Question
How would you determine the depth of a sea with the help of SONAR technology?
Answer
SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) technology is used to determine the depth of a sea or water body by measuring the time it takes for sound waves to travel from a transmitter to the seafloor and back to a receiver. Here’s a simplified explanation of how this works:
- Transmitting Sound Waves: A SONAR system sends out a pulse of sound, usually in the form of a high-frequency sound wave, into the water.
- Sound Wave Propagation: The sound wave travels through the water at a constant speed, which is roughly 1,500 meters per second (about 1.5 kilometres per second) in seawater. The speed of sound in water can vary slightly depending on factors like water temperature and salinity.
- Reflection from Seafloor: When the sound wave reaches the seafloor, it reflects off it because of the density difference between water and the seafloor.
- Receiving the Echo: A receiver in the SONAR system detects the reflected sound wave or echo when it returns.
- Calculating Depth: The time it takes for the sound pulse to travel to the seafloor and back to the receiver is recorded. Since you know the speed of sound in water and the time it took for the echo to return, you can use a simple formula: Depth (in meters) = (Speed of Sound in Water × Time) / 2.
