If you’ve ever been to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, you
already know what a beluga is. Belugas are a species of white
whale, but unlike the gigantic kind Captain Ahab was chasing,
belugas are only ten to sixteen feet long and are kind of
cuddly. They have always been a favorite with kids. Now belugas
are a favorite of arctic researchers, too. A team of scientists,
led by Ole Anders Nøst of the Norwegian Polar Institute, was
involved in exploring an Arctic fjord in order to understand
more about global warming. They ran up against an obstacle,
though. How do you measure ocean conditions deep in that
freezing cold water, especially when it is covered by several
feet of ice? One ingenious answer: send in the belugas. Beluga
whales live in the Arctic Ocean, so super-low water temperatures
and thick ice layers are no problem to them. They are friendly
enough creatures that researchers were able to attach
information-gathering machines onto a couple that would beam
data up to a satellite. Then they just let the b