Underwater Robot to Study Tiger Shark Migrations Along Delmarva
Peninsula - University of Delaware researchers are using an
underwater robot to find and follow sand tiger sharks that they
previously tagged with transmitters. The innovative project is
part of a multi-year partnership with Delaware State University
to better understand the behavior and migration patterns of the
sharks in real time. "In the past week our new, specially
equipped glider OTIS -- which stands for Oceanographic Telemetry
Identification Sensor -- detected multiple sand tiger sharks off
the coast of Maryland that were tagged over the past several
years," said Matthew Oliver, assistant professor of oceanography
in UD's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. "This is the
first time that a underwater robot glider has found tagged
sharks and reported their location in real time." OTIS is a
remote-controlled underwater robot device that looks like a
yellow torpedo and normally darts through the ocean to sample
water conditions. Oliver ou