Scientists from NOAA Fisheries Service's
Advanced Survey Technologies-Benthic Resources Group
NOAA Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research
participated in a six-day (November 1-6, 2010) research cruise aboard NOAA's newest Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV), the
Bell M. Shimada
, to investigate deep-water sponges and corals between San Diego, CA and Seattle, WA. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys were conducted in
Sur Canyon, south of Monterey Bay; on The Football, a bank north of San Francisco Bay; on Coquille Bank off the OR coast, and two sites within the
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS).
Underwater video and high-resolution still photographs were collected using the
Southwest Fisheries Science Center’s Phantom ROV. A video of our encounter with several Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) can be viewed
here. ‘Fly-along’ with the researchers in your browser by clicking on one of the five virtual tours below (Google Earth browser plug-in required).
Toggle the boxes above the map to turn on/off the various features. Zoom in on the map and click on individual photos to see larger images
and additional information. Or,
download the KMZ file
to view the tours externally using Google Earth.
NEW: The NOAA Tech Memo by Stierhoff et al. is now available for download
Stierhoff, K.L., P.J. Etnoyer, D.W. Murfin, and J.L. Butler (2011) A survey of deep-water coral and sponge habitats along the West
Coast of the US using a remotely operated vehicle. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 138, 37 pp.