Applied Users

TCarta joined the ICESat-2 Applied User’s Program in 2019, with the goal of integrating ICESat-2 with ongoing development of innovative marine-remote sensing technologies for the production of shallow-water bathymetry products, on a global scale. This suite of technologies leverages multispectral and hyperspectral space-based sensors and a multi-algorithmic approach to extract satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB).

Principle to this effort is the capability to produce seafloor models in remote, hazardous, or geopolitically constrained locations, without the need for traditional survey methods. Essential to achieving a fully-remote hydrospatial mapping strategy is remotely calibration and validation of SDB products. Developing and implementing technology to extract accurate, widespread depth measurements from ICESat-2’s ATLAS sensor represents a significant force-multiplier for producing shallow-water depth models in locations where more traditional bathymetric survey data is unavailable or outdated.

To integrate ICESat-2, TCarta identified the need for an automated system to extract seafloor measurements from the ATL03 Geolocated Photon data product. A deep learning model was developed in order to predict bathymetry and water surface photon returns from the non-uniform, geospatially diverse, irregularly-spaced raw point cloud data. Extracted, corrected water column depth measurements were assessed across geospatially diverse locations, resulting in an average vertical RMSE of ~35cm, compared to multi-beam sonar and airborne lidar bathymetry products.

As of March, 2024, TCarta has extracted over 140 million depth measurements from ICESat-2 across 6 continents, facilitating production of approximately 3 million square kilometers of SDB.