Goals and Objectives

The goal of this document is to fulfill a request put forth by the 16th annual Crowd Sourced Bathymetry Working Group, under Work Item G, to provide guidance for the successful development and operation of a CSB program. This document was created by several of the working group members, in an effort to consolidate the resources and expertise within the field, after more than 16 years of developing CSB tools and programs across the world. Within this document, you will find information on recruiting CSB participants, best practices for data collection, guidance on the use of data after collection, and an overview of current technologies that support these efforts.

How to use this manual

This document is designed as a guide for hydrographic organizations, non-governmental organizations, nonprofits, companies, and any other parties aiming to establish their own CSB program, or one that contributes to existing global mapping efforts. The contents of this manual are intended to provide guidance on all aspects of CSB program development and management - from stakeholder meetings and participant recruitment to logger installation and data processing tools. The final section contains a series of Templates provided by existing CSB programs to serve as a resource for new parties interested in joining this international initiative.