Mapping shallow water bubbling reefs – a method comparison between topobathymetric lidar and multibeam echosounder

Abstract

Knowledge about the presence, locations and shape of bubbling reefs are usually obtained by geophysical surveying using multibeam echosounder (MBES), sidescan sonar and/or seismic acquisition systems, combined with ground truth verification. However, this traditional survey method is time consuming, especially for full coverage surveys in shallow water. Full coverage surveys are a requirement to capture the bubbling reefs due to their relatively small spatial extent. Besides, traditional geophysical vessel borne surveys have their limitations in shallow water due to low spatial coverage and vessel draft.