Oregon State University researchers recently assisted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geodetic Survey in responding quickly to a U.S. Coast Guard request to chart new human-made islands in Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Bay.

These “spoil islands” are created from dredged materials, a byproduct of maintaining marine navigation channels. In the absence of accurate position and elevation data, they pose hazards to boats operating in the area.

Rapid response with satellite-based mapping

NGS received the request on March 21, and a preliminary assessment was delivered to leadership within a few hours. Heading up the Oregon State team were lead software developer Keana Kief and geomatics master’s student Ruth McCullough. After adding new functionality to the NOAA SatBathy software tool, which generates water depth data from publicly available satellite imagery, the project team delivered an interim shoreline a week later, on March 28.

The spoil islands were subsequently added to electronic navigational charts, supporting marine navigation safety in Atchafalaya Bay. The test demonstrated a promising new use of the SatBathy tool for rapid updates, a milestone for the NGS and NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey.

Research for the SatBathy tool was supported by Grant NA21OAR4320203: Advanced Geospatial Technologies for Mapping, Modeling, and Monitoring the Coastal Zone at Oregon State University.