Space laser tracks Earth’s biggest migration via the seas

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Scientists have used space-based lidar to track the daily vertical migration of tiny ocean creatures, boosting understanding of marine carbon cycles.

The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite is a joint venture between NASA and the French space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. Shortly after its launch in 2006, it was discovered that as well as observing cloud aerosols, CALIPSO was able to monitor the oceans to a depth of 20m. This allowed it to track Diel Vertical Migration (DVM), where tiny sea creatures like krill, baby fish and tiny squid move closer to the ocean surface at night to feed on phytoplankton.

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“This is the latest study to demonstrate something that came as a surprise to many: that lidars have the sensitivity to provide scientifically useful ocean measurements from space,” said Chris Hostetler, a scientist at NASA's Langley Research Centre in Virginia, and co-author of the study, which appears in Nature.

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