Abstract:
This part of SIM 3302 presents the habitat map of the seafloor (see sheet 7) of Offshore of Coal Oil Point, California (vector data file is included in "Habitat_OffshoreCoalOilPoint.zip," which is accessible from
http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreCoalOilPoint/data_catalog_OffshoreCoalOilPoint.html).
Using multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter data, potential marine benthic habitat maps were constructed. The habitats were based on substrate types and documented or "ground truthed" using underwater video images and seafloor samples obtained by the USGS. These maps display various habitat types ranging from flat, soft consolidated sediment-covered seafloor to hard, deformed (folded) or highly rugose and differentially eroded bedrock exposures. Rugged, high relief rocky outcrops that have been eroded to form ledges and small caves are ideal habitat for rockfish (Sebastes spp.) and other bottom fish such as lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus). Habitat maps will be presented in a map format generated in a GIS (ArcMap) and both digital and hard copy versions will be produced.
Purpose:
The purpose of this work is to construct nine potential marine benthic habitat maps characterized after Greene et al. (1999, 2007). These habitat maps are constructed in the same manner as the maps completed for phase I of the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP). These maps will be interpreted from MBES data collected by the CSMP in the Santa Barbara Channel area and elsewhere along the coast of central California.
Supplemental_Information:
Data used for the creation of the potential marine benthic habitat interpretation consists of multibeam bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, sediment samples, camera-sled imagery, and existing geologic and seafloor interpretive maps. All data were compiled and displayed for interpretation using ESRI ArcGIS software, ArcMap v.9.3. The process utilizes editing a shapefile within ArcMap, beginning with the construction of polygons to delineate benthic features. A feature is an area with common characteristics which can be characterized as a single potential habitat type. The boundaries and extents of these features were determined from the bathymetric data. Generally, interpretations were made at scales ranging between 1:2,000 and 1:5,000. The USGS kindly provided the Center for Habitat Studies with a geodatabase consisting of feature datasets delineating geologic features and attributes for the Santa Barbara Channel. Some of the delineated polygons were preserved as part of the potential marine benthic habitat characterization. However, the Greene et. al (2007) code was used in attributing the dataset and additional polygons were added using the methods outlined below. High resolution multibeam sonar data in the form of bathymetric depth grids (seafloor digital elevation models, referred to as the "bathymetry") were the primary data used in the interpretation of potential habitat types. Shaded relief imagery ("hillshade") allows for visualization of the terrain and interpretation of submarine landforms. Based on these hillshades, areas of rock were identified by their often sharply defined edges and high relative relief; these may be contiguous outcrops, isolated portions of outcrop protruding through sediment cover (pinnacles), or isolated boulders. Although these types of features can be confidently characterized as exposed rock, it is not uncommon to find areas within or around the rocky feature that appear to be covered by a thin veneer of sediment. These areas are identified as "mixed" induration, containing both rock and sediment. Broad areas of the seafloor lacking sharp and angular characteristics are considered to be sediment. Sedimentary features may contain erosional or depositional characteristics recognizable in the bathymetry, such as dynamic bedforms (dunes or sand waves). General morphologic features such as scours, mounds, and depressions were also identified using the hillshade relief imagery. The combination of acoustic backscatter data and "groundtruthed" sediment samples were used to delineate seafloor sediment types within areas identified as "soft (s)" induration. Initially, groundtruth data, in the form of grab sample descriptions and average grain size measurements, were categorized into four grain-size categories: mud (m), muddy sand (s/m), sand (s), and sandy gravel (s/g). Backscatter data was then classified into four intensity categories (low, med, high, very high) that are assumed to correspond to relative grain sizes. The aim was to develop an intensity classification of the seafloor that correlated with the data collected from the sediment samples. Thus, the combination of remotely observed data (acoustic backscatter) and directly observed data (sediment grab samples) translates to higher confidence in our ability to interpret broad areas of the seafloor. Nonetheless, we caution against using our sediment type interpretations as anything more than "best-guess" due to the following issues: characterization of contiguous sediment bodies is a difficult procedure since even small areas can exhibit a wide spectrum of backscatter intensity values that lack distinct boundaries; backscatter intensity can be affected by depth, vegetation, water column conditions, and seafloor relief; and directly observed sediment data, in the form of sediment samples, represents a very small area relative to remotely observed data, requiring broad areas of interpolation. Please refer to Greene et al. (2007) for more information regarding the Benthic Marine Potential Habitat Classification Scheme and the codes used to represent various seafloor features.
References Cited:
Greene, H.G., Yoklavich, M.M., Starr, R.M., O'Connell, V.M., Wakefield, W.W., Sullivan, D.E., McRea, J.E., Jr., and Cailliet, G.M., 1999, A classification scheme for deep seafloor habitats: Oceanologica Acta, v. 22, no. 6, p. 663-678.
Greene, H.G., Bizzarro, J.J., O'Connell, V.M., and Brylinsky, C.K., 2007, Construction of digital potential marine benthic habitat maps using a coded classification scheme and its application, in Todd, B.J., and Greene, H.G., eds., Mapping the seafloor for habitat characterization: Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 47, p. 141-155.
Theme:
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Theme_Keyword: USGS:93589065-2db4-4619-bea2-0b5b04c035ec
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Global Change Master Directory (GCMD)
Theme_Keyword: Oceans > Bathymetry/SeafloorTopography > Bathymetry
Theme_Keyword: Oceans > Bathymetry/SeafloorTopography > Seafloor Topography
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: geoscientificinformation
Theme_Keyword: environment
Theme_Keyword: oceans
Theme_Keyword: biota
Theme_Keyword: imageryBaseMapsEarthCover
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: Multibeam bathymetry
Theme_Keyword: Benthic marine habitat
Theme_Keyword: Seafloor mapping
Theme_Keyword: Offshore geology
Theme_Keyword: GIS
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Data Categories for Marine Planning
Theme_Keyword: distributions
Theme_Keyword: physical habitats and geomorphology
Theme_Keyword: habitat
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Marine Realms Information Bank (MRIB) keywords
Theme_Keyword: seabed
Theme_Keyword: habitats
Theme_Keyword: benthos
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus
Theme_Keyword: sea-floor characteristics
Theme_Keyword: habitats
Theme_Keyword: benthos
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)
Theme_Keyword: Marine Nearshore Subtidal
Theme_Keyword: Marine Offshore Subtidal
Theme_Keyword: Transform Continental Margin
Theme_Keyword: Bight
Theme_Keyword: Borderland
Theme_Keyword: Continental/Island Shelf
Theme_Keyword: Rock Substrate
Theme_Keyword: Unconsolidated Mineral Substrate
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Place_Keyword: Pacific Ocean
Place_Keyword: State of California
Place_Keyword: Santa Barbara Channel
Place_Keyword: Santa Barbara County
Place_Keyword: Coal Oil Point
Place_Keyword: Goleta
Place_Keyword: Isla Vista
Place_Keyword: Coal Oil Point
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)
Place_Keyword: Southern California Bight Ecoregion
Stratum:
Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)
Stratum_Keyword: Substrate
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