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In the News

Fish Hum, Purr and Click Underwater -- and Now Machines Can Understand Them

January 19, 2022

(Inside Science) -- As the sun rises over the island of American Samoa, a chorus of animal voices drifts upward. They're not the calls of birds, though -- the purrs, clicks and groans are coming from under the water. New research shows how automation can make it increasingly easy to eavesdrop on the fish making the sounds and uncover how their environment impacts them. Jill Munger is quoted. 

Link: Fish Hum, Purr and Click Underwater -- and Now Machines Can Understand Them

Hundreds of Volcanic Explosions Detected Underwater at Kīlauea

December 14, 2021

The explosions, identified during the 2018 eruption phase, offer a clear acoustic signal that researchers could use to measure ocean properties. Bob Dziak is quoted. 

Link: Hundreds of Volcanic Explosions Detected Underwater at Kīlauea

In One Ear: Little bits

November 11, 2021

Robert Dziak, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, who is based at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, has wanted to find out if trees in Oregon were affected by the 1700 earthquake and tsunami for the last decade, according to an Oregon State University press release.

Link: In One Ear: Little bits

The Long-Lost Tale of an 18th-Century Tsunami, as Told by Trees

September 23, 2021

Local evidence of the cataclysm has literally washed away over the years. But Oregon’s Douglas firs may have recorded clues deep in their tree rings. Bob Dziak is quoted. 

Link: The Long-Lost Tale of an 18th-Century Tsunami, as Told by Trees

Wait, There’s Noise Pollution at the Bottom of the Ocean?

May 10, 2021

How do you determine the health of a marine ecosystem that exists nearly 11,000 meters under the sea? Apparently, all you have to do is listen. And listening is exactly what National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer Robert Dziak and a team of researchers did in 2015, when they dropped specialized acoustic equipment into Challenger Deep, an area located in the Pacific Ocean at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Link: Wait, There’s Noise Pollution at the Bottom of the Ocean?

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