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UK water depth data from Seazone
Detailed water depth data for seas around the UK is now available from UK Hydrographic Office subsidiary SeaZone of Bentley in Hampshire, which has spent the last two years acquiring and processing hydrographic survey information from a variety of sources to create a definitive database of underwater terrains. Over 12,000 individual datasets are available in readily readable formats.
The company points out that the data is essential for many marine activities, such as coastal and offshore engineering, shoreline protection, environmental and ecology studies, fishing, civil security and emergency response planning. Applications typically include the creation of surface models, volumetric or rate of change calculations, and as input into hydrodynamic or environmental models often used for site selection, route definition and seabed mobility studies.
SeaZone adds that its digital bathymetric data extends across the majority of the UK continental shelf and is much more accurate and detailed than depth soundings marked on traditional navigational charts. As such, it will allow organisations to improve their evidence based decisions while also reducing or negating further costly surveys.
Original sources are either single-beam or multibeam surveys carried out by the Royal Navy and the Civil Hydrography Programme, while other data has been provided by harbour authorities and private companies working in the engineering, utilities, dredging and offshore oil and gas sectors.
