Giant Right Whales

NASA

NASA Data Helps Map Tiny Plankton That Feed Giant Right Whales

In the waters off New England, one of Earth’s rarest mammals swims slowly, mouth agape. The North Atlantic right whale filters clouds of tiny reddish zooplankton — called Calanus finmarchicus — from the sea. These zooplankton, no bigger than grains of rice, are the whale’s lifeline. Only about 370 of these massive creatures remain. For decades, tracking the tiny plankton meant sending…