SCuBA: Satellite-Computed Bathymetry for U.S. Coastal Waters

A NOAA and NGA project assessing satellite-derived bathymetry data. The dataset likely contains refraction-corrected underwater depth measurements from 0 to 30 meters, derived from NASA's ICESat-2 satellite LiDAR. It was developed to improve the accuracy of coastal bathymetry products for navigation safety.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite-derived bathymetry algorithms based on ICESat-2 LiDAR data.
• Calibrate existing coastal bathymetry models based on high-vertical-accuracy depth retrievals.
• Analyze nearshore seafloor characteristics based on depth data across diverse environmental conditions.
• Improve navigation safety charts for U.S. territories based on updated coastal depth information.

Strengths

• Focuses on improving vertical depth accuracy in the nearshore region, where current resources can have errors up to 50 percent.
• Leverages global coverage data from NASA's ICESat-2 satellite launched in 2018.
• Algorithm development was provided by the University of Texas at Austin.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).

Collection Method

Depth retrievals generated from NASA's ICESat-2 satellite LiDAR using an automated algorithm.

Time Range

unknown

Freshness

unknown

Geography

Covers all U.S. territories.