This Antarctic Ice Shelf Sounds Dark And Foreboding Like Doom Metal

Ice that packs a serious sonic punch.

If you’re a producer working on a budget, there’s no need to spend money on expensive noise generators. If the video above is anything to go by, all you need is some very hard ice, some wind and a contact mic, and you might be able to create some crazy natural feedback. Or, of course, you could book a flight directly to the Ross Ice Shelf in Western Antarctica.

Recently, scientists monitoring the shelf captured a strange acoustic anomaly. Julien Chaput, an ambient noise monitoring expert, stumbled on the odd sound that seemed to be resonating from the ice. As Chaput explains, the “strange spectral anomalies…escaped easy explanations, suggesting high frequency trapped seismic waves in the top couple of meters of snow.” As storms blow through, the frequency of sound generated by these seismic waves changes, creating a strange whistling sound—one that’s equal parts calming and unsettling.

But beyond producing crazy sounds, the research is providing invaluable insight into the changing weather conditions on our southernmost continent. Find out more about the research at the Gizmodo website here.

And if you like what you hear, you can also hear the strangely-soothing sounds of underwater volcanoes.

Read more: There’s a huge record collection in Antarctica you don’t know about