CLASSIFYING SEAFLOOR HABITAT OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF OFF CHARLESTON, SC USING SEDIMENT ANALYSIS IN CORRELATION WITH BACKSCATTER AND MULTIBEAM DATA

Research conducted on the continental shelf off Charleston, SC was designed to continue sedimentological analysis at locations of high interest. For correlation purposes, multibeam sonar was also used to obtain the bathymetry and backscatter of these areas. The survey cruise was conducted on November 09-11 2006 aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, as a follow-up to previous research conducted during the College of Charleston's Transect Program. The purpose of this study is to contribute to benthic habitat characterization using sediment analysis in correlation with backscatter data, which will all be overlain on a 3D bathymetric map. Two sites will be analyzed: (1) The Transect River Channel, a submerged meandering river channel incised in the hard-ground, located in the mid-shelf region where water depths are 20-25 m, and (2) Doc's Rocks, a shore-parallel outcropping feature along the shelf edge in 50 m of water. Correlations among backscatter return, sediment grain size and sediment composition will be used along with hard-ground feature morphology to characterize, map, and classify various seafloor types.