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This Is What an Erupting Volcano’s Primal Scream Sounds Like

Max Kaufman
/
Alaska Volcano Observatory/University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute

Most volcanoes rumble before they erupt, but not Alaska's Mount Redoubt, which let out a primal scream before it blew its top in 2009. Preceding the big blow were little earthquakes that began to accelerate, one after another, like a drumbeat building to a climax. Here's a 10-second clip of what the volcano's primal scream sounded like, courtesy of the University of Washington:

The seismic waves are generally too slow to hear, but they can be sped up into the audible range.

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Gabriel Spitzer is a former KNKX reporter, producer and host who covered science and health and worked on the show Sound Effect.