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Peter Dartnell

Physical Scientist at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Science and Products

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Fish on seafloor, Offshore Northern California

California Seafloor Mapping Program

The California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP) is a cooperative program to create a comprehensive coastal and marine geologic and habitat base map series for all of California's State waters.
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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California Seafloor Mapping Program

The California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP) is a cooperative program to create a comprehensive coastal and marine geologic and habitat base map series for all of California's State waters.
Learn More
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A building after an earthquake has crumbled the roof and brick walls, the interior is now visible.

U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards

Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, 3-D CT Core Imaging Laboratory, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories
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U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards

Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
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Illustration of the seafloor off the coast with areas highlighted to show detail.

2019 USGS-NOAA Multibeam Bathymetry

Multibeam bathymetric surveys conducted offshore of Oregon and northern California in 2019, a USGS-NOAA partnership
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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2019 USGS-NOAA Multibeam Bathymetry

Multibeam bathymetric surveys conducted offshore of Oregon and northern California in 2019, a USGS-NOAA partnership
Learn More
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This poster shows an illustration of a lake bed looking from a side-angle, with text that talks about how the map was made.

Mapping Crater Lake, Oregon

Information about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's Crater Lake mapping project in the summer of 2000.
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Mapping Crater Lake, Oregon

Information about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's Crater Lake mapping project in the summer of 2000.
Learn More
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Poster with illustrations of the underwater part of a bay, with text about the work done in the area.

Mapping Shipping Hazards in San Francisco Bay

Information about the 1997-1998 study by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, to map the floor of San Francisco Bay in order to reveal the bay's shipping hazards.
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Mapping Shipping Hazards in San Francisco Bay

Information about the 1997-1998 study by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, to map the floor of San Francisco Bay in order to reveal the bay's shipping hazards.
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Filter Total Items: 26

Multibeam echosounder, video observation, and derived benthic habitat data offshore of south-central California in support of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Cal DIG I, offshore alternative energy project

Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) geoform, substrate, and biotic component (also known as "biotope") GIS products were developed for the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone of south-central California motivated by interest in development of offshore wind energy capacity and infrastructure. The lead agency responsible for planning and leasing in the Exclusive Economic
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Composite multibeam bathymetry surface and data sources of the southern Cascadia Margin offshore Oregon and northern California

Bathymetry data from various sources, including newly released 2018 and 2019 multibeam data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), were combined to create a composite 30-m resolution multibeam bathymetry surface of the southern Cascadia Margin offshore of Oregon and northern California. The bathymetry data are available as a 3
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Bathymetry, topography and orthomosaic imagery for Whiskeytown Lake, northern California (ver. 2.0, July 2021)

The Carr Fire ignited in northern California on July 23, 2018, and over the following six weeks burned almost 300,000 acres (approximately half on federal lands), resulting in a federal major-disaster declaration (DR-4382). Approximately 93 percent of the area within Whiskeytown National Recreation Area was burned extensively during the Carr Fire, including all of the landscape surrounding and dra
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Grain-size data for sediment samples collected in Whiskeytown Lake, northern California, in 2018 and 2019

The Carr Fire ignited in northern California in July 2018, and ultimately burned almost 300,000 acres (approximately half on federal lands), resulting in a federal major-disaster declaration (DR-4382). Approximately 93% of the area within Whiskeytown National Recreation Area was burned extensively during the Carr Fire, including all of the landscape surrounding and draining into Whiskeytown Lake.
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory

Chirp sub-bottom data collected in 2019 in Whiskeytown Lake, California during USGS field activity 2018-686-FA

High-resolution chirp sub-bottom data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in May of 2019 in Whiskeytown Lake, California using an Edgetech SB-512i sub-bottom profiler. These data were collected to measure possible debris flows into the lake during the 2018-2019 rainy season following the July-August 2018 Carr fire that burned vegetation around th
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2016 offshore the Elwha River mouth, Washington, during USGS Field Activity 2016-605-FA

This data release provides bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected during a 2016 SWATHPlus-M survey offshore the Elwha River mouth, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. Data were collected and processed by the U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center during field activity 2016-605-FA. This survey, along with two other surveys (Cochrane and others, 2008, Finlayson
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2008 offshore Tijuana River Estuary, California during USGS Field Activity S-5-08-SC

In 2008 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) collected bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data offshore the Tijuana River Estuary, California. Mapping was conducted as part of the Tijuana Estuary Fine Sediment Fate and Transport Demonstration Project, which was developed by a number of State of California, federal, and private industry partners to p
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multibeam bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and multichannel minisparker seismic-reflection data of USGS field activity 2016-666-FA collected in the Santa Barbara Basin in September and October of 2016

High-resolution multichannel minkisparker seismic-reflection (MCS) profiles were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in September and October of 2016 from the northern portion of the Santa Barbara Basin offshore southern California. Data were collected aboard the USGS R/V Parke Snavely and NOAA R/V Shearwater during field activity 2016-666-FA. Data were acquired to support USGS geologic hazar
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sediment transport and aquatic vegetation data from three locations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, 2017 to 2018

We measured currents, suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), bed sediment characteristics, and vegetation biomass density in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 2017-2018, as part of a project investigating the influence of invasive aquatic vegetation (IAV) on flow and sediment flux. This data release includes data from three sites: Lindsey Slough (April 2017), Middle River (March 2018) and the l
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Bathymetry, topography, and acoustic backscatter data, and a digital elevation model (DEM) of the Cache Slough Complex and Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California

This data release presents bathymetric and topographic data from surveys performed between 2017 and 2018 in the Cache Slough Complex and the Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel (DWSC), northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California. The shallow, highly vegetated aquatic habitats of this region necessitated a variety of survey platforms and techniques. In the deeper channels, swath bathymet
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series Data Catalog--Point Sur to Point Arguello

As part of the USGS's California State Waters Mapping Project, a 50-m grid of sediment thickness for the seafloor within the 3-nautical mile limit between Point Sur and Point Arguello was generated from seismic-reflection data collected between 2008 and 2014, and supplemented with geologic structure (fault and fold) information following the methodology of Wong (2012). Water depths determined from
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-resolution acoustic backscatter data collected southwest of Montague Island, Alaska during field activity 2014-622-FA

High-resolution acoustic backscatter data, bathymetry data, single channel minisparker seismic-reflection data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in May of 2014 southwest of Chenega Island and southwest of Montague Island, Alaska. Data were collected aboard the Alaska Department of Fish and Game vessel, R/V Solstice, during USGS field act
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Filter Total Items: 15

Colored shaded-relief bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and selected perspective views of the northern part of the California Continental Borderland, southern California

The California Continental Borderland is the complex continental margin in southern California that extends from Point Conception southward into northern Baja California (Fisher and others, 2009). This colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of the northern continental borderland in southern California was generated primarily from multibeam-echosounder data collected by the University of Washington i
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Colored shaded-relief bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and selected perspective views of the Inner Continental Borderland, southern California

In late 2013, Scripps Institution of Oceanography collected multibeam bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data of the Inner Continental Borderland Region, Southern California. The U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center processed these data, and this report provides the data in a number of different formats in addition to a set of map sheets. The data catalog provides the
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of San Gregorio, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series: offshore of San Gregorio, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series: offshore of Coal Oil Point, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series: offshore of Santa Barbara, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series: offshore of Carpinteria, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series--Offshore of Ventura, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series--Hueneme Canyon and vicinity, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-resolution bathymetry and topography of south San Francisco Bay, California

This map consists of a view of the southern end of San Francisco bay with the water 'removed.' The image is overlain by a set of six figures:   - Figure 1. Perspective view looking southeast down south San Francisco Bay. - Figure 2. Perspective view looking east with the Diablo Range in the distance. - Figure 3. Perspective view looking southwest over Bair Island toward Redwood City. - Figure 4. P
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multibeam bathymetry and selected perspective views offshore San Diego, California

This set of two posters consists of a map on one sheet and a set of seven perspective views on the other. The ocean floor image was generated from multibeam-bathymetry data acquired by Federal and local agencies as well as academic institutions including: - U.S. Geological Survey mapped from the La Jolla Canyon south to the US-Mexico border using a Kongsberg Simrad multibeam echosounder system (
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program

Under the Golden Gate Bridge — Views of the sea floor near the entrance to San Francisco Bay, California

San Francisco Bay in Northern California is one of the largest and most altered estuaries within the United States. The sea floor within the bay as well as at its entrance is constantly changing due to strong tidal currents, aggregate mining, dredge disposal, and the creation of new land using artificial fill. Understanding this dynamic sea floor is critical for addressing local environmental issu
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Filter Total Items: 72

California Deepwater Investigations and Groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I, volume 3 — Benthic habitat characterization offshore Morro Bay, California

Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) geoform, substrate, and biotic component geographic information system (GIS) products were developed for the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ) of south-central California in the region of Santa Lucia Bank motivated by interest in development of offshore wind-energy capacity and infrastructure. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Watershed sediment yield following the 2018 Carr Fire, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, northern California

Wildfire risk has increased in recent decades over many regions, due to warming climate and other factors. Increased sediment export from recently burned landscapes can jeopardize downstream infrastructure and water resources, but physical landscape response to fire has not been quantified for some at-risk areas, including much of northern California, USA. We measured sediment yield from three wat
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory

Focused fluid flow and methane venting along the Queen Charlotte fault, offshore Alaska (USA) and British Columbia (Canada)

Fluid seepage along obliquely deforming plate boundaries can be an important indicator of crustal permeability and influence on fault-zone mechanics and hydrocarbon migration. The ~850-km-long Queen Charlotte fault (QCF) is the dominant structure along the right-lateral transform boundary that separates the Pacific and North American tectonic plates offshore southeastern Alaska (USA) and western B
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sediment export and impacts associated with river delta channelization compound estuary vulnerability to sea-level rise, Skagit River Delta, Washington, USA

Improved understanding of the budget and retention of sediment in river deltas is becoming increasingly important to mitigate and plan for impacts expected with sea level rise. In this study, analyses of historical bathymetric change, sediment core stratigraphy, and modeling are used to evaluate the sediment budget and environmental response of the largest river delta in the U.S. Pacific Northwest
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Morphology, structure, and kinematics of the San Clemente and Catalina faults based on high-resolution marine geophysical data, southern California Inner Continental Borderland

Catalina Basin, located within the southern California Inner Continental Borderland (ICB), is traversed by two active submerged fault systems that are part of the broader North America-Pacific plate boundary: the San Clemente fault (along with a prominent splay, the Kimki fault) and the Catalina fault. Previous studies have suggested that the San Clemente fault (SCF) may be accommodating up to hal
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Plate boundary localization, slip-rates and rupture segmentation of the Queen Charlotte Fault based on submarine tectonic geomorphology

Linking fault behavior over many earthquake cycles to individual earthquake behavior is a primary goal in tectonic geomorphology, particularly across an entire plate boundary. Here, we examine the 1150-km-long, right-lateral Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault system using comprehensive multibeam bathymetry data acquired along the Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) offshore southeastern Alaska and western
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Alaska Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory

Offshore shallow structure and sediment distribution, Point Sur to Point Arguello, central California

This publication consists of three map sheets that display shallow geologic structure, along with sediment distribution and thickness, for an about 225-km-long offshore section of the central California coast between Point Sur and Point Arguello. Each map sheet includes three maps, at scales of either 1:150,000 or 1:200,000, as well as a set of figures that contain representative high-resolution s
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Morphodynamics of a field of crescent-shaped rippled scour depressions: Northern Monterey Bay, CA

Despite the prevalence of rippled scour depression (RSD) on the world's continental shelves and their importance as nursery habitats for many commercially-important species, the processes responsible for their formation and geomorphic evolution are still not well understood. Most studies that focused on RSD evolution have been based on data acquired over multiple years to decades, and often during
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

The tectonically controlled San Gabriel Channel–Lobe Transition Zone, Catalina Basin, Southern California Borderland

High-resolution geophysical data across the Catalina Basin, offshore southern California, USA, reveal a complex channel–lobe transition zone (CLTZ) and provide an opportunity to characterize an entire seafloor CLTZ in a tectonically active and confined-basin setting. The seafloor morphology, distribution of depositional and erosional features, and location of depocenters in the CLTZ are controlled
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geology of San Francisco

No abstract available.
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Gaviota, California

IntroductionIn 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpre
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Point Conception, California

IntroductionIn 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpre
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Science and Products