Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat. DOI: © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 2012 10.1016/B978-0-12-385140-6.00049-9 Habitats of the Chella Bank, Eastern Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean) Claudio Lo Iacono 1 , Eulàlia Gràcia 1 , Rafael Bartolomé 1 , Enrique Coiras 2 , Juan Jose Dañobeitia 1 , Juan Acosta 3 1 Unidad de Tecnología Marina, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UTM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain, 2 NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC), La Spezia, Italy, 3 Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Madrid, Spain 49 Abstract This study is the first characterization of the geomorphic features and benthic habitats of the Chella Bank, a flat-topped volcanic peak situated in the Eastern Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean. The Chella Bank, also named “Seco de los Olivos,” occurs along the upper slope of the Almeria Margin, showing a subcircular shape and covering a surface area of 100 km 2 within a depth range of 70–700 m. High-resolution swath bathymetric mapping reveals three main large-scale morphological features on Chella Bank: the flat subhorizontal top and two main ridges, located to the west and to the east of the bank-top. Video tracks acquired in the area showed the occurrence of macrobenthic communi- ties such as gorgonian assemblages (Callogorgia verticillata, Viminella fla- gellum), small patches of living cold-water corals (Madrepora oculata), and sponges (Fakelia ventilabrum). An automatic classification of multibeam data has been tested on the area as a predictive habitat mapping method, using backscatter characteristics (intensity, texture) and depth measurements as sur- rogate descriptors of the habitats recognized on the Chella Bank. Key Words: Swath bathymetry, Seamounts, Geomorphology, Habitat mapping, Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean Introduction This study of the Chella Bank (36°31N, 2°52E) in the NE Alboran Sea (Figure 49.1) integrates swath bathymetry and video images. The Alboran Sea is located in the SW