UC San Diego

In this study, I surveyed the benthos and habitat along previously conducted seismic sub-bottom profiles (Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse - CHIRP) using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in order to groundtruth seismic and multibeam swath bathymentry and to characterize biological habitat associations. This study elucidated the role of the relief of the transgressive surface in allocating sediment along the continental shelf and how the shoaling of the transgressive surface along strike occurs concomitantly with decreases in sediment thickness, leading to (1) increased patchiness and habitat fragmentation and (2) increased edge habitat and species richness