A Brief Description of Bathymetry

Bathymetry Paper Bathymetry is a very interesting study of underwater depth in large bodies of water. I find it interesting because for much of the time humans have lived on this earth, we have not had the opportunities that we have now with technology. By being able to measure the depths of large bodies of water we can better understand the ecology at certain depths. It has been easier for us to learn the scientific effects humans have had on dry land. But with the amount of fishing, dumping waste, and other practices detrimental to ocean life we don’t have a clear perspective on the effect we are having on the ocean. Bathymetry is one of many tools aiding in our understanding of what we can do differently to protect the environment and learn more about how aquatic life is changing. Interestingly enough, Nam Co is the largest Lake in the central part of the Tibetan Plateau. The lake is important economically to those who live in the area so monitoring how the lake is changing is important. Recent studies indicated that Nam Co had a very large area in the late Quaternary period and was even connected with other small lakes around it (Zhu et al. 2002). Because of the drying climate since the onset of the Holocene, Nam Co gradually shrank; this change could be noticed by old lake terraces distributed up to 28 m above today 's lake level. Recent observations show that the lake area expanded again over the past 3 decades for several meters (Whu and Zhu 2008). It is interesting to note how the islands, rivers, and depths change over time. Studies of how these changes in conjunction with studies of Ph level changes show us how and why the lake is changing. In this article the primary method utilized in the study was bathymetry. The scientists selected four different camp sites from which they would conduct their studies. By doing this they could work the north, south, east, and west areas providing them with a balanced collective data analysis of the

Cited: Zhu DG, Zhao XT, Meng XG, Wu ZH, Wu HZ, Feng XY, Shao ZG, Liu QS, Yang ML (2002) Quaternary lake deposits of Nam Co, Tibet, with a discussion of the connection of Nam Co with Ring Co-Jiuru Co. Acta Geol Sin 76(3):283–291 Wu YH, Zhu LP (2008) The response of lake-glacier variations to climate change in Nam Co Catchment, central Tibetan Plateau, during 1970–2000. J Geogr Sci 18(2):177–189 Junbo Wang , Liping Zhu, Gerhard Daut, Jianting Ju, Xiao Lin, Yong Wang and Xiaolin Zhen (2008) Investigation of bathymetry and water quality of Lake Nam Co