In this activity, students create a model seafloor and create a map of it through taking depth readings.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- understand the concept of underwater mapping of the seafloor
- construct a model to simulate a seafloor and take readings
- plot the results and use these to create a map.
Download the Word file for:
- introduction/background notes
- what you need
- what to do
- student handout.
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Multibeam technology has been used in the search for the pink and white terraces, to find out more about cold-seep sites, Seamounts in the Ross Sea and to find out more after the devastating Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapa volcanic eruption.
Useful link
In 2017 the Seabed 2030 Project was launched at the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference. It is aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal #14 – to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. It is a collaborative project between the Nippon Foundation of Japan and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). It aims to bring together all available bathymetric data to produce a definitive map of the world ocean floor by 2030.
