Discovery of boric acid as cause of low frequency sound absorption in the ocean

Laboratory measurements of sound absorption using the resonator technique have confirmed that sound absorption in sea water is about ten times greater than the predicted value and that it is due to boric acid. In conjunction with the acoustic measurements done in a 200 liter spherical glass resonator, the relaxation frequency of the boric acid was measured using the temperature-jump technique for chemical kinetic studies. A three state chemical reaction is required for a quantitative explanation of the observed absorption and relaxation frequency. Besides providing confirmation of effect discovered by long range sound propagation work at sea, it has revealed a new aspect of boron chemistry.