Loud ships can give diving whales the bends

Toothed whales like the beaked whale survive in the abyss by emitting clicks reaching 230 decibels, creating a high-definition acoustic map of a world where light cannot reach. They time these echoes with millisecond precision to pinpoint a single fish tens of meters away. When a massive cargo ship or naval sonar array enters their territory, it does more than just make noise; it floods their sensory world with 'phantom' reflections. This auditory chaos is like trying to navigate a dark room while someone randomly fires a starter pistol next to your ear.