请输入您要查询的百科知识:

 

词条 Underwater
释义

  1. Extent

  2. Constraints on non-aquatic life

  3. Buoyancy

  4. Photic zone

  5. Temperature

  6. Conductivity

  7. See also

  8. References

{{short description|The aquatic or submarine environment}}{{Redirect|Under water|the term relating to finance|Negative equity}}{{Redirect|Undersea|the EP by The Antlers|Undersea (EP)}}{{other uses}}{{Refimprove|date=October 2011}}

Underwater refers to the region below the surface of water where the water exists in a swimming pool or a natural feature (called a body of water) such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river.

Extent

Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water. A majority of the planet's solid surface is abyssal plain, at depths between {{convert|4000|and|5500|m|ft}} below the surface of the oceans. The solid surface location on the planet closest to the centre of the orb is the Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench at a depth of {{convert|10,924|m|ft}}. Although a number of human activities are conducted underwater—such as research, scuba diving for work or recreation, or even underwater warfare with submarines, this very extensive environment on planet Earth is hostile to humans in many ways and therefore little explored. But it can be explored by sonar, or more directly via manned or autonomous submersibles. The ocean floors have been surveyed via sonar to at least a coarse resolution; particularly-strategic areas have been mapped in detail, in the name of detecting enemy submarines, or aiding friendly ones, though the resulting maps may still be classified.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

Constraints on non-aquatic life

An immediate obstacle to human activity under water is the fact that human lungs cannot naturally function in this environment. Unlike the gills of fish, human lungs are adapted to the exchange of gases at atmospheric pressure, not liquids. Aside from simply having insufficient musculature to rapidly move water in and out of the lungs, a more significant problem for all air-breathing animals, such as mammals and birds, is that water contains so little dissolved oxygen compared with atmospheric air. Air is around 21% O2; water typically is less than 0.001% dissolved oxygen.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}{{clarify|date=June 2016}}{{dubious|date=November 2016}}

The density of water also causes problems that increase dramatically with depth. The atmospheric pressure at the surface is 14.7 pounds per square inch or around 100 kPa. A comparable water pressure occurs at a depth of only {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} ({{convert|9.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} for sea water). Thus, at about 10 m below the surface, the water exerts twice the pressure (2 atmospheres or 200 kPa) on the body as air at surface level.

For solids and liquids like bone, muscle and blood, this added pressure is not much of a problem; but it is a problem for any air-filled spaces like the mouth, ears, paranasal sinuses and lungs. This is because the air in those spaces reduces in volume when under pressure and so does not provide those spaces with support against the higher outside pressure. Even at a depth of {{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}} underwater, an inability to equalize air pressure in the middle ear with outside water pressure can cause pain, and the tympanic membrane (eardrum) can rupture at depths under 10 ft (3 m). The danger of pressure damage is greatest in shallow water because the ratio of pressure change is greatest near the surface of the water. For example, the pressure increase between the surface and 10 m (33 ft) is 100% (100 kPa to 200 kPa), but the pressure increase from 30 m (100 ft) to 40 m (130 ft) is only 25% (400 kPa to 500 kPa).

Buoyancy

Any object immersed in water is provided with a buoyant force that counters the force of gravity, appearing to make the object less heavy. If the overall density of the object exceeds the density of water, the object sinks. If the overall density is less than the density of water, the object rises until it floats on the surface.

Photic zone

With increasing depth underwater, sunlight is absorbed, and the amount of visible light diminishes. Because absorption is greater for long wavelengths (red end of the visible spectrum) than for short wavelengths (blue end of the visible spectrum), the colour spectrum is rapidly altered with increasing depth. White objects at the surface appear bluish underwater, and red objects appear dark, even black. Although light penetration will be less if water is turbid, in the very clear water of the open ocean less than 25% of the surface light reaches a depth of 10 m (33 feet). At 100 m (330 ft) the light present from the sun is normally about 0.5% of that at the surface.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

The euphotic depth is the depth at which light intensity falls to 1% of the value at the surface. This depth is dependent upon water clarity, being only a few metres underwater in a turbid estuary, but may reach up to 200 metres in the open ocean. At the euphotic depth, plants (such as phytoplankton) have no net energy gain from photosynthesis and thus cannot grow.

Temperature

There are three layers of ocean temperature: the surface layer, the thermocline, and the deep ocean. The average temperature of surface layer is about 17 °C. About 90% of ocean's water is below the thermocline in the deep ocean, where most of the water is below 4 °C.[1]

Conductivity

Water conducts heat around 25 times more efficiently than air. Hypothermia, a potentially fatal condition, occurs when the human body's core temperature falls below 35 °C. Insulating the body's warmth from water is the main purpose of diving suits and exposure suits when used in water temperatures below 25 °C.

Sound is transmitted about 4.3 times faster in water (1,484 m/s in fresh water) as it is in air (343 m/s). The human brain can determine the direction of sound in air by detecting small differences in the time it takes for sound waves in air to reach each of the two ears. For these reasons divers find it difficult to determine the direction of sound underwater. However, some animals have adapted to this difference and many use sound to navigate underwater.

See also

  • HVDC for submarine electric power transmission
  • Timeline of underwater technology
  • Underwater acoustics
  • Underwater photography
  • "Underwater" may appear as a possible computer-translation misrendering of Unterwasser, a village in Switzerland
  • UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

References

1. ^{{cite web |title=Temperature of Ocean Water |website=Windows to the Universe |publisher=National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) |url=https://www.windows2universe.org/?page=/earth/Water/temp.html}}
{{Commons category|Underwater}}
  • Dueker, C. W. 1970, Medical aspects of sport diving. A.S. Barnes and Co., New York. 232 pp.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20040227053415/http://geosun1.sjsu.edu/~dreed/105/exped6/1.html The Briny Deep] – Oceanography notes at San Jose State University. sjsu.edu

3 : Environments|Oceanography|Underwater diving environment

随便看

 

开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识,基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识,是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。

 

Copyright © 2023 OENC.NET All Rights Reserved
京ICP备2021023879号 更新时间:2024/9/22 20:25:08