Bathymetry

Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth and topography. It can be used to measure the depth of oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water. Bathymetric data can be used to create maps and 3D models of the bottom of a body of water. This data can be used for navigation, fisheries management, offshore oil and gas exploration, and ocean science research.

Bathymetry is typically measured using sonar devices that emit sound waves and measure the time it takes for the waves to bounce back off the bottom of the body of water. The data from these measurements can be used to create contour lines that show changes in depth. Bathymetric data can also be collected using LIDAR (light detection and ranging), which uses laser light instead of sound waves.

Depth measurements alone do not give a complete picture of the bottom topography. To get a more detailed view, bathymetric surveys are often combined with seismic surveys, which use sound waves to map out buried features such as faults and sediment layers. Multibeam echosounders are commonly used for high-resolution bathymetric surveys. These devices send out a fan-shaped beam of sound waves that covers a large area with each sweep. The data from multibeam echosounders can be processed to create 3D models of the seafloor or lakebed.