Global Coastal Bathymetry from ICESat-2 Satellite Altimetry

ATL24 data provides global along-track coastal and nearshore bathymetry measurements. It contains refraction-corrected seafloor and sea surface heights, including orthometric and ellipsoidal heights and instantaneous depths, derived from the ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data (ATL03). The dataset is produced by the NSIDC_CPRD organization.

Use Cases

• Model coastal erosion by analyzing changes in seafloor heights over time.
• Calibrate sonar surveys using satellite-derived instantaneous depth measurements.
• Study nearshore sediment transport patterns from along-track orthometric height data.
• Assess uncertainty in bathymetric models using the provided height uncertainty fields.
• Map global coastal zones by processing the geolocated sea surface and seafloor height tracks.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage of coastal and nearshore regions.
• Provides multiple height measurements: orthometric, ellipsoidal, and instantaneous depths.
• Includes associated uncertainty estimates for derived bathymetry.

Limitations

• Data is limited to along-track profiles, not providing full areal coverage.
• Specific row count, temporal coverage, and update frequency are unknown.
• Bathymetry is derived from photon data and may have limitations in very shallow or turbid waters.

Provenance

Source

NSIDC_CPRD, derived from ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data (ATL03).

Collection Method

Derived from satellite altimetry (ICESat-2 ATLAS) photon data, with refraction correction applied.

Geography

Global coverage of coastal and nearshore zones.