Estimation of sea-bed conductivity and its influence upon velocity measurements with towed electrodes

A formula to determine an effective electric conductivity of channel-bed from measurements of water velocity, cross-channel potential difference and electric current-density is presented. The effective conductivity defined in this paper is the conductivity averaged over depth from channel-bed surface to a depth of the order comparable to a breadth of the channel. Effective conductivities for the Izu Island region and the Straits of Tsugaru are estimated as 2.2×10^–2 mhos/m and 6.0×10^–2 mhos/m, which are considerably large and very large, respectively, in comparison to most of those determined for several regions near England. High conductivities for these regions are consistent with the distribution of underground conductivity anomaly deduced from that of geomagnetic field anomaly observed at the earth's surface in Japan. An influence of underground conductivity upon measurements of sea surface water velocity with towed electrodes is estimated for the regions.