Subsurface Noise

How the snapping shrimp makes itself heard.

You might expect the oceans below the surface to be a quiet and still place, they are far from being so. Submerged hydrophones show that there is a cacophony of sound, which arises from many different sources, both natural and anthropogenic i.e. made by humans. Previously, we looked at the sounds made under water by the marine mammals, especially the songs of the Humpback whale. Although these songs are often very harmonious and pleasant even for humans to listen to, there is also a lot of what we consider just plain noise. If we ignore the anthropogenic noises such as those made by ships and oil-rigs, and the natural noises made by waves and surf, earthquakes, calving icebergs, etc, there is still a considerable amount of noise, which emanates from the aquatic invertebrates and fishes.