Yikes! Science Daily reports that researchers from Sweden and the US have discovered that dolphins and porpoises are capable of sending out high-frequency sound, or ultrasound, at two different frequencies at the same time (see reference below). Dr. Josefin Starkhammar is an obviously brilliant newly minted PhD in Electrical Measurements at Lund University. She developed a device with 47 hydrophones that facilitated this incredible discovery. (She also has a Master's degree in Engineering Physics). She states that this dual echolocation ability enables dolphins to better locate objects. I suspect that there is much more to it than simply finding their dinner, and Dr. Starkhammer admits that "...we humans have a lot to learn from dolphins." Notwithstanding her appropriately objective understatement, it is exciting to see that science continues to push the boundaries of our understanding of these remarkable beings. Someday we might even learn their language and who knows what they will be able to teach us then! I bet they won't make us perform stupid people tricks...
Reference: Lund University (2011, June 8). Dolphins use double sonar: Researchers discover that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/06/110607112338.htm
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