Deep Ocean Lab

At a large water tank, visitors are able to use sophisticated technology to make a map of the tank floor. This helps to illustrate the basic principles of bathymetry.

These maps are then fed into a 3D simulation program that allows the visitor to visualize the area they just mapped. At the Deep Ocean Lab, a visitor:

• Learns about survey boats and how they are used to map the ocean floor.
• Learns about the bathymetry of the Gulf of Mexico (in particular, the Viosca Knoll).
• Learns about typical features of the sea floor.
• Scans a strip of the tank floor by navigating a camera on the tank’s surface.
• Views a 3D fly through of the strip they scanned.
• Navigates through a 3D model of the entire tank.