How tiny satellites are tracking marine wildlife | Jake Levenson | TEDxFoggyBottom

Quick Overview

Dr. Jake Levenson explains how using Time of Arrival (ToA) satellite tracking technology, rather than traditional GPS, allows for the tracking of marine wildlife like sea turtles with significantly lower costs and improved accuracy, enabling researchers to monitor animal movements in real-time and better understand ocean ecosystems.

Key Points: Traditional GPS tracking devices are prohibitively expensive (thousands of dollars) and have poor spatial accuracy (up to 2 kilometers off), making them impractical for tagging vast numbers of animals. The Time of Arrival (ToA) satellite tracking method works oppositely to GPS: the tag transmits a signal to the satellite, which then calculates the position almost instantly. Small satellites (CubeSats) offer advantages because they are built to open standards, are tiny (some as small as a coffee cup), and are relatively cheap to launch, enabling constellations of 18,000 satellites by 2030. The speaker, a marine biologist, studies Hawksbill turtles in the Caribbean island of Dominica, noting that the juvenile turtles disappear into the ocean for 10-15 years, making tracking during that time a mystery. The improved accuracy of ToA technology (down to a few meters) allows scientists to track animal movements in real-time, providing critical data for conservation efforts and understanding species' life cycles. Crowdsourcing solutions through open technology spurs innovation by lowering barriers to entry, leading to better tracking methods for public safety and scientific research.

Context: Dr. Jake Levenson, a marine biologist working in the Caribbean, presents at TEDxFoggyBottom about the challenges of tracking marine wildlife, specifically Hawksbill turtles that disappear for over a decade after hatching. He contrasts traditional GPS tracking limitations—high cost and poor accuracy—with the potential of new, cost-effective small satellite technology utilizing Time of Arrival (ToA) calculations to solve the 'coverage' and 'accuracy' problems in ocean monitoring.