Solar storms cause sperm whales to beach in North Sea, study suggests — RT News
“Sperm whales spend their early, non-breeding years in lower latitudes, where magnetic disruptions by the sun are weak and thus lack experience of this phenomenon,” according to the new research, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.
Scientists studied the stranding of 29 sperm whales in the North Sea in January 2016 on beaches in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and France. The strandings puzzled scientists as all the whales were in otherwise good health.
Baby whale stuck in low tide in Russia’s Far East, rescue under way https://t.co/7QOtzPGsH1 pic.twitter.com/VdTUqJkVF6
— RT (@RT_com) August 10, 2017
The latest study connected the strandings to two large solar storms which occurred in late December 2015, creating a 460km (285 miles) disruption in the magnetic field between the Shetland Islands and Norway.
“‘Naïve’ whales may therefore become disoriented in the southern Norwegian Sea as a result of failing to adopt alternative navigation systems in time and becoming stranded in the shallow North Sea,” according to the research.
Read the full article …Solar storms cause sperm whales to beach in North Sea, study suggests — RT News
This article was chosen for republication based on the interest of our readers. The Uncensored Report (Scoop News) republishes stories from a number of other independent news sources. The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect my editorial policy. Francesco Abbruzzino
