Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATH
Abstract To date, ∼20% of the ocean floor has been surveyed by ships at a spatial resolution of 400 m or better. The remaining 80% has depth predicted from satellite altimeter‐derived gravity measurements at a relatively low resolution. There are many remote ocean areas in the southern hemisphere th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Earth and Space Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA002069 |
| _version_ | 1819048225561116672 |
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| author | David T. Sandwell John A. Goff Julie Gevorgian Hugh Harper Seung‐Sep Kim Yao Yu Brook Tozer Paul Wessel Walter H. F. Smith |
| author_facet | David T. Sandwell John A. Goff Julie Gevorgian Hugh Harper Seung‐Sep Kim Yao Yu Brook Tozer Paul Wessel Walter H. F. Smith |
| author_sort | David T. Sandwell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract To date, ∼20% of the ocean floor has been surveyed by ships at a spatial resolution of 400 m or better. The remaining 80% has depth predicted from satellite altimeter‐derived gravity measurements at a relatively low resolution. There are many remote ocean areas in the southern hemisphere that will not be completely mapped at 400 m resolution during this decade. This study is focused on the development of synthetic bathymetry to fill the gaps. There are two types of seafloor features that are not typically well resolved by satellite gravity; abyssal hills and small seamounts (<2.5 km tall). We generate synthetic realizations of abyssal hills by combining the measured statistical properties of mapped abyssal hills with regional geology including fossil spreading rate/orientation, rms height from satellite gravity, and sediment thickness. With recent improvements in accuracy and resolution, it is now possible to detect all seamounts taller than about 800 m in satellite‐derived gravity and their location can be determined to an accuracy of better than 1 km. However, the width of the gravity anomaly is much greater than the actual width of the seamount so the seamount predicted from gravity will underestimate the true seamount height and overestimate its base dimension. In this study, we use the amplitude of the vertical gravity gradient (VGG) to estimate the mass of the seamount and then use their characteristic shape, based on well‐surveyed seamounts, to replace the smooth‐predicted seamount with a seamount having a more realistic shape. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:12:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43ea5c344a0942979aa6c9eca3a6f08c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-5084 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:12:53Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth and Space Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-43ea5c344a0942979aa6c9eca3a6f08c2022-12-21T19:06:02ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Earth and Space Science2333-50842022-02-0192n/an/a10.1029/2021EA002069Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATHDavid T. Sandwell0John A. Goff1Julie Gevorgian2Hugh Harper3Seung‐Sep Kim4Yao Yu5Brook Tozer6Paul Wessel7Walter H. F. Smith8Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USAJackson School of Geosciences Institute for Geophysics University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USADepartment of Geological Sciences Chungnam National University Daejeon KoreaScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USAGNS Science Wellington New ZealandDepartment of Earth Sciences SOEST University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu HI USALaboratory for Satellite Altimetry NOAA College Park MD USAAbstract To date, ∼20% of the ocean floor has been surveyed by ships at a spatial resolution of 400 m or better. The remaining 80% has depth predicted from satellite altimeter‐derived gravity measurements at a relatively low resolution. There are many remote ocean areas in the southern hemisphere that will not be completely mapped at 400 m resolution during this decade. This study is focused on the development of synthetic bathymetry to fill the gaps. There are two types of seafloor features that are not typically well resolved by satellite gravity; abyssal hills and small seamounts (<2.5 km tall). We generate synthetic realizations of abyssal hills by combining the measured statistical properties of mapped abyssal hills with regional geology including fossil spreading rate/orientation, rms height from satellite gravity, and sediment thickness. With recent improvements in accuracy and resolution, it is now possible to detect all seamounts taller than about 800 m in satellite‐derived gravity and their location can be determined to an accuracy of better than 1 km. However, the width of the gravity anomaly is much greater than the actual width of the seamount so the seamount predicted from gravity will underestimate the true seamount height and overestimate its base dimension. In this study, we use the amplitude of the vertical gravity gradient (VGG) to estimate the mass of the seamount and then use their characteristic shape, based on well‐surveyed seamounts, to replace the smooth‐predicted seamount with a seamount having a more realistic shape.https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA002069global bathymetryuncharted seamountsabyssal hills |
| spellingShingle | David T. Sandwell John A. Goff Julie Gevorgian Hugh Harper Seung‐Sep Kim Yao Yu Brook Tozer Paul Wessel Walter H. F. Smith Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATH Earth and Space Science global bathymetry uncharted seamounts abyssal hills |
| title | Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATH |
| title_full | Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATH |
| title_fullStr | Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATH |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATH |
| title_short | Improved Bathymetric Prediction Using Geological Information: SYNBATH |
| title_sort | improved bathymetric prediction using geological information synbath |
| topic | global bathymetry uncharted seamounts abyssal hills |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA002069 |
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