The viperfish is one of the deep-sea creatures that performs regular visits to the ocean’s surface.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – The ocean remains as mysterious to marine biologists as space is to astronomers. And both of the large, uncharted spaces are known to emit strange noises from time to time. But a team of marine biologist researchers managed to explain at least one of the eerie hums that originated from the depths of the ocean.
According to a team of researchers from the California University of San Diego, they recorded a deep, eerie hum that originated from the mesopelagic zone of the ocean. Upon further investigations, the underwater hum was explained by fish passing gas.
The source of the eerie sound was puzzling scientists for a long time. They first tried to explain it by attributing it to whale callings. But that theory was short lived since they discovered that the hum was inconsistent with the calls produced by the large mammals.
The hum was studied by generations of scientists until an explanation for its origin was found. The specific sound that is louder with three to even six decibels than the rest of the background noises emitted by the ocean is produced by deep-sea creatures that migrate towards the surface during the night.
The ocean is inhabited by all kinds of creatures adapted to almost all depths. Among these fascinating animals, there are some species of shrimp, jellies, squid and fish that prefer the dark depths of the mesopelagic zone. Located somewhere between 66 and 3200 feet below the ocean’s surface, the zone does not offer so many food-related benefits as, for example, the coral reef.
Because of the scarce sources of nourishment and the constant pressure, the inhabitants of the deep dark ocean rise to the surface from time to time. This migration towards places more abundant with food and life creates the distinct hum that the scientists have been trying to explain for such a long time.
The origin of the eerie sound was located. But the marine biologists’ community are still lacking a pertinent explanation as to what produces the noise. Simone Baumann, the co-author of the study declared that the mysterious underwater hum was explained by fish passing gas.
While they are not yet one hundred percent sure that the hum-like sound is produced by hundreds of fish passing gas at the same time, they are very confident that this is the most pertinent explanation.
The marine creatures that migrate from those depths must regulate their swim bladders somehow in order to maintain buoyancy.
Also, the pressure must be gradually decreased while climbing towards the surface. This kind of behavior was observed in many other species.
One of the most mysterious sounds of the ocean, the eerie underwater hum was explained by fish passing gas. Next on the list will be a meteor made of out pure methane that got on the line with the Apollo crew when they were travelling on the dark side of the moon.
Image Source: www.wikimedia.org