ALBERT

Description: Among the worldwide expeditions conducted with German research vessels (RVs), an enormous amount of hydro-acoustic data, especially bathymetry, is acquired. Since 1995, the BSH (German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency) is collecting bathymetric datasets, mainly from the RVs METEOR, M.S.MERIAN & SONNE. The institute built up a static website (http://www.bsh.de/de/Meeresdaten/Seevermessung_und_Wracksuche/Bathymetrie/index.jsp) that allows reviewing all the track lines of the research vessels where data is available. Although mandatory, some of the datasets never reached BSH. Upon request, the accessible data will be available for download via FTP from the BSH web-portal. For a more contemporary and sustainable approach in accessing bathymetric metadata and data of all German research vessels, we created a bathymetry showcase within the MaNIDA project (2011/2-2014; http://www.manida.org/) and the resulting “Data Portal German Marine Research” (http://manida.awi.de/). A PostGIS database based on the ISO 19139-2:2012 standard was set up and a solitaire frontend-GUI developed, which allows ingestion of cruise metadata and the automatic acquisition of hydro-acoustic metadata on the entity level (per recorded raw data survey-line). In parallel, the dataset will be archived in PANGAEA (https://www.pangaea.de/) and metadata then completed with the link to the stored dataset. The Bathy-Meta-Database and its services run as a surplus-portal of PANGAEA. This development lead to our participation of the EMODnet Bathymetry Project (http://portal.emodnet-bathymetry.eu/) where metadata is shown for every grid-cell of the compilation of bathymetric datasets while an adapted, world-wide GEBCO dataset (http://www.gebco.net/) fills the gaps across the European seas. The most recent development deals with retrieving metadata from processed bathymetry, based on further software development and the utilization of the open-source suite MB-System (http://www.mbari.org/products/research-software/mb-system/), which concatenates the long-term storage of raw & processed bathymetry in PANGAEA.

Description: Among the worldwide expeditions conducted with German research vessels (RVs), an enormous amount of hydro-acoustic data, especially bathymetry, is acquired. Since 1995, the BSH (German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency) is collecting bathymetric datasets, mainly from the RVs METEOR, M.S.MERIAN & SONNE. The institute built up a static website (http://www.bsh.de/de/Meeresdaten/Seevermessung_und_Wracksuche/Bathymetrie/index.jsp) that allows reviewing all the track lines of the research vessels where data is available. Although mandatory, some of the datasets never reached BSH. Upon request, the accessible data will be available for download via FTP from the BSH web-portal. For a more contemporary and sustainable approach in accessing bathymetric metadata and data of all German research vessels, we created a bathymetry showcase within the MaNIDA project (2011/2-2014; http://www.manida.org/) and the resulting “Data Portal German Marine Research” (http://manida.awi.de/). A PostGIS database based on the ISO 19139-2:2012 standard was set up and a solitaire frontend-GUI developed, which allows ingestion of cruise metadata and the automatic acquisition of hydro-acoustic metadata on the entity level (per recorded raw data survey-line). In parallel, the dataset will be archived in PANGAEA (https://www.pangaea.de/) and metadata then completed with the link to the stored dataset. The Bathy-Meta-Database and its services run as a surplus-portal of PANGAEA. This development lead to our participation of the EMODnet Bathymetry Project (http://portal.emodnet-bathymetry.eu/) where metadata is shown for every grid-cell of the compilation of bathymetric datasets while an adapted, world-wide GEBCO dataset (http://www.gebco.net/) fills the gaps across the European seas. The most recent development deals with retrieving metadata from processed bathymetry, based on further software development and the utilization of the open-source suite MB-System (http://www.mbari.org/products/research-software/mb-system/), which concatenates the long-term storage of raw & processed bathymetry in PANGAEA.

Description: Position, height, width, volume, base horizon and depth of the seafloor above the identified cold-water coral mounds in the seismic datasets of the Atlantic Moroccan coral province.

Description: Between 12.11.2003 and 30.12.2003, bathymetric data was acquired in the Gulf of Cadiz during the R/V SONNE cruise SO175. The expedition aimed at a better understanding of the interaction between dynamic processes in a seismically active region with slow plate convergence. In the context of earthquake nucleation and subduction zone processes, the multidisciplinary research programme focused on physical and chemical behavior of sediments, pore water and fluids, exploration of the temperature field of the 1755 thrust earthquake event, the quantification of microbial activity, faunal assemblages, gas hydrates and the deployment of a long-term pressure probe. Bathymetric mapping with the multibeam echosounder (MBES) SIMRAD EM120 was utilized to image the nature of the Gibraltar Arc thrust wedge, a proposed subduction zone, and identify possible sampling sites. Sub-bottom profiling, seismic reflection imaging, heat flow measurements, the deployment of an Ocean Floor pore pressure system as well as video-guided systems and coring complemented the research programme. CI Citation: Paul Wintersteller (seafloor-imaging@marum.de) as responsible party for bathymetry raw data ingest and approval. Description of the data source: During the SO175 cruise, the hull-mounted multibeam echosounder (MBES) SIMRAD EM120 was utilized to perform bathymetric mapping. It allows to conduct surveys in water depths of up to 11,000 m. Two transducer arrays transmit frequency coded acoustic signals (11.25 to 12.6 kHz). Data acquisition is based on successive emission-reception cycles of the signal. While the emission beam has a dimension of 150° across and 2° along track, the reception is obtained from 191 overlapping beams with widths of 2° across and 20° along track. The beam footprint has a dimension of 2° by 2°. The beam spacing can be set to equidistant or equiangular. For further information on the system, consult: https://www.km.kongsberg.com/ During the cruise, an opening angle of 60-70° was used depending on the state of the sea, restricting the coverage to a maximum 14 km wide swath to gain a more continuous spacing of beams on the ocean floor. The spacing within these limits was controlled automatically by the echosounder system. To convert the recorded travel times into water depth, several sound velocity profiles were obtained with the shipboard CTD, providing a correction for ray bending for each beam. Depth is estimated from each beam by using the two-way travel time and the known beam angle known, and taking into account the ray bending due to refraction in the water column by sound speed variations. Combining phase and amplitude is used to provide measurement accuracy practically independent of the beam pointing angle. Responsible persons during this cruise / PI: Achim Kopf (akopf@marum.de) & Ingo Grevenmeyer (igrevemeyer@geomar.de) Description of data processing: Postprocessing and products were conducted by the Seafloor-Imaging & Mapping group of MARUM/FB5, responsible person: Paul Wintersteller (seafloor-imaging@marum.de). The open source software MB-System suite (Caress, D.W., and D.N. Chayes, MB-System Version 5.6, open source software distributed from the MBARI and L-DEO web sites, 2000-2012.) was utilized for this purpose. The data was corrected for the roll movement of the vessel. There were no tide, pitch and heave corrections. Using Mbeditviz, artefacts were cleaned manually. NetCDF (GMT) grids of the edited data as well as statistics were created with mbgrid. The published bathymetric grid of the EM120 during cruise SO175 has a resolution of 40 m. No total propagated uncertainty (TPU) has been calculated to gather vertical or horizontal accuracy. A higher resolution is, at least partly, achievable. All grids produced are retrievable through the PANGAEA database (www.pangaea.de). Chief Scientist: Achim Kopf (akopf@marum.de) CR: https://elib.suub.uni-bremen.de/ip/docs/ELibD1195_228.pdf CSR: https://www2.bsh.de/aktdat/dod/fahrtergebnis/2003/20050152.htm Raw data: not yet

Description: 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 (seafloor-imaging@marum.de) 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 two-way-travel time and the beam angle known for each beam and taking ray bending due to refraction in the water column by sound speed into account. During the M84/4 cruise, the EM122 was running simultaneously with the EM710 and PARASOUND sub-bottom profiling system. Acquisition of EM122 data was reliable during the whole cruise, but data quality declined during rough weather conditions, causing wobbling in depths of more than 2000m. Responsible person during this cruise / PI: Tilmann Schwenk (tschwenk@marum.de) Description of data processing: Postprocessing and products were conducted by the Seafloor-Imaging & Mapping group of MARUM/FB5, responsible person: Paul Wintersteller (seafloor-imaging@marum.de). The open source software MB-System suite (Caress, D.W., and D.N. Chayes, MB-System Version 5.7, open source software distributed from the MBARI and L-DEO web sites, 2000-2012.) was utilized for this purpose. Tide and roll corrections and a sound velocity profile were applied to the M84/4 data; there were no corrections for pitch and heave. Using Mbeditviz, artefacts were cleaned manually. NetCDF (GMT) grids of the edited data as well as statistics were created with mbgrid. The published bathymetric EM122 grid of the cruise M84/4 has a resolution of 35 m. No total propagated uncertainty (TPU) has been calculated to gather vertical or horizontal accuracy. A higher resolution is, at least partly, achievable. The grid extended with _num represents a raster dataset with the statistical number of beams/depths taken into account to create the depth of the cell. The extended _sd -grid contains the standard deviation for each cell. All grids produced are retrievable through the PANGAEA database (www.pangaea.de). Chief Scientist: Till J. J. Hanebuth (thanebuth@coastal.edu) CR: https://www.tib.eu/de/suchen/id/awi%3Adoi~10.2312%252Fcr_m84_4/ CSR: https://www.ldf.uni-hamburg.de/meteor/wochenberichte/wochenberichte-meteor/m84/m84-4-scr.pdf Raw data: not yet

Description: Coral mounds formed by framework-forming cold-water corals pierce the seabed along most continental margins of the Atlantic Ocean and new sites are continuously being discovered. Here, we describe an extremely high accumulation of coral mounds at the NW Moroccan Atlantic margin between 35°N and 35.5°N. Within an area of only 1,440 km2, 3,464 mounds were found exposed at the seabed. This dataset includes position and morphometry of these coral mounds located between~500 m and 1000 m water depth.

Description: Bathymetry based on data recorded during MSM16-3 between 13.10.2010 and 20.11.2010 at the Mauritanian shelf. The expedition aimed at a comprehensive understanding of the complex sedimentary system off Mauritania as an atypical tropical ecosystem and an archive of paleoclimatic change in Africa during the Holocene. Responsible person during this cruise / PI: Andre Freiwald, Till Hanebuth & Stephen Schilling. Chief Scientist: Hildegard Westphal (director.zmt leibniz-zmt.de)