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Mapping The Ocean Floor. Echosounding – Indirect method used for mapping the ocean floor using sound waves Energy waves such as sound waves are sent to the ocean floor from the surface
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Mapping The Ocean Floor • Echosounding – Indirect method used for mapping the ocean floor using sound waves • Energy waves such as sound waves are sent to the ocean floor from the surface • Sound waves are reflected back to the ocean surface from the ocean floor and the time is recorded by the oceanographer • Knowing the speed of sound in water and the time that it takes the sound wave to travel from the surface to the floor, back to the surface; allows the oceanographers to determine the depth of the ocean floor at a certain point SONAR – system that uses sound waves to calculate the distance to an object.
Ocean Depth = (# of seconds / 2) X 1500 m/s How deep is the ocean floor if it takes the sound wave 15 seconds to return to the boat? Step 1 – Write the equation Ocean Depth = (# of seconds / 2) X 1500 m/s Step 2 – Substitution OD = (15 seconds / 2) X 1500 m/s Step 3 – Answer with units 11,250 meters (m)
Ocean Floor There are many ocean floor features: • Continental Shelves • Continental Slopes • Continental Rises • Abyssal Plains and Hills • Seamounts • Guyots • Mid-Ocean Ridges • Trenches and Submarine Canyons • Rift Valleys