The Potential for Landsat-Based Bathymetry in Canada

Accurate bathymetric information is fundamental to safe maritime navigation and infrastructure development in the coastal zone, but it is expensive to acquire with traditional methods. Satellite-derived bathymetry has the potential to produce bathymetric maps at dramatically reduced cost per unit area. In this study, we investigate the depths to which Landsat 8 data can be used with a radiative transfer model inversion scheme to produce bathymetric maps for shallow waters in Canada. Simulation results indicate that in relatively clear waters the technique could be effective for mapping of depths up to ∼ 4.5 m with ≤ ∼1 m error at a 95% confidence level, although depths of up to only ∼ 3 m can be similarly mapped in more turbid waters. A case study from turbid Boundary Bay, BC, indicates that imperfect derivation of above-surface remote sensing reflectance leads to greater errors in practice. Radiative transfer model inversion of Landsat 8 data allows coarse identification and preliminary bathymetric mapping of the shallowest waters in Canada, which are, at present, largely unknown outside main traffic corridors.