Can whales be counted using photos taken from outer space? Two researchers from Perth, Australia, are attempting to conduct a survey of humpback whales migrating along the west coast of Australia using satellite images taken 600 kilometres above the Earth. This new technique for tallying whales is promising.<\/p>\n
Surveys are essential for monitoring populations and implementing conservation measures for populations at risk. They are usually performed visually by humans from a ship, aircraft or land-based site. These techniques are often costly, complex and can sometimes be lacking in accuracy.<\/p>\n
Researchers Michele Thums and Curt Jenner decided to test a new technique for counting whales. They ordered two satellite images, which they then spent several long days combing over in order to familiarize themselves with what whales look like from space. Their observation: the satellite images, being of very high resolution (resolution of 30\u00a0cm, with approximately 40 pixels covering a whale), make it possible to identify whales with a fairly large degree of certainty. However, the process is quite time-consuming. They are currently performing a cost-benefit analysis of the technique to determine whether a long-term whale monitoring program using satellite imagery would be viable. They are also trying to develop a software program that can be used to spot whales more quickly in black-and-white satellite images.<\/p>\n
In the early 2000s, attempts to survey whales using satellite imagery proved disappointing. Scientists attempted the experiment again in 2012, using an image taken by the WorldView-2 satellite to count southern right whales over Argentina\u2019s Valdes Peninsula, with promising results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Can whales be counted using photos taken from outer space? Two researchers from Perth, Australia, are attempting to conduct a survey of humpback whales migrating along the west coast of Australia using satellite images taken 600 kilometres above the Earth. This new technique for tallying whales is promising. Surveys are essential for monitoring populations and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":39781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[57,447,607,548],"class_list":["post-43897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-especes-en-peril-en","tag-inventaire-en","tag-inventory","tag-species-at-risk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n