As of today, in season now. Earth Exhibit tracks the live conditions and flags it the moment it is on.
A coral reef is not silent.
Beneath the surface it crackles and pops like frying bacon — the sound of tens of thousands of snapping shrimp firing their claws — and at dawn and dusk that backdrop swells into a chorus as fish call to feed, defend territory, and spawn.
Scientists can gauge a reef's health by its sound: a thriving reef is loud and complex, a degraded one falls quiet.
For a snorkeler or diver the experience is visceral — float still at first light and the reef seems to wake up around you in sound.
The chorus peaks in the half-hour around sunrise and sunset and grows around the full moon and spawning periods.
It is ephemeral in the day's rhythm rather than the calendar: present whenever the reef is alive, loudest at the edges of the day.
Where to see it
A taste of where to see it. The full map, exact coordinates and the best timing for each spot live in the app.
| Viewing spots |
|---|
| Great Barrier Reef (Cairns / Port Douglas) |
| Raja Ampat Reefs (West Papua) |
| + 1 more spot, with exact coordinates and timing, in the app → |
This is the short version
This page shows a taste. The app has the full list of where to see this, the exact timing, and live conditions for 1,000+ natural phenomena worldwide, so you know the moment one is genuinely worth the trip.