Terrain Point Cloud data of a Deep-Sea Cliff offshore Greenland and the Associated Epibenthic Fauna

• Main Authors: Van Audenhaege, Loïc, Broad, Emmeline, Hendry, Katharine R, Huvenne, Veerle A I
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2021
• Subjects: acoustic data; CLASS; Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science; deep-water vertical cliff; DY081; fine-scale spatial patterns; Greenland glacial trough; High-resolution terrain; iAtlantic; ICY-LAB; Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time; Isotope CYcling in the LABrador Sea; Labrador Sea; marine habitat mapping; Multibeam Echosounder; ROV; suspension-feeding community; terrain point cloud; top-down habitat mapping; underwater exploration; unsupervised terrain clustering; Vertical mapping; Greenland
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.931684

Terrain data retrieved with a forward-looking sonar (Reson7125) the ROV Isis (NOC, UK) used to map a deep-sea wall located offshore the West coast of Greenland (Labrador Sea, [63°51.9'N, 53°16.9'W, depth: 703 to 803 m]) with a high resolution. The file contains a 3D point cloud storing terrain variables derived from the bathymetry [m] and backscatter [nominal unit] extracted at a resolution of 0.3 m. Different terrain descriptors were computed: Slope, Bathymetric Position Index (BPI), Terrain Ruggedness Index, Roughness, Mean and Gaussian curvatures and orientations (Northness and Eastness), at scales of 0.9, 3 and 9 m. Using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the terrain descriptors enabled to retrieve 4 terrain clusters and their associated confusion index, to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of the terrain.