The Song Beneath the Waves

New Caledonia, Coral Sea, South Pacific

Beneath the shimmering surface, where sunlight slowly fades into the deep blue, a sound rises. It is not a voice, not exactly, but something grander, a pattern of sound that travels great distances through the ocean. This is the song of the humpback whale, one of the most haunting and mysterious expressions of life on Earth.

After storms and heavy swell, a brief calm opens, just enough for us to sail out and listen for the humpbacks...

To listen to whales, and other bioacoustics of the sea, we use a hydrophone, a microphone that detects sound waves underwater.

The male humpback whale produces a series of repetitious sounds at varying frequencies known as whale song. Each vocalization is long, a symphony of moans, cries, and pulses that can last for up to 30 minutes or so and will be repeated over and over again over the course of hours or even days.

What makes these songs extraordinary is not just their captivating beauty, it’s their change. Over seasons and years, the songs evolve. A phrase is dropped, a new motif introduced, and gradually an entire ocean’s population begins to sing the new version. It is cultural transmission on a vast ever-shifting ocean.

Scientists have long puzzled over the purpose of these songs. Are they love songs, declarations of territory, or something we cannot yet name? Some studies suggest courtship or communication between males. What is clear is that the song matters, it binds whales together across immense distances and generations.

Below are a few recording excerpts from our time at sea;

Hearing a humpback whale’s song is like listening to the ocean’s memory, a living record of migrations and ancient marine rhythms. These calls travel through the ocean, connecting whale communities in a network of sounds. But today, shipping, sonar, and seismic exploration, increasingly dominate the soundscapes whales use...

The humpback’s adaptive song reminds us that conserving these animals also means protecting the acoustic habitats they depend on...