Digital Commons Network^™

High-Resolution Mapping In Manus Basin, C. Roman, V. Ferrini

Christopher N. Roman

Near-bottom seafloor mapping with precisely navigated deep submergence vehicles has become increasingly common in a range of oceanographic settings. Recent mapping efforts at deep-water hydrothermal vent sites have resulted in high-resolution (sub-meter) bathymetry datasets that can be used to identify morphological features associated with volcanic, tectonic, and hydrothermal processes. The resolution of these maps, and our ability to accurately quantify the complex morphologic details of hydrothermal structures has been limited by a number of variables including navigational accuracy, sonar settings (e.g. acoustic wavelength, sonar orientation, ping rate), survey parameters (e.g. altitude, speed), data density, and data processing techniques (e.g. gridding …