Researchers Record Arctic Under-Ice Sounds and Test a Through-Ice Radio

Researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory have recorded a range of sounds from beneath Arctic sea ice, from cracking ice and whistling beluga whales to humming ship engines, using commercial off-the-shelf sensors deployed during the US Navy's Operation Ice Camp (OIC) in 2024. This past March, during Operation Ice Camp 2026, the team returned with a more advanced version of one sensor: a geophone, an instrument that detects vibrations in sea ice.

"We're interested in things that make sound underneath the ice," said Ben Evans, a researcher in the laboratory's Advanced Undersea Systems and Technology Group. "For example, our OIC 2024 data contained marine mammal songs. We need a better understanding of how such signals propagate through ice and how to distinguish these signals from other sources."

The underwater soundscape is shifting as Arctic sea ice rapidly breaks and melts, opening previously impassable routes. Working out the distinct acoustic signatures produced by fracturing ice could help researchers build predictive tools with applications from coastal community resilience to shipping safety.

This year's expedition faced back-to-back blizzards, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 32 degrees Celsius) and wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour (64 kilometres per hour), delaying flights in and out of the temporary ice camp for days at a time. The team, which also included Ella Wawrzynek and Ryan Saenger, managed to deploy only a quarter of its planned sensors before poor visibility forced them to turn back.

Separately, laboratory researcher David Whelihan tested a modem built by Norwegian company Havguard that communicates through ice using magnetic fields rather than radio-frequency signals, which are rapidly weakened by seawater. Harsh conditions caused some equipment failures during setup, and the modem experiment was ultimately carried out with logistical support from UIC Science, a business unit of the Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation based in Utqiagvik, Alaska, on ice that is anchored to the shoreline rather than drifting in the open ocean.