Editor: Joe Bremen
ESRI Press
ISBN: 9781589482197
US$64.95
Ocean Globe highlights the importance of GIS in mapping the seabed. This is a very interesting new book edited by Joe Breman, president of International Underwater Explorations (IUE) in Maui, Hawaii. The topics in the book address the diversity of the world’s oceans and seas, with a variety of applications and examples. The book is comprised of twelve beautifully illustrated chapters from experts of different fields and includes a fully illustrated Appendix describing the fascinating history of seabed mapping.
Each chapter represents a different facet of maritime research that relies on seabed mapping. The topics covered address the diversity of the world’s oceans but highlight shared methods and applications to map them. The contributors of this volume turn to GIS as a tool for sharing information and advancing the science of bathymetric modelling.
Chapter 1 provides an introduction to bathymetry “the art and science of seabed modelling for modern applications”, focusing on ocean floor models and the methods in creating them. Techniques such as multibeam echo sounding for high resolution maps is detailed, LiDAR for aerial mapping and SAR (sythetic aperture radar) and more importantly how the information can be imported into GIS. The chapter concludes with a section on the range of applications for bathymetric data from international law to ocean power and renewable energy.
Chapter 2 investigates the very interesting application of integrating bathymetric and topographic data for tsunami modelling and forecasting. The science behind creating high- resolution digital elevation models (DEMs), critical to coastal communities in preparing for potential tsunamis, is explained, especially the difficult areas of locating relevant data from multiple sources, collected by different disciplines, then integrating that into tsunami modelling efforts.
Chapter 3 looks at marine resource management, with a contribution from twelve coauthors, focusing on the Channel Habitat Atlas for Marine Resource Management (CHARM) covering the English Channel from the Dover Strait to the Cherbourg Peninsula. Again, the main issue is locating and merging disparate data sources, the roles of geo-statistics and cartography, and modelling fish habitats.
Chapter 4 investigates a seafloor mapping project in California, from the rationale for the project to how it developed and was executed. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 highlight the value of bathymetric data modelling to global conservation initiatives focused on sea turtles in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, gray whales off British Columbia, and humpback whales in the Hawaiian Archipelago, respectively.
Chapter 8 provides an extensive description of the bathymetry and geomorphology of the north-western Gulf of Mexico, including the Mississippi River delta, now so sadly threatened by pollution caused by the BP oil rig explosion in May 2010.
Chapter 9 describes how the usSEABED system for GIS mapping is helping to understand US coastal waters covering the Exclusive Economic Zone. Chapter 10 focuses on coral reef marine landscape ecology research, incorporating GIS, GPS and seafloor mapping. Chapter 11 introduces us to coastal aquaculture site selection using GIS and remote sensing data, followed by a look at applications of near shore bathymetry off Cape Cod, Massachusetts in Chapter 12.
Ocean Globe addresses and summarises the major advancements in seafloor documentation, bathymetry and related geographic information system (GIS) ocean and marine mapping projects. This new book is an exciting and valuable resource for those interested in coastal management, seafloor mapping, and marine biology.
Reviewed by Dr Vanessa Lucieer
Research Group Leader, Habitat Mapping and Assessment
Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute