Beach topography and nearshore bathymetry of northern Monterey Bay, California

This data release presents beach topography and nearshore bathymetry data from repeated surveys in northern Monterey Bay, California to document changes in shoreline position and coastal morphology as they relate to episodic (storms), seasonal, and interannual and longer (e.g. El Ni?o) processes. The ongoing monitoring program was initiated in October 2014 with semi-annual surveys performed in late summer (September or October) and Spring (March).

Nearshore bathymetry and topography data were collected along a series of shore-perpendicular transects spaced primarily at 50-250 m intervals between Santa Cruz and Moss Landing, California. The transects were located along sandy stretches of the coastline and generally extended offshore to about 12 m water depth. The landward extent of the transects was determined by the local topography, terminating at the toe of bluffs, engineering structures, or just landward of the primary dune crest. Topographic profiles were collected on foot with survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks. Additional topography data was collected between survey lines using all-terrain vehicles (ATV) equipped with GNSS receivers to better characterize the morphology of the beach. Nearshore bathymetry data were collected primarily using personal watercraft equipped with GNSS receivers and single-beam echosounders. The positions of the survey platforms were referenced to a GNSS base station operating on the roof of the U.S Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. Starting in March 2015, a terrestrial lidar scanner was used to obtain high-resolution topography data along portions of survey area inaccessible to the ATV. Surveys were generally conducted during spring tides with nearshore bathymetry data collected during high tide, and topographic measurements collected during low tide to maximize coverage of the study area.

This data release contains data from seven surveys performed between October 2014 and September 2017 and will be updated as data from future surveys become available. Links to nearshore bathymetry data, beach topography data, terrestrial lidar data, and derived digital elevation models (DEMs) from each survey are provided in the child pages.