| Title | Geomorphic features and benthos in a deep glacial trough in Atlantic Canada |
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| Author | Lacharité, M; Brown, C J; Normandeau, A ; Todd, B J |
| Source | Seafloor geomorphology as benthic habitat : GeoHab atlas of seafloor geomorphic features and benthic habitats
; by Harris, P T (ed.); Baker, E (ed.); 2019 p. 691-704, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814960-7.00041-5 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2019 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20180232 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Edition | 2 |
| Document | book |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf (Adobe® Reader®) |
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador; Nova Scotia; Eastern offshore region |
| NTS | 11A; 11B; 11G; 11H; 11I; 11J |
| Area | Laurentian Channel; Atlantic Ocean |
| Lat/Long WENS | -59.0000 -56.0000 47.0000 44.5000 |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; geophysics; Nature and Environment; Science and Technology; submarine features; submarine troughs; glacial features; marine sediments; glacial deposits;
moraines; benthos; faunas; geophysical surveys; acoustic surveys, marine; side-scan sonar; bedforms; pockmarks; iceberg gouging; scour marks; bathymetry; photography; grab samples; biological communities; Laurentian Moraine; Marine biology; Habitats;
glaciomarine sediments |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; geophysical profiles; tables; plots |
| Program | Offshore Geoscience |
| Released | 2019 11 01 |
| Abstract | The Laurentian Channel is a deep glacial trough located in Atlantic Canada, extending from the St. Lawrence Estuary to the shelf edge between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The outer Laurentian Channel
close to its entrance at the shelf edge has been designated as an Area of Interest for the establishment of a Marine Protected Area, but baseline information was lacking. Here, a benthoscape map of the outer Laurentian Channel was generated using
geomorphic features mapped using multibeam sonar (density of iceberg scours and pockmarks/iceberg pits, depth and slope) and ground truthed with surficial geology samples and underwater imagery. Individual surrogates and mapped patterns were compared
to faunal patterns (infauna and epifauna) derived from the ground truthing. Water depth was the main predictor of infauna abundance and richness, while both depth and density of pockmarks/iceberg pits influenced community composition. Some
benthoscape classes had close associations with distinct infauna, but diffuse patterns were mostly observed. Epifauna-namely sea pens-were most abundant at the confluence of multiple benthoscape classes. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The Laurentian Channel is a deep glacial trough located in Atlantic Canada between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The outer Laurentian Channel close to
the shelf edge has been designated as an Area of Interest (AOI) for the establishment of a Marine Protected Area, but baseline information was lacking. A map of the outer Laurentian Channel was generated using geomorphic features, surficial geology
samples, and underwater imagery. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 311327 |
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