Bathymetric Map Construction

Abstract

The base for the bathymetric map construction is the echogram. After the field-work is finished the echogram for each track is cut into a separate strip. The depth intervals that are to be used on the bathymetric map should then be determined (see section 4.1. and 4.2.). The general principle is that the contour-line intervals (1_c in meters) should be positive integers. The relationship between contour-line interval (1_c) and number of contour lines (n) is given by:

$$ \frac{{{}^D\max }}{n} \sim {1_c} $$

((1))

where D_max = the maximum recorded depth (in meters). For most scientific purposes, e.g. when bathymetric maps for whole lakes are concerned, one can conclude that between 4–20 contour lines are required.