“Deep below what Herman Melville called ‘the ocean’s skin’, sound is the only viable sense, adding mystery to a world we know so little about.” The ocean is a giant conductor of strange noises and sounds that radiate the sound of mysterious life. The ocean is a conductor of sound, which travels five times faster in the water. For example, a humpback whale’s call off the Caribbean can be heard by another whale on the coast of Europe.
Yet ironically, military sonar modeled by whale calls has threatened the immune systems of mammals and the social structures of many creatures by disrupting their communication styles underwater.
photo credit: Azores Photograph: Andrew Sutton