The story
In 1997 NOAA's Equatorial Pacific hydrophone array, which listens for undersea earthquakes, ice and whales, picked up an ultra-low-frequency sound that rose in pitch over about a minute. It was loud enough to be heard on sensors more than 3,000 miles apart, and its source was roughly placed near 50°S 100°W in the remote South Pacific.
Its quick rise in pitch sounded like an animal call, and NOAA scientist Christopher Fox told New Scientist in 2002 that it was far more powerful than any known animal. That opened the door to years of talk about a creature bigger than any whale.
By 2012 NOAA described the sound as consistent with an icequake, the cracking and calving of large icebergs. Very similar sounds were recorded as iceberg A53a broke up near South Georgia in 2008, and the Bloop's source was most likely ice between the Bransfield Strait and the Ross Sea, or at Cape Adare in Antarctica.
What was shown or claimed
- A very low rumble on underwater microphones
- Pitch rising over about a minute
- Heard thousands of miles apart
Timeline
- 1997NOAA hydrophones record the Bloop (rough source point)
South Pacific, 50°S 100°WIn 1997 NOAA underwater microphones picked up a loud, very low-frequency sound, nicknamed the Bloop, roughly located at 50°S 100°W in the remote South Pacific. It was once suggested to be a huge animal. By 2012 NOAA described it as consistent with icequakes from glaciers, such as ice breaking off or scraping the seabed.
Know more about the Bloop?
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