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Surficial geology and benthic habitat of the German Bank seabed, Scotian Shelf, Canada

December 31, 2011

To provide the scientific context for management of a newly opened scallop fishing ground, surficial geology and benthic habitats were mapped on German Bank on the southern Scotian Shelf off Atlantic Canada. To provide a seamless regional dataset, multibeam sonar surveys covered 5320 sqaure kilometres of the bank in water depths of 30–250 m and provided 5 m horizontal resolution bathymetry and backscatter strength. Geoscience data included high-resolution geophysical profiles (seismic reflection and sidescan sonar) and seabed sediment samples. Geological interpretation and is overlain in places by glacial and postglacial sediment. Biological data included seafloor video transects and photographs from which 127 taxa of visible megabenthos were identified. Trawl bycatch data were obtained from government annual research surveys. Statistical analysis of revealed that bedrock is exposed at the seafloor on much of German Bankthese two datasets and a suite of oceanographic environmental variables demonstrated that significantly different fauna exist on bedrock, glacial sediment and postglacial sediment.

Publication Year 2011
Title Surficial geology and benthic habitat of the German Bank seabed, Scotian Shelf, Canada
DOI 10.1016/j.csr.2010.07.008
Authors Brian J. Todd, Vladimir E. Kostylev
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Continental Shelf Research
Index ID 70190990
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center