Sonographic Patterns And Reef Mapping In Abrolhos Shelf, Brazil

A regional sidescan survey was undertaken along the northern portion of the Abrolhos shelf, comprising a total of 898 nm. Results showed 6 distinct sonographic patterns associated to the shelf: P1 and P2 represent reef structures; P3 dominates the surveyed bed and is related to nodulos of calcareous algae (rhodoliths); P4, P5 and P6 showed high heterogeneous reflection patterns and may represent changes in bed sediment textures and composition. These findings will allow a new and important estimative of submerged reef coverage.