The Spooky Ocean. Sounds That No One Can Explain.
The ocean is unbelievably big; it covers about 70 % of the planet’s surface. However, large ocean territories are still unexplored. According to the NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, more than 80 % of the ocean remains unmapped and unobserved. Every year scientists discover hundreds of new strange-looking species with the help of devices like hydrophones that detect acoustic signals in the water. But sometimes the researchers discover weird and ghostly noises which they can’t explain. And let’s be honest, some of them are terrifying, and listening to them gives you chills.
1.The Bloop. One of the famous and recognizable underwater sounds. It was recorded in 1997 when the researchers were listening for underwater volcanic activity in the southern Pacific. This low-frequency sound was so loud that it was detected at many listening stations thousands of miles apart and lasted only a minute. Theories have ranged from Cthulhu, the mythical beast from H.P.Lovecraft short story, to a giant squid or any other unknown species. The scientists believe that the Bloop was caused by the cracking of an iceberg and breaking away from the Antarctic glacier. This means this sound has a non-organic origin. Despite the scientific explanation of this noise, some people still believe that this is not just an icequake.
2. The Whistle. It was recorded on a hydrophone in the Eastern Pacific in July 1997. The NOAA suspects that this sound belongs to the undersea volcanic activity because the signal is similar to the volcanogenic signals recorded on actively erupting submarine arc volcanoes. Moreover, signals similar to Whistle were recorded by the eastern Pacific hydrophone from Mariana arc some 14 000 Km distant. But if you take a closer look, you may hear a whale’s noise.
3. Julia. Julia was recorded on March 1, 1999, and lasted about 15 seconds. Its source, according to the NOAA, is an Antarctic iceberg running into the seafloor. The scientists believe that the origin of this weird sound could be between Bransfield Straits and Cape Adare.
4. The Upsweep. An unidentified sound that has been present since PMEL began recording SOSUS in 1991. The sound appears to be seasonal; generally reaching peaks in spring and fall and consists of a long train of narrow-band upsweeping sounds of several seconds duration each. According to the NOAA, the sound can be located near the area of volcanic seismicity; however, its origin is still unknown. Anyway, until the mystery is solved, we can’t be 100% sure who this sound belongs to.
5. Slow Down. This noise was recorded on May 19, 1997. It slowly descends its frequency over about 7 minutes; however, on 16x speed, it sounds like an airplane landing on the airstrip. The location of this sound is an area of the Antarctic Peninsula with islands and shoals which makes scientists believe that this noise is a result of a drifting iceberg slowly hitting a seafloor. This type of signal has been recorded numerous times as large icebergs run around.
6. The Train. It sounds like the rub of wheels against the track with the horn signal — the warning sign of approaching train. This spooky noise was recorded on March 4, 1997, on the eastern Pacific hydrophone array. The origin of the Train is quite similar to Julia — it is the territory near Cape Adare in the Ross Sea. What‘s the source of this noise? The NOAA recently explained that this sound was generated as the iceberg was slowly moving and dragging its kneel on the seafloor.
All things considered, the ocean is one big mystery, and who knows what kind of surprises it will bring us in the future.
