MCA CHP 2022: Seabed Backscatter and Sample Data for NW Approaches to Liverpool

Acoustic backscatter mosaics and seabed samples collected by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency's Civil Hydrography Programme in 2022. Data was gathered by vessels Cery Line and FPV Morven using Kongsberg EM2040C multibeam echosounders and verified by the UK Hydrographic Office. The dataset covers the northwest approaches to Liverpool, UK.

Use Cases

• Classify seabed sediment types based on acoustic backscatter data.
• Map seafloor morphology and roughness from backscatter mosaics.
• Ground-truth remote sensing data using physical seabed samples and images.
• Analyze marine habitat suitability based on substrate data.

Strengths

• Data is verified by the authoritative UK Hydrographic Office.
• Collection used specific, named vessels and equipment (Kongsberg EM2040C).
• Dataset is part of a formal national programme (Civil Hydrography Programme).

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.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS), collected for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Collection Method

Acoustic data collection via multibeam echosounder and physical seabed sampling.

Time Range

2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-09 08:29:30.427869; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northwest approaches to Liverpool, UK.