Tug boat
Seawolf tug boat. Recorded July 28, 2006 at 2:26pm off the west side of Pier 40.
This is the sound of a tugboat engine. You can hear the wake come in at two and four seconds. If you look at the spectrograph on the right you can see by the white areas of high intensity amplitude that the wake’s frequency range is 500 and 1500 hz.
Zephyr
Zephyr cruise line. Recorded August 1, 2006 off of Pier 40.
The propeller of the Zephyr cruise ship makes this crunching sound. The spectrograph at right shows that this sound goes down to some extremely low frequencies, well below 100 hz . 100 hz is lower than the human voice can usually produce, and even lower than our ears can discern. The high harmonics in the sound go up to 1500 hz, similar to snapping your fingers. This recording has been filtered has been filtered above 2500 hz to make it easier to discern this sound. You can see that by the black space in the spectrograph.
Water Taxi
Water Taxi transit. Recorded August 1, 2006 at 12:42pm off of Pier 40.
This whirring sound is the prop of the water taxi. The spectrograph at right shows the concentration of frequencies between 1500 to 2500 with a serious rumble in the 500 and lower range. The spectrograph is black at the top where it has been filtered to make this sound clearer.
Circle Line
Circe Line sightseeing. Recorded July 28, 2006 off of Pier 40.
NY Water Way
Recorded August 22, 2007 at 3:58pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
We can hear the propeller of a boat puttering down an NY water way. This sounds like a smaller motor with the waveform at left showing the volume slowly increasing as it approaches the microphone, and the spectrograph at right shows that the prop’s sound lies around the 2000 hz frequency range, similar to a whistle.
Motorboat
Recorded July 24, 2007 at 9:15pm off of Pier 40 (south side, 15m from the west end of finger pier).
This high pitched buzzing is a motorboat speeding along. The waveform at left shows the even regularity of the sound amplitude, and the spectrograph at right shows the white noise like frequencies up and down the range. Down at the bottom we can rumble of the wake showing up as an intense yellow under 100 hz.
Wake from Motorboat
Recorded August 14, 2006 at 8:35pm off of Pier 40.
In this audio file we can hear the buzzing of a motor boat engine as well as the splashing of its wake. The waveform at left shows the semi regular splashing as peaks in volume. The spectrograph at right shows spikes of green and yellow ranging from 100 hz to 2500 hz where the wake reaches us and scattered frequencies all over the place from the engine.
Queen of Hearts
Recorded July 31, 2007 at 8:30pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
This sound is the propeller of the Queen of Hearts showboat, which is not actually powered by the large paddles at its sides. The waveform at left shows the choppy regularity of the sound, and the spectrograph at right shows concentrations of frequencies at 5000, 7000, and 1300 hz, as well as the wake rumbling down in the 100 hz range.
Queen of Hearts, Turning
Recorded July 31, 2007 at 8:28pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
The waveform at left shows from Queen of Hearts showboat shows the choppy regularity of the sound and the extra wake from the turn coming in around the 16 to 24 second marks. The spectrograph at right shows concentrations of frequencies at 5000 and 9000 hz.
Sailboat Motor
Recorded July 31, 2007 at 8:54pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
This buzzing sound is a sailboat motor. The waveform at left shows the even regularity of the sound and the spectrograph at right shows the white noise spread of sound across all recorded frequencies as well as the wake coming in under 100 hz.
Accelerating Motorboat
Recorded July 31, 2007 at 8:59pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
The sound of a motorboat’s engine gradually growing in intensity as it speeds up, growing from a distant whine to a chainsaw like roar. All the while you can hear it’s wake slap against the pier. In the image at left you can see the increase in volume as the height of the waveform. The spectrograph at right shows the sound of the wake as the high intensity yellow spots under one hundred hz, and you can see the extremely high pitch of the motor going up to even twelve and thirteen thousand hz at about thirty five seconds in. An extremely high frequency similar to what an old cathode ray tube television emits when you first turn it on
Strange Low-Pitched Motor
Recorded July 31, 2007 at 9:09pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
Power-Tool-Like Sound
Recorded August 7, 2007 at 9:00pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
Machine Gun-Like Motor
Recorded July 24, 2007 at 9:15pm off of Pier 40 (south side, 15m from the west end of finger pier).
This clacking sound is an unidentified motor. We can see the regular volume spikes in the waveform at left and the focus of frequencies at 2000 and 4000 hz with a rumble under 100 hz in the spectrograph at right.
Wake from Water Taxi
Recorded August 22, 2007 at 3:48pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
The wake and motor sounds of a water taxi. You can see the sound at left as a fairly constant waveform. At right the spectrograph shows that the bulk of the sound lies in the very low frequency ranges, under 100 hz which we often feel as rumbling as much as hear.
Wake from Circle Line Boat
Recorded August 14, 2007 at 8:30pm off of Pier 40 (west end of finger pier).
