Submarine Canyon Distribution and Environmental Controls: A Global Dataset for Point Pattern Analysis

This dataset supports the study "Seafloor Slopes Control Submarine Canyon Distribution: A Global Analysis", which investigates the global-scale controls on the distribution of submarine canyons. The dataset includes geospatial and environmental attributes for 2,261 submarine canyon heads located along the continental margins between 50°N and 50°S (excluding islands and regions dominated by glacial or salt tectonic processes).

Each canyon head is assigned 16 variables encompassing topographic, oceanographic, lithologic, and climatic attributes of adjacent marine and terrestrial environments. These variables serve as potential predictors of canyon occurrence and were used in spatial-statistical models—including inhomogeneous Poisson point process models—to assess the influence of marine slope inclination and other factors on canyon distribution. Canyon locations are represented as point features projected onto a global network of continental slope centerlines to facilitate linear-network-based point pattern analysis. This data package includes: (1) submarine canyon locations and attributes, (2) global environmental datasets representing potential controls on canyon distribution, (3) MATLAB code for conducting point pattern analysis on linear networks, and (4) scripts for residual analysis using operational spatial count models. Together, these resources enable detailed exploration of the geomorphological and environmental factors influencing submarine canyon formation, providing a valuable foundation for research on sediment transport, continental margin evolution, and global biogeochemical cycling.