Global Sea Floor Topography from Satellite Altimetry and Ship Depth Soundings Walter

H. F. Smith* and David T. Sandwell

A digital bathymetric map of the oceans with a horizontal resolution of 1 to 12 kilometers was
derived by combining available depth soundings with high-resolution marine gravity information
from the Geosat and ERS-1 spacecraft. Previous global bathymetric maps lacked features such as
the 1600-kilometer-long Foundation Seamounts chain in the South Pacific. This map shows relations
among the distributions of depth, sea floor area, and sea floor age that do not fit the predictions of
deterministic models of subsidence due to lithosphere cooling but may be explained by a stochastic
model in which randomly distributed reheating events warm the lithosphere and raise the ocean
floor.

Knowledge of ocean floor topography data is essential for understanding physical oceanography,
marine biology, chemistry, and geology. Currents, tides, mixing, and upwelling of nutrient-rich water
are all influenced by topography. Seamounts may be particularly important in mixing and tidal
dissipation (1), and deep water fisheries on seamount flanks have become economically significant
(2). Seamounts, oceanic plateaus, and other geologic structures associated with intraplate
volcanism, plate boundary processes, and the cooling and subsidence of the oceanic lithosphere
should all be manifest in accurate bathymetric maps.
1950s, but these data are sparsely distributed (hundreds of kilometers between surveys) and may
have large errors in navigation and digitization (3). More accurate multibeam swath-mapping
systems came into use on some ships in the 1980s, but in the deep ocean, these were deployed
primarily along mid-ocean ridges (4). Some surveys are classified as secret in military archives (5) or
remain proprietary for economic or political reasons. Global bathymetric mapping requires some
means of combining these heterogeneous soundings and estimating depths in the regions where
survey data are sparse. Traditionally, bathymetric contours have been drawn by hand so that
intuition (or prejudice) fills the gaps in coverage. The contours may then be digitized and
interpolated to produce gridded estimates. The last global syntheses were made in the late 1970s
and early 1980s, yielding the fifth edition of the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans (GEBCO)
(6) and the Earth Topography 5-arc-min grid (ETOPO-5) (7). Recent developments allow another
approach to this problem. International cooperation has yielded access to a greater variety of
sounding data (4, 6, 8), and automated quality control (3, 9) and archiving (10) methods have been
devised. In addition, the ERS-1 and Geosat spacecrafts have surveyed the gravity field over nearly
all of the world’s ocean areas (11, 12). Over the 15- to 200-km wavelength band, marine gravity
anomalies are caused primarily by topographic variations on the ocean floor; thus, in principle,
satellite gravity data can be used to infer some aspects of the ocean’s depths. However, the
topography/gravity ratio varies from one region to another because of changes in sediment
thickness and other factors, so that the estimation of topography from gravity is not straightforward
and requires accurate depth soundings for calibration. Here, we report our efforts to combine
quality-controlled ship depth soundings with interpolation guided by satellite-derived gravity data
to yield a highresolution grid of sea floor topography.
Opinión:

Las características que tienen en común las ciencias de la Tierra son que estudian las componentes
del planeta Tierra y tratan de entender la forma en cómo trabajan, esto es, cómo las leyes de la
física y química actúan juntas para moldear la Tierra de la manera en que la vemos hoy y de la
que era en el pasado. En contraste con otras ciencias (física, química, biología), las Ciencias de la
Tierra rara vez pueden controlar las condiciones de sus experimentos. Su labor es reunir datos de
campo e interpretarlos lo mejor que se pueda.
El océano es un fluido en movimiento turbulento, esto es, se caracteriza por la presencia de
remolinos turbulentos con velocidades que a menudo son mayores que la velocidad del flujo
medio. Debido a que la atmósfera también es un fluido en movimiento turbulento, se puede
esperar que los dos medios, los objetos de estudio de la oceanografía física y de la meteorología,
muestren un comportamiento similar y estén gobernados por el mismo balance de fuerzas y que
sea por lo tanto una ventaja estudiarlos juntos.
 Cartographer, NASA
Mary Gainer, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
Describe your job and your duties. Researchers at Langley focus on some of the biggest challenges
of our time: global climate change, access to space and revolutionizing airplanes and the air
transportation system. Part of my job is to assist in the coordination with other NASA centers and
government agencies. I oversee the daily maintenance of data, new data collection and
maintenance of web and desktop applications. I came here from an environmental office where I
used GIS for spatial analysis and to produce maps. What’s up with the bird in the photo? Is that
related to your GIS work? Yes - we were tagging juvenile osprey. This was part of a joint project with
Langley Air Force Base and USDA Wildlife Services. We monitored the activity of nests in the
immediate area of the aircraft runway The maps were crucial to the Air Force to keep the runway
approach clear of nesting osprey. Any advice for people thinking about a career in GIS? I look for
students primarily in geography or civil engineering. We have also had successful students with
electrical, mechanical, and agricultural engineering, biology, forestry, and environmental science.
The most successful cartographers also seem to have interest and ability in graphics and art.
Geography still offers the best choice of majors if someone is looking for an exciting career that
encompases a wide range of applications. It is truly a major that gives you the flexibility to learn a
little about everything.
In the private sector, individuals are needed who are well versed in geographical and cartographic
concepts but also feel comfortable working with the hardware and software that drive the
applications. These positions reflect the growing importance of GIS in all sectors of society and
require a unique combination of education and skills.

Opinión:
Parte del trabajo de un cartógrafo en la Nasa es ayudar en la coordinación con otros centros de la
NASA y agencias gubernamentales. Supervisar el mantenimiento diario de los datos, la nueva
recopilación de datos y el mantenimiento de aplicaciones web y de escritorio

Los cartógrafos diseñan y preparan mapas, planos, diagramas, modelos y globos terráqueos que
representan la superficie de la Tierra u otros planetas. Recogen y utilizan datos procedentes de
una gran variedad de fuentes, tales como: Fotografías aéreas; Imágenes producidas por mapeo
electrostático e imágenes de registros sísmicos; Mapas y estadísticas existentes.
 Effect of topography on tree species composition and volume of coarse woody debris in an
Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) old growth forests, northern Iran

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is generally considered as dead woody materials in various
stages of decomposition, including fallen decaying stem and branches having a minimum
diameter (or an equivalent cross-section) of 10 cm at the widest point ([19]). Several recent
studies contribute to better understanding the extent and role of CWD in forest ecosystems
([11], [23], [45], [57]). Dead woody debris provides rooting substrate and nurse logs for
regeneration of plants ([38], [15]), facilitates nutrient cycling and energy flows through
forest ecosystems ([31], [30]), maintains hydrology and soil retention capacities ([27]),
provides wildlife habitat, and increases biodiversity in forest ecosystems ([16], [26], [54]).
CWD has been included in the list of improved European indicators for sustainable forest
management by the Ministerial Conference on the protection of forests in European
countries ([13]).

In the Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) old-growth forests along the Caspian sea,
CWD volume varies according to successional stage, site conditions and management
history. An important feature of natural forests of this region is their high amounts of dead
wood in all stages of decay and the high proportions of old living trees with dead parts ([43],
[59]), with fairly high amount of coarse woody debris (on average, 51 m3 ha-1 - [59]). Sefidi
et al. ([56]) for the Hyrcanian beech-dominated forests, recorded volume of coarse and fine
woody debris of 15 and 10 m3 ha-1, respectively. Amanzadeh et al. ([5]) in a study carried
out in northern Iran reported standing and fallen dead wood volume ranging from 9.1-24.7
and 7.5-29 m3 ha-1, respectively. In contrast, oriental beech stands managed for timber
production displayed a lower volume of coarse woody debris, with an average of 23 m3 ha-
1 ([7]). These studies focused on the CWD amount in different successional stages and
forest associations, but the influence of topographic gradient on the distribution of woody
debris in forest stands had not been investigated. In northern forests, insufficient
knowledge and scarce quantitative information about amount and quality of dead wood
negatively influence forest management plans. In order to manage uneven-aged forest
stands using the single selection method, it is of great importance to understand the factors
that affect the dead wood pool dynamics and the distribution of CWD in topographically
dissected area supporting specific forest stands, such as mountain beech forests in Western
Asia ([12]), especially when woody debris is to be managed for maintenance of biodiversity
and/or certain stand structural characteristics ([33]). In this stydy, we seek to quantify the
effect of the topographic gradient on beech stand structure in the Caspian forest, although
the relationship between woody vegetation and topographic gradients has been fairly well
studied in beech stands of other northern Iranian regions ([20], [1]).
Oriental beech is a shade-tolerant tree species covering north-facing slopes of Elborz
Mountain, in contrast to oak-dominated stands highly distributed across the south-facing
slopes of northern Iran ([53]). The unique topographical position of beech stands in this area
influence the formation and distribution of different forest vegetation types and coarse
woody debris. Such stands, known as Caspian mixed forests, are characterized by minimal
anthropogenic disturbances, the presence of old trees near their maximum longevity, large
amounts of standing and lying deadwood, and a heterogeneous stand structure, both
horizontally and vertically.

The main aim of this research was to quantify the influence of topographical factors on
species composition, and quantity and quality of coarse woody debris in natural and
undisturbed areas of the Caspian mixed forests.

Opinión:
Los factores ambientales afectan los patrones de vegetación y la distribución de
especies, y juegan un papel importante en la estructuración de las comunidades
vegetales en todo el paisaje (Bosques antiguos del norte de Irán). En los ecosistemas
de montaña, las condiciones topográficas pueden influir en la disponibilidad de
recursos y humedad y en la insolación diaria, factores importantes para la
distribución de especies, el crecimiento de las plantas y los patrones de mortalidad.
Por lo tanto, los sitios con diferentes características topográficas admiten diferentes
tipos de bosques.