feature (id #6):
High Rugosity

category physical
description Measure of the roughness of seafloor terrain, defined as the ratio of surface area to planar area.
atlas page view PDF (3.8 MB)
(Find in our 2010 printed atlas on page 9.)
metadata view online
feature GIS data download ZIP of shapefiles (7.1 MB)
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Marxan-ready data download ZIP of shapefiles (10.4 MB)

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3 comments about this feature

    • They are similar indices, both based on bathymetric data and both intended to be indices of high biodiversity. Benthic complexity considers how convoluted the bottom is, not how steep or how rough, though these both play a role. The algorithm to compute high rugosity (roughness) comes in a collection of tools known as The Benthic Terrain Modeller (BTM) tool, developed by the Oregon State University (OSU) Department of Geosciences and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center. More information on the specific algorithms used can be found in the BTM’s documentation (). The algorithm to compute benthic complexity was designed by Jeff Ardron and is published by ESRI press, Marine Geography: GIS for the Oceans and Seas (http://esripress.esri.com/display/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&websiteID=61&moduleID=10).

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for data layer: High Rugosity

custodian — Parks Canada: Greg MacMillan

how to access the restricted data

This feature was created from 1 raw data layer. Each data layer has a custodian and different restrictions as to which types of data BCMCA may distribute on this website. The unrestricted feature and Marxan-ready data are available to download at the map & data tab. To gain access to the restricted data, please go through the following process:

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