| Global Shallow Bathymetry from SeaWiFS
 Characterizing water depth in tropical oceans is an important first step for improving the identification and characterization of coral reefs. NOAA scientists have developed a revised bathymetry algorithm, originally applied to 4-meter IKONOS imagery (Stumpf et al. 2003b), that could be applied to that can be applied to data from a variety of sensors. This algorithm was used to produce a global composite 1-km bathymetry map from SeaWiFS data (Robinson et al. 2000, Stumpf et al. 1999, 2003a). The value of each pixel in the full-resolution SeaWiFS depth classification image is derived from depths computed from different SeaWiFS overflights so that cloud pixels can be removed and best depth estimates developed that eliminate transient effects of sediment, chlorophyll, etc. We have used the median measurement (after cloud pixels have been removed) to represent each 0.01 by 0.01 degree location on the map.
The Global SeaWiFS Bathymetry Map was includes all five years of data from the SeaWiFS mission through November 2002. It is available for access online at http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/reefs.pl. |
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