A turtle's migration plotted against altimeter results

Leatherback turtle path overlaid on absolute dynamic topography maps (MADT) gathered from space-borne radar altimeters. This turtle went due north after leaving its nesting site in French Guiana, and then slowed down in the nutrient-rich front area between Gulf Stream and Labrador Current. On September 13, 2000, this turtle is swimming at the eddies' border. The radar altimeter data used here comes from ERS-2 and TOPEX-Poseidon; currently Envisat, Jason and GFO are being utilised in the same way. Click here
to see the full animation.