MARINE MAMMAL MONITORING IN THE ARCTIC

Issues in the Arctic

The Arctic is an ecosystem that climate change will impact dramatically. Melting sea ice enables anthropogenic changes that have an important impact marine species.

These include noise pollution, boat traffic, hydrocarbon exploration and overfishing. It is important to carefully document the current status of marine life so that mitigation strategies can be developed.

Glacialis 2021

Expedition Glacialis sailed from the Azores archipellago to the Baffin Sea, covering a distance of over 5000 nautical miles in 3 months.

Providing a precious source of data and experience, this pilot expedition opens the way for further monitoring!

MEET THE TEAM!

We are a team of biologists, research technicians and artists who are committed to document the fragile and remote environment of the Arctic.

IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE ON ARCTIC ECOSYSTEMS

Photo ID

Allows species and individual recognition. This method enables researchers to learn more about the distribution, social structure, lifespan and migration routes of animals.
We will share our data with relevant collaboraters and online platforms to fill gap knowledge about individuals and species.

Drone footage

Photogrammetry, a new technique to evaluate a whale’s body mass, or even, for certain species, determine the sex, and tell if a female is pregnant.
UAV footage will assess the health status of whales, to show entanglement and ship strike marks and do aerial photo ID.

Micro plastics

Regular microplastic sampling will be done in areas where very few data is available.
The manta nets will also permit plankton collection.

Macro pollution will also be recorded. Waste monitoring will allow us to learn more about currents, pollution and direct threats to wildlife.

Acoustic

We will link acoustic data from marine mammals with visual data alongside with noise pollution monitoring. Since cetacean species acoustic identification remains challenging particularly for dolphins, linking acoustic recordings with visual identification will improve our knowledge on acoustic characteristics of some Arctic species.