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One possible reason, among a few, that #OceanGate submarine lost communications and hasn’t been located is something that messes with how sound travels through water, #thermoclines. They can act as blocks or conduits for sound. Caused by differences in water density.
Water density changes because of temperature and salinity, mainly. When a sound encounters these changes in density it can be reflected so something below it won’t be heard by something on top. They can also form a conduit where sound bounces between two layers.
When thermoclines act as a sound conduit they allow the sound to travel great distances and still be picked up. So a boat on the surface above a submarine may not hear it but a sonar miles and miles away may pick it up like it’s next door.
