| Title | Regional-scale mapping of the sediments and biotopes of the Barents Sea through synthesis of existing data |
| Download | Download (whole publication) |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Dolan, M F J; Lepland, A; Lepland, A; Jørgensen, L; Rybalko, A; Lien, V S; Ljubin, P |
| Source | Program and abstracts: 2017 GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; by Todd, B J ; Brown, C J; Lacharité, M; Gazzola, V; McCormack, E; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8295, 2017 p. 47, https://doi.org/10.4095/305847  Open Access |
| Links | GeoHab 2017
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| Year | 2017 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Meeting | 2017 GeoHab: Marine Geological and Biological Habitat Mapping; Dartmouth, NS; CA; May 1-4, 2017 |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Program and abstracts: 2017
GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| File format | pdf |
| Area | Barents Sea; Norway; Russian Federation |
| Lat/Long WENS | 14.0000 68.0000 80.0000 68.0000 |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; environmental geology; mapping techniques; oceanography; marine environments; coastal studies; conservation; marine organisms; marine ecology; resource
management; marine sediments; biotopes; biological communities; benthos; continental margins; continental shelf; modelling; bathymetry; Biology; Oceans |
| Program | Offshore Geoscience |
| Released | 2017 09 26 |
| Abstract | Knowledge of the distribution of seabed sediments, benthic communities and their associated environment (biotopes) provides important baseline information for sustainable management of the oceans. The
Barents Sea comprises a vast area of continental shelf spanning international boundaries, where this type of information is in increasing demand for management related issues in these high-latitude waters. Synthesis of existing data originally
obtained for other purposes can provide an important first step in making the required information available, as well as helping to identify areas where further mapping should be prioritised.
We present two related regional-scale maps recently
generated for a large part of the Barents Sea continental shelf where varying amounts of existing data were available from Norwegian and Russian institutions: (1) a map showing the distribution of seabed surface sediments (1:3,000,000), and (2) a map
showing the predicted distribution of benthic biotopes (4 km raster resolution) based on Random Forest modelling. The biotope map makes use of the sediment map as a key predictor variable, together with bathymetric, oceanographic and other
environmental variables. Biotope classes are based on species composition as identified from benthic trawl samples.
Compilation and synthesis of geo-referenced data from various sources can produce valuable results but can also lead to
uncertainties in the resultant map products which are important to convey to data users. To support our thematic maps we present a confidence assessment of the foundation datasets contributing to the sediment map. We also discuss further issues
related to map confidence and scope for updating the maps as new data become available. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The sixteenth annual GeoHab Conference was held this year (2017) at the Waterfront Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
Canada. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 305847 |
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