Greenland Shark Satellite Tag Data on Depth, Temperature, and Position, 2006-2009

Fisheries and Oceans Canada deployed Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSAT) on 16 Greenland sharks in Atlantic Canadian waters from 2006 to 2009. The dataset contains processed maximum likelihood position estimates, depth, and temperature profiles, with 14 of 16 tags reporting data. Sharks ranged from 250 cm to 549 cm in length, and tags were at liberty for 48 to 350 days.

Use Cases

• Modeling vertical habitat use and diving behavior based on depth and temperature profiles.
• Estimating shark migration patterns and geographic range based on light-level-derived position data.
• Analyzing the relationship between environmental conditions (temperature) and shark activity.
• Studying long-term movement patterns over deployment periods ranging from 48 to 350 days.

Strengths

• Data from 14 successfully reporting tags provides multiple individual tracks.
• Includes three core data streams: depth, temperature, and estimated positions.
• Deployments span multiple years (2006-2009) and seasons, captured on both commercial and scientific expeditions.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Sample sex data is incomplete (3 female, 9 male, 4 unknown).

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Data collected via Wildlife Computers PSAT tags (PAT 4 and Mk10 models) deployed on sharks, processed through GPE3 software with specific environmental reference datasets.

Time Range

2006 to 2009

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-24 08:10:41.518238; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Atlantic Canadian waters, including Cumberland Sound (Pangnirtung).