Hatchling sea turtles face daunting odds in surviving to adulthood, and only a few find a way. Just where they go to find food and hide from predators has remained a mystery until earlier this year, when Kate Mansfield, a biologist at the University of Central Florida, came up with a novel way to stick solar-powered radio tags on the tiny reptiles.

This video, from Inside Science TV, provides a nice visual recap of that work:

 

More:

Sea Turtles' "Lost Years" Transatlantic Journey Mapped for First Time

March 6, 2014

SA.com story on Kate Mansfield’s work.

How Sea Turtles Navigate [All-Access Subscribers Only]

By Kenneth J. Lohman

January 1992

Whereby researchers have hatchlings in a pool and watch how they swim based on an external magnetic field.

 

The Navigation of the Green Sea Turtle [All-Access Subscribers Only]

By Archie Carr

May 1965

A classic from one of the giants of sea-turtle research.