Habitat mapping, Northern Midsjöbanken

The Habitat Maps of the Northern Midsummer Bank are the results of the extensive marine habitat mapping from the Northern Midsummer Bank, an offshore bank that stretches from southern Gotland and west of Öland to the central and southwestern parts of the Baltic Proper. The maps were created by integrating bio-geophysical data, as well as machine learning modeling to produce continuous coverage models (%) of substrates and biota. These (biophysical and geological) continuous models were then combined to produce benthic habitat maps categorized according to different classification systems. These include the HELCOM HUB classification system for the Baltic Sea and the European Natura 2000 initiative programme. In addition, the maps and models produced using this method are high-resolution (5 m), allowing them to be scaled up to scales relevant for management, while retaining important information from high-resolution data.