Sunspots & Whale Strandings

Biologists have already demonstrated that many animals can navigate by somehow sensing Earth’s magnetic field lines. Gray whales, which migrate over 10,000 miles a year through a featureless expanse of blue, might be relying on a similar hidden sense.
        - New York Times, 25 Feb. 2020

The Times article quoted above summarizes a study published in Current Biology; a collaboration of Duke University biologists and an astronomer from Chicago's Adler Planetarium. The research looks at strandings of healthy gray whales, chosen because they have "one of the longest migrations of any mammal, an extensive history in the stranding database, and [are] near-shore migrator[s]." (Near-shore is where "small navigation errors increase the risk of stranding.")

Previous studies have correlated these strandings with solar magnetic storms, but were the strandings the result of alterations of the Earth's geomagnetic field, or did the storms somehow "disrupt the animal's receptor itself"?

Examining the influence of climate/season, magnetic field displacement, and radio-frequency noise, the researchers conclude that the whales' navigation errors are "best explained by increases in RF noise rather than alterations to the magnetic field." The analog that comes to mind is headlights of oncoming cars when you're walking at night.

One of the authors, biologist Jesse Granger, notes that such RF noise is not the sole cause of gray whale strandings. Her hope, according to the Times, is "to unlock the secrets of magnetic navigation."

How audio recordings saved the whales

photo: wikimedia.org

From the 12/26/2014 airing of All Things Considered: How in the 1960s recordings of whale songs were made inadvertently by a military researcher, who passed them to a biologist, who passed them to Judy Collins, who incorporated them into a song that helped launch Greenpeace.

Audio stream and transcript here.

The New Bedford Homecoming of the Charles W. Morgan

Here's a quick rundown on (some of) today's events surrounding the return of whaleship Charles W. Morgan, newly restored, to New Bedford. The Morgan is "the only surviving wooden whaling ship from the 19th century American fleet." Built in New Bedford, and launched on July 21, 1841, she has been in Mystic Seaport since 1941. A multi-year restoration made the Morgan once again sea-worthy. She sailed into New Bedford harbor to be the centerpiece of a week of activities. Get down there and check it out! (Leave your backpack in the car. They're not permitted.)

Today was a chance to hear presentations from some of the Melville scholars we normally see only at the MDM. As always, these folks make me realize I have a lot of reading to do. Still, when Tim Marr opened his talk asking the audience, "How many of you couldn't finish Moby-Dick the first time you read it?", the scholars were the first to raise their hands!

I took pages of notes at these presentations, but what sticks in my mind is Dr. Marr quoting Stephen Colbert who asked, "Is Moby-Dick a metaphor for the struggle of trying to read Moby-Dick?" (Who was it said, "When one of a work's themes is the work itself, another of its themes is art."?)

The week's displays and events are the combined efforts of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Mystic Seaport, the Nantucket Historical Association, and the Melville Society. That's some major fire-power, and they've done it up royally.

Like a trade show, there are lots of booths to visit inside the hall.

An area is curtained-off for the scholar presentations.

Outside, you can visit the schooner Ernestina. I've only ever seen her covered with snow, on my way to the MDM.

You can crew a whaleboat and row out for a waterline view of the Morgan. Our boatsteerer was a member of a local rowing club, well able to instruct the green crew.

Back on land, it is worth waiting in line for a chance to snake through the restored Charles W. Morgan.

According to Wikipedia, these flags spell "J B P N." What am I missing?

The dark brown areas in the diagrams show original, 1841-vintage bits of the Morgan.

Apparently, "How much is original?" is asked often.

At 4:30, it's time to deflate the whale.

The city is much more inviting on these warm summer evenings than in the January wind and ice of an MDM.

After dinner, Robert K. Wallace opened The Art of Seeing Whales exhibition at the Whaling Museum. Take your time here—the juxtapositions are deliberate.

Was anyone else put off by all the humorless, armed police stalking the area? [no photo here]

drowned dreams, somnambulisms, reveries...

Overshadowed by "Howl"

Listening today to the podcast of BBC's Witness (the most consistently interesting nine minutes on radio and a sterling example of public broadcasting), I was reminded that Allen Ginsberg was not the only poet reading at the Six Gallery on October 7, 1955.

Michael McClure presented three poems, including For the Death of 100 Whales — way ahead of his time in environmental awareness. Listen to him read it at 6:35...

Text of the poem can be found here.

Well, I uh started it, but um...

That's OK.  I'm told that no human can read the whole thing.

Amusing video over at Iron-bound Bucket.  Nice music, too.