Overview
- Researchers near the Five Finger Lighthouse in southeast Alaska matched the long-reported rumbles to humpback whales using land microphones and underwater hydrophones.
- The call, not previously described in scientific literature, is a deep thrum between 30 and 300 hertz that carries at least five miles through the air.
- The team suspects fatty nasal plugs vibrate during a forceful exhale to produce the sound, though the whales’ reason for making it is unknown.
- Scientists have also logged other overlooked calls, including pizzle, chuff, boil, howl, and hoot, and they are working to tie each sound to behavior.
- The shore-heard signal could enable land-based tracking and help reduce ship strikes, with the preliminary findings set for presentation at an astrobiology conference in Wisconsin.