POSTER Session 4

SATELLITE-DERIVED BATHYMETRY IN THE ARCTIC: TO WHAT EXTENT CAN WE MONITOR?

Satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) emerges as a pivotal dataset for generating bathymetric maps crucial to understanding the hazards and impacts resulting from climate change. While SDB proves effective in clear water, its applicability to turbid areas remains notably limited. In the quest for routine SDB mapping, we explore the contribution of the Sentinel-2 mission in the Arctic. The proposed methodology incorporates a multi-scene compositing method to derive the maximum detectable depth, thus eliminating optically deep-water regions due to severe turbidity. Two study sites in Alaska, Nunivak Island and Kuskokwim Bay, are examined with the integration of turbidity information through a multi-temporal model. These regions are characterized by variable and complex water-quality patterns, over time and space, where water masses accumulate suspended sediments due to their origin from glaciers. The semi-automated approach highlights the potential and restrictions for comprehensive operational SDB across these environments. Over Nunivak Island, results demonstrate its effectiveness with median errors <1.9 m and bias of -0.77 m for depths ranging from 0 to 10 m when validated against multibeam surveys. Furthermore, the study addresses the challenges posed in Kuskokwim Bay, since SDB is not feasible due to the extreme turbidity levels. The findings underscore the capability to deliver valuable bathymetric information, with precise information on when and where SDB can perform dependent on the conditions. This efficient technique holds promise for applicability, facilitating rapid and repeated applications across a wider range of environments and contributing to deal with various challenges in Arctic research, management, and navigation.

Isabel Caballero, Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7485-0989

Richard P. Stumpf, NOAA, USA, [email protected]

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