What Nuclear Bombs Taught Us About Whales

MinuteEarth

A monitoring system developed to listen for secret nuclear tests mostly hears other events happening all around Earth. Thanks to CTBTO for sponsoring this video: www.ctbto.org Thanks also to our supporters on ___________________________________________ FYI: We try to leave jargon out of our videos, but if you want to learn more about this topic, here are some keywords to get your googling started: Infrasound: sound waves too low in frequency for humans to hear. The CTBTO stations detect frequencies of 0.02 to 4Hz Hydroacoustic: having to do with underwater sounds. The CTBTO stations detect frequencies of 1-100 Hz Seismic: oscillation waves in the earth, often caused by earthquakes or other tectonic activity. The CTBTO stations detect frequencies of 0.02-16 Hz ___________________________________________ Credits (and Twitter handles): Script Writer: Alex Reich Script Editor: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) Video Illustrator: Jesse Agar Video Director: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) Video Narrator: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Ever Salazar, Emily Elert, Peter Reich, David Goldenberg Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: _________________________________________ Like our videos? Subscribe to MinuteEarth on YouTube: Support us on Patreon: Also, say hello on: Facebook: http://goo.gl/FpAvo6 Twitter: http://goo.gl/Y1aWVC And find us on itunes: https://goo.gl/sfwS6n ___________________________________________ If you liked this week’s video, we think you might also like: Animals can detect infrasound: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2004/12/surviving_the_tsunami.html A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCF7vPanrYSound travels 1000s of miles in the ocean’s SOFAR channel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOFAR_channel ___________________________________________ References: Sounds in the video that were recorded by CTBTO stations:0:32 Kasatoshi volcano eruption in August 2008, detected 2100km away at infrasound station on mainland Alaska. Sped up 500x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasatochi_Island0:35 Explosion of Antares rocket in October 2014, detected 1100km away at Bermuda infrasound station. Sped up 150x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygnus_CRS_Orb-3 and video: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Antares_Fails_to_Reach_Orbit_with_Cygnus_CRS-3_after_Rocket_Explodes.webm 0:37 Ship engine detected June 1 2017 by hydroacoustic station. Sped up 16x0:40 Waves hitting an iceberg and causing it to vibrate like a cymbal in July 2010. Detected by hydroacoustic station off of Western Australia. Sped up 16x1:01 Whale call Feb 18 2017, detected by hydroacoustic station. Sped up 16x1:08 Chelyabinsk meteor airburst February 15 2013, detected by infrasound station 650km away in Kazakhstan. Sped up 135x1:39 Earthquake Jan 2 2017, detected by infrasound station. Sped up 16x2:00 Sound with unknown cause, detected by hydroacoustic station. March 25 2017. Sped up 16xReferencesBrown, P. G., et al. 2013. A 500-kiloton airburst over Chelyabinsk and an enhanced hazard from small impactors. Nature, 503(7475), 238-241. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12741Graham, G. May 2017, Personal communicationHarabalus, G. May 2017, personal communicationLeBras, R. May 2017, personal communicationMialle P., May 2017, personal communicationMiksis-Old, J. May 2017, personal communicationNielsen, P., May 2017, personal communicationLe Pichon, A., et al. 2013. The 2013 Russian fireball largest ever detected by CTBTO infrasound sensors. Geophysical Research Letters, 40(14), 3732-3737. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50619/full