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The Sound of Life Underwater
The Sound of Life Underwater
25 Jul, 2026
Level: Intermediate
Total vocabularies: 131
Minutes to read: 2
Topic: The Ocean
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Most people think the ocean is a quiet place, but it is actually full of sound.
Hundreds of different animals produce noises under the water every single day.
Whales are famous for their long, beautiful songs, which can travel thousands of kilometres through the ocean.
Two humpback whales far apart in the vast blue ocean, their songs shown as long rippling sound arcs stretching across the deep water to connect them
These songs help whales find each other and communicate across very great distances.
Dolphins make a series of rapid clicking sounds to locate objects and other animals around them.
This process, called echolocation , works like a kind of natural sonar system.
Even small creatures contribute to the ocean's soundtrack .
An extreme close-up of a snapping shrimp's oversized claw snapping shut in a burst of bubbles, a small shockwave of sound visibly rippling out from the sudden movement
Snapping shrimps create one of the loudest sounds in the sea by closing their claws very quickly.
Many types of fish produce low grunting noises, especially during the breeding season.
Sound actually travels about four times faster in water than it does in air.
This means underwater animals can communicate over much greater distances than land animals can.
A fleet of ships and offshore construction cranes crowding a busy shipping lane, their engines and machinery sending heavy vibrations rippling down into the darkening water below
However, noise from ships, sonar systems, and construction is getting louder every year.
This extra noise makes it harder for sea animals to hear each other clearly.
Scientists are working to reduce human noise so ocean animals can communicate freely.