MBES data used to derive this data were generated from bathymetry and backscatter data collected by Fugro Pelagos in 2008. The surveys were conducted to map surficial geology and benthic habitat as part of the USGS California Seafloor Mapping Program, a collaboration with California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB, 2016) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The bathymetry and backscatter intensity data was processed by the California State University Monterey Bay Seafloor Mapping Lab. The survey block mosaics were then exported as 2-m resolution georeferenced TIFF images. Survey blocks from CSUMB were subsequently mosaiced into California Seafloor Mapping Program Blocks by the University of California Santa Cruz Center for Integrated Spatial Research.

Seafloor Character (surface hardness and ruggedness) was derived from multibeam echosounder (MBES) and annotated underwater video data collected offshore of Morro Bay, California, in 2012. MBES and underwater video data were collected in support of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) California Seafloor Mapping Program, a USGS collaboration with the California State University Monterey Bay Seafloor Mapping Lab, the California Ocean Protection Council, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Substrate observations from the underwater video were translated into 3 induration-ruggedness classes (Cochrane, 2008) to use as training for a supervised numerical classification of the MBES data. The induration raster is provided as a 2-meter resolution GeoTIFF. The polygons are derived from MBES data and derivatives of that data using video-supervised and unsupervised classification. Attributes and attribute values are named following the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS; Madden and others, 2008) in order to be useful for ecosystems management.

These data are intended to provide regional bathymetric information in California State waters for offshore resource and ecosystem management. These data are also intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. These data can be used with geographic information systems or other software to help identify geomorphologic features and surficial lithology. These data are not intended to be used for navigation.

Cochrane, G.R., 2008, Video-supervised classification of sonar data for mapping seafloor habitat, in Reynolds, J.R., and Greene, H.G., eds., Marine habitat mapping technology for Alaska: Fairbanks, University of Alaska, Alaska Sea Grant College Program, p. 185–194, https://seagrant.uaf.edu/lib/aksg/0803/mhmta-cochrane.pdf

California State University, Monterey Bay, Seafloor Mapping Lab, 2016, Southern California 2008 CSMP surveys: California State University, Monterey Bay, Seafloor Mapping Lab Data Library, http://seafloor.otterlabs.org/SFMLwebDATA_SURVEYMAP.htm

Golden, N.E., compiler, 2013, California State Waters Map Series Data Catalog: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 781, Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/

Madden, C.J., Goodin, K.L., Allee, R., Finkbeiner, M., and Bamford, D.E., 2008, Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NatureServe, v. III, 77 p, accessed March 10, 2021, at https://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/cmecs-folder/CMECS_Version_06-2012_FINAL.pdf