LANDSAT image enhancement study of possible submerged sand-dunes in the Arabian Gulf

. Digital image enhancement of selected LANDSAT Multispectral Scanner (MSS) image data for the coastal area of eastern Saudi Arabia reveals large sandbanks in relatively clear water, 8-10 m deep. LANDSAT MSS imagery of wave length range 0-5-0-6 μm was masked digitally to remove onshore spectral data and the contrast range of sea areas enhanced to display tonal variations which correspond in form to major barchanoid-shaped shoals on the sea floor. The shape, scale and orientation of the sandbanks suggest that they may be submerged aeolian dunes. If these sandbanks are submerged dunes, they predate the last eustatic sea level rise (8000-10000 years Bp) and must have been stabilized by cementation prior to submergence in order to survive palaeo-wind and current erosive action.