Satellite-Derived Bathymetry

Many shallow coastal waters are poorly charted, and surveying them by vessel or aircraft is slow, costly and risky. EOMAP's Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) maps shallow-water depth from optical satellite imagery without on-site surveying, using physics-based inversion of the radiative transfer equation, AI and ML tools and QA/QC. Published projects use Sentinel-2, WorldView, Planet SuperDove and Pléiades Neo imagery, and ICESat-2 lidar depth profiles (Satellite Lidar Bathymetry) are offered as a product and used to check uncertainties. Mapping depth follows how far sunlight penetrates, for example 20–30 m in the Red Sea.

Buyers send an area of interest and receive a feasibility assessment, then gridded bathymetry and a survey report. Depths refer to Lowest Astronomical Tide by default and carry LE90 uncertainties. Data come in standard GIS and hydrographic formats, with S-57 ENC on request and an optional project web app. Related services include multisource bathymetry grids merging SDB with chart and sounding data, topo-bathy grids, shoreline-change mapping and a shoals database.

EOMAP, part of Fugro since 2025, reports about 100 SDB projects a year, and its SDB has been integrated into about 50 nautical charts worldwide. The UK Hydrographic Office has twice ranked EOMAP its top SDB framework provider, most recently in 2022, and used its SDB on ADMIRALTY chart BA 2066 of Southern Antigua, the first nautical chart to include SDB. Land Information New Zealand commissioned a 2 m SDB survey of Tonga. EOMAP also supplies EMODnet Bathymetry and the Seabed 2030 Project, and its SDB has won the Bavarian Innovation Prize and the Copernicus Tech Award.