Multibeam bathymetry raw data (EM 120 echosounder entire dataset) of RV MARIA S. MERIAN during cruise MSM18/1

Multibeam bathymetry raw data using the ship's own Kongsberg (Simrad) EM 120 multibeam echosounder was not continuously recorded during RV MARIA S. MERIAN cruise MSM18/1. Data was recorded on 12 days between 2011-04-18 and 2011-05-01. This dataset contains a survey in the North Atlantic Ocean. The approximate average depth of the entire dataset is around 4700m. The data are archived at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, BSH) and provided to PANGAEA database for data curation and publication. No ancillary sound velocity profiles (SVP) files from the cruise are archived at the BSH, thus no SVP files are added to this dataset. Also data analysis of the multibeam raw data revealed that SVP has not been changed during the survey. This publication is conducted within the efforts of the German Marine Research Alliance in the core area 'Data management and Digitalization' (Deutsche Allianz Meeresforschung, DAM). Data are unprocessed and therefore contains incorrect depth measurements (artifacts) without further processing. Note that refraction errors can be expected due to the lack of proper SVP. Overall, it appears that the data quality is rather good since the gridded hillshade data showed relatively few obstacles. Whether data acquisition has been monitored and system settings adjusted during surveying is unknown. Data can be processed e.g. with the open source software package MB-System (Caress, D. W., and D. N. Chayes, MB-System: Mapping the Seafloor, http://www.mbari.org/products/research-software/mb-system/, 2022).