GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Water temperature and pressure determine how far sound travels in the ocean. While sound moves at a much faster speed in the water than in air, the distance that sound waves travel is primarily dependent upon ocean temperature and pressure.

Detailed explanation-2: -Sound travels faster in water compared with air because water particles are packed in more densely. Thus, the energy the sound waves carry is transported faster. This should make the sound appear louder.

Detailed explanation-3: -On average, sound travels through seawater at about 1, 500 meters per second, or more than four times faster than through air. The speed of sound is not constant throughout the ocean, but varies with differences in water temperature, pressure, and salinity.

Detailed explanation-4: -The sound speed at the surface is fast because the ocean is warmed by the sun heating the upper layers of the ocean. As the depth increases, the water temperature gets colder and colder until it reaches a nearly constant value of about 2°C for depths below roughly 1000 m.

Detailed explanation-5: -As a rule sound travels slowest through gases, faster through liquids, and fastest through solids.