After almost ten days of missing data, we finally received a tiny “blip” of data from Katia. During one of the transmission windows yesterday, her tag sent a small packet of data which likely means the tag is still attached to her. The satellite only received a single short transmission and was unable to compute Read more about Finally[…]
We have not received any data from Katia in a few days now. One possible reason for the lack of data may be that she is simply moving too fast. Katia is being tracked with a towed transmitter that is attached via short tether to her peduncle (rear end of her carapace) and this transmitter only Read more about Missing data[…]
Katia has just left the relatively shallow waters of the continental shelf and is now passing over Hydrographers Canyon which drops from about 600 feet deep to well over 6,000 feet deep. This location is where the deep ocean lower nutrient “blue” water meets greenish higher nutrient water found along the continental shelf. This is Read more about Deeper water[…]
I will admit that we were a bit concerned as there was very little data relayed this past week, but all is well! Over the past few days, Katia has made a big jump to the north east and is now located about 50 kilometers south of Long Island in New York. The transmitter that Katia is carrying Read more about Big jump[…]
On August 25th, Katia began moving north and is now located off Cape May New Jersey. This track is very similar to several turtles we have tracked in the past. A few of these tracks are described in the publication “Internesting and Postnesting Movements and Foraging Habitats of Leatherback Sea Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) Nesting in Florida”
Here in Florida, we are waiting to see how Tropical Storm Erika will affect the beaches along the coastline. Most of the leatherback nests laid this season have hatched already but there are many Green Turtle and Loggerhead nests still incubating in the sand. This weekend the forecast calls for higher than average tides and Read more about Tracking turtles and tropical storms[…]
The leatherback turtle we are tracking is currently located about 77 kilometers east of Virginia Beach. This area has seen an uptick in leatherback sea turtle strandings in the past month. Lets hope Katia stays safe. To view the current updated location of Katia, click here
Katia is still located about 55 kilometers southeast of Wallops Island in Virginia. Since leaving the Florida study area, she has traveled more than 2,400 kilometers and has spent a few weeks in the relatively shallow waters off the coast of Virginia. View and explore the dive behavior of Katia by clicking on the graph below
Katia is heading north once again. She is now located about 50 kilometers southeast of Assateague Island in Virginia. Data relayed via the Argos satellite system show that she is behaving normally and diving to depths of approximately 40 meters daily. For the current live tracking map, Click here
As the 2015 field season comes to a close, we will begin to analyze and present data collected.This year we deployed GPS recording devices and IMU data loggers on three leatherbacks as they traveled the coastline between nests. This season alone we have gathered more than three gigabytes of movement and tracking data which will Read more about Wading through data[…]