Using Sound to Measure Ocean Warming
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about efforts to measure ocean warming through the use of sound--a process known as dark acoustic thermometry. Professor Munk notes that since the speed of sound increases in the ocean with t...
Using Tidal Power
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about the potential use of tidal power to generate electricity. He notes that the Bay of Fundy is frequently mentioned as a possible site for this sort of power generation. According to Dr. M...
Noise Pollution and Marine Life
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about the impact of sound on marine animals. He discusses the campaign of environmental groups to cut down on noise pollution in the ocean--a campaign which Professor Munk argues resulted in ...
Surf's Up: Wave Climate and the D-Day Story
Just as continental locations have a climate, so, too, do ocean waves. Knowing the wave climate at Normandy became a key part of the planning process in advance of the Allied D-Day invasion during World War II.
Marine Animals and Sound
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about the use of sound by marine animals. Professor Monk observes that while scientists don't fully understand all the ways marine animals use sound, it is generally believed that animals in ...
Sonar
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about sonar, which stands for sound navigation and ranging, the process by which objects (like submarines, for example) are discovered when sound waves are reflected off of them and then dete...
The Heard Island Test and Climate Change
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about efforts to measure ocean warming through sound in a test done near Heard Island, an area considered unique because sound emanating from that point can theoretically reach every ocean ba...
The Moon, The Sun and Tides
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about the relative roles of the Sun and the Moon in tidal processes. He observes that, over time, the Moon is moving further away from the Earth. While the gravitational impact of the Moon is...
The Dynamic Theory of the Tides
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about the dynamic theory of the tides, noting that Sir Isaac Newton's theory of the tides was incomplete. French scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace explained a century after Newton that tidal for...
Temperature and the Velocity of Sound
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about the relationship between temperature and the velocity of sound, observing that velocity increases with temperature. Because temperature generally increases anywhere from ten to twenty d...