The Sound Aquatic

At the edge of the ocean, all of our senses are engaged—the breeze on our skin, the scent of rotting seaweed, the sparkle of light on the waves. But dive in and things change. In shallow, coastal waters, water is often murky, even opaque. And the deeper you dive, the darker it becomes. It’s probably no surprise then, that for ocean animals, hearing is paramount. And it’s not just so for singing humpback whales. Lobsters, octopuses, fish, and more all use sound to communicate and navigate, to find each other, or to swim the other way. Hakai Magazine invites you to join us and listen in under the waves. Discover some of the extraordinary soundscapes scientists are recording, the surprising ways that animals talk and listen, and how the unexpected patches of quiet triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is driving a new commitment to hushing anthropogenic ocean noise.