High-Resolution Bathymetry Mapping for the Bering Continental Shelf

We propose development of a data processing system to produce, store, and distribute integrated gridded bathymetry maps of high resolution (up to 100 m intervals) by combining the current 30-arc second (500 m∼1.5 km) resolution General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) map with existent and/or unpublished archives of fragmental multibeam sonar data from various research vessels and/or operational institutes. Two areas were chosen for our preparatory study: onshore areas around Fukushima, Japan, and offshore regions in the Bering Continent al Shelf. Facilitation for safe transportation and routing being the common target areas, the former is also targeted to the applications on legal and policy dimensions while the latter is expected for applications to scientific research. We will explore the possibility to conduct future surveys to employ autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) with novel scanning sensors for target areas.