Abstract: Bathymetry is the most important geographical element of hydrography, reflecting the geomorphology of the seabed and the navigability of maritime routes, and occupying an important position in hydrography. Satellite-derived bathymetry has become a potential complement to traditional acoustic bathymetry systems. Firstly, this paper summarizes the existing studies, and analyzes the elements considered in SDB from three aspects: reality factors, image factors, and bathymetry-derived models. Secondly, the applicability of SDB is evaluated against hydrographic accuracy and operationalization needs. The results show that:①The horizontal accuracy of SDB has met the requirements.②The relative vertical accuracy is around 20% for most multispectral data, which still does not meet the operationalized accuracy requirements.③There is already good practice in seafloor coverage using SDB. Finally, the problems are analyzed in terms of uncertainty controllability, bathymetry-derived model extrapolation, and multi-source data assimilation, and some thoughts and suggestions are given.

Key words: satellite-derived bathymetry, hydrography, operationalisation, accuracy assessment, bathymetric quality assessment