RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Bathymetry prediction model from
high-resolution satellite gravity as
applied over a part of the eastern
Indian offshore
T. J. Majumdar* and R. Bhattacharyya
Earth Sciences and Hydrology Division, Marine and Water Resources
Group, Remote Sensing Applications and Image Processing Area,
Space Applications Centre (Indian Space Research Organization),
Ahmedabad 380 015, India
The ship-borne bathymetry data collected over the Indian
offshore are quite sparse. With the advent of space
technology, satellite altimetry has opened up a new vista
for prediction of bathymetry using altimetric geoidal/
gravity undulations over any particular region. This
geoid/gravity-derived bathymetry model is fast and
reliable in geologically unexplored offshore regions.
ERS-1 high-resolution (168-day repeat) altimeter data
of the eastern Indian offshore (612N and 9095E) the study area have been extracted from the corresponding
are used to generate satellite gravity. Using satellite
gravity, bathymetry was predicted for the eastern Indian
offshore region. The results were satisfactory on com-
parison with ship-borne bathymetry data.
Keywords: Altimeter, Andaman offshore, bathymetry pre-
diction model, ERS-1, gravity, ninety east ridge, response
function.
A satellite altimeter measures the instantaneous shape of the
ocean at the nadir with good precision. Repeated altimetric
observations taken at the same location over a period of time
have been used to deduce marine geoid an equipotential sur-
face corresponding to the distribution of mass inside the
earth. The equipotential surface formed by heterogeneous
mass is related to both its mass distribution and external
shape. The external shape corresponds to topography or
bathymetry, while mass distribution is related to subsurface
geological structures.
The classical geoid is sensitive to mass distribution inside
the entire earth. An anomaly (a high or a low) in the classical
geoid may be due to (i) a bathymetric feature e.g. a sea
mount, trench, ridge, etc., (ii) a lateral density variation in
the lithospheric zone, (iii) an anomaly deep-seated inside the
earth, i.e. below the lithospheric zone, or (iv) any combi-
nation of the above three features. Based on our knowledge
regarding mass distribution inside the earth, the shape of the
geoid correlates with the underlying bathymetry over a certain
range of wavelength (0300 km)1.
Detailed bathymetry data of the seafloor in the Indian off-
shore is sparse. Bathymetry data collection is also expensive,
hazardous and time-consuming. Though new bathymetry
mapping sensors are being utilized over the Indian off-
*For correspondence. (e-mail: tjmajumdar@sac.isro.gov.in)
1754
shore region, complete coverage of the whole area by
ship in a satisfactory fashion is an undaunting task to be
achieved in the years to come. Hence bathymetry prediction
using high-resolution satellite gravity may look like a viable
option in the unexplored regions. The most commonly
used model to relate geoid/gravity with bathymetry is a
convolution model. Bathymetry, when convolved with a
response function, yields geoid or gravity1,2. The response
function for the model is generally obtained either through
theoretical simulation or direct observation3. Two-dimen-
sional bathymetry model has become feasible with the
availability of high-resolution satellite altimeter data, e.g.
ERS-1 (168-day repeat) and a number of workers have
generated various models for bathymetry prediction47.
Figure 1 shows the ERS-1 168-day repeat tracks over the
eastern Indian offshore region.
The present study attempts to predict bathymetry over
a 6 5 study area (612N, 9095E) near Ninetyeast
Ridge in the eastern offshore, India using high-resolution
ERS-1 altimeter-derived gravity. The ERS-1 tracks over
Geophysical Data Records (GDR) after applying suitable
atmospheric and oceanographic corrections8. Rapps 50 50
geoid has been removed from the along-track altimetric
observations to eliminate deeper earth contributions9. The
ship-borne bathymetry data obtained from NIO, Goa;
NGDC, USA and Russian ship cruises have been utilized
over the area of interest.
The major objectives of this study are: (i) To derive gravity
from high-resolution satellite altimeter data, (ii) To develop
a model for prediction of ocean bathymetry using satellite-
derived gravity variation and available ship-borne data,
and (iii) Collation of ship-borne and satellite-derived
bathymetry and gravity data.
The data sources for this study include (i) ERS-1 168-
day repeat altimeter data, (ii) ETOPO5 bathymetry data,
(iii) bathymetry data collected by international cruises,
and (iv) Naval Hydrographic Charts (available with Survey
of India, Dehradun).
A 6 5 test site bounded by lat 612N and long 90
95E in the eastern offshore of India has been identified as
the test site for initial analysis of developed bathymetry
prediction model.
Geotectonics, structure and geological history over the
Bay of Bengal have been discussed in detail earlier1015.
In the eastern offshore regions of India, regional crustal fea-
tures, e.g. Western Basin, the 85E Ridge, the Central Basin,
the 90E Ridge, the Sunda Arc, the Andaman Shelf, etc.
have been demarcated from satellite-derived geoid/gravity
anomaly patterns8,16, which have been well reflected in
ship-borne geophysical (including seismic) data14,15,17. The
northern upper Bengal Fan lies off the Bangladesh continental
slope; and the eastern margin is the northern end of the
Sunda trench uplifted into this accretionary prism. The Bengal
Fan was formed by the initial PaleoceneEocene collision
of India with the subduction zone of the north side of the
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 10, 25 NOVEMBER 2005
 RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Figure 1. ERS-1 altimeter (168-day repeat cycle ) tracks over the eastern Indian offshore. The marked area is the current area of interest.

Tethys Ocean18,19. Haxby et al.20 have generated digital Thus, in the wavenumber domain2
images from the combined oceanic and continental datasets
and have specified their usages in tectonic studies. McAdoo21 G(k) = Q(k)B(k) + n, (1)
has generated gravity field of the Southern Ocean from Geo-
sat Exact Repeat Mission (ERM) data. Majumdar et al.16 where G, Q, B are discrete Fourier transforms of g, f and
have developed a methodology for offshore structure de- b and n is the noise function.
lineation using altimeter data. In the present study, an at- Q is termed as the response function and is predicted
tempt has been made for bathymetry modelling2,7 in an area from the following equation:
including the Ninetyeast Ridge in eastern Indian offshore
G 1 16 4 k 4 D
region. 1

Generation of satellite geoid/gravity from satellite altimetry Q(k ) = exp(2 kZ1 ) 1 +
data is a major programme and has been discussed in de- gk g ( 1 2 ) (2)

tail elsewhere8,9,22,23. The relationship between gravity field exp(2 kZ 2 ),
and seafloor topography is analysed using a linear transfer
function called admittance1,24. Basically, admittance is a ratio
between the Fourier transforms of gravity and bathymetry. where Z1 and Z2 are respective depths from ocean surface to
The admittance function has been used in predicting mean ocean bottom and plane of major density contrast
bathymetry from Geosat altimeter and gravity data25. Basu (Mohorovicic discontinuity), 1 and 2 are densities of bottom
and Saxena26 have used ship-borne free-air gravity for topography and the upper mantle, D is the flexural rigi-
prediction of bathymetry near Hawaii islands. Geoid variation dity = 23 1023 Nm, and |k| the one-dimensional wave-
over the area of interest can be used for prediction of number.
bathymetric anomaly along the satellite ascending/descending Once the response function is defined, the bathymetry
tracks using a model given by McKenzie and Bowin1, and below a satellite footprint with a typical geoidal variation can
later by Dixon et al.2. According to them, bathymetry and be predicted. Collation of ship-borne geophysical data
geoid/gravity can be expressed as different time series. A fil- with altimeter-derived parameters has been described by
ter f can then be designed which, when convolved with Lundgren and Nordin22.
bathymetry, b, produces a time series resembling gravity In the two-dimensional case, using an uncompensated
or geoid data g. plate model27,

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 10, 25 NOVEMBER 2005 1755

RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

a b

Figure 2. Ship vs ETOPO5 bathymetry contours over the study area: (a) ship-borne and (b) ETOPO5.

Figure 4. Satellite gravity anomaly over the study area.

K(u, v) = (1/(2G))exp(2d(u2 + v2)1/2), (3)

where is the difference between the densities of sea-

floor material and of sea water. The resulting bathymetry is
highly oscillatory in nature and requires a low-pass filter. The
best way to obtain K is to decompose the gravity/bathy-
Figure 3. Amplitude (a) and phase (b) spectrum of the response func- metry field into a long-wavelength and short-wavelength
tion. component.
1756 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 10, 25 NOVEMBER 2005

a b
Figure 5. Predicted bathymetry over the study area using (a) only ETOPO5 data and (b) both ETOPO5 and ship-borne data.
With eqs (1) and (3), a predictive bathymetric model is
computed using the following steps7:
(i) Low-pass filter the initial model by Gaussian filter with
a wavelength of 110 km to obtain the reference field
for bathymetry. The residual bathymetric field is ob-
tained by subtracting the reference field from the ini-
tial model as obtained from eqs (1) and (2). The same
process is applied to gravity anomalies as obtained
from satellite altimetry data.
(ii) Downward continuation of the residual gravity
anomalies to depth levels of multiples of 400 m to ob-
tain multi-layered gravity anomalies, with a maximum
depth level of 8000 m.
(iii) At an arbitrary grid node, the mean depth is interpolated
from reference bathymetry created in step (i). With
mean depth, downward continued gravity anomaly at
this node is interpolated from the multi-layered gravity
anomalies.
(iv) At all grid nodes, the ratios between the residual
depths in step (i) and the downward continued gravity
anomalies in step (iii) are computed and used to estimate
the density contrasts, which are then filtered by the
same Gaussian filter used in step (i).
(v) Compute refined residual depths using estimated
density contrasts and eqs (1) and (3).
(vi) Add the reference depths in step (i) and the residual
depths in step (v) to obtain the predicted depths.
The model has been further modified and generalized using
linear regression technique with a stochastic approach7.
However, this approach is more fruitful in case of younger
sea floor. The present study area in the Bay of Bengal is
comparatively older with thick deposition of sediments.
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 10, 25 NOVEMBER 2005
RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Figure 2 a and b shows, ETOPO5 and ship-borne bathy-
metry data over the area of interest28,29 respectively. The
seafloor ETOPO5 data between lat 64N and 72S are
from Smith and Sandwell4,30, whereas ship-borne bathymetry
has been generated mainly from NIO-based national and
international ship-borne data28,29. Therefore, there is a
likelihood of the presence of some discrepancies. ETOPO5
data were derived from satellite altimetry observations
combined with careful, quality-assured shipboard echo-
sounding measurements.
The frequency domain response curve of the convolu-
tion model2 is shown in Figure 3. The different model para-
meters used in the study are as given below.
Flexural rigidity (D): 2 1023 Nm; Z1 = 4000 m, Z2 =
10000 m; 1 = 2600 kg/m3, 2 = 3300 kg/m3; G = 6.67
1011 kg1 m3s2; g = 9.80 m/s2.
Satellite-derived free-air gravity over the study area is
shown in Figure 4 (due to the prevailing security restrictions,
lat/long markings have been omitted). Predicted bathymetry
as obtained using only the ETOPO5 data from this predic-
tive model is shown in Figure 5 a. The predicted bathymetry
image as obtained from ETOPO5 and ship-borne bathym-
etry using the predictive model is shown in Figure 5 b.
Ninetyeast Ridge and Andaman subduction zone (partial)
could be observed in satellite gravity and predicted
bathymetry images (Figures 4 and 5 b).
Comparison between predicted and ship-borne bathym-
etry along with ETOPO5 bathymetry along the 11N profile
is shown in Figure 6. The ship-borne bathymetry data
available are too sparse to obtain variations along the different
tracks. However, existence of the island as well as generalized
1757
RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
500
0 phys. Res., 1994, 99, 2180321824.
-500 90 91 92 93 94 95
-1000
-1500
-2000
-2500
-3000
-3500
-4000
Longitude (E)
Ship-borne bathymetry
ETOPO5 bathymetry
Predicted Bathymetry
Figure 6. Comparison of ship-borne bathymetry with predicted and
ETOPO5 bathymetry along 11N.
bathymetry patterns could be observed in the predicted
bathymetry image (Figure 5 b). The area is too complex with
part of the Ninetyeast Ridge and the Andaman subduction
zone, as could be observed in the atlas prepared from
ship-borne data29, and predicted bathymetry patterns have
satisfactory resemblance.
The predictive model as computed using high-resolution
satellite gravity and its downward continuation is a gen-
eralized approach and seems to be satisfactory for bathy-
metry prediction in a complex region, such as the eastern
Indian offshore near Ninetyeast Ridge and Andaman sub-
duction zone. Moreover, this model can utilize the data in a
two-dimensional fashion, to generate two-dimensional/three-
dimensional bathymetry. However, presently available
ERS-1 geodetic phase 168-day repeat altimeter data are still
quite sparse (data gap ~16 km) in the cross-track direction.
On other hand, denser basalt (oceanic crust), buried seamount
can make any prediction of bathymetry risky. With the
availability of further higher resolution altimeter data, predic-
tion of bathymetry may be improved. The model has to be
modified suitably to take into account sharp variations in
subsurface geology in the offshore region. Secondly, ship-
borne bathymetry as obtained from international/national
cruises along widespread profiles and with less accurate
position system may not be so accurate particularly in grid
format.
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3. Mohanty, K. K., Majumdar, T. J., Kunte, P. D. and Srivastava, A.
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4. Smith, W. H. F. and Sandwell, D. T., Bathymetric prediction from
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of Satellite-derived Gravity over the Indian Offshore, ISRO
ONGC Joint Report no. SAC/RSAG/TR-01/98, 1998, p. 40.
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10. Curray, J. R., Emmel, F. J., Moore, D. G. and Raitt, R. W., Structure,
tectonics and geological history of the north eastern Indian Ocean.
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F. G.), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, vol. 6, pp. 399450.
11. Mukhopadhayay, M. and Krishna, M. R., Gravity field and deep
structure of the Bengal fan and its surrounding continental mar-
gins, north east Indian Ocean. Tectonophysics, 1991, 86, 365386.
12. Subramanium, C. and Verma, R. K., Geotectonics of the Bay of
Bengal. Indian J. Pet. Geol., 1992, 1, 161180.
13. Curray, J. R., Emmel, F. J. and Moore, D. G., The Bengal Fan:
morphology, geometry, stratigraphy, history and processes. Mar.
Pet. Geol., 2003, 19, 11911223.
14. Gopala Rao, D., Krishna, K. S. and Sar, D., Crustal evolution and
sedimentation history of the Bay of Bengal since the Cretaceous.
J. Geophys. Res., 1997, 102, 1774717768.
15. Krishna, K. S., Structure and evolution of the Afanasy Nikitin sea
mount, buried hills and 85E Ridge in the northeastern Indian
Ocean. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2003, 209, 379394.
16. Majumdar, T. J., Mohanty, K. K. and Srivastava, A. K., On the
utilization of ERS-1 altimeter data for offshore oil exploration. Int. J.
Remote Sensing, 1998, 9, 19531968.
17. Subrahmanyam, V., Krishna, K. S., Radhakrishna Murthy, I. V.,
Sarma, K. V. L. N. S., Desa, M., Ramana, M. V. and Kamesh
Raju, K. A., Gravity anomalies and crustal structure of the Bay of
Bengal. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2001, 192, 447456.
18. Curray, J. R., Possible green schist metamorphism at the base of a
22 km sediment section, Bay of Bengal. Geology, 1991, 19, 1097
1100.
19. Curray, J. R., Sediment volume and mass beneath the Bay of Ben-
gal. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1994, 125, 371383.
20. Haxby, F., Karner, G. D., La Brecque, J. L. and Weissel, J. K.,
Digital images of combined oceanic and continental data sets and
their uses in tectonic studies. EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union,
1983, 64, 9951004.
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Geosat Exact Repeat Mission data. J. Geophys. Res., 1990, 95,
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tool. Sixth Them. Conference, ERIM, Colorado, 1988, pp. 565
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23. Rajesh, S. and Majumdar, T. J., Generation of 3-D geoidal surface
of the Bay of Bengal lithosphere and its tectonic implications. Int.
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25. Jung, W. and Vogt, P. R., Predicting bathymetry from Geosat-
ERM and ship-borne profiles in the South Atlantic Ocean. Tectono-
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26. Basu, A. and Saxena, N. D., Bathymetry computation from free-
air anomaly data. Mar. Geodesy, 1993, 16, 325336.
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waiian Emperor seamount chain. J. Geophys. Res., 1978, 83,
59896004.
28. NGDC/NIO ship bathymetry data over the study area as obtained
from NIO, Goa, pers. commun.
29. Udintsev, G. B., Fisher, R. L., Kanev, V. F., Laughton, A. S.,
Simpson, E. S. W. and Zhiv, D. I., Geological and Geophysical
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30. ETOPO5 website address: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/
2minrelief.html
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We thank Dr C. Hwang, National Chiao
Tung University, Taiwan for help in software/data during various
stages of development of this activity. Thanks are also due to the two
anonymous referees for their critical comments which have helped in
improvement of the manuscript. We also thank Dr R. R. Navalgund,
Director, SAC, Dr K. L. Majumder, Dy. Director, RESIPA, and Dr S.
R. Nayak, Group Director, MWRG for their keen interest during the
course of this study. Ship bathymetry over the study area as obtained
from NIO, Goa on personal request is acknowledged. R.B. acknowl-
edges fellowship from CSIR, New Delhi.
Received 27 August 2004; revised accepted 8 September 2005
Reverse transcription polymerase
chain reaction-based detection of
Arabis mosaic virus and Strawberry
latent ringspot virus in vector
nematodes
S. Kulshrestha1, V. Hallan1, G. Raikhy1,
O. K. Adekunle1,2, N. Verma1,
Q. M. R. Haq3 and A. A. Zaidi1,*
1
Plant Virus Laboratory, Floriculture Division,
Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR),
PO Box No. 6, Palampur 176 061, India
2
Permanent address: Department of Plant Science,
Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria
3
Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi 110 025, India
In a survey of rose and lily plantations in experimental
fields of the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Tech-
nology, Palampur, a number of symptoms characteris-
tic of nepoviruses were observed. Symptomatic rose
and lily leaves were tested for the presence of nepovi-
ruses. Strawberry latent ringspot virus (SLRSV) and
Arabis mosaic virus (ArMV) were detected by ELISA
and RTPCR using virus-specific antibodies and prim-
*For correspondence. (e-mail: zaidi_aijaz@yahoo.com)
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 10, 25 NOVEMBER 2005
RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
ers respectively, in rose cultivars Raktgandha, Landora
and Sonia. Only SLRSV was detected in lily cultivars
Galeili, Star Gazer Max and White Merostar. To ascer-
tain the presence of viruliferous nematodes, soil sam-
ples were collected from around the roots of rose and
lily cultivars. Xiphinema diversicaudatum and Longidor-
ous macrosoma isolated from soil were placed sepa-
rately into 510 l each of RNAlaterTM and sterile
water. Total RNA from these nematodes was isolated
using three different RNA isolation kits, viz. RNAque-
ousTM, RNeasy Plant mini kit and RNAwizTM. RTPCR
was performed using virus-specific primers for SLRSV
and ArMV. Out of the three RNA isolation kits used,
only RNAaqueousTM gave reproducible results. Nema-
todes isolated and stored in RNAlaterTM gave amplifi-
cation of expected size (over a period of one month
storage at 20C) for both the viruses, while nema-
todes stored in water did not give any amplification
(even after one week of storage) with RTPCR. Cucumis
sativus was used as bait plant for confirming the
nematode transmission of these viruses. In the present
study RNAlaterTM was found to be the best nematode
storage solution and RNAqueousTM the best RNA iso-
lation kit for virus detection in viruliferous nematodes
by RTPCR.
Keywords: Lily, Nepoviruses, RNA isolation, rose,
RTPCR.
ROSE and lily are important commercially grown flower crops
and are susceptible to a number of viruses including Straw-
berry latent ringspot virus (SLRSV) and Arabis mosaic
virus (ArMV)1,2. SLRSV and ArMV are both nematode-
transmitted polyhedral (nepo)viruses and are transmitted
by Xiphinema diversicaudatum and Longidorous macrosoma
respectively3. While Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) and Grape-
vine fan leaf virus (GFLV) have been detected in nema-
todes46, there exist few reports for PCR-based detection of
nepoviruses in nematodes.
During the survey of rose and lily plantations in experimen-
tal fields of the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Techno-
logy (IHBT), Palampur, a number of symptoms characteristic
of nepoviruses were observed. Rose and lily leaves were
tested for the presence of SLRSV and ArMV by ELISA
and RTPCR using virus-specific antibodies and primers.
Rose cultivars (Raktgandha, Landora and Sonia) were
found to be positive for ArMV and SLRSV, while Orien-
tal hybrid lily cultivars (Galeili, Star Gazer Max and
White Merostar) were found to be positive only for
SLRSV. The present study was carried out to isolate the
viruliferous nematodes from rose- and lily-grown field
soil, to confirm virus transmission using bait plants and to
standardize the detection protocol for viruses in nematodes.
Various commercially available RNA isolation kits were
compared for total RNA isolation from viruliferous nema-
todes for consistent results in RTPCR.
DASELISA was performed for the initial survey and
detection of viruses from rose and lily cultivars using antibod-
1759