New Mapping Technique Plumbs the Depths of the Ocean and Records Seascapes

Scientists have created a new method for mapping the depths of the ocean. The new automated technique is not only more cost efficient, but is also quicker and more objective than previous methods.

Currently, there is very little information about the geographic distribution of life on the sea floor. This is largely because the sea floor itself is hard to access. This latest research, though, uses a method to estimate the distribution of animals using a combination of submarine mapping technology, statistics and a landscape ecology technique called "Niche Theory."

Niche Theory is usually used on land. It states that biodiversity is driven by spatial variability in environmental conditions. For example, the greater the range of habitats, the great the biodiversity is. Using this theory, the researchers created broad-scale, full coverage maps of the seafloor.

"By informing us of where to look and where to plan more detailed surveys, this new method will help to make our deep-sea research more targeted and efficient, by advancing our understanding of life in the deep ocean, which at the moment is still very limited," said Veerle Huvenne from the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in a news release.

Once the new maps were created, they were then analyzed in order to break them down into a series of zones. This allowed the researchers to identify distinct geomorphological terrains in an objective and repeatable way. This, in turn, allowed different areas of the seafloor to be compared more easily.

The findings reveal a bit more about the seafloor. Currently, researchers plan for future work using submarine robot cameras to take photos and videos of life in the deep-sea areas that have been subjected to the new mapping technique. This will allow scientists to start to identify new deep sea habitats.

The findings are published in the journal Marine Geology.

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