"On March 7, 1949, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) were stationed on a boat called the R/V Atlantis that was sailing off the coast of Bermuda. They lowered a primitive underwater recording setup into the ocean, and a boxy machine more regularly found in offices began etching the sounds of the seaa chorus of eerie howls and rustling wavesinto a thin plastic disk."
"This recording can provide insight into how humpback whale sounds have changed over time, as well as serving as a baseline for measuring how human activity shapes the ocean soundscape. The recording dates to a time when the North Atlantic Ocean's humpback whales were struggling because of decades of commercial whaling. By 1955, the population had likely fallen below 1,000 animals, experts have since estimated."
On March 7, 1949, researchers aboard the R/V Atlantis off Bermuda recorded underwater sounds using a primitive recorder that etched audio onto a thin plastic disk. The disk entered the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution archives and remained overlooked for decades. Rediscovery of the recording has identified the vocalist as a probable humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and suggests the recording may be the oldest whale audio still extant. The recording offers a rare acoustic baseline to compare historical and modern humpback songs and to measure how human activities have altered the ocean soundscape. The recording dates to a period when North Atlantic humpbacks were severely depleted by commercial whaling.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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