--- title: Canadian Community Tries To Solve Mystery of Sea Floor Noise description: A mysterious noise emanating from the sea floor in one of Canada's northern territories has been puzzling locals and officials. canonical: https://time.com/4558184/unknown-noise-sea-floor-canada/ author: Suyin Haynes article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-04T12:22:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:38:23.370Z og:title: Canadian Community Tries To Solve Mystery of Sea Floor Noise og:description: A mysterious noise emanating from the sea floor in one of Canada's northern territories has been puzzling locals and officials. og:url: https://time.com/4558184/unknown-noise-sea-floor-canada/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74ed6a39163e69ce/6988ad06fb4eac2ea788fbdc/fury-hecla-strait.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Glacier og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Canadian Community Tries To Solve Mystery of Sea Floor Noise twitter:description: A mysterious noise emanating from the sea floor in one of Canada's northern territories has been puzzling locals and officials. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74ed6a39163e69ce/6988ad06fb4eac2ea788fbdc/fury-hecla-strait.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Mysterious 'Ping' Is Coming from Deep in the Arctic > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Nov 4, 2016 12:22 PM UTC  Glacier, Fury and Hecla Strait between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula, Canada. Glacier, Fury and Hecla Strait between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula, Canada. De Agostini—De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Nov 4, 2016 12:22 PM UTC A mysterious noise emanating from the sea floor in one of Canada’s northern territories has been puzzling locals and officials, who have yet to identify its source. The sound has been heard throughout Fury and Hecla strait, a channel of water in the Nunavut region, and has proven to be a mystery for the local community. The remote area is located in the [northernmost territory](http://time.com/2891891/hunting-the-polar-bear/?iid=sr-link3) of Canada, where some residents rely on hunting for their food supplies. Observers [noticed a decline in sea mammals](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/ping-beep-hum-sound-arctic-ocean-igloolik-1.3831861) in the area over the summer and have attributed the scarcity to the strange noise, which has been described as a “ping” or a “hum” and is reportedly audible through the hulls of boats. Members of the Legislative Assembly, who represent the area, noted the unusual lack of animals. MLA George Qualut told CBC News “That passage is a migratory route for bowhead whales, and also bearded seals and ringed seals. There would be so many in that particular area. This summer there was none.” Speculation over the source of the noise has included Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation’s mining activity to the conservation work of Greenpeace. Both organisations have denied any involvement, according to CBC News. The Canadian Department of National Defence is also investigating, as detailed by a spokesperson in a statement to CBC who said that the “Canadian Armed Forces are taking the appropriate steps to actively investigate the situation.” \[[_CBC_](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/ping-beep-hum-sound-arctic-ocean-igloolik-1.3831861)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4558184/unknown-noise-sea-floor-canada/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4558184/unknown-noise-sea-floor-canada/"},"headline":"A Mysterious 'Ping' Is Coming from Deep in the Arctic","datePublished":"2016-11-04T12:22:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:38:23.370Z","description":"It's scaring off animals. 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