Bathymetric DEM: Offshore cide-sinop, southern black sea

A new Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was created using the bathymetry data of Cide-Sinop region at the Southern Black Sea to interpret the morphological structures of the study area. Bathymetry data were acquired between 2002-2008 by the Turkish Navy, Department of Navigation, Hydrography and Oceanography (TN-DNHO) and studied under the research project of Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Project no. TUBITAK-ÇAYDAG-114Y057). Multi-beam echo-sounder measurements cover 2.59 km2 area and depths change from -1 to -500 m. ASCII files consist of 171.2 million points, with an average measurement density of 0.05 points per square meter. Files were converted to vector points by using the developed conversion program. The seafloor is represented by a quite smooth and large shelf plain with an approx. 25 km wide and the water depth of about -100 m. The shelf gently deepens and it is limited by the shelf break with average of -120 m contour. Slope angles from 0 to 1 degree at the shelf plain, increases about to 10 degrees beyond the shelf edge. The large shelf plain is widely characterized by sand dunes with an average height of 10 meters form E-W oriented belts of 500-1000 m in width.