Seafloor mapping using high-resolution multibeam backscatter: the Palinuro Seamount (Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea)

We present a seafloor map of the summit of Palinuro Seamount, an E-W elongated volcanic ridge located in the Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea. The seafloor was mapped using multibeam backscatter and seafloor samples collected between 80 and 1000 m below the sea level. The high resolution imaging of the Palinuro seafloor was obtained by merging a Digital Terrain Model with a 2.5 m sized grid and a backscatter mosaic with 2.5 m pixel. The resulting 1:20.000 scale map includes six main facies recognized on the basis of their backscatter properties. These six facies reflect different lithologies. The Palinuro seafloor map represents a useful tool for morphological and geological studies of the Palinuro volcanic ridge.