Mapping Kuwait bathymetry using passive multispectral remote sensing

Abstract

Mapping bathymetry is essential for many fields, including science, engineering, and the military, among others. Bathymetry is extremely important in the scientific field because it is linked to many physical and environmental issues such as coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and water quality. Traditionally, conventional methods, such as pre-measured cable passage, were used to estimate depths. Lately, echo-sounder assessments were used on hydrograph ships. This method is effective, but it is very costly in both economic and time terms. Remote sensing technology provides modern methods for mapping bathymetry, such as the use of active and passive remote sensing. Many satellite sensors cover multispectral bands. Some are commercial, such as IKONOS and WorldView, while others are freely available, such as Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2. In this study, Landsat 8 (15 meters spatial resolution) was used to estimate the depths of the waters of Kuwait, an Arabian Gulf country located on the Northwestern side of the gulf. Ground truthing points (GTPs) were used to build a bathymetric model of Kuwaiti territorial water (KTW) using the ratio transform algorithm (RTA) applied on Landsat 8 data. The results showed a good ability of Landsat 8 and RTA to estimate the depths of Kuwait’s waters, where the relationship between the derived model from Landsat 8 and the GTPs was positive (r2 = 0.9634). Meanwhile, the accuracy of the derived bathymetric model was evaluated by computing the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE = ± 1.66 meters) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE ± = 1.29).

Open-source-based Approach to Delineate the Shoreline from Space: A Case Study in Failaka Island, the State of Kuwait

“…The island is located on the entrance of Kuwait Bay, about 20 from the mainland of Kuwait (Albanai, 2020). The depth range around the island does not exceed 12 meters below sea level (Albanai, 2021c(Albanai, , 2021b. Failaka has a total area of around 46…”

Comparison Study on Sedimentomorphological Characteristics Using Integrated Geo-Techniques: A Case Study of Two Representative Areas in Kuwait

“…Studies by [52] [55] [56] used different image data consisting of countrywide coverage by Radarsat, ERS, IRS, and TM, to assess the desert environment and for land use mapping of some selected areas in Kuwait. Albanai used geographic information system and remote sensing to evaluate Failaka Island variability to sea level rise [10] [57], to map the morphology of Kuwait territorial waters [11], and to classify the spatial distribution of coastal geomorphological features in Kuwait [6] [13].…”

“…Although spatial techniques provide solutions, they cannot replace field surveys. Several studies have used statistical methods to investigate the accuracy of studies based on spatial techniques, where field data are compared with remote sensing data through correlation coefficients to determine the accuracy of the extracted spatial models [10] [11]. For example, [12] extracted data related to the topography of the land and the network of valleys, and arranged them using spatial techniques, in order to analyse their relationship to the risks related to flash floods in desert areas.…”

COVID-19 (2020) Impact on Air Quality of the State of Kuwait

“…1). The total population of Kuwait is more than 4.5 million people (Albanai, 2021a), all of these residents are concentrated in Kuwait urban area, where almost all of the activities are concentrated. Kuwait includes six governorates: Al-Asimah, Hawalli, Al-Farawaniyah, Al-Jahra, Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Al-Ahmadi.…”