Tag Archives: acoustics

The Northern Cod are Coming Back

Posted on 2015/10/28 by Sam

The Atlantic cod offshore of Newfoundland are at this point the stuff of legend and fable. For five hundred years, they supported one of the largest fisheries in the world, until, in the latter half of the twentieth century, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Research Blogging | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bone Conduction is Better than Pressure, or, Put your Whale in my Rocket Scanner

Posted on 2015/02/05 by Sam

What do a decapitated whale, an x-ray scanner for solid-fuel rockets, and noise pollution have in common? This is not the start of a really weird joke–they are all major elements in a new paper by Ted Cranford and Petr … Continue reading →

Posted in Research Blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The sound of solar wind

Posted on 2012/03/14 by Sam

Most of us here on earth are familiar with the blustery, buffeting noise a strong wind makes in our ears. That noise is low-frequency pressure waves in the air, caused by turbulence when it flows past our ears. There are … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

In My Defense

Posted on 2012/01/22 by Sam

As those of you who check this site more than three times a year may have noticed, posting has been…er…slow this fall. But there was a reason: The talk is open to the public for anyone in Seattle who is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Standing on Shoulders You Didn’t Know Were There

Posted on 2011/07/18 by Sam

If you’re a scientist, almost all of your professional reading comes in the form of scientific papers. These days, that usually usually means between 10 and 20 pages of fairly dense information packed into a PDF. This format is great … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy etc., Ramblings | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beaked Whales and Naval Sonar: What’s Going On?

Posted on 2011/04/10 by Sam

There have been huge fights in the past decade over Naval sub-hunting sonar and its effects on certain species of whales. In several cases, mass strandings of marine mammals have occurred shortly after naval exercises where mid-frequency active (MFA) sonar … Continue reading →

Posted in Research Blogging | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carnival of the Blue XLVI

Posted on 2011/03/08 by Sam

Welcome to the 45th Carnival of the Blue! In the nick of time, the submissions arrived, and I didn’t have to follow through on my threat to replace this month’s Carnival of the Blue with Carnival of the Bieber.  So … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Reef Noise As Guide for Floating Crustaceans

Posted on 2011/02/07 by Sam

Imagine, for a moment, that you are a small planktonic crustacean floating in the tropical ocean. Your world is vast, but its physical geography at your scale is relatively simple. Light and warmth are above, dark and cold are down. … Continue reading →

Posted in Research Blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sonic war between bats and moths

Posted on 2009/07/17 by Sam

Not oceanic, but very cool acoustics-related story nonetheless: Researchers at Wake Forest University have determined that tiger moths actively jam bat sonar to avoid being eaten. Bats, famously, use ultrasonic pulses to hunt insects using echolocation. Moths, also, have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments