Sentinel-1 bathymetry for North Sea palaeolandscape analysis

ABSTRACT Submerged palaeolandscapes can contain pristine underwater heritage. Regular monitoring of these areas is essential to assess and mitigate threats from development including construction, mining, and commercial trawling. While bathymetry alone may be insufficient to detect submerged palaeolandscape features, it can nonetheless recognize previously mapped structures that have a topographic expression. The Sentinel-1 constellation will provide unprecedented access to freely available, high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, acquired systematically and with long-term continuity, and may constitute a cost-effective solution for the monitoring of submerged palaeolandscapes. The article shows the application of a recently developed bathymetric algorithm to Sentinel-1 SAR data over a region of the southern North Sea. Results show general agreement with water depth data obtained from the European Marine Observation and Data Network portal for bathymetry (EMODnet). To assess the support that SAR bathymetry can provide to the analysis of submerged palaeolandscapes, the Sentinel-1-derived water depths were compared to a palaeolandscape map of the same area produced by the North Sea Palaeolandscapes Project (NSPP). Results show a clear correspondence between certain topographic structures identified in the Sentinel-1 water depth map and features interpreted by the NSPP as early Holocene lakes, rivers, and landscape topography.

[1]  G. J. Wensink,et al.  The Bathymetry Assessment System: Efficient depth mapping in shallow seas using radar images , 2001 .

[2]  A. Moccia,et al.  Analysis of spaceborne SAR monitoring capabilities for coastal areas bathymetry with COSMO-SkyMed and ALOS data , 2013, Remote Sensing.

[3]  Michael K. Faught,et al.  The Underwater Archaeology of Paleolandscapes, Apalachee Bay, Florida , 2004, American Antiquity.

[4]  P. Held,et al.  Underwater bottom topography in coastal areas from TerraSAR-X data , 2011 .

[5]  Q. Zheng,et al.  Shear-flow induced secondary circulation in parallel underwater topographic corrugation and its application to satellite image interpretation , 2012, Journal of Ocean University of China.

[6]  Antonio Moccia,et al.  SAR Bathymetry in the Tyrrhenian Sea by COSMO-SkyMed Data: A Novel Approach , 2014, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing.

[7]  Ron Abileah,et al.  Mapping near shore bathymetry using wave kinematics in a time series of WorldView-2 satellite images , 2013, 2013 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium - IGARSS.

[8]  B. Coles,et al.  Doggerland: a Speculative Survey , 1998, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society.

[9]  Xiaofeng Li,et al.  Deep‐water seamount wakes on SEASAT SAR image in the Gulf Stream region , 2012 .

[10]  R. Garello,et al.  On rewriting the imaging mechanism of underwater bottom topography by synthetic aperture radar as a Volterra series expansion , 2002 .

[11]  Li Li,et al.  SAR imaging and hydrodynamic analysis of ocean bottom topographic waves , 2006 .

[12]  Pierre Potin,et al.  Sentinel-1A observation scenario simulations — Initial operations phase , 2014, 2014 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[13]  Jon Barry,et al.  Decrease in water clarity of the southern and central North Sea during the 20th century , 2015, Global change biology.

[14]  C. C. Wackerman,et al.  Estimating near-shore bathymetry using SAR , 1998, IGARSS '98. Sensing and Managing the Environment. 1998 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing. Symposium Proceedings. (Cat. No.98CH36174).

[15]  Vincent Gaffney,et al.  A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: life on board USS Saginaw– By Hans Konrad Van Tilburg , 2007 .

[16]  Rory Quinn,et al.  Mapping Submerged Landscapes Using Multibeam Bathymetric Data: a case study from the north coast of Ireland , 2011 .

[17]  K. Thomson,et al.  In Sight of Doggerland: From speculative survey to landscape exploration , 2007 .

[18]  Kurt Lambeck,et al.  SHORELINE RECONSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PERSIAN GULF SINCE THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM , 1996 .

[19]  W. Alpers,et al.  A theory of the imaging mechanism of underwater bottom topography by real and synthetic aperture radar , 1984 .

[20]  P. Baines,et al.  Topographic Effects in Stratified Flows , 1995 .

[21]  Dirk Geudtner,et al.  Sentinel-1 System , 2014 .

[22]  Matthew Taylor.  Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About the Event that Changed History , 2004, The Professional Geographer.

[23]  D. Crisp,et al.  The State-of-the-Art in Ship Detection in Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery , 2004 .