Seymour Center presents public lecture on California seafloor mapping program
Katherine Moore
UC Santa Cruz
04/14/2010
Samuel Johnson, a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, will describe exciting progress in the California Seafloor Mapping Program in a public lecture at the Seymour Center at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 18. Johnson's talk, "The Top 10 Reasons to Love Seafloor Mapping," is part of the Science Sunday lecture series at the Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory. The event is free with paid admission or membership.
The lecture will feature new imagery from northern Monterey Bay. If you've ever wondered what's under the water at your favorite surf or fishing spots, this may be your chance to find out.
New technologies now allow detailed mapping of the seafloor at resolutions equal to or greater than the resolution of land maps. The result has been a monumental increase in scientific understanding of seafloor processes, habitats, and change, providing valuable new information for scientists and coastal zone managers. Johnson will describe these new technologies and the progress being made on the California Seafloor Mapping Program, a visionary and comprehensive effort that started in the Monterey Bay marine science community and now involves a partnership of 17 agencies and universities. The program is considered a national model of success.
Johnson will describe 10 important ways in which data from this effort are being used, including designation of marine protected areas, understanding coastal erosion, enhancing navigation, and earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment. As Johnson put it, "You can't manage it, monitor it, or model it if you don't know what the 'it' is--and that's what seafloor mapping tells you, in high definition."
