The Sounds of Ice

This remarkable recording of ice-sheets cracking on a frozen lake sounds just like a Star Wars blaster fight.

Andreas Bick, a Berlin sound designer/composer, made the recording and explains, on his Silent Listening blog:

"In my experience, thin ice is especially interesting for acoustic phenomena; it is more elastic and sounds are propagated better across the surface. Snowfall, on the other hand, has a muffling effect and the sound can only travel to a limited extent. The ice sheet acts as a huge membrane across which the cracking and popping sounds spread. Underwater microphones proved especially well-suited for these recordings: in a small hole drilled close beneath the surface of the water, the sounds emitted by the body of ice carry particularly well."

Dispersion of Sound Waves in Ice Sheets