Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth of the third dimension of lake or
ocean floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to
hypsometry. The name comes from Greek βαθυς,
deep, and μετρον,
measure. Bathymetric (or
hydrographic) charts are typically produced to support safety of surface or sub-surface navigation, and usually show seafloor relief or
terrain as
contour lines (called
depth contours or
isobaths) and selected depths (
soundings), and typically also provide surface
navigational information. Bathymetric maps (a more general term where
navigational safety is not a concern) may also use a
Digital Terrain Model and artificial illumination techniques to illustrate the depths being portrayed.
Paleobathymetry is the study of past underwater depths.
Measurement
Originally, bathymetry referred to the measurement of
ocean depth through
depth sounding. Early techniques used pre-measured heavy
rope or cable lowered over a ship's side. The greatest limitation of this technique is that it measures the depth only a single point at a time, and so is inefficient. It is also subject to movements of the ship and currents moving the line out of true and therefore is inaccurate.
The data used to make bathymetric maps today typically comes from an echosounder (
sonar) mounted beneath or over the side of a boat, "pinging" a beam of sound downward at the seafloor or from remote sensing
LIDAR or LADAR systems
. The amount of time it takes for the sound or light to travel through the water, bounce off the seafloor, and return to the sounder tells the equipment what the distance to the seafloor is. LIDAR/LADAR surveys are usually conducted by airborne systems.
Since the early 1930s, and more commonly from the 1940s onwards, the occasional pings of a single-beam sounder might be averaged to make a map. Today, a
multibeam echosounder (MBES) may be used, featuring hundreds of very narrow adjacent beams arranged in a fan-like swath of perhaps 90 to 170 degrees across. The tightly packed array of narrow individual beams provides very high
angular resolution and accuracy. In general the wide swath, which is depth dependent, allows a boat to map more seafloor in less time than a single-beam echosounder by making fewer passes. The beams update many times per second (typically 0.1-50
Hz depending on water depth), allowing faster boat speed while maintaining 100% coverage of the seafloor. Attitude sensors allow for the correction of the boat's
roll, pitch and yaw on the ocean surface, and a gyrocompass provides accurate heading information to correct for vessel yaw. (Most modern MBES systems use an integrated motion-sensor and position system that measures yaw as well as the other dynamics and position.) The
Global Positioning System (or other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) is used to position the soundings with respect to the surface of the earth. Sound speed profiles (speed of sound in water as a function of depth) of the water column correct for refraction or "ray-bending" of the sound waves owing to non-uniform water column characteristics such as temperature, conductivity, and pressure. A computer system processes all the data, correcting for all of the above factors as well as for the angle of each individual beam. The resulting sounding measurements are then processed either manually, semi-automatically or automatically (in limited circumstances) to produce a map of the area. A number of different outputs are currently generated, including a sub-set of the original measurements that satisfy some conditions (e.g., most representative likely soundings, shallowest in a region, etc.) or integrated
Digital Terrain Models (e.g., a regular or irregular grid of points connected into a surface). Historically, selection of measurements was more common in
hydrographic applications while DTM construction was used for engineering surveys, geology, flow modeling, etc. Since ca. 2003-2005, DTMs have become more accepted in hydrographic practice.
Satellites are also used to measure bathymetry. Satellite radar maps deep-sea topography by detecting the subtle variations in sea level caused by the gravitational pull of undersea mountains, ridges, and other masses. On average, sea level is higher over mountains and ridges than abyssal plains and trenches
.
Most surveys of navigable waterways in the
United States are performed or commissioned by the
United States Army Corps of Engineers, for inland waterways, and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for oceans. Coastal bathymetry data is available from
NOAA's . Bathymetric data is usually referenced to tidal vertical
datums. For deep water bathymetry, this is typically Mean Sea Level (MSL) but most data used for nautical charting is referenced to Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) in American surveys, and Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) in other countries. Many other
datums are used in practice, depending on the locality and tidal regime.
Some occupations or careers related to bathymetry are the study of oceans and rocks and minerals on the ocean floor, and the study of underwater earthquakes or volcanoes. The measurement and analysis of bathymetric measurements is one of the core areas of modern
hydrography, and a fundamental component in ensuring the safe transport of goods worldwide.
See also
