DEFRA MCZ Fulmar Survey: Multibeam Bathymetry and Backscatter Data for Northern North Sea

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) survey data collected from the Northern North Sea between 21/03/2012 and 28/03/2012. The dataset contains full-coverage multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data processed to International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Order 1a standard, with georeferenced mosaics and GeoTiffs. Data is archived by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and other Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) Data Archive Centres.

Use Cases

• Seafloor habitat mapping based on bathymetry and backscatter data.
• Marine conservation zone planning and monitoring based on high-resolution survey data.
• Geophysical analysis of the seabed based on processed multibeam data.
• Validating nautical charts based on data corrected to Chart Datum (CD).

Strengths

• Data collected to International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Order 1a standard, indicating a defined quality level.
• Full-coverage survey providing a complete spatial picture of the target area.
• Includes both raw and processed data, along with georeferenced mosaics and GeoTiff images.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a specific survey in March 2012; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Collection Method

Full-coverage multibeam survey using Differential Global Positioning System (D-GPS).

Time Range

21/03/2012 to 28/03/2012

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-09 08:33:18.144050; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern North Sea