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Willravel · 12-16-2008, 12:35 PM

I was scanning through Reddit today when I came across the Bloop, which was something I remember reading about back when I was in maybe Middle School or High School.

The Bloop: In 1997, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration detected ultra-low frequency underwater sounds coming from about 50° S 100° W. These sounds were heard from well over 5,000 km away. It's normal for there to be odd oceanic sounds, commonly cause by natural phenomena such as earthquakes, but when reviewed carefully, it was determined that the sound was likely made by a living organism. For context, even the loudest whale-songs can only be heard at a maximum of 3,000 km away, and that's generally multiple whales singing simultaneously. No known animal can make a sound nearly as loud as the one detected, and it remains a mystery.
Bloop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Damn Interesting The Call of the Bloop

Here is a recording: .wav

I remember authoring a report on a hypothetical organism that could have made such a noise, but I can't for the life of me find it so I'll have to remember what I can.

I'm going to make a few assumptions right off the bat:
1) This is a living organism which evolved on Earth
2) This is an organism which is native to the Ocean, near where the sound was pinpointed
3) This is not Godzilla or Cthulu

Here are the facts:
1) Organism
2) Larger than a blue whale
3) Has a/multiple gas filled sac(s) necessary to create sound,
4) Was heard only over a short period in 1997, and not since

Considering that the organism is so large and has gas filled organs, it's not unreasonable to guess it is a whale, or is at least an aquatic mammal of some sort. Considering also how closely the sound resembles that of a whale song, it may be safe to guess that the mechanism for producing the sound is similar to that of larger whales such as the humpback or blue whale. It may, then be safe to assume that this is a very large and undiscovered species of whale; a leviathan. If other large whales are any indication the diet of the leviathan is likely plankton or krill, however it's also possible that this species does not live in the same environment as other similar whales. Considering that only once have we recorded a sound from them and we've never seen one, they may live in a deeper area of the ocean than other whales, which could mean that they have a larger or even more efficient method of recycling air (as aquatic mammals do).

Thoughts?

12-16-2008, 12:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Cryptozoology: Leviathan I was scanning through Reddit today when I came across the Bloop, which was something I remember reading about back when I was in maybe Middle School or High School. The Bloop: In 1997, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration detected ultra-low frequency underwater sounds coming from about 50° S 100° W. These sounds were heard from well over 5,000 km away. It's normal for there to be odd oceanic sounds, commonly cause by natural phenomena such as earthquakes, but when reviewed carefully, it was determined that the sound was likely made by a living organism. For context, even the loudest whale-songs can only be heard at a maximum of 3,000 km away, and that's generally multiple whales singing simultaneously. No known animal can make a sound nearly as loud as the one detected, and it remains a mystery. Bloop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Damn Interesting The Call of the Bloop Here is a recording: .wav I remember authoring a report on a hypothetical organism that could have made such a noise, but I can't for the life of me find it so I'll have to remember what I can. I'm going to make a few assumptions right off the bat: 1) This is a living organism which evolved on Earth 2) This is an organism which is native to the Ocean, near where the sound was pinpointed 3) This is not Godzilla or Cthulu Here are the facts: 1) Organism 2) Larger than a blue whale 3) Has a/multiple gas filled sac(s) necessary to create sound, 4) Was heard only over a short period in 1997, and not since Considering that the organism is so large and has gas filled organs, it's not unreasonable to guess it is a whale, or is at least an aquatic mammal of some sort. Considering also how closely the sound resembles that of a whale song, it may be safe to guess that the mechanism for producing the sound is similar to that of larger whales such as the humpback or blue whale. It may, then be safe to assume that this is a very large and undiscovered species of whale; a leviathan. If other large whales are any indication the diet of the leviathan is likely plankton or krill, however it's also possible that this species does not live in the same environment as other similar whales. Considering that only once have we recorded a sound from them and we've never seen one, they may live in a deeper area of the ocean than other whales, which could mean that they have a larger or even more efficient method of recycling air (as aquatic mammals do). Thoughts?