Wiley part of 'whalecopter' team
Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have developed and successfully tested a method of collecting vital data on whales. According to a WHOI release, researchers used "whalecopters" to photograph and take non-invasive samples from humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in July.
Two remote-controlled, 6-rotor hexacopters are 32" in diameter. The hexacopters were flown over whales, taking photographs at 125 to 150 feet above sea level. The copter then swooped within 10 feet of sea level to collect breath samples from the whales' spouts, the release said.
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In addition to Moore, the whalecopter research team includes WHOI geochemist Amy Apprill and post doctoral scholar Carolyn Miller; biologist John Durban and biologist Holly Fearnbach of NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Jamison Smith of NOAA's Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, and biologist David Wiley of NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
