Surfers Can Catch Data While They're Catching Waves
Surferniall62/FlickrCC by SA 2.0Soon surfers could help monitor the ocean's health.Surfers are particularly attuned to the sea, keeping an eye out for the best waves. But soon, they could help gather scientific data by simply participating in their favorite activity.Scientists in the United Kingdom have announced a system that would allow surfers to measure sea surface temperatures every time they go into the ocean. The temperature of the sea surface is incredibly important to scientists, because it affects how plants and animals act and survive in the water, and even changes how much oxygen the ocean can absorb. By keeping an eye on the temperature, scientists can anticipate dangerous events like algal blooms.They equipped a surfboard with an instrument that takes measurements of the ocean's temperature, and simultaneously records the location of the surfboard using a global positioning system (GPS). The temperature is measured with a...