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Automated drainage extraction in mapping the Monterey submarine drainage system, California margin

  • Section III: Seafloor Feature Extraction
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Abstract

Drainage-extraction algorithms traditionally used for extracting river networks and watersheds from gridded land topography are applied to gridded multibeam bathymetry of the mid-California margin. The algorithms are used to automatically map two regional tributary networks of submarine canyons and deepsea channels draining Monterey Bay, the principal conduits of which are Acension and Monterey Canyons. The algorithms reliably map subaqueous drainage areas, but are prone to error in mapping the extent of submarine canyon and channel thalwegs due to operator subjectivity and algorithm limitations. A geomorphic comparison of the Acension and Monterey Canyon networks, with 12 river networks in the continental U.S., illustrates both the potential and weaknesses of using drainage extraction algorithms to analyze sediment pathways in gridded bathymetry.

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Author notes

  1. Lincoln F. Pratson

    Present address: Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, 80309, Boulder, CO, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 10964, Palisades, NY, USA

    Lincoln F. Pratson & William B. F. Ryan

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  1. Lincoln F. Pratson
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  2. William B. F. Ryan
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Pratson, L.F., Ryan, W.B.F. Automated drainage extraction in mapping the Monterey submarine drainage system, California margin. Marine Geophysical Researches 18, 757–777 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00313885

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