Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean

Seabed photography

Cameras

In 1978 and 1979, three cruises were conducted on the R.V. Governor Ray. These expeditions collected still images of the seafloor of the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean using a towed camera system. This dataset includes the images collected in the vicinity of a deep-sea mining collector test carried out by the Ocean Minerals Company (OMCO) in 1979. The data were provided by UK Seabed Resources Ltd and their previous owner, Lockheed Martin, and shared with their permission. Two cruises were carried out before the test (June 1978: GR7801; November 1978: GR7804) and one after (October 1979: GR7904). Monochrome images were collected using a Benthos 35 mm film camera, mounted vertically on a towed frame. Height above the seabed was determined with a Benthos Model 211 altimeter and recorded on each photographic frame. Images where seafloor was visible were collected at altitudes ranging from 0.6 - 9 m. Images were digitised from the original films. Only images collected at altitudes < 6 m were included in the dataset as these allowed reliable detection of megafaunal specimens > 20 mm. Overlapping images were removed through manual inspection (leaving a total of 1929 images). While the images did not image the tracks themselves, they provide important context about change in the baseline environment over time and are used to assess megafaunal communities. The still images deposited here form part of a larger set of images analysed in doi:10.1080/10641199309379903.

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