Part 2: Chemo Clue #2: "View" the seafloor
with acoustics
The sea surface slicks give us a place to begin looking,
but we need a way of finding those spots on the seafloor where we can go
to the bottom with a camera sled, submarine, or ROV (remotely operated vehicle)
and actually see the chemos.
Probably the best way to find seep areas is to use some
sort of acoustic remote sensing technique. Why use acoustics? Mainly because
acoustic waves can penetrate the ocean.
Also, we expect that the seafloor will be modified by the
presence of seeps. Hydrocarbons seeping from the seafloor change their environment
in several important ways. Many seeps build mud volcanoes where fluids carrying
muds are expelled. Often these have sediment flows emanating from them.
In addition, where hydrocarbons come to the seafloor, microbes attack them
and a byproduct is nodules and rocks containing calcium carbonate. | 
