Seafloor

The basic principle of acoustic positioning with the white ship icon indicating the positions of the survey ship at different time. Credit: Satellite Navigation (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s43020-023-00124-3 The exploration of oceanic resources through seismic methods necessitates precise seafloor geophone positioning. Traditional techniques, however, grapple with issues such as the influence of outliers, suboptimal use of precise…

Wave energy remains one of the least-exploited clean energy options, with huge potential as part of a green energy grid. Finland's AW Energy is preparing to field a contender at scale – the Waveroller – which sits on the sea bed generating up to 1 MW. Wave power does not seem to be a super fast-moving sector. We've seen plenty of fascinating ideas in this space, from jetty-mounted pump arms, to telescoping barrels, to elastic sea-bed flappers, and two different flavors of artificial blowhole generators, to name just a…

The harbor porpoise pits model. We suggest the following model for the formation of the pits and pit-scours. Phase 1: Harbor porpoise acoustically search for buried fish (sand eel) using their sonar on a flat seafloor. Phase 2: Bottom grubbing similar to the one observed for dolphins and gray whales, resulting in decimeter to meter large pits with a distinct morphology. Phase 3: The pits act as nucleation points for bottom currents to initiate scouring…

A permafrost-created a pingo or "ice pimple" in the North Slope of Alaska. Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories have been using a fiber optic cable to study permafrost in the Arctic seafloor to improve the understanding of global climate change. Credit: Sandia National Laboratories The Arctic is remote, with often harsh conditions, and its climate is changing rapidly—warming four times faster than the rest of the Earth.…

MYGI station location. Credit: Satellite Navigation (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s43020-023-00120-7 In a study published on 4 December 2023, in the journal Satellite Navigation, researchers from Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping have developed a self-structured Empirical SSP (SESSP) approach to overcome previous limitations. This novel method utilizes a three-parameter Empirical Temperature Profile (ETP) model, structured using…

Multibeam bathymetry shows the morphology of a section of the Southeast Indian Ridge south of Australia. New research finds that highly variable seafloor morphology is controlled by changes in magma supply along the axes of mid-ocean ridges. Credit: Ross Parnell-Turner At nearly 65,000 kilometers long, the mid-ocean ridge system is the longest mountain range in the world. Running beneath the ocean's surface, mid-ocean ridges…

Roger Bryant studied ocean floor core samples at the Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) facility at Washington University in St. Louis during his PhD studies. Bryant and David Fike have used this data to prove a discovery that will fundamentally change how scientists use pyrite sulfur isotopes to study oceanic conditions. Credit: Clive Jones, Washington University in St. Louis Blame it on plate tectonics. The deep ocean is…

Patrick Star of SpongeBob SquarePants fame had already stretched the boundaries of anatomical correctness, yet it turns out that what all of us think about the bodily composition of a sea star is most likely wrong, thanks to new genetic work that suggests the marine animal has no arms or legs but is just one giant, crawling head.Upending what biologists know about one of nature’s most curious creatures, researchers from Chan Zuckerberg Biohub San Francisco, working with labs at Stanford University and the University of…

Researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and various other institutions have analyzed the aftermath of the Minoan eruption of Santorini, discovering that the destructive tsunami 3,600 years ago was caused by a combination of pyroclastic flows and the destabilization of the volcano’s flanks. The study, utilizing seismic data and bathymetry of the sea floor, emphasizes the importance of understanding flank instabilities in assessing tsunami hazards at active volcanoes.The imprints left on the…

(A)–(C) Morphological profiles of Santorini's flanks (blue line), regression curves through these profiles (dotted red line), and difference of both (green line) showing the wavelength and wave height of USBs. Profile 2 shows subtle USBs related to pyroclastic flows to the north (A), profile 8 shows medium-scale USBs associated with slope failures to the west (B), and profile 6 shows large-scale USBs associated with deep-seated deformation (C). (D)…