"Whales dive to nearly two miles depth, for over two hours"

March 2014

"Whales dive to nearly two miles depth, for over two hours"

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140326182037.htm

     Dispersed throughout the world's oceans, the Cuvier's beaked whales' frequent dives deep into the ocean make them difficult for researchers to study. However, recently Scientists Gregory Schorr from Cascadia Research Collective and colleagues monitored Cuvier's beaked whales' record-breaking dives to depths of nearly two miles below the ocean surface and some dives lasted for over two hours.

     The scientists analyzed the whales' dive data from satellite-linked tags that recorded the diving behavior and locations of eight Cuvier's beaked whales off the Southern California coast. Researchers collected over 3,700 hours of diving data, including depth and time of each dive. The scientists recorded 1100 deep-dives, averaging 0.87 miles deep, and 5600 shallow-dives, averaging about 0.17 miles deep. The deepest dive recorded was one that reached nearly two miles below the ocean surface, and the longest lasted 137 minutes.
     This dive not only exceeded the previous Cuvier's beaked whale diving records of about 1 mile deep and 95 minutes, but also the current mammalian dive record previously set by the southern elephant seal at about 1.5 miles deep and 120 minutes. W\What sets the Cuvier beaked whale apart from the deep-diving elephant seals and sperm whales is that the elephant seals and sperm whales require an extended recovery period after long, deep dives, whereas Cuvier's beaked whales average less than two minutes at the surface between dives.