Marine Mammal Protection

Heezen and Tharp Seafloor Map, 1977. Courtesy of Marie Tharp.

Continental Margins

Earthquakes

Landslides & Tsunamis

Fishing

Energy & Climate

Acoustic and seismic research has contributed more to understanding Earth’s physical history, natural hazard potential, and climate systems than perhaps all other scientific technology combined. It gives scientists the ability to map the ocean floor, a tool that revolutionized earth sciences 50 years ago with the discovery that continents break apart and tectonic plates shift. It revealed the globe-encircling volcanic mid-ocean ridge system, earthquake-producing boundaries of crustal plates, drowned shorelines, and submarine landslide deposits.

The deep interior of the oceans is as difficult for man to reach as is deep space. The opaqueness of seawater to the passage of light or radio waves makes it difficult to efficiently study the seafloor or the deep interior of the oceans with either optical methods (cameras, etc), or with radar or microwave radiation (such as used in satellites). Sound, however, travels freely through the oceans and can be used to measure topography and to map geology, ocean temperatures, and currents.

Today, marine acoustic surveys are fundamental tools guiding explorations of this planet. Numerous scientific research vessels from around the world are engaged in studying all of the Earth’s oceans and the underlying seafloor. The data that is being collected is critical to informed decision making regarding our future.