It has been over a month since Malaysia Airlines MH370 went down and the search still continues. The biggest problem that the searchers face is poor maps on the ocean floor (see below). The majority of the information comes from satellites that infer the shape of the ocean bottom from the shape of the water surface […]
It has been over a month since Malaysia Airlines MH370 went down and the search still continues. The biggest problem that the searchers face is poor maps on the ocean floor (see below).
The majority of the information comes from satellites that infer the shape of the ocean bottom from the shape of the water surface above. However, satellite are not flying a mission specifically dedicated to the task of mapping the ocean floor. A mission like that is estimated to cost $100m and none of the governments are willing to commit to this endeavor. We know more about the surface of Saturn of Jupiter than our own waters. The best way to map the ocean floor is through a modern swath-mapping echosounder system. It would take 20 dedicated ships 10 years to complete this task. This could be achieved for about $3bn. It sounds like a lot but a lot of disasters could be avoided. Think of the nuclear submarine USS San Francisco that crashed into a seamount in 2005.
The USS San Francisco hit a seamount inadequately recorded on navy charts
In addition, more accurate mapping is also important for fisheries management and conservation, because it’s around the underwater mountains that wildlife tends to congregate. Each seamount is a biodiversity hotspot.
What are your thoughts on this? Should we explore our own planet first or put all the resources into exploration of other planets? Please comment below…
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The majority of the information comes from satellites that infer the shape of the ocean bottom from the shape of the water surface above. However, satellite are not flying a mission specifically dedicated to the task of mapping the ocean floor. A mission like that is estimated to cost $100m and none of the governments are willing to commit to this endeavor. We know more about the surface of Saturn of Jupiter than our own waters. The best way to map the ocean floor is through a modern swath-mapping echosounder system. It would take 20 dedicated ships 10 years to complete this task. This could be achieved for about $3bn. It sounds like a lot but a lot of disasters could be avoided. Think of the nuclear submarine USS San Francisco that crashed into a seamount in 2005.
