Ms Martinez-Levasseur and her colleagues from the marine research centre CICMAR, in Mexico, studied blue whales, sperm whales and fin whales over a period of three years.
They examined high resolution photographs of the whales' skin and took skin samples from areas that appeared to be blistered.
Examining the samples under the microscope revealed that the blisters were caused by sunburn.
The scientists also found that signs of sun damage were more severe in the paler-skinned blue whales, compared with the darker-skinned fin whales.
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