India Environment Portal | News, reports, documents, blogs, data, analysis on environment & development | India, South Asia
Published on India Environment Portal | News, reports, documents, blogs, data, analysis on environment & development | India, South Asia (http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in)

Home > Featured Articles > Solar storms may trigger sperm whale strandings: explanation approaches for multiple strandings in the North Sea in 2016 > Solar storms may trigger sperm whale strandings: explanation approaches for multiple strandings in the North Sea in 2016

Solar storms may trigger sperm whale strandings: explanation approaches for multiple strandings in the North Sea in 2016 [1]

The Earth's atmosphere and the Earth's magnetic field protects local life by shielding us against Solar particle flows, just like the sun's magnetic field deflects cosmic particle radiation. Generally, magnetic fields can affect terrestrial life such as migrating animals. Thus, terrestrial life is connected to astronomical interrelations between different magnetic fields, particle flows and radiation. Mass strandings of whales have often been documented, but their causes and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated the possible reasons for this phenomenon based on a series of strandings of 29 male, mostly bachelor, sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the southern North Sea in early 2016. Whales’ magnetic sense may play an important role in orientation and migration, and strandings may thus be triggered by geomagnetic storms.

Original Source [2]

Publication Date: 
15/08/2017
Klaus Heinrich Vanselow [3], Sven Jacobsen [4], Chris Hall & et al [5]
International Journal of Astrobiology [6]
1-9
Tags:
Whales [7], Atmosphere [8], Marine Life [9], North Sea [10], Research [11], Storms [12]
Centre for Science and Environment
National Knowledge Commission Government of India

Technology Partners: MimirTech


India Environment Portal by Centre for Science and Environment is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 India License.


Source URL: http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/solar-storms-may-trigger-sperm-whale-strandings-explanation-approaches-multiple

Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/solar-storms-may-trigger-sperm-whale-strandings-explanation-approaches-multiple
[2] https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C70B7A535EFA936C0449C1730B647A74/S147355041700026Xa.pdf/solar_storms_may_trigger_sperm_whale_strandings_explanation_approaches_for_multiple_strandings_in_the_north_sea_in_2016.pdf
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/klaus-heinrich-vanselow
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/sven-jacobsen
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/chris-hall-et-al
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/journal/international-journal-astrobiology
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/whales
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/atmosphere
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/marine-life
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/north-sea
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/research
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/storms