Ocean facts & stats

Underwater microphones pick up a lot of eerie-sounding noises underwater

Although the ocean seems quiet it is actually extremely noisy, our ears just can’t hear the low frequency noises that travel under the sea. Using underwater microphones we have begun to truly understand just how loud it can be and, in the process, have also picked up rather spooky recordings.

Though they conjure up thoughts about undiscovered giant sea creatures living in the deepest darkest parts of the ocean, the answer to what is making the noise often has a much less mysterious answer which ranges from underwater icequakes to whale sounds. Answering what makes these noises has also helped marine conservation. Recordings of ‘biotwang’ in 2014, which we now know were made by Bryde’s whales, have resulted in these sounds being used to help map the population and migration patterns of this elusive whale.

The recording below is of The Bloop. It was recorded in 1997 by NOAA which, while eerie, was later determined to be caused by icequakes, or ice cracking and breaking away from glaciers in Antarctica.

The ocean is a lifesaver

Without the ocean, life on Earth would not have even been possible. All life originally came from the sea and it was roughly 1 billion years after life first appeared that the first land-dwelling organisms evolved. This means the ocean has been a consistent home to life on our planet for a very long time.

The ocean receives the equivalent energy of 7 Hiroshima bombs every second

It might sound extreme but the ocean absorbs a phenomenal amount of thermal energy from the sun. The ocean then transports it to the poles, moderating temperatures across the globe and making the planet hospitable so that the equator isn’t too hot and the poles aren’t too cold for life to exist. However, the energy that the ocean is absorbing is unfortunately increasing due to a mixture of global warming and natural climate change.

In 2024, over 90% of coral which makes up the Great Barrier Reef was affected by a global bleaching event caused by increased temperatures, reminding us of the fragility of these unique animals and the urgency to protect them

The ocean can be pretty gross!

When people talk about the ocean, they usually mention how beautiful and majestic the creatures that swim in it are. However, just like anywhere else on Earth, there are some creatures that can be pretty disgusting.

There's a parasite that replaces a fish’s tongue

The tongue-eating louse (Cymothoa exigua) is a type of isopod (part of the crustacean family) which has an uncanny way of living. It will enter a fish through their gills, move to the base of the fish’s tongue, latch on to it and begin to suck the blood and feed on the fish’s tongue until the tongue withers away. It will then move itself inside the fish’s mouth to act as its new tongue. It will remain there stealing food that the fish swallows. If its host does die though, the tongue-eating louse will simply detach itself and look for a new host to swim into and start the process all over again. Interestingly, it's the only parasite that is known to fully replace an organ in a host’s body.

Whales shoot snot out when they exhale

A whale’s blowhole is basically their version of a nose so it is no surprise that when they shoot water out of it, what we are actually seeing is a whole lot of mucus, water vapour and other gross particles being blown out from the whale. Basically when a whale is blowing through their blowholes, it is to force anything in their airways out. Researchers will often collect whale snot to help monitor the health of the whale and the ocean ecosystem in general. One way they collect it is by piloting special drones called snotbots to hover near a whale’s blowhole as the whale exhales.

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