The Influence of Hydrologic Conditions on the Distribution of Baleen Whales in the Antarctic (Raspredelenie Usatykh Kitov v Anarktike v Zabisimosti ot Gidrologicheskikh Uslovii),
Abstract
Efficient whale hunting depends upon knowing where whale concentrations can be found. Baleen whale gather where their principal food (euphausiids) is plentiful. The Antarctic Convergence Zone is a consistently poor whaling area because cold Antarctic water plunges beneath warmer Sub-Antarctic water, inhibiting the growth of euphausiids. The best whaling regions are where the Antarctic Coastal and Circumpolar Currents meet. These are regions where a semistationary cyclonic system coincides with plankton rich waters upwelling from great depths. Whales locate these feeding grounds through salinity-sensing organs which direct them normal to surface water isohalines in search of the narrow range of salinity most favorable to plankton growth. They also travel parallel to isohalines to remain in the feeding grounds. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1973
- Accession Number
- AD0767521
Entities
People
- E. I. Chernyi
Organizations
- Naval Oceanographic Office