ROV-mounted high-resolution laser scan data acquired at vertical deep-sea habitats, Galapagos Islands, 2023 (FKt230918)

ROV SuBastian-mounted laser scanner data for high-resolution mapping of steep, vertical and overhanging cold water coral reefs of the Galápagos, Ecuador, was collected during Falkor (too) cruise FKt230918 in 2023. The Voyis Insight Micro laser scanner system was mounted on the light bar on the front of the ROV vehicle, in a fully forward orientation, rotated 90 degrees to port. Mapping was done in parallel, lateral passes at a constant distance from a vertical cliff, keeping the heading as constant as possible. Navigation and attitude data from the SprintNav system underwent a double coordinate transformation and double rotation using a bespoke routine in R. The data files are in ASCII XYZ comma-separated format with the following six columns: Column 1: Scalar Field 1, ZDA timestamp. Column 2: X Position Value (relative). Column 3: Y Position Value (relative). Column 4: Z Position Value (depth). Column 5: Scalar Field 2, Intensity. Column 6: Scalar Field 3, Quality. Funding for the project was provided through Schmidt Ocean Institute; processing of this data was supported through a Canada Research Chair in Ocean Mapping award.