Mirissa blue whale hydrophone tracking: SOFAR deep-ocean channel acoustics?
What underwater sound propagation channels allow hydrophone arrays off Mirissa to detect vocalizing blue whales across the northern Indian Ocean?
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3 Answers from travellers
Pygmy Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) off Mirissa communicate using intense low-frequency infrasonic pulses (15–35 Hz) that couple directly into the deep ocean Sound Fixing and Raveling (SOFAR) channel. Situated over the steep Dondra submarine canyon, sound waves refract through thermal and pressure layers at roughly 1,000 meters depth, propagating across thousands of miles without energy loss. NARA marine researchers deploy moored hydrophones along the canyon rim to monitor blue whale population density, dive periodicity, and shipping noise interference in real time.
Commercial shipping vessels transiting the international Colombo-to-Singapore lane generate low-frequency propeller rumble that masks blue whale calls.
Whale-watching excursions out of Mirissa harbor operate strictly during morning calm windows (6:00 AM to 11:00 AM) to ensure stable viewing platforms.
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