Data Mining to Chart the Arctic: Analysis of Approaches to Incorporate Outside Source Data into NOAA Office of Coast Survey Workflow

The National Centers for Environmental Information provide public access to a wealth of seafloor mapping data, both from National Ocean Service hydrographic surveys and outside source collections. Utilizing the outside source data to improve nautical charts created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an appealing alternative to traditional surveys, largely in areas with significant data gaps where hydrographic surveys are not planned. However, much of the outside data are collected in transit lines and lack traditional overlapping main scheme lines and crosslines. Spanning multiple years and vessels, these transit line data collections were obtained using disparate operating procedures and have inconsistent qualities. Here, a workflow was developed to ingest these variable depth data within a defined region by assessing their quality and utility for nautical charting. The workflow was evaluated with a navigationally significant area in the Bering Sea, where bathymetric data collected from ten vessels over a period of twelve years were available. The outside data were shown to be of sufficient quality through comparisons with existing NOAA surveys and then used to demonstrate where the data could provide new or updated information on nautical charts, and provide reconnaissance for future hydrographic planning. The utility assessment of the data, however, was hindered by lack of a verified survey-scale sounding database, against which the outside source data could be compared. Having developed the workflow, it is recommended that further outside data is ingested by NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey and that a database is developed with full-scale chart soundings for outside data comparisons.