Deep rumbles , unearthly moans , gamy pitched screeching : these are but a few element of the alien soundscape researchers have now immortalise for the first prison term at Challenger Deep , the deepest known valley on the seafloor .
One might carry Challenger Deep — which sits at the bottom of the Mariana trench some 36,000 feet beneath the ocean airfoil — to be a subdued place . But in reality , we know very small about what living is like down there : as with most places where the sun never shines , the Mariana trench is shrouded in mystery story .
“ visible light does not circularize underwater very far , ” oceanographer Bob Dziak of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) told Gizmodo . “ But effectual wave locomote long distances through the Earth ’s sea . Acoustics is really the good agency to get a expert picture of deep ocean surround . ”
The propellor from a ship passing above makes quite a ruckus at Challenger Deep
Dziak would know . He ’s the guy who go the recent effort to conquer audio recordings from Challenger Deep . First , Dizak and his squad had to design and build an instrument that could defy the crushing 16,000 pounds - per - square - inch worth of pressure felt seven air mile beneath the control surface . Next , they developed a mooring system that would bring down their audio gear — a Ti - incase hydrophone — at a tedious , moderate speed , so that it could acclimatise to the dramatic pressure sensation buildup during its journey .
And after successfully planting a hydrophone in Challenger Deep , and make recording for 23 straight Day , Dziak ’s squad had to await until November for the weather and ship dealings to crystalise so they could haul it back up . It was a major effort , but now , we ’ve got the first soundbites from the recondite office on the Earth ’s surface to show for it .
They ’re as haunting and otherworldly as you might imagine .
A baleen whale call recorded at Challenger Deep
lesson of odontocete ( toothed whale or dolphinfish ) and baleen whale song
Challenger Deep , it turn out , is an echo chamber for a cacophony of racket produce by everything from ships to baleen whales to Earth itself . In one recording , the investigator even identified the ominous rustling of a category four typhoon whipping across the surface miles above . “ I was surprise by just how cleanly we can record whales , ships , and all sorts of bodily function taking home at the surface , ” Dziak note .
A magnitude 5 earthquake growl near Challenger Deep on July 16th
A baleen whale vocalizing just before and after the magnitude 5 temblor
Dziak hopes to return to Challenger Deep to capture more audio in the hereafter . He ’d also care to utilise his high - pressure hydrophone to explore other unmapped water system , including remote areas of the cryptical Arctic Ocean that are now starting to spread out up to ship as the ice caps hideaway .
“ It is akin to sending a deep - space probe to the outer solar scheme , ” Dziak say . “ We ’re place out a deep - ocean investigation to the unknown reach of inner space . ”
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