“Thanks to MBARI’s engineering innovation, we now have the tools to map the deep seafloor in unprecedented detail, providing insight into the ecology and geology of this environment.”
—Principal Engineer Dave Caress
![A map of Monterey Canyon (top, labeled A) and a detailed map of study site (bottom, labeled B). The map labeled A shows the continental shelf in pale orange and twists and turns of Monterey Canyon in a gradient of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The canyon starts at orange to the right, with its deepest reaches on the left represented in purple. A label for “Soquel Canyon” is below a branch of the canyon and a label for “Monterey Canyon” is below the main canyon channel. On the left side is a black box labeled “B.” On the bottom is a black-and-white striped scale bar marked with 0, 1, 2, and 4 kilometers. To the top right is a compass with four points with “N” marking north and pointed diagonally to the right. To the bottom right is a depth legend with a rectangle with a gradient of white, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple that represents 0 meters (top) and 2,050 meters (bottom). The map labeled B shows a detailed section of the Monterey Canyon map above. This map shows a depth gradient—represented right to left (shallow to deep) by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue—and the rippled texture of the seafloor. A box with dashed black lines is labeled “Low-altitude survey site” and contains a single small black dot that reads “SIN” denoting the location of the Seafloor Instrument Node. On the bottom is a black-and-white-striped scale bar marked with 0, 100, 200, and 400 meters. At the top right are a compass with four points with “N” marking north directly above and a depth legend with a rectangle with a gradient of white, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple and notches marking 1,800, 1,810, 1,820, 1,830, 1,840, and 1,850 meters. Outside the map are labels for latitude on the left (36°42’00’’ and 36°42’15’’) and longitude (-122°05’45’’ and -122°05’15’’). A map of Monterey Canyon (top, labeled A) and a detailed map of study site (bottom, labeled B). The map labeled A shows the continental shelf in pale orange and twists and turns of Monterey Canyon in a gradient of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The canyon starts at orange to the right, with its deepest reaches on the left represented in purple. A label for “Soquel Canyon” is below a branch of the canyon and a label for “Monterey Canyon” is below the main canyon channel. On the left side is a black box labeled “B.” On the bottom is a black-and-white striped scale bar marked with 0, 1, 2, and 4 kilometers. To the top right is a compass with four points with “N” marking north and pointed diagonally to the right. To the bottom right is a depth legend with a rectangle with a gradient of white, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple that represents 0 meters (top) and 2,050 meters (bottom). The map labeled B shows a detailed section of the Monterey Canyon map above. This map shows a depth gradient—represented right to left (shallow to deep) by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue—and the rippled texture of the seafloor. A box with dashed black lines is labeled “Low-altitude survey site” and contains a single small black dot that reads “SIN” denoting the location of the Seafloor Instrument Node. On the bottom is a black-and-white-striped scale bar marked with 0, 100, 200, and 400 meters. At the top right are a compass with four points with “N” marking north directly above and a depth legend with a rectangle with a gradient of white, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple and notches marking 1,800, 1,810, 1,820, 1,830, 1,840, and 1,850 meters. Outside the map are labels for latitude on the left (36°42’00’’ and 36°42’15’’) and longitude (-122°05’45’’ and -122°05’15’’).](https://mbari.imgix.net/uploads/stories/Monterey_Canyon_LASS_survey_site.png?auto=format,compress&fit=max&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&w=360&h=360)
Monterey Canyon (A) is located just offshore of MBARI’s research facilities in Moss Landing, California. MBARI researchers conducted high-resolution, low-altitude surveys in a part of the canyon floor 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the canyon head (B) and deployed the Seafloor Instrument Node (SIN) to monitor environmental conditions, like currents, at the site to shed new light on processes that sculpt submarine canyons. Image: Monica Wolfson-Schwehr © 2023 MBARI
![A series of bathymetry maps. To the left, four maps labeled A represent a location surveyed in November 2015, May 2016, October 2016, and March 2017 by sonar. The maps show a depth gradient, represented right to left by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue. A black box on the second map is labeled B and a black box on the fourth map is labeled C. A black scale bar at the bottom represents 25 meters. A legend reads “Depth (m)” and shows the color gradient from orange and -1833 on the right to blue and -1844 on the left. The center map labeled B represents a scrape on the seafloor surveyed by lidar in May 2016. The map shows a depth gradient, represented from right to left by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue. A scour (scrape) that developed on the seafloor in the bottom two-thirds of the map is blue with a green edge. A black scale bar at the bottom represents one meter. A legend reads “Depth (m)” and shows the color gradient from orange and -1836.5 on the right to blue and -1837.2 on the left. The right map labeled C represents a location on the seafloor surveyed by lidar in March 2017. The map shows a depth gradient, represented from right to left by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue. The site has one large blue scour on the left, several smaller blue scours in the lower center, and two yellow mounds to the upper right. A black arrow labeled “crab” points to a green outline of a crab on the large blue scour. A black scale bar at the bottom represents one meter. A legend reads “Depth (m)” and shows the color gradient from orange and -1839.10 on the right to blue and -1839.55 on the left. A series of bathymetry maps. To the left, four maps labeled A represent a location surveyed in November 2015, May 2016, October 2016, and March 2017 by sonar. The maps show a depth gradient, represented right to left by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue. A black box on the second map is labeled B and a black box on the fourth map is labeled C. A black scale bar at the bottom represents 25 meters. A legend reads “Depth (m)” and shows the color gradient from orange and -1833 on the right to blue and -1844 on the left. The center map labeled B represents a scrape on the seafloor surveyed by lidar in May 2016. The map shows a depth gradient, represented from right to left by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue. A scour (scrape) that developed on the seafloor in the bottom two-thirds of the map is blue with a green edge. A black scale bar at the bottom represents one meter. A legend reads “Depth (m)” and shows the color gradient from orange and -1836.5 on the right to blue and -1837.2 on the left. The right map labeled C represents a location on the seafloor surveyed by lidar in March 2017. The map shows a depth gradient, represented from right to left by shifting colors from orange to yellow to green to blue. The site has one large blue scour on the left, several smaller blue scours in the lower center, and two yellow mounds to the upper right. A black arrow labeled “crab” points to a green outline of a crab on the large blue scour. A black scale bar at the bottom represents one meter. A legend reads “Depth (m)” and shows the color gradient from orange and -1839.10 on the right to blue and -1839.55 on the left.](https://mbari.imgix.net/uploads/stories/Monterey_Canyon_lidar_bathymetry_repeated_surveys_revised_1920_2024-02-19-202826_pgpz.png?auto=format,compress&fit=max&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&w=360&h=360)
Four repeat surveys with MBARI’s LASS sensor suite between November 2015 and April 2017 provided an incredibly detailed view of changes to the floor of Monterey Canyon, including large migrating bedforms and smaller ripples and scours. The LASS combines various sensors, including sonar bathymetry (A) at a resolution of five centimeters (two inches) and lidar bathymetry (B and C) at a scale of one centimeter. Lidar data provide richer detail about the seafloor, revealing objects that are too small to be seen by sonar. Image: Monica Wolfson-Schwehr © 2023 MBARI
![A grayscale image of seafloor texture. Scours in the sediment are outlined in black dashed lines. Three green arrows point to the left and represent the flow of turbidity currents with labels for January 15, 2016, September 1, 2016, and February 3, 2017. A blue arrow labeled “peak tides” points diagonally to the right and represents the movement of internal tides. A white scale bar at the bottom represents five meters. A grayscale image of seafloor texture. Scours in the sediment are outlined in black dashed lines. Three green arrows point to the left and represent the flow of turbidity currents with labels for January 15, 2016, September 1, 2016, and February 3, 2017. A blue arrow labeled “peak tides” points diagonally to the right and represents the movement of internal tides. A white scale bar at the bottom represents five meters.](https://mbari.imgix.net/uploads/stories/Monterey_Canyon_lidar_bathymetry_with_currents.png?auto=format,compress&fit=max&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&w=360&h=360)
Lidar technology on MBARI’s LASS sensor suite uses pulses of lasers to record the bathymetry, or underwater topography, on the seafloor at centimeter-scale resolution. Surveys with the LASS suite at a scour field 1,840 meters (6,037 feet) deep on the floor of Monterey Canyon revealed how turbidity currents (green) and tides (blue) affected the structure of the seafloor. Image: Monica Wolfson-Schwehr © 2016 MBARI
![A three-dimensional visualization of the seafloor created during a test of a new software package. This screenshot shows data from two diagonal paths and one intersecting vertical path forming an XI shape. The seafloor within the XI shape is represented as jagged brown pixels with patches of yellow, green, and blue pixels representing marine life, including fan-shaped corals and vase-like sponges. The data are plotted against a solid black background. A three-dimensional visualization of the seafloor created during a test of a new software package. This screenshot shows data from two diagonal paths and one intersecting vertical path forming an XI shape. The seafloor within the XI shape is represented as jagged brown pixels with patches of yellow, green, and blue pixels representing marine life, including fan-shaped corals and vase-like sponges. The data are plotted against a solid black background.](https://mbari.imgix.net/uploads/stories/LASS_SLAM_test_at_Sponge_Ridge_October_2023_2024-02-19-202958_yeck.png?auto=format,compress&fit=max&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&w=360&h=360)
Engineers from MBARI’s CoMPAS Lab are developing a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) framework using the LASS to generate three-dimensional maps of the seafloor in real time. Image: © 2023 MBARI