A blue whale's call is louder than a jet engine.

A jet engine produces about 140 decibels from 100 feet away. Blue whales reach 188 decibels. Sound measurements in water and air are different because water is denser. If a whale called in the air, it would reach 125 decibels. This is the level where sound starts to cause pain in human ears.Dr. Christopher Clark at Cornell University found these sounds can travel across the Atlantic Ocean. The calls are usually between 10 and 40 Hertz. This is called infrasound. It is too low for humans to hear. Low-frequency sounds do not bounce off objects or get absorbed as easily as high sounds.Blue whales do not have vocal cords. They use a larynx and air sacs to make noise. They move air through these sacs without breathing out. This helps them save oxygen while they dive deep. A 2017 study in Scientific Reports showed whale song frequencies are getting lower.Scientists think this might be because the ocean is getting noisier from ships. It could also mean whale populations are growing. Loud calls help whales find mates in the dark ocean. One sound can last 30 seconds. These pulses carry more energy than the speakers at a loud concert.