Deep Sea Floor Mapping

Lamont scientists have long been at the forefront of ocean floor mapping.

Deep sea floor mapping.

This graphic shows several ocean floor features on a scale from 0 35 000 feet below sea level. What lies beneath the deep blue sea. The results that let this new marvelously detailed map of the seafloor from nasa s earth observatory be made were. Seafloor mapping also called seabed imaging is the measurement of water depth of a given body of water bathymetric measurements are conducted with various methods from sonar and lidar techniques to buoys and satellite altimetry various methods have advantages and disadvantages and the specific method used depends upon the scale of the area under study financial means desired measurement.

Continental shelf 300 feet continental slope 300 10 000 feet abyssal plain 10 000 feet abyssal hill 3 000 feet up from the abyssal plain seamount 6 000 feet. So much more than you might think. Mapping the ocean floor. In recent years satellite images show a very clear mapping of the seabed and are used extensively in the study and exploration of the ocean floor.

The first modern breakthrough in sea floor mapping came with the use of underwater sound projectors called sonar which was first used in world war i. We re working to put our seafloor on the map through continuous data collection. Seabed contains several hundred years worth of cobalt and nickel. By the 1920s the coast and geodetic survey an ancestor of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration s national ocean service was using sonar to map deep water.

These systems provided the databases to construct the first real maps of important features such as the deep sea trenches and mid ocean ridges. The ocean s floor is as complex as it is deep. Researchers today published the most detailed map of the ocean floor ever produced. Much of australia s vast ocean territory is unknown with less than 25 per cent of it mapped to a modern standard.

The process that continually adds new material to the ocean floor is seafloor spreading and the continental slope. Data collected by satellites and remote sensing instruments were used to created a model at least twice as. Lamont oceanographers marie tharp and bruce heezen created the first comprehensive map of the world s ocean beds. By conducting a multibeam sonar survey similar to a medical ultrasound scientists are able to image the sea bottom.