Other floats drift for two months, surface to transmit data to a satellite, and descend again for another two months of data collection. They can repeat this process for up to five years. Other combinations of these techniques are under development. Drogued surface drifters used for current studies also report position and data periodically via satellite transmission.
Drifting sediment traps are used to study surface layer sedimentation, and such instruments as an acoustic backscattering device for collecting long-term data on plankton distribution are mounted on drifting buoys.
Anchors are connected to holding lines with acoustic couplings that are released to recall the instruments. Flotation holds the instruments and their tether line upright in the water column and brings them to the surface on release. As scientists try to understand movement of materials through the oceanic system, they moor sediment traps at various depths for many months to collect samples of particles sinking through the water column.
SOUND For many years, current meters have been attached to moorings as described above, left for a time to collect data, and then retrieved. In a more recent technique, an acoustic Doppler profiler measures currents while a ship is underway.
Sound signals sent from the moving ship bounce back to receivers aboard the ship for processing to give a vertical profile of horizontal water motion relative to the ship. Precise modern navigation allows ship motion to be subtracted from the data. These devices can also be used on moorings and on profilers.
The acoustic Doppler technique and acoustic backscattering also have potential for measuring the biomass of animals that reflect the sound signals. Other uses of sound capitalize on the fact that low-frequency sound can be recorded after travelling great distances in water. Sophisticated data processing reveals the effects of temperature, density, and currents on its travel time.
Acoustic tomography employs the effect of temperature on the speed of sound in seawater sound travels faster in warmer water to record temperature profiles over long ocean transects. Sound is also used for geophysical exploration of the seafloor and the layers beneath it.
Sidescan sonar offers profiles of rock outcroppings and sediment surfaces at ranges up to several kilometers. Recently developed dual-frequency sidescan sonar can even be used to distinguish rock types. Multi-channel seismic profiling penetrates several kilometers into the seafloor and the reflected or refracted sound gives pictures of various layers as the speed and direction of the sound waves are altered by the density, elasticity, and flow properties of the material they pass through.
Multibeam bathymetric systems available on some of the larger UNOLS vessels generally consist of two instrument arrays attached to the ship's hull. The sound reflects from the seafloor and is received by the second array of instruments.
Numeric and graphic displays of data in the ship's laboratory provide maps of the seafloor topography. Acoustic systems also allow remote estimates of organism biomass, individual sizes, and numbers of animals present in the water column. Operating in conjunction with pumping systems, these instruments can yield organism samples as well as readings of the water's physical, chemical, and optical properties. Their use for relaying data from instruments at sea to ship or shore is expected to increase with time.
Receipt of data in "real time," that is, as it is being taken, enables researchers to monitor the performance of equipment in the field and send a ship to service it, if necessary , to make decisions about an experiment underway, and to distribute data quickly. Two-way communication via satellite allows control of remote instruments. If you are interested in licensing one of our technologies, please visit our Technology Transfer page. Moored observatories—secured by wires, buoys, weights, and floats—are platforms which allow us to observe how the ocean and seafloor change.
One of the oldest methods for studying ocean circulation is to drop something into the water and let the ocean carry it wherever it may go. Exploring the seafloor can be like using a flashlight to find something in a dark basement.
Learn about the systems the researchers use to light, videotape, and photograph the ocean. The MISO Facility provides ready access to all US investigators needing deep-sea digital imaging capabilities for seafloor experiments and surveys that are rated to m depth. He uses techniques that span isotope geochemistry, next generation DNA sequencing, and satellite tagging to study the ecology of a wide variety of ocean species.
He recently discovered that blue sharks use warm water ocean tunnels, or eddies, to dive to the ocean twilight zone, where they forage in nutrient-rich waters hundreds of meters down. Born in New Zealand, Simon received his B. With much of his work in the South Pacific and Caribbean, Simon has been on many cruises, logging 1, hours of scuba diving and hours in tropical environs. He has been a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution since Gregory Skomal is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, and author.
He has been a fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries since and currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program.
For more than 30 years, Greg has been actively involved in the study of life history, ecology, and physiology of sharks. His shark research has spanned the globe from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to coral reefs in the tropical Central Pacific. Much of his current research centers on the use of acoustic telemetry and satellite-based tagging technology to study the ecology and behavior of sharks. With safety, cost, and efficiency as top priorities, the manner in which ocean and space exploration have progressed continues to evolve.
We have seen a technological transition from manned submersibles and spacecraft to satellites, ROVs, and extraterrestrial probes and rovers. Advances in remote sensing, satellite communication, and data collection, including sampling devices and live video feeds, allow experts from across the globe to connect and share information in real time.
Despite all of these technological advances, there is still so much more to learn and explore. It is difficult to predict what space and ocean exploration will look like in the future. An interesting point to contemplate regarding future exploration comes from Dr. Let that sink in. They're going to explore more of Earth than everyone that's been on this planet before them. What are some of the advantages of using remotely operated vehicles ROVs , rather than manned submersibles, to explore the ocean depths?
The use of ROVs in oceanographic exploration is overall less costly , more efficient , and safer than sending humans undersea in submersibles. What are two ways satellite technology aids oceanographers and astronomers in studying the oceans and outer space?
Satellite technology allows oceanographers and astronomers to collect data remotely and communicate across the globe and in real time.
The video showed many different types of technologies being used to explore outer space and the ocean. List as many of those technologies as you can remember. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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