Today, we are introducing you to our new team member, the Mangōpare Ocean Temperature and Pressure Sensor from the Moana Project
The Mangōpare ocean sensor was christened by Whakatōhea Iwi after the hammerhead shark as it is one of their main ocean guardians and these sharks are very skilful at detecting everything around it, just like a sensor
Marine heatwaves have recently hit New Zealand waters, increasing ocean temperatures way above the normal range. In the last 2 weeks, there has been a 2 degree increase in surface temperatures
Currently, there is a lack of observations below the surface of the ocean in New Zealand, which is leaving questions around oceanic warming, marine heatwaves and the impacts on marine ecosystems, widely unanswered.
These sensors can be attached to normal fishing gear and record temperature, time, depth, and position at regular intervals and the Moana Project is working closely with fishers to collect observations at a large scale.
At MWNZ, we are using these sensors to learn more about the temperature fluctuations with depth at known manta hotspots. We then want to find out how this links to manta-krill interactions and surface feeding-swarming activities.
