The Visionary* California Seafloor Mapping Program

Sam Johnson (USGS)

* scale, comprehensive scope, ambition

December, 2005 Statewide Marine Mapping Planning Workshop (hosted by CSUMB) 56 participants 38 institutions

Coastal Map Development Workshop

To design a map series and GIS map product for coastal zone management

May 2-3, 2007 Menlo Park, CA

60 participants 25 institutions

California Ocean Protection Council approves $15 million

for seafloor mapping (10/07)

Marine Life Protection Act (1999)

Marine Life Protection Act requires CA Fish and Game to develop a network of marine protected areas in California waters to protect habitats and preserve ecosystem integrity

Sea Floor Mapping Integrated mapping of the coastal and marine environment to define offshore hazards and

sediment processes, support habitat and resource management, and monitor change.

Rock

Gravelly Sand

Muddy Sand

Mud Backscatter

Bathymetry

Seafloor Video

Seafloor Photography

Seismic Reflection

Sampling

Beach Profiling

Coring

Swath Bathymetry and Acoustic Backscatter

Bathymetry

Backscatter

Nearshore (0-10 m) Mapping

Lidar

Groundtruth - Seafloor Photography and Video

Coring and Sampling

Edgetech (chirp) 4-24 kHz

Huntec Boomer Sled 300 Hz – 3 kHz

Water Gun 20 – 1500 Hz

Sparker 50 Hz – 4 kHz

High Resolution, Shallow Penetration

Lower Resolution, Deep Penetration

Edgetech (chirp) 0.5 – 12 kHz

Mutlichannel Airgun

High-resolution Chirp

Seismic Reflection Systems

http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/mapping/csmp/index.html

http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/mapping/csmp/progress.html

Progress – California Seafloor Mapping Program

California Seafloor Mapping Program

Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity map folio (1)

Color bathymetry

Gray-scale bathymetry

Acoustic backscatter

Perspective views

“Seafloor Character”

Groundtruthing imagery

Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity map folio (2)

Potential habitats Sediment thickness Geology and Geomorphology

Seismic-reflection data Onshore/Offshore Geology Benthic invertebrates

Data catalog

California Seafloor Mapping Program

Santa Barbara Channel: 4 SIM’s published; 2 in SPN queue Bolinas to Pescadero (31-35)

5 SIM’s in SPN queue

4 SIMs in SPN queue; 2 in PCMSC editing

Into peer review ~ 6/14

Bolinas to Salt Point Ano Nuevo to Marina

California Seafloor Mapping Program

Groundtruthing database for all of State Waters

California Seafloor Mapping Program

CSMP - Groundtruthing database for all of State Waters

Seafloor video and still imagery

Summary - California Seafloor Mapping Progress • Swath mapping nearly (>95%) complete on CA mainland State Waters; Progress mapping offshore islands; much data available on CSUMB web site; SF Bay mapping in fall, 2014 • Video & photo groundtruthing complete on mainland; data available via interactive USGS web site

• High-resolution seismic-reflection data collected for ~60% of CA mainland State Waters; data being made available in USGS Open-File Reports

• Formal (peer reviewed) USGS map publications & databases complete for 4 of 83 mainland coastal blocks; 11 more blocks in the queue for publication; 2 more blocks in final editing; 5 more blocks in preparation

•Coastal LIDAR mapping: New data available for the entire mainland California coastline, including San Francisco Bay (3,779 mi2). Partnership between the California Ocean Protection Council, California Coastal Conservancy, NOAA, USGS, ACOE, and industry partners.

California Seafloor Mapping Program

California Ocean Protection Council

California Coastal Conservancy California Geological Survey

California Dept. of Fish and Game CSUMB Seafloor Mapping Lab

Center for Habitat Studies, MLML Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Private sector (e.g., Fugro Pelagos, Inc., PG&E) Army Corps of Engineers

NOAA Office of Coast Surveys NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA National Geophysical Data Center

NOAA Coastal Services Center Minerals Management Service

National Park Service U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology

Sea floor mapping – why do we care? • Designation of marine protected areas • Defining habitat, ecosystem-based management • Hazard assessments – earthquakes and tsunamis • Regional sediment management • Coastal flooding – storm inundation • Sea-level rise impacts • Baselines for long-term monitoring, climate change • Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning • Siting infrastructure (e.g., renewable ocean energy) • Safer navigation and commerce • Stimulates and enables research • Public education and awareness

You are here

Marine seafloor habitats are as complex as terrestrial habitats

Designation of marine protected areas

Reason 1.

“Big Blue”

Defining and documenting habitat • Document and understand distributional patterns of

marine organisms • Understand the relationship among species, biological

communities, and physical habitat structure • Spatial context for understanding connectivity among

areas and habitats

Reason 2. Ecosystem assessment

Point Saint George

Gray whale foraging scars (1)

Gray whale foraging scars (2)

Reason 3 – Safer navigation & commerce

North coast – 110 new dangers to navigation! “Map once, use many times!”

Reason 4a – Hazards - Earthquake faults Fault characterization • location • length • geometry • slip rate • recurrence interval Site characterization: • soil type and thickness

Revised fault mapping offshore of the Hosgri- San Gregorio Fault zone offshore central CA and Diablo Canyon power plant. Mapping shows prominent fault scarp Offset of ~12,000 year old shoreface indicates fault slip rate of ~2.6 mm/yr

Reason 4b – Hazards, Tsunami sources

Goleta Slide Complex

Santa Barbara Channel

Reason 4b – Hazards -Tsunami sources

Reason 5 – Flooding, storms and tsunamis

Reason 6 – baselines, monitoring change

You can’t monitor or model or manage “it,” if you don’t know what “it” is.

Reason 7 – Regional sediment management

Source to Sink

Reason 7 – Regional sediment management

Offshore development/redevelopment - renewable energy, aquaculture, oil/LNG facilities, sewage outfalls, cables, pipelines, and more

Reason 8 – Marine spatial planning (e.g., siting infrastructure)

Reason 9 – Public education, awareness

Curt Storlazzi

Reason 10 – Inspires and enables research – (academic, government, industry)

Sand waves

Rockfish habitat

Submarine canyons

Active earthquake faults

California Seafloor Mapping Program “This is what success looks like – our national model.”

Looking west under the Golden Gate

Take home messages

• Mapping has numerous important applications, “Map once, use many times.”

• “You can’t manage it, monitor it, or model it, if you don’t know what the “it” is.”

• Seafloor mapping enables fundamental science

• CSMP - Success through partnerships and leveraging