How Do You Measure the Depth of the Ocean?

Description: What methods do scientists and researchers use to accurately measure the depth of the ocean? Sound waves from ships and radio waves from satellites are two of the most common ways to measure the depth of the sea. Much like the land’s surface with mountains and hills, the ocean floor or seabed isn’t completely flat. There are a variety of underwater landforms such as canyons, trenches and underwater volcanoes. The average depth of the ocean is 3 700 m. But the deepest part ever recorded is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, in the Mariana Trench, at a depth of around 11 000 m.