Could whales save the world? Breakthrough scientific research is showing that the world's largest animals are unusually good at taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
The gentle giants quietly saving our planet
A humpback whale breaches into the sunset on Sydney’s Northern Beaches; New South Wales, Australia © Getty Glossary
Humpback whales - One of thirteen species of giant whale, the humpback can be found in every ocean.
Breaching - When a whale comes to the surface. Humpbacks are especially popular with whale watchers for their acrobatic ariel displays.
Whale fall - These unique habitats exist 1,000 metres below the surface and were first discovered in the 1980s with deep-sea sonar and submersibles.
Carbon sequestration - Capturing and removing carbon from the atmosphere. Artificial methods include adding iron to the oceans to stimulate algal blooms and mechanical trees that suck CO2 from the air.
Whale tourism - Whale watching is a growing industry. There is an ongoing debate about how much stress boats put on whales. Iceland recently piloted the world's first "silent" electric-powered boat to watch whales.
Year of the Quiet Ocean - The International Quiet Ocean Experiment found that the drop in noise pollution increased the range of dolphin communication by up to 65%