Amundsen Sea bathymetry: The benefits of using gravity data for bathymetric prediction

McMillan, Malcolm; Shepherd, Andrew; Vaughan, David G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9065-0570; Laxon, Seymour; McAdoo, David. 2009 Amundsen Sea bathymetry: The benefits of using gravity data for bathymetric prediction. IEEE Transactions on Geosciences & Remote Sensing, 47 (12). 4223-4228. 10.1109/TGRS.2009.2023665

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Official URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5196715

Abstract/Summary

Bathymetric charts are essential for modeling oceanic processes, yet, in remote areas, direct measurements of seafloor depth are often scarce. It is possible to augment sparse depth soundings with dense satellite-derived gravity data to provide additional bathymetric detail in regions devoid of sounding data. We demonstrate this method by using marine gravity derived from the European Remote Sensing (ERS-1) satellite altimeter, combined with depth soundings, to form a bathymetric prediction of the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica. We estimate the root mean square error of depth estimates at unsurveyed locations in our solution to be ~120 m. We use a Monte Carlo method to assess the value of gravity as a bathymetric predictor in sparsely surveyed regions by comparing our solution to predictions formed from depth soundings alone. When less than ~11% of 10-km grid cells contain depth soundings, inclusion of gravity data improves the depth accuracy of the solution by up to 17%, as compared to a minimum curvature surface interpolation of the depth soundings alone. When depth data are sparse, our gravity-derived prediction reveals additional short-wavelength bathymetric features, such as troughs on the continental shelf, which are not resolved by interpolations of the depth soundings alone.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1109/TGRS.2009.2023665
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Global Science in the Antarctic Context (2005-2009) > Glacial Retreat in Antarctica and Deglaciation of the Earth System
ISSN:	0196-2892
NORA Subject Terms:	Marine Sciences
Date made live:	01 May 2012 11:06 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/17925

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1109/TGRS.2009.2023665

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > Global Science in the Antarctic Context (2005-2009) > Glacial Retreat in Antarctica and Deglaciation of the Earth System

ISSN:

0196-2892

NORA Subject Terms:

Marine Sciences

Date made live:

01 May 2012 11:06 +0 (UTC)