Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS) seafloor images and videos of the western Weddell Sea collected during RV POLARSTERN cruise PS153
type: Dataset
conforms to: http://mlcommons.org/croissant/1.0
creator: Lilian Boehringer
creator: Kerstin Jerosch
creator: Ulrich Hoge
  type: Person
  family name: Hoge
  given name: Ulrich
  affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven
creator: Karsten Schimpf
  type: Person
  family name: Schimpf
  given name: Karsten
  affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven
publisher: PANGAEA
  type: Organization
  disambiguating description: Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science
included in data catalog: PANGAEA
  type: DataCatalog
  disambiguating description: Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science
date published: 2026-07-08
additional type: dataset publication series
description: During the RV POLARSTERN cruise PS153 (2026-02-06 to 2026-04-09) to the western Weddell Sea, as part of the SWOS (Summer Weddell Outflow Study) project, the Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS) was used to collect still images and video footage from various locations surveyed during the expedition. The OFOBS consisted of a towed underwater camera system equipped with a high-resolution photo-camera (iSiTEC, CANON EOS 5D Mark III) and a high-definition video-camera (iSiTEC, Sony FCB-H11) as well as an integrated sidescan sonar system. The cameras were mounted on a steel frame (140 L x 92 W x 135 H cm), together with two strobe lights (iSiTEC UW-Blitz 250, TTL driven), three laser pointers spaced with a distance of 50 cm used to estimate the size of seafloor structures, four LED lights, and a USBL positioning system (Posidonia) to track the position of the OFOBS during deployments, with additional positioning information provided by the integrated INS and DVL systems. For some deployments, the OFOBS was additionally equipped with an automated eDNA sampler (RoCSI), 2 NISKIN bottles, and a CTD. An automatic seafloor image was taken every 20 seconds to obtain 'TIMER' stills distributed at regular distances along each of the survey profiles. Additional 'MANUAL' photos were triggered individually when interesting objects appeared in the live feed. In total, 26 OFOBS deployments were carried out. If no positions for the OFOBS were available, the ships position was used instead. Metadata in the form of iFDOs are available for each deployment containing a detailed description of the image and video data collection and curation process.
abstract: During the RV POLARSTERN cruise PS153 (2026-02-06 to 2026-04-09) to the western Weddell Sea, as part of the SWOS (Summer Weddell Outflow Study) project, the Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS) was used to collect still images and video footage from various locations surveyed during the expedition. The OFOBS consisted of a towed underwater camera system equipped with a high-resolution photo-camera (iSiTEC, CANON EOS 5D Mark III) and a high-definition video-camera (iSiTEC, Sony FCB-H11) as well as an integrated sidescan sonar system. The cameras were mounted on a steel frame (140 L x 92 W x 135 H cm), together with two strobe lights (iSiTEC UW-Blitz 250, TTL driven), three laser pointers spaced with a distance of 50 cm used to estimate the size of seafloor structures, four LED lights, and a USBL positioning system (Posidonia) to track the position of the OFOBS during deployments, with additional positioning information provided by the integrated INS and DVL systems. For some deployments, the OFOBS was additionally equipped with an automated eDNA sampler (RoCSI), 2 NISKIN bottles, and a CTD. An automatic seafloor image was taken every 20 seconds to obtain 'TIMER' stills distributed at regular distances along each of the survey profiles. Additional 'MANUAL' photos were triggered individually when interesting objects appeared in the live feed. In total, 26 OFOBS deployments were carried out. If no positions for the OFOBS were available, the ships position was used instead. Metadata in the form of iFDOs are available for each deployment containing a detailed description of the image and video data collection and curation process.
citation: Making marine image data FAIR
spatial coverage: Place
  geo: GeoShape
    box: -67.21609732076668 -56.04799594585305 -63.40055669089747 -52.25929368799088
temporal coverage: 2026-02-12T03:59:23/2026-03-28T06:58:21
size: QuantitativeValue
  value: 26.0
  unit text: datasets
keywords: Benthic ecology; Benthos; iFDO; Seafloor images; Weddell Sea
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
conditions of access: access rights needed
is accessible for free: false
language: en
distribution: FileObject
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/zip

Lilian Boehringer
type: Person
family name: Boehringer
given name: Lilian
affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven

Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven
type: Organization
alternate name: AWI

Kerstin Jerosch
type: Person
family name: Jerosch
given name: Kerstin
affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven

Making marine image data FAIR
type: CreativeWork
type: ScholarlyArticle
creator: Timm Schoening
creator: Jennifer M Durden
creator: Claas Faber
creator: Janine Felden
creator: Karl Heger
creator: Henk-Jan T Hoving
creator: Rainer Kiko
creator: Kevin Köser
  type: Person
  family name: Köser
  given name: Kevin
creator: Christopher Krämmer
creator: Tom Kwasnitschka
creator: Klas Ove Möller
creator: David Nakath
creator: Andrea Naß
  type: Person
  family name: Naß
  given name: Andrea
creator: Tim W Nattkemper
creator: Autun Purser
creator: M Zurowietz
date published: 2022
pagination: 414
is part of: Scientific Data
  type: Periodical
  type: PublicationVolume
  volume number: 9(1)
additional type: journal article

Timm Schoening
type: Person
family name: Schoening
given name: Timm

Jennifer M Durden
type: Person
family name: Durden
given name: Jennifer M

Claas Faber
type: Person
family name: Faber
given name: Claas

Janine Felden
type: Person
family name: Felden
given name: Janine

Karl Heger
type: Person
family name: Heger
given name: Karl

Henk-Jan T Hoving
type: Person
family name: Hoving
given name: Henk-Jan T

Rainer Kiko
type: Person
family name: Kiko
given name: Rainer

Christopher Krämmer
type: Person
family name: Krämmer
given name: Christopher

Tom Kwasnitschka
type: Person
family name: Kwasnitschka
given name: Tom

Klas Ove Möller
type: Person
family name: Möller
given name: Klas Ove

David Nakath
type: Person
family name: Nakath
given name: David

Tim W Nattkemper
type: Person
family name: Nattkemper
given name: Tim W

Autun Purser
type: Person
family name: Purser
given name: Autun

M Zurowietz
type: Person
family name: Zurowietz
given name: M