Sounds of the Bering Sea
Why listen to the animals?
Besides the incredible opportunity to hear some of the most otherworldly sounds coming from the depths of our oceans, listening to underwater noises made by marine mammals lets us:
- identify animals such as gray whales, bowhead whales, walruses, bearded seals, ringed seals, and ribbon seals.
- detect any sound patterns that would give us clues to their behavior
- detect ambient background noise
- record the acoustics for further analysis to differentiate the number of individuals relative to numbers seen during observations.
The BSIERP project Whale Broad-Scale Distribution aims to assess the distribution and estimate abundance of large baleen whales (fin and humpback). This information will be incorporated into a model that researchers hope will be able to estimate trends in whale distribution and abundance.
Right: BEST-BSIERP scientist Dr. Sue Moore uses a hydrophone to listen in on sounds from the deep. (Christian Morel/Our Polar Heritage)
Whistles, Screeches, and Creaks
Sound files courtesy of Dr. Sue Moore.
- Bowhead Whale (.wav)
- Killer Whales (.wav)
- Sperm Whale (.wav)
- Walrus (.wav)
- Bearded Seal (.wav)
