Assessment of depth and turbidity with airborne Lidar bathymetry and multiband satellite imagery in shallow water bodies of the Alaskan North Slope

Abstract

Airborne Lidar bathymetry (ALB) is an effective and a rapidly advancing technology for mapping and characterizing shallow coastal water zones as well as inland fresh-water basins such as rivers and lakes. The ability of light beams to detect and traverse shallow water columns has provided valuable information about unmapped and often poorly understood coastal and inland water bodies of the world.Estimating ALB survey results at varying water clarity and depth conditions is essential for realizing project expectations and preparing budgets accordingly. In remote locations of the world where in situ water clarity measurements are not feasible or possible, using multiband satellite imagery can be an effective tool for estimating and addressing such considerations.For this purpose, we studied and classified reflected electromagnetic energy from selected water bodies acquired by RapidEye sensor and then correlated findings with ALB survey results. This study was focused not on accurately measuring depth from optical bathymetry but rather on using multiband satellite imagery to quickly predict ALB survey results and identify potentially turbid water bodies with limited depth penetration. For this study, we constructed an in-house algorithm to confirm ALB survey findings using bathymetric waveform information.The study findings are expected to contribute to the ongoing understanding of forecasting ALB survey expectations in unknown and varying water conditions, especially in remote and inaccessible parts of the world.