Research prototype · public data · not validated · not for navigation.

Trackline test

Prototype 2, methodology p2-0.1, 2026-10-11. Written before it ran (docs/03-science/prototype-2-planning.md) and published whatever it showed. Generated by python -m aethon_p2 build.

Question. How much does adding NCEI's older trackline record change what Aethon says is unsurveyed?

Decision (rule fixed before the run: more than 5 percentage points in either region). Catalogue coverage shapes what Aethon calls unsurveyed: every "no survey record" sentence now says so. The sentence added: "Which records are read matters: in Aethon's trackline test, one older catalogue found survey records for 40% of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge hexagons that had none."

Regions added after the test (measured the same way; they do not change its decision):

Latest survey year. Where a hexagon already had records, adding the trackline record:

• New Jersey and Delaware shelf and slope: made it later in 101 of 2,465 hexagons (median 2 years, at most 44 years).
• Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 20°N to 30.5°N: made it later in 476 of 16,669 hexagons (median 4 years, at most 25 years).
• Northeast canyons and Gulf of Maine: made it later in 325 of 7,431 hexagons (median 18 years, at most 100 years).
• Virginia to Cape Hatteras: made it later in 248 of 6,255 hexagons (median 4 years, at most 133 years).
• Southeast US deep reefs (Blake Plateau): made it later in 1,864 of 10,905 hexagons (median 18 years, at most 137 years).
• Florida Keys and Straits: made it later in 964 of 4,566 hexagons (median 16 years, at most 136 years).
• Northern Gulf of Mexico: made it later in 2,102 of 11,722 hexagons (median 29 years, at most 118 years).
• Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: made it later in 170 of 5,121 hexagons (median 9 years, at most 118 years).
• Southern California: made it later in 32 of 2,071 hexagons (median 1 years, at most 43 years).
• Central California (Monterey): made it later in 141 of 1,639 hexagons (median 6 years, at most 29 years).
• Pacific Northwest and Juan de Fuca Ridge: made it later in 953 of 12,134 hexagons (median 4 years, at most 90 years).
• Hawaii (main islands): made it later in 161 of 7,500 hexagons (median 3 years, at most 59 years).
• Long Island and the Sound: changed it in none of 398 hexagons.
• West Florida Shelf: made it later in 206 of 1,134 hexagons (median 18 years, at most 67 years).
• Western Gulf of Mexico (Texas): made it later in 360 of 2,692 hexagons (median 42 years, at most 66 years).
• Northern California: made it later in 115 of 2,847 hexagons (median 6 years, at most 56 years).
• Gulf of Alaska (Kodiak to Prince William Sound): made it later in 369 of 9,654 hexagons (median 9 years, at most 78 years).
• Southeast Alaska: made it later in 150 of 4,509 hexagons (median 43 years, at most 74 years).
• Central Aleutian Islands: made it later in 763 of 5,036 hexagons (median 34 years, at most 77 years).
• Mariana Islands and Guam: made it later in 25 of 16,283 hexagons (median 2 years, at most 9 years).
• American Samoa: made it later in 24 of 5,137 hexagons (median 3 years, at most 15 years).

NOAA's charting surveys, described separately (not part of the test).

• New Jersey and Delaware shelf and slope: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 266 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 5 (10.6 points fewer).
• Northeast canyons and Gulf of Maine: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 1,198 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 127 (14.2 points fewer).
• Virginia to Cape Hatteras: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 867 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 3 (13.8 points fewer).
• Southeast US deep reefs (Blake Plateau): with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 2,081 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 13 (18.9 points fewer).
• Florida Keys and Straits: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 2,183 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 1 (47.8 points fewer).
• Northern Gulf of Mexico: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 4,689 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 123 (38.5 points fewer).
• Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 245 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 0 (4.8 points fewer).
• Southern California: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 37 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 4 (1.6 points fewer).
• Central California (Monterey): with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 172 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 15 (9.5 points fewer).
• Pacific Northwest and Juan de Fuca Ridge: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 477 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 214 (2.1 points fewer).
• Hawaii (main islands): with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 128 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 0 (1.7 points fewer).
• Long Island and the Sound: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 181 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 0 (45.5 points fewer).
• West Florida Shelf: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 820 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 7 (71.2 points fewer).
• Western Gulf of Mexico (Texas): with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 1,060 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 30 (37.8 points fewer).
• Northern California: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 96 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 18 (2.7 points fewer).
• Gulf of Alaska (Kodiak to Prince William Sound): with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 2,060 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 219 (18.6 points fewer).
• Southeast Alaska: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 1,691 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 199 (31.7 points fewer).
• Central Aleutian Islands: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 2,829 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 1,611 (18.3 points fewer).
• Mariana Islands and Guam: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 1,786 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 1,557 (1.3 points fewer).
• American Samoa: with GMRT's survey footprints and NCEI's Multibeam Bathymetry Database alone, 1,016 hexagons have no survey record; adding NOAA's charting surveys leaves 812 (3.4 points fewer).

What this does and does not show

• A ship track crossing a hexagon means a ship recorded depth along that line, not that the hexagon was mapped. A survey extent or footprint outlines where a survey worked, not how densely.
• The test counts records in catalogues. It says how much "no survey record" depends on which catalogues are read; it does not measure how much of the seafloor was measured.

Reproduce

cd research/prototype-2
uv run python -m aethon_p2 fetch
AETHON_P2_MODE=public uv run python -m aethon_p2 build