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High resolution mapping of coastal habitats is invaluable for resource inventory, change detection, and inventory of aquaculture applications. However, coastal areas, especially the interior of mangroves, are often difficult to access. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), equipped with a multispectral sensor, affords an opportunity to improve upon satellite imagery for coastal management because of the very high spatial resolution, multispectral capability, and opportunity to collect real-time observations. Despite the recent and rapid development of UAV mapping applications, few articles have quantitatively compared how much improvement there is of UAV multispectral mapping methods compared to more conventional remote sensing data such as satellite imagery. The objective of this paper is to quantitatively demonstrate the improvements of a multispectral UAV mapping technique for higher resolution images used for advanced mapping and assessing coastal land cover. We performed multispectral UAV mapping fieldwork trials over Indian River Lagoon along the central Atlantic coast of Florida. Ground Control Points (GCPs) were collected to generate a rigorous geo-referenced dataset of UAV imagery and support comparison to geo-referenced satellite and aerial imagery. Multi-spectral satellite imagery (Sentinel-2) was also acquired to map land cover for the same region. NDVI and object-oriented classification methods were used for comparison between UAV and satellite mapping capabilities. Compared with aerial images acquired from Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the UAV multi-spectral mapping method used in this study provided advanced information of the physical conditions of the study area, an improved land feature delineation, and a significantly better mapping product than satellite imagery with coarser resolution. The study demonstrates a replicable UAV multi-spectral mapping method useful for study sites that lack high quality data.
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This content will become publicly available on April 1, 2026
BathyFormer: A Transformer-Based Deep Learning Method to Map Nearshore Bathymetry with High-Resolution Multispectral Satellite Imagery
Accurate mapping of nearshore bathymetry is essential for coastal management, navigation, and environmental monitoring. Traditional bathymetric mapping methods such as sonar surveys and LiDAR are often time-consuming and costly. This paper introduces BathyFormer, a novel vision transformer- and encoder-based deep learning model designed to estimate nearshore bathymetry from high-resolution multispectral satellite imagery. This methodology involves training the BathyFormer model on a dataset comprising satellite images and corresponding bathymetric data obtained from the Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM). The model learns to predict water depths by analyzing the spectral signatures and spatial patterns present in the multispectral imagery. Validation of the estimated bathymetry maps using independent hydrographic survey data produces a root mean squared error (RMSE) ranging from 0.55 to 0.73 m at depths of 2 to 5 m across three different locations within the Chesapeake Bay, which were independent of the training set. This approach shows significant promise for large-scale, cost-effective shallow water nearshore bathymetric mapping, providing a valuable tool for coastal scientists, marine planners, and environmental managers.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2317591
- PAR ID:
- 10631651
- Publisher / Repository:
- MDPI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Remote Sensing
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2072-4292
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1195
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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