The Parasaurolophus’ Pipes: Modeling the Dinosaur’s Crest To Study Its Sound #ASA187

Physical and mathematical models can help replicate the sounds of dinosaurs.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – Fossils might give a good image of what dinosaurs looked like, but they can also teach scientists what they sounded like.

The Parasaurolophus is a duck-billed dinosaur with a unique crest that lived 70 million to 80 million years ago. It stood around 16 feet tall and is estimated to have weighed 6,000 to 8,000 pounds.

A 3D-printed model of the Parasaurolophus skulls at a 1:3 scale to the original fossil. The white model is the nasal passages inside the skull. Credit: Hongjun Lin

Hongjun Lin from New York University will present results on the acoustic characteristics of a physical model of the Parasaurolophus’ crest Thursday, Nov. 21, at 4:30 p.m. ET as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.

“I’ve been fascinated by giant animals ever since I was a kid. I’d spend hours reading books, watching movies, and imagining what it would be like if dinosaurs were still around today,” said Lin. “It wasn’t until college that I realized the sounds we hear in movies and shows—while mesmerizing—are completely fabricated using sounds from modern animals. That’s when I decided to dive deeper and explore what dinosaurs might have actually sounded like.”

Lin created a physical setup made of tubes to represent a mathematical model that will allow researchers to discover what was happening acoustically inside the Parasaurolophus crest. The physical model, inspired by resonance chambers, was suspended by cotton threads and excited by a small speaker, and a microphone was used to collect frequency data.

While it isn’t a perfect replication of the Parasaurolophus, the pipes—nicknamed the “Linophone,” after the researcher—will serve as a verification of the mathematical framework.

“I wanted something simplified and accessible for both modeling and building a physical device,” Lin explained.

Lin’s initial results indicate that the Parasaurolophus’ crest was used for resonance, similar to the crests of birds we see today. The mathematical model is still in progress, but Lin hopes it will be useful for studying animals with similar vocal structures.

He is also planning to create an accessible plug-in for people to experiment with and even add dinosaur sounds to music.

“Once we have a working model, we’ll move toward using fossil scans,” Lin said. “My ultimate goal is to re-create the sound of the Parasaurolophus.”

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-virtual-fall-2024/
Technical Program: https://eppro01.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the virtual meeting and/or press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

Exploring the Impact of Offshore Wind on Whale Deaths #ASA187

Some experts are worried wind farm survey noise adds stress and increases whale deaths.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – In the winter of 2022-2023, nearly a dozen whales died off the coast of New Jersey, near the sites of several proposed wind farms. Their deaths prompted concern that related survey work being conducted in the area somehow contributed to their deaths.

Michael Stocker of Ocean Conservation Research will present his work Thursday, Nov. 21, at 3:29 p.m. ET in a session dedicated to examining the circumstances surrounding these whale deaths, as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.

Researchers retrieve an instrument package from the Cook Inlet. Could noise from these surveys like these have led to the death of almost a dozen whales during winter of 2022-2023? Credit: Michael Stocker

In pursuit of clean energy goals and to reduce atmospheric carbon emissions, developers are increasingly exploring building wind turbines in the waters off the East Coast of the United States. Three offshore wind farms are already in operation, with several more planned or underway. These wind farms stand to generate a significant amount of carbon-free electricity, which can help coastal states meet their decarbonization goals.

The increased presence of these turbines in coastal waters, along with the noise from construction and surveys, has led to concerns of their impact on marine life. In particular, cetaceans such as whales and dolphins are likely to be sensitive to the noises and increased marine traffic brought by these turbines.

However, the Marine Mammal Commission, a federal oversight agency, states there is no evidence linking the whales that died in the New Jersey region in the winter of 2022-2023 to wind energy development.

According to necropsies performed on recovered whales, many of them died from collisions with ships. The Marine Mammal Commission notes that this is not a particularly unusual occurrence, nor is the number of whale deaths in this period higher than average. A rise in ship strikes over the last decade is mostly due to a simple combination of more whales plus more ships.

“In the case of a lot of whales, population recoveries since the cessation of commercial whaling are coincident with increasing shipping traffic and increasing fishing efforts,” said Stocker. “This is resulting in increased interactions between whales and the industrialization of the ocean.”

Stocker, however, is concerned that the increased presence of survey ships in and around New Jersey waters may have exacerbated this issue.

“Were the ship strikes just a coincidence?” asked Stocker. “Or were they a product of compromised whale vigilance due to aggregated stress factors?”

Survey ships are employed by wind farm developers to map the seafloor in preparation for construction. These ships use underwater acoustic devices in their efforts, which can stress marine mammals such as whales. While one survey ship likely has little effect, Stocker highlights that 11 different surveys were operating in the region from December 2022 to March 2023, and that the cumulative impact of these surveys has not been properly evaluated.

Stocker hopes his Thursday session will spark a discussion among attendees with the goal of identifying approaches to minimize whale deaths in the future.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-virtual-fall-2024/
Technical Program: https://eppro01.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the virtual meeting and/or press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

Hear This! Transforming Health Care with Speech-to-Text Technology #ASA187

Researchers study the importance of enunciation in medical text to speech software

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – Speech-to-text programs are becoming more popular for everyday tasks like hands-free dictation, helping people who are visually impaired, and transcribing speech for those who are hard of hearing. These tools have many uses, and researcher Bożena Kostek from Gdańsk University of Technology is exploring how STT can be better used in the medical field. By studying how clear speech affects STT accuracy, she hopes to improve its usefulness for health care professionals.

“Automating note-taking for patient data is crucial for doctors and radiologists, as it gives the doctors more face-to-face time with patients and allows for better data collection,” Kostek says.

Enunciation may have a crucial role to play in the accuracy of medial record dictation. This image was created with DALL-E 2. Credit: Bozena Kostek

Kostek also explains the challenges they face in this work.

“STT models often struggle with medical terms, especially in Polish, since many have been trained mainly on English. Also, most resources focus on simple language, not specialized medical vocabulary. Noisy hospital environments make it even harder, as health care providers may not speak clearly due to stress or distractions.”

To tackle these issues, a detailed audio dataset was created with Polish medical terms spoken by doctors and specialists in areas like cardiology and pulmonology. This dataset was analyzed using an Automatic Speech Recognition model, technology that converts speech into text, for transcription. Several metrics, such as Word Error Rate and Character Error Rate, were used to evaluate the quality of the speech recognition. This analysis helps understand how speech clarity and style affect the accuracy of STT.

Kostek will present this data Thursday, Nov. 21, at 3:25 p.m. ET as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.

“Medical jargon can be tricky, especially with abbreviations that differ across specialties. This is an even more difficult task when we refer to realistic hospital situations in which the room is not acoustically prepared.” Kostek said.

Currently, the focus is on Polish, but there are plans to expand the research to other languages, like Czech. Collaborations are being established with the University Hospital in Brno to develop medical term resources, aiming to enhance the use of STT technology in health care.

“Even though artificial intelligence is helpful in many situations, many problems should be investigated analytically rather than holistically, focusing on breaking a whole picture into individual parts.”

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-virtual-fall-2024/
Technical Program: https://eppro01.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the virtual meeting and/or press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

From Traditional to Technological: Advancements in Fresco Conservation #ASA187

Laser Doppler vibrometry is being used to conserve frescos in the US Capitol building

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – Fresco painting, a technique that dates back to antiquity, involves applying dry pigments to wet plaster, creating stunning artwork that can last for centuries. Over time, however, these masterpieces often face degradation due to delamination, where decorative plaster layers separate from the underlying masonry or structural plaster. This deterioration can compromise the structural integrity of the artwork, necessitating restoration efforts.

Historically, conservators have gently knocked on the plaster with their knuckles or small mallets to assess the condition of the fresco. By listening to the emitted sound, they could identify the delaminated areas needing repair. While effective, this technique is limited both by the conservator’s experience and the small number of people in the world who possess these skills.

Detection color map of a fresco in the U.S. Capitol. Brighter colors indicate more vibration in the plaster, and therefore, a delamination. Credit: Nick Gangemi

Recent research by Joseph Vignola at the Catholic University of America is revolutionizing fresco assessment. Vignola and his team have applied laser Doppler vibrometry to locate delamination in the frescos of Constantino Brumidi in the U.S. Capitol building. This innovative method uses a laser to measure the vibration of a surface, enabling the team to detect delaminated areas based on their unique vibrational characteristics.

“By transmitting sound waves to induce motion in the plaster, the system captures vibrational signatures that reveal detailed information about the structural condition of the artwork,” said researcher Nicholas Gangemi.

One of the remarkable aspects of this technology is its ability to identify regions of delamination that may not exhibit any obvious outward signs of damage. The group’s current research focuses on developing techniques to accurately resolve the size and shape of these hidden defects, facilitating precise repairs that will ensure the preservation of the artwork for future generations.

Moreover, advancements in signal processing are enhancing the ability to analyze complex shapes of delaminated regions.

Gangemi will present research related to this work Thursday, Nov. 21, at 11:25 a.m. ET as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.

This research explores the simulation of frescoes with known delaminated shapes to validate their methods, ensuring that they can accurately assess and restore the artworks. These fresco surrogates have also offered a platform for Vignola and his team to scientifically validate the dated technique of knocking on a fresco and listening to the sound it makes.

Looking ahead, this research aims to democratize conservation expertise by creating simple, accessible tools. One possibility is to develop smartphone or computer apps that utilize straightforward algorithms, allowing anyone—regardless of their background—to engage with fresco conservation. This initiative not only enhances the preservation process but also raises awareness of the challenges and techniques involved in maintaining these cultural treasures.

As technology continues to bridge the gap between traditional methods and modern science, fresco conservation is poised for a transformative future.

“We are developing techniques to allow us to preserve the artwork for generations to come,” Gangemi said.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-virtual-fall-2024/
Technical Program: https://eppro01.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the virtual meeting and/or press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

The Unsolved Mystery Sounds of the Southern Ocean #ASA187

Quack-like sounds off the coast of New Zealand in the ’80s may have been a conversation.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – Mysterious, repeating sounds from the depths of the ocean can be terrifying to some, but in the 1980s, they presented a unique look at an underwater soundscape.

In July 1982, researchers in New Zealand recorded unidentifiable sounds as a part of an experiment to characterize the soundscape of the South Fiji Basin. The sound consisted of four short bursts resembling a quack, which inspired the name of the sound “Bio-Duck.”

Looking from the stern of the ship as it tows the long horizontal array of hydrophones. The tow cable can be seen going through the metal horn at the stern. The hydrophone array is several hundred meters behind the ship and about 200 meters deep. Credit: Ross Chapman

“The sound was so repeatable, we couldn’t believe at first that it was biological,” said researcher Ross Chapman from the University of Victoria. “But in talking to other colleagues in Australia about the data, we discovered that a similar sound was heard quite often in other regions around New Zealand and Australia.”

They came to a consensus that the sounds had to be biological.

Chapman will present his work analyzing the mystery sounds Thursday, Nov. 21, at 10:05 a.m. ET as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.

“I became involved in the analysis of the data from the experiment in 1986,” Chapman said. “We discovered that the data contained a gold mine of new information about many kinds of sound in the ocean, including sounds from marine mammals.”

“You have to understand that this type of study of ocean noise was in its infancy in those days. As it turned out, we learned something new about sound in the ocean every day as we looked further into the data—it was really an exciting time for us,” he said.

However, the sounds have never been conclusively identified. There are theories the sounds were made by Antarctic Minke whales, since the sounds were also recorded in Antarctic waters in later years, but there was no independent evidence from visual sightings of the whales making the sounds in the New Zealand data.

No matter the animal, Chapman believes that the sounds could be a conversation. The data was recorded by an acoustic antenna, an array of hydrophones that was towed behind a ship. The uniqueness of the antenna allowed the researchers to identify the direction the sounds were coming from.

“We discovered that there were usually several different speakers at different places in the ocean, and all of them making these sounds,” Chapman said. “The most amazing thing was that when one speaker was talking, the others were quiet, as though they were listening. Then the first speaker would stop talking and listen to responses from others.”

He will present the waveform and spectrum of the recordings during his session, as well as further evidence that the work was a conversation between multiple animals.

“It’s always been an unanswered issue in my mind,” Chapman said. “Maybe they were talking about dinner, maybe it was parents talking to children, or maybe they were simply commenting on that crazy ship that kept going back and forth towing that long string behind it.”

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-virtual-fall-2024/
Technical Program: https://eppro01.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the virtual meeting and/or press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

Do Pipe Organs Create an Auto-Tune Effect? #ASA187

Pipe organs create sympathetic resonance in concert halls and church sanctuaries

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 20, 2024 – The pipe organ, with its strong timber base and towering metal pipes, stands as a bastion in concert halls and church sanctuaries. Even when not in use, the pipe organ affects the acoustical environment around it.

Researcher Ashley Snow from the University of Washington sought to understand what effects the world’s largest class of musical instrument has on the acoustics of concert halls that house them.

Ashley Snow studied the resonant effects of the D-K Organ on concert hall acoustics at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Credit: Ashley Snow

“The question is how much the pipe organ contributes to an acoustic environment—and the bigger question is, what portion of music is the acoustic environment, and vice versa?” Snow said.

Snow will present data on the sympathetic resonance of pipe organs and its effect on concert hall acoustics on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 11:00 a.m. ET as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.

Snow hypothesized that the pipe organ creates an auto-tune effect since its pipes sympathetically resonate to the same frequencies they are tuned to. This effect may enhance the overall musical sound of ensembles that play in concert halls with organs.

A sine-sweep—a resonance test in which a sine-wave shaped signal is used to excite a system—was played through loudspeakers facing the organ pipes and measuring the response with a microphone at different positions. Data was gathered by placing microphones inside and around the organ pipes during a musical performance and a church service.

“I was way up in the ranks dangling a probe microphone into the pipes, trying my hardest not to make a sound or fall,” Snow said.

Snow verified experimentally that sympathetic resonance does occur in organ pipes during musical performances, speeches, and noises at frequencies that align with musical notes, and that the overall amplitude increases when the signal matches the resonance of one or more pipes.

Investigation into the significance of these effects on the overall quality of musical performance to listeners in the audience is still ongoing. Snow hopes to expand this research by comparing room acoustics between rooms with and without the presence of an organ, along with categorizing and mathematically modeling the tuning system of various world instruments. “What about the sympathy of a marimba, cymbal, or piano strings? Or the mode-locking of horns in a band? Would it sound the same if these things were separated from each other? For better or for worse? I want people to think about that.”

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-virtual-fall-2024/
Technical Program: https://eppro01.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASAFALL24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the virtual meeting and/or press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.