Marine stakeholders will meet for the third year in a row to share experiences, tools and advances in mapping shallow water topography from space

In addition, the rise of new satellite sensors and software solutions, such as desktop and cloud-based software which can analyse multiple satellite missions and imagery - including the new Satellite Lidar Bathymetry data - and the ongoing implementation of SDB in workflows of hydrographic offices, further increases the demand for an international exchange on this technology.

The International SDB Day 2021 is designed to meet this demand. Key note speakers include the Royal Australian Navy and Pushidrosal, Indonesia. The agenda includes three main sessions, one session on applications and technological advances, one on a more practical session on various aspects of generating SDB, including SDB tools and best practice and standards, and developing in-house capabilities for SDB, and another on SDB standards and quality assurance. The SDB Day 2021 aims towards a best-practice guide and standards for remote surveying, where practical and quality-related aspects will be discussed. This guidance will make it easier for surveyors, hydrographers and coastal stakeholders to apply SDB in practice. Ultimately, this will be an important step towards mapping the worlds coastal zone, which is insufficiently mapped for many parts of the world.

“Because of COVID we have decided to organise a virtual SDB Day. This offers the opportunity for many to join the conferences and we have therefore, also decided to make this conference without a registration fee. And, as a first, we will organise it as two events, to make it possible for everybody to participate: one event for the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe on the 27th January 2021 and one event for Asia and Oceania on the 10th February 2021,” explains Philip Klinger, member of the SDB Day organising team and passionate SDB analyst.