Underwater laser anemometer for measuring ocean currents

There exists a hypothesis that one of the sources of winds is located on the bottom of seas or oceans. There, as a result of the friction of water masses against cliffs and ground, active eddy currents arise. Ascending and affecting the upper layers of water, temperature fluctuations are caused throughout the body of water, cooling or warming air above the surface, which becomes wind. Perfected experiments proved suitable for expeditions on the Estonian Academy of Sciences' research ship Ayu-Dag in the Baltic Sea. An underwater laser anemometer provided information on phenomena which accompany storms down deep. The results will find application in the solution of problems of environmental protection and weather forecasting. Moreover, the scientists believe method has even broader prospects. For example, with a laser it is possible to obtain information on the rate of movement of liquids in vessels and other organs of the human body, or the movement of liquid in stems of plants and in many other objects. Estonian scientists claim that not just one but several storms at once can be detected in a glass of water. Using laser apparatus, the velocities of extremely slow currents in a liquid are determined. This is important for understanding the mechanism of the origin of underwater eddies in seas and oceans.