New study uses trail cameras and speakers to isolate what human sounds do to animals.
acoustics
Earth Is Noisy. Why Should Its Data Be Silent?
Combining visual and sonic representations of data can make science more accessible and help reveal subtle details. The recent decade-long eruption of Hawaii’s Kīlauea Volcano offers a prime example.
Eavesdropping on the Vibrations of Earth’s Magnetic Bubble
A NASA-funded crowdsourced science project has converted the unheard sounds resonating inside Earth’s magnetic shield into audible tracks, revealing an orchestra of whistles, wooshes, and chirps.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Records the First Sounds of a Dust Devil on Mars
In a stroke of luck, the SuperCam microphone on Perseverance was turned on the moment a dust devil swept directly over the rover.
Underwater Sounds Help Reveal Extent of Glacial Calving
If a glacier calves into the Arctic Ocean, does it make a sound? Some scientists say yes and have devised a clever way to use those sounds to calculate the size of the fallen ice chunks.
Scientists Tune In to Blue Whale Feeding Rhythms
New acoustic sensing technology is allowing scientists to track blue whale movements in real time, a breakthrough that could help save whales’ lives.
Shake, Rattle, and Probe
Helioseismology allows scientists to study the interior of the Sun, solve some basic physics mysteries, and forecast space weather.
Wiretapped Cables and the Songs of Whales
Researchers jerry-rigged fiber-optic cables in a fjord to eavesdrop on blue whales, with possible applications ranging from seafloor mapping to meteorology.
Volcanic Lava Lake Belts Out Its Secrets in Seismic “Songs”
A cacophony of magma displacements and volcanic gases recorded underneath Kīlauea’s roiling lake of lava could one day provide information to help predict future eruptions.
Tiny Creatures May Play a Difficult-to-Detect Role in Ocean Mixing
As an idea that began as a joke, critter-driven ocean mixing has long been controversial. Now scientists have caught spawning anchovies causing turbulence and stirring the sea.