Gridded bathymetry from EM122 multibeam echosounder of RV METEOR cruise M84/4 (Northeast Atlantic)

• Main Authors: Wintersteller, Paul, Gaide, Stefanie
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2019
• Subjects: Bathymetry; Center for Marine Environmental Sciences; CT; EM122; File format; File name; File size; Galician Shelf; hydroacoustics; M84/4; M84/4-track; MARUM; Meteor (1986); Northeast Atlantic; Seismic; Underway cruise track measurements; Uniform resource locator/link to file; Kongsberg
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.902504; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.902504

Bathymetry data was acquired during R/V METEOR cruise M84/4 at the Galician Shelf off Northwest Spain in the Northeast Atlantic between 01.05.2011 and 28.05.2011. The main objectives of the cruise were the investigation of sediment transport processes from shallow to deep waters, understanding sediment dynamics, analysis of material downslope processes and the reconstruction of modern and past environmental conditions. The cruise comprised seismic, sedimentological, magnetic, geochemical and palaeoceanographic methods. Extensive bathymetric mapping during M84/4 based on the multibeam echosounders (MBES) KONGSBERG EM710 and EM122 provided the basis for sediment coring and additional investigations. Hydroacoustic data revealed the diverse morphology in the study area, driven by both sedimentary and tectonic processes, including contouritic deposits, slope gullies, canyon/channel systems, ridges and seamounts. The sub-bottom profiler PARASOUND, multichannel seismics, ADCP, several coring devices and the electromagnetic profiler MARUM-NERIDIS III complemented the research programme of the cruise. CI Citation: Paul Wintersteller ([e-mail]) as responsible party for bathymetry raw data ingest and approval. Description of the data source: During the M84/4 cruise, the hull-mounted KONGSBERG EM122 multibeam ecosounder (MBES) was utilized to perform bathymetric mapping in middle to deep water depths. Two linear transducer arrays in a Mills Cross configuration transmit acoustic signals of a nominal sonar frequency of 12 kHz. With 432 soundings per swath, the emission cone has a dimension of 150° across track and 1° along track. With a reception obtained from 288 beams, the actual beam footprint is 1° by 2°. Depending on the roughness of the seafloor, the swath width on a flat bottom is generally maximum six times the water depth. For further information on the system, consult https://www.km.kongsberg.com/. The position and depth of the water column is estimated for each beam by using the detected ...