Eavesdropping on the deep—New live streaming audio from a deep-sea hydrophone

For centuries poets and writers have imagined the depths of the ocean as eerily quiet. But scientists now know that the oceans, and especially coastal areas, are full of sound from both natural and human activities. Starting this week, anyone can eavesdrop on sounds in the deep sea via a continuous streaming YouTube video that carries live sound from 900 meters (3,000 feet) below the surface of Monterey Bay.

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Credit: NOAA

Humpback whales are one of most common whales heard on the MARS hydrophone. The inset shows a spectrogram of humpback whale songs from Monterey Bay.

Source / Image Courtesy

Basemap: Google Maps

The MARS hydrophone is located on Smooth Ridge, just outside of Monterey Bay.

Source / Image Courtesy

As you listen, you can see the spectrogram of a beautiful humpback whale song from deep in the Monterey Bay.

These sounds were recorded on an underwater microphone (hydrophone) located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from shore, 900 meters (3,000 feet) below the surface of Monterey Bay.

It is attached to the MARS undersea cabled observatory, which carries data from the hydrophone back to shore.