Overview
- The University of Delaware began tagging sharks in May and has been deploying CTD sensors on animals 30 to 40 miles offshore to collect ocean data during the summer.
- CTD tags record electrical conductivity (used to calculate salinity), temperature and depth as sharks dive and then transmit profiles to satellites when the animals surface.
- Teams favor species that surface often, including shortfin mako, blue sharks, smooth hammerheads and juvenile great whites, and attach tags quickly to the dorsal fin under institutional animal-care oversight.
- As of early August the tagged sharks are sending mixed-layer temperature and salinity readings but researchers are still validating the data and have not yet shown it improves operational hurricane forecasts.
- If validated, the observations could fill gaps in nearshore mixed-layer heat data that control hurricane intensification—especially where the Mid-Atlantic cold pool affects storm strength—and could give coastal communities clearer guidance as storms approach.