The Antarctic and Arctic sounds rarely heard before

Singing ice, grunting seals and wailing whales...

Get ready to hear some of the amazing sounds you might hear in the frozen lands of the Arctic and Antarctic.

A project by two marine acoustic labs has revealed 50 rarely heard sounds recorded underwater in the polar regions.

The sounds have also been turned into music by the sound-art project Cities and Memory who are hoping it draws attention to the impact of climate change.

"These sounds are fairly alien to most people," said researcher Dr Geraint Rhys Whittaker.

"We probably think we know what the poles sound like but often that is imagined," Dr Whittaker, who works at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, told BBC science reporter Georgina Rannard.

The underwater microphones were attached to floats with scientific instruments left in the Arctic and Antarctic for about two years.

Crabeater seals, minke whales, narwhals and humpback whales were recorded and the clips also highlight how noisy oceans are becoming due to increased human activity that also disrupts sea life.

"The difficulty is knowing where the mammals will be because they move and you can't rely on where they will be," explains Dr Whittaker.

Few people read scientific research published by universities, Dr Whittaker suggests, and he hopes that listening to the sounds will make people stop and think about the polar oceans.

Oceans occupy 71% of our planet's surface and are hugely important for preserving life on Earth but are severely impacted by climate change.

Dr Ilse van Opzeeland, from the Ocean Acoustics Group at Alfred Wegener Institute, hopes combining art and science will help raise awareness.

"We must make the greatest efforts to protect, conserve and restore our planet's endangered habitats. The interaction of art and science can help by creating awareness and brings attention to this."