Research Technical Report
A PDF version of this report is available here: Lindholm_2009_Report.pdf (1 MB) |
Deepwater Characterization and Baseline Monitoring in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Lindholm, J. (June 2009)
A Report to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 23pp.
SUMMARY - excerpt
This report describes the most recent activities (2009) in an on-going collaboration between the Institute for Applied Marine Ecology (IfAME) at CSU Monterey Bay and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The primary objective of the project is the characterization of seafloor communities in the deeper (primarily federal) waters of the MBNMS, including fish, macrofaunal invertebrates, and seafloor habitats. A secondary objective is the collection of baseline data that could serve as the foundation for future monitoring efforts.
A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is used to collect videographic and still photographic imagery of the seafloor and associated organisms at locations throughout the Sanctuary, determined through discussions between IfAME and MBNMS. The ROV (owned by The Nature Conservancy and operated by Marine Applied Research and Exploration) is equipped with both forward- and down-looking digital still and video cameras. There are also two sets of paired 10 cm lasers for sizing of organisms and habitat features. The collection of video imagery is also conducted using a towed-camera sled configured with a single forward-facing video camera.