How can you create underwater maps?

[shoupart]

Has anybody here ever created maps of dive sites?
I know that in the divemaster course this is a required task, so I'm sure some of you have done it.
I was thinking about how cool it would be to create a detailed map of underwater terrain, like going to a place like Leo or Malibu Colony rRad and indicating where the rocks end and start, where there are ridges of rock, and basic reef lines, things like that, as well as notable features like those big metal tubes I found, plus rock arches, canyons in the rock, etc.

Sort of like some of those maps people have created of Old Marineland, but in more detail. I wonder how difficult that would be to create?

Does anybody have any advice on underwater map-making techniques?

So far, I have the following equipment to help in my effort- a kayak with a fish finder/depth gauge, a GPS system, and a good number of tanks, plus some rope and line for making grids or something.

 

[scubajcf]

Here are some decent maps of dive sites.
http://www.desertdivers.com/Dive_Sites.cfm

I did a site from shore. I used compass heading and ropes on grid paper. One square equaled 10 feet. It was pretty accurate and complete. I had a fixed point on shore and would use a rope with taped intervals. Every interval, I would record the depth and landscape. In some cases, if I came across something interesting, I would map the specific item. I then used a protractor with similar angles and drew the site out on paper.

jcf

 

[shoupart]

Nice! I was thinking of soemthing along those lines, perhaps creating a big grid in the water with ropes, then swimming over and mapping each square, or perhaps taking a photo of it and then assembling them all together by printing them out.

So did you ever use your maps to return to specific items of interest?

 

[nilsdiver]

For California there is: http://seafloor.csumb.edu/SFMLwebDATA.htm

You can then import the data into something like:
http://www.globalmapper.com/

Click a few buttons and wham:

Nils

 

[Codyjp]

you may considering practicing on shore with a compass and some basic orientation. ropes seem to be the most promising as far as measuring... I know you have a depth finder and also that they do make underwater ones. Could you use one of those underwater to measure strait line distances from one rock pile to another for example?

There are also the fish/depth finders that will draw the floor in great detail.

 

[Ross-O]

Hi Guys,

I've compiled a lot of information on making nice SCUBA maps with GIS at my site.

http://www.rossoverstreet.org/scuba/GIS/index.htm

Ross

 

[ICY ICE]

Hi Guys,

I've compiled a lot of information on making nice SCUBA maps with GIS at my site.

http://www.rossoverstreet.org/scuba/GIS/index.htm

Ross

Ross, they look very good!

 

[Peter Guy]

Do any of you know of a SIMPLE and FREE (or cheap or already owned) program that would allow me to "draw" my underwater map? That is, in essence, an electronic "graph paper" that would allow me to put a point "HERE" and then say, put a point 32 feet away on a course of 320degrees and Presto, the next point is generated and ready for labelling.

Of course I'd then want to be able to print out my map too.

 

[shoupart]

NIce, Ross!
I'm going to attempt something even more precise sometime soon, just for a lark to see how it goes.
I plan to make the rope grid and either photograph or draw each square out and map out a small area as a trial run.
Sounds fun, if nothing else.

 

[SharkDZ]

Ross,

Excellent work!