Drone zooms through humpback whale breath

By Nicole Parks, CNN
2 minute read
Updated 3:07 PM EDT, Tue August 4, 2015
An MQ-9 Reaper, armed with laser-guided munitions and Hellfire missiles, flies a combat mission over southern Afghanistan. The Reaper has been in use since 2007.
An MQ-9 Reaper, armed with laser-guided munitions and Hellfire missiles, flies a combat mission over southern Afghanistan. The Reaper has been in use since 2007.
Lt. Col.. Leslie Pratt/U.S. Air Force/AP
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use a hexacopter -- a six-winged camera-loaded drone -- to monitor whales off the coast of New England in July. Acquired under National Marine Fisheries Service Permit 17355-01 and NOAA Class G flight authorization 2015-ESA-4-NOAA; Photo by John Durban, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, NOAA; and Michael Moore, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use a hexacopter -- a six-winged camera-loaded drone -- to monitor whales off the coast of New England in July. Acquired under National Marine Fisheries Service Permit 17355-01 and NOAA Class G flight authorization 2015-ESA-4-NOAA; Photo by John Durban, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, NOAA; and Michael Moore, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Michael Moore/WHOI
An AeroVironment Puma drone undergoes pre-flight tests in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, on June 7, 2014. The drone will be used to survey roads, pipelines and other equipment at the largest oil field in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration authorized BP to conduct the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/10/us/faa-commercial-drone-approval/index.html">first-ever commercial drone flights</a> over land.
An AeroVironment Puma drone undergoes pre-flight tests in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, on June 7, 2014. The drone will be used to survey roads, pipelines and other equipment at the largest oil field in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration authorized BP to conduct the first-ever commercial drone flights over land.
BP Alaska/AP
A drone camera follows Norway's Aleksander Aurdal during the men's slopestyle finals at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
A drone camera follows Norway's Aleksander Aurdal during the men's slopestyle finals at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
Sergei Grits/AP
Members of the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office fly their search-and-rescue drone during a demonstration in Brigham City, Utah, on February 13, 2014. Gov. Gary Hebert has approved the state's first drone restrictions, setting new limits on law enforcement's use of the technology.
Members of the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office fly their search-and-rescue drone during a demonstration in Brigham City, Utah, on February 13, 2014. Gov. Gary Hebert has approved the state's first drone restrictions, setting new limits on law enforcement's use of the technology.
Rick Bowmer/AP
Christopher Brown of the Next New Homes Group uses a drone to take aerial video of a home in Sacramento, California, on February 25, 2014. Drones are increasingly being used by small companies to shoot promotional videos.
Christopher Brown of the Next New Homes Group uses a drone to take aerial video of a home in Sacramento, California, on February 25, 2014. Drones are increasingly being used by small companies to shoot promotional videos.
Randy Pench/Sacramento Bee/MCT/Getty Images
A researcher at the University of California, Davis, removes sprayer containers from a drone after a crop dusting test flight in Arbuckle, California, on February 5, 2014. UC Davis is testing the use of unmanned helicopters for agriculture. The FAA does not currently allow pesticide spraying from drones in the United States.
A researcher at the University of California, Davis, removes sprayer containers from a drone after a crop dusting test flight in Arbuckle, California, on February 5, 2014. UC Davis is testing the use of unmanned helicopters for agriculture. The FAA does not currently allow pesticide spraying from drones in the United States.
Ken James/Bloomberg/Getty Images
A drone delivers medicine from a nearby pharmacy to the Deutsche Post headquarters in Bonn, Germany, on December 9, 2013. The company was testing the viability of using drones to deliver small packages over short distances. Online retailer Amazon has also <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/02/tech/innovation/amazon-drones-questions/index.html">announced plans</a> to start using unmanned flying vehicles.
A drone delivers medicine from a nearby pharmacy to the Deutsche Post headquarters in Bonn, Germany, on December 9, 2013. The company was testing the viability of using drones to deliver small packages over short distances. Online retailer Amazon has also announced plans to start using unmanned flying vehicles.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
A drone designed to capture footage of illegal hunting activities lands after taking footage at Erwin Wilder Wildlife Management Area in Norton, Massachusetts, on October 21, 2013.
A drone designed to capture footage of illegal hunting activities lands after taking footage at Erwin Wilder Wildlife Management Area in Norton, Massachusetts, on October 21, 2013.
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images
A NASA Global Hawk drone sits in an airplane hangar during a Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, on September 10, 2013. The HS3 mission uses two of the unmanned aircraft to fly over tropical storms and hurricanes to monitor weather conditions.
A NASA Global Hawk drone sits in an airplane hangar during a Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, on September 10, 2013. The HS3 mission uses two of the unmanned aircraft to fly over tropical storms and hurricanes to monitor weather conditions.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Luis Jaime Castillo, a Peruvian archaeologist, uses a drone to take pictures of the archaeological site of San Jose de Moro in Trujillo on July 18, 2013. In Peru, home to Machu Picchu and thousands of ancient ruins, archaeologists are turning to drones to speed up sluggish survey work and protect sites from squatters, builders and miners.
Luis Jaime Castillo, a Peruvian archaeologist, uses a drone to take pictures of the archaeological site of San Jose de Moro in Trujillo on July 18, 2013. In Peru, home to Machu Picchu and thousands of ancient ruins, archaeologists are turning to drones to speed up sluggish survey work and protect sites from squatters, builders and miners.
MARIANA BAZO/Reuters/LANDOV
A drone fitted with a film camera shoots aerial footage during the production of the film "The Girl with the Indian Emerald" in Jaipur, India, on November 7, 2012. While it's already being done in other countries, the U.S. government is considering <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/04/tech/innovation/movies-drones-faa/index.html">a request from movie and TV producers</a> to let them use unmanned aircraft to shoot aerial video.
A drone fitted with a film camera shoots aerial footage during the production of the film "The Girl with the Indian Emerald" in Jaipur, India, on November 7, 2012. While it's already being done in other countries, the U.S. government is considering a request from movie and TV producers to let them use unmanned aircraft to shoot aerial video.
Jens Kalaene/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
A man controls an Parrot AR Drone with an iPad during the press preview day of the International Toy Fair in Nuernberg, Germany, on February 2, 2011.
A man controls an Parrot AR Drone with an iPad during the press preview day of the International Toy Fair in Nuernberg, Germany, on February 2, 2011.
Miguel Villagran/Getty Images
Derek Charlton of the Merseyside Police operates the department's new aerial surveillance drone in Liverpool, England, on May 21, 2007.
Derek Charlton of the Merseyside Police operates the department's new aerial surveillance drone in Liverpool, England, on May 21, 2007.
JOHN GILES/PA Photos/Landov
U.S. Marine Sgt. Nicholas Bender launches a Raven surveillance drone from Marine base near the remote village of Baqwa, Afghanistan, on March 21, 2009. Marines use the unmanned aerial vehicles to get real-time intelligence on Taliban movements.
U.S. Marine Sgt. Nicholas Bender launches a Raven surveillance drone from Marine base near the remote village of Baqwa, Afghanistan, on March 21, 2009. Marines use the unmanned aerial vehicles to get real-time intelligence on Taliban movements.
John Moore/Getty Images
The many uses of drones

Story highlights

Scientists use a hexacopter to study humpback whales

Drones are a noninvasive way to get biological samples

Aerial photos can provide clues about whales' health

CNN  — 

The remote-controlled drone whirs through a whale’s spout at 10 feet above the sea to capture exactly what it exhales.

Researchers are using a remote-controlled hexacopter to study endangered humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off New England, according to a statement released by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Whale breath condenses on the sterile surface of the drone, giving a more accurate picture of health in the humpback.

Using the toy-looking tool, scientists can non-invasively test whales for stress levels, family history and general well-being by analyzing DNA, hormones and bacteria levels, according to the statement.

A hexacopter at Woods Hole has taken aerial photos of 36 humpbacks to find out how fat they were and whether their skin had lesions.

A sense of scale is needed here: The hexacopter is about 3 feet in diameter. Humpback whales can measure as long as 60 feet.

Their scientific name, Megaptera novaengliae, means “big-winged New Englander,” due to the 15-foot-long fins they use to traverse thousands of miles in an annual migration.

Traveling between the Bering Sea and Baja California in Mexico, the migration of the gray whale can be up to 20,000km a year. The whales hug the west coast of America toward their Arctic feeding grounds, but in recent years their migration north is becoming lengthier as food supplies are affected by climate change.
Traveling between the Bering Sea and Baja California in Mexico, the migration of the gray whale can be up to 20,000km a year. The whales hug the west coast of America toward their Arctic feeding grounds, but in recent years their migration north is becoming lengthier as food supplies are affected by climate change.
OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images
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Related gallery The world's longest animal migrations

The whales are known for their complex songs that can last for 20 minutes. The songs can be heard from miles away. All males sing the same song, but the song keeps evolving, making it different from year to year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. The why of whale song is one of nature’s great unsolved mysteries.

An estimated 60,000 humpbacks exist worldwide, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List reports, and numbers are rising.

Scientists plan to compare samples from humpbacks living near the unpolluted Antarctic Peninsula with samples taken in Stellwagen, where there is much more ship traffic and pollution, according to WHOI.

“This will give us a new understanding of the relationship between whale body condition and health in the context of habitat quality,” said Michael Moore, director of the WHOI Marine Mammal Center.