Mapping The Ocean Floor

Mapping The Ocean FloorSONAR – system that uses sound waves to

calculate the distance to an object.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

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 equationOcean Depth = (# of seconds / 2) X 1500 m/s

Step 2 – SubstitutionOD = (15 seconds / 2) X 1500 m/s

Step 3 – Answer with units

11,250 meters (m)

Ocean FloorThere 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

Can you label the ocean floor parts?