Humpback Whale Blowing
by Lorraine Cosgrove
Title
Humpback Whale Blowing
Artist
Lorraine Cosgrove
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
It might surprise some people to learn that whales actually have two blow holes, not one.
Because a whale is a mammal, like people, they use lungs and noses to breathe air. Whales only breathe when they are on the surface of the ocean. That means they have to take in and let out a lot of air quickly. Their lung muscles are strong enough to force almost all the air out at once. When a whale comes to the surface after a dive, it breathes out the old air quickly, all in one breath. Because the whale empties its lungs with such force, the air travels a great distances 10, 20, even 40 feet. And because its nose is on the top of its head, the air goes straight up. This air is usually warmer than the air just above the surface of the ocean, so the water vapor (small particles of water carried in the air) condenses.
This condensed water vapor looks like steam the same thing happens when you see your breath on a cold winter day. So the spout you see is not a fountain of water; rather, its a stream of warm air being forced out of the whales lungs, aka the whales breath. Some whale watch guides can tell you the kind of whale that has just come to the surface, even before they see the animal, based on the height and shape of their spout.
Information taken from the National Marine Life Center website: http://nmlc.org/2009/04/what-is-a-whales-spout/
Uploaded
July 6th, 2015
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