Unified Geomorphological Analysis Workflows with Benthic Terrain Modeler

• Main Authors: Shaun Walbridge, Noah Slocum, Marjean Pobuda, Dawn J. Wright
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-03-01
• Series: Geosciences
• Subjects: geomorphometry; terrain analysis; bathymetry; surface roughness; benthic habitat mapping; python
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/8/3/94

High resolution remotely sensed bathymetric data is rapidly increasing in volume, but analyzing this data requires a mastery of a complex toolchain of disparate software, including computing derived measurements of the environment. Bathymetric gradients play a fundamental role in energy transport through the seascape. Benthic Terrain Modeler (BTM) uses bathymetric data to enable simple characterization of benthic biotic communities and geologic types, and produces a collection of key geomorphological variables known to affect marine ecosystems and processes. BTM has received continual improvements since its 2008 release; here we describe the tools and morphometrics BTM can produce, the research context which this enables, and we conclude with an example application using data from a protected reef in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.