The study of the bottom type of the oceans has several implications to predict the past climate change for environmental prediction and to understand the impact of benthic habitat on fisheries and other biological communities. The study of offshore pollution patterns and mechanisms helps sustain healthy coasts. Bottom type recognition is of major importance to find sources of dredged material for beach replenishment and to evaluate the impacts of proposed offshore waste disposal. It also helps to learn about and estimate the impacts of events such as gas hydrate releases related to slope stability and to locate strategic offshore mineral resources. It has been used to determine sites for seabed communications cables, drilling platforms, & other structures; to provide groundtruth values for remotely sensed/satellite data, helping refine new techniques for environmental assessment and prediction; and to learn more about how the Earth and its environmental systems function.
Map from CD-ROM "Man and the Ocean", produced by the Russian Head Department of Navigation and Oceanography
The beauty and diversity of Australia's sea floor is no longer a mystery following the release of footage that takes people around Australia's ocean bed in less than three minutes.
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