Eavesdropping on whales in the high Arctic

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Eavesdropping on whales in the high Arctic

Whales are huge, but they live in an even larger environment—the world's oceans. Researchers use a range of tools to study their whereabouts, including satellite tracking, aerial surveys, sightings and deploying individual hydrophones to listen for their calls. But now, for the first time ever, researchers have succeeded in passively listening to whales—essentially, eavesdropping on them—using existing underwater fiber optic cables.