Satellite Imagery as an Aid to Bathymetric Charting in the Red Sea

Bathymetric (water depth) information in some circumstances be obtained from Landsat MSS imagery, especially in bands 4 and 5. The techniques, described by others, normally make use of local information, such as the attenuation coefficient of light in sea water, obtained at the region being examined.This paper describes a relatively simple method for obtaining depth contours. For regions which have not been extensively surveyed but for which a small amount of depth information has been obtained by conventional means, these contours can provide a useful supplement, providing information economically over a wide area. The technique is applied here to a region at the northern end of the Red Sea.