Marine biologist Brad Norman is compiling a database of whale sharks, the largest fish in the ocean. He and his Earthwatch volunteer teams snorkel in Ningaloo Marine Park, swimming next to these plankton-eating behemoths, taking measurements and photographs.
Along with information architect Jason Holmberg, Brad has found an ingenious way to identify whale sharks by the pattern of dots on their sides. They use a program originally used to track star patterns.
In this photograph, a volunteer holds a meter stick next to a whale shark, allowing scientists to figure out his length from photographs. Volunteers on this project get to snorkel much closer to the sharks than tourists, since they're doing actual research.
posted by Earthwatch
Along with information architect Jason Holmberg, Brad has found an ingenious way to identify whale sharks by the pattern of dots on their sides. They use a program originally used to track star patterns.
In this photograph, a volunteer holds a meter stick next to a whale shark, allowing scientists to figure out his length from photographs. Volunteers on this project get to snorkel much closer to the sharks than tourists, since they're doing actual research.
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