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Title: Seafloor Character: Offshore of Pacifica, California, 2007

• Erdey, Mercedes D.
• Cochrane, Guy R.
• Phillips, Eleyne L.
• Golden, Nadine E.
• Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Dates

• Issued: 2014
• Coverage: 2014

Publishers

• Geological Survey (U.S.)

Summary

This layer is a georeferenced raster image containing seafloor character data for the offshore area of Pacifica, California. This map shows four substrate classes of Offshore of Pacifica, California. The substrate classes mapped in this area have been further divided into the following California Marine Life Protection Act depth zones and slope classes: Depth Zone 2 (intertidal to 30 m), Depth Zone 3 (30 to 100 m), and Slope Class 1 (0 degrees - 5 degrees). Depth Zone 1 (intertidal), Depth Zones 4-5 (greater than 100 m), and Slopes Classes 2-4 (greater than 5 degrees) are not present in the region covered by this block. The map is created using a supervised classification method described by Cochrane (2008). A map which shows these data is published in Scientific Investigations Map 3302, "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) 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. CSMP has divided coastal California into 110 map blocks, each to be published individually as United States Geological Survey Open-File Reports (OFRs) or Scientific Investigations Maps (SIMs) at a scale of 1:24,000. Maps display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats and illustrate both the seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. Data layers for bathymetry, bathymetric contours, acoustic backscatter, seafloor character, potential benthic habitat and offshore geology were created for each map block, as well as regional-scale data layers for sediment thickness, depth to transition, transgressive contours, isopachs, predicted distributions of benthic macro-invertebrates and visual observations of benthic habitat from video cruises over the entire state. These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. This information is not intended for navigational purposes.The data can be used with geographic information systems (GIS) software to display geologic and oceanographic information. Additionally, this coverage can provide a geologic map for the public and geoscience community to aid in assessments and mitigation of geologic hazards in the coastal region and sufficient geologic information for land-use and land-management decisions both onshore and offshore. This information is not intended for navigational purposes. Phillips, E.L., and Cochrane, G.R. (2014). Seafloor Character: Offshore of Pacifica, California, 2007. California State Waters Map Series Data Catalog: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 781. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/mk312gt9695. Information for USGS Coastal and Marine Geology related activities are online at < http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/f/f307nc/html/f-3-07-nc.meta.html > References Cited: California Department of Fish and Game, 2008, California Marine Life Protection Act master plan for marine protected areas; Revised draft: California Department of Fish and Game, accessed April 5 2011, at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/masterplan.asp. Cochrane, G.R., 2008, Video-supervised classification of sonar data for mapping seafloor habitat, in Reynolds, J.R., and Greene, H.G., eds., Marine habitat mapping technology for Alaska: Fairbanks, University of Alaska, Alaska Sea Grant College Program, p. 185-194, accessed April 5, 2011, at http://doc.nprb.org/web/research/research%20pubs/615_habitat_mapping_workshop/Individual%20Chapters%20High-Res/Ch13%20Cochrane.pdf. Sappington, J.M., Longshore, K.M., and Thompson, D.B., 2007, Quantifying landscape ruggedness for animal habitat analysis--A case study using bighorn sheep in the Mojave Desert: Journal of Wildlife Management, v. 71, p. 1419-1426. This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.

Subjects

• Oceans
• California
• San Mateo County (Calif.)
• Pacific Ocean
• Coasts
• Remote sensing
• Multibeam mapping
• Submarine topography
• Sediments (Geology)
• Marine sediments
• Ocean bottom
• Seismic reflection method
• Imagery and Base Maps
• Datasets

Geospatial coordinates

• Bounding Box: BBOX (-122.589149, -122.4955738, 37.7023187, 37.5406115)
• Geometry: BBOX (-122.589149, -122.4955738, 37.7023187, 37.5406115)

Provider

Stanford

Rights

• Access rights: Public

Citation

Erdey, Mercedes D., Cochrane, Guy R., Phillips, Eleyne L., Golden, Nadine E., Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. Seafloor Character: Offshore of Pacifica, California, 2007. Geological Survey (U.S.). Raster data. https://purl.stanford.edu/mk312gt9695

Format

GeoTIFF

Languages

• English