MARLEY seafloor observing system, environmental data for 2022-2023

MARLEY (Monitoring deep-seA coRaL EcosYstems) is a deep seafloor observing system dedicated to the monitoring of cold-water coral habitats. The system is deployed in the Lampaul canyon off Brittany, France since August 2021 and maintained each year during the ChEReef-Obs cruises. The study site is a coral garden dominated by Madrepora oculata, located on a sedimented platform at 780 m depth.
MARLEY is equipped with a CTD SBE 37-SIP, an oxygen optode Aanderaa (4330 or 4831), an ADCP Teledyne RDI Workhorse 300kHz, a turbidity sensor Wetlabs ECO NTU (sensitivity: 0-1000 NTU), a sediment trap Technicap PPS 4/3 – 24 bottles and a camera module. The camera module, which can be moved from up to 30 m from the main station, is equipped with a camera AXIS Q1786, two flash lights and a fluorometer & scattering meter SEA-BIRD ECO FLNTU.
All sensors are controlled and synchronised by the Communication and Storage Front-end - 2nd generation (COSTOF2), which is also managing data storage. Optical sensors are protected from fouling by electrochlorination (20 seconds, each 6 hours). The oxygen optode is calibrated each year prior to deployment.
These datasets provide raw data from the oxygen optode Aandera 4330, the CTD Seabird SBE37, the Wetlabs ECO NTU and the SEAR-BIRD ECO FLNTU covering the period 11/08/2022 to 15/08/2023, with a frequency of 15 minutes. Note that errors in CTD measurements are recurrent from 04/03/2023 but have been kept for time series consistency.
Data from Wetlabs ECO NTU include raw counts and Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) derived from manufacturer’s calibration with Scale Factor = 0.0611 and Dark Counts = 50.
Data form SEABIRD ECO FLNTU include raw counts at 695 nm (Chlorophyll) and 700 nm (Turbidity). Chlorophyll concentration (µg/l) is derived from manufacturer’s calibration with Scale Factor = 0.0180 and Dark Counts = 48 but note that low values are lower than dark counts leading to negative estimates of chlorophyll concentration. Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) is derived from manufacturer’s calibration with Scale Factor = 0.0481 and Dark Counts = 50.