A marine researcher on a survey platform is investigating acoustic wave propagation in seawater. They trigger a pneumatic sound generator at the platform to produce a sharp underwater pulse, and detect the arrival of the sound at a distant hydrophone station.
Identify the two physical quantities that must be measured to calculate the speed of these acoustic waves in the seawater.
State the equation that relates these two quantities to speed.
Describe one way to improve the reliability or accuracy of the results obtained in this investigation.