Science News Roundup: Pandemic offers scientists unprecedented chance to 'hear' oceans

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Pandemic offers scientists unprecedented chance to 'hear' oceans as they once were

Eleven years ago, environmental scientist Jesse Ausubel dreamed aloud in a commencement speech: What if scientists could record the sounds of the ocean in the days before propeller-driven ships and boats spanned the globe? They would listen to chit-chat between blue whales hundreds of miles apart. They would record the familiar chirps and clicks among a pod of dolphins. And they would do so without the cacophony of humankind – and develop a better understanding of how that undersea racket has affected sea life.