Acoustic Backscatter mosaics, seabed samples, images, and natural feature shapefiles collected by the UK's Civil Hydrography Programme. Data and records were verified by the UK Hydrographic Office using multibeam echosounder systems from Norbit and Kongsberg aboard vessels MV Lode, MV Northern Storm, MV Northern Breeze, and Northern Remote. The dataset was last updated on 2026-04 09.
Use Cases
- Classifying seabed sediment types based on acoustic backscatter mosaics.
- Mapping natural seafloor features using the provided shapefiles.
- Ground-truthing remote sensing data with physical seabed samples and images.
- Analyzing seafloor roughness and hardness from multibeam backscatter data.
Strengths
- Data is verified by the authoritative UK Hydrographic Office.
- Collection used specific, named multibeam echosounder models (Norbit iWBMS, Kongsberg EM2040D, EM2042).
- Data includes multiple complementary types: mosaics, samples, images, and shapefiles.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count and file sizes 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 as part of the UK Civil Hydrography Programme.
- Collection Method
- Acoustic and physical sampling from specified vessels using named multibeam echosounder systems.
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-09 08:35:15.169227; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Central Pentland Firth, UK waters.