ERS-1 SAR imagery to optimize the NOURTEC shipbased bathymetric survey : feasibility study

Detailed information on the sea bottom topography in shallow coastal seas is important for the construction of effective coastal defences. The aim of the study reported here is to investigate the possibilities of ERS-1 SAR observations to reduce the effort in bathymetric surveys and to analyze the effect of reduced sounding information on the assessment of the accuracy of the bathymetry. This was carried out by constructing depth maps using SAR imagery and only a subset of the available soundings. The omitted sounding data were used to determine the accuracy of the depth assessments. For comparison, a similar analysis was done using linear interpolation.