Integrating multibeam sonar and underwater video data to map benthic habitats in an East Antarctic nearshore environment

摘要

An integrated analysis of biological and geoscientific data collected from the nearshore marine environment of the Vestfold Hills was used to identify benthic habitats and associated communities and examine relationships between benthic community composition and environmental characteristics. A 48 km(2) area was surveyed using a multibeam echosounder system (MBES) to produce high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter intensity maps of the seabed. Epibenthic community data and in situ observations of substrate composition and seafloor bedforms and features were obtained from towed underwater video.