: © Scarlett Li-Williams (Sky Plum Studios)
(1) Rubber Ducks Illustration. Credit: © Scarlett Li-Williams (Sky Plum Studios)
(2) Illustration Of A Penguin In Antarctica. Credit: © Scarlett Li-Williams (Sky Plum Studios)
(3) Illustration Of An Oil Spill on Image. Credit: © Scarlett Li-Williams (Sky Plum Studios)
(4) Illustration Of Fishing Nets Tangled With Plastics And Bottles. Credit: © Scarlett Li-Williams (Sky Plum Studios)
