Whale sonar: Two pings better than one

Many whale species have sonar systems that send out two pings at once, allowing them to detect underwater objects with greater accuracy than even the most sophisticated human technologies, according to a study released yesterday.

It has long been known that whales use echolocation - emitting sounds that bounce back after hitting objects - to find food and navigate.

But scientists have never been able to demonstrate exactly which parts of the whale anatomy produce the distinctive clicking sound that probes the depths, nor why these internal sonar systems are so precise.