Search

A coordinated multi-year ocean exploration campaign on the Blake Plateau offshore of the southeastern U.S. has mapped what appears to be the most expansive cold-water coral (CWC) mound province thus far discovered. Nearly continuous CWC mound features span an area up to 500 km long and 110 km wide, with a core area of high-density mounds up to 254 km long by 42 km wide. This study synthesized bathymetric data from 31 multibeam sonar mapping surveys and generated a standardized geomorphic classification of the region in order to delineate and quantify CWC mound habitats and compare mound morphologies among subregions of the coral province. Based on the multibeam bathymetry, a total of 83,908 individual peak features were delineated, providing the first estimate of the overall number of potential CWC mounds mapped in the region to date. Five geomorphic landform classes were mapped and quantified: peaks (411 km2), valleys (3598 km2), ridges (3642 km2), slopes (23,082 km2), and flats (102,848 km2). The complex geomorphology of eight subregions was described qualitatively with geomorphic “fingerprints” (spatial patterns) and quantitatively by measurements of mound density and vertical relief. This study demonstrated the value of applying an objective automated terrain segmentation and classification approach to geomorphic characterization of a highly complex CWC mound province. Manual delineation of these features in a consistent repeatable way with a comparable level of detail would not have been possible.

This paper addresses the challenges of underwater Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) using multibeam sonar imaging. The widely used Iterative Closest Point (ICP) often falls into local optima due to non-convexity and the lack of features for correct registration. To overcome this, we propose a novel registration algorithm based on Gaussian clustering and Graph Matching with maximal cliques. The proposed approach enhances feature-matching accuracy and robustness in complex underwater environments. Inertial measurements and velocity estimates are also fused for global state estimation. Comprehensive tests in simulated and real-world underwater environments have demonstrated that the proposed registration method effectively addresses the issue of the ICP algorithm easily falling into local optima while also exhibiting excellent inter-frame registration performance and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multibeam sonars are advanced scientific tools for estimating fish school volume and density, using multiple beams to provide comprehensive size measurements of detected targets. However, challenges remain in accurately estimating target dimensions due to beam geometric expansion and overlap, particularly in athwart-beam measurements, which tend to be overestimated with increasing distance from the transducer. We present an interactive web application that simulates distortion caused by beam overlap and expansion in multibeam sonars using simple geometric equations. Users can define sonar characteristics, such as the number of beams, swath opening, or degree of overlap, as well as specify an elliptical target's dimensions, orientation, and distance from the transducer. The application estimates and visualises the true and distorted shapes of the target, calculating the level of distortion. It can run simulations in both forward and inverse directions, either simulating the distortion of a true school or correcting the shape of a distorted school. This tool aims to enhance the interpretation of multibeam sonar signals and improve the accuracy of target dimension estimates, facilitating more effective use of these sonars in scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coordinated multi-year ocean exploration campaign on the Blake Plateau offshore of the southeastern U.S. has mapped what appears to be the most expansive cold-water coral (CWC) mound province thus far discovered. Nearly continuous CWC mound features span an area up to 500 km long and 110 km wide, with a core area of high-density mounds up to 254 km long by 42 km wide. This study synthesized bathymetric data from 31 multibeam sonar mapping surveys and generated a standardized geomorphic classification of the region in order to delineate and quantify CWC mound habitats and compare mound morphologies among subregions of the coral province. Based on the multibeam bathymetry, a total of 83,908 individual peak features were delineated, providing the first estimate of the overall number of potential CWC mounds mapped in the region to date. Five geomorphic landform classes were mapped and quantified: peaks (411 km2), valleys (3598 km2), ridges (3642 km2), slopes (23,082 km2), and flats (102,848 km2). The complex geomorphology of eight subregions was described qualitatively with geomorphic “fingerprints” (spatial patterns) and quantitatively by measurements of mound density and vertical relief. This study demonstrated the value of applying an objective automated terrain segmentation and classification approach to geomorphic characterization of a highly complex CWC mound province. Manual delineation of these features in a consistent repeatable way with a comparable level of detail would not have been possible.

This paper addresses the challenges of underwater Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) using multibeam sonar imaging. The widely used Iterative Closest Point (ICP) often falls into local optima due to non-convexity and the lack of features for correct registration. To overcome this, we propose a novel registration algorithm based on Gaussian clustering and Graph Matching with maximal cliques. The proposed approach enhances feature-matching accuracy and robustness in complex underwater environments. Inertial measurements and velocity estimates are also fused for global state estimation. Comprehensive tests in simulated and real-world underwater environments have demonstrated that the proposed registration method effectively addresses the issue of the ICP algorithm easily falling into local optima while also exhibiting excellent inter-frame registration performance and robustness.

Understanding the topographic patterns of the seafloor is a very important part of understanding our planet. Although the science involved in bathymetric surveying has advanced much over the decades, less than 20% of the seafloor has been precisely modeled to date, and there is an urgent need to improve the accuracy and reduce the uncertainty of underwater survey data. In this study, we introduce a pretrained visual geometry group network (VGGNet) method based on deep learning. To apply this method, we input gravity anomaly data derived from ship measurements and satellite altimetry into the model and correct the latter, which has a larger spatial coverage, based on the former, which is considered the true value and is more accurate. After obtaining the corrected high-precision gravity model, it is inverted to the corresponding bathymetric model by applying the gravity-depth correlation. We choose four data pairs collected from different environments, i.e., the Southern Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, to evaluate the topographic correction results of the model. The experiments show that the coefficient of determination (R2) reaches 0.834 among the results of the four experimental groups, signifying a high correlation. The standard deviation and normalized root mean square error are also evaluated, and the accuracy of their performance improved by up to 24.2% compared with similar research done in recent years. The evaluation of the R2 values at different water depths shows that our model can achieve performance results above 0.90 at certain water depths and can also significantly improve results from mid-water depths when compared to previous research. Finally, the bathymetry corrected by our model is able to show an accuracy improvement level of more than 21% within 1% of the total water depths, which is sufficient to prove that the VGGNet-based method has the ability to perform a gravity-bathymetry correction and achieve outstanding results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multibeam sonars are advanced scientific tools for estimating fish school volume and density, using multiple beams to provide comprehensive size measurements of detected targets. However, challenges remain in accurately estimating target dimensions due to beam geometric expansion and overlap, particularly in athwart-beam measurements, which tend to be overestimated with increasing distance from the transducer. We present an interactive web application that simulates distortion caused by beam overlap and expansion in multibeam sonars using simple geometric equations. Users can define sonar characteristics, such as the number of beams, swath opening, or degree of overlap, as well as specify an elliptical target’s dimensions, orientation, and distance from the transducer. The application estimates and visualises the true and distorted shapes of the target, calculating the level of distortion. It can run simulations in both forward and inverse directions, either simulating the distortion of a true school or correcting the shape of a distorted school. This tool aims to enhance the interpretation of multibeam sonar signals and improve the accuracy of target dimension estimates, facilitating more effective use of these sonars in scientific research.

Understanding how marine animals behave around tidal turbines is essential if we are to quantify how individuals and populations may be affected by the installation of these devices in the coming decades. Our particular interest is in collision risk, and how this may be affected by the fine-scale behaviour of seals and small cetacean species around devices. We report on a study in which multibeam sonar data were collected close to an operational tidal turbine in Scotland continuously over a twelve-month period. The sonars provide high-resolution (a few cm) data over a 120° angle out to a range of 55 m at a rate of 10 frames per second. We describe a system which uses automatic computer algorithms to detect potential targets of interest, verified by human analysts using a sophisticated computer user interface to confirm detections and assign target species. To date, we have identified 359 tracks of marine mammals in the data, as well as several thousand tracks from fish and diving birds. These are currently being parameterised to study how these species react to the moving turbine rotors, and the data are now being used to explore the development of improved automated detection and classification algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population abundance is a critical metric in fisheries and conservation, but it is very difficult to measure accurately. Existing estimation methods present significant challenges: mark–recapture methods are time- and labour-intensive, and hydroacoustic echo counting methods face issues with target identity and the habitat types where they can be effectively applied. We present a new methodology for abundance estimation that can improve the reliability of echo counting methods. Split beam hydroacoustic survey data are integrated with telemetry data from fish bearing acoustic transponder tags. These tags are counted by a spatially and temporally concurrent multibeam acoustic survey to produce mark–recapture abundance estimates. We assessed this approach on four wild lake trout populations, ranging in abundance from ∼200 to ∼3000 adults. Our abundance estimates were consistent with those derived from conventional Schnabel and Jolly–Seber mark–recapture studies. We show that the precision achievable with this method in 1 year of field work rivals that provided by long-term (>10 years) continuous mark–recapture studies. We also discuss other ecological questions that could be addressed with this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russian sector of the arctic shelf is the longest in the world. Quite a lot of places of massive discharge of bubble methane from the seabed into the water column and further into the atmosphere were found there. This natural phenomenon requires an extensive complex of geological, biological, geophysical, and chemical studies. This article is devoted to aspects of the use of a complex of marine geophysical equipment applied in the Russian sector of the arctic shelf for the detection and study of areas of the water and sedimentary strata with increased saturation with natural gases, as well as a description of some of the results obtained. This complex contains a single-beam scientific high-frequency echo sounder and multibeam system, a sub-bottom profiler, ocean-bottom seismographs, and equipment for continuous seismoacoustic profiling and electrical exploration. The experience of using the above equipment and the examples of the results obtained in the Laptev Sea have shown that these marine geophysical methods are effective and of particular importance for solving most problems related to the detection, mapping, quantification, and monitoring of underwater gas release from the bottom sediments of the shelf zone of the arctic seas, as well as the study of upper and deeper geological roots of gas emission and their relationship with tectonic processes. Geophysical surveys have a significant performance advantage compared to any contact methods. The large-scale application of a wide range of marine geophysical methods is essential for a comprehensive study of the geohazards of vast shelf zones, which have significant potential for economic use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only approximately 20% of the global seafloor topography has been finely modeled. The rest either lacks data or its data are not accurate enough to meet practical requirements. On the one hand, the satellite altimeter has the advantages of large-scale and real-time observation. Therefore, it is widely used to measure bathymetry, the core of seafloor topography. However, there is often room to improve its precision. Multibeam sonar bathymetry is more precise but generally limited to a smaller coverage, so it is in a complementary relationship with the satellite-derived bathymetry. To combine the advantages of satellite altimetry-derived and multibeam sonar-derived bathymetry, we apply deep learning to perform multibeam sonar-based bathymetry correction for satellite altimetry bathymetry data. Specifically, we modify a pretrained VGGNet neural network model to train on three sets of bathymetry data from the West Pacific, Southern Ocean, and East Pacific. Experiments show that the correlation of bathymetry data before and after correction can reach a high level, with the performance of R2 being as high as 0.81, and the normalized root-mean-square deviation (NRMSE) improved by over 19% compared with previous research. We then explore the relationship between R2 and water depth and conclude that it varies at different depths. Thus, the terrain specificity is a factor that affects the precision of the correction. Finally, we apply the difference in water depth before and after the correction for evaluation and find that our method can improve by more than 17% compared with previous research. The results show that the VGGNet model can perform better correction to the bathymetry data. Hence, we provide a novel method for accurate modeling of the seafloor topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake tsunamis generated from subaerial and subaqueous mass movements can pose a significant hazard to lakeshore communities. However, current knowledge of lake tsunamis is derived from a limited number of studies, primarily in low-seismicity settings such as Switzerland and Norway. Underrepresented are studies from active tectonic settings, characterised by high relief, high sediment yields, and frequent seismic shaking that is likely to produce episodic subaerial and subaqueous mass movements with the potential to produce lake tsunamis. This study seeks to address this gap in our understanding through an examination of four lakes in the active tectonic region of New Zealand's South Island (Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoroa, Lake Brunner, and Lake Mapourika). High-resolution multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution seismic reflection data were used to identify and characterize the landforms and sediment associations of large and potentially tsunamigenic mass movements. A qualitative evaluation of the tsunamigenic capacity of the identified mass movements was undertaken using established empirical relationships between mass movement volumes and run-up heights. The bathymetric and seismic surveys have revealed 16 previously undocumented mass movements capable of generating lake tsunami. Fluvial deltas and bedrock slopes proximal to active faults were the most prevalent mass movement source areas, with the largest mass movements identified being a 49 Mm3 delta collapse and a 110 Mm3 subaerial mass movement in Lake Rotoroa. The findings suggest the origin and characteristics of the potentially tsunamigenic mass movements identified were strongly influenced by the high rates of delta progradation, frequent seismic activity, and the preconditioning and displacement by active faults, typical of active tectonic settings. Our results provide new insights into the heterogeneity of lacustrine mass movements and the drivers of lake tsunami hazards in underrepresented high-seismicity regions. The findings illustrate the importance of developing regionally specific insights into lake tsunami susceptibility and may inform the direction of more detailed lake tsunami hazard assessment in New Zealand. [Display omitted] • Multibeam bathymetry and seismic reflection surveys were conducted on four lakes in tectonically active New Zealand. • 16 previously undocumented large and potentially tsunamigenic mass movement deposits were identified. • High sedimentation rates and frequent seismic shaking control large lacustrine mass movements in active tectonic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how marine animals behave around tidal turbines is essential if we are to quantify how individuals and populations may be affected by the installation of these devices in the coming decades. Our particular interest is in collision risk, and how this may be affected by the fine-scale behaviour of seals and small cetacean species around devices. We report on a study in which multibeam sonar data were collected close to an operational tidal turbine in Scotland continuously over a twelve-month period. The sonars provide high-resolution (a few cm) data over a 120° angle out to a range of 55 m at a rate of 10 frames per second. We describe a system which uses automatic computer algorithms to detect potential targets of interest, verified by human analysts using a sophisticated computer user interface to confirm detections and assign target species. To date, we have identified 359 tracks of marine mammals in the data, as well as several thousand tracks from fish and diving birds. These are currently being parameterised to study how these species react to the moving turbine rotors, and the data are now being used to explore the development of improved automated detection and classification algorithms.

In recent years, multibeam sonar has become the most effective and sensitive tool for the detection and quantitation of underwater gas leakage and its rise through the water column. Motivated by recent research, this paper presents an efficient method for the detection and quantitation of gas leakage based on a 300-kHz multibeam sonar. In the proposed gas leakage detection method based on multibeam sonar water column images, not only the backscattering strength of the gas bubbles but also the size and aspect ratio of a gas plume are used to isolate interference objects. This paper also presents a volume-scattering strength optimization model to estimate the gas flux. The bubble size distribution, volume, and flux of gas leaks are determined by matching the theoretical and measured values of the volume-scattering strength of the gas bubbles. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method have been verified by a case study at the artificial gas leakage site in the northern South China Sea. The results show that the leaking gas flux is approximately between 29.39 L/min and 56.43 L/min under a bubble radius ranging from 1 mm to 12 mm. The estimated results are in good agreement with the recorded data (32–67 L/min) for gas leaks generated by an air compressor. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve effective and accurate detection and quantitation of gas leakages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates six areas in a historically heavily trawled region of the southern Baltic Sea. Using acoustic geophysical mapping data and sediment cores from three field campaigns (2019, 2020, 2023), we evaluate and quantify the cumulative physical impacts from bottom trawling and the influence of seabed geology on mapped trawl tracks. The results are compared with fishing intensity data over three periods; 2012–2016, 2017–2019 and after the fishery closed. A correlation between fishing intensity and density of mapped trawl tracks exists in the soft sediments of the northern part of the area, while this link is weak in the less trawled southern part, where the seabed is characterized by more consolidated glacial clays and the high density of mapped trawl tracks reflects the preservation of tracks >8 years old. Four years after the closure of the fishery there were no signs of trawl-track degradation in any of the areas. In summary, mapped track densities alone are not a suitable measure of trawling intensity, considering the influence of seabed geology and the persistence of trawl tracks over time. Sediment deformation, observed by CT-scanning, indicates extensive remoulding and coarsening of the upper 20–40 cm of sediments in the trawled areas. • Seafloor geology affects appearance and preservation of otter trawl tracks. • Trawl tracks can be acoustically visible either in bathymetric or backscatter data. • Trawl tracks may be > 8 years old. • Acoustically mapped track density alone is not a good measure of fishing intensity. • Trawled sediments display extensive deformation and coarsening in the upper 20–40 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime unmanned systems (MUS) have gained widespread usage in a diverse range of hydrographic survey activities, including harbor/port surveys, beach and coastline monitoring, environmental assessment, and military operations. The present article explains a validated, rapid, and reliable technique for processing hydrographic data that was obtained via an autonomous hydrographic survey, and which was executed by a prototype unmanned surface vessel (USV) belonging to the Unmanned Survey Solutions (USS) corporation. The experimentation was part of the annual Multinational Exercise Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping that was augmented by Maritime Unmanned Systems 22 (REPMUS22), which was held in the national waters of Portugal. The main objective of this experimentation was to assess the underwater environment over an ocean beach for an amphibious landing exercise. Moreover, the integration of the multibeam system with the autonomous prototype vessel was assessed. A short comparison between the USV survey and a traditional vessel multibeam survey is presented, whereby the advantages of performing an autonomous survey operation near the coastline is emphasized. A correlation between a known multibeam processing technique and the dissemination of a rapid but consistent product for operational use is described, highlighting the applicability of the technique for the data collected from small experimental platforms. Moreover, this study outlines the relationship between the particular errors observed in autonomous small vehicles and in conventional data processing methods. The resultant cartographic outputs from the hydrographic survey are presented, emphasizing the specific inaccuracies within the raw data and the suitability of distinct hydrographic products for various user domains.

The Russian sector of the arctic shelf is the longest in the world. Quite a lot of places of massive discharge of bubble methane from the seabed into the water column and further into the atmosphere were found there. This natural phenomenon requires an extensive complex of geological, biological, geophysical, and chemical studies. This article is devoted to aspects of the use of a complex of marine geophysical equipment applied in the Russian sector of the arctic shelf for the detection and study of areas of the water and sedimentary strata with increased saturation with natural gases, as well as a description of some of the results obtained. This complex contains a single-beam scientific high-frequency echo sounder and multibeam system, a sub-bottom profiler, ocean-bottom seismographs, and equipment for continuous seismoacoustic profiling and electrical exploration. The experience of using the above equipment and the examples of the results obtained in the Laptev Sea have shown that these marine geophysical methods are effective and of particular importance for solving most problems related to the detection, mapping, quantification, and monitoring of underwater gas release from the bottom sediments of the shelf zone of the arctic seas, as well as the study of upper and deeper geological roots of gas emission and their relationship with tectonic processes. Geophysical surveys have a significant performance advantage compared to any contact methods. The large-scale application of a wide range of marine geophysical methods is essential for a comprehensive study of the geohazards of vast shelf zones, which have significant potential for economic use.

Repeated multibeam echo‐sounder surveys can provide information on developing stratigraphy over large areas and during periods when environmental conditions are known. In this study, analysis encompasses 13 time‐separated multibeam echo‐sounder surveys between 2002 and 2010 of a tidal sand ridge in a macrotidal estuary: Nash Sands, a banner bank in the Bristol Channel (UK). Over the surveyed period, Nash Sands was S‐shaped in plan‐view, with two en échelon segments separated by a channel (swatchway). Migration of these inflections along the ridge led to deposition of clinoforms up to 5° to 7° steep and 12 to 14 m tall. The clinoforms downlapped onto their substrates or onto cross‐sets formed by dunes migrating clockwise around the lower flanks of the ridge. Clinoform topsets were removed or truncated by repeated erosion and/or dune migrations over the ridge crest and replaced with packages of near‐horizontal laterally discontinuous irregular beds. Flank dune crests were oriented obliquely to nearly perpendicularly to the clinoforms in all three sets, so the clinoforms developed by oblique−lateral accretion locally. Although one area had strongly eroded in the prior decade during elevated wave conditions, the 2002 to 2010 stratigraphic development revealed a different relationship with extreme wave heights; Nash Sands generally accumulated sand during times of more extreme waves and lost sand during more quiescent conditions. Using also single‐beam survey data from 1991 to 2002 to study the ridge morphology over 19 years to 2010, the swatchway was absent in 1991 to 1992 and progressively developed as the ridge sinuosity became more accentuated. Dunes found migrating north‐west through the swatchway are potential evidence of a current caused by tidal height differences across the ridge during ebb conditions. The study illustrates how repeated sonar measurements reveal the processes and timescales that lead to the deposition of stratigraphic units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Remote Sensing for Natural Resources is the property of Remote Sensing for Natural Resources Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Using Mills cross-configuration of multibeam sonar and synthetic aperture technique, a downward-looking synthetic aperture sonar (SAS), used for the sub-bottom profiler is presented here. The real data collected by the downward-looking SAS are processed by the multireceiver SAS range migration algorithm. By analysing the performance of focused target, the buried object in the soft sediment layer below the seafloor can be well-reconstructed. Furthermore, it shows that the presented system has great potential in profiling the sediment layer below the seafloor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only approximately 20% of the global seafloor topography has been finely modeled. The rest either lacks data or its data are not accurate enough to meet practical requirements. On the one hand, the satellite altimeter has the advantages of large-scale and real-time observation. Therefore, it is widely used to measure bathymetry, the core of seafloor topography. However, there is often room to improve its precision. Multibeam sonar bathymetry is more precise but generally limited to a smaller coverage, so it is in a complementary relationship with the satellite-derived bathymetry. To combine the advantages of satellite altimetry-derived and multibeam sonar-derived bathymetry, we apply deep learning to perform multibeam sonar-based bathymetry correction for satellite altimetry bathymetry data. Specifically, we modify a pretrained VGGNet neural network model to train on three sets of bathymetry data from the West Pacific, Southern Ocean, and East Pacific. Experiments show that the correlation of bathymetry data before and after correction can reach a high level, with the performance of R2 being as high as 0.81, and the normalized root-mean-square deviation (NRMSE) improved by over 19% compared with previous research. We then explore the relationship between R2 and water depth and conclude that it varies at different depths. Thus, the terrain specificity is a factor that affects the precision of the correction. Finally, we apply the difference in water depth before and after the correction for evaluation and find that our method can improve by more than 17% compared with previous research. The results show that the VGGNet model can perform better correction to the bathymetry data. Hence, we provide a novel method for accurate modeling of the seafloor topography.

In recent years, multibeam sonar has become the most effective and sensitive tool for the detection and quantitation of underwater gas leakage and its rise through the water column. Motivated by recent research, this paper presents an efficient method for the detection and quantitation of gas leakage based on a 300-kHz multibeam sonar. In the proposed gas leakage detection method based on multibeam sonar water column images, not only the backscattering strength of the gas bubbles but also the size and aspect ratio of a gas plume are used to isolate interference objects. This paper also presents a volume-scattering strength optimization model to estimate the gas flux. The bubble size distribution, volume, and flux of gas leaks are determined by matching the theoretical and measured values of the volume-scattering strength of the gas bubbles. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method have been verified by a case study at the artificial gas leakage site in the northern South China Sea. The results show that the leaking gas flux is approximately between 29.39 L/min and 56.43 L/min under a bubble radius ranging from 1 mm to 12 mm. The estimated results are in good agreement with the recorded data (32–67 L/min) for gas leaks generated by an air compressor. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve effective and accurate detection and quantitation of gas leakages.

In this work, we present a boundary and hole detection approach that traverses all the boundaries of an edge-manifold triangular mesh, irrespectively of the presence of singular vertices, and subsequently determines and labels all holes of the mesh. The proposed automated hole-detection method is valuable to the computer-aided design (CAD) community as all boundary-edges within the mesh are utilized and for each boundary-edge the algorithm guarantees both the existence and the uniqueness of the boundary associated to it. As existing hole-detection approaches assume that singular vertices are absent or may require mesh modification, these methods are ill-equipped to detect boundaries/holes in real-world meshes that contain singular vertices. We demonstrate the method in an underwater autonomous robotic application, exploiting surface reconstruction methods based on point cloud data. In such a scenario the determined holes can be interpreted as information gaps, enabling timely corrective action during the data acquisition. However, the scope of our method is not confined to these two sectors alone; it is versatile enough to be applied on any edge-manifold triangle mesh. An evaluation of the method is performed on both synthetic and real-world data (including a triangle mesh from a point cloud obtained by a multibeam sonar). The source code of our reference implementation is available: https://github.com/Mauhing/hole-detection-on-triangle-mesh. [Display omitted] • Directly detects and extracts holes in 3D meshes without 2D projection. • Requires only that the mesh is edge-manifold, offering a broad applicability. • Proves validity of boundary detection even when singular vertices are present. • Proves and demonstrates the simplification of complex boundaries into simple ones. • Classifies simple boundaries into holes and main boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep-sea mounds can have a variety of origins and may provide hard-substrate features in depths that are normally dominated by mud. Orphan Knoll, a 2 km high bedrock horst off northeast Newfoundland, hosts more than 200 mounds, or mound complexes, of unknown composition, in water depths of 1720–2500 m. Most mounds are 10–600 m high, with average mound height 187 m, and 1–3 km wide. The study objective was to characterize the size, shape, orientation, and composition of the enigmatic Orphan Knoll mounds, in order to determine their age and origin. Archival ship-based side-scan sonar, multibeam sonar, airgun, high-resolution sparker and 3.5 kHz acoustic sub-bottom profiling, and newly acquired ship-based multibeam sonar, video transects by remotely operated vehicle (ROV), rock samples, and near-bottom multibeam sonar data were analyzed. Four mounds were studied during two ROV dives. Archival sidescan sonar data show > 200 mounds. Sparker profiles show that the mound crests are covered by condensed stratified Quaternary sediment and airgun seismic data show faults reaching near the seafloor. New multibeam sonar data show mounds are dominantly conical to elliptical in shape, but without preferred orientation or alignment. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) transects and near-bottom multibeam showed that three mounds were rounded and symmetrically arranged, while a fourth was more asymmetrical, with steep faces on the southwestern and southeastern flanks, where finely bedded to massive sedimentary bedrock outcropped dipping 15–45°SW. Rock samples from the mounds include Eocene calcareous ooze and mid-Miocene bedded pelagic limestone. Thick ferromanganese crusts were found on many surfaces, obscuring possible outcrops from physical sampling. Polymetallic nodules were found on the slope of one mound. Ice-rafted detritus, including igneous and metamorphic rocks and Paleozoic limestone and dolostone, was common in the sediments immediately surrounding the mounds. Quaternary sub-fossil solitary scleractinian corals accumulated over a span of at least 0.18 Ma at the base of one mound. The presence of uplifted condensed Eocene-Miocene rocks on the mounds and faulting in seismic profiles suggest uplift during reactivation of old rift-related faults during the Neogene, with seabed mass wasting creating residual mounds, which were then draped by Quaternary proglacial muds. Sculpting of hemipelagic Quaternary sediment by bottom currents probably contributed to mound morphology.

The technologies of sonar and laser scanning are an efficient and widely used source of spatial information with regards to underwater and over ground environment respectively. The measurement data are usually available in the form of groups of separate points located irregularly in three-dimensional space, known as point clouds. This data model has known disadvantages, therefore in many applications a different form of representation, i.e. 3D surfaces composed of edges and facets, is preferred with respect to the terrain or seabed surface relief as well as various objects shape. In the paper, the authors propose a new approach to 3D shape reconstruction from both multibeam and LiDAR measurements. It is based on a multiple-step and to some extent adaptive process, in which the chosen set and sequence of particular stages may depend on a current type and characteristic features of the processed data. The processing scheme includes: 1) pre-processing which may include noise reduction, rasterization and pre-classification, 2) detection and separation of objects for dedicated processing (e.g. steep walls, masts), and 3) surface reconstruction in 3D by point cloud triangulation and with the aid of several dedicated procedures. The benefits of using the proposed methods, including algorithms for detecting various features and improving the regularity of the data structure, are presented and discussed. Several different shape reconstruction algorithms were tested in combination with the proposed data processing methods and the strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm were highlighted.

Two multibeam sonar surveys of west-central San Francisco Bay, California, were conducted in 1997 and 2008. Bathymetric change analysis between the two surveys indicates a loss of 14.1 million cubic meters (-3.1 cm/yr) of sediment during this time period, representing an approximately three-fold acceleration of the rate that was observed from prior depth change analysis from 1947 to 1979 for all of Central Bay, using more spatially coarse National Ocean Service (NOS) soundings. The portions of the overlapping survey areas between 1997 and 2008 designated as aggregate mining lease sites lost sediment at five times the rate of the remainder of west-central San Francisco Bay. Despite covering only 28% of the analysis area, volume change within leasing areas accounted for 9.2 million cubic meters of sediment loss, while the rest of the area lost 4.9 million cubic meters of sediment. The uncertainty of this recent analysis is more tightly constrained due to more stringent controls on vertical and horizontal position via tightly coupled, inertially aided differential Global Positioning Systems (GPS) solutions for survey vessel trajectory that virtually eliminate inaccuracies from traditional tide modeling and vessel motion artifacts. Further, quantification of systematic depth measurement error can now be calculated through comparison of static surfaces (e.g., bedrock) between surveys using seafloor habitat maps based on acoustic backscatter measurements and ground-truthing with grab samples and underwater video. Sediment loss in the entire San Francisco Bay Coastal System during the last half-century, as estimated from a series of bathymetric change studies, is 240 million cubic meters, and most of this is believed to be coarse sediment (i.e., sand and gravel) from Central Bay and the San Francisco Bar, which is likely to limit the sand supply to adjacent, open-coast beaches. This hypothesis is supported by a calibrated numerical model in a related study that indicates that there is a potential net export of sand-sized sediment across the Golden Gate, suggesting that a reduction in the supply of sand-sized sediment within west-central San Francisco Bay will limit transport to the outer coast.

As human impacts continue to threaten coastal habitats and ecosystems, marine benthic habitat and substrate mapping has become a key component of many conservation and management initiatives. Understanding the composition and extent of marine habitats can inform marine protected area (MPA) planning and monitoring, help identify vulnerable or rare habitats and support fisheries management. To support conservation planning in Eastern Canada, we mapped the seafloor of Newman Sound, identifying the benthoscape classes (i.e. discrete biophysical seafloor classes) of this ecologically diverse and unique fjord in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Mapping was achieved using multibeam echosounder (MBES) data collected using multiple platforms, seafloor videos and an unsupervised pixel-based classification method. Seven benthoscape classes were identified within the extent of the MBES coverages. Multivariate statistical analyses indicate that two benthoscape classes - mixed boulder and mud - support distinct epifaunal communities, and also capture the changes in benthic community composition between hard/shallow substrates and soft/deep substrates. Our results illustrate how benthoscape maps can inform marine spatial planning and conservation in the Newman Sound region, support monitoring and also calls for adaptive management of the adjacent Eastport MPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An estimate of the effort needed to survey some arbitrary area is a critical part of the planning efforts of any hydrographic office. We develop a simple, analytic model to estimate full coverage of an arbitrary seafloor area based on a fixed angular swath system such as a multibeam echosounder. This model incorporates one tuneable parameter to account for the overall efficiency of survey execution. We had expected this parameter to be strongly tied to seafloor complexity and thus regionally consistent; it was not. In fact, we could discern no strong relationship between this parameter and any variable investigated, including region, roughness, variability, depth, or survey size. We use this tuned model, including an estimate of uncertainty, to develop a model for survey effort, and apply the model to all of the U.S. waters. Accounting for areas already surveyed to modern standards, we calculate that we have surveyed 44% of the U.S. waters to modern standards by area, but only 18% by level of effort. To survey the remaining area to modern standards would take 12 million linear nautical miles of survey, or approximately 177 years of a single platform running continuously at typical survey speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High fish densities negatively impact catch welfare and the survival of unwanted catches released from purse seines. To avoid overcrowding fish before being released, regulations have been implemented in the Northeast Atlantic mackerel and herring fisheries that limit the proportion of the seine that can be retrieved before catches are released. However, it is yet unknown how seine volume, and thus fish density, relates to proportion of seine retrieved. In this study, we have estimated the in-water volume of purse seines used in the Norwegian mackerel and herring fisheries as a function of proportion seine hauled and seine size. Purse seine geometry was monitored with multibeam sonar at sea and a log-linear mixed effects model was applied to the estimated seine volumes. The results indicate a 33-fold decrease in contained volume from 10 to 80% seine hauled and a threefold difference in volume between the largest and smallest measured seines. Fish densities in the seine were predicted to vary greatly depending on seine and catch size and under some conditions exceed safe crowding levels before the catch release limit is reached. This study questions the rationale of having the same catch release limit for all seine and catch sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new feature-based framework for bathymetric simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), called the TTT SLAM. In the frontend of the SLAM framework, we extract and match the handcrafted terrain gradient features designed for bathymetric data from submaps, and we employ the TEASER++ robust point cloud registration method to align overlapping submaps. In the backend, we utilize the Graduated Non-convexity Truncated Least Squares optimization method for pose graph optimization. To compare the performance of the terrain gradient features with existing point cloud features, we conducted feature matching experiments. Subsequently, we evaluated the performance of TTT SLAM and the existing bathymetric SLAM methods using two bathymetric datasets. The results demonstrate that the proposed terrain gradient features achieve a higher inlier rate compared to existing features, and TTT SLAM exhibits robustness and efficiency under different scenarios. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed TTT SLAM is the first bathymetric SLAM framework that utilizes handcrafted features directly extracted from the data collected by multibeam sonars. • Terrain gradient features exhibit superior matching accuracy compared to the other point cloud features under bathymetric data. • TTT SLAM is a novel bathymetric SLAM framework using handcrafted features. • TTT SLAM maintains its robustness and efficiency in the presence of varying Dead Reckoning errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calibrate a technique to use repeated multibeam sidescan surveys in the deep ocean to recover seafloor displacements greater than a few meters. Displacement measurements from seafloor patches (3 km by 20 km) on the port and starboard side of the ship are used to estimate vertical and across-track displacement. We present displacement measurements from a survey of the Ayu Trough southwest of the Marianas Trench using a 12 kHz multibeam. Vertical and across-track displacement errors for the 12 kHz multibeam sonar are typically 0–2 m with RMS uncertainties of 0.25–0.67 m in the across-track and 0.37–0.75 m in the vertical as determined by 3-way closure tests. The uncertainty of the range-averaged sound velocity is a major error source. We estimate that variations in the sound velocity profile, as quantified using expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) during data collection, contribute up to 0.3 m RMS uncertainty in the across-track direction and 1.6 m RMS uncertainty in the vertical direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the capabilities of AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) when operating in the Arctic, and under sea ice in particular, there are a number of recommendations that are essential for a successful operation. These recommendations not only deal with features of the AUV itself, but also with positioning under the ice, artificial intelligence for under-ice behaviour, the optimal sensor package for mapping the underside of sea ice, launch and recovery techniques and the operational scenario as a whole. We review these recommendations, and draw attention to a new technology which is central to improved AUV operation, the Stand-Alone USBL (Ultra-Short BaseLine, a method of underwater acoustic positioning) Positioning Buoy, which will enable insertion, tracking and retrieval of AUVs to be more rapid and secure, and enable in-mission low bandwidth communication. Both large and small AUVs have been used successfully to map the 3D structure of the ice underside, but always in an experimental context. The challenge now is to determine the best way forward to improve the quantity and quality of data gathering, and to turn the under-ice AUV into a reliable vehicle for routine use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi beam sonar survey is carried out in the continental slope of the Taixinan Basin to obtain submarine topographic and water column data. The data are processed to obtain water column images. Anomalous water column images, displaying plume characteristics, are found in gas hydrate enriched areas in the Taixinan Basin. This indicates the presence of natural gas resources in the Taixinan Basin. The multibeam sonar system is shown to provide an accurate and effective approach for detecting sub-sea gas hydrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological change in river channels is frequently evaluated in the context of mass balance sediment budgets. In a closed sediment budget, measurements of sediment influx and efflux are coupled with measured changes in channel topography to provide both spatial and temporal resolution, and independent estimates of the mass balance. For sediment budgets constructed over long river segments (~102 channel widths or greater) and long periods (~2 years or longer), spatial and temporal accumulation of measurement uncertainty, compounded by inadequate sampling frequency or spatial coverage, may produce indeterminate results. The degree of indeterminacy may be evaluated in the context of a signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), which is a function of the magnitude of the mass balance and the magnitudes of potential systematic uncertainties associated with measurements and incomplete sampling. We report on a closed sand budget consisting of measurements of flux and two morphological surveys for a 50‐km segment of a large river over a 3‐year period. Accurate reporting of the magnitude and sign of the change in sand storage was only possible by using state‐of‐the‐art techniques with high temporal frequency and large spatial extent. Together, a sand flux and morphological mass balance revealed that sand evacuation was temporally concentrated (~100% of mass change occurred during 19% of the study period) and highly localized (70% of mass change occurred in 12% of the study segment). A SNR analysis revealed that uncertainty resulting from undersampling may approach or exceed that caused by measurement uncertainty and that daily sampling of suspended‐sand concentration or repeat mapping of at least 50% of the river segment was required to determine the sand budget with SNR > 1. The approach used here to analyze sand budget uncertainty is especially applicable to other river systems with large temporal variability in sediment transport and large spatial variability in erosion and deposition. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Comprehensive sand budget based on high‐resolution measurements of sediment flux, channel morphology, and bed composition for 50‐km segment of Colorado River demonstrates erosion. Uncertainty, evaluated by a signal‐to‐noise analysis shows that sub‐daily sampling of suspended‐sediment concentration and repeat mapping of at least 50% of the study area are required to determine a sand budget with signal‐to‐noise ratio > 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater cultural heritage sites are subject to constant change, whether due to natural forces such as sediments, waves, currents or human intervention. Until a few decades ago, the documentation and research of these sites was mostly done manually by diving archaeologists. This paper presents the results of the integration of remote sensing technologies with autonomous marine vehicles in order to make the task of site documentation even faster, more accurate, more efficient and more precisely georeferenced. It includes the integration of multibeam sonar, side scan sonar and various cameras into autonomous surface and underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle. In total, case studies for nine underwater cultural heritage sites around the Mediterranean region are presented. Each case study contains a brief archaeological background of the site, the methodology of using autonomous marine vehicles and sensors for their documentation, and the results in the form of georeferenced side-scan sonar mosaics, bathymetric models or reconstructed photogrammetric models. It is important to mention that this was the first time that any of the selected sites were documented with sonar technologies or autonomous marine vehicles. The main objective of these surveys was to document and assess the current state of the sites and to establish a basis on which future monitoring operations could be built and compared. Beyond the mere documentation and physical preservation, examples of the use of these results for the digital preservation of the sites in augmented and virtual reality are presented.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest national park in Croatia and also the oldest from 1949. It was added to the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List in 1979, due to the unique physicochemical and biological conditions that have led to the creation of 16 named and several smaller unnamed lakes, which are cascading one into the next. Previous scientific research proved that the increased amount of dissolved organic matter (pollution) stops the travertine processes on Plitvice Lakes. Therefore, this complex, dynamic but also fragile geological, biological and hydrological system required a comprehensive limnological survey. Thirteen of the sixteen lakes mentioned above were initially surveyed from the air by an unmanned aircraft equipped with a survey grade GNSS and a full frame high-resolution full-screen camera. From these recordings, a georeferenced, high-resolution orthophoto was generated, on which the following surveys by a multibeam sonar depended. It is important to mention that this was the first time that these lakes had ever been surveyed both with the multibeam sonar technique and with such a high-resolution camera. Due to the fact that these thirteen lakes are difficult to reach and often too shallow for a boat-mounted sonar, a special autonomous surface vehicle was developed. The lakes were surveyed by the autonomous surface vehicle mounted with a multibeam sonar to create detailed bathymetric models of the lakes. The missions were planned for the surface vehicle based on the orthophoto from the preliminary studies. A detailed description of the methodology used to survey the different lakes is given here. In addition, the resulting high-resolution bathymetric maps are presented and analysed together with an overview of average, maximum depths and number of data points. Numerous interesting depressions, which are phenomena consistent with previous studies of Plitvice Lakes, are noted at the lake beds and their causes are discussed. This study shows the huge potential of remote sensing technologies integrated into autonomous vehicles in terms of much faster surveys, several orders of magnitude more data points (compared to manual surveys of a few decades ago), as well as data accuracy, precision and georeferencing.

Modern multibeam echosounders can record backscatter data returned from the water above the seafloor. These water-column data can potentially be used to detect and map aquatic vegetation such as kelp, and thus contribute to improving marine habitat mapping. However, the strong sidelobe interference noise that typically contaminates water-column data is a major obstacle to the detection of targets lying close to the seabed, such as aquatic vegetation. This article presents an algorithm to filter the noise and artefacts due to interference from the sidelobes of the receive array by normalizing the slant-range signal in each ping. To evaluate the potential of the filtered data for the detection of aquatic vegetation, we acquired a comprehensive water-column dataset over a controlled experimental site. The experimental site was a transplanted patch of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forest of known biomass and spatial configuration, obtained by harvesting several individuals from a nearby forest, measuring and weighing them, and arranging them manually on an area of seafloor previously bare. The water-column dataset was acquired with a Kongsberg EM 2040 C multibeam echosounder at several frequencies (200, 300, and 400 kHz) and pulse lengths (25, 50, and 100 μs). The data acquisition process was repeated after removing half of the plants, to simulate a thinner forest. The giant kelp plants produced evident echoes in the water-column data at all settings. The slant-range signal normalization filter greatly improved the visual quality of the data, but the filtered data may under-represent the true amount of acoustic energy in the water column. Nonetheless, the overall acoustic backscatter measured after filtering was significantly lower, by 2 to 4 dB on average, for data acquired over the thinned forest compared to the original experiment. We discuss the implications of these results for the potential use of multibeam echosounder water-column data in marine habitat mapping.

Because of the angular response effect, a significant imbalance of backscatter strengths always occurs in the multibeam image, which seriously affects the sonar image quality and limits further application of sonar images (for example, seabed target recognition and sediment classification). Current existing methods are mostly based on mathematical interpolation method or acoustic models, but there are still many deficiencies when dealing with complex situations. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a method of weakening angular response effect of the multibeam sonar image based on the angular backscatter characteristics of different seabed sediment type. Firstly, the suitable angular response parameters are reasonably chosen, and the k-mean unsupervised classification method is used to classify the angular response parameters to different sediment types. Secondly, the ave-rage of angular backscatter strength curves corresponding to different seabed sediment type is calcula-ted to obtain the echo characteristic curve of each sediment types. Finally, the angular response effect is weakened by subtracting the echo characteristic curve of each sediment type from the original echo strength curve and adding the average backscatter strength value of each sediment type. Following the steps, the consistency of the echo intensity is achieved and the quality of the sonar image is improved. During the processes, as to the problem of k selection when using the k-mean method, this paper gives out an iterative selection method. In the experiment, the multibeam sonar data measured in the waters of Jiaozhou Bay was used to verify the method, and it was proved that the method can effectively weaken the angular response effect [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An assessment of the multibeam sonar data of the central Western Continental Margins of India has been carried out to evaluate the seafloor geomorphology and processes by examining the geomorphological attributes e.g., slope, sediments, structures, etc. associated with geomorphic features. The variation in relief and the features located in the region have been mapped and interpreted collectively by utilizing several geospatial mapping tools. The backscatter strength across the area, apparently congruent with the local relief, has helped to examine the sediment movement on the seafloor. The prominent features found in the region include faults, pockmarks, mounds, submarine terraces, and submerged fossil reefs. Several areas with varying topography engender comparable fractal dimension at short scale breaks, and the probability density functions (PDFs) utilizing backscatter data depicting overlapping classes. The present study highlights how fractals and scale break parameters can be utilized to determine the seafloor processes and associated sedimentological dynamics in a complex geographical environment with strong bottom currents, seasonal upwelling, and faulted structure. The role and impact of the various geomorphic processes on the reworking of sediment movement and the overall progression of the seafloor morphology has been revealed for the first time in this part of the ocean bottom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lakelse Lake area in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, has a long history, and prehistory, of rapid sensitive clay landslides moving on very low gradients. However, until now, many landslides have gone undetected. We use an array of modern tools to identify hitherto unknown or poorly known landslide deposits, including acoustic subbottom profiles, multibeam sonar, and LiDAR. The combination of these methods reveals not only landslide deposits, but also geomorphic and sedimentologic structures that give clues about landslide type and mode of emplacement. LiDAR and bathymetric data reveal the areal extent of landslide deposits as well as the orientation of ridges that differentiate between spreading and flowing kinematics. The subbottom profiles show two-dimensional structures of disturbed landslide deposits, including horst and grabens indicative of landslides classified as spreads. A preliminary computer tomography (CT) scan of a sediment core confirms the structures of one subbottom profile. We also use archival data from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and resident interviews to better characterize historic landslides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Red Sea is an unusual example of a rift basin that transitioned from its evaporitic stage to fully open-ocean conditions at the end of the Miocene (∼5.3 Ma), much more recently than older Mesozoic margins around the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The patterns of halokinetic deformation occurring in the Red Sea are potentially of interest for understanding more generally how evaporite deposits deform during this early stage. Relevant to this issue, a line of reconnaissance sidescan sonar data (GLORIA) collected along the Red Sea in 1979 is re-evaluated here. We first interpret the data with the aid of newly compiled bathymetry from multibeam sonars in the central and southern Red Sea. Features in the acoustic backscatter data are associated with ridges, valleys and rounded flow fronts produced by halokinetic deformation. Some areas of higher acoustic backscattering from the evaporites are suggested to relate to roughness produced by deformation of the evaporite surface. Within the volcanic (oceanic) axial valleys, areas of differing high and low backscattering suggest varied sediment cover and/or carbonate encrustations. With the benefit of the above experience, we then interpreted data from the northern Red Sea, where there are fewer multibeam data available. Rounded fronts of halokinetic deformation are present in the Zabargad Fracture Zone, a broad, shallow valley crossing the Red Sea obliquely. The presence of halokinetic deformation here is evidence that subsidence has occurred along the fracture zone. Elsewhere in the northern Red Sea, the GLORIA data reveal folds in the evaporite surface, suggesting local areas of convergence, like those implied by multibeam data from inter-trough zones further south. Some linear features are observed, many of which are likely to be ridges overlying salt walls. Interestingly, several such features are oriented along an accommodation zone that is oriented parallel to the plate spreading direction. Several rounded, corrugated features are interpreted as possible evaporite flow fronts. Overall, the impression from the data is of a strongly mobile seabed in the Red Sea because of halokinetic deformation, involving both vertical and horizontal movements. However, salt walls appear more common than in the central and southern axial Red Sea, where horizontal movements instead tend to dominate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many oceanographic applications require multi resolution representation of gridded data such as for bathymetric data. Although triangular irregular networks (TINs) allow for variable resolution, they do not provide a gridded structure. Right TINs (RTINs) are compatible with a gridded structure. We explored the use of two approaches for RTINs termed top-down and bottom-up implementations. We illustrate why the latter is most appropriate for gridded data and describe for this technique how the data can be thinned. While both the top-down and bottom-up approaches accurately preserve the surface morphology of any given region, the top-down method of vertex placement can fail to match the actual vertex locations of the underlying grid in many instances, resulting in obscured topology/bathymetry. Finally we describe the use of the bottom-up approach and data thinning in two applications. The first is to provide thinned, variable resolution bathymetry data for tests of storm surge and inundation modeling, in particular hurricane Katrina. Secondly we consider the use of the approach for an application to an oceanographic data grid of 3-D ocean temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]