In the vast, watery expanse of our oceans, a symphony plays out, one that’s been largely ignored by the maritime industry. Whale song, it turns out, is more than just a haunting melody; it’s a treasure trove of data that could revolutionize our understanding of marine life, climate change, and even human language. So, who’s listening? Quite a lot of people, as it happens, and those who aren’t are missing out on a goldmine of insights.
Earlier this year, a motley crew of linguists, marine biologists, and behavioral ecologists from Griffith University in Australia decided to tune in. They were curious about how human babies pick up language and thought whale song might hold some answers. Turns out, it does. They found that whale song follows Zipf’s law, a statistical principle that applies to human language. In simple terms, the most common word in a language is used about twice as often as the second most common word. The team found the same pattern in eight years of humpback whale recordings. “The” is to humans as “blub-blub” is to whales, apparently.
But it’s not just about understanding whales. MBARI, a marine research institute, released some eye-opening research this year. They linked changes in blue and humpback whale song to shifts in their food availability, influenced by an ocean heatwave. In other words, whale song is a barometer for ocean health and climate change. “Listening to whale song is much more than a rich sensing experience,” the researchers say. “It is a window into their lives, their vulnerability and their resilience.”
Now, here’s where it gets really interesting. Sound travels like a dream through water, so whale song can be picked up from thousands of square kilometers away. But get this – it can also be detected on land. Physicists from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies showed that fin whale song is being recorded by land-based seismic installations, up to 5.5km inland. These stations, along with seismometers used by citizen scientists, usually filter out the songs to focus on earthquakes. But what if they didn’t? What if they left the whale song in?
The potential is staggering. For one, it could boost public engagement with the ocean. Imagine school kids tuning into whale song as part of their science curriculum. But more importantly, it could provide new opportunities for global whale monitoring. We’re talking real-time data, folks. The kind that could help us predict how marine ecosystems will respond to climate change.
So, who’s listening to whale song? Hopefully, more and more people. Because every “blub-blub” is a piece of the puzzle, a clue to the health of our oceans and the future of our planet. The maritime industry would do well to tune in. After all, every expert was once a beginner, and every breakthrough starts with a question. So, let’s ask the big ones. What can whale song tell us about the future of our oceans? How can we use this data to protect marine life and combat climate change? The answers are out there, waiting to be heard. All we have to do is listen.
