How robotic boats are used to study El Nino

Saildrones are robotic boats that can be operated remotely -- and they’ve even sailed into hurricanes.

But these vehicles can hunt for more than storms.

A team of four has launched to study what could become one of the strongest El Ninos on record. So, how do you track something that big?

Traditionally, stationary buoys monitor unusually warm ocean water across the Pacific. These saildrones will add to that data network. Unlike their tethered counterparts, they can operate for months at a time and be steered directly through the warm pools of water that fuel El Niño.

That gives scientists a closer look at the ocean and atmosphere as this potentially powerful El Nino develops.