Let’s take you on an animated journey to Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) for this SDB Update No. 5*! – Discover the new storymap and learn about how SDB evolved, what “physics-based” SDB means, and see use cases that highlight the strengths of this technology.

In its final declaration, the recent UN Ocean Conference in Nice acknowledges the critical need for accounting and mapping of coastal and marine ecosystems, and of the ocean floor.

Smart mapping of marine ecosystems

When it comes to efficient technologies to achieve this goal, SDB is high up on the list. With many of our SDB projects, we contribute to global initiatives, such as Seabed 2030, EMODnet Bathymetry, or GEBCO – General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans.

Although SDB enjoys wide acknowledgement among ocean mapping experts, we still encounter knowledge gaps. Through the EOMAP storymap “Unveiling Depths – A Journey to SDB” we wish to support a deeper understanding of this innovative technology in an enjoyable way.

Scroll through the storymap to learn about

• The development of seafloor mapping
• Our highly sophisticated model providing shallow water depth without the need for any other survey or ground-truth data
• The 4 key benefits of physics-based SDB illustrated in use cases from Canada, Italy, the Maldives and Germany

Dive deeper into Satellite-Derived Bathymetry

If you wish to explore the innovative, yet established mapping technology even in more depth, here are two recommendations:

➡️ The peer-reviewed paper “Satellite-Derived Bathymetry Online” in the International Hydrographic Review. It reports on SDB validation results in ten focus areas with different tidal regimes, water clarity conditions, and latitudes. The paper also introduces a global map of water-clarity potential for the application of SDB.

➡️ The SDB Best Practice Guide by International Hydrographic Organization (IHO): The document of 2024 provides an overview of methods and factors to consider when applying SDB to map shallow coastal environments. In addition, it provides a framework for collecting, processing, analysing, interpreting, and sharing data.

Contact

Please mail to shallowwater@eomap.de for SDB services worldwide.
Or simply get quotes for your area via our enquiry platform.

*SDB Update is a Linkedin post series on Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) by EOMAP – a Fugro company. Enjoy news, facts, and figures on a bi-weekly basis!

SDB Update No. 3 takes us to the lowest-lying country*) in the world: The Maldives. Only recently, we have mapped Asia’s smallest country in a resolution of 100 m! – This post shows how Satellite-Derived Bathymetry can benefit such widely uncharted shallow waters.

*) in average elevation

1,200 islands slightly above sea level

The Maldives archipelago consists of about 1,200 small coral islands or sandbanks, clustered in 26 atolls of volcanic origin. None of these islands in the Indian Ocean rises to more than 1.8 metres above sea level.

Like the Bahamas (see SDB Update 2), the Maldives is highly attractive to tourists, welcoming 1.5 million people per year. Yet, the inhabitants of the Maldives are not only aware of the beauty of their islands, but also of their vulnerability.

In this context, the Maldives spearheads a group of small islands and low-lying coastal countries that face unique environmental challenges, especially related to climate change: the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and Small Islands Development States (SIDS). Their concerns will be addressed at the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in France, where our colleague Mona Reithmeier will join a panel about “Powering Progress: Data, Skills, and Technology for the Ocean” on 11 June.

Largely unmapped with ideal conditions for SDB

In fact, 99% of the Maldives Republic’s territory is made up of the sea. However, most of the shallow waters there have not been mapped so far. The turquoise ponds around the often tiny islands offer high water clarity and ideal conditions for SDB.

SDB is a sound basis for understanding the Maldives’ shallow waters. It supports

• the understanding of coastal dynamics, human impact and vulnerability
• hydrodynamic modelling and resilience measures
• protecting this unique island ecosystem and sustainably managing near-shore activities

More EOMAP activities in the Maldives

>> Coastal resilience: The Maldives are one of the pilot regions of the COASTS project. In collaboration with Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO), Fugro, and Submaris we create an online solution for coastal stakeholders.

>> Sea level rise: The Maldives app, which we developed for the World Bank in the framework of an ESA project on the impacts of sea level rise.

> Coastal protection, free navigable channels: In 2018, Van Oord used our SDB data to manage dredging activities in a protected area of the Maldives.

Contact

For other purposes – especially in coastal engineering and planning – we can increase the spatial resolution of SDB grids to submeter levels of detail. – Interested?

Please contact shallowwater@eomap.de for SDB services in the Maldives and worldwide.

SDB update is a Linkedin post series on Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) by EOMAP. Enjoy news, facts, and figures on a bi-weekly basis!

This SDB Update No. 1 on Australia is the start into EOMAP’s new post series on Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB). Enjoy news, facts, and figures on a bi-weekly basis!

Mapping Australia’s coastline

Australia offers ~36,000 km with a further ~24,000 km of island coastlines. These coastal areas are fascinating, extremely manifold, and often highly dynamic. We have now completed SDB-mapping of the shallow waters “down under” in 100-m resolution. The continent is surrounded by the Pacific, the Indian, and the Southern (Antarctic) Oceans, and the shallow waters offer both challenging and ideal conditions for SDB:

• High-wave areas
• Rocky and sandy coasts
• Coral reefs
• Varied tidal ranges, including +10 m tides in the Northwest!
• Clear and turbid waters
• Strong sandbank dynamics, calling for frequent monitoring

a detail of the 100 m resolution bathymetry result for the area of Great Sandy Straits on the east coast of Australia

Seefeld, Deutschland, Dezember 2024 – Mehr Extremwetterereignisse sowie steigende Meeresspiegel und Temperaturen drängen uns zum Handeln. Dies betrifft vor allem küstennahe Gebiete. Hier setzt COASTS mit satellitengestützten Informationen an: Das europäische Innovationsprojekt unter der Leitung der deutschen Firma EOMAP arbeitet an einer Geo-IT-Lösung, um Küstengebiete nachhaltig zu stärken. Diese soll auch der stark schwindenden Artenvielfalt an Küsten entgegenwirken. Mit im Boot ist ein weiterer Partner aus Deutschland: die wissenschaftliche Tauchergruppe von Submaris.

COASTS wird zum einen bislang fehlende Informationen zu Küstendynamik, Sediment-verlagerungen oder Erosion und deren Einfluss auf die Küstenökosysteme liefern. Darüber hinaus wird das Projekt Ausmaß, Zustand und künftige Veränderungen küstennaher Ökosysteme wie Mangroven, Seegras- oder Salzwiesen aufzeigen. Diese sogenannten “Blue Carbon” Ökosysteme dienen schließlich als wichtige CO2-Speicher im Zusammenhang mit dem Klimawandel. Hierfür wird das Team Erdbeobachtung, fortgeschrittene Modellierung, in-situ Daten und digitale Werkzeuge integrieren. Ziel ist, gemeinsam mit lokalen Akteuren eine IT-Lösung für datenbasierte Entscheidungen an Küsten zu entwickeln.

Mona Reithmeier – Product Lead SDB-Online

„COASTS kombiniert Satelliten- und Geodaten-Analyse mit bodennaher Forschung. Wir werden uns zunächst auf drei Pilotstandorte in Europa und auf den Malediven konzentrieren. Die Erkenntnisse aus diesen Beispielen dienen als Blaupause für andere Regionen“, erklärt Mona Reithmeier, COASTS-Projektmanagerin bei EOMAP.

In COASTS arbeiten EOMAP, Fugro, Submaris und die Maldives Space Research Organisation (MRSO) zusammen. Jeder Partner bringt sein spezifisches Fachwissen ein.

„Die biologische Vielfalt an Küsten ist per se wichtig. Doch diese Lebensräume dienen auch als ‚blaue‘ Kohlenstoffspeicher. Wir stellen In-situ-Daten über Seegraswiesen in Deutschland und auf den Malediven und deren Zustand bereit. Damit können wir die Modellierung von COASTS bereichern und Renaturierungsprojekte weltweit vorantreiben“, sagt Philipp Schubert von Submaris. Sein Team wird unter anderem die von Erosion bedrohte Ostseeküste (Kieler Bucht) betauchen und kartieren.

Auch die Malediven sind Pilotgebiet von COASTS und brauchen dringend Lösungen: „Gebiete wie die Malediven, die durch den Klimawandel stark bedroht sind, brauchen praxisnahe Daten und gezielte Risikoinformationen. Und wir brauchen sie schnell. Wir erwarten, dass COASTS Entscheidungen zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung von Küstengebieten erleichtert, die Frühwarnung vor Klimawandelfolgen stärkt und mehr Verständnis für naturbasierte Lösungen und blaue Kohlenstoff-Ökosysteme schafft“, meint Nashwan Matheen von MSRO.

Neben datengestützten Entscheidungen für Küsten-Ökosysteme sollen die Analysen von COASTS auch neue Geschäftsmodelle in aufstrebenden CO2-Märkten fördern. Dies kann neue Einnahmequellen für Länder mit Blue-Carbon-Ökosystemen schaffen.

„Das COASTS-Projekt nutzt unsere Expertise im Bereich Geodaten. Wir sind davon überzeugt, dass dieses umfassende Wissen nicht nur politische Entscheidungen unterstützen, sondern auch neue Märkte erschließen und die Küsten in einigen der am stärksten gefährdeten Regionen der Welt widerstandsfähiger machen wird“, sagt Pooja Mahapatra von Fugro.

Angesichts des zunehmenden Drucks auf Küstengebiete möchte das COASTS-Team Entscheidungsträger dabei unterstützen, sowohl die biologische Vielfalt als auch die Lebensgrundlagen der lokalen Bevölkerung besser zu schützen und zu fördern.

Das dreijährige COASTS-Projekt wird von EUSPA Space, Horizon Europe 2023, finanziert.

Seefeld, Germany, December 2024 – The estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) of increasing extreme weather events, as well as rising sea-levels and temperatures call for urgent action. In view of these threats and dramatic biodiversity loss, the new European innovation project COASTS is dedicated to strengthening coastal sustainability and resilience.

COASTS — an acronym for Coastal Observation Advances leveraging Space Technology Services — addresses information demands on coastal processes and blue carbon ecosystems. The project team led by EOMAP aims to fill important knowledge gaps through the integration of earth observation, advanced modelling, surveying, and digital tools, and by co-designing fit-for-purpose solutions together with local stakeholders at pilot sites.

Mona Reithmeier – Product Lead SDB-Online

“Combining satellite data and geospatial analyses with ground-based research, COASTS will initially focus on three pilot sites in Europe and the Maldives. The learnings from these examples will form a blueprint for other regions”, said Mona Reithmeier, COASTS project manager at EOMAP.

The pilot areas within COASTS have an immediate demand and support the project: “Areas like the Maldives which face severe threats from climate-change related impacts need actionable data and targeted risk intelligence. And we need this fast. We expect COASTS to strengthen evidence-based decision-making around coastal developments, facilitate impact-based early warnings, and provide an understanding of the potential of nature-based solutions for blue carbon ecosystems“, explained Nashwan Matheen of the Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO).

COASTS is a joint development of EOMAP, Fugro, Submaris and MSRO. Each partner contributes with their dedicated expertise.

“Coastal biodiversity is heavily affected by global change. These habitats play a central role, as they also serve as blue carbon storage. By providing in situ data on seagrass habitats in Germany, Jersey and on the Maldives and their health, we aim to enrich the modelling capacities of COASTS and drive restoration efforts worldwide”, said Philipp Schubert of the scientific diving group Submaris.

In addition to supporting data-driven sustainable decisions on coastal ecosystems, the in-depth analyses of COASTS are set to encourage new business models on emerging blue carbon markets. This can open new income sources for countries with blue carbon ecosystems.

“By leveraging our Geo-data expertise, we are advancing next-generation coastal mapping, modelling, and monitoring through the COASTS project. We believe these comprehensive insights will not only support policy updates but also open new markets and enhance coastal resilience in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions,” stated Pooja Mahapatra of Fugro. As global pressures on coastal environments continue to mount, the project team strives to ensure that the world’s coastlines remain resilient and capable of supporting both biodiversity and local communities.

The 3-year project COASTS is funded by EUSPA Space, Horizon Europe 2023.