Sharks As Climate Scientists?Here’s How They Improve Ocean Forecasts.

InnovationScienceSharks As Climate Scientists?Here’s How They Improve Ocean Forecasts.ByMelissa Cristina Márquez,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Márquez is a marine scientist and science communicatorFollow AuthorJun 03, 2026, 12:17pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.As tagged sharks continue to move through the water, they are doing more than hunting prey or crossing ocean basins. They are helping us see the ocean more clearly, filling in gaps that have long limited our ability to predict what comes next.gettySomewhere off the Northwest Atlantic, a blue shark (Prionace glauca) glides through shifting layers of water, diving hundreds of feet below the surface before rising again. It is hunting, navigating, living its (best) life. And yet, every movement it makes allows for a piece of technology on its fin to record temperature, depth and location. A trail of data that, until recently, was used mostly to understand the shark itself. Now, however, that same data is helping scientists better predict the future of our planet.I previously reported on Dr. Camille M. L. S. Pagniello’s study where salmon sharks (Lamna ditropis) were being fitted with a new custom-built tag, called a CTD-SRDL, “allowing researchers to track temperature and salinity profiles while following the shark’s natural movements.” The data collected from the tagged shark was then compared with measurements from Argo floats in the same region and while both datasets offered valuable insights, the shark’s data revealed much finer detail in certain areas, particularly in dynamic zones shaped by eddies and coastal interactions. Marine predators like sharks are actively seeking out dynamic ocean features such as fronts and eddies, areas where different water masses collide and mix. These regions are biologically rich and physically complex, and are where traditional obse...