Southern giant petrels Macronectes giganteus as indicators of ocean surface currents
A Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus was satellite tracked during a long foraging trip. While at rest on the sea surface, the giant petrel drifted in a counterclockwise corkscrew pattern that is characteristic of an inertial oscillation in the Southern Ocean. This note demonstrates that tra...
| Published in: | Biodiversity Observations |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uct.ac.za/index.php/BO/article/view/1503 https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1503 |
| Summary: | A Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus was satellite tracked during a long foraging trip. While at rest on the sea surface, the giant petrel drifted in a counterclockwise corkscrew pattern that is characteristic of an inertial oscillation in the Southern Ocean. This note demonstrates that tracking data from resting seabirds can be used as passive drifters to estimate ocean surface currents in a notoriously stormy environment where data near the air-sea interface are difficult to obtain. |
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