No plane, many discoveries in yearlong search for Flight 370

[Sailor]

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- The yearlong search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has turned up no sign of the plane, but that doesn't mean it's been unproductive. It has yielded lessons and discoveries that could benefit millions, including coastal Australians, air and sea travelers and scientists trying to understand ancient changes to the earth's crust.

The knowledge gained so far is of little comfort to family and friends of the 239 people still missing from the plane, which vanished last March 8 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. While finding the plane remains the top priority for searchers and investigators, what they're learning along the way may prove valuable long after the search ends.

Benefits of the work so far include:

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NEW UNDERWATER MAPS

In the Indian Ocean west of Australia, where experts believe the plane crashed, scientists have been mapping the sea floor to aid in the search for wreckage.

Previous maps relied on satellite data, which gave only rough estimates of the ocean's depth. Now, using sonar readings from ships, scientists have mapped an area the size of Nebraska and have discovered previously unknown trenches and underwater mountains that rival the height of any on Australia's surface.

Much more here:
hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FLIGHT_370_ANNIVERSARY_SILVER_LININGS?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT#_ga=1.267774542.1986262263.1420457750

[warrior1972]

See, I am betting there's a LOT more knowledge out there than has been given up by the world's silent sevices, especially by the U.S and Russian Navies in particular.

In fact, I am almost positive of it.

[Sailor]

I'm not "almost" positive shipmate. I AM positive.

That said, up until recently it wasn't necessary to generate the same types of highly detailed charts of much of the Indian Ocean as it has been of the North and East Pacific, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. That's changing with the growth of the PLAN, the Indian Ocean carries a large share of the world's oceanic trade including Chinese petro-imports and her export trade via Suez and the Cape of Good Hope.

The South Atlantic, South Pacific and Antarctic waters are similarly being more closely scrutenized though at this point it's in a search for resources rather than militarily useful ocean bottom topography.

[warrior1972]

Thanks, Old Sailor.

Your thoughts are my thoughts, almost exactly.

-Warrior