To help better understand the communication of cetaceans, mainly beaked whales, an undersea glider equipped with a recording device is currently cruising 1,000 metres deep off Hawaii to capture the sounds made by the marine mammals.

The experiment represents the first time that an acoustic-equipped glider has been deployed to this depth in the open ocean to record data from a specific marine mammal, traditional acoustic devices on the ocean surface typically can't record whale sounds emitted at lower depths. The glider has been collecting acoustic data from beaked whales which can dive down to 2,000 metres to help improve the understanding of whale biology. It could also be a more effective way of monitoring marine mammals when airguns are deployed for seismic studies of the seafloor. The two-metre long, glider used in the whale study is steered by an internal computer to follow a pre-programmed course while travelling at around 0.25 metres per second, beaked whales emit around three clicks per second.

Since the glider's deployment on 27 October, it has made more than 50 dives and due to be retrieved on 17 November. The US$1.5-million project began in 2007 and not surprisingly is funded by the US Office of Naval Research.