2018 USGS-NOAA multibeam bathymetry surveys Completed
Multibeam bathymetric surveys conducted offshore of Oregon and northern California in 2018, a USGS-NOAA partnership
These surveys are part of the USGS project, “Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards.”
Objectives
Fill in critical baseline bathymetric mapping gaps along the mid- to upper-slope (200 m to 1,500 m water depths)
Participants
USGS scientists Janet Watt (Principal Investigator, Fig. 4), Pete Dartnell, and Jamie Conrad
Partners
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey (OCS), Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems (EXPRESS)
Platform Used
NOAA Ship Rainier (Fig. 1)
Data Collected
EM710 multibeam bathymetry, backscatter, water column data (Fig. 2)
Highlights
We imaged numerous interesting seafloor features, including active faults cutting the seafloor (Fig. 3), a possible mud volcano (Fig. 5), and a plethora of seafloor seeps (Fig. 6).
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- Overview
Multibeam bathymetric surveys conducted offshore of Oregon and northern California in 2018, a USGS-NOAA partnership
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsUSGS-NOAA bathymetry collected in 2018 and 2019 These surveys are part of the USGS project, “Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards.”
Objectives
Fill in critical baseline bathymetric mapping gaps along the mid- to upper-slope (200 m to 1,500 m water depths)
Participants
USGS scientists Janet Watt (Principal Investigator, Fig. 4), Pete Dartnell, and Jamie Conrad
Partners
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey (OCS), Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems (EXPRESS)
Platform Used
NOAA Ship Rainier (Fig. 1)
Data Collected
EM710 multibeam bathymetry, backscatter, water column data (Fig. 2)
Highlights
We imaged numerous interesting seafloor features, including active faults cutting the seafloor (Fig. 3), a possible mud volcano (Fig. 5), and a plethora of seafloor seeps (Fig. 6).
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Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsFigure 1: NOAA ship Rainier S-221.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsFigure 2: USGS scientist Pete Dartnell processes multibeam data onboard NOAA ship Rainier.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsFigure 3: Image showing map views of colored shaded relief bathymetry and acoustic backscatter of the upper slope region from Astoria Canyon to about Newport, OR (NOAA sheets H13119 and H13137). Yellow boxes in shaded relief map show close-up views of this area. A fault offsetting both outcrop and slope sediment can be traced for 41 km (c). ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsFigure 4: USGS scientist Janet Watt on the bow of NOAA’s ship Rainier leaving port in Newport, OR.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsFigure 5: Multibeam bathymetry 3D perspective view of a possible mud volcano offshore southern Oregon (1,100 – 1,500 m water depth).
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsFigure 6: Multibeam bathymetry 3D perspective view of seafloor offshore northern California (600 - 700 m water depth) where backscatter suggests there is hard substrate and seafloor seeps were identified in the water column. - News