Sonar

A 56-Year-Old Plane Crash Mystery May Have Been Solved Thanks to California’s Drought

Historically low levels at a California reservoir may have helped researchers find a plane that crashed in 1965.

Earth Science Dharna Noor Jun 15

Researchers Successfully Trained People to Echolocate in Just 10 Weeks

Scientists in the UK say the same sort of echolocation practiced by bats may also help people living with blindness better navigate the world. In a new study, they found that blind and sighted participants who took part in a 10-week training program were able to learn how to perform echolocation, and the blind participants…

Health Ed Cara Jun 2

International Project Will See How the Quiet of Covid-19 Affected the Oceans

Between offshore oil and gas drilling, shipping, wind turbines, and even jet skis, the ocean is a pretty loud place. But amid covid-19, a lot of that activity came to a halt. That’s given scientists a rare chance to examine how marine ecosystems respond to quieter soundscapes. A new initiative, the International Quiet Ocean Experiment…

Conservation Dharna Noor Apr 8

Unprecedented Image Shows a Dolphin’s Echolocated Impression of a Submerged Human

In a world’s first, researchers from the US and UK have created an impression of a submerged human as recorded by a dolphin’s echolocation. To do it, a team led by Jack Kassewitz of SpeakDolphin.com used an imaging system known as a Cymascope. The system, developed by John Stuart Reid (who also assisted with the…

Tech News George Dvorsky Dec 7

U.S. Navy Agrees to Create Safe Havens to Protect Marine Mammals From Military Exercises

The U.S. Navy has agreed to set aside vast swaths of ocean territory off the shores of Hawaii and Southern California in an effort to protect sound-sensitive marine mammals from the effects of sonar and powerful explosives used in military exercises. For years, marine biologists have warned about the detrimental effects of high-intensity, mid-frequency sounds…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 15

Watch a Bat-Inspired Sonar Prototype Flying on a Drone

Horseshoe bats’ unique noses and big, flexible ears make them nature’s most dynamic sonar arrays. Engineers built a mechanical version, and they’re testing it on a quadcopter drone. The sonar prototype, designed and built by Virginia Tech mechanical engineering professor Rolf Mueller and his team, doesn’t look like anything you’d find on a warship. It…

Tech News Kiona Smith-Strickland May 20

Moths Rub Their Genitals Together to Jam Bat Sonar

Some species of moth can produce ultrasonic emissions that confuse echolocating bats, and they do it by rubbing their sex organs together. This sonar jamming is the product of a 60 million-year evolutionary arms race, according to researchers. As bats evolved echolocation – the ability to emit high-pitched, ultrasonic noises and locate prey based on…

Biology Kiona Smith-Strickland May 4

Scientists Used Sonar to Find San Francisco’s Notorious Lost Shipwreck

In 1901, steamer ship City of Rio de Janeiro sank on its way into the San Francisco Bay, killing 128 passengers and disappearing into the ocean. The famous lost ship stayed disappeared for over 100 years, its location suspected but never confirmed. Now, thanks to a sonar technology called “Echoscope,” scientistshave pinpointed the wreck’s location,…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Dec 12

Scientists finally reveal secret origin behind 1960s deep ocean mystery

An international team of researchers have finally discovered the source of a weird, low-frequency rhythmic sound that has puzzled scientists and submarine sonar operators for more than half a century. Listen to it. No kaijus, folks. It’s the Antarctic minke whale or Balaenoptera bonaerensis. The fact that the sound appeared “in higher and lower latitudes…

Sploid Jesus Diaz Apr 23

A Cloaking Device For Sound Will Make You Invisible To Sonar

A cloaking device that makes you appear completely invisible is still trapped in the realm of science fiction. But researchers at Duke University have successfully created a cloaking device that works with sound instead, making an object completely invisible to SONAR and other acoustic imaging techniques. So how does a bunch of perforated plastic sheets…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Mar 12

This Floating Sonar Pod Turns Your Smartphone Into a Fish Finder

If fishing for you is more about pulling the most catches out of a lake—instead of simply using your wits to outsmart nature—then the more gear the better. And while fish finders have been around for decades, the FishHunter is the first to turn your smartphone into a window to what lies below the water’s…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Jan 29

Secret Cold War Sonar Tech Is Being Used to Map Underwater America

Space may be the final frontier of exploration, but there’s plenty of Earth left unmapped, too—from the giant canyon recently discovered beneath Greenland to American waters that have been left largely unexplored. But that’s quickly changing, thanks in part to Bob Ballard’s latest project. https://gizmodo.com/a-mega-canyon-bigger-than-the-grand-canyon-is-hiding-un-1223554256 According to National Geographic, Ballard—who you may know as the…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Oct 17

Confirmed: Underwater sonar linked to over a hundred whale deaths

The deaths of over 100 melon-headed whales, which stranded on the shores of a lagoon in northwest Madagascar in 2008, were likely primarily triggered by a form of sonar being deployed by an ExxonMobil survey vessel, according to a scientific review panel. This is the first known marine mammal mass stranding event to be closely…

io9 Kieran Mulvaney Sep 30

How military sonar may be harming endangered blue whales

Scientists have known for years that mid-frequency sonar can harm deep-diving toothed whales, such as by driving them from feeding grounds. Research now shows that the naval noise even elicits stark behavioral changes in blue whales, which communicate at frequencies far below sonar frequencies, suggesting that the detrimental effects of sonar may be more widespread…

io9 Joseph Bennington-Castro Jul 3

Sonar Could Let Your Body Talk to Machines Better

Sonar. Subs use it. Dolphins use it. And someday your own body might use it to detect and treat what ails you. Echolocation unlocking the quantified self. Given that the human body is mostly water—about 60 percent—researchers at the University of Buffalo are currently developing miniaturized sensors that use ultrasounds to communicate with other embedded…

Health Peter ha Jun 5

State-of-the-art 19th-century torpedo was discovered by Navy dolphins

In the late 19th century, the Howell torpedo was an incredibly advanced piece of military equipment, a breakthrough device in the United States’ quest to achieve naval dominance. But only one surviving Howell torpedo was known to exist—until Navy dolphins nosed up another. The US Navy employs bottlenose dolphins to locate underwater military equipment that…

io9 Lauren Davis May 19

Ultrasonic Bat Glove Makes You a Genuine Dark Knight

It might not be able to monitor an entire city, but Steve Hoefer’s brilliant sonar glove will at least let you get to the bathroom at night without stubbing your toe, thanks to an ultrasonic emitter and haptic feedback. If you’re looking for an awesome do-it-yourself project this weekend—besides creating an epic Superbowl feast—Make has…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Feb 2

Before Radar, Militaries Used Gigantic Headphones for Land-Based Sonar

Radar is wonderful, sure, but militaries didn’t always have the benefit of radar to pinpoint enemy locations. Before that, there was sonar. Underwater is one thing, though. On land, you needed big victrola-like contraptions that looked uncomfortable as all hell. These acoustic locators worked in much the same way as a submarine or bat’s sonar…

Tech News Kwame Opam Sep 10

Naval sonar drives whales from feeding grounds

The first detailed study of the effects of naval sonar on whales shows that whales flee from prime feeding sites when navy tests begin – leaving them famished when they finally return. Blainville’s beaked whales, Mesoplodon densirostris, use echolocation clicks to track down prey in the lightless depths they hunt in, a kilometre or more…

io9 John Cannon - New Scientist Mar 26

This Disc Makes Objects Invisible to Sonar

How do you make an underwater invisibility cloak? You start by creating a device that can manipulate sonar waves. This small cylinder, developed by researchers at the University of Illinois, does just that. Nicholas Fang, a mechanical science and engineering professor at the University of Illinois, lead the development of the device, which is made…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Jan 10

Sonar

A 56-Year-Old Plane Crash Mystery May Have Been Solved Thanks to California’s Drought

Researchers Successfully Trained People to Echolocate in Just 10 Weeks

International Project Will See How the Quiet of Covid-19 Affected the Oceans

Unprecedented Image Shows a Dolphin’s Echolocated Impression of a Submerged Human

U.S. Navy Agrees to Create Safe Havens to Protect Marine Mammals From Military Exercises

Watch a Bat-Inspired Sonar Prototype Flying on a Drone

Moths Rub Their Genitals Together to Jam Bat Sonar

Scientists Used Sonar to Find San Francisco’s Notorious Lost Shipwreck

Scientists finally reveal secret origin behind 1960s deep ocean mystery

A Cloaking Device For Sound Will Make You Invisible To Sonar

This Floating Sonar Pod Turns Your Smartphone Into a Fish Finder

Secret Cold War Sonar Tech Is Being Used to Map Underwater America

Confirmed: Underwater sonar linked to over a hundred whale deaths

How military sonar may be harming endangered blue whales

Sonar Could Let Your Body Talk to Machines Better

State-of-the-art 19th-century torpedo was discovered by Navy dolphins

Ultrasonic Bat Glove Makes You a Genuine Dark Knight

Before Radar, Militaries Used Gigantic Headphones for Land-Based Sonar

Naval sonar drives whales from feeding grounds

This Disc Makes Objects Invisible to Sonar

‘Good Omens’ Season 3 Is Still Just One Episode, Despite Being Called That

Steam Gaming Has Arrived on Apple Vision Pro, and It’s Unexpectedly Glorious

RFK Jr. Will Take on Joe Rogan for Podcaster Supremacy

The Spymaster’s Guide to the Secret Agencies of ‘Star Trek’

Uber Is Testing Driverless Volkswagen ID. Buzz Vans in Los Angeles

Cast Adrift, Meta Employees Have No Idea Who the ‘Token Legend’ Is Anymore

Microsoft Office 2024 and Windows 11 Pro Bundle Hits 76% Off, a Complete PC Setup for Less

You Can Add ‘Lamp That Folds Your Laundry’ to the List of Doomed Startups

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

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