ICESat-2 Bathymetry: Advances in Methods and Science
Christopher Parrish, Lori A. Magruder, U. C. Herzfeld, Nathan Thomas, Jonathan Markel, Michael F. Jasinski, Gretchen Imahori, Joan Herrmann, Thomas Trantow, A. A. Borsa, Rick Stumpf, Bryan Eder, Isabel Caballero
Abstract
Since the 2018 launch of NASA’s ICESat-2 mission, one capability of its Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) that has far exceeded expectations is bathymetric measurement. Although ICESat-2 was designed to generate surface-specific along-track and gridded data products, bathymetry was not a pre-launch science requirement of the mission. However, since launch, ATLAS has proven capable of bathymetric measurement to >40m in very clear waters [1], and ICESat-2 bathymetry is being used in a growing number of science disciplines. Post-launch efforts have focused on bathymetric signal classification (sea surface, water column and seafloor) and correction for refraction at the air-water interface. Because ATLAS provides bathymetry only along discrete tracks, another area of focus is on integration of ATLAS data with relative bathymetry from multispectral satellite imagery-often referred to as satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB)-to obtain spatially-contiguous 2D bathymetric coverage. This paper synthesizes the latest algorithms, techniques and uses of ICESat-2 bathymetry, including collaborative efforts of the Bathymetry Working Group of the ICESat-2 Science Team, and recommends topics for future investigation.