Squeaky snow
Have you ever wondered why snow sometimes squeaks underfoot? When you step on snow, you put pressure on it. Pressure causes heat. At temperatures above 14 degrees Fahrenheit, the pressure from your...
View ArticleFeatured on the Acoustic Atlas: Roaring Mountain
Listen to the sound of steam escaping from Roaring Mountain in Yellowstone National Park. In the 1800s, the sound could be heard from a distance of four miles. Today, its roar competes with automobile...
View ArticleWinter’s cauldron
Warm up this winter with the sounds of Yellowstone’s hot springs, fumaroles and geysers. Each geothermal feature has its own, unique sound. Here are a few samples to stoke the fire. (You’ll find more...
View ArticleThe hawk
You might notice that many of the sounds on the library’s Acoustic Atlas are credited to Kevin Colver. Kevin is one of the pre-eminent wildlife recordists in the United States. He is co-author of the...
View ArticleVoices of Yellowstone National Park
There are some great winter images and sounds of Yellowstone National Park in this video (click on the link below) from the National Park Service. See how the agency has identified natural sounds as a...
View ArticleNPS maps the nation’s quietest places
The National Park Service has released a new map showing human-caused noise levels at parks across the nation. Yellowstone National Park shows up as one of the quietest parks, according to CityLab,...
View ArticleCan robins hear worms?
Next time you see a robin on your lawn, take a look at how it catches worms. You might notice that it will appear to cock its head and listen to the ground. Naturalists have suspected since the 1800s...
View ArticleDo wolf howls change with the seasons?
Recently, the Acoustic Atlas entered into a new partnership with the National Park Service and its publication Yellowstone Science. Over the next two years, radio reporter and science editor Jennifer...
View ArticleMontana Field Guide features library’s mammal recordings
Many of the library’s mammal recordings are now available as part of the state’s Montana Field Guide. The guide is a collaboration between the Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish,...
View ArticleNotes from the field: listening to sea otters
Scientists say that mammals have the most complex and varied vocalizations in the animal kingdom. Yet, other than the ubiquitous babel of humans, there are just not a lot mammal recordings out there....
View ArticleWhat is the sound of one bear sleeping?
The Acoustic Atlas is teaming up with the National Park Service to record sounds and interviews related to scientific research in Yellowstone National Park. NPS correspondent Jennifer Jerrett reports...
View ArticleCooperative parenting, Warbling Vireo style
You may have seen our tweet last week linking to Yellowstone National Park’s webcam of a warbling vireo nest: Watch a pair of warbling vireos via @YellowstoneNPS webcam http://t.co/O9FsUsRe4P &...
View ArticleWorld Listening Day features H20
There is a saying that you never miss the water till the well runs dry. That has resonated throughout California and other parts of the country this year. As climate change becomes more extreme,...
View ArticleRhinoceros auklets on Living on Earth
Several of our rhinoceros auklet recordings are featured this week on the national radio program Living on Earth. Listen to the show’s Earth Ear segment to hear the sounds of these puffin-related birds...
View ArticleThe sounds of summer in Montana
It was a pleasure to record this month at the Flying D Ranch outside of Bozeman. The 116,000 acre ranch sits on the edge of Big Sky in the Yellowstone corridor and is famously owned by billionaire...
View ArticleWild ringtones for your phone
Looking for a way to bring more of the natural world into your day-to-day life? The Acoustic Atlas now features a selection of ringtones straight out of the wild. Howling coyotes, bubbling mud pots,...
View ArticleThe sound of fire
Bobbie Scopa worked the Yellowstone fire of 1988. The smoke was so thick that it had created its own weather—an inversion that locked the forest into a dense cloud of soot. “In the middle of the day we...
View ArticleAudio postcard: smokey bears
Occasionally, we take you behind the scenes of an interesting recording. Recently, Acoustic Atlas Program Director Jeff Rice captured the unusual sound of a black bear at the National Bison Range in...
View ArticleLISTEN: Bats sing a different tune in different environments
For #BatWeek, the Acoustic Atlas and Yellowstone National Park bring you a tale of two sounds. Take a listen to two calls of the Little Brown Bat, one of 13 bat species in the park: Hear a difference?...
View ArticleEarth to Paris – Listening to a changing climate
The Acoustic Atlas is teaming up with the National Park Service to record sounds and stories related to parks, science, and resource management. NPS correspondent Jennifer Jerrett (pictured above)...
View Article
