Krawczyk, DW;
Yesson, C;
Knutz, P;
Arboe, NH;
Blicher, ME;
Zinglersen, KB;
Wagnholt, JN;
(2022)
Seafloor habitats across geological boundaries in Disko Bay, central West Greenland.
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
, 278
, Article 108087. 10.1016/j.ecss.2022.108087.
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Abstract
In this paper we describe seafloor terrain of nearly the entire Disko Bay region and provide scientific baseline information about surface geology and sedimentary environments that can support the seafloor management plan in Greenland. Our study utilized multiple datasets of multibeam bathymetry and backscatter, seismic profiles and ground-truthing consisting of video footage from drop camera and benthic video sled, as well as sediment samples from grab and corers. Our results revealed that the key geological units in Disko Bay characterize the scale of geomorphic features, which in turn affects the distribution and complexity of habitat zones. The NE sub-region is underlain by Cretaceous sandstone and characterized by large-scale landforms, mainly vast flat areas draped by glacial lineations, bedrock ridges and pockmark fields. This setting promotes less topographically complex habitats, i.e. coarse plain, muddy/sandy plain with dropstones, and muddy plain. The SW sub-region is characterized by Precambrian Gneiss and Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks with complex system of small-scale geomorphic features, such as cross-cutting channels. This results in topographically complex habitats in the area, such as rocky bank, coarse rugged terrain, and rocky slopes. Two distinctive habitat areas, associated with potential gas seeps, i) southern pockmark field and ii) western zoanthid-sponge wall, were discovered at the geological boundary separating the two sub-regions. Our study highlights the importance of seafloor habitat mapping and analyses by providing fundamental geophysical knowledge necessary to comply with long-term sustainable use of marine resources in Greenland.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Seafloor habitats across geological boundaries in Disko Bay, central West Greenland |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ecss.2022.108087 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2022.108087 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Geology, Greenland, Habitat, Multibeam, Seafloor, Pockmarks |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161273 |
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