Marine multibeam backscatter data from around the UK (2005 onwards)

The British Geological Survey (BGS) holds an archive of multibeam backscatter data from BGS, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) and other organisations. The data are stored within the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) as the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) Data Archive Centre (DAC) for geology and geophysics. The majority of the data were collected and processed for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under the Civil Hydrography Programme (CHP). Backscatter image files for a survey can be downloaded (in GeoTIFF format) using the URL link provided or via the Deposited Data Search (https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/services/ngdc/accessions/index.html?simpleText=backscatter&subjectList=3159). Backscatter data are useful for seabed characterisation for geological and habitat mapping. BGS works with the DAC for bathymetry data at the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to archive the backscatter data. View and download the related bathymetry data via the ADMIRALTY Marine Data Portal: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inspire-portal-and-medin-bathymetry-data-archive-centre.