Shark skin umbrella, anyone? (Submediterranean Homesick Blues)
Long time ago, Bob Dylan sang, ‘You don’t need to be a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows.’
Wise words, no doubt but even his Bobness would not have been able to predict that one day research would show that, when it comes to predicting the more serious types of weather, sharks could be having our TV weathermen for breakfast – so to speak:
Their reputation is more fearsome predator than kindly weatherman. But sharks could be used to save lives by giving advance warning of storms, pioneering British research has discovered. A study of the creatures found that they can sense minute changes in air pressure and head for the safety of deeper waters when a storm is brewing.
A drop in air pressure - a sign of imminent bad weather - is mirrored in the pressure of the water. Sharks’ sensitivity to atmospheric conditions was first noticed in 2001 when the approach of Hurricane Gabrielle in Florida led to juvenile blacktip sharks fleeing from the shallow shoreline.
Lauren Smith, 24, a marine biology student, has carried out further research into the phenomenon in the Bahamas and at Aberdeen University, where she is completing her PhD. Miss Smith said:
“The shark’s inner ear is very similar to ours; if we go up in an aeroplane our ears pop due to the equalisation of pressures and the same thing goes on with a shark. There is a nerve which runs from the inner ear straight to the brain and relays pressure change information. They react to that. It’s an early warning system.”
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