What technologies are used to map the deep ocean?
Mapping the ocean floor requires an arsenal of technologies from satellites in space to robots on the seabed.
The answer
Ocean mapping employs a suite of complementary technologies. Satellite altimetry measures tiny variations in sea surface height caused by gravitational differences from underwater features, providing a coarse global map. Ship-mounted multibeam echo sounders create detailed bathymetric maps by bouncing thousands of sound pulses off the seafloor per second. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) fly close to the seabed for centimeter-resolution surveys. Lidar can map shallow coastal waters from aircraft. The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 project coordinates these efforts globally, and advances in uncrewed surface vessels are dramatically reducing the cost of high-resolution ocean floor mapping.
Source: GEBCO Seabed 2030
- ocean mapping
- bathymetry
- AUVs
- technology
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