This part of DS 781 presents data for the map showing the predicted distribution of tall sea pens in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, region. The raster data file is included in "TallSeaPens_SantaBarbaraChannel.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/SantaBarbaraChannel/data_catalog_SantaBarbaraChannel.html. Presence-absence data of benthic macro-invertebrates and associated habitat (that is, sediment type and depth) were collected using a towed camera sled in selected areas along the coast off southern California during a ground-truth observation cruise conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for the California Seafloor Mapping Program. Benthic community structure was determined from 35 video towed-camera transects within California's State Waters 3-nautical-mile limit in the Santa Barbara Channel. These transects produced a total of 923 10-second observations from the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area (34.5 degrees N., 120.1 degrees W.) to the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity map area (34.1 degrees N., 119.2 degrees W.). Presence-absence data were collected for 29 benthic, structure-forming nonmobile taxa. Using this information, generalized linear models (GLMs) were developed to predict the probability of occurrence of five commonly observed taxa (cup corals, hydroids, short and tall sea pens, and brittle stars in the sediment) in five map areas within the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC). A sixth map area (Offshore of Carpinteria) was not modeled owing to insufficient data. The analysis demonstrates that the community structure for the five map areas can be divided into three statistically distinct groups: (1) the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity and the Offshore of Ventura map areas; (2) the Offshore of Santa Barbara and the Offshore of Coal Oil Point map areas; and (3) the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area. These three distinct groups are the main reason that the probability for each taxa can be so dramatically different within one predictive-distribution map area. The five most frequently observed benthic macro-invertebrate taxa were selected for these predictive-distribution grids. Presence-absence data for each selected invertebrate were fit to specific generalized linear models using geographic location, depth, and seafloor character as covariates. Data for the covariates were informed by the bathymetry, seafloor character, and other ground-truth data from the different map areas of the Santa Barbara Channel region that are part of the California State Waters Map Series DS 781. Observations based on depth were limited by the capability of the towed camera sled; as a result, no predictions were made below depths of 150 m (in other words, on the continental slope or in Hueneme Canyon). Cup corals and hydroids had high predicted probabilities of occurrence in areas of hard substrata, whereas short and tall sea pens were predicted to occur in parts of the SBC that had unconsolidated and mixed sediment. Our model predicted that brittle stars would occur throughout the entire SBC on various bottom types.

This part of DS 781 presents data for the map showing the predicted distribution of short sea pens in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, region. The raster data file is included in "ShortSeaPens_SantaBarbaraChannel.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/SantaBarbaraChannel/data_catalog_SantaBarbaraChannel.html. Presence-absence data of benthic macro-invertebrates and associated habitat (that is, sediment type and depth) were collected using a towed camera sled in selected areas along the coast off southern California during a ground-truth observation cruise conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for the California Seafloor Mapping Program. Benthic community structure was determined from 35 video towed-camera transects within California's State Waters 3-nautical-mile limit in the Santa Barbara Channel. These transects produced a total of 923 10-second observations from the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area (34.5 degrees N., 120.1 degrees W.) to the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity map area (34.1 degrees N., 119.2 degrees W.). Presence-absence data were collected for 29 benthic, structure-forming nonmobile taxa. Using this information, generalized linear models (GLMs) were developed to predict the probability of occurrence of five commonly observed taxa (cup corals, hydroids, short and tall sea pens, and brittle stars in the sediment) in five map areas within the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC). A sixth map area (Offshore of Carpinteria) was not modeled owing to insufficient data. The analysis demonstrates that the community structure for the five map areas can be divided into three statistically distinct groups: (1) the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity and the Offshore of Ventura map areas; (2) the Offshore of Santa Barbara and the Offshore of Coal Oil Point map areas; and (3) the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area. These three distinct groups are the main reason that the probability for each taxa can be so dramatically different within one predictive-distribution map area. The five most frequently observed benthic macro-invertebrate taxa were selected for these predictive-distribution grids. Presence-absence data for each selected invertebrate were fit to specific generalized linear models using geographic location, depth, and seafloor character as covariates. Data for the covariates were informed by the bathymetry, seafloor character, and other ground-truth data from the different map areas of the Santa Barbara Channel region that are part of the California State Waters Map Series DS 781. Observations based on depth were limited by the capability of the towed camera sled; as a result, no predictions were made below depths of 150 m (in other words, on the continental slope or in Hueneme Canyon). Cup corals and hydroids had high predicted probabilities of occurrence in areas of hard substrata, whereas short and tall sea pens were predicted to occur in parts of the SBC that had unconsolidated and mixed sediment. Our model predicted that brittle stars would occur throughout the entire SBC on various bottom types.

This part of DS 781 presents data for the map showing the predicted distribution of cup corals in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, region. The raster data file is included in "CupCorals_SantaBarbaraChannel.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/SantaBarbaraChannel/data_catalog_SantaBarbaraChannel.html. Presence-absence data of benthic macro-invertebrates and associated habitat (that is, sediment type and depth) were collected using a towed camera sled in selected areas along the coast off southern California during a ground-truth observation cruise conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for the California Seafloor Mapping Program. Benthic community structure was determined from 35 video towed-camera transects within California's State Waters 3-nautical-mile limit in the Santa Barbara Channel. These transects produced a total of 923 10-second observations from the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area (34.5 degrees N., 120.1 degrees W.) to the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity map area (34.1 degrees N., 119.2 degrees W.). Presence-absence data were collected for 29 benthic, structure-forming nonmobile taxa. Using this information, generalized linear models (GLMs) were developed to predict the probability of occurrence of five commonly observed taxa (cup corals, hydroids, short and tall sea pens, and brittle stars in the sediment) in five map areas within the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC). A sixth map area (Offshore of Carpinteria) was not modeled owing to insufficient data. The analysis demonstrates that the community structure for the five map areas can be divided into three statistically distinct groups: (1) the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity and the Offshore of Ventura map areas; (2) the Offshore of Santa Barbara and the Offshore of Coal Oil Point map areas; and (3) the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area. These three distinct groups are the main reason that the probability for each taxa can be so dramatically different within one predictive-distribution map area. The five most frequently observed benthic macro-invertebrate taxa were selected for these predictive-distribution grids. Presence-absence data for each selected invertebrate were fit to specific generalized linear models using geographic location, depth, and seafloor character as covariates. Data for the covariates were informed by the bathymetry, seafloor character, and other ground-truth data from the different map areas of the Santa Barbara Channel region that are part of the California State Waters Map Series DS 781. Observations based on depth were limited by the capability of the towed camera sled; as a result, no predictions were made below depths of 150 m (in other words, on the continental slope or in Hueneme Canyon). Cup corals and hydroids had high predicted probabilities of occurrence in areas of hard substrata, whereas short and tall sea pens were predicted to occur in parts of the SBC that had unconsolidated and mixed sediment. Our model predicted that brittle stars would occur throughout the entire SBC on various bottom types.

This part of DS 781 presents data for the map showing the predicted distribution of brittle stars in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, region. The raster data file is included in "BrittleStars_SantaBarbaraChannel.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/SantaBarbaraChannel/data_catalog_SantaBarbaraChannel.html. Presence-absence data of benthic macro-invertebrates and associated habitat (that is, sediment type and depth) were collected using a towed camera sled in selected areas along the coast off southern California during a ground-truth observation cruise conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for the California Seafloor Mapping Program. Benthic community structure was determined from 35 video towed-camera transects within California's State Waters 3-nautical-mile limit in the Santa Barbara Channel. These transects produced a total of 923 10-second observations from the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area (34.5 degrees N., 120.1 degrees W.) to the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity map area (34.1 degrees N., 119.2 degrees W.). Presence-absence data were collected for 29 benthic, structure-forming nonmobile taxa. Using this information, generalized linear models (GLMs) were developed to predict the probability of occurrence of five commonly observed taxa (cup corals, hydroids, short and tall sea pens, and brittle stars in the sediment) in five map areas within the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC). A sixth map area (Offshore of Carpinteria) was not modeled owing to insufficient data. The analysis demonstrates that the community structure for the five map areas can be divided into three statistically distinct groups: (1) the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity and the Offshore of Ventura map areas; (2) the Offshore of Santa Barbara and the Offshore of Coal Oil Point map areas; and (3) the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area. These three distinct groups are the main reason that the probability for each taxa can be so dramatically different within one predictive-distribution map area. The five most frequently observed benthic macro-invertebrate taxa were selected for these predictive-distribution grids. Presence-absence data for each selected invertebrate were fit to specific generalized linear models using geographic location, depth, and seafloor character as covariates. Data for the covariates were informed by the bathymetry, seafloor character, and other ground-truth data from the different map areas of the Santa Barbara Channel region that are part of the California State Waters Map Series DS 781. Observations based on depth were limited by the capability of the towed camera sled; as a result, no predictions were made below depths of 150 m (in other words, on the continental slope or in Hueneme Canyon). Cup corals and hydroids had high predicted probabilities of occurrence in areas of hard substrata, whereas short and tall sea pens were predicted to occur in parts of the SBC that had unconsolidated and mixed sediment. Our model predicted that brittle stars would occur throughout the entire SBC on various bottom types.

This part of DS 781 presents data for the habitat map of the seafloor of the Offshore of Santa Cruz map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Habitat_OffshoreSantaCruz.zip," which is accessible from https://doi.org/10.5066/F7TM785G. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Johnson, S.Y., Erdey, M.D., Golden, N.E., Greene, H.G., Dieter, B.E., Hartwell, S.R., Ritchie, A.C., Finlayson, D.P., Endris, C.A., Watt, J.T., Davenport, C.W., Sliter, R.W., Maier, K.L., and Krigsman, L.M. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2016, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Santa Cruz, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016-1024, pamphlet 40 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161024. Using multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter data, potential marine benthic habitat maps were constructed. The habitats were based on substrate types and documented or "ground truthed" using underwater video images and seafloor samples obtained by the USGS. These maps display various habitat types that range from flat, soft, unconsolidated sediment-covered seafloor to hard, deformed (folded), or highly rugose and differentially eroded bedrock exposures. Rugged, high-relief, rocky outcrops that have been eroded to form ledges and small caves are ideal habitat for rockfish (Sebastes spp.) and other bottom fish such as lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus). Habitat map is presented in a map format generated in a GIS (ArcMap), and both digital and hard-copy versions will be produced. Please refer to Greene and others (2007) for more information regarding the Benthic Marine Potential Habitat Classification Scheme and the codes used to represent various seafloor features. References Cited: Greene, H.G., Bizzarro, J.J., O'Connell, V.M., and Brylinsky, C.K., 2007, Construction of digital potential marine benthic habitat maps using a coded classification scheme and its application, in Todd, B.J., and Greene, H.G., eds., Mapping the seafloor for habitat characterization: Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 47, p. 141-155.

This part of DS 781 presents data for the habitat map of the Offshore of Santa Barbara map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Habitat_OffshoreSantaBarbara.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreSantaBarbara/data_catalog_OffshoreSantaBarbara.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Johnson, S.Y., Dartnell, P., Cochrane, G.R., Golden, N.E., Phillips, E.L., Ritchie, A.C., Greene, H.G., Krigsman, L.M., Kvitek, R.G., Dieter, B.E., Endris, C.A., Seitz, G.G., Sliter, R.W., Erdey, M.E., Gutierrez, C.I., Wong, F.L., Yoklavich, M.M., Draut, A.E., Hart, P.E., and Conrad, J.E. (S.Y. Johnson and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2013, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Santa Barbara, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3281, 45 p., 11 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3281. Potential marine benthic habitat maps were constructed using multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter data. The habitats were based on substrate types and documented or "ground truthed" using underwater video images and seafloor samples obtained by the USGS. These maps display various habitat types that range from flat, soft, unconsolidated sediment-covered seafloor to hard, deformed (folded), or highly rugose and differentially eroded bedrock exposures.

This part of DS 781 presents data for the bathymetric contours for several seafloor maps of the Offshore of Santa Barbara map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Contours_OffshoreSantaBarbara.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreSantaBarbara/data_catalog_OffshoreSantaBarbara.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Johnson, S.Y., Dartnell, P., Cochrane, G.R., Golden, N.E., Phillips, E.L., Ritchie, A.C., Greene, H.G., Krigsman, L.M., Kvitek, R.G., Dieter, B.E., Endris, C.A., Seitz, G.G., Sliter, R.W., Erdey, M.E., Gutierrez, C.I., Wong, F.L., Yoklavich, M.M., Draut, A.E., Hart, P.E., and Conrad, J.E. (S.Y. Johnson and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2013, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Santa Barbara, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3281, 45 p., 11 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3281. Contours of the Offshore of Santa Barbara map area, California, were generated from bathymetry data collected by California State University, Monterey Bay, Seafloor Mapping Lab (CSUMB), by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and by Fugro Pelagos for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Joint Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise. Most of the offshore area was mapped by CSUMB in the summer of 2007, using a 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounder. Smaller areas in the far-east nearshore, as well as further offshore to the west and in the southeast outer shelf area, were mapped by the USGS in 2005 and 2006, using a combination of 468-kHz (2005) and 117-kHz (2006) SEA (AP) Ltd. SWATHplus-M phase-differencing sidescan sonars. The nearshore bathymetry and coastal topography were mapped for USACE by Fugro Pelagos in 2009, using the SHOALS-1000T bathymetric-lidar and Leica ALS60 topographic-lidar systems. All these mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry from the 0-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. A smooth arithmetic mean convolution function that assigns a weight of one-ninth to each cell in a 3-pixel by 3-pixel matrix was then applied iteratively to the grid ten times. Following smoothing, contour lines were generated at 10-m intervals, then the contours were clipped to the boundary of the map area.

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The program supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues, including the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2008), which requires information about the distribution of ecosystems as part of the design and proposal process for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas. A focus of CSMP is to map California’s State Waters with consistent methods at a consistent scale. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data (the undersea equivalent of satellite remote-sensing data in terrestrial mapping), acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. It is emphasized that the more interpretive habitat and geology data rely on the integration of multiple, new high-resolution datasets and that mapping at small scales would not be possible without such data. This approach and CSMP planning is based in part on recommendations of the Marine Mapping Planning Workshop (Kvitek and others, 2006), attended by coastal and marine managers and scientists from around the state. That workshop established geographic priorities for a coastal mapping project and identified the need for coverage of “lands” from the shore strand line (defined as Mean Higher High Water; MHHW) out to the 3-nautical-mile (5.6-km) limit of California’s State Waters. Unfortunately, surveying the zone from MHHW out to 10-m water depth is not consistently possible using ship-based surveying methods, owing to sea state (for example, waves, wind, or currents), kelp coverage, and shallow rock outcrops. Accordingly, some of the data presented in this series commonly do not cover the zone from the shore out to 10-m depth. This data is part of a series of online U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publications, each of which includes several map sheets, some explanatory text, and a descriptive pamphlet. Each map sheet is published as a PDF file. Geographic information system (GIS) files that contain both ESRI ArcGIS raster grids (for example, bathymetry, seafloor character) and geotiffs (for example, shaded relief) are also included for each publication. For those who do not own the full suite of ESRI GIS and mapping software, the data can be read using ESRI ArcReader, a free viewer that is available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html (last accessed September 20, 2013). The California Seafloor Mapping Program is a collaborative venture between numerous different federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector. CSMP partners include the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Ocean Protection Council, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Geological Survey, California State University at Monterey Bay’s Seafloor Mapping Lab, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Center for Habitat Studies, Fugro Pelagos, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, including National Ocean Service–Office of Coast Surveys, National Marine Sanctuaries, and National Marine Fisheries Service), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. These web services for the Santa Barbara Channel map area includes data layers that are associated to GIS and map sheets available from the USGS CSMP web page at

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The program supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues, including the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2008), which requires information about the distribution of ecosystems as part of the design and proposal process for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas. A focus of CSMP is to map California’s State Waters with consistent methods at a consistent scale. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data (the undersea equivalent of satellite remote-sensing data in terrestrial mapping), acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. It is emphasized that the more interpretive habitat and geology data rely on the integration of multiple, new high-resolution datasets and that mapping at small scales would not be possible without such data. This approach and CSMP planning is based in part on recommendations of the Marine Mapping Planning Workshop (Kvitek and others, 2006), attended by coastal and marine managers and scientists from around the state. That workshop established geographic priorities for a coastal mapping project and identified the need for coverage of “lands” from the shore strand line (defined as Mean Higher High Water; MHHW) out to the 3-nautical-mile (5.6-km) limit of California’s State Waters. Unfortunately, surveying the zone from MHHW out to 10-m water depth is not consistently possible using ship-based surveying methods, owing to sea state (for example, waves, wind, or currents), kelp coverage, and shallow rock outcrops. Accordingly, some of the data presented in this series commonly do not cover the zone from the shore out to 10-m depth. This data is part of a series of online U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publications, each of which includes several map sheets, some explanatory text, and a descriptive pamphlet. Each map sheet is published as a PDF file. Geographic information system (GIS) files that contain both ESRI ArcGIS raster grids (for example, bathymetry, seafloor character) and geotiffs (for example, shaded relief) are also included for each publication. For those who do not own the full suite of ESRI GIS and mapping software, the data can be read using ESRI ArcReader, a free viewer that is available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html (last accessed September 20, 2013). The California Seafloor Mapping Program is a collaborative venture between numerous different federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector. CSMP partners include the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Ocean Protection Council, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Geological Survey, California State University at Monterey Bay’s Seafloor Mapping Lab, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Center for Habitat Studies, Fugro Pelagos, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, including National Ocean Service–Office of Coast Surveys, National Marine Sanctuaries, and National Marine Fisheries Service), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. These web services for the Offshore of Santa Barbara map area includes data layers that are associated to GIS and map sheets available from the USGS CSMP web page at

This part of DS 781 presents benthic biological observations of the California coast in support of the California Seafloor Mapping Project. A shapefile and corresponding comma-delimited text file are included in "Benthic_Biological_Interpretation.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/video_observations/data_catalog_video_observations.html.