Yoochan An, VISIONS’25

Discover how scientists are listening to the ocean. In this video, UW undergraduate Yoochan An, explores how broadband hydrophones on the Regional Cabled Array (RCA) are transforming our understanding of whales and other marine mammals along the Cascadia Margin. The video explains how these powerful underwater microphones work, how their data are processed, and how researchers use this information to study whale abundance and and long-distance migratory patterns.

Streaming data to shore 24/7 from multiple locations simultaneously, RCA hydrophones provide a rare, continuous window into the hidden soundscape of the deep ocean. RCA data researcher Joe Dupley brings these data to life through daily visualizations and audio recordings, allowing audiences to see and hear the hauntingly beautiful songs of whales as they move through the Pacific.

Together, this work highlights how real-time ocean observatories are revolutionizing marine science—and letting us listen in on the lives of some of Earth’s most extraordinary animals.