Monitoring changes in submarine canyon coral habitats - Leg 1 (MoCha_SCan)

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MoCha_SCan_Cruise_Report_(1).pdf(5.75 MB)
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2019-05
Authors
Lim, Aaron
O'Reilly, Luke
Summers, Gerard
Harris, Kim
Shine, Andrew
Harman, Luke
Appah, John
de Oliveira, Larissa Macêdo Cruz
Boyd, John
Anders, Bebhinn
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University College Cork
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Abstract
This survey focused on the maiden deployment of a number of novel, ROV-adapted lander systems in the Porcupine Bank Canyon (PBC) coral habitats, NE Atlantic. Cold water corals (CWCs) flourish on the Irish-Atlantic margin between 600 and 100 m water depth, where they form a number of structural habitat types (coral reefs, mounds and gardens). Recent research shows that deep water habitats, including CWC habitats on the Irish margin, may be impacted by recent environmental change. The main objectives of this survey are: a) to deploy 8 new lander systems within a range of coral habitats throughout the PBC; b) to complete mapping coverage within the PBC; c) to sample the coral, sediment and ambient watermass around the lander sites and; d) to sample particulate organic matter around key coral habitats. Data recorded via landers from each habitat will allow to determine the controls on habitat variability. Furthermore, this data can be used as a baseline to which later deployments at this site will be used to compare against. Completed canyon coverage will feed into a number of multiscale mapping projects including the H2020 project â Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space & Timeâ (iATLANTIC) and the SFI-, GSI- and MI-funded â Mapping, Modelling and Monitoring Key Processes and Controls on Cold Water Coral Habitats in Submarine Canyonsâ (MMMonKey_Pro) programme. Video data will be used to characterise key coral habitat within the canyon and subsequesntly, HD DEMâ s will be generated as a central dataset for the multiscale projects listed above.
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Keywords
ROV-adapted lander systems , Coral habitats , NE Atlantic , Cold water corals , Porcupine Bank Canyon
Citation
Lim, A., O'Reilly, L., Summers, G., Harris, K., Shine, A., Harman, L., Appah, J., Macedo, L., Boyd, J., Anders, B., Killeen, O., Conti, L. and O'Brien, M. (2019) Monitoring changes in submarine canyon coral habitats - Leg 1 (MoCha_SCan). Available at: http://marinegeology.ucc.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2019/06/MoCha_SCan_Cruise_Report.pdf (Accessed: 11 September 2019)
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© 2019, the Authors.