Bathymetrical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the measurement and representation of ocean depths, this term incorporates the assessment of underwater topography and seabed features while analyzing oceanographic data
2. This term pertains to the techniques used for gauging underwater depths, including the mapping of marine landscapes and the study of seafloor characteristics
3. Connected with the process of determining the depths of water bodies and charting the shape of underwater terrain

Etymology: Bathymetrical is a longer variant of "bathymetric", and both are built from two Greek elements. The first, "bathys", means "deep", and it also gives English "abyss" and "bathysphere". The second, "metron", means "measure", the same root behind "meter" and "thermometer". Put together, the words describe the measuring of depth, which is what the adjective still means when applied to the sea floor and to the charts drawn from soundings. The adjective is a plain technical formation, and its longer form simply adds the common "-ical" ending that many scientific adjectives take alongside a shorter "-ic" form. Both forms mean the same thing, and the shorter one is the more usual today.