Skip to main content

ABC News: Sound waves measure ocean temperatures

Posted 
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Graphic image of a sound wave
ABC News: Sound waves measure ocean temperatures

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  9–10


View how scientists use underwater sound waves to measure ocean temperature changes in the Indian Ocean.

The animations show how the technology called acoustic thermometry works.

Australian scientists are working with a global network of 'listening posts' to monitor the long-term effects of climate change on ocean temperatures.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What do you know about ocean temperatures? Why might scientists want to measure ocean temperatures?
  2. 2.Watch for the animation that shows sound waves travelling through water at different depths. What does it show? How do scientists use underwater sound waves to measure ocean temperature?
  3. 3.Usually you would expect scientists to use thermometers to measure temperature. Why do you think sound is used to measure ocean temperatures globally? How does this Australian research fit within an international network to monitor ocean temperatures?
  4. 4.Given this work was done in 2001 there might be data available on the internet showing other ways scientists measure ocean temperatures.



Date of broadcast: 26 Sep 1999


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Posted