Sound (nautical)
The process of determining depth of water beneath a ship or in a tank / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the term for a body of water, Sound (geography).
In nautical terms, the word sound is used to describe the process of determining the depth of water in a tank or under a ship. Tanks are sounded to determine if they are full (for cargo tanks) or empty (to determine if a ship has been holed) and for other reasons. Soundings may also be taken of the water around a ship if it is in shallow water to aid in navigation.