Using topographic slope distributions to infer seafloor patterns

• Published in: IEEE journal of oceanic engineering Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 338 - 347
• Main Authors: Smith, D.K., Shaw, P.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.10.1989; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Subjects: abyssal hills; Azimuth; bathymetry; Coastal oceanography, estuaries. Regional oceanography; Density functional theory; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Fabrics; Geology; INE; Marine; mid-ocean ridges; Oceanographic techniques; oceanography; Oceans; Physics of the oceans; Robustness; Sea floor; Shape; signal processing; statistical analysis; Surfaces; swaths; topography; ISW, Indian Ocean; Data processing; Continental slope; Topography; Ocean floors
• ISSN: 0364-9059; 1558-1691
• DOI: 10.1109/48.35984

The authors present a method for obtaining parameters for Sea Beam swath bathymetry which describe the characteristics of abyssal-hill topography. The basic quantity used in the analysis is the distribution of topographic slopes in a region. A convenient means for parameterizing these slopes is through unit vectors that are normal to small patches of the seafloor; the normal vectors are decomposed into azimuthal and dip components. It is found that the azimuthal distribution of the vectors provides a first-order indication of the dominant elongation directions in the topography, including multiple lineations when they are present. It is shown that the slope statistics are relatively independent of long-wavelength depth variations and are robust even if large anomalous features such as seamounts and fracture zones are included in the section of bathymetry analyzed.< >