Deep-sea sampling in 2009 onboard the R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa in the three Mediterranean basins. A combination of 2 samplers was used to collect the benthic megafauna: an otter-trawl Maireta system (OTMS) and an Agassiz dredge. The OTMS is a 1-warp benthic otter-trawl designed to work seamlessly on high depth grounds: its stretch mesh size at the cod-end is 40mm, with an outer cover of 12mm, to allow retrieval of small-sized fractions of megafauna. The net total length is 25m, with an horizontal opening of 12.7m and a vertical opening of 1.4m. Trawls were conducted at 2.6 to 2.8 knots. The Agassiz dredge had a 2.5 m horizontal opening and 1.2 m vertical opening, a net mesh size of 12 mm, and was trawled at 2.0 knots.

This dataset contains macrobenthos data from the Norwegian Skagerrak coast.

Areas were identified from local monitoring projects in order to make sure that fjords with naturally low oxygen content in the bottom water was separated from those having low oxygen because of eutrophication etc.

Areas of kelp (Laminaria hyperborea) forest has been modelled using different statistical methods (e.g. GAM, BRT, Maxent) based on point data collected along environmental gradients as part of the National Program for Mapping Biodiversity - Coast. These data include only the largest kelp forests.

Areas of high tidal currents havebeen delineated based on physical conditions, nautical charts and local knowledge. Strong tidal currents are defined as being over 5 knots.

Coastal lagoons and semi-landlocked bays are areas with limited exchange of sea water because of sills or narrowing of the opening towards the coastal areas outside. The areas have been identified from maps.

Areas of soft sediments in the littoral zone has been delineated using on remote sensing images based on GIS models. These data include only the largest areas.