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A high-resolution map can be created through the comprehensive bathymetric survey. Which collects high-resolution data from the sea floor. Bathymetric data are gathered using multi-beam sonar equipment mounted on a ship's hull. The sonar system sends out multiple sound waves that bounce off the seafloor and return to the ship. The delay between sending and receiving a signal provides a measurement of the ocean depth. The strength of the return signal provides an indication of how hard the sea floor is, the ship proceeds through the search in overlapping lines to capture depth information systematically. Overlapping lines increases the accuracy of the mapping and helps to address gaps in the data, which may occur to fluctuation in the weather condition. Then we review, correct, and analyze the data to create three-dimensional models and maps that reveal details of the sea floor. Bathymetric mapping gives a detailed picture of the underwater landscape, identifying potential hazards to navigation within the area. These include large mountains and deep trenches. Some of them plunge to more than six thousand meters below sea level, along with sea mounts and ridges.
The bathymetric map is an essential navigation tool for a more detailed underwater search. Using the bathymetric map to safely navigate at a much closer range to the sea floor. The underwater search helps to get a more detailed view of the ocean floor. For that towfish sonars are used. The towfish descends thousands of meters down through the water until it travels approximately one hundred meters above the sea floor. The tow fish operates a side-scan sonar that maps features on the sea floor in much greater detail. It gathers data up to one kilometer on either side of its path. The side-scan sonar sends out pulses of sound that reflect off seafloor features. Some types of material, such as boulders, gravel, volcanic rock, or metal reflect the sound waves more strongly than fine sediments like clay and silt. Interpretation of the captured data produces images that resemble black and white photos and reveal a great degree of detail about features on the sea floor.
In the future, data from the bathymetric survey will also form a permanent record of this deep ocean and contribute to new scientific knowledge and understanding.
