Santa Barbara Coastal Digital Elevation Model at 1/3 Arc-Second Resolution

A high-resolution coastal digital elevation model (DEM) for the Santa Barbara, California region, referenced to the Mean High Water tidal datum. The dataset is an integrated bathymetric-topographic grid with a 1/3 arc-second (~10 meter) spacing, compiled by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center from multiple federal and local sources. It is designed to support tsunami forecasting and inundation modeling for the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers.

Use Cases

• Run tsunami inundation simulations using the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) model with this integrated bathymetric-topographic DEM.
• Analyze coastal vulnerability by modeling storm surge or sea-level rise scenarios on a grid referenced to the Mean High Water (MHW) datum.
• Support maritime navigation and coastal engineering studies with high-resolution (~10 meter) seafloor and land elevation data for the Santa Barbara region.
• Calibrate regional hydrodynamic models using elevation data compiled from sources like the U.S. Geological Survey and National Ocean Service.

Strengths

• High-resolution grid spacing of 1/3 arc-second, approximately 10 meters.
• Integrated dataset combining bathymetric and topographic data from multiple authoritative sources including NOAA, USGS, and USACE.
• Specifically developed and used for operational tsunami forecasting at the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is limited to the select coastal region of Santa Barbara, California.
• Vertical datum is fixed to Mean High Water (MHW), which may require conversion for analyses using other tidal datums like Mean Sea Level.
• The raw description does not specify the exact temporal range of the source elevation measurements used in the compilation.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Compiled from bathymetric, topographic, and shoreline data obtained from NGDC, U.S. National Ocean Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, and other government and private sources.

Freshness

Metadata was last updated in October 2024.

Geography

Santa Barbara, California coastal region and Channel Islands.