Digital terrain model of the seafloor of south bulgarian black sea coast

Abstract

Summary The paper discuss the creation of a composite seafloor digital terrain model of the south Bulgarian Black Sea coast - broad Burgas Bay from Cape Emine to Cape Maslen nos. It is a result of processing and assembling data from single beam echosounder and multibeam sonar systems derived from the Institute of Oceanology-BAS, bathymetric LiDAR data and data from digitizing water lines from marine navigational charts. Data from single beam echosounder and multibeam sonar systems were acquired during the implementation of various national and international projects of IO-BAS. Areas where no data are available were completed by manually drown isobaths built on the grounds of the surrounding terrain and circular interpolation with step of 55 meters. By combining all the data a comprehensive 3D digital terrain model of the topography of the seafloor with resolution of 1/128 arc minute or cell size of 14 meters was created. The digital terrain model allows detailed understanding of the seafloor morphology and successfully can be used in the compilation of highly accurate, navigational charts. The work is a result of the implementation of a project under the Program for supporting young scientists and PhD students at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.