Audio: Seafloor Mapping Sounds

Jessica Robertson, U.S. Geological Survey Public Affairs Specialist

Listen to the sound signals our seafloor mapping instruments are using!

http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/arctic/files/2008/09/chirp.mp3

The multibeam sends out a soft ping (12 kilohertz) and the sub-bottom profiler emits a chirp sound (3.5 kilohertz). These sound signals are sent from the ship into the seafloor and the return signals that bounce back are used to determine ocean depth. Some of you, but not all of you, will be able to hear the ping immediately (about half a second) before the chirp. I can hear these sounds faintly throughout the ship, whether in my room, the science lounge or the mess hall. This sound was recorded in my room.

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  The 2009 U.S.-Canada Arctic Continental Shelf Survey is underway from August 7 - September 16. Blog posts from sea are authored by the various agencies collaborating during the expedition. More information on the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project can be found at continentalshelf.gov.

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