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To predict how climate change will shape our future, we must first uncover insights into historical weather patterns. Centuries-old whaling logs contain a treasure trove of unanalyzed meteorological data, and citizen scientists worldwide are now collaborating to unlock its potential.
During the mid-1800s, numerous whaling vessels ventured deep into the Pacific Arctic, a region critical to studying global warming. The first mate on each ship maintained detailed logbooks, recording data such as coordinates, temperatures, weather conditions, iceberg sightings, and ice shelf locations. Analyzing this information will enable researchers to develop more precise climate models, filling gaps from the pre-satellite era.
However, this data must first be transcribed. The Old Weather initiative, a citizen-science project that previously digitized logs from British and American ships, is now tackling 500,000 handwritten pages from whaling records. To streamline the process, they’ve recruited volunteers—amateur scientists and historians—to decode the intricate handwriting. Participants select a ship and begin transcribing the vast archive.
Image Capture from Old Weather: Whaling
Upon completion, the project's researchers anticipate compiling the most detailed historical record of that era and location. Despite the assistance of crowd-sourced volunteers, they predict the initiative will take approximately one more year to finalize.
