Sentinel-1 bathymetry for North Sea palaeolandscape analysis
Submerged palaeolandscapes can contain pristine underwater heritage. Regular monitoring of these areas is essential to assess and mitigate threats from development including construction, mining, and commercial trawling. While bathymetry alone may be insufficient to detect submerged
palaeolandscape features, it can nonetheless recognize previously mapped structures that have a topographic expression. The Sentinel-1 constellation will provide unprecedented access to freely available, high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, acquired systematically and with
long-term continuity, and may constitute a cost-effective solution for the monitoring of submerged palaeolandscapes. The article shows the application of a recently developed bathymetric algorithm to Sentinel-1 SAR data over a region of the southern North Sea. Results show general agreement
with water depth data obtained from the European Marine Observation and Data Network portal for bathymetry (EMODnet). To assess the support that SAR bathymetry can provide to the analysis of submerged palaeolandscapes, the Sentinel-1-derived water depths were compared to a palaeolandscape
map of the same area produced by the North Sea Palaeolandscapes Project (NSPP). Results show a clear correspondence between certain topographic structures identified in the Sentinel-1 water depth map and features interpreted by the NSPP as early Holocene lakes, rivers, and landscape topography.
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Science, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy 2: Department of Industrial Engineering, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy 3: School of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Publication date: 01 February 2016
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content