Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 2027007

• Metadata Summary

• Problem Reports

• Data Access Policy

• Narrative Documents

• Project Information

• Data Activity or Cruise Information

• Fixed Station Information

• BODC Quality Flags

• SeaDataNet Quality Flags

Metadata Summary

Problem Reports

No Problem Report Found in the Database

Data Access Policy

Open Data supplied by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

You must always use the following attribution statement to acknowledge the source of the information: "Contains data supplied by Natural Environment Research Council."

Narrative Documents

Kongsberg EM 710 multibeam echosounder

The Kongsberg EM710 is a high resolution multibeam echosounder. It operates at frequencies from 70 to 100 kHz, with a maximum ping rate of 30 Hz. The EM710 features a depth range of 3m below the transducer to 2000m (1000m for the EM710S model, and 600m for the EM710RD model). The swath width is up to 5.5 times water depth, to a maximum of more than 2000m.

For more information, please see this document: https://www.bodc.ac.uk/data/documents/nodb/pdf/em710_product_specification.pdf

JC166/7 CLASS Marine Protected Area Bathymetry: Originator's Data Processing

Sampling strategy

Multibeam echosounder data were collected at UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) Haig Fras and Whittard Canyon in the North Atlantic, with the aim of extending existing data coverage obtained during previous cruises JC035 (2009) and JC125 (2015). This dataset was collected during cruise JC166/7 under the NERC-funded Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science (CLASS) Programme.

Multibeam bathymetry data were collected using shipboard Kongsberg EM122 (Whittard Canyon) and Kongsberg EM710 (Haig Fras and Whittard Canyon) instruments between 19th June 2018 and 6th July 2018. The EM710 was primarily used for water depths shallower than 800m, whilst the EM122 was used for water depths deeper than 800m (off-shelf).

Data Acquisition and Initial Processing

The Kongsberg Seapath 330 was used as the ship's secondary GPS system for dynamic positioning. A feed from the Seapath was used for the positioning information for both the EM710 and EM122 instruments. Data from both sonar systems were acquired using the Seafloor Information Systems (SIS Kongsberg) software, and processed using Caris HIPS and SIPS software (v.9.1.8).

Sound velocity profiles were collected at both survey sites with a Valeport MIDAS sound velocity profiler. Data were collected throughout transits at approximately 10kts, whilst survey lines were run at approximately 8kts. The beam angle was set at 65 degrees for both systems with equidistant spacing, with swath width varying according to the water depth.

The data were imported into Caris HIPS and SIPS software as raw .all files, using UTM zone 29 coordinate system, and a vessel configuration file containing the measured offsets for each system. The navigation and attitude were checked and tides, created from National Oceanography Centre (NOC) POLPRED software, applied.

The data were merged and a BASE surface was created for each site. The data were manually cleaned using both the swath editor and subset editor within Caris. The surfaces were exported as .txt in geographic decimal degrees (WGS84), and supplied to BODC.

Further information is available in the cruise report

JC166/7 CLASS Marine Protected Area Bathymetry: Processing by BODC

The multibeam bathymetry data from Haig Fras and Whittard Canyon were supplied to BODC as 3 ASCII files: one from the EM122 at Whittard Canyon, and two from the EM710 at Whittard Canyon and Haig Fras. Datasets were are transferred into a common format, a netCDF subset. The following table shows how the variables within the files were mapped to the appropriate BODC parameter codes:

Following transfer, the data are screened visually, using BODC's in-house visualisation software, and any spikes or instrument malfunctions are clearly labelled with quality control flags.

Project Information

Marine LTSS: CLASS (Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science)

Introduction

CLASS is a five year (2018 to 2023) programme, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and extended until March 2024.

Scientific Rationale

The ocean plays a vital role in sustaining life on planet Earth, providing us with both living resources and climate regulation. The trajectory of anthropogenically driven climate change will be substantially controlled by the ocean due to its absorption of excess heat and carbon from the atmosphere, with consequent impacts on ocean resources that remain poorly understood. In an era of rapid planetary change, expanding global population and intense resource exploitation, it is vital that there are internationally coordinated ocean observing and prediction systems so policy makers can make sound evidence-based decisions about how to manage our interaction with the ocean. CLASS will underpin the UK contribution to these systems, documenting and understanding change in the marine environment, evaluating the impact of climate change and effectiveness of conservation measures and predicting the future evolution of marine environments. Over the five-year period CLASS will enhance the cost-effectiveness of observing systems by migrating them towards cutting edge autonomous technologies and developing new sensors. Finally, CLASS will create effective engagement activities ensuring academic partners have transparent access to NERC marine science capability through graduate training partnerships and access to shipborne, lab based and autonomous facilities, and modelling capabilities.

Data Activity or Cruise Information

Cruise

Complete Cruise Metadata Report is available here

Fixed Station Information

Fixed Station Information

Fixed Station - Whittard Canyon - The Canyons Marine Conservation Zone

The Canyons MCZ is located in the far south-west corner of the UK continental shelf, more than 330 km from Land's End, Cornwall. It encompasses the steep part of the shelf break where the seabed drops from a depth of 100 m to the oceanic abyssal plain at 2000 m. It is unique within the context of England's largely shallow seas due to its depth, sea-bed topography and the coral features it contains.

There are two large canyons within the site, which add to its topographic complexity: the Explorer Canyon to the north and the Dangaard Canyon below it. The wider Whittard Canyon area encapsulates the Canyons MCZ and also includes a network of submarine canyons to the West. The MCZ, also known as a Marine Protected Area (MPA), was designated in November 2013 under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009). The Canyons MCZ covers an area of 661 km², which extends to approximately 5200 km² when Whittard Canyon is included.

On the northernmost wall of the Explorer Canyon is a patch of live Cold-water coral reef (Lophelia pertusa) and Coral gardens, both of which are a OSPAR threatened and/or declining habitat. This is the only known example of living Cold-water coral reef recorded within England's seas, making it unique in these waters.

Cold-water corals and Coral gardens typically support a range of other organisms. The coral provides a three-dimensional structure and a variety of microhabitats that provide shelter and an attachment surface for other species. Both Cold-water corals and Coral gardens can be long-lived but are extremely slow growing (at about 6 mm a year), making protection important for their conservation. Another reef-forming cold-water coral, Madrepora oculata, is also present in the site.

The variety of deep-sea bed communities present are indicative of the range of substrates found in and around the canyons, including bedrock, biogenic reef, coral rubble, coarse sediment, mud and sand. These biological communities include cold-water coral communities (Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata), Coral gardens, feather star (Leptometra celtica) assemblages and Sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities (including, burrowing anemone fields, squat lobster (Munida sp.) assemblages, barnacle assemblages and deep-sea sea-pen (Kophobelemnon sp.) fields).

Sampling History

Related Fixed Station activities are detailed in Appendix 1

BODC Quality Control Flags

The following single character qualifying flags may be associated with one or more individual parameters with a data cycle:

SeaDataNet Quality Control Flags

The following single character qualifying flags may be associated with one or more individual parameters with a data cycle:

Appendix 1: Whittard Canyon - The Canyons Marine Conservation Zone

Related series for this Fixed Station are presented in the table below. Further information can be found by following the appropriate links.

If you are interested in these series, please be aware we offer a multiple file download service. Should your credentials be insufficient for automatic download, the service also offers a referral to our Enquiries Officer who may be able to negotiate access.