Washington ( CNN ) -- Was the sound of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 striking the water captured by ocean devices used to listen for signs of nuclear blasts ? It 's a long shot , but an Australian university is studying records from underwater listening devices in an effort to help find the missing plane . `` One signal has been detected on several receivers that could be related to the crash , '' said Alec Duncan of Curtin University 's Centre for Marine Science and Technology ( CMST ) . Researchers are studying a very low frequency sound to see if it was `` the impact of the aircraft on the water or the implosion of parts of the aircraft as it sank , '' Duncan said . `` But ( the source of the noise ) is just as likely to be a natural event , '' he said . Low frequency signals can travel thousands of kilometers through water under favorable circumstances , Duncan said . But `` at the moment ( the sound ) appears to be inconsistent with other data about the aircraft position , '' he said . Martin Dolan , the Chief Commissioner with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau ( ATSB ) , the organization leading the search into MH370 at the request of Malaysia , agreed with DuncanÂ¹s analysis of the sound . `` We think that those detections may have been interesting from the point of view of the direction they came , but other characteristics make it unlikely that they are associated with MH370 , '' he said . The ATSB first referenced these signals in a document posted on its website on Monday . The research is continuing , Duncan said , and investigators may release additional information about their findings in the coming days . As was the case with the Inmarsat satellite -- a communications satellite whose data was analyzed by Malaysia Airlines MH370 investigators as a navigational aide -- this study involves the use of technology for a purpose that it was not originally intended for . One of the devices , operated by Curtin University and located some 20 kilometers off Perth , is designed to listen to whales and other marine life . The other is for signs of underwater nuclear explosions , one of 11 operated worldwide by the U.N.-chartered Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization ( CTBTO ) as part of the International Monitoring System . Search area 'can now be discounted ' Gleaning the data . Early in the search for Malaysia Flight 370 , the United Nations reported it had not detected any explosions or plane crashes on land or water from its sensors around the globe . But the recent efforts involve pairing CTBTO data with other sources to see what can be gleaned , officials said . `` One can always be hopeful , '' said Mark Prior , a seismic acoustic analyst with the CTBTO . The CTBTO 's hydro-acoustic stations detect low frequency sound in the 0-100 Hz range , and ca n't detect black box `` pings '' in the 30-40 kHz range , officials said . `` It 's possible ( to detect a plane crash ) , but the circumstances that would allow it would have to be very particular , '' said Prior . Prior said some of those circumstances might include a sloping sea bed . Another possible scenario : the origin of the sound would need to be near the listening device . The CTBTO 's system near Cape Leeuwin , the southwestern-most point of Australia , regularly captures signals of ice breaking noise from Antarctica and seismic activity from Indonesia , he said . `` There are other scenarios that would allow ( the hydrophones to detect a crash ) . But it 's not certain if there was an impact we would detect it , '' Prior said . Attempts were made following the 2009 crash of Air France 447 in the southern Atlantic Ocean to see if underwater listening devices had detected the plane 's impact . No data could be found . Years later , after the plane was located , CTBTO again checked its data , and still was not able to identify signals related to the crash . On Friday , Beijing put pressure on Malaysia to start a new search , Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported . `` We expect Malaysia to take the leading and coordinating role , come up with a new search plan for the jet at an early date , and take the investigation seriously , '' Premier Li Keqiang told Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak , who was on a diplomatic visit . The largest contingency of passengers on board MH 370 were from China .
An Australian university is studying underwater listening devices to help find the jet . Early in the search , the U.N. said it had not detected any explosions or crashes from its sensors . `` It 's not certain if there was an impact we would detect it , '' says seismic acoustic analyst . An re-examination of data relating to Air France 447 could not detect crash signals from under water .