Sharks ride eddies to the depths

As the Gulf Stream current curves away from North America and heads east across the Atlantic, it swirls at its edges. If one of these swirls is large enough, it will pinch off, sending a whirling pocket of water—more than 60 miles in diameter—spinning through the ocean like an underwater hurricane.

These swirling pockets, called eddies, may also be full of sharks.

No, this isn’t the plot of the next Sharknado movie. It’s a discovery by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Washington, who tracked the movements of several tagged great white sharks. They found that white sharks in the open ocean seem to seek out eddies for a surprising reason: The eddies offer a beeline to a banquet of food. (Illustration by Natalie Renier, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/sharks-take-tunnels-into-the-depths/