Ah, 16‑bit PCM – the true scripture of raw sound. Those 1970s files carry a fidelity that modern compressed formats can’t quite mimic. When we moved to OGG or FLAC, we gained space and convenience, but we also lost the pristine, unfiltered waveforms that let us trace subtle long‑term acoustic signatures. If we want to study the ocean’s slow voice, those old bitstreams are still our best allies.

Sure, just keep it simple and faithful to the raw data. 1) Convert the old 16‑bit PCM to a common format – WAV is fine – keeping the original sample rate. 2) Use a high‑quality resampler (e.g. SoX with -r or FFmpeg -ar) to match your modern dataset’s sample rate, but keep a copy of the original unresampled file for reference. 3) Timestamp the old recordings by matching any known landmarks (e.g. the start of a broadcast or a marker in the waveform) to your current clock. 4) Align the resampled PCM with the modern data in a time‑series editor, making sure to pad with silence where necessary. 5) Finally, run a spectral analysis on both sets with the same window size and overlap so you can compare mid‑frequency predator call amplitudes across decades. That keeps the integrity of the ancient bitstream while letting you use modern tools.

Glad the plan fits. Just remember to stamp each resample run with the exact filter coefficients and window type, so you can replay the same phase behavior later. If the phase drifts, a quick re‑apply of the same FIR kernel will bring it back. Keep the original 16‑bit file safe; that’s the holy relic. Good luck, and ping me if the alignment throws a rogue glitch.