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Topobathymetric Model of Puget Sound, Washington, 1887 to 2017

April 20, 2020

To support the modeling of storm-induced flooding, the USGS Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project has created an integrated 1-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) for Puget Sound. Puget Sound is located along the northwestern coast of Washington and is part of the Salish Sea. Puget Sound is the third largest estuary in the United States. High-resolution coastal elevation data is required to identify flood, storm, and sea-level rise inundation hazard zones and other earth science applications, such as the development of sediment transport and storm surge models. The new TBDEM consists of the best available multi-source topographic and bathymetric elevation data for Puget Sound including neighboring islands, canals, and inlets. The Puget Sound TBDEM comprises an integration of 186 different data sources including topographic and bathymetric LiDAR data, hydrographic surveys, single-beam acoustic surveys, and multi-beam acoustic surveys obtained from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Puget Sound Lidar Consortium, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The topographic and bathymetric surveys were sorted and prioritized based on survey date, accuracy, spatial distribution, and point density to develop a model based on the best available elevation data. Because bathymetric data are typically referenced to tidal datums (such as Mean High Water or Mean Low Water), all tidally-referenced heights were transformed into orthometric height based on a common geoid (Geoid12B) that are normally used for mapping elevation on land based on the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Every input data source in the TBDEM has been horizontally referenced to UTM Zone 10, NAD83 2011. The spatial resolution is 1-meter with the general location ranging from the Deception Pass in the north to Olympia, Washington in the south and extending to a depth of 327 meters. The overall temporal range of the input topography and bathymetry is 1887 to 2017. The topography surveys are from 2005-2017. The bathymetry surveys were acquired between 1887 and 2015.

Publication Year 2020
Title Topobathymetric Model of Puget Sound, Washington, 1887 to 2017
DOI 10.5066/P95N6CIT
Authors Dean Tyler, Jeffrey J Danielson, Eric Grossman, Ryan Hockenberry (CTR)
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center