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'Stealth' buoy could trip up smugglers

DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, March 29 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists have developed a stealth buoy that could be used to track drug boats or monitor the migration of animals such as whales and dolphins.

The buoy sits on the seabed until it is triggered by the sound of a passing ship or animal, Nature Science Update reported Monday. This sends the buoy to the surface, where it beams information to a coastguard via satellite. The buoy then sinks back to the ocean floor, waiting for the next ship to come along.

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A series of buoys could work like a tripwire across a river estuary and stand guard on remote smuggling routes, said Cary Risley from Defense Research and Development Canada, who developed the buoy with Seimac, a Canadian company.

The buoys also can be used for research, with sensors added to measure temperature and water salinity, for example. They can even be designed to pop up in the wake of the ship and collect water samples to track pollution. Its sonar sensors could listen for whale whistles or dolphin clicks, Risley said.

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