Sound propagates very easily in ocean water. It occurs due to the high density of water compared to air. A hydrophone will pick up sounds from hundreds of kilometres away. Sounds of ice breaking in Antarctica can be detected 6,000 km away off the south-west Australian coast. The acoustic environment of the ocean is used by mammals such as whales and dolphins to find each other. The impact of industrial noise on aquatic mammals and is being studied at Curtin University’s Centre for Marine Science and Technology.

— Read on www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/high-levels-of-ocean-noise-a-possible-threat-to-whales-and-dolp/13384098