Fin Whale Sounds Beneath your Feet!

Fin whales are the second largest animal on Earth and produce one of the loudest vocalisations in the animal kingdom. These sounds can be recorded with hydrophones deployed at sea, but it is a very challenging task and only limited information about migration and social structure of fin whale populations is currently available.

We reveal that in some coastal regions human living spaces are ensonified by fin whale song, and that these vibrations can be recorded with relatively low-cost citizen science seismometers. This offers the potential to enhance public engagement with the oceans and presents new opportunities for global monitoring of fin whales.

We envisage a new community of citizen scientists contributing to science-driven investigations on how climate change and increasing human pressure on the marine environment impact the migration patterns, welfare and changing social patterns of fin whales.

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Martin studied Geophysics in Cologne, Germany, and Galway. In 1999, he began working as a Technical Officer with the Geophysics Group at UCD, where he also pursued a PhD in seismology. He joined DIAS in 2015, becoming Director of Seismic Networks in 2018. Throughout his career, he has gained extensive experience in installing and managing seismic networks, often in remote and challenging environments. Martin’s primary research interests focus on environmental seismology, particularly in relation to volcanoes, ocean waves, water flow and whale calls.
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Now in its seventh year, Samhain agus Science brings together researchers from DIAS and around the world for a series of free events that take inspiration from the Celtic festival of Samhain and look at the dark side of science.

The festival aims to make the big scientific questions of our time and Celtic history relevant, accessible, and fun to a general audience who might not normally be familiar with these topics.

We hope you can join us for this in person event on 12 November.

Host or Publisher Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies