LIBEC Photography as a Sea Floor Mapping Tool

The in-water Light Behind Camera (LIBEC) technique permits order-of-magnitude increases in the area photographed by suspending the camera beneath the zone of range-limiting backscattered light. Mapping the sea floor with strips of overlapping LIBEC photographs obtained from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is shown to be valuable for: (a) showing relationships between major surface faunal populations and sediment characteristics (b) resolving features of relief intermediate in size (1 to 50 meters) between those revealed by conventional photography and those portrayed by narrow-beam sonar (c) producing improved-quality photomosaics (d) providing unambiguous navigational ties at track crossings