Post by auntym on Mar 5, 2016 14:50:56 GMT -6
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HEAR THE FIRST AUDIO RECORDINGS FROM THE SEA'S DEEPEST POINT
For the first time we have lowered a microphone into the Challenger Deep, the deepest known ocean trench. It picked up some surprising noises
By Colin Barras
4 March 2016
When film director James Cameron visited the deepest known point on Earth in 2012, he did not see a great deal. But if he had taken some underwater microphones with him he might have heard a lot.
For the first time, scientists have obtained audio recordings from 7 miles (11km) below sea level in Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, south-west of Guam. They reveal a soundscape rich with the rumble of earthquakes, the deep moans of whales – and the mechanical whirr of ships.
The recordings were made by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oregon State University and the US Coast Guard as part of an effort to measure the amount of sound pollution in the Pacific Ocean.
You can listen to some of the recordings below.
CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF WHALES,
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“Noise in the ocean has been increasing in the last few decades because of a growth in container shipping,” says Robert Dziak, the NOAA oceanographer who led the project. “Many researchers are now recognising that this can have an effect on marine ecosystems.”
Exactly how much of an effect, though, is unclear – partly because we do not know how bad the sound pollution is. “There are sensors out there to monitor the problem, but not as many as you might think,” says Dziak.
Placing an underwater microphone called a hydrophone into Challenger Deep has allowed Dziak to create a baseline that tells us how bad the problem is today. Then, by returning to the site in the years ahead, the researchers will be able to work out how much worse the problem is becoming.
CONTINUE READING: www.stumbleupon.com/su/1YqzNR/
HEAR THE FIRST AUDIO RECORDINGS FROM THE SEA'S DEEPEST POINT
For the first time we have lowered a microphone into the Challenger Deep, the deepest known ocean trench. It picked up some surprising noises
By Colin Barras
4 March 2016
When film director James Cameron visited the deepest known point on Earth in 2012, he did not see a great deal. But if he had taken some underwater microphones with him he might have heard a lot.
For the first time, scientists have obtained audio recordings from 7 miles (11km) below sea level in Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, south-west of Guam. They reveal a soundscape rich with the rumble of earthquakes, the deep moans of whales – and the mechanical whirr of ships.
The recordings were made by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oregon State University and the US Coast Guard as part of an effort to measure the amount of sound pollution in the Pacific Ocean.
You can listen to some of the recordings below.
CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF WHALES,
www.stumbleupon.com/su/1YqzNR/
“Noise in the ocean has been increasing in the last few decades because of a growth in container shipping,” says Robert Dziak, the NOAA oceanographer who led the project. “Many researchers are now recognising that this can have an effect on marine ecosystems.”
Exactly how much of an effect, though, is unclear – partly because we do not know how bad the sound pollution is. “There are sensors out there to monitor the problem, but not as many as you might think,” says Dziak.
Placing an underwater microphone called a hydrophone into Challenger Deep has allowed Dziak to create a baseline that tells us how bad the problem is today. Then, by returning to the site in the years ahead, the researchers will be able to work out how much worse the problem is becoming.
CONTINUE READING: www.stumbleupon.com/su/1YqzNR/