@article {7642, title = {Exploring Ancillary Parameters for Quantifying Interpolation Uncertainty in Digital Bathymetric Models}, year = {2024}, month = {04/17/2024}, publisher = {Taylor \& Francis Group}, abstract = {

The oceans remain one of Earth\&$\#$39;s most enigmatic frontiers, with approximately 75\% of the world\&$\#$39;s oceans still unmapped. To create a seamless digital bathymetric model (DBM) from sparse bathymetric datasets, interpolation is employed, but this introduces uncertainties of unknown nature. This study aims to estimate and characterize these uncertainties, which is important in many fields, particularly nautical charting, and navigational safety. Complete seafloor coverage sonar depth data for five testbeds that varied in slope and roughness are sampled at a range of densities (1\% to 50\%) and interpolated across an entire area using Spline, Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), and Linear interpolation. The resulting uncertainties are evaluated from both scientific and operational perspectives. Employing linear regression and machine learning techniques, the relationships between these uncertainties and ancillary parameters (distance to the nearest measurement, seabed roughness, and slope) are examined for quantifying and characterising the interpolation uncertainty. Results indicate insignificant operational differences among the three interpolators in depth estimation, as well as the statistical significance of the examined uncertainty predictors. Additionally, findings suggest the potential presence of unaccounted-for factors shaping uncertainty, yet this work lays a foundational understanding for improving the estimate of uncertainty in DBMs.

}, keywords = {Geospatial Analysis, hydrography, interpolation-based digital bathymetric models, Machine Learning, Nautical Charting, Uncertainty Estimation}, doi = {10.1080/01490419.2024.2338730}, author = {Elias Adediran and Kim Lowell and Christos Kastrisios and Glen Rice and Qi Zhang} } @article {7366, title = {Design of a Wireless, Inexpensive Ocean of Things System for Volunteer Bathymetry}, year = {2023}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {

Although much progress has been made in recent years to fully map the world ocean, only approximately 20\% is adequately mapped to modern standards. Filling in the remain- der must by necessity be a multi-modal effort, with traditional ocean mapping technologies such as crewed survey ships with multibeam echosounders being mixed with newer systems such as uncrewed, sail-powered mapping systems. Volunteer data from any ship with an echosounder can also be used, but although there have been commercial efforts in this field, most of these systems do not contribute data into the public arena and public entities have largely avoided this field due to complexities of costs, data processing, and uncertainty on how to handle the effort. This paper describes the design of an end-to-end system for managed volunteer bathymetric collection consisting of an inexpensive (\∼$20) wireless \“ocean of things\” data logger for NMEA0183 and NMEA2000 data, associated firmware to manage the collection, a mobile device application to off-load, aggregate, and transfer the data into the cloud, and a cloud segment to process the data and submit it to an international data repository. All of the design has been released under an Open Hardware or Open Source license, allowing independent organizations to initiate data collection efforts without having to do any of the design work themselves. The goal is to provide a simple, approachable\ implementation, encouraging greater adoption of these ideas in hard-to-reach areas of the world with minimal effort on the part of the host organization.

}, keywords = {Cloud-enabled Data Processing, Crowdsourced Bathymetry, Internet of Things, Ocean of Things, Volunteer Bathymetric Information}, doi = {10.1109/JIOT.2023.3234500}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10007655}, author = {Brian R Calder} } @article {7390, title = {A Machine Learning Approach to Characterizing Uncertainty in Interpolated Bathymetric Datasets}, year = {2023}, month = {March 13-17}, pages = {Mobile, AL}, abstract = {

The oceans are truly Earth\’s last great unknown. With about 75\% of the world\&$\#$39;s ocean and 53\% of the U.S. ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters unmapped, interpolation across large distances is typically required among sparse bathymetric datasets/measurements in order to fill the data gaps and create a definitive model of the seafloor. As with any scientific measurement, the uncertainty that comes with bathymetry is important, but particularly for the application of nautical charting and navigational safety, it is crucial as it can be one of the factors of maritime accidents. The widespread use of digital bathymetric models developed using interpolation methods across numerous disciplines in the academic, government, and private sectors are on the increase with little or no accompanying estimates of the uncertainty inherent in the models. This calls for additional work to bolster the existing ones in this area of research in ocean mapping as the significance of estimating uncertainty in these models ranges from academically and commercially beneficial to potentially lifesaving. Hence, this work will present a novel machine learning approach to estimating and characterizing the uncertainties in bathymetric models given different datasets combinations, qualities, and seafloor morphologies to better quantify the estimate of interpolation uncertainty. Our ongoing investigation is evaluating the performance of deterministic and stochastic interpolation techniques on different testbeds with different datasets in the U.S. This effort is targeted at determining an optimal interpolation method that is fit for purpose and provides the best estimate of uncertainty based on different data combinations, qualities, and seafloor morphologies in operational settings. An optimal interpolation method in the context of this work is one that meets the application requirements (for example preserves shallow depths and does not overestimate depth for nautical charting and safety of navigation; preserves morphology for modeling applications, etc.) while still providing the best estimate of uncertainty. Beyond the broader impact of better filling the bathymetric gaps, the findings of this work are expected to help the hydrospatial community confidently choose a situation-specific \– i.e., based on location, depth, data characteristics, morphologies \– optimal interpolation method. Consequently, the eventual benefits will be enhancing nautical chart accuracy, hydrographic survey planning, and improving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data-driven projects such as the National Bathymetric Source, Hydrographic Health Modelling, Precision Navigation, etc.

}, keywords = {interpolated bathymetry, Machine Learning}, author = {Elias Adediran and Kim Lowell and Christos Kastrisios and Glen A Rice} } @article {7232, title = {Marine protected areas and electronic navigational charts: legal foundation, mapping methods, IHO S-122 portrayal, and advanced navigation services}, volume = {8}, year = {2023}, month = {January 5}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {

A strategic instrument for the sustainable conservation of the fragile marine ecosystem is the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), within which various regulations exist for the protection of highly vulnerable species and habitats. These regulations can be depicted on Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) based on the new International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) S-100 series of standards, which support Marine Information Overlays (MIOs) that enrich the portrayed information by including both static and dynamic information, such as vessels traffic, tides, currents, and weather conditions, as well as essential information for the regulation of MPAs. Although, the new IHO S-122 Product Specification introduced specifically for the MPAs has been developed to encapsulate geospatial information for these regulations, the present edition does not specify portrayal. This paper reviews the legal foundation for the protection of marine mammals as well as the mapping methods used in selected study cases and builds upon these to present new, intuitive portrayal symbols for depicting the type of MPAs in combination with the regulations to be enforced on ENCs. Moreover, to support the global efforts for the protection of marine biodiversity, contemporary navigation systems aboard vessels can be used to enforce environmental regulations, and operations centers ashore can also monitor vessels\’ passage and activities in MPAs. In that respect, this paper also discusses the concepts of Ecosystem Protection Zones and Environmental Risk Contours that can facilitate environmental risk-based voyage planning and preventive alarm services through Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS).

}, keywords = {Ecosystem Protection Zone (EPZ), Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC), ENCs Portrayal, Environmental Risk Contour (ERC), Environmentally Sensitive Sea Areas (ESSA), IHO S-100 Standard, IHO S-122 Product Specification, Marine Information Overlay (MIO), Marine Protected Areas (MPA)}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-023-00343-9}, author = {Stilianos Contarinis and Christos Kastrisios and Nakos, Byron} } @article {7391, title = {User-Centered Design of Nautical Chart Symbols}, year = {2023}, month = {March 13 -17}, pages = {Mobile, AL}, abstract = {

The new S-1xx product specifications being developed by the International Hydrographic Organization\’s (IHO) Working Groups enrich the navigation related information on Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). However, many of them do not yet have defined symbology. Symbology is an essential part of the cartographic profession as it helps humans to decode the mapped real-world features. \Ιn this work we present a developing project toward new symbology that currently targets the S-122 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (IHO, 2019), S-126 Marine Physical Environment (under development), S-127 Marine Traffic Management (IHO, 2018), and S-131 Marine Harbour Infrastructure (under development). The work follows a user-centered design consisting of four phases: the understanding of context of use, the user requirements, the symbology design, and the iterative process for making improvements to the initially developed symbology based on feedback by stakeholders. For the first two phases, we utilize the wealth of information in the existing IHO publications. Aspects such as the use of color and utilized enclosing shapes are derived from the long-lasting practice in the nautical charting profession. Other relevant sources are also investigated, e.g., current MPAs portrayal methods in national thematic maps. For the symbology design we focus on developing icons representative of the mapped feature, rather than abstract symbols, utilizing existing chart symbols where available / possible, and the selection of symbol color, enclosing shape, and size. Sample preliminary symbols are presented as well as the feedback from professional cartographers for making improvements toward an effective symbology, i.e., symbols that achieve an optimal visual hierarchy and are intuitive, while they occupy the minimum possible chart space.


}, keywords = {Electronic Navigational Chart, IHO Product Specification, Portrayal, safety of navigation, symbology}, author = {Christos Kastrisios and Stilianos Contarinis and Butkiewicz, Thomas and Nakos, Byron and Briana M Sullivan and Harmon, Colby and Ence Christie and Megan Bartlett} } @article {7386, title = {Efforts for Developing Symbology for New S-1xx PS}, year = {2022}, month = {November 2-4}, institution = {IHO Nautical Cartography Working Group (NCWG)}, address = {Wollongong, Australia}, abstract = {

The new S-1xx product specifications being developed by IHO WGs enrich the navigation related information on Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). However, many of them do not yet have defined symbology, e.g., the S-122 Marine Protected Areas (IHO, 2019), S-126 Marine Physical Environment (under development), S-127 Marine Traffic Management (IHO, 2018), and S-131 Marine Harbour Infrastructure (under development). Therefore, as S-122 Edition 1.0.0 explains, implementers are allowed to select the technique and style of representation that they believe is most suited to their requirements, but they should plan for future versions that may contain a portrayal catalogue by making adequate preparations in the system (IHO, 2019). Identifying the need, the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping of the University of New Hampshire (UNH/CCOM), in collaboration with the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), initiated a research work toward the development of new symbology for the recently developed / under development S-1xx Product Specifications. This paper presents the purpose of the research, what has been done so far, future work, and seeks feedback / guidance / collaborators.

}, keywords = {Electronic Navigational Chart, IHO Product Specification, Portrayal, safety of navigation, symbology}, author = {Christos Kastrisios and Stilianos Contarinis and Butkiewicz, Thomas and Nakos, Byron and Briana M Sullivan and Harmon, Colby and Ence Christie and Megan Bartlett} } @article {7067, title = {Bearing Stake 1977 Revisited: An understanding of Ambient Sound Sources in the Indian Ocean}, volume = {148, No. 4}, year = {2020}, month = {October 8}, pages = {EL320-EL325}, abstract = {

A previous analysis of 1977 passive acoustic recordings in the Indian Ocean focused on sound pressure levels (SPLs) and showed that SPLs were slightly depth dependent and highly influenced by shipping activities [Wagstaff and Aitkenhead, IEEE J. Ocean. Eng. 30(2), 295\–302 (2005)]. Consequently, SPL alone does not provide a consistent comprehensive metric to compare among sites or with contemporary recordings in the same region. Therefore, a source separation analysis was devised and applied to identify the major sound source contributions at three Indian Ocean locations. Shipping noise was a major sound contributor in all sites, while the site with the most diverse number of sources was in the central Arabian Sea.

}, keywords = {ambient ocean sound, Indian Ocean, sound sources}, doi = {10.1121/10.0002094}, author = {Al-Badrawi, MH}, editor = {Jennifer Miksis-Olds} } @proceedings {6705, title = {Machine Learning Strategies for Enhancing Bathymetry Extraction from Imbalanced Lidar Point Clouds}, year = {2019}, month = {Oct 27-31}, publisher = {IEEE}, address = {Seattle, WA}, abstract = {

Abstract\—Density-based approaches to extract bathymetry from airborne lidar point clouds generally rely on histogram/frequency-based disambiguation rules to separate noise from signal.\  The present work targets the improvement of such disambiguation rules by enhancing each pulse with a machine learning-based estimate of its p(Bathy) \– i.e., its probability of truly being bathymetry.\  Extreme gradient boosting (XGB) is used to assess the strength of bathymetric signal in pulse return metadata.\  Because lidar point clouds can be highly imbalanced between Bathymetry and NotBathymetry, three strategies for mitigating the effects of imbalanced samples were examined.\  Impacts of an imbalanced lidar point cloud were successfully mitigated by:

However, decomposing a confusion matrix by iteratively discarding misclassified points and re-fitting an XGB model was not successful in improving the strength or detectability of the bathymetric signal in the metadata.\  The same was true for iteratively discarding correctly classified points.

The bathymetric signal in the metadata was found to be sufficiently strong to explore the operational incorporation of results into the disambiguation rules of density-based bathymertric extraction methods.

}, keywords = {bathymetric lidar, confusion matrix decomposition, Extreme Gradient Boosting, imbalanced samples, probability decision threshold}, author = {Kim Lowell and Brian R Calder} } @proceedings {6716, title = {Machine Learning Strategies for Enhancing Bathymetry Extraction from Imbalanced Lidar Point Clouds}, year = {2019}, month = {October 27-31}, publisher = {IEEE}, address = {Seattle, WA}, abstract = {

Density-based approaches to extract bathymetry from airborne lidar point clouds generally rely on histogram/frequency-based disambiguation rules to separate noise from signal. The present work targets the improvement of such disambiguation rules by enhancing each pulse with a machine learning-based estimate of its p(Bathy) \– i.e., its probability of truly being bathymetry. Extreme gradient boosting (XGB) is used to assess the strength of bathymetric signal in pulse return metadata. Because lidar point clouds can be highly imbalanced between Bathymetry and NotBathymetry, three strategies for mitigating the effects of imbalanced samples were examined. Impacts of an imbalanced lidar point cloud were successfully mitigated by:

1.\ Applying an \“optimal\” decision threshold (ODT) that equalizes accuracy for Bathymetry and NotBathymetry to p(Bathyrather than using a conventional probability decision threshold (PDT) of 0.50, and

2.\ Using proportional class weighting to fit the XGB model.

However, decomposing a confusion matrix by iteratively discarding misclassified points and re-fitting an XGB model was not successful in improving the strength or detectability of the bathymetric signal in the metadata. The same was true for iteratively discarding correctly classified points.

The bathymetric signal in the metadata was found to be sufficiently strong to explore the operational incorporation of results into the disambiguation rules of density-based bathymertric extraction methods.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px \&$\#$39;Times New Roman\&$\#$39;; min-height: 15.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px \&$\#$39;Times New Roman\&$\#$39;} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 11.3px 0.0px; font: 9.0px \&$\#$39;Times New Roman\&$\#$39;} p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 9.0px \&$\#$39;Times New Roman\&$\#$39;; min-height: 10.0px} span.s1 {font: 12.0px \&$\#$39;Times New Roman\&$\#$39;}

}, keywords = {bathymetric lidar, confusion matrix decomposition, Extreme Gradient Boosting, imbalanced samples, probability decision threshold}, author = {Kim Lowell and Brian R Calder} } @proceedings {6561, title = {Multi-touch 3D Positioning with the Pantograph Technique}, volume = {13}, year = {2019}, month = {May 21-23}, publisher = {ACM}, address = {Montreal, Quebec, Canada}, abstract = {

One advantage of touch interaction is the sense of direct manipulation; there is perhaps no more-intuitive interface than just reaching out and touching virtual entities. However, direct manipulation is generally limited to objects located on the 2D display surface. For 3D spaces extending behind or in front of a touchscreen, the direct manipulation metaphor quickly falls apart. In these cases, gestures are needed to convert 2D finger positions into 3D cursor positions. This paper presents the pantograph technique, a simple two-finger interaction method for positioning a 3D cursor within mono and stereoscopic applications. The pantograph\&$\#$39;s pseudomechanical linkage between fingers and cursor provides helpful depth cues and maintains the sense of direct manipulation. Extensions to the technique, which integrate selection and other advanced actions, are explored within the context of real-world visual analysis applications. A series of human factors experiments showed that, while the pantograph technique outperformed other similar multitouch 3D positioning techniques, multi-touch was still inferior to other traditional, non-touch-based interfaces for sustained 3D positioning tasks.

}, keywords = {Evaluation, HCI, interaction, Multitouch, technique, touchscreen}, doi = {10.1145/3306131.3317014}, url = {https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3317014}, author = {Butkiewicz, Thomas and Andrew H. Stevens and Colin Ware} } @article {6697, title = {NIPWG6-08.1 - Status report on the development of S-126: Marine Physical Environment}, year = {2019}, month = {January 20}, pages = {3}, institution = {International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)}, chapter = {NIPWG}, address = {Rostock, Germany}, abstract = {

On the NIPWG wiki site the S-126 is defined as the physical environment: describing marine and terrestrial topography, prevailing, seasonal, and hazardous currents, tides, weather, and other environmental conditions. In NIPWG5-21.3 it was stated that the S-126 contain \“short- or long-term predictions of ocean data such as current velocity and use them to forecast marine physical phenomena and load warnings according to the level of risk\”. KHOA also mentioned in an emailed storyboard that the S-126 would be the \“standard for expressing the symbols and colors for the physical environment\”. This brought up a discussion on the need to clearly define what exactly the S-126 will contain and how it will interoperate with other similar data from the TWCWG (Tides Water-levels and Currents Working Group; S-111, S-104) and the WMO (World Meteorological Organization; S-412). As a reminder from the paper NIPWG5-21.2 the question was posed: \“What publications are the NIPWGs main focus?\”

Since the TWCWG group has released the first product from the S-111 standard it was decided to focus only on surface currents (choosing to work with one item, instead of eliminating items from a very long list) following up from the tasks generated by NIPWG4-WP3-1. The rest of this paper conveys insights on usefulness, interoperability, data-structuring details and a prototype to illustrate the findings.

}, keywords = {IHO, NIPWG, S-126}, url = {https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/NIPWG/NIPWG6/NIPWG6Docs.html}, author = {Briana M Sullivan} } @article {6698, title = {NIPWG6-35.1 S-125 Navigational Services status update}, year = {2019}, month = {January 15}, pages = {2}, institution = {International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)}, chapter = {International Hydrographic Organization}, address = {Rostock, Germany}, abstract = {

Within NIPWG, drafting of the S-125 has been put on hold. (A thorough explanation of the background and recommendations were given within the NIPWG5 status report). However discussions with and within IALA ARM have ensued resulting in the possibility of their active role in drafting the S-125.

}, keywords = {IHO, Navigational Services, NIPWG, S-125}, url = {https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/NIPWG/NIPWG6/NIPWG6Docs.html}, author = {Stefan Engstrom and Briana M Sullivan} } @article {6701, title = {NIPWG6-5.3 NOAA{\textquoteright}s NPB progress on transitioning from paper products to S-100 products (progress on interoperability between CP and ENC_}, year = {2019}, month = {January 11}, pages = {5}, institution = {International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)}, chapter = {NIPWG}, address = {Rostock, Germany}, abstract = {

\ This paper is an attempt to share ideas and challenges with the global community on transitioning to a new data services system based on S-100 standards as well as to document the journey for others to learn from or lend ideas to.\ 

}, keywords = {Coast Pilot, IHO, NIPWG, NOAA, NSD}, url = {https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/NIPWG/NIPWG6/NIPWG6Docs.html}, author = {Briana M Sullivan} } @article {6700, title = {NIPWG7-48.2_Creation and storage of S-127 (Marine Traffic Management) for US Waters}, year = {2019}, month = {November 15}, pages = {4}, institution = {International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)}, chapter = {NIPWG}, address = {Tallinn, Estonia}, abstract = {

The development of the S-127 (Marine Traffic Management) S-100 compliant product specification was initiated by HSSC5/5 in 2013. Based on HSSC Action item 9/25, IHO Program of Work 2017 as approved by IHO Member States and Task 2.6.2 (Ref: IHO CL 65/2016 dated 9 December 2016), the development of the S-127 Product Specification was contracted out to Portolan Sciences LLC. Version 1.0.0 of the product specification was delivered as scheduled by the end of November 2018 (Work Plan section F, HSSC 10 Action item 10/37). In Dec 2018 all files were uploaded ready for download and testing by the NIPWG. It is expected that the S-127 Ed. 2.0.0 would be submitted to IHO MS approval in 2021 at the earliest. Starting in 2019 UNH began the process to create data for the Pilot Services portion of the S-127 from the Coast Pilot.

The release of the first version of the S-127 allowed UNH to use a pre-existing approved data model to test their concept of nautical textual feature-centric data storage and confirm the results as a GML-based NIPWG product. This exercise was done in the hopes others would also be able to model their own data storage systems in a similar fashion allowing them to begin the transition to storing their data in a more versatile and vector-based way, as were the requests from the stakeholders forum at NIPWG6 in Germany, 2019.

}, keywords = {IHO, Marine Traffic Management, NIPWG, S-127}, url = {https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/NIPWG/NIPWG7/NIPWG7Docs.html}, author = {Briana M Sullivan} } @article {6699, title = {NIPWG7-8.1 The History and Status of S-126 Marine Physical Environment}, year = {2019}, month = {November 26}, pages = {9}, institution = {International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)}, chapter = {NIPWG}, address = {Tallinn, Estonia}, abstract = {

The aim of this document is to outline the lineage of the development of the S-126 Physical Environment product specification, suggest a big picture view of the direction of the S-126, as well as record the current challenges and offer possible solutions. This document is meant to \“clearly define the requirements for S-126 before we can progress in a meaningful way.\” (NIPWG1 2015) This paper is also an official request with clearly documented reasons to the NIPWG as well as HSSC to take the official development of the S-126 off hold status.

}, keywords = {IHO, Marine Physical Environment, NIPWG, S-126}, url = {https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/NIPWG/NIPWG7/NIPWG7Docs.html}, author = {Briana M Sullivan} } @article {6417, title = {A Novel Three Dimensional Analysis of Functional Architecture that Describe the Properties of Macroalgae as Refuge}, volume = {608}, year = {2019}, month = {January 3}, pages = {93-103}, abstract = {

Foundation species like macroalgae provide habitat for large numbers of animals. The spatial structure between branches or thalli can act as a refuge from larger predators and can affect the number and distribution of inhabitant species. Most metrics for habitat architecture are based on 2-dimensional measurements, but habitats are 3-dimensional. We report a new method, spherical space analysis, for characterizing the 3-dimensional volume distribution by size of interstitial spaces for 3 species of macroalgae (seaweed) with distinct architectures. This analysis gives the distribution of volumes within a foundation species that are inaccessible by an idealized spherical organism\—an \‘inaccessible volume curve\’. A second product is an \‘inaccessible surface area curve\’. We incorporated abundances and size ranges of meso-invertebrates into spherical space analysis to predict predator-prey interactions as a function of the relationship between inaccessible volume and area and the size of predators and prey. The results show that filamentous forms of macroalgae have more smaller interstitial volume and area than branched or blade forms of macroalgae that support a larger number of smaller meso-invertebrates. The model suggests that the spatial structure of macroalgae affects predator-prey interactions with a greater number of smaller spaces providing more refuge. This was particularly apparent for kelp. Spherical space analysis provides a mechanism for understanding how the spatial architecture of a macroalgal environment mediates the network of feeding interactions occurring within it. This can have implications for restoration efforts, as the morphology and density of foundation species are integral in the maintenance of communities.

}, keywords = {benthic habitat, Foundation species, Habitat architecture, invasive species, kelp, macroalgae, Macrophyte architecture, Predator-prey dynamics, Spatial structure}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12800}, author = {Colin Ware and Jennifer A. Dijkstra and Kristen Mello and Andrew H. Stevens and Brandon O{\textquoteright}Brien and William Ikedo} } @article {6496, title = {A Framework to Quantify Uncertainties of Seafloor Backscatter from Swath Mapping Echosounders}, volume = {39(1-2)}, year = {2018}, month = {June 1}, pages = {151-168}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {

Multibeam echosounders (MBES) have become a widely used acoustic remote sensing tool to map and study the seafloor, providing co-located bathymetry and seafloor backscatter. Although the uncertainty associated with MBES-derived bathymetric data has been studied extensively, the question of backscatter uncertainty has been addressed only minimally and hinders the quantitative use of MBES seafloor backscatter. This paper explores approaches to identifying uncertainty sources associated with MBES-derived backscatter measurements. The major sources of uncertainty are catalogued and the magnitudes of their relative contributions to the backscatter uncertainty budget are evaluated. These major uncertainty sources include seafloor insonified area (1\–3 dB), absorption coefficient (up to \>\ 6 dB), random fluctuations in echo level (5.5 dB for a Rayleigh distribution), and sonar calibration (device dependent). The magnitudes of these uncertainty sources vary based on how these effects are compensated for during data acquisition and processing. Various cases (no compensation, partial compensation and full compensation) for seafloor insonified area, transmission losses and random fluctuations were modeled to estimate their uncertainties in different scenarios. Uncertainty related to the seafloor insonified area can be reduced significantly by accounting for seafloor slope during backscatter processing while transmission losses can be constrained by collecting full water column absorption coefficient profiles (temperature and salinity profiles). To reduce random fluctuations to below 1 dB, at least 20 samples are recommended to be used while computing mean values. The estimation of uncertainty in backscatter measurements is constrained by the fact that not all instrumental components are characterized and documented sufficiently for commercially available MBES. Further involvement from manufacturers in providing this essential information is critically required.

}, keywords = {calibration, Incidence angle, multibeam echosounder}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-018-9346-7}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007\%2Fs11001-018-9346-7}, author = {Mashkoor A Malik and Xavier Lurton and Larry A Mayer} } @article {6104, title = {Elevated Seasonal Temperatures Eliminate Thermal Barriers of Reproduction of a Dominant Invasive Species: A Community State Change for Northern Communities?}, volume = {23}, year = {2017}, month = {2017/10}, pages = {1082-1092}, publisher = {Wiley}, keywords = {elevated seasonal temperatures, invasive species, thermal barriers reproduction}, author = {Jennifer A. Dijkstra and E.L. Westerman and Larry G. Harris} } @article {6059, title = {Invasive Species Transform Habitat Structure and Increase Biodiversity of Associated Species}, volume = {105}, year = {2017}, pages = {1668-1678}, publisher = {Wiley}, keywords = {ecosystem change, food-webs, habitat complexity, invasive species, kelp loss}, doi = {doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12775}, author = {Jennifer A. Dijkstra and Larry G. Harris and Kristen Mello and A S Litterer and Wells, C. and Colin Ware} } @article {6190, title = {Nautical Cartography Competences and Their Effect to the Realisation of a Worldwide Electronic Navigational Charts Database, the Performance of ECDIS and the Fulfilment of IMO Chart Carriage Requirement}, volume = {75}, year = {2017}, month = {January}, pages = {29-40}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {
This paper is concerned with the implementation and realisation of a Worldwide Electronic Navigational Charts Database (WEND), adopted by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and its members in supporting marine navigation. It identifies the issue of gaps and overlaps between adjoining Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) and explores its consequences to the operation of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and the fulfilment of International Maritime Organization (IMO) chart carriage requirements. As the ENCs production is directly dependent on states\’ cartographic competences, this paper delves into the coastal states\’ jurisdiction in accordance with international law of the sea, and in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and \Ι\Η\Ο and IMO instruments. Through a case study on recently produced ENCs in the Mediterranean and more specifically in the Aegean Sea, this paper documents the necessity to respect states\’ cartographic competences in realising the WEND concept and cautions that, otherwise, new and extended overlaps emerge, which pose a risk to the safety of navigation, and, at the same time, become means through which states may promote their geopolitical aspirations as to jurisdiction over certain marine areas.
}, keywords = {Aegean Sea dispute, Coastal state jurisdiction, ENC gaps and overlaps, Hydrographic surveys, IC-ENC, Maritime boundaries disputes, Nautical cartography}, doi = {10.1016/j.marpol.2016.10.007}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X16304250}, author = {Christos Kastrisios and Pilikou, Maria} } @article {6113, title = {Ping Once Use many times: NOAA Wilmington NC 2016 Field Season}, year = {2017}, month = {March 20-23}, pages = {Galveston, TX}, abstract = {NOAA Coast Survey and The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) collaborated during the 2016 Field Season to map the continental shelf near Wilmington, North Carolina for habitat analysis and the safety of navigation. The Wilmington project has epitomized the Integrated and Coastal Ocean Mapping (IOCM) effort within NOAA: from data discovery and communication of mapping priorities between stakeholders; to the sharing of expertise and data; doing more with limited resources. Past habitat surveys were refined for charting. Scientists from Coast Survey, NCCOS, and UNH JHC/CCOM came together to share best practices. A bottom camera attached to the grab sampler prototype developed by UNH JHC/CCOM scientists was tested. Bottom photos, sediment samples, backscatter, and bathymetry were collected, to meet both habitat analysis and charting needs. This opportunity has opened discussions on how we can collect data that meets multiple needs, and how to serve that data to our stakeholders. The hydrographic community wears many hats: we are sailors, scientists, and explorers. We muster considerable resources, face a considerable risk, to gather data to see the world better. For the safety of navigation; for solving environmental problems; and to model our world, we work together.}, keywords = {Bottom sample imagery, Communicating priorities, IOCM, NC, UNH Drop Camera, Wilmington}, author = {Starla Robinson}, editor = {Juliet Kinney and Chris Taylor} } @article {6377, title = {S-111 and S-126: Surface Currents and the Physical Environment a Test Case}, year = {2017}, month = {May 19}, pages = {15}, institution = {International Hydrographic Organization}, address = {Monaco}, abstract = {

Surface currents and the physical environment, a case study from the Netherlands.

}, keywords = {Coast Pilot, Interoperability, Physical Environment, S-111, S-126, Surface Currents}, author = {Briana M Sullivan} } @article {6191, title = {Toward the Development of a Marine Administration System Based on International Standards}, volume = {6(7)}, year = {2017}, month = {26 June 2017}, publisher = {MDPI}, abstract = {
The interests, responsibilities and opportunities of states to provide infrastructure and resource management are not limited to their land territory but extend to marine areas as well. So far, although the theoretical structure of a Marine Administration System (MAS) is based on the management needs of the various countries, the marine terms have not been clearly defined. In order to define an MAS that meets the spatial marine requirements, the specific characteristics of the marine environment have to be identified and integrated in a management system. Most publications that address the Marine Cadastre (MC) concept acknowledge the three-dimensional (3D) character of marine spaces and support the need for MC to function as a multipurpose instrument. The Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) conceptual standard ISO 19152 has been referenced in scholarly and professional works to have explicit relevance to 3D cadastres in exposed land and built environments. However, to date, very little has been done in any of those works to explicitly and comprehensively apply LADM to specific jurisdictional MAS or MC, although the standard purports to be applicable to those areas. Since so far the most comprehensive MC modeling approach is the S-121 Maritime Limits and Boundaries (MLB) Standard, which refers to LADM, this paper proposes several modifications including, among others, the introduction of class marine resources into the model, the integration of data on legal spaces and physical features through external classes, as well as the division of law and administrative sources. Within this context, this paper distinctly presents both appropriate modifications and applications of the IHO S-121 standard to the particular marine and maritime administrative needs of both Greece and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
}, keywords = {ISO 19152, Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), Marine Administration System (MAS), Marine Cadastre (MC), Marine information data model, Marine rights, Restrictions and Responsibilities (RRRs), S-121 Maritime limits and boundaries (MLB)}, doi = {10.3390/ijgi6070194}, url = {http://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/6/7/194/htm}, author = {Athanasiou, Katerina and Sutherland, Michael and Christos Kastrisios and Lysandros Tsoulos and Griffith-Charles, Charisse and Davis, Dexter and Dimopoulou, Efi} } @article {6376, title = {Visualization of Nautical Information (VONI) Workshop 2017}, year = {2017}, month = {12/7/2016}, pages = {2}, institution = {International Hydrographic Organization}, address = {Monaco}, abstract = {

At the NIPWG2 meeting the question was raised \“once the standards are in place how will the Hydrographic Offices (HO) implement them?\” The answer was silence and a shrug of the shoulders. It was then proposed by UNH to host a workshop to help each HO answer that question with confidence and direction.

}, keywords = {IHO, NIPWG, Visualization, Workshop}, url = {https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/NIPWG/NIPWG3/NIPWG\%203-39.1\%20VONI_workshop.pdf}, author = {Briana M Sullivan} } @article {5503, title = {Assessment of Elevation Uncertainty in Salt Marsh Environments Using Discrete-Return and Full-Waveform Lidar}, volume = {SI 76}, year = {2016}, pages = {107-122}, publisher = {Coastal Education \& Research Foundation [CERF]}, address = {Coconut Creek, FL}, abstract = {

Lidar data can serve as an important source of elevation information for studying, monitoring and managing salt marshes. However, previous studies have shown that lidar data tend to have greater vertical uncertainty in salt marshes than in other environments, hindering the ability to resolve small elevation differences that can be ecologically significant in marshes. For coastal scientists and managers to effectively collect, evaluate, and/or use lidar data in salt marshes, factors affecting elevation uncertainty (e.g., plant species, season, and lidar processing methods) must be well understood. This study addresses this need using discrete-return (DRL) and full-waveform lidar, along with field-surveyed reference data, for four marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA). The lidar bias and standard deviation were computed across all four marsh systems and four major taxa using varying interpolation and filtering methods. The effects of seasonality were also investigated using lidar data acquired in the summer and the following spring. Relative uncertainty surfaces (RUS) were computed from lidar waveform-derived metrics and examined for their utility and correlation with individual lidar errors. The results clearly illustrate the importance of seasonality, species, and lidar interpolation and filtering methods on elevation uncertainty in salt marshes. Results also demonstrate that RUS generated from lidar waveform features are useful in qualitative assessments of lidar elevation uncertainty and correlate well with vegetation height (r = 0.85; n = 268). Knowledge of where DRL uncertainty persists within salt marshes and the factors influencing the higher uncertainty should facilitate the development of better correction methods.

}, keywords = {bare earth filtering, DEM, interpolation, inverse distance weighting, salt marsh vegetation, Spartina alterniflora, uncertainty}, doi = {10.2112/SI76-010}, url = {http://www.jcronline.org/doi/full/10.2112/SI76-010}, author = {J Rogers and Christopher E Parrish and Larry G Ward and Burdick, David M} } @proceedings {6538, title = {The Contribution of Marine Cartographers to the Efficient Management of Immigration Flows (In Greek with English Abstract)}, year = {2016}, month = {November 2 - 4}, publisher = {Hellenic Cartographic Society}, address = {Thessaloniki, Greece}, abstract = {

A huge immigration crisis has been unfolding in the Mediterranean region in recent years, forcing the countries involved to draw up agreements and take measures for the reception and prevention of immigration flows in the area. The study of information from the past decade shows that cooperation agreements among the states concerned contribute to the limitation of flow and human trafficking. Both the agreements and the operations conducted by the naval forces are based on geospatial data, a key element of which is the maritime boundaries of the states in the area of interest. Although it is current, the issue of immigration is not recent. It has been a repeated concern of the international community and as such, it was included in the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The UNCLOS stipulates the delimitation of maritime zones, which involve a number of rights and obligations for the coastal State. In this sense, the territorial sea and contiguous zone extending from the outer limit of the territorial sea to 24 n.m. from the baselines become of particular interest. In the contiguous zone, as well as in the territorial sea where the State exercises full sovereignty, the coastal State is entitled to legislate for the purpose of immigration control -among other things- a task that begins at sea and continues on its land areas. To control immigration, it is important to accurately determine and define the pertinent maritime zones in accordance with the UNCLOS provisions, a task that falls under the purview of cartographers. The process is complex and, besides the cartographic background, requires knowledge of the delimitation methods and the use of specialized software. This paper presents the main parameters affecting the cartographer\’s objective, the delimitation methods, the existing specialized software, its capabilities and limitations as well as the ongoing effort to address its weaknesses.

}, keywords = {Computational cartography, Immigration, Maritime Limits and boundaries, Methods of maritime delimitation}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11428.12160/1}, url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309732742_The_Contribution_of_Marine_Cartographers_to_the_Efficient_Management_of_Immigration_Flows_In_Greek_with_English_abstract_-_E_Symbole_tou_Chartographou_ston_Elencho_ton_Metanasteutikon_Roon_meso_tes_Ch}, author = {Christos Kastrisios and Lysandros Tsoulos} } @article {5644, title = {Distribution and Diversity of Tunicates Utilizing Eelgrass as Substrate in the Western North Atlantic: A Latitudinal Study Between N 39{\textdegree} and N 47{\textdegree}}, volume = {7}, year = {2016}, month = {February 8}, pages = {51-57}, abstract = {

Seagrass meadows are ecologically important habitats that are declining globally at an accelerating rate due to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Their decline is a serious concern as this habitat provides many ecosystem services. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is the dominant seagrass species in the western North Atlantic. It has recently been established that invasive tunicate species possibly threaten the health of eelgrass beds. Colonization of eelgrass leaves by tunicates can inhibit eelgrass growth and may cause shoot mortality. To document the distribution and diversity of tunicate species that attach to eelgrass in the western North Atlantic, we surveyed twenty-one eelgrass sites from New Jersey to Newfoundland. Eight species of tunicates were found to be colonizing eelgrass, of which 6 are considered invasive.
Botrylloides violaceus and Botryllus schlosseri were most commonly attached to eelgrass, with B. schlosseri having the largest latitudinal range of any species. Tunicate faunas attached to eelgrass were less diverse north of Gloucester, Massachusetts, where individual survey sites exhibited two species at most and only 4 of the 8 species observed in this study. Percent tunicate cover on eelgrass tended to fall within the 1\–25 range, with occasional coverage up to \>75\–100. Density of eelgrass was highly variable among sites, ranging from \<1 to 820 shoots/m2. The solitary tunicate Ciona intestinalis was only found on eelgrass at the highest latitude sampled, in Newfoundland, where it is a new invader. The tunicates observed in this study, both solitary and colonial, are viable when attached to eelgrass and pose a potential threat to overgrow and weaken seagrass shoots and reduce the sustainability of seagrass meadows.\ 

}, keywords = {Ascidiacea, eelgrass, invasive species, tunicates, Zostera marina}, author = {M.R. Carman and Colarusso, P.D. and Nelson, E.P. and Grunden, D.W. and Wong, M.C. and McKenzie, C. and Matheson, K. and Davidson, J. and Fox, S. and Neckles, H. and Bayley, H. and Schott, S. and Jennifer A. Dijkstra and Stewart-Clark, S.} } @proceedings {5821, title = {Evaluating Outside Source Interferometric Data for Chart Updates}, year = {2016}, month = {May 16-19}, publisher = {Canadian Hydrographic Association}, address = {Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada}, abstract = {

Incorporation of \“outside source\” bathymetric data is advantageous to maintaining accurate and current NOAA nautical charts. Whether from governmental, academic, or commercial sources, many surveys are conducted annually around the country for purposes other than hydrography. While many of these surveys adhere only to some degree to the NOAA and International Hydrographic Office requirements, when properly vetted they provide useful information for survey reconnaissance and chart updates. Most outside source data comes from beam-forming sonars similar to those used by NOAA. However, a small portion comes from interferometric (non beam-forming, phase measuring) systems, which until recently NOAA did not accept for internal or contract survey work. This exclusion results from the volume of data and noisy nature of first generation systems, whose data proved difficult for NOAA\’s standard processing methods and software to accommodate. Here we investigate a USGS survey within Buzzards Bay, MA, collected with a first generation SEA SwathPlus interferometric sonar. Methods are shown for assessing the data for hydrographic purposes. In addition, methods are proposed for assessing survey uncertainty allowing the data to be used for charting. Guidelines are given for collection and processing of data that may aid in their future use for hydrography.

}, keywords = {chart updates, Interfermometric data}, author = {Cassandra Bongiovanni and Val Schmidt} } @article {5814, title = {Evidence for an Ice Shelf Covering the Central Arctic Ocean During the Penultimate Glaciation}, volume = {7}, year = {2016}, month = {January 18}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Ltd.}, abstract = {

The hypothesis of a km-thick ice shelf covering the entire Arctic Ocean during peak glacial conditions was proposed nearly half a century ago. Floating ice shelves preserve few direct traces after their disappearance, making reconstructions difficult. Seafloor imprints of ice shelves should, however, exist where ice grounded along their flow paths. Here we present new evidence of ice-shelf groundings on bathymetric highs in the central Arctic Ocean, resurrecting the concept of an ice shelf extending over the entire central Arctic Ocean during at least one previous ice age. New and previously mapped glacial landforms together reveal flow of a spatially coherent, in some regions \>1-km thick, central Arctic Ocean ice shelf dated to marine isotope stage 6 (~140\ ka). Bathymetric highs were likely critical in the ice-shelf development by acting as pinning points where stabilizing ice rises formed, thereby providing sufficient back stress to allow ice shelf thickening.

}, keywords = {Arctic Ocean, glaciation, ice shelf}, doi = {doi:10.1038/ncomms10365}, url = {http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160118/ncomms10365/full/ncomms10365.html}, author = {Martin Jakobsson and Johan Nilsson and Anderson, L and Backman, Jan and Bjork, G and Cronin, Tomas and Kirchner, N. and Koshurnikov, Andrey and Larry A Mayer and Noormets, R. and O{\textquoteright}Regan, M A and Christian Stranne and Ananiev, R. and Barrientos, Natalia and Chernykh, D. and Helen K. Coxall and Bjorn Eriksson and Floden, Tom and Laura Gemery and Gustafson, Orjan and Kevin Jerram and Johansson, Carina and Khortov, Alexey and Mohammad, R. and Semiltov, I.} } @article {5959, title = {Is Low Frequency Ocean Sound Increasing Globally?}, volume = {139}, year = {2016}, month = {January}, pages = {501-511}, publisher = {Acoustical Society of America}, abstract = {
Low frequency\ sound\ has increased in the Northeast Pacific Ocean over the past 60\ yr [Ross (1993)\ Acoust.\ Bull.\ 18, 5\–8; (2005) IEEE J. Ocean. Eng.\ 30, 257\–261; Andrew, Howe, Mercer, and Dzieciuch (2002) J.\ Acoust.\ Soc. Am.\ 129, 642\–651; McDonald, Hildebrand, and Wiggins (2006) J.\ Acoust.\ Soc. Am.\ 120, 711\–717; Chapman and Price (2011) J.\ Acoust.\ Soc. Am.\ 129, EL161\–EL165] and in the\ Indian Ocean\ over the past decade, [Miksis-Olds, Bradley, and Niu (2013) J.\ Acoust.\ Soc. Am.\ 134, 3464\–3475]. More recently, Andrew, Howe, and Mercer\&$\#$39;s [(2011) J.\ Acoust.\ Soc. Am.\ 129, 642\–651] observations in the Northeast Pacific show a level or slightly decreasing trend in low frequency\ noise.\ It remains unclear what the low frequency trends are in other regions of the world. In this work, data from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organization International Monitoring System was used to examine the rate and magnitude of change in low frequency\ sound\ (5\–115\ Hz) over the past decade in the South Atlantic and Equatorial Pacific Oceans. The dominant\ source\ observed in the South Atlantic was\ seismic\ air gun signals, while shipping and biologic\ sources\ contributed more to the acoustic environment at the Equatorial Pacific location.\ Sound\ levels over the past 5\–6\ yr in the Equatorial Pacific have decreased. Decreases were also observed in the ambient\ sound\ floor in the South Atlantic Ocean. Based on these observations, it does not appear that low frequency\ sound\ levels are increasing globally.

}, keywords = {Acoustic source identification, agroacoustics, Indian Ocean, Seismic sources, Time series analysis}, doi = { http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4938237}, url = {http://asa.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1121/1.4938237}, author = {Jennifer Miksis-Olds and S.M. Nichols} } @article {5745, title = {Measurement of Dynamic Biases in Hydrographic Surveying Using an Industrial Laser Scanner}, year = {2016}, month = {May 16 - 19}, publisher = {Canadian Hydrographic Association}, address = {Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada}, abstract = {
As commercial shipping routes expand into new areas with higher levels of depth uncertainty, there is an increasing demand for acquiring near-shore bathymetry (depths \< 40 m). Littoral surveys pose a challenge for the hydrographer, not the least of which is an increased cost of operation to maintain full bottom swath coverage as depth decreases. Additionally, acquiring data in these regions imposes a stringent constraint on the vertical error budget. Some solutions provide a horizontal and vertical position referenced to the ellipsoid using a GNSS-aided inertial navigation system that can be costly. Conversely, inexpensive sensor systems may not adequately compensate for all the dynamic biases that occur during the survey (e.g., heave and dynamic draft responses to water surface patterns that occur around the vessel). This paper presents a cost-effective solution to measure the dynamic biases using an industrial laser scanner. Such technology may facilitate the use of non-hydrographic vessels-of-opportunity for accurate \"crowd sourced\" bathymetry data. In a collaboration between the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, HYPACK, and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, software tools were developed using a commercial-off-the-shelf laser scanner. The results of the work include theoretical modeling and experiments in laboratory and field conditions.
}, keywords = {dynamic biases, industrial laser scanner, near-shore bathymetry}, author = {S. Pe{\textquoteright}eri and Eren, Firat and Matthew Birkebak and Pradith, Vitad and John Kidd and Riley, Jack} } @article {5743, title = {Performance Evaluation of the Velodyne VLP-16 System for Feature-Surface Surveying}, year = {2016}, month = {May 16 - 19}, publisher = {Canadian Hydrographic Association}, address = {Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada}, abstract = {
Previous work, conducted between the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping and HYPACK, demonstrated the potential use of a low-cost industrial laser scanner as an alternative for survey-grade laser scanners for mapping of surface features such as piers, piles and rocks. In this paper, an in-depth performance evaluation that is currently being conducted using the Velodyne VLP-16 system will be discussed. This industrial laser scanner, which currently costs $8,000, uses 16 laser beams that cover a vertical field of view of \± 15\°. These laser/detector pairs also rotate at an adjustable rate from 5 Hz to 20 Hz to cover a horizontal field of view of
360\°. Although it is possible to output geo-referenced measurements with information such as position, azimuth and angle, range and intensity, the accuracy of these measurements is not clear. Based on a total propagation uncertainty model developed for laser scanner surveying which incorporates auxiliary systems (i.e., GPS and IMU), the dependency of the laser measurements on different survey conditions was evaluated through experiments conducted in laboratory and field conditions. The study results show the changes in range estimation as a function of distance, angle of incidence and surface roughness.
}, keywords = {feature-surface surveying, industrial laser scanner, velodyne, vlp-16}, author = {John Kidd and S. Pe{\textquoteright}eri and Eren, Firat and Andrew A. Armstrong} } @article {5949, title = {Surficial Geology Mapping of the Arctic Ocean: Using Subbottom Profiling and Multibeam Echosounding Data Sets to Constrain the Subsea North of 64{\textdegree} as a Layer for the IBCAO}, year = {2016}, month = {December 12-16}, pages = {San Francisco, CA}, abstract = {

Barriers to data collection such as perennial ice cover, climate, and remoteness have contributed to a paucity of geologic data in the Arctic. The last decade, however, has seen a multi-national push to increase the quantity and extent of data available at high latitudes. With increased availability of geophysical and geological data holdings, we expand on previous mapping initiatives by creating a comprehensive surficial geology map as a layer to the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO), providing a way to collectively analyze physiography, morphology and geology. Acoustic facies derived from subbottom profiles, combined with morphology illuminated from IBCAO and multibeam bathymetric datasets, and ground truth data compiled from cores and samples are used to map surficial geology units. We identified over 25 seismo-acoustic facies leading to interpretation of 12 distinct geologic units for the Arctic Ocean. The largest variety of seismic facies occurs on the shelves, which demonstrate the complex ice-margin history (e.g. chaotic bottom echoes with amorphous subbottom reflections that imply ice scouring processes). Shelf-crossing troughs generally lead to trough mouth fans on the continental margin with characteristic glaciogenic debris flow deposits (acoustically transparent units) comprising the bulk of the sedimentary succession. Other areas of continental slopes show a variety of facies suggesting sediment mass failure and turbidite deposition. Vast areas of the deep water portion of the Arctic are dominated by parallel reflections, indicative of hemi-pelagic and turbidity current deposition. Some deep water parts of the basin, however, show evidence of current reworking (sigmoidal reflections within bedforms), and contain deep sea channels with thalwegs (bright reflections within channels) and levee deposits (reflection pinch-out). These results delineated in the surficial geology map provide a comprehensive database of regional geologic information of the Arctic Ocean that can be applied to a variety of disciplines, including the study of Arctic sedimentary processes, climatologic and oceanographic processes, environmental and geohazard risk assessment, resource management, and Extended Continental Shelf mapping.

}, keywords = {atlantic ocean, ibcao, surficial geology mapping}, author = {Dr. Ken C Baldwin and David C Mosher and Gebhardt, C.} } @article {5950, title = {Toward cyberinfrastructure to facilitate collaboration and reproducibility for marine integrated ecosystem assessments}, volume = {10}, year = {2016}, month = {10 December 2016}, pages = {13}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {

There is a growing need for cyberinfrastructure to support science-based decision making in management of natural resources. In particular, our motivation was to aid the development of cyberinfrastructure for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs) for marine ecosystems. The IEA process involves analysis of natural and socio-economic information based on diverse and disparate sources of data, requiring collaboration among scientists of many disciplines and communication with other stakeholders. Here we describe our bottom-up approach to developing cyberinfrastructure through a collaborative process engaging a small group of domain and computer scientists and software engineers. We report on a use case evaluated for an Ecosystem Status Report, a multi-disciplinary report inclusive of Earth, life, and social sciences, for the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem. Ultimately, we focused on sharing workflows as a component of the cyberinfrastructure to facilitate collaboration and reproducibility. We developed and deployed a software environment to generate a portion of the Report, retaining traceability of derived datasets including indicators of climate forcing, physical pressures, and ecosystem\ states. Our solution for sharing workflows and delivering reproducible documents includes IPython (now Jupyter) Notebooks. We describe technical and social challenges that we encountered in the use case and the importance of training to aid the adoption of best practices and new technologies by domain scientists. We consider the larger challenges for developing end-to-end cyberinfrastructure that engages other participants and stakeholders in the IEA process.

}, keywords = {E-science, Executable workflow, Indicator, IPython notebook, Open science, Use case methodology}, doi = {10.1007/s12145-016-0280-4}, url = {http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007\%2Fs12145-016-0280-4}, author = {Stace E. Beaulieu and Peter A. Fox and Massimo Di Stefano and Andrew Maffei and Patrick West and Jonathan A. Hare and Michael Fogarty} } @article {5681, title = {The Effect of Internal Wave-Related Features on Synthetic Aperture Sonar}, volume = {40, No. 3}, year = {2015}, month = {July}, pages = {621-631}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {

In October 2012, the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE, La Spezia, Italy) conducted trials from the NATO research vessel (RV) Alliance, off Elba Island, Italy. During this trial, data were collected by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI, Kjeller, Norway) using a HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with interferometric synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) in repeated passes. Large linear structures (tens of meters by several meters) observed in both the SAS images and SAS bathymetry during the initial pass were absent in data taken on a repeated pass the following day. We suggest that these phenomena were not true seafloor features, but were caused by features in the water column, known as boluses, which can form after breaking internal wave events. The changes observed in acoustical intensity and phase appear to be caused by the interaction of the acoustical field with the lower average sound-speed structure of the bolus, constructing features in both SAS imagery and SAS bathymetry that looked like seabed topography. In this paper, we present examples and give an interpretation of the results based on an acoustical ray model. We discuss different techniques for recognizing these phenomena: repeat pass imaging and interferometry, multilook and multiaperture processing, and moving target analysis.

}, keywords = {internal waves, refraction effects, synthetic aperture sonar}, author = {R.E. Hansen and Anthony P. Lyons and T.O. S{\ae}b{\o} and H.J. Callow and D.A. Cook} } @article {5706, title = {On the Existence of an East-Siberian-Chukchi Ice Sheet: New Insights from the SWERUS-C3 Expedition 2014}, year = {2015}, month = {December 14-18}, address = {San Francisco, CA}, abstract = {

The glacial history of the vast Siberian continental shelf of the Laptev and East Siberian Seas is poorly known. Most of this shelf area is shallower than 120 m implying that it was exposed land during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) as well as during older major Quaternary glaciations. The regional glacial and deglacial history of marine transgression has greatly influenced marine conditions of today\’s Arctic Ocean continental shelves. For example, the present extent of submarine permafrost on the shallow continental shelves is tightly linked to the glacial history, because the submarine permafrost was formed during cold conditions when sea level was low enough for the shelves to be subaerially exposed. Conversely, one explanation for lack of submarine permafrost on some shelf areas is the presence of past ice sheets. Ice sheets extending over parts of the Eastern Siberian continental shelf have been proposed in literature during LGM as well as during older Quaternary glacial periods. However, the sparsely available data from the outer continental shelf and adjacent slope of the Eastern Siberian Arctic Ocean has left the glacial history in this part largely unresolved. Here we present new geophysical mapping and sediment coring data from the shallow East Siberian shelf and adjacent slope collected during the 2014 SWERUS-C3 expedition (SWERUS-C3: Swedish \– Russian \– US Arctic Ocean Investigation of Climate-Cryosphere-Carbon Interactions) with Swedish icebreaker Oden. The mapping, using multibeam sonar, chirp sub-bottom profiler, and electro magnetics, in combination with new sediment cores provide information on past glacial activities, sea-level history and permafrost extent on the Eastern Siberian Arctic Ocean. Combining the new SWERUS-C3 data with previous results from this region raises the question whether an East Siberian-Chukchi ice sheet existed during LGM and/or during older glacial periods.\ 

}, keywords = {chukchi, ice sheet, swerus-c3}, url = {http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2015/}, author = {Martin Jakobsson and O{\textquoteright}Regan, M A and Kirchner, N. and Ananiev, R. and Bachman, Jan and Barrientos, Natalia and Chernykh, D. and Helen K. Coxall and Cronin, Tomas and Koshurnikov, Andrey and Lobkovsky, Leopold and Larry A Mayer and Noormets, R. and Muschitiello, Francesco and Johan Nilsson and Pearce, Christof and Semiltov, I. and Christian Stranne} } @article {5977, title = {Decadal Trends in Indian Ocean Ambient Sound}, volume = {134}, year = {2013}, month = {November}, pages = {3464-3475}, publisher = {Acoustical Society of America}, abstract = {

The increase of ocean noise documented in the North Pacific has sparked concern on whether the observed increases are a global or regional phenomenon. This work provides evidence of low frequency sound increases in the Indian Ocean. A decade (2002-2012) of recordings made off the island of Diego Garcia, UK in the Indian Ocean was parsed into time series according to frequency band and sound level. Quarterly sound level comparisons between the first and last years were also performed. The combination of time series and temporal comparison analyses over multiple measurement parameters produced results beyond those obtainable from a single parameter analysis. The ocean sound floor has increased over the past decade in the Indian Ocean. Increases were most prominent in recordings made south of Diego Garcia in the 85-105\ Hz band. The highest sound level trends differed between the two sides of the island; the highest sound levels decreased in the north and increased in the south. Rate, direction, and magnitude of changes among the multiple parameters supported interpretation of source functions driving the trends. The observed sound floor increases are consistent with concurrent increases in shipping, wind speed, wave height, and blue whale abundance in the Indian Ocean.\ 

}, keywords = {Ambient Sound, Decadal Trends, Indian Ocean}, doi = {10.1121/1.4821537}, author = {Jennifer Miksis-Olds and Bradley, David L and X.M. Niu} } @article {5184, title = {Observations of the Vertical Structure of Tidal Currents in Two Inlets}, volume = {65, Special Issue}, year = {2013}, month = {March 6}, pages = {2029-2034}, abstract = {

Observations of the vertical structure of broad band tidal currents were obtained at two energetic inlets. Each experiment took place over a 4 week period, the first at Hampton Inlet in southeastern New Hampshire, USA, in the Fall of 2011, and the second at New River Inlet in southern North Carolina, USA, in the spring of 2012. The temporal variation and vertical structure of the currents were observed at each site with 600 kHz and 1200 kHz RDI Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) deployed on low-profile bottom tripods in 7.5 and 12.5 m water depths near the entrance to Hampton Inlet, and in 8 and 9 m water depth within and outside New River Inlet, respectively. In addition, a Nortek Aquapro ADCP was mounted on a jetted pipe in about 2.5 m water depth on the flank of the each inlet channel. Flows within the Hampton/Seabrook Inlet were dominated by semi-diurnal tides ranging 2.5 - 4 m in elevation, with velocities exceeding 2.5 m/s. Flows within New River inlet were also semi-diurnal with tides ranging about 1 \– 1.5 m in elevation and with velocities exceeding 1.5 m/s. Vertical variation in the flow structure at the dominant tidal frequency are examined as a function of location within and near the inlet. Outside the inlet, velocities vary strongly over the vertical, with a nearly linear decay from the surface to near the bottom. The coherence between the upper most velocity bin and the successively vertically separated bins drops off quickly with depth, with as much as 50\% coherence decay over the water column. The phase relative to the uppermost velocity bin shifts over depth, with as much as 40 deg phase lag over the vertical, with bottom velocities leading the surface. Offshore, rotary coefficients indicate a stable ellipse orientation with rotational directions consistent over the vertical. At Hampton, the shallower ADCP, but still outside the inlet, shows a rotational structure that changes sign in the vertical indicating a sense of rotation at the bottom that is opposite to that at the surface. Within the inlet, the flow is more aligned with the channel, the decay in amplitude over the vertical is diminished, the coherence and phase structure is nearly uniform, and the rotary coefficients indicate no sense of rotation in the flow. The observations are qualitatively consistent with behavior described by Prandle (1982) for shallow water tidal flows.

}, keywords = {inlets, tidal currents, vertical structure}, doi = {10.2112/SI65-343.1}, url = {http://www.jcronline.org/doi/pdf/10.2112/SI65-343.1}, author = {Thomas C Lippmann and Irish, James D and Hunt, Jonathan} } @proceedings {5141, title = {Optimizing Resolution and Uncertainty in Bathymetric Sonar Systems}, year = {2013}, month = {June 23-29}, address = {Corfu, Greece}, abstract = {

Bathymetric sonar systems (whether multibeam or phase-differencing sidescan) contain an inherent trade-off between resolution and uncertainty. Systems are traditionally designed with a fixed spatial resolution, and the parameter settings are optimized to minimize the uncertainty in the soundings within that constraint. By fixing the spatial resolution of the system, current generation sonars operate sub-optimally when the SNR is high, producing soundings with lower resolution than is supportable by the data, and inefficiently when the SNR is low, producing high-uncertainty soundings of little value. Here we propose fixing the sounding measurement uncertainty instead, and optimizing the resolution of the system within that uncertainty constraint. Fixing the sounding measurement uncertainty produces a swath with a variable number of bathymetric estimates per ping, in which each estimate\’s spatial resolution is optimized by combining measurements only until the desired depth uncertainty is achieved. When the signal to noise ratio is sufficiently high such that the desired depth uncertainty is achieved with individual measurements, bathymetric estimates are produced at the sonar\’s full resolution capability. Correspondingly, a sonar\’s resolution is no-longer only considered as a property of the sonar (based on, for example, beamwidth and bandwidth,) but now incorporates geometrical aspects of the measurements and environmental factors (e.g., seafloor scattering strength). Examples are shown from both multibeam and phase- differencing sonar systems.\ 

}, keywords = {interoferometric, multibeam, phase-differencing, resolution, sidescan, uncertainty}, author = {Val Schmidt and Thomas C Weber and Xavier Lurton} } @article {5138, title = {A procedure for developing an acceptance test for airborne bathymetric lidar data application to NOAA charts in shallow waters}, year = {2013}, month = {June 2013}, pages = {53}, institution = {National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Survey (NOS)}, chapter = {NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS CS 32}, address = {Silver Spring, MD}, abstract = {

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic data is typically acquired using sonar systems, with a small percent acquired via airborne lidar bathymetry for near-shore areas. This study investigated an integrated approach for meeting NOAA\’s hydrographic survey requirements for near-shore areas of NOAA charts, using the existing topographic-bathymetric lidar data from USACE\’s National Coastal Mapping Program (NCMP). Because these existing NCMP bathymetric lidar datasets were not collected to NOAA hydrographic surveying standards, it is unclear if, and under what circumstances, they might aid in meeting certain hydrographic surveying requirements. The NCMP\’s bathymetric lidar data are evaluated through a comparison to NOAA\’s Office of Coast Survey hydrographic data derived from acoustic surveys. As a result, it is possible to assess if NCMP\’s bathymetry can be used to fill in the data gap shoreward of the navigable area limit line (0 to 4 meters) and if there is potential for applying NCMP\’s bathymetry lidar data to near-shore areas deeper than 10 meters. Based on the study results, recommendations will be provided to NOAA for the site conditions where this data will provide the most benefit. Additionally, this analysis may allow the development of future operating procedures and workflows using other topographic-bathymetric lidar datasets to help update near-shore areas of the NOAA charts.

}, keywords = {airborne bathymetric lidar, hydrography, Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping, near-shore bathymetry, topographic-bathymetric lidar}, author = {Imahori, Gretchen and Ferguson, Jeff and Wozumi, Toshi and Scharff, Dave and S. Pe{\textquoteright}eri and Christopher E Parrish and White, Stephen A and Jeong, Inseong and Sellars, Jon and Aslaksen, Michael} } @proceedings {5185, title = {Subtidal Flow Structure in Tidally Modulated Inlets}, volume = {1}, year = {2013}, month = {June 24 - June 2}, publisher = {ASCE}, address = {Plymouth, England, United Kingdom}, abstract = {

Observations of the vertical structure of subtidal currents were obtained on the inner shelf within Hampton and New River inlets located on the eastern U.S. seaboard. Currents on the inner shelf have complex vertical variation with speeds that attenuate over the water column and rotate with increasing depth up to 180 deg, and are strongly influenced by local winds. Within the primary inlet channels, subtidal currents are directed seaward and have reduced vertical structure, do not depend on local wind forcing, and are closely aligned with bathymetric contours. However, at New
River, surface currents aligned with a secondary channel 300 m to the north are directed landward, and have stronger vertical structure with near-bottom flows often heading in the opposite direction. The observed subtidal circulation provides a means to grossly estimate fresh water discharge, and has implications to morphologic evolution in the inlet.

}, keywords = {Boundary Layer Flow, Inlet Dynamics, Subtidal Currents, vertical structure}, author = {Thomas C Lippmann}, editor = {Irish, James D} } @mastersthesis {5029, title = {A Geo-database for Potentially Polluting Marine Sites and Associated Risk Index}, volume = {Ocean Engineering/Ocean Mapping}, year = {2012}, month = {12/2012}, pages = {284}, school = {University of New Hampshire}, address = {Durham, NH}, abstract = {

The increasing availability of geospatial marine data provides an opportunity for hydrographic offices to contribute to the identification of \“Potentially Polluting Marine Sites\” (PPMS).

To adequately manage these sites, a PPMS Geospatial Database (GeoDB) application was developed to collect and store relevant information suitable for site inventory and geo-spatial analysis. The benefits of structuring the data to conform to the Universal Hydrographic Data Model (IHO S-100) and to use the Geographic Mark-Up Language (GML) for encoding are presented. A storage solution is proposed using a GML-enabled spatial relational database management system (RDBMS). In addition, an example of a risk index methodology is provided based on the defined data structure. The implementation of this example was performed using scripts containing SQL statements.

These procedures were implemented using a cross-platform C++ application based on open-source libraries and called PPMS GeoDB Manager.

Manuscript

}, keywords = {GML Application, IHO S-100 Data Model, PPMS, Quality Symbol, Risk Index, Shipwrecks}, author = {Giuseppe Masetti} } @article {4959, title = {The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) version 3.0}, volume = {39}, year = {2012}, abstract = {

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) released its first gridded\ bathymetric compilation in 1999. The IBCAO bathymetric portrayals has since supported a wide\ range of Arctic science activities, for example, by providing constraint for ocean circulation models and the means to define and formulate hypotheses about the geologic origin of the Arctic Ocean undersea features. IBCAO Version 3.0 comprises the largest improvement since 1999 taking advantage of new data sets collected by the circum-Arctic nations, opportunistic data collected from fishing vessels, data acquired from US Navy submarines and from research ships of various nations. Built using an improved gridding algorithm, this new grid is on a 500 meter spacing, revealing much greater details of the Arctic seafloor than IBCAO 1.0 (2.5 km) and 2.0 (2.0 km). The area covered by multibeam surveys has increased from ~6 \% in Version 2.0 to ~11\% in Version 3.0.

}, keywords = {Arctic Ocean, bathymetric chart, Bathymetry grids; Arctic; Earth Sciences, ibcoa}, author = {Martin Jakobsson and Larry A Mayer and Coakley, Bernie and Dowdeswell, J and Forbes, S. and Fridman, B. and Hodnesdal, H. and Noormets, R. and James V. Gardner and Andrew A. Armstrong and Pedersen, R. and M. Rebesco and Schenke, H-W. and Zarayskaya, Yulia and Accettella, D. and Anderson, Robert M and Bienhoff, P. and Camerlenghi, A. and Church, I and Edwards, Margo and John K Hall and Hell, B and Hestvik, O. and Kristoffersen, Yngue and Marcussen, C and Mohammad, R. and David C Mosher and Nghiem, S.V. and Pedrosa, M.T. and Travaglini, P.G. and Pauline Weatherall} } @article {4987, title = {Potentially Polluting Marine Sites GeoDB: An S-100 Geospatial Database as an Effective Contribution to the Protection of the Marine Environment}, volume = {8}, year = {2012}, month = {November 2012}, pages = {27-40}, publisher = {International Hydrographic Bureau}, address = {Monaco, Monaco Cedex, Monaco}, abstract = {

Potentially Polluting Marine Sites (PPMS) are objects on, or areas of, the seabed that may release pollution in the future. A rationale for, and design of, a geospatial database to inventory and manipu-late PPMS is presented. Built as an S-100 Product Specification, it is specified through human-readable UML diagrams and implemented through machine-readable GML files, and includes auxiliary information such as pollution-control resources and potentially vulnerable sites in order to support analyses of the core data. The design and some aspects of implementation are presented, along with metadata requirements and structure, and a perspective on potential uses of the database.

}, keywords = {GML, IHO S-100, marine environment, PPMS, shipwreck, spatial SQL}, url = {http://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/IHReview/2012/IHR_November2012.pdf}, author = {Giuseppe Masetti and Brian R Calder and Alexander, Lee} } @proceedings {4992, title = {Using a Cruise Report to Generate XML Metadata}, year = {2012}, month = {Oct 15 - Oct 19}, publisher = {IEEE/MTS}, address = {Hampton Roads, VA}, abstract = {

Since 2005 metadata generation at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center has slowly evolved from a painful and tedious process of copying and pasting, to generate hundreds of files, to using an automated system that generates 90\% of the needed metadata from the data collected on cruises. However there remained one piece missing to the automated system- the wordy part of the metadata that deals with \ information such as the attribute accuracy report, abstract and the process description. This information cannot be mined from the raw survey data. This paper illustrates how to generate a template from a Microsoft Word based cruise report that can be used in conjunction with another template (generated from the raw data collected on a cruise) to create XML metadata ready for submission to the NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center.
}, keywords = {Informatics, metadata}, url = {http://www.oceans12mtsieeehamptonroads.org/}, author = {Briana M Sullivan} } @article {2882, title = {Detection of Deep Water Benthic Macroalgae Using Image-based Classification Techniques on Multibeam Backscatter at Cashes Ledge, Gulf of Maine, USA}, volume = {91}, year = {2011}, month = {1 January 2011}, pages = {87-101}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, keywords = {backscatter, classification, image-based, kelps, macroalgae, multibeam sonar, Water Column Mapping}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272771410003586}, author = {McGonigle, C and Grabowski, J and Craig Brown and Thomas C Weber and Quin, R} } @article {4937, title = {Mapping and quantifying morphological parameters of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in eastern Cape Cod Bay, MA using an interferometric sonar system}, year = {2011}, month = {November 6-10}, keywords = {cape cod bay, eelgrass, interferometric sonar}, author = {Ashley R Norton and Brown, M and Arthur Trembanis and Borrelli, M.} } @article {6042, title = {Are Manatees Modifying Their Vocalizations to Compensate for Noise?}, journal = {Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, year = {2006}, abstract = {

Elevated environmental noise levels have the potential to interfere with the acoustic communication system of manatees by masking signals containing biologically important information. Communication theory recognizes several ways a sender can modify its acoustic signal to compensate for noise. These include increasing the source level of a signal, its repetition, its duration, or shifting frequency outside of the noise band. To test whether manatees can modify their vocalizations to compensate for noise, vocalization usage and structure were examined in terms of vocalization rate, duration, frequency, and source level. Results imply that manatees do increase their vocalization energy expenditure, or vocalization effort, as a function of behavior and calf presence. Increases in vocalization rate, duration, and source level were most pronounced when calves were present and during behaviors whereby animals tended to be more dispersed, which may suggest a cohesion function. In conditions of elevated noise levels, manatees increased call duration during feeding and milling behaviors when calves were present, suggesting that ambient noise levels do have a detectable effect on manatee communication and that manatees modify their vocalizations as a function of noise.

}, keywords = {Acoustic signal processing, agroacoustics, Information and communication theory, Manatees, Noise, Vocalizations}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4786759}, author = {Jennifer Miksis-Olds} } @article {3984, title = {Optimal Image Blending for Underwater Mosaics}, year = {2006}, month = {September 18-21}, publisher = {IEEE}, address = {Boston, MA}, keywords = {image blending, underwater mosaics}, author = {Gu, Fan and Yuri Rzhanov} }