How Loud Sound Can Get Underwater?
The underwater environment is incredibly unique, and one of the features that makes it so is the way sound behaves in this medium. The pressure exerted by the dense water amplifies sound, making it possible for noises to reach extreme volumes. This article will introduce readers to the phenomenon of underwater loud sound, outlining the causes and effects of this quality of the oceans.
What is Sound Underwater?
Sound underwater is a form of energy that is created by waves of pressure that move through a medium. While air typically serves as the medium for sound in everyday life, underwater sound travels through water. This pressure is created by all types of things, such as explosions, fish, vessels, or other objects in the environment. The pressure created by the sound travels through the water and can be heard by other creatures and objects nearby through vibrations.
Sound can travel further and faster underwater than it can in air due to the denser medium. This means sound waves can reach farther and be heard better underwater. Furthermore, this medium amplifies these waves, meaning sounds can be much louder than the original source creating them, especially in shallow waters.
How Loud Sound Can Get Underwater
The sound of a human voice in free waters can reach volumes of up to 76 decibels, which is louder than what would typically be heard in the usual human environment. Explosions, on the other hand, release a much greater amount of sound pressure, allowing them to reach up to 260 decibels. In comparison, that’s ten times louder than a jet engine.
The pressure of the water and the type of sound wave involved influence how loud sound can get underwater. An acoustic wave is the wave composed of frequency and sound pressure – the higher the frequency, the higher the decibels reach. Different sound wave frequencies can provide different levels of loudness, as in the instance of an explosion. The higher the frequency, the louder the sound.
How Far Underwater Does Sound Travel?
The distance and loudness at which sound can travel depends on multiple factors, including the amount of water pressure and the type of sound wave involved. Generally speaking, sound waves travel fifteen times faster through water than air. In addition, in shallow waters, sound travels further than in deeper waters.
Sound waves can travel to surprisingly far distances in water, with some sounds reaching as far as thousands of kilometers away. This is because water serves as an excellent medium for sound travels and reflects sound waves in a way that air does not. Further, the high pressure of the water amplifies the sound.
Effects of Loud Sounds Underwater
Though sound waves are an important form of communication between creatures in the oceans, loud noises can also cause serious destruction under the surface. Loud noises disturb the ocean environment and can have serious consequences on a species and its ecosystem.
Especially in the case of explosions, powerful sound waves can create an immense amount of destruction. Nearby habitats on the seafloor can be damaged, fishing tools and gear can be affected, and marine life can be harmed.
Sound waves are an integral part of the underwater environment, playing a huge role in the communication of organisms in the oceans. These waves can be extremely loud in magnitude, amplifying and reverberating off of surrounding objects in the pressure of the water. Furthermore, this loud sound can have dangerous consequences when it is heard by marine life or if it is amplified with explosions, causing destruction and destruction. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the loud sounds that can be created underwater and their eventual effects on the oceans.