[Rockhounds] Using whale songs to image beneath the ocean’s floor

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

People tend to think of seismic waves as little more than signals of
tectonic events, like an earthquake or lava shifting under a volcano. But
these vibrations are also our best way of getting a clear picture of our
planet's internal structure. By watching how the vibrations' paths shift as
they encounter different materials, we can get a picture of where different
rock layers meet, where rock becomes molten, and more.

In some cases, we get this picture by waiting for a natural event to
produce the seismic waves. In others, we get impatient and set off
explosive charges or use a powerful sound-making device. Today, Václav Kuna
and John Nábėlek of Oregon State University are describing yet another
option: waiting for a whale to float by. Using the songs of passing fin
whales, the researchers were able to reconstruct the upper layers of the
seafloor off the coast of Oregon.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/using-whale-songs-to-image-beneath-the-oceans-floor/