Oceanography: Types And Importance Of Underwater Tracking Systems

Water occupies almost 70% of the earth’s surface, which is why it has become imminent for scientists and researchers to study the underwater conditions in seas and oceans.

Importance of underwater tracking system

With the proper equipment and software tools, the marine specialists can know several pieces of information, starting from the marine life, habitat, underwater seismic activities, volcano and mountain locations, ocean current, and so on.

These data sets are appropriately analyzed to learn about the ocean and sea habitats, climate, and many more physical and geographical conditions. Marine studies have become quite helpful for environment-specialists also. This is because the shift in climatic and pressure belts of the earth directly impacts the oceans and seas. Furthermore, the extent of water pollution on a large scale can be known by several oceanography statistics collected via underwater tracking systems.

This article will discuss the types of marine surveys and the importance of ocean surveys for different industries.

What are the main types of ocean surveys?

Ocean surveys can be divided into three major parts, which target various features and areas of oceanography. These three survey types are:

1. Continental shelf surveys are carried on in shallow waters, whether on the land or coastal areas. With the data, researchers and marine specialists can know about changing coastal structures, the defense type suitable for a particular coast structure, shallow water habitats, and marine life, etc.

2. With ocean survey equipment, marine specialists perform deep-sea surveys. Here, studies are done at a water depth of about 6 kilometers and more from the sea level. In this particular type of survey, ocean beds and seafloors are studied to know more about the tectonic plates, areas where submarine cables can be installed, seafloor geology, and so on.

3. Another most common type of ocean study is the seismic survey. Several underwater tracking systems and equipment units can help learn about underwater volcanic movements, earthquakes, shifting of tectonic plates, finding gas and petroleum reserves, etc.

Why are marine surveys important for different industries?

Marine surveys are done for several reasons using the top-scale ocean survey equipment pieces. Below are some of the significant ways in which marine surveys have proven to be helpful.

1. Oceanography uses several seismic tracking software and tools to know the seabed and tectonic plate conditions.

2. With a proper ultra short baseline system, one can perform dynamic positioning of anything under the water, starting with diver locations to habitat explorations.

3. Marine surveys also play a pivotal role in protecting the environment. Data pieces regarding ocean currents, water volume, water temperature, underwater pressure, and others can help researchers devise strategies for reducing ocean and sea pollution.

4. Another significant way marine tracking systems like the ultra short baseline, sonars, and others can help is by locating shipwrecks, trenches, mountains, and other geological factors.

Diverse roles of oceanographers

Oceanographers are conducting surveys every day to track and record the changes in oceans and seas to prevent natural calamities and preserve the marine environment utilizing ocean survey equipment. Several types of oceanography equipment are used to assess the ocean depth at a given position or find natural gas and petroleum reserves. An oceanographer studies climate change on the seabeds, declining fisheries, and eroding coastlines. Also, they contribute primarily toward developing new drugs from marine resources.