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De Mol, Lies; Van Rooij, David; Pirlet, Hans; Greinert, Jens; Frank, Norbert; Quemmerais, Frédéric; Henriet, Jean-Pierre (2011): Sedimentology and age determination of sediment cores from the Penmarch'h and Guilvinec Canyons (Bay of Biscay) [dataset publication series]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.773526, Supplement to: De Mol, L et al. (2011): Cold-water coral habitats in the Penmarc'h and Guilvinec Canyons (Bay of Biscay): Deep-water versus shallow-water settings. Marine Geology, 282(1-2), 40-52, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2010.04.011

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Abstract:
In 1948, Le Danois reported for the first time the occurrence of living cold-water coral reefs, the so-called "massifs coralliens", along the European Atlantic continental margin. In 2008, a cruise with R/V Belgica was set out to re-investigate these cold-water corals in the Penmarc'h and Guilvinec Canyons along the Gascogne margin of the Bay of Biscay. During this cruise, an area of 560 km**2 was studied using multibeam swath bathymetry, CTD casts, ROV observations and USBL-guided boxcoring.
Based on the multibeam data and the ROV video imagery, two different cold-water coral reef settings were distinguished. In water depths ranging from 260 to 350 m, mini mounds up to 5 m high, covered by dead cold-water coral rubble, were observed. In between these mounds, soft sediment with a patchy distribution of gravel was recognised. The second setting (350-950 m) features hard substrates with cracks, spurs, cliffs and overhangs. In water depths of 700 to 950 m, both living and dead cold-water corals occur. Occasionally, they form dense coral patches with a diameter of about 10-60 m, characterised by mostly stacked dead coral rubble and a few living specimens. U/Th datings indicate a shift in cold-water coral growth after the Late Glacial Maximum (about 11.5 ka BP) from shallow to deep-water settings.
The living cold-water corals from the deeper area occur in a water density (sigma-theta) of 27.35-27.55 kg/m**3, suggested to be a prerequisite for the growth and distribution of cold-water coral reefs along the northern Atlantic margin. In contrast, the dead cold-water coral fragments in the shallow area occur in a density range of 27.15-27.20 kg/m**3 which is slightly outside the density range where living cold-water corals normally occur. The presented data suggest that this prerequisite is also valid for coral growth in the deeper canyons (> 350 m) in the Bay of Biscay.
Project(s):
Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Mans Impact On European Seas (HERMIONE)
Funding:
Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), grant/award no. 226354: Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Mans Impact On European Seas
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 46.915306 * Median Longitude: -5.288477 * South-bound Latitude: 46.908185 * West-bound Longitude: -5.495945 * North-bound Latitude: 46.974627 * East-bound Longitude: -5.255837
Date/Time Start: 2008-05-31T13:04:00 * Date/Time End: 2008-06-04T13:36:00
Event(s):
B08-01 * Latitude Start: 46.972433 * Longitude Start: -5.474943 * Latitude End: 46.975230 * Longitude End: -5.496812 * Date/Time Start: 2008-05-31T13:16:00 * Date/Time End: 2008-05-31T16:47:00 * Elevation Start: -385.0 m * Elevation End: -699.0 m * Location: Gulf of Biscay * Campaign: BG08/13a * Basis: Belgica * Method/Device: Remote operated vehicle (ROV)
B08-02 * Latitude Start: 46.937943 * Longitude Start: -5.381640 * Latitude End: 46.928740 * Longitude End: -5.383167 * Date/Time Start: 2008-06-01T11:24:00 * Date/Time End: 2008-06-01T15:46:00 * Elevation Start: -712.0 m * Elevation End: -900.0 m * Location: Gulf of Biscay * Campaign: BG08/13a * Basis: Belgica * Method/Device: Remote operated vehicle (ROV)
B08-03 * Latitude Start: 46.908622 * Longitude Start: -5.255837 * Latitude End: 46.908533 * Longitude End: -5.259742 * Date/Time Start: 2008-06-02T12:29:00 * Date/Time End: 2008-06-02T14:05:00 * Elevation Start: -278.0 m * Elevation End: -289.0 m * Location: Gulf of Biscay * Campaign: BG08/13a * Basis: Belgica * Method/Device: Remote operated vehicle (ROV)
Comment:
For the physical oceanography see doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.773290. The multibeam contour maps can be found in doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.759003
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-3.0)
Size:
6 datasets

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Datasets listed in this publication series

  1. De Mol, L; Van Rooij, D; Pirlet, H et al. (2011): Sedimentology of sediment core B08-10. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.773466
  2. De Mol, L; Van Rooij, D; Pirlet, H et al. (2011): Sedimentology of sediment core B08-11. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.773467
  3. De Mol, L; Van Rooij, D; Pirlet, H et al. (2011): Sedimentology of sediment core B08-12. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.773468
  4. De Mol, L; Van Rooij, D; Pirlet, H et al. (2011): Sedimentology of sediment core B08-14. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.773469
  5. De Mol, L; Van Rooij, D; Pirlet, H et al. (2011): ROV track data from BELGICA cruise BG08/13a with links to NAV files. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.773507
  6. De Mol, L; Van Rooij, D; Pirlet, H et al. (2011): (Table 3) U-series datings on Lophelia pertusa fragments from surface sediments. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.773525