【推荐2】For as long as humans have been monitoring the ocean, the only way we’ve known about stranded (搁浅的) whales was to come across them ourselves. But knowing about stranded whales — including where and when they strand — is important.

Largely due to human causes such as ship strikes and pollution, whale strandings are on the rise. Their occurrence can often signal that something is wrong before larger ecosystem problems arise. Yet the ground-based networks used to monitor stranded whales are just available for wealthy countries.

A new study conducted by Penny Clarke, a graduate student with the British Antarctic Survey, shows that very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery makes it possible to spot stranded whales in remote areas where it may otherwise take weeks to find them. By that point, animals are often long decomposed (腐烂的), making it too late to figure out what caused the stranding or take action to fix it.

The first satellite with VHR sensors was launched in 1999. With the number of them now slowly climbing, Clarke’s team sees this sort of imagery as a tool that allows less-wealthy countries to monitor a vast area with just a few people.

However, the satellite approach does have some limitations. As Clarke found, images may not be available for the date range researchers want; there are currently only 27 VHR satellites circling Earth. Moreover, satellites only take photos when given orders to open their lenses. Tasking a satellite is expensive, and even accessing archived (存档的) images can come with a big price tag.

Additionally, identifying whales requires manually (人工地) scanning for the right shapes, frame (帧) by frame. In 2019, a team led by Clarke’s co-author, Peter Fretwell, tried to automate this process. They found that because dead whales change so drastically as they decompose, their way wasn’t very accurate. It often confused whales with features like rocks or washed-up trees.

Next up, Clarke hopes to test the effectiveness of satellite monitoring by working on the ground with experts during stranding events so that she can see for herself what satellite imagery misses. “We don’t know enough about some of these challenges weepers going to be coming up against,“ she says. Yet the potential for this technology excites her immensely. “It’s quite literally out of this world.”

【推荐1】The following list of books centers on joyful African-American children. Each title can provide a unique reading experience for your family's storytime.

A Girl Like Me, written by Angela Johnson, illustrated(插图)by Nina Crews

Not many children's books feature contemporary photographs of ordinary children doing ordinary things. This book shows a diverse group of girls dreaming, laughing, playing, and being themselves.

Jayden's Impossible Garden, written by Melina Mangal, illustrated by Ken Daley

In this colorful tale about two nature enthusiasts, children will get inspired to create their own city gardens. Young Jayden and his older neighbor Curtis, who is in a wheelchair, come together in their deep love of observing nature. Their enthusiasm is the motivation for their special project of creating a magical garden that brings joy and wonder to skeptical family members and neighbors.

Saturday, written and illustrated by Oge Mora

In this mother-daughter story, Saturday plans go wrong one after the other and almost ruin Ava and her mother's special day together. Yet Ava and her mother are able to remain peaceful and joyful on their precious Saturday.

The Thing About Bees:A Love Letter, written and illustrated by Shabazz Larkin

This is a joyful book that describes bees and their benefits. Yet it is much more than ordinary non-fiction because the bee facts described through rhyming text become fathers' favorite shared with their sons. Energetic illustrations strengthen this father-son story that is heart-warming, humorous, educational and inspiring.

【推荐3】Unmissable cultural museums in Cambridge

Set on the east bank of the River Cam, Cambridge is home to some marvellous museums.

The Polar Museum

This small museum is based in the university’s Scott Polar Research Institute, set up by a surviving member of Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica. It’s packed with all manner of objects relating to polar exploration: sleeping bags, Inuit artworks and expedition diaries, as well as Ernest Shackleton’s snow goggles. The museum is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays, please check the latest times before visiting.

The Fitzwilliam Museum

With a globally-wide collection of some half a million artworks and artifacts, the Fitzwilliam Museum is the University of Cambridge’s showpiece museum. Highlights include masterpieces by Titian and Canaletto, Anglo Saxon jewellery and a wide range of priceless Islamic ceramics, just to name a few. There are more than 30 galleries to take in.

Museum of Zoology

Celebrate the diversity of animal life at this university museum, which has some of the best natural history collections in the world. It’s home to impressive exhibits, from an almost 70ft fin whale to an African elephant, the specimens on display cover the whole animal kingdom.

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Dedicating a collection to the history of humanity is an ambitious aim, and pulling the feat off says plenty about this museum. The museum was founded in 1884 by Cambridge academics, and the university’s archaeologists, anthropologists and other researchers have continued to donate treasures over the years. There’s a strong focus on the Cambridge area, with a number of local archaeological finds on display.