Fladen Grounds Seabed Recovery Data from Experimental Fishing Impact

Sediment profile images and derived biological and physical parameters from a controlled fishing impact experiment in the Fladen Grounds. The dataset includes measurements from three time points—before impact, immediately after, and eight months after—collected during two research surveys in April and November 2015. Data were gathered by the RV Cefas Endeavour within six experimental boxes, comprising three treatments and three controls.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic habitat recovery rates based on the Benthic Habitat Quality Index and time-series data.
• Assessing the physical impact of fishing gear on sediment structure based on penetration depth and surface roughness measurements.
• Analyzing changes in infaunal community presence and bioturbation based on observed tubes and fauna in sediment images.
• Evaluating sediment biogeochemical status based on apparent redox potential discontinuity (aRPD) layer data.

Strengths

• Data were collected from a controlled experimental design with three treatment and three control boxes.
• Time-series measurements were taken at three distinct points: before impact, immediately after, and eight months after.
• Parameters combine direct biological observations (infauna, tubes) with quantified physical sediment metrics.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Images acquired from a self-contained photographic system deployed from the RV Cefas Endeavour.

Time Range

April 2015 and November 2015

Freshness

Data were collected in 2015; last update status is unknown.

Geography

Fladen Grounds in the North Sea