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Whale Songs in Motion

Humpback whales are legendary for their long, haunting songs, which can travel thousands of miles through the ocean. Songs and other sounds contain pressure waves that push and pull on mammalian eardrums, allowing us to hear them. New research by WHOI biologist Aran Mooney focused on a less-understood component of sound, known as particle motion: the physical vibration of a substance (in this case, ocean water) as sound moves through it, such as the vibrations we feel near a speaker playing loud music. Mooney suspects particle motion may play a pivotal role in helping humpbacks locate other whales in the open ocean. (Photo by T. Aran Mooney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NMFS permit no. 1468)