{"id":17773,"date":"2023-03-22T14:18:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T18:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=17773"},"modified":"2024-08-12T11:38:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T15:38:09","slug":"who-wants-to-look-at-a-dead-whale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/who-wants-to-look-at-a-dead-whale\/","title":{"rendered":"3D Research: Who Wants to Look at a Dead Whale?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Marine Mammals travel long distances and sometimes can become stranded or die in locations that are difficult to reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scientists wanted to use 3D photos and drones to better understand and access sites with large marine mammals that have died in remote areas \u2014 and to see if the 3D photos would generate public interest in the science of analyzing stranded whales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard located a female adult humpback whale dead on an unoccupied island near Sitka, Alaska. A team of volunteers performed a necropsy (analogous to an autopsy) to determine the cause of death and to collect samples for additional research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At different times during the process, the team took images of the whale using a drone and an iPad. They converted these scans to 3D images using LiDAR and photogrammetry, then annotated and uploaded the information to a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watch NOAA’s video about a “whale fall.”<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n