They’re the loudest sounds you’ll never hear! #Antarctic blue and fin #whales have the most powerful calls on earth, but their very low frequency makes them inaudible to humans. New #science provides the first estimates of the power or ‘source level’ of these calls in the southern hemisphere. Listen in at https://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2022/whale-scientists-pick-up-good-vibrations/ | Australian Antarctic Program

Blue whale vocalizations are very low frequency sounds with some in the 15 Hz range. These tones characteristically travel long distances due to the high power, but also due to very long-wavelengths (over 300 feet for 15 Hz). This enables their songs to be heard thousands of miles from the source. We can assume that the projection distance is important (Nature can be extravagant, but she is never wasteful), but we can only speculate why they need to broadcast their songs across ocean basins. The