May 27, 2021
Mapping shallow, nearshore areas can be a challenging job. The waters along coasts and islands are important to human activities, but when it comes to mapping these areas there is still a lot of work to do. Here, we have selected five articles that provide us with inspiration, insights and food for thought for shallow-water and coastal mapping.
Bathymetry from UAV Imagery and Machine Learning
Accurate bathymetric mapping of shallow areas is essential for a plethora of offshore activities. Through Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multiview Stereo (MVS) techniques, images can provide a low-cost alternative compared to Lidar and sonar systems while also offering important visual information. This article presents a new framework for mapping the seabed in clear and calm shallow waters for small- and large-scale surveys using aerial imagery and machine learning to correct the geometric effects of refraction on the 3D point clouds and the imagery. Read the full story here
May 3, 2021
The final version of the European Coastal Zones datasets for reference years 2012 and 2018 plus accompanying change mapping, is now available.
Further to the partial release of Coastal Zones datasets in November 2020, the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) is pleased to now advise the release of the remaining datasets of this new thematic hotspot product. This has been the result of a set of coordinated activities, with the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS).
Europe’s coastal land areas
More than 700.000 km
2 of Europa’s coastal land areas have been mapped at a detail of 0.5 ha. Available are the status layers of the years 2012 and 2018 and a change layer for 2012-18.
April 15, 2021
The evolution of Australia’s coastlines can now be seen in unprecedented scale and detail, via a new tool developed by Geoscience Australia’s Digital Earth Australia (DEA) program. Using satellite imagery collected since 1988, DEA Coastlines maps annual changes to Australia’s coastlines to highlight long-term trends in coastal erosion and growth.
The free online tool can also illustrate how natural coastal features like sandbanks or river mouths shift and change over time.
Geoscience Australia’s National Earth and Marine Observations Branch Head Maree Wilson said DEA Coastlines provides scientists, managers, and policymakers with new information to maintain and protect Australia’s iconic shores for future generations.
NOAA s new elevation mapping tool is here. It is a nationwide listing of known publicly available high-accuracy topographic and bathymetric source elevation data for the United States and its territories. The inventory provides a single resource for information about all known completed and in-progress broad-area public domain elevation data.
The United States Interagency Elevation Inventory raises awareness of and increases access to existing elevation data, thereby reducing data duplication efforts. It helps to identify data gaps and informs and encourages collaboration on future data collection efforts. The inventory displays data set boundaries and provides information about the elevation data but does not host the data itself. If available, links to access the data, metadata, and reports are included.