Habitat surveys of the sea floor at various sites around Davis Station, summer 2009/10

Habitat surveys of the sea floor were conducted by divers at sites around Davis Station, East Antarctica, as part of the Davis Sewage Treatment Project during the 2009/10 austral summer (AAS 3217 - metadata parent record = DAVIS_STP). Four non-overlapping and haphazardly placed 25m long habitat surveys were conducted at each site, generally 2 on each side of the boat and at least 10m apart. One diver used a weighted tape measure to lay out a transect and survey information was communicated to the surface over voice comms and recorded by the dive supervisor. The diver moved along the transect recording the substrate and type of biological cover (if present), starting at the 0cm point. Each point of transition to a different type of substrata or biological cover was recorded. Patches of substrata or biological cover that constituted less than a 2cm length of the transect were not counted as transitions and were not recorded. The depth at the beginning and end of the transect was also recorded.