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Humpback whale swimming underwater near the surface.

Humpback whale swimming underwater near the surface.
Humpback whale swimming underwater near the surface.
Humpback whale swimming underwater near the surface.
Humpback whale swimming underwater near the surface.
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289794
Mooney, T. Aran
Humpback whale swimming underwater near the surface.
Still Image
02/24/2009
IMG_3509-1.jpg
Image Of the Day caption:
Humpback whales are legendary for their long, haunting songs, which can travel thousands of miles through the ocean. Songs and other sounds contain pressure waves that push and pull on mammalian eardrums, allowing us to hear them. New research by WHOI biologist Aran Mooney focused on a less-understood component of sound, known as particle motion: the physical vibration of a substance (in this case, ocean water) as sound moves through it, such as the vibrations we feel near a speaker playing loud music. Mooney suspects particle motion may play a pivotal role in helping humpbacks locate other whales in the open ocean.
Caption from News Release, 11/02/2016:
A humpback whale surfacing to breathe between bouts of song off Maui, Hawaii. This song contains high levels of acoustic particle motion, the vibratory component of sound, which may be used in both communication and hearing. (Photo by T. Aran Mooney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/NMFS permit #: 1468)
Photo by T. Aran Mooney
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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