Loud 'terrifying' sound resembling a woman's voice recorded deep in the Pacific Ocean

Oceans have long captivated human imagination with their vastness, mystery, and untamed beauty. We continue to unearth astounding discoveries in these expansive waters. Indy100 reports that on March 1, 1999, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded one of the ocean's strangest phenomena—a deeply unsettling sound from the eastern equatorial Pacific.

A short video featuring this eerie sound posted on YouTube has garnered 1.4 million views and 10,000 likes. The sound was captured with the help of a variety of hydrophones that were kept hundreds of kilometers apart. Hydrophones are a special kind of microphone that is capable of detecting sound waves underwater. What made the sound so creepy was the fact that it resembled a woman's voice. NOAA has officially posted the sound on their website, calling it "Julia" since it sounded like a woman. On YouTube, people have described the sound as "terrifying" and "creepy." @xadumbhumanlikeyoux4273 wrote: "This sound is terrifying. It’s great that they gave it the most terrifying name to go with it, Julia."

NOAA is not entirely sure about the origins of the mysterious sound. They speculate that it might have come from a large iceberg that went aground near Antarctica. The exact location is also ambiguous, with NOAA suggesting that it could be somewhere between the Bransfield Strait and Cape Adare in East Antarctica. Interestingly enough, this was not the first time that a strange sound had been recorded from our oceans.

An echoing "bloop" was picked up in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile in 1997, as per Science Alert. This sound, which is also available on YouTube, remained the loudest unidentified noise ever to be recorded underwater for a long time. Scientists termed it the "Bloop" and just like "Julia," there have been many theories about the origins of the noise, with many people speculating that it might be coming from a deep sea creature. Its frequency fluctuates, resembling whale sounds, yet it was captured by hydrophone arrays spanning over 5,000 kilometers. 

To debunk wild theories and better understand this phenomenon, NOAA researchers have placed more hydrophones near Antarctica. Their efforts proved to be fruitful as they were able to discover the origins of the "Bloop" sound. The official website clarifies how the "Bloop" sound emanated as a result of an icequake, which was when an iceberg cracked and broke away from an Antarctic glacier. This discovery led them to install many more hydrophones to be able to capture such strange noises and find their origins.

Since the installation of these new hydrophones, researchers have been able to listen in on many more noises from our oceans, all of which come about as a result of icequakes. Seismologist Robert Dziak spoke to WIRED and revealed how there were increased instances of sea ice and glaciers melting, giving rise to more weird sounds like the "Bloop" and "Julia."