Alaska – A new study says fjords crammed with ice from tidewater glaciers are the noisiest places in the ocean.
The study by Alaska, Washington and Texas researchers found that glacier ice in seawater releases pressurized bubbles that gush and fizz, making more noise than storms, fish or ships.
Glaciologist Erin Pettit says researchers recorded sound with underwater microphones at Icy Bay and Yakutat Bay in Alaska and at Andvord Bay in Antarctica.
She says harbour seals may flock to the Alaska fjords because the noise offers them protection from killer whales hunting by sound.
She compares the sound generated by the bubbles to standing next to a busy highway or a river with rapids.
The study was published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
Sapa-AP