Abyss hard - Deep sea rock surfaces - ecosystem component from the WIO Symphony tool

A seafloor substrate model, developed by C. Jenkins with regional support from S. Fennessy, was applied, together with the dbSEABED database. Rock - gravel models were combined to create a hard bottom proportion. Then hard bottoms were mapped within Abyssal plain depth zone (1000-7500 m) using gebco 2022 data. Known limitations: The underlying substrate and bathymetry models are uncertain in most areas of the WIO. Direct measurements (e.g. seabed surveys) are required to increase the quality.