Seafloor Mapping of Fanny Shoal and Partington Canyon: NOAA Ship McArthur II Cruise

Seafloor Mapping of Fanny Shoal and Partington Canyon: NOAA Ship McArthur II Cruise (July 2003) Jean de Marignac, Gary Greene, Roberto Anima, John Chin, Erica Burton, Michael Carver, Jennifer Dreyer, Holly Lopez, Lee Murai, Fred Payne

2003 Field Research Report

In July 2003, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in collaboration with 3 other federal agencies and two local research institutions led a six days research cruise aboard the NOAA Ship McARTHUR II. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) provided sidescan sonar technology to survey the seafloor at Fanny Shoal in the Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and in the vicinity of Partington Canyon in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The surveys revealed an extensive and a geologically complex basement and bedrock outcrop in Fanny Shoal, and a narrow continental shelf that is experiencing considerable littoral sediment transport in the Partington Canyon area. The Center for Habitat Studies at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories processed the data collected in Partington Canyon and produced a habitat map of the area surveyed. Fanny Shoal data will be processed and inventoried at the USGS in the coming year.