Several dolphin subspecies are currently endangered or heading towards that direction primarily due to human environmental impact. To better understand where this is occurring and which dolphin pods are affected, excreted cortisol from dolphin breathing is used to determine stress levels. The proliferation in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has brought to light a potentially noninvasive technique for sampling dolphin blow. Prior to the design and development of such a system, a more in-depth understanding of a dolphin’s blowhole flow field is necessary.
This video exhibits high speed footage of dolphins “chuffing.” With the slowed down footage and particle image velocimetry, it is possible to dissect the various components of the complex turbulent plume and characterize the dolphin’s blowhole flow field with the goal of designing a dolphin blowhole simulator for future UAS testing.
The accompanying music is a no copyright song named “Turning Slowly” by Ugonna Onyekwe.
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