A magnetometer is one of the major marine scientific equipment used in deep-sea explorations. Besides, the main work of the magnetometer is to measure a magnetic field or a magnetic dipole moment. In some cases, magnetometers measure the strength, direction, or relative change of a magnetic field at a specific area.
Even though magnetometers are commonly used for ocean exploration, they have several other roles. These include:
- Geographical surveys
- Magnetometers are also popularly used for measuring the earth’s magnetic field, more so in geophysical surveys. In this field, they are used to discover and identify magnetic anomalies of different types, and to determine the dipole moment of magnetic materials. Besides, surveyors prefer using them in geophysics applications to locate things like hydrocarbons, which is important for oil exploration.
- Oil and gas exploration
Apart from being used by surveyors to locate things like hydrocarbons, which help to identify sources of oil and gas in the ocean, magnetometers are also used for drilling discovered wells. Additionally, they are applied in drilling sensors with the help of various marine scientific tools such as magnetometer winch and remote underwater camera to identify the path or direction for the drilling procedure.
- Military purposes
The military also uses magnetometers in navy and defense to perform submarine activities and submarine detection. The military also uses magnetometers on land, air, in space, and under the sea.
- Archeology
Another area where magnetometers are used is to study archeological sites and find buried objects. This includes both on land and deep in the ocean.
- Health care monitoring
One of the surprising uses of the magnetometer is that they are utilized in performing cardiac applications, like a diagnostic system that non-invasively measures heart functions. On top of that, it is also used for other health applications.
- Aircraft and satellites
This tool is also used in aircraft, where it is utilized to calculate the geomagnetic field vector data of the position of the aircraft body. This applies to both aircraft and satellites.
- Metal detection and coal exploration
This tool also happens to be an excellent metal detector. Since a magnetometer can detect metals, it is one of the best tools used to detect metal or coal deposits at the bottom of the ocean. When compared to conventional metal detectors, this tool does an excellent job of detecting metals deep in the ocean.
Aside from detecting metals, a magnetometer, together with a magnetometer winch and other marine scientific equipment is used to detect large metal objects in the ocean, such as cars, lost containers, and much at tens of meters below the ocean.
- Compasses
Another important area where a magnetometer is very useful is when it comes to determining directions. This tool has been miniaturized to the point where they are easily featured in integrated circuits at a low cost and are hence increasingly being applied as miniaturized compasses or MEMS magnetic field sensors.
- Pipeline monitoring
Magnetometers are also used to inspect corrosion of pipelines or even undersea cables and also monitor them. For instance, if an undersea cable is suspected to break, a magnetometer will be lowered into the water using a magnetometer winch and to identify where the breakage occurred. And with the help of a remote underwater camera, images of the cable’s status can be conveyed back on the ship for further analysis and repair.
Summary
So, if you want to explore oil, gas, detect metal, or even monitor pipelines in the ocean, make sure to get a quality magnetometer, a magnetometer winch, remote underwater camera, and several other marine scientific equipment. Having the best marine tools will help to have excellent sea exploration and discovery.
