Broadscale habitat (EUNIS level 3) for South-West Deeps (West) recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ)

Updated habitat map resulting from an integrated analysis of the 2013 dedicated survey data (collected on cruise CEND0613) for South-West Deeps (West) recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ).

A new habitat map for the site was produced by analysing and interpreting the available acoustic data and the ground-truth data collected by the dedicated surveys of South West Deeps West rMCZ. The process is a combination of two approaches, auto-classification (image analysis) and expert interpretation. The routine for auto-classification is flexible and dependent on site-specific data, allowing for application of a bespoke routine to maximise the acoustic data available. ArcGIS was used to perform an initial unsupervised classification on the supplied backscatter image. The single band backscatter mosaic was filtered and smoothed prior to the application of an Iso cluster/maximum likelihood classification routine. For further information, refer to the South-West Deeps (West) rMCZ Post-survey Site Report.