Mysterious sounds coming from the Mariana Trench have now been reported to be noise made by Bryde's whales. The peculiar noises, known as biotwang, are used by the whales to communicate and locate one another in oceans. First detected in 2014, the biotwang resembles sci-fi starship sounds. It consists of a deep, grumbling noise along with a high-pitched, metallic ringing.
Initially, scientists were puzzled by these sounds, speculating that the sound might be produced by large baleen whales. However, their sounds did not match the noise coming from the Mariana Trench, which stretches south of Japan.
Recent research has used AI tools to analyse over 200,000 hours of audio data, a Times of India report states. The breakthrough occurred when researchers studying Bryde's whales near the Mariana Islands recognised the distinctive noise. Ann Allen, an oceanographer at NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, said, "Once, it's a coincidence. Twice is happenstance. Nine times, it's definitely a Bryde's whale."
The findings suggest that the biotwang is mainly found in the northwest Pacifing, indicating that a specific population of Bryde's whales is responsible for the sounds.
Interestingly, during an El Niño event in 2016, there was an increase in biotwang sounds, that attracted more Bryde's whales.
While the exact reason for making the sounds remains unclear, researchers say that the biotwang is a contact call, helping whales locate each other.
Allen said further research was needed to confirm this theory, saying, "It's possible that they use the biotwang as a contact call, a sort of 'Marco Polo' of the ocean."