Sounds in the Ocean

Spectrograms—shown on the right of each image below—are a way to visualize sound, and represent frequency (Y-axis) over time (X-axis). Colleagues and scientists of the Northeast's Passive Acoustic Research Group collected the sounds on this page.

To play a sound: Click on the audio file link; it will open and play the sound.

To download a sound file: Right-click on the link and choose the "save link as" option.

Note: Some sounds are very low frequency. You may not be able to hear well without a bass speaker.

Mysticetes (Baleen Whales)

Blue Whale

(Low-frequency sound; played at 3x normal speed)

Balaenoptera musculus | Species profile | Play audio

Fin Whale

(Low-frequency sound; played at 5x normal speed)

Balaenoptera physalus | Species profile | Play audio

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae | Species profile | Play audio

Minke Whale

Balaenoptera acutorostrata | Species profile | Play audio

North Atlantic Right Whale

Eubalaena glacialis | Species profile | Play audio

Sei Whale

(Low-frequency sound; played at 1.5x normal speed)

Balaenoptera borealis | Species profile | Play audio

Odontocetes (Toothed Whales)

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

Stenella attenuata | Species profile | Play audio

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin

Lagenorhynchus acutus | Species profile | Play audio

Beluga Whale

Delphinapterus leucas | Species profile | Play audio

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus | Species profile | Play audio

Beaked Whales

Ziphiidae family | Species profile | Play audio

Harbor Porpoise

Phocoena phocoena | Species profile | Play audio

Killer Whale

Orcinus orca | Species profile | Play audio

Pilot Whale

Globicephala spp. | Species profile | Play audio

Risso's Dolphin

Grampus griseus | Species profile | Play audio

Short-beaked Common Dolphin

Delphinus delphis | Species profile | Play audio

Sperm Whale

Physeter macrocephalus | Species profile | Play audio

Striped Dolphin

Stenella coeruleoalba | Species profile | Play audio

White-beaked Dolphin

Lagenorhynchus albirostris | Species profile | Play audio

Pinnipeds (Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses)

Bearded Seal

Erignathus barbatus | Species profile | Play audio

Crabeater Seal

Lobodon carcinophagus | Species profile | Play audio

Gray Seal

Halichoerus grypus | Species profile | Play audio

Harbor Seal

Phoca vitulina | Species profile | Play audio

Harp Seal

Pagophilus groenlandicus | Species profile | Play audio

Leopard Seal

Hydrurga leptonyx | Species profile | Play audio

Ross Seal

Ommatophoca rossii | Species profile unavailable | Play audio

Weddell Seal

Leptonychotes wedellii | Species profile | Play audio

Teleosts (Bony Fish)

Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua | Species profile | Play audio

Haddock

Melanogrammus aeglefinus | Species profile | Play audio

Human-made Sounds

Seismic (Oil & Gas)

Play seismic exploration audio

Vessel

Play audio