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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
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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.
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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: 29

A bathymetric terrain model of multibeam sonar data collected between 2005 and 2018 along the Queen Charlotte Fault System in the Eastern Gulf of Alaska from Cross Sound, Alaska to Queen Charlotte Sound, Canada

This data publication is a compilation of six different multibeam surveys covering the previously unmapped Queen Charlotte Fault offshore southeast Alaska and Haida Gwaii, Canada. These data were collected between 2005 and 2018 under a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Resources Canada, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The six source surveys
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multibeam bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2017 and 2018 of Noyes Submarine Canyon and vicinity, southeast Alaska

This data release provides U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 2017 and 2018 bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected on the Noyes Submarine Canyon and vicinity in southeast Alaska. In 2017 and 2018 the NOAA survey vessel Fairweather collected bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data u
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multibeam bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2015 near Cross Sound, southeast Alaska, during field activity 2015-629-FA

In 2015 the U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), collected bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data near Cross Sound in southeast Alaska using a Reson 7111 multibeam echosounder mounded to the ADFG R/V Solstice. The bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data are provided as GeoTIFFs with 10-m spatial res
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

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 Zone, the
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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
Filter Total Items: 22

Colored shaded-relief bathymetric map and orthomosaic from structure-from-motion quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras of the Lake Tahoe floor, California

This two-sheet publication displays a high-resolution colored shaded-relief bathymetric map (sheet 1) and orthomosaic (sheet 2) of part of the Lake Tahoe floor in California generated from a U.S. Geological Survey towed surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras. The system is named the Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5).
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Colored shaded-relief bathymetric map and surrounding aerial imagery of Whiskeytown Lake, California

The Carr wildfire began on July 23, 2018, and burned almost 300,000 acres (approximately half on Federal lands) in northern California during the subsequent 6-week period. Over 97 percent of the area within Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California, burned during the 2018 Carr wildfire, including the entire landscape that surrounds and drains into Whiskeytown Lake. Shortly after the Carr wi
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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 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 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 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 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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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
A virtual "flight" over seafloor features in Southern California as if the water has been drained away link
Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity, California
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Map of a coastal area plus a coastline with boxes drawn along the coast to show regions of study.
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Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of offshore of Half Moon Bay California
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Examples of map products produced for an offshore canyon area of the seafloor.
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Screenshot from a computer animation.
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video thumbnail: Fly Over the Seafloor: Central California — Bolinas to Pescadero link
Computer illustration looking at the land and ocean with all of the water drained away, to show the undersea features.
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Filter Total Items: 74

Systematic mapping of the ocean-continent transform plate boundary of the Queen Charlotte fault system, southeastern Alaska and western British Columbia—A preliminary bathymetric terrain model

In 2015, U.S. Geological Survey scientists in collaboration with scientists from other institutions began a study of the Queen Charlotte fault—the first systematic study of the fault in more than three decades. The primary goal of the study was to gain a better understanding of the earthquake, tsunami, and underwater-landslide hazards throughout southeastern Alaska, as well as gather data to devel
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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

Science and Products