GEO-HABIT

Geo-acoustic mapping of benthic habitat distribution

Coordinatore	NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL    more  Organization address address: Polaris House, North Star Avenue city: SWINDON WILTSHIRE postcode: SN2 1EU contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Emma Cognome: Hawkins Email: send email Telefono: +44 2380 596313 Fax: +44 2380596101
Nazionalità Coordinatore	United Kingdom [UK]
Totale costo	278˙807 €
EC contributo	278˙807 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF
Funding Scheme	MC-IEF
Anno di inizio	2012
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2012-05-01   -   2014-04-30

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL  Organization address address: Polaris House, North Star Avenue city: SWINDON WILTSHIRE postcode: SN2 1EU contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Emma Cognome: Hawkins Email: send email Telefono: +44 2380 596313 Fax: +44 2380596101	UK (SWINDON WILTSHIRE)	coordinator	278˙807.40

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'It is widely recognized that important efforts must be done towards the protection and preservation of the Deep-Sea environments, which are increasingly threatened by human impacts (e.g.: trawl fishing and marine pollution). These efforts imply a further knowledge of the spatial organization of benthic communities in Deep-Sea and an implementation of efficient and cost-saving mapping methods. GEO-HABIT is a multidisciplinary project that will focus on a holistic study of the relationship between seafloor geology and biodiversity patterns. Important insights are expected on the role that physical elements play in the distribution of Deep-Sea habitats and in the development of an integrated and nested-scale method to map them. Data mainly consist of geo-acoustic data (high-resolution Multibeam bathymetry and Sidescan Sonar), HD videos from ROV (Victor6000-IFREMER) and Manned-Submersible (Jago-GEOMAR) and rock/sediment seafloor samples. The study will focus on geomorphic features (Submarine canyons, Seamounts) which are benthic ecosystem hot-spots due to their specific environmental settings and which, according to the European Community, potentially deserve site protection (European Habitats Directive), thus indicating the timeliness and relevance of the project. With the support of researchers from NOC (National Oceanographic Centre), with a long-standing expertise in the fields of habitat mapping, biotic and abiotic characters of the seafloor will be analyzed, classified and mapped at unprecedented detail through the use of cutting-edge geophysical instrumentation and their functional relationships will be explored through multivariate statistical analysis. As a second step, new methods based on geo-spatial analysis will be developed in order to derive statistically robust predictive models of benthic habitat distribution, with relevant impact for the conservation of biodiversity and science-based management strategies of natural resources.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Deep-sea habitats are increasingly under threat from the impacts of human activities such as trawling and pollution. European marine scientists therefore investigated the relationship between seafloor geology and biodiversity to develop effective maps of deep-sea ecosystems.