Abstract
The bathymetry of nearshore coastal environments and lakes is constantly reworking because of the change in the patterns of energy dispersal and related sediment transport pathways. Therefore, updated and accurate bathymetric models are a crucial component in providing necessary information for scientific, managerial, and geographical studies. Recent advances in satellite technology revolutionized the acquisition of bathymetric profiles, offering new vistas in mapping. This contribution analyzed the suitability of Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 images for bathymetric mapping of coastal and lake environments. The bathymetric algorithm was developed using an empirical approach and a random forest (RF) model based on the available high-resolution LiDAR bathymetric data for Mobile Bay, Tampa Bay, and Lake Huron regions obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). Our results demonstrate that the satellite-derived bathymetry is efficient for retrieving depths up to 10 m for coastal regions and up to 30 m for the lake environment. While using the empirical approach, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) varied between 1.99 m and 4.74 m for the three regions. The RF model, on the other hand, provided an improved bathymetric model with RMSE between 1.13 m and 1.95 m. The comparative assessment suggests that Sentinel-2 has a slight edge over Landsat-8 images while employing the empirical approach. On the other hand, the RF model shows that Landsat-8 retrieves a better bathymetric model than Sentinel-2. Our work demonstrated that the freely available Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 imageries proved to be reliable data for acquiring updated bathymetric information for large areas in a short period.
Highlights
Aquatic environments are some of the most dynamic regions of the earth
The bathymetric maps generated by the empirical approach and random forest (RF) algorithm were by large effective in mapping the bottom topography of Mobile Bay, Tampa Bay, and Lake Huron, despite distinct differences in the morphometry and location
Inherent errors, smoothening, and morphological variation happened for the time differences between the surveyed bathymetry data, and this study was not considered in our analysis
Summary
Aquatic environments are some of the most dynamic regions of the earth. The bathymetry or depth of underwater terrain is one of the most important parameters constantly being reworked and changed both in space and time. The rapid reworks in bathymetry are because of the changes in the patterns of energy dispersal and related sediment transport pathways [1]. Clarke [2] indicated that huge turbidity currents result in bedform migration within a few hours. Simons and Richardson [3] presented a positive correlation between bathymetric changes and measured stream power in fluvial systems.
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