A research vessel maps the seafloor by emitting a train of acoustic pulses into the water. The time between successive pulses—that is, the period of emission—is 0.0020 s. In seawater under the conditions of the experiment, acoustic waves propagate at a speed of 1.50 × 10³ m s⁻¹.
(a) Calculate the frequency at which the acoustic pulses are emitted.
(b) Determine the wavelength of the acoustic waves in seawater.
(c) The vessel increases its emission rate so that the period decreases by 20 %. Compute the new wavelength of the waves.
(d) Briefly discuss how the change found in part (c) is likely to affect the vessel’s ability to resolve smaller features on the seafloor. Base your reasoning on the relationship between wavelength and spatial resolution.