Submitted by Jo Dodds on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 21:37
Forums
Drake Passage Opening

Hi Ms. Pena. I am curious about the sea floor data that you receive with the 'ping' data. Is the data formatted to be used in GIS mapping? What is the resolution of the maps that are created? I love mapping, so I was just curious to know more.

Thanks for your great journals. Jo Dodds

Thu, 05/08/2008 - 16:48

Katie Pena

Hi Jo Dodds,
Marcy Davis, a cartographer from the University of Texas and my roommate, helped me with answering your questions. The average resolution on our maps is 100 meters. We do ping- edit the multibeam sonar data before importing it into GIS along with other data sets. We also import all of this data into a new mapping program called Fledermaus, it uses 3-D visualization to create maps of the seafloor. Fledermaus is an awesome program because you can virtually fly around using your mouse to take different looks and angles on the maps.
Thanks for checking out the website and asking questions.Mrs. Pena