Bathymetry is the measurement of the depth of water in oceans, rivers, or lakes. Bathymetric maps look a lot like topographic maps, which use lines to show the shape and elevation of land features.

On topographic maps, the lines connect points of equal elevation. On bathymetric maps, they connect points of equal depth. A circular shape with increasingly smaller circles inside of it can indicate an ocean trench. It can also indicate a seamount, or underwater mountain.

In ancient times, scientists would conduct bathymetric measurements by throwing a heavy rope over the side of a ship and recording the length of rope it took to reach the seafloor. These measurements, however, were inaccurate and incomplete. The rope often did not travel straight to the seafloor, but was shifted by currents. The rope could also only measure depth one point at a time. To get a clear picture of the seafloor, scientists would have had to take thousands of rope measurements.

More often, scientists and navigators estimated the topography of the seafloor. Sometimes, the seafloor’s hills and valleys were easy to predict. Other times, an ocean trench or sandbar would surprise navigators. This could lead to danger for a ship’s crew and economic losses if the ship hit the sandbar and lost its cargo.

Echo Sounders
Today, echo sounders are used to make bathymetric measurements. An echo sounder sends out a sound pulse from a ship’s hull, or bottom, to the ocean floor. The sound wave bounces back to the ship. The time it takes for the pulse to leave and return to the ship determines the topography of the seafloor. The longer it takes, the deeper the water.

An echo sounder is able to measure a small area of the seafloor. However, the accuracy of these measurements is still limited. The ship from which the measurements are taken is moving, changing the depth to the seafloor by centimeters or even feet. Reflections from undersea organisms, such as whales, can disrupt the sound wave’s path. The speed of sound in water also varies, depending on the temperature, salinity (saltiness), and pressure of the water. In general, sound travels faster as temperature, salinity, and pressure increase. The ocean has different currents, with different temperatures and salinities. The ocean’s constant movement makes bathymetry difficult.

To address these problems, engineers developed multibeam echo sounders. Multibeam echo sounders feature hundreds of very narrow beams that send out sound pulses. This array of pulses provides very high angular resolution. Angular resolution is the ability to measure different angles, or points of view, of a single object. Having high angular resolution means a single feature of the seafloor—like the top of an undersea mountain—would be measured from a variety of angles, from the sides as well as the top.

Multibeam echo sounders correct for the movements of the boat at sea, further increasing the measurements’ accuracy. They also allow scientists to map more seafloor in less time than a single-beam echo sounder.

Multibeam echo sounders can also provide information about the physical characteristics of a seafloor feature. For instance, they can indicate whether the feature is made of hard or soft sediments. If the material is hard, the signal from the echo sounder will come back stronger.

Many interesting discoveries have been made by bathymetric technology. For example, thousands of seamounts were discovered in the central Pacific Ocean, near the U.S. state of Hawaii. These seamounts, called the Hawaii-Emperor Seamount Chain, rise 1,000 or more meters (3,280 feet) above the seafloor. Scientists thought they were ancient volcanoes, but they could not be sure. Using bathymetric tools, samples of rocks from the tops of these seamounts confirmed the theory. These seamounts contained fossils of reef-building organisms that lived in shallow waters during the Cretaceous period. These samples proved that the seamounts stood above the water in the time of the dinosaurs.

Bathymetric Data
The U.S. National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) measure and archive bathymetric data. Their bathymetric measurements support safe navigation and protect marine environments around the globe.

The NGDC, for example, creates digital elevation models that are used to simulate tsunamis. The presence of undersea trenches or mountains can directly affect the strength and path of a tsunami or hurricane. The NGDC also operates a worldwide digital data bank of bathymetric measurements on behalf of the member countries of the International Hydrographic Organization.

The IHO, based in Monaco, works to achieve uniformity in nautical charts, adopt reliable methods of carrying out ocean surveys, and develop the sciences in the field of hydrography. Hydrography is the study of the depth and characteristics of water. Bathymetry is a part of hydrography. It is an integral part in this science of surveying and charting bodies of water.