Northern lights linked to mysterious strandings of whales
THE mysterious strandings of 29 healthy young whales on European beaches in 2016 may have been caused by the Northern Lights, research suggests.
A host of theories had been suggested for the deaths – including poisoning, climate change and sonar from nuclear submarines. But now researchers say the Northern Lights – caused by huge solar storms on the surface of the sun interacting with the earth’s magnetic field – confused the whales.
Sperm whales are able to use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate, allowing them to sense whether waters are deep or shallow, the scientists claim.
But the disruption caused by the ‘solar storms’ threw their magnetic sense out of kilter. As a result, they swam into shallow waters and became stranded.
Whales are mammals that breathe air, but they die on land due to dehydration, collapsing under their own weight or drowning when high tide covers their blowholes. Six of the whales were washed
‘Shift in magnetic fields’
up on UK beaches, at Hunstanton in Norfolk, and Wainfleet and Skegness in Lincolnshire.
The research, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, said postmortem examinations of the whales showed they were disease free.
Sperm whales live in deep, typically temperate waters around the world. At the ages of ten to 15, males or ‘bulls’ head to the North Pole to hunt their favourite food, squid. On the way they pass through the coasts of the UK and Ireland, before heading on to the sea around Norway.
Dr Klaus Vanselow, from the University of Kiel in Germany, and colleagues said the solar storms – which hurl charged particles from the surface of the sun – disrupt the whales’ inner sense.
The authors connect the strandings in 2016 with two major solar storms at the end of December 2015, which created colourful displays in Scotland. The researchers say the effect of the solar radiation could have caused shifts in the earth magnetic fields off the coast of Norway, sending the whales the wrong way.