Mysterious sound emanating from the Mariana Trench finally explained

Scientists have finally identified the source of mysterious sounds coming from the ocean’s deepest trench. The strange sounds, known as “biotwang,” sound a bit like science fiction spaceships and are actually the calls of Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni). Scientists say whales may use vocalizations to locate each other, like a giant game of Marco Polo.

Scientists first detected the unusual sounds in 2014 while conducting an acoustic survey using underwater gliders. Mariana Trench — the world’s deepest ocean trench, stretching for over 2,400 kilometers south of Japan and maximum depth 35,876 feet (10,935 meters).

The sound of biotwang can be divided into two distinct parts: first, a low, rumbling sound that resonates in the depths, and second, a high-pitched, metallic sound that researchers have compared to the sounds made by spaceships in Star Trek and Star Wars.

The sounds initially surprised scientists. However, in 2016, researchers revealed that the biotwang was most likely it is the call of large baleen whalessuch as blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) Or Humpback whales (Megaptera newangliae). However, these sounds did not match any known whale calls.

In a new study published Wednesday (September 18) in the journal Frontiers of Marine ScienceScientists have finally proven that Bryde’s whales are making these sounds, thanks in part to new artificial intelligence (AI) tools that combed through more than 200,000 hours of audio recordings of different ocean sounds.

Related: Hidden DNA found in blue whales reveals they mate with other species — and their hybrid offspring

Biotwang (sound from the Mariana Trenches) – YouTube

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Scientists suspected that Bryde’s whales were responsible for the sound when they spotted 10 whales swimming near the Mariana Islands and noted that nine of them made the distinctive sound.

“Once is a coincidence. Twice is a coincidence. Nine times is definitely a Bryde’s whale,” lead author of the study Anna Allenoceanographer at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he told Scientific American magazine.

But to definitively prove that Bryde’s whales were making the calls, the research team linked the sounds to the species’ migration patterns. That meant sifting through years of audio recordings collected by monitoring stations in and around the Mariana Islands.

Bryde’s whales can reach lengths of up to 17 metres (55 feet). (Photo source: Getty Images)

They sped up the process by using artificial intelligence to convert the biotwang into images, called spectrograms, that can be easily distinguished from other sounds using a machine learning algorithm.

The study also found that the bioterror can only be heard in the Pacific Northwest, even though Bryde’s whales travel over a much wider area, suggesting that only a specific population of these whales makes the noise.

The data also showed an increase in biotwang noise in 2016, when the increase in ocean temperatures caused El Niño event resulted in an increase in the number of Bryde’s whales visiting the area.

It’s still not known why these cries sound so strange, but scientists have some theories as to why.

“It’s possible they’re using biotwang as a contact signal, sort of like the ‘Marco Polo’ of the ocean,” Allen said. told Popular Science“But we need more information before we can say that for sure.”