Using Geomorphometric Techniques to Assess Spatial Distribution and Volume of Coralligenous Bioconstructions (Mediterranean Sea)

Fabio Marchese, Valentina Alice Bracchi, Daniela Basso, Cesare Corselli, Alessandra Savini
Abstract:
Within the framework of the BioMAP Project (BIOcostruzioni Marine in Puglia, - P.O. FESR 2007/2013), new acoustic data were acquired in order to identify and locate Coralligenous Habitats (CHs) along the Apulian continental shelf (South Adriatic Sea – Northern Ionian Sea). The analysis of the multibeam echosounder (MBES) dataset allowed us to identify different morphological expression of CHs. Geomorphometric techniques have been applied on the MBES data in order to (1) figure out relationships between the observed morphologies and the associated habitat distribution and (2) quantify the total volume of selected Coralligenous build-ups. Our results were obtained applying a quantitative analytical approach, focusing on the exploitation of the full potential of seafloor data sets in an objective manner. Our approach can be even used to monitor future changes, from anthropogenic impacts (e.g., bottom trawl damage) to the impacts of global change including ocean warming and acidification that can affect the structural complexity and total volume of carbonate deposits characterising the Mediterranean benthic environment.
Download:
IMEKO-TC19-METROSEA-2017-49.pdf
DOI:
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Event details
IMEKO TC:
TC19
Event name:
1st IMEKO TC19 Workshop on Metrology for the Sea
Title:

"Learning to measure sea health parameters", Special session “Metrology traceability for oceanic parameters” together with TC8 and TC12

Place:
Naples, ITALY
Time:
11 October 2017 - 13 October 2017