ice sound

Iceberg Sounds

Scientists are learning to distinguish the eerie, haunting sounds of iceberg life and measure how those sounds contribute to the noise of the ocean.

Calving: Spectrogram of an iceberg calving (large section of iceberg breaking off) while adrift. The calving signal is short duration, broad band from 1-440 Hz generated by ice cracking and crack propagation. Audio sped up 3X normal.

	4.3MB wav file
Iceberg Harmonic Tremor: Generated by iceberg in contact with the seafloor or other iceberg. This spectrogram has a fundamental frequency of 40 Hz, with a 40 Hz overtone spacing. Multiple overtones are visible in the spectrogram. Audio sped up 3X normal.	271K wav file