New equipment for benthic habitat studies

This paper presents an overview of new systems used in benthic habitat studies at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. These new systems include towed, profiling and moored instruments. A partial list of sensors used in these systems includes high resolution video, silhouette cameras, hydraulic bottom grab, surficial floc sampler, water bottles and a near bottom multi-level water sampler. These systems have been used to study the effects of otter trawling on benthic habitat and biological communities and/or the fate of particulate drilling wastes around offshore rigs.