Sounds From the Sea

Reported July 2006

SEATTLE (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- What do boats, whales and rainfall sound like from underneath the surface of the sea? How does it affect everything that lives down there?

Jeffrey Nystuen, Ph.D., a physical and acoustical oceanographer at University of Washington in Seattle developed PALs, or Passive Aquatic Listeners.

"By listening passively to the underwater sound field, we learn a lot about the environment," Nystuen tells Ivanhoe.

Researchers submerge PALs from 10 to hundreds of meters below the sea's surface. They record a few seconds of sound about every 10 minutes. Nystuen says: "You can listen for bubbles. You can listen for whales. You can listen for ships and sonars."

PALs have been submerged at locations around the world and are in place for one year. The recordings can help scientists measure wind speed or rainfall at sea -- and learn more about the wildlife. They can also help biologists identify when and where there are large groups of whales and other marine life.

Other scientists say the impacts of man-made sounds on the marine environment are of a concern and passive acoustic monitoring is a valuable tool.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Jeffrey Nystuen, Ph.D.
Physical and Acoustical Oceanographer
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
(206) 543-1343
nystuen@apl.washington.edu

The Acoustical Society of America
Melville, NY 11747-4502
(516) 576-2360
asa@aip.org
http://asa.aip.org

American Astronomical Society
Washington, DC 20009-1231
(202) 328-2010
aas@aas.org
http://www.aas.org

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