Digital seafloor geomorphic features map (GSFM) of the global ocean

The Blue Habitats website has been established as a portal for information on the global distribution of marine ‘blue’ habitats. Knowledge on the distribution of blue habitats is an important input into ocean management, marine spatial planning and biodiversity conservation. Conservation International, GRID-Arendal and Geoscience Australia recently collaborated to produce a map of the global distribution of seafloor geomorphic features. The global seafloor geomorphic features map represents an important contribution towards the understanding of the distribution of blue habitats. Certain geomorphic feature are known to be good surrogates for biodiversity. For example, seamounts support a different suite of species to abyssal plains. A detailed description and analysis of the global geomorphic features map can be found in in the scientific paper published in Marine Geology (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2014.01.011). The map and the underlying spatial data can be accessed from this website.