Benthic Broad Habitat Type

Multibeam echosounder data and seabed sampling data acquired during the INFOMAR and INSS national seabed mapping programmes are the primary sources of data used in the generation of this collated seabed classification/marine habitats layer. Areas where there is no multibeam data have either been filled by EUSeaMap (predictive broadscale habitat map) or have been left as unclassified. The original classes assigned to the data were translated to a modified Folk class to facilitate reclassification of the data to both EUNIS and MSFD Benthic Broad Habitat Type classification systems. Additional information on biological zones from the EMODnet Seabed Habitats project were used to translate the data to EUNIS. Quantifying MSFD Habitats types in Irish Waters specifically for MSFD Descriptor 6 Assessments of seafloor integrity