Scientists use satellites to track whale strandings in remote places from space

In 2015, 337 dead sei whales were found decomposing along remote Chilean fjords in what became the largest recorded mass baleen whale mortality event, with the cause never conclusively determined. Using high-resolution satellite imagery years later, British Antarctic Survey scientists confirmed the stranding had actually occurred at least two months before anyone found the whales.

That case helped launch a broader effort, ongoing since 2019, to use orbiting satellites to identify whale species, spot strandings in inaccessible coastlines, and track scars, decomposition and calf-mother pairs by size and shape. Researchers say the technology helps establish timing and mortality counts but can't determine cause of death, and cloud cover, waves and satellite scheduling still limit what images are available.

Scientists including Penny Clarke and Fernando Mardones say the approach complements, rather than replaces, on-the-ground work like necropsies, and that datasets remain too small to train automated detection models. The hope is that faster image processing could eventually flag strandings sooner and help researchers intervene before evidence disappears.

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