<p>Since this is the &quot;satellite view&quot; and the features don't show up in a bathymetry map, they are most likely surface artifacts from something like the large cruise ships that frequent the French Riviera. (The depth at this location is about 2,700 meters.)</p>
<p>Here is the base sonar map of the ocean floor at those coordinates, from NOAA's <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/bathymetry/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">National Center for Environmental Information's bathymetry data viewer</a>.
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xpA6u.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xpA6u.png" alt="NCEI Bathymetry map" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-07T20:53:22.763Z
Those blips appears to be 1km by 2km so they'd have to be pretty big cruise ships. And a lot of them. It could just be a processing artifact.
Spencer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-07T21:58:54.377Z
@Spencer Yeah, all I can say is they're not features on the ocean floor. There's some texture in this part of the Mediterranean, but not much. I see another cluster of this spots off the northeast coast of Corsica and some near the boot heel of Italy, but not really where you'd expect ships to be, and nothing on the terrain maps.
jeffronicus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-08T00:07:50.500Z
Sometimes bathymetry maps have dots where soundings were taken. Google uses a jigsaw puzzle of different data sources.
Spencer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-07T16:22:07.507Z
2022-02-07T16:22:07.507Z
jeffronicus
<p>This is the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6606027,7.2738589,68051m/data=!3m1!1e3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">location</a>. It is close to the French coast.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/nJQEK.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/nJQEK.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-06T14:30:36.653Z
Likely an artifact of the way the data was collected or the imagery was made.
Spencer
<sea-floor><ground-truth><satellite-oddities>
What are all those "spots" on the Mediterranean Sea floor?
MagTun
# What are all those "spots" on the Mediterranean Sea floor?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-02-06)

This is the [location](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6606027,7.2738589,68051m/data=!3m1!1e3). It is close to the French coast.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/nJQEK.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/nJQEK.png)

**Tags:** sea-floor, ground-truth, satellite-oddities

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Likely an artifact of the way the data was collected or the imagery was made.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-02-07. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Since this is the "satellite view" and the features don't show up in a bathymetry map, they are most likely surface artifacts from something like the large cruise ships that frequent the French Riviera. (The depth at this location is about 2,700 meters.)

Here is the base sonar map of the ocean floor at those coordinates, from NOAA's [National Center for Environmental Information's bathymetry data viewer](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/bathymetry/).
[![NCEI Bathymetry map](https://i.sstatic.net/xpA6u.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/xpA6u.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Those blips appears to be 1km by 2km so they'd have to be pretty big cruise ships. And a lot of them. It could just be a processing artifact.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 Yeah, all I can say is they're not features on the ocean floor. There's some texture in this part of the Mediterranean, but not much. I see another cluster of this spots off the northeast coast of Corsica and some near the boot heel of Italy, but not really where you'd expect ships to be, and nothing on the terrain maps.  
> **username_1**: Sometimes bathymetry maps have dots where soundings were taken. Google uses a jigsaw puzzle of different data sources.  

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