Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
1–10 of 59 posts
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#2Because we have to use sound waves instead of radio waves. But the article is mostly about satellite based gravimetric mapping techniques which are fundamentally low resolution.
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#3Synthetic aperture sonar is a massively underrated technology for undersea map making and remote sensing.
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#4well it's all underwater innit
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#5[dead]
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#6I bet the US Navy has classified ocean floor maps that are far beyond those available to the public.
Knowing the ocean floor better than your opponents is likely to be a big advantage when playing the various cat and mouse games with attack and ballistic missile subs that the US and the Soviet Union played for decades.
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#7Because we have to use sound waves instead of radio waves. But the article is mostly about satellite based gravimetric mapping techniques which are fundamentally low resolution.
You can use laser, but that's only good for up to around 50m deep.
https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/innovation/laser-airborne-dep...
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#8Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#9I bet the US Navy has classified ocean floor maps that are far beyond those available to the public. Knowing the ocean floor better than your opponents is likely to be a big advantage when playing the various cat and mouse games with attack and ballistic missile subs that the US and the Soviet Union played for decades.
I doubt it.
Most of the ocean floor is very deep, so deep that even modern submarines can't reach it. If I were a non-human, intelligent species, that would be a perfect place to hide.
Re: Why Is It So Difficult to Map the Ocean?
#10I bet the US Navy has classified ocean floor maps that are far beyond those available to the public. Knowing the ocean floor better than your opponents is likely to be a big advantage when playing the various cat and mouse games with attack and ballistic missile subs that the US and the Soviet Union played for decades.
Still not good enough. US Navy subs have underwater collisions from time to time.
In 2015 USS San Francisco collided underwater sea mount at full speed. It was supposed to be deep blue sea.
In 2021 USS Connecticut collided with underwater mountain in South China Sea.
US Navy needs to map ocean floor only to 500 meters to keep it safe for submarines but they can't even do that.