Bathymetry studies on the coastal waters (Red Sea) of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using Shuttle MOMS-01 data

Abstract MOMS data recorded from the Space Shuttle flight STS-7 have been used to investigate water depths in the Red Sea in the vicinity of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An exponential relationship between pixel intensity (digital number) and water depth was observed. However, the r.m.s. deviation of the fit of the data to control points from the hydrographic charts for the area was about 3-7 m which is much too large for operational bathymetric work. The reason for this is the low sensitivity of the instrument and the non-suitability of the spectral bands.