A recent news article in the MEOP website highlighted the use of Valeport CTD Sensor Equipment as part of a project to study the ecology of top marine predators in a region where little is known on their movements, foraging activity and their preferences in terms of oceanographic conditions.
The scientific cruise was part of the WAPITI project (Water-mass transformation and Pathways In The Weddell Sea: uncovering the dynamics of a global climate chokepoint from In-situ measurements) funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
WAPITI aims to understand how and where water-masses are pre-conditioned and transported on the Antarctic shelf, before coming into contact with the ice shelves: an highly sensitive process ultimately controlling the rate of melt of the Earth’s largest ice reservoir.
Valeport’s CTD Sensors and Data Loggers provided valuable hydrological data from under sea ice in late summer, autumn and winter recorded during dives of this top marine predator operating in its natural environment.