| Title | A three-dimensional mapping of the ocean based on environmental 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 | Sayre, R G; Wright, D J; Breyer, S P; Butler, K A; Van Graafeiland, K; Costello, M J; Harris, P T; Goodin, K L; Guinotte, J M; Basher, Z; Kavanaugh, M T; Halpin, P N; Monaco, M E; Cressie, N A; Aniello,
P; Frye, C E; Stephens, D |
| 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. 106, https://doi.org/10.4095/305925  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 |
| Subjects | mapping techniques; oceanography; marine environments; coastal studies; conservation; marine organisms; marine ecology; resource management; biological communities; environmental studies; ecosystems;
sea water geochemistry; water temperature; water salinity; oxygen; nitrate; phosphate; silicates; Biology |
| Program | Offshore Geoscience |
| Released | 2017 09 26 |
| Abstract | Oceanographers have long recognized and described persistent, large, water masses which partition the global ocean into chemically and physically distinct volumetric regions. We constructed a regularly
spaced ocean point mesh grid from sea surface to seafloor, and attributed these points with the 2013 World Ocean Atlas (WOA) dataset, version 2, 57 year average values for six physical and chemical environment parameters (temperature, salinity,
dissolved oxygen, nitrate, phosphate, and silicate). The database of over 52 million points represented the global ocean in x, y, and z dimensions. These points were statistically clustered to define 37 distinct volumetric units, here called
Ecological Marine Units (EMUs). The EMUs represent physically and chemically distinct water volumes based on spatial variation in the six marine environmental characteristics used. Twenty two of the 37 EMUs are globally or regionally extensive, and
accounted for 99% of the ocean volume, while the remaining 15 were smaller and shallower, and occurred around coastal features. We characterized the horizontal and vertical dimensions of EMUs and mapped distinct marine regions of varying size and
depth. We found vertical separation into three broad depth zones, and general spatial correspondence with the major global water masses. The EMUs are an open access resource, and are intended to be useful for disturbance assessments, ecosystem
accounting exercises, conservation priority setting and marine protected area network design, and other research and management applications. |
| 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 | 305925 |
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