WaterWord of the Day: Bathymetry

The WaterWord: Bathymetry

Definition:

• Just as the land above the water has its highs and lows, so too does the land beneath the ocean’s surface. Those features are known as bathymetry.

Etymology:

• Bathymetric comes from two Greek words: bathys, meaning “deep,” and metrike, meaning “to measure.”

Use/Significance in the Earth Science Community:

• Bathymetry is an important aspect of marine geology. Scientists seek to identify various types of features underwater, as well as to study how they formed.
• Researchers use tools like multibeam sonar to map the seafloor.  By measuring how long an acoustic signal takes to bounce off the seafloor, scientists develop high-resolution maps of deep-sea features.

U.S. Geological Survey/Schmidt Ocean Institute Use:

• USGS and SOI are collaborating on a research cruise off the coast of Oregon and Washington that will study methane seeps in a region known as the continental margin. During this cruise, quite a bit of bathymetric data will be collected.
• SOI research cruises regularly collect bathymetric data, and its research vessel, the R/V Falkor, is equipped with advanced multibeam sonar systems to study the seafloor features.
• USGS has also collected significant amounts of bathymetric data, not just along the ocean floor but also for river and lake bottoms. That data can be found here.

Next WaterWord: Benthic