Error detection of bathymetry data by visualization using GIS

Graphical methods are very efficient means for error detection in large volumes of spatial data. Bathymetry data form the basis for nautical charts that are used by the fishing industry to utilize and manage the fishing resources, and by the fishing communities to study migration and habitat studies of fish. The bathymetry data of the world have been collected over a century and have a wide range of resolution and accuracy. The Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful toot to process, analyze, manage, and display spatial data. Marine GIS provides a mechanism for recording data with navigation, creating an efficient digital database, and plotting data on maps. Here, we have used ArcView 3.2 GIS software and its 3D Analyst extension module to visualize bathymetry data that were collected around the Hawaiian Islands. We have also identified some highly erroneous bathymetry data in this data set. (C) 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.