Multispectral Satellite-Derived Bathymetry Based on Sparse Prior Measured Data

Abstract Satellite-derived bathymetry is an economic and effective method of obtaining large-scale, high-resolution bathymetric information. At present, bathymetric inversion models require existing bathymetric data as a necessary condition, but these may be difficult to obtain around many small islands. Under the condition of sparse measurement data, many common methods have low levels of accuracy. This paper proposes a method of transferring a bathymetric model for an island that has in situ data to an island that has little in situ data. First, in situ data are used to establish a high-precision satellite bathymetry model for a given island. Second, this model is transplanted to other islands. The addition of just 2–3 data points to correct the model results can reduce the mean relative error to 6.62% in the range of 0–20 m. This is close to the accuracy of establishing the model using a large number of measurement data (mean relative error of 5.25%).