Using Satellite Imagery to Identify Stranded Whales

The image shows a Sei Whale washed up on the shore of a remote beach in Patagonia, Chile (whale shown as pink crescent in center of image). Scientists are using high resolution satellite imagery (50 cm) to count the number of whales that were beached in 2015 during a mass stranding event. Initial surveys indicated that about 340 whales were stranded during this time, however, through analyzing the satellite imagery from the time of the mass stranding, scientists now estimate that there may have been almost double the amount of beached whales from the initial count. The whales can be picked out from the image easily because when the animal decomposes it turns a pink/orange color.