Journal

Take a close look at the diagram below, which was produced by the British Antarctic Survey to show how a multibeam works. This is the primary tool we use on the ship to collect information about the shape of the seafloor. Does it remind you of anything? What animals do you think they studied in order to develop this mapping system? I have a few interesting facts I will share with you tomorrow, but take a minute to do some research yourself and tell me something fascinating you learn about the species that were using multibeam technology long before humans ever invented it.

How a multibeam works, courtesy of the British Antarctic Survey
A ship's multibeam is used to create a detailed map of the seafloor. Image courtesy of the British Antarctic Survey.

Details
Author
Sarah Slack
Date
Location
Onboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer icebreaker in the Amundsen Sea off the southwest coast of Antarctica
Expedition
Thwaites Offshore Research
Weather Summary
Mostly cloudy with a few breaks of sunshine
Temperature
-1.6 C
Wind Speed
8.4 knots out of the east
Wind Chill
-11.8 C

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Comments

Tue, 02/25/2020 - 02:33

Jeff Utz, M.D.

When I think of sonar, I think of Ben Underwood. He had retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye where the treatment is called "enucleation." Which means removing both eyes. Retinoblastoma is genetic and strikes when the victims are real young, like 1 or 2 years of age. Other kids have also developed echolocation after being blind in both eyes. Other animals that have it include bats, some whales and some dolphins. However, I doubt that scientists studied any of these to make SONAR better. They may have been inspired by animals with echolocation, but they didn't learn a lot from them that help improved SONAR. The hardware (ears, brain vs. silicon) and software are just too different. SONAR was first to map to the sea-floor during World War II, when Capt. Hess used SONAR to map the sea floor when he was ferrying troops from island to island in the Pacific. So I doubt they had the technology to do to study echolocation in bats or marine animals back then, and the technology developed independently. Nonetheless, the parallels are fascinating.