Bathymetry (Environmental & Earth Science)
From The Encyclopedia of Earth
Oceans and seas (main)
Bathymetry
March 30, 2010, 12:00 am
July 31, 2012, 11:12 pm
| Topics: |
Geology (main)
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Bathymetry is the measurement and charting of the spatial variation of the ocean, sea or lake depths.
| This article is written at a definitional level only. Authors wishing to expand this entry are inivited to expand the present treatment, which additions will be peer reviewed prior to publication of any expansion. |
The product of a bathymetric study is usually a topographic map (Topography) of the floor of the subject water body. Early bathymetry consisted of lowering cables to measure the depth to bottom, with such technology being driven by needs for navigational safety. In the twentieth century acoustical soundings began to be used to explore the sea bottom for a wide range of oceanographic research purposes.
Further Reading:
- R.C.Olsen. 2007. Remote Sensing from Air and Space, SPIE, ISBN 9780819462350
- Rhodes W. Fairbridge, editor. The Encyclopedia of Oceanography. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1966.
- Physical Oceanography Index on the Encyclopedia of Earth
