Explaining the "spaceship sound" in the deepest place in the world

(NLDO) - The sound described as "the sound of a spaceship in a science fiction movie" from the Mariana Trench has puzzled scientists for many years.

Eight years after it was discovered, a "spaceship-like" sound accidentally recorded by a deep-sea probe in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean has just been explained.

The strange sound, called a “biotwang,” comes in two parts. The first is a deep, throaty sound that reverberates throughout the area. The second is a high-pitched, metallic ringing sound that researchers have likened to the sounds emitted by spaceships in Star Trek or Star Wars.

The noise described is actually a special sound made by a species of whale - Photo: NOAA

The research team led by Dr. Ann Allen, an oceanographer from the Pacific Fisheries Science Center - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), determined that the strange sound was created by Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni).

According to a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, the team used new artificial intelligence (AI) tools to sift through more than 200,000 hours of recordings containing a variety of ocean sounds.

When they began to suspect that the "spaceship" sounds were actually whales, they continued to look at the timing of the calls with the species' migration patterns.

The authors also used AI to turn biotwang into a spectral image, making it easier to distinguish from other noise by machine learning algorithms.

Interestingly, the biotwang can only be heard in the Pacific Northwest, even though Bryde's whales roam over a much larger area. This suggests that only a specific population of whales produces this sound.

The data also showed a spike in biological noise in 2016, when rising ocean temperatures due to El Niño caused an increase in the number of Bryde's whales visiting the area.

It is still unclear why these calls are so strange. Researchers believe that it may be a special form of communication, like the calls.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ly-giai-ve-am-thanh-tau-vu-tru-o-noi-sau-nhat-the-gioi-196240920143657913.htm