Seafloor change detection using multibeam echosounder backscatter : case study on the Belgian part of the North Sea

To characterize seafloor substrate type, seabed mapping and particularly multibeam echosounding are increasingly used. Yet, the utilisation of repetitive MBES-borne backscatter surveys to monitor the environmental status of the seafloor remains limited. Often methodological frameworks are missing, and should comprise of a suite of change detection procedures, similarly to those developed in the terrestrial sciences. In this study, pre-, ensemble and post-classification approaches were tested on an eight km(2) study site within a Habitat Directive Area in the Belgian part of the North Sea. In t... Mehr ...