NOAA Bathymetric Data Viewer

[Deco Duck]

Hello, I have just stumbled across this little widget from NOAA. It presents worldwide Bathymetric data.
Mostly applicable to boat owners, I guess, but the maps should be of use to shore divers. Share liberally.

https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/bathymetry/

 

[Deco Duck]

Be sure to turn on BAG and DEM color shaded relief imagery.

 

[kelemvor]

Under options, turn on "bathymetric contours".

 

[drbill]

Ah, the advances using modern technology. A quarter century ago I needed a digital bathymmetric map of the waters around Catalina Island and spent a long time at a digitizing tablet creating the bathymmetric (and eventually topographic) contours to create a 3-D model of "my" island. Now a click or two on the mouse and... voila!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Google Earth has even better imagery and includes GPS coordinates to make finding reefs and wrecks even easier.

 

[Deco Duck]

Google Earth has even better imagery and includes GPS coordinates to make finding reefs and wrecks even easier.

For Hawaii, the NOAA offering is a fair bit better than Google Earth's. I realize now that not everywhere will be as high resolution as Hawaii.
That said, I am not a GE wizard by any means. What modifications can I make to my settings to improve my experience?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

If you zoom in all the way under the surface you can see 3D images of the reefs and wrecks ad explore all the nooks and crannies.
One of my favorite SoCal dives are the Caissons. Standing 30-40 feet off the bottom, these cement structures attract a lot of marine life.

Under construction in Long Beach

Google Earth image