Latest news with #UniversityOfDelaware
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Sharknado? The next generation of hurricane forecasters could be sharks
Researchers are deploying an unlikely ally in the effort to improve hurricane forecasting. Three sharks fitted with sensors are swimming in warm Atlantic Ocean waters to collect critical hurricane data, a contrast to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's usual flying Hurricane Hunters in the skies. 'The ocean is so huge, so enormous, that it's just inaccessible to anything, for the most part,' Aaron Carlisle, a University of Delaware marine ecologist leading the effort, told The Washington Post. 'But by instrumenting the animals that live out there,' he said, 'you can basically turn them into these ocean sensors that are constantly collecting data.' The sharks are collecting information on water conductivity and temperature. Record sea surface temperatures have fueled particularly large and strong hurricanes in recent years. The temperatures are the result of a warming planet and human-caused climate change. It's unclear whether the sharks will ever get close to the cyclones. But, by monitoring the temperature, the scientists can better understand what the U.S. is in for each hurricane season, including where the hurricanes will go and if they're supercharged. Sharks, a keystone species and an apex predator, have a unique access to data that has been hard to get. Weather satellites are unable to see past the ocean's surface and the robotic gliders that scientists send to the continental shelf are effective but slow and expensive to maintain. The tags on the sharks have the ability to collect that data more efficiently. Two mako sharks are tagged to measure temperature, depth, and conductivity. A white shark has a satellite tag to help evaluate if the species could be a good candidate for similar tagging in the future. They may also test hammerheads and whale sharks. 'Sharks are faster than [robotic] gliders. They can stay out for longer periods of time,' Caroline Wiernicki, a shark ecologist and Ph.D student working with Carlisle, told The Post. 'So the hope is that we can have these sharks go out and work in concert' with existing monitors, she said. The research is being led by Carlisle and fellow University of Delaware professor Matt Oliver. They are working with the NOAA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System – the regional arm of the agency's Integrated Ocean Observing System program. In the future, the plan is to tag dozens of sharks a year and feed that data into hurricane computer models. So far, Carlisle told The Post that one of the two sharks has relayed temperature data back to them, but the other has been swimming in water too shallow for the sensor to turn on. The researchers said that they chose the makos because they often return to the surface, allowing the tags to send the data to satellites for the scientists to retrieve. Able to reach swimming speeds of over 40 miles per hour, shortfin makos are the fastest sharks in the ocean. Following a review, NOAA said in 2022 that it would not list them as a threatened or endangered species. They are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Right now, one in three species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. Overfishing has driven global shark and ray numbers down by more than 70 percent since the 1970s, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The charity notes that humans kill around 190 sharks per minute and 100 million sharks each year in commercial fisheries. The researchers explained to USA Today that they did not expect the sensors to have much harmful impact on their test subjects and that they undergo a thorough permitting and review process. 'We do everything we can to minimize the impact of puncturing the animals' fins,' Carlisle told The Post. 'We all love the animals, so we don't want to hurt them.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Sharknado? The next generation of hurricane forecasters could be sharks
Researchers are deploying an unlikely ally in the effort to improve hurricane forecasting. Three sharks fitted with sensors are swimming in warm Atlantic Ocean waters to collect critical hurricane data, a contrast to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's usual flying Hurricane Hunters in the skies. 'The ocean is so huge, so enormous, that it's just inaccessible to anything, for the most part,' Aaron Carlisle, a University of Delaware marine ecologist leading the effort, told The Washington Post. 'But by instrumenting the animals that live out there,' he said, 'you can basically turn them into these ocean sensors that are constantly collecting data.' The sharks are collecting information on water conductivity and temperature. Record sea surface temperatures have fueled particularly large and strong hurricanes in recent years. The temperatures are the result of a warming planet and human-caused climate change. It's unclear whether the sharks will ever get close to the cyclones. But, by monitoring the temperature, the scientists can better understand what the U.S. is in for each hurricane season, including where the hurricanes will go and if they're supercharged. Sharks, a keystone species and an apex predator, have a unique access to data that has been hard to get. Weather satellites are unable to see past the ocean's surface and the robotic gliders that scientists send to the continental shelf are effective but slow and expensive to maintain. The tags on the sharks have the ability to collect that data more efficiently. Two mako sharks are tagged to measure temperature, depth, and conductivity. A white shark has a satellite tag to help evaluate if the species could be a good candidate for similar tagging in the future. They may also test hammerheads and whale sharks. 'Sharks are faster than [robotic] gliders. They can stay out for longer periods of time,' Caroline Wiernicki, a shark ecologist and Ph.D student working with Carlisle, told The Post. 'So the hope is that we can have these sharks go out and work in concert' with existing monitors, she said. The research is being led by Carlisle and fellow University of Delaware professor Matt Oliver. They are working with the NOAA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System – the regional arm of the agency's Integrated Ocean Observing System program. In the future, the plan is to tag dozens of sharks a year and feed that data into hurricane computer models. So far, Carlisle told The Post that one of the two sharks has relayed temperature data back to them, but the other has been swimming in water too shallow for the sensor to turn on. The researchers said that they chose the makos because they often return to the surface, allowing the tags to send the data to satellites for the scientists to retrieve. Able to reach swimming speeds of over 40 miles per hour, shortfin makos are the fastest sharks in the ocean. Following a review, NOAA said in 2022 that it would not list them as a threatened or endangered species. They are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Right now, one in three species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. Overfishing has driven global shark and ray numbers down by more than 70 percent since the 1970s, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The charity notes that humans kill around 190 sharks per minute and 100 million sharks each year in commercial fisheries. The researchers explained to USA Today that they did not expect the sensors to have much harmful impact on their test subjects and that they undergo a thorough permitting and review process. 'We do everything we can to minimize the impact of puncturing the animals' fins,' Carlisle told The Post. 'We all love the animals, so we don't want to hurt them.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Sharknado? The next generation of hurricane forecasters could be sharks
Researchers are deploying an unlikely ally in the effort to improve hurricane forecasting. Three sharks fitted with sensors are swimming in warm Atlantic Ocean waters to collect critical hurricane data, a contrast to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's usual flying Hurricane Hunters in the skies. 'The ocean is so huge, so enormous, that it's just inaccessible to anything, for the most part,' Aaron Carlisle, a University of Delaware marine ecologist leading the effort, told The Washington Post. 'But by instrumenting the animals that live out there,' he said, 'you can basically turn them into these ocean sensors that are constantly collecting data.' The sharks are collecting information on water conductivity and temperature. Record sea surface temperatures have fueled particularly large and strong hurricanes in recent years. The temperatures are the result of a warming planet and human-caused climate change. It's unclear whether the sharks will ever get close to the cyclones. But, by monitoring the temperature, the scientists can better understand what the U.S. is in for each hurricane season, including where the hurricanes will go and if they're supercharged. Sharks, a keystone species and an apex predator, have a unique access to data that has been hard to get. Weather satellites are unable to see past the ocean's surface and the robotic gliders that scientists send to the continental shelf are effective but slow and expensive to maintain. The tags on the sharks have the ability to collect that data more efficiently. Two mako sharks are tagged to measure temperature, depth, and conductivity. A white shark has a satellite tag to help evaluate if the species could be a good candidate for similar tagging in the future. They may also test hammerheads and whale sharks. 'Sharks are faster than [robotic] gliders. They can stay out for longer periods of time,' Caroline Wiernicki, a shark ecologist and Ph.D student working with Carlisle, told The Post. 'So the hope is that we can have these sharks go out and work in concert' with existing monitors, she said. The research is being led by Carlisle and fellow University of Delaware professor Matt Oliver. They are working with the NOAA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System – the regional arm of the agency's Integrated Ocean Observing System program. In the future, the plan is to tag dozens of sharks a year and feed that data into hurricane computer models. So far, Carlisle told The Post that one of the two sharks has relayed temperature data back to them, but the other has been swimming in water too shallow for the sensor to turn on. The researchers said that they chose the makos because they often return to the surface, allowing the tags to send the data to satellites for the scientists to retrieve. Able to reach swimming speeds of over 40 miles per hour, shortfin makos are the fastest sharks in the ocean. Following a review, NOAA said in 2022 that it would not list them as a threatened or endangered species. They are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Right now, one in three species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. Overfishing has driven global shark and ray numbers down by more than 70 percent since the 1970s, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The charity notes that humans kill around 190 sharks per minute and 100 million sharks each year in commercial fisheries. The researchers explained to USA Today that they did not expect the sensors to have much harmful impact on their test subjects and that they undergo a thorough permitting and review process. 'We do everything we can to minimize the impact of puncturing the animals' fins,' Carlisle told The Post. 'We all love the animals, so we don't want to hurt them.'
The Independent
4 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Sharknado? The next generation of hurricane forecasters could be sharks
Researchers are deploying an unlikely ally in the effort to improve hurricane forecasting. Three sharks fitted with sensors are swimming in warm Atlantic Ocean waters to collect critical hurricane data, a contrast to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's usual flying Hurricane Hunters in the skies. 'The ocean is so huge, so enormous, that it's just inaccessible to anything, for the most part,' Aaron Carlisle, a University of Delaware marine ecologist leading the effort, told The Washington Post. 'But by instrumenting the animals that live out there,' he said, 'you can basically turn them into these ocean sensors that are constantly collecting data.' The sharks are collecting information on water conductivity and temperature. Record sea surface temperatures have fueled particularly large and strong hurricanes in recent years. The temperatures are the result of a warming planet and human-caused climate change. It's unclear whether the sharks will ever get close to the cyclones. But, by monitoring the temperature, the scientists can better understand what the U.S. is in for each hurricane season, including where the hurricanes will go and if they're supercharged. Sharks, a keystone species and an apex predator, have a unique access to data that has been hard to get. Weather satellites are unable to see past the ocean's surface and the robotic gliders that scientists send to the continental shelf are effective but slow and expensive to maintain. The tags on the sharks have the ability to collect that data more efficiently. Two mako sharks are tagged to measure temperature, depth, and conductivity. A white shark has a satellite tag to help evaluate if the species could be a good candidate for similar tagging in the future. They may also test hammerheads and whale sharks. 'Sharks are faster than [robotic] gliders. They can stay out for longer periods of time,' Caroline Wiernicki, a shark ecologist and Ph.D student working with Carlisle, told The Post. 'So the hope is that we can have these sharks go out and work in concert' with existing monitors, she said. The research is being led by Carlisle and fellow University of Delaware professor Matt Oliver. They are working with the NOAA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System – the regional arm of the agency's Integrated Ocean Observing System program. In the future, the plan is to tag dozens of sharks a year and feed that data into hurricane computer models. So far, Carlisle told The Post that one of the two sharks has relayed temperature data back to them, but the other has been swimming in water too shallow for the sensor to turn on. The researchers said that they chose the makos because they often return to the surface, allowing the tags to send the data to satellites for the scientists to retrieve. Able to reach swimming speeds of over 40 miles per hour, shortfin makos are the fastest sharks in the ocean. Following a review, NOAA said in 2022 that it would not list them as a threatened or endangered species. They are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Right now, one in three species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. Overfishing has driven global shark and ray numbers down by more than 70 percent since the 1970s, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The charity notes that humans kill around 190 sharks per minute and 100 million sharks each year in commercial fisheries. The researchers explained to USA Today that they did not expect the sensors to have much harmful impact on their test subjects and that they undergo a thorough permitting and review process. 'We do everything we can to minimize the impact of puncturing the animals' fins,' Carlisle told The Post. 'We all love the animals, so we don't want to hurt them.'
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
It's National Ice Cream Day. Here are great places to celebrate in Delaware
Of course there's a holiday dedicated to one of life's greatest delights. July 20 is National Ice Cream Day, which falls annually on the third Sunday of July. If you want an excuse for sweet treats, it's the perfect opportunity. And with the forecast being 85 degrees and sunny on Sunday, you'll probably be in the mood for ice cream anyway. Let's look at some of the best places in Delaware to celebrate the occasion. Food Truck Frenzy: 40 Delaware food trucks battle in the thunder dome: Readers will crown the champion UDairy 535 S. College Ave., Newark, 302-831-2486, and 83 E. Main St., Newark, 302-831-6804; Named the best ice cream shop in Delaware by Reader's Digest in June 2024, the creamery is run by University of Delaware students and the delicious flavors are made with help from the cows that live on the university's agriculture school campus. The ice cream is then processed in New Jersey and shipped back to UD to be flavored, frozen and packaged at the storefront. More: Delaware's top 5 favorite ice cream flavors. Did yours make the list? Hours: College Avenue location: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day Main Street location: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day Woodside Farm Creamery 378 N. Star Road, North Star; 302-239-9847; Arguably the most popular dairy farm and creamery above the canal, Woodside Farm Creamery is back for the season with dozens of flavors and regular events happening all summer long - including regular telescope viewings and concerts right on the lawn. From noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, the creamery will have a National Ice Cream Day celebration consisting of an ice cream- eating contest, a behind-the-scenes tour of the site and an opportunity to meet its cows. The contest will have a fee of between $3 to $5, with all proceeds going to the Delaware Food Bank. For more information on the creamery's celebration, visit Flavors at Woodside Farm range from the classic chocolate and vanilla to the more unusual bacon flavor (vanilla ice cream with bacon bits, apparently very popular with dogs). Staff members also recommend the Turtle ice cream flavor, made of chocolate ice cream with caramel and pecans. If you feel overwhelmed by the number of choices, no need to worry. There's a wheel hanging from the ceiling with all of the flavors, relieving customers from the burden of choosing a flavor. Hours: Noon until 9 p.m. between Memorial Day and Labor Day Hopkins Farm Creamery 18186 Dairy Farm Road, Lewes; 302-645-7163; Since 2008, Hopkins Farm Creamery has been making its own ice cream and serving new flavors to the community every summer, and this year it was nominated for one of the 'Coolest Things Made in Delaware.' Located on Green Acres Farm just off Route 9 near Lewes, Hopkins has more than 30 ice cream flavors made on-site ready to be served in cups, cones, milkshakes, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches and more. This past year, Hopkins' apple pie ice cream was in the top 16 nominees for the Coolest Things Made in Delaware 2025 competition, no pun intended. Hours: Open 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. until Labor Day Dairy Palace 2 Jay Drive, near New Castle; 302-328-9740 Another historic Delaware operation, Dairy Palace has been in operation under the Parker Family since 1956, when the Parkers bought the former Dairy Queen New Castle location. History and tradition are what make Dairy Palace beloved by locals. Its specialty soft serves and wide range of flavor options don't hurt it either. If you're ever feeling overwhelmed at their extensive menu, Dairy Palace's social media pages consistently post menu recommendations. More: Reader's Digest claims this is the best ice cream in Delaware. Have you tried it? New flavors will be displayed on the shop's signs as they come in. Staff members recommend trying out the raspberry and banana shakes, made with real fruit. Hours Open 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day Vanderwende's Farm Fresh Ice Cream The Vanderwende family has owned their Bridgeville farmland since 1954, turning six cows and $35 to a 4,000-acre dairy farm and five creamery locations around the region. Vanderwende's year-round location is in Bridgeville, but in the summer, its Greenwood, Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island locations open up as well. There are over 35 flavors to choose from. Locations: 4003 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville; 1 to 7 p.m. daily, until Labor Day 302-349-5110 8374 Hickman Road, Greenwood, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., until Labor Day; 302-349-5160 23 Bellevue St., Dewey Beach, call for hours, until Labor Day; 302-349-5110 300 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island, call for hours, until Labor Day; 302-519-2509 Yanyan Li is a news intern at Delaware Online/The News Journal. Please reach out to her at YLi1@ or @yyanyanli1 on X with any tips or story ideas. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: National Ice Cream Day: Where to go in Delaware Solve the daily Crossword
