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46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS2014

California State Waters Map Series: Offshore of Coal Oil Point, California

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 the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data, 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. The Offshore of Coal Oil Point map area lies within the central Santa Barbara Channel region of the Southern California Bight. This geologically complex region forms a major biogeographic transition zone, separating the cold-temperate Oregonian province north of Point Conception from the warm-temperate California province to the south. The map area is in the southern part of the Western Transverse Ranges geologic province, which is north of the California Continental Borderland. Significant clockwise rotation—at least 90°—since the early Miocene has been proposed for the Western Transverse Ranges province, and geodetic studies indicate that the region is presently undergoing north-south shortening. Uplift rates (as much as 2.0 mm/yr) that are based on studies of onland marine terraces provide further evidence of significant shortening. The cities of Goleta and Isla Vista, the main population centers in the map area, are in the western part of a contiguous urban area that extends eastward through Santa Barbara to Carpinteria. This urban area is on the south flank of the east-west-trending Santa Ynez Mountains, on coalescing alluvial fans and uplifted marine terraces underlain by folded and faulted Miocene bedrock. In the map area, the relatively low-relief, elevated coastal bajada narrows from about 2.5 km wide in the east to less than 500 m wide in the west. Several beaches line the actively utilized coastal zone, including Isla Vista County Park beach, Coal Oil Point Reserve, and Goleta Beach County Park. The beaches are subject to erosion each winter during storm-wave attack, and then they undergo gradual recovery or accretion during the more gentle wave climate of the late spring, summer, and fall months. The Offshore of Coal Oil Point map area lies in the central part of the Santa Barbara littoral cell, which is characterized by littoral drift to the east-southeast. Longshore drift rates have been reported to range from about 160,000 to 800,000 tons/yr, averaging 400,000 tons/yr. Sediment supply to the western and central parts of the littoral cell, including the map area, is largely from relatively small transverse coastal watersheds. Within the map area, these coastal watersheds include (from east to west) Las Llagas Canyon, Gato Canyon, Las Varas Canyon, Dos Pueblos Canyon, Eagle Canyon, Tecolote Canyon, Winchester Canyon, Ellwood Canyon, Glen Annie Canyon, and San Jose Creek. The Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Rivers, the mouths of which are about 100 to 140 km northwest of the map area, are not significant sediment sources because Point Conception and Point Arguello provide obstacles to downcoast sediment transport and also because much of their sediment load is trapped in dams. The Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers, the mouths of which are about 45 to 55 km southeast of the map area, are much larger sediment sources. Still farther east, eastward-moving sediment in the littoral cell is trapped by Hueneme and Mugu Canyons and then transported to the deep-water Santa Monica Basin. The offshore part of the map area consists of a relatively flat and shallow continental shelf, which dips gently seaward (about 0.8° to 1.0°) so that water depths at the shelf break, roughly coincident with the California’s State Waters limit, are about 90 m. This part of the Santa Barbara Channel is relatively well protected from large Pacific swells from the north and northwest by Point Conception and from the south and southwest by offshore islands and banks. The shelf is underlain by variable amounts of upper Quaternary marine and fluvial sediments deposited as sea level fluctuated in the late Pleistocene. The large (130 km2) Goleta landslide complex lies along the shelf break in the southern part of the map area. This compound slump complex may have been initiated more than 200,000 years ago, but it also includes three recent failures that may have been generated between 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. A local, 5- to 10-m-high tsunami may have been generated from these failure events. The map area has had a long history of hydrocarbon development, which began in 1928 with discovery of the Ellwood oil field. Subsequent discoveries in the offshore include South Ellwood offshore oil field, Coal Oil Point oil field, and Naples oil and gas field. Development of South Ellwood offshore field began in 1966 from platform “Holly,” the last platform to be installed in California’s State Waters. The area also is known for “the world’s most spectacular marine hydrocarbon seeps,” and large tar seeps are exposed on beaches east of the mouth of Goleta Slough. Offshore seeps adjacent to South Ellwood oil field release about 40 tons per day of methane and about 19 tons per day of ethane, propane, butane, and higher hydrocarbons. Seafloor habitats in the broad Santa Barbara Channel region consist of significant amounts of soft sediment and isolated areas of rocky habitat that support kelp-forest communities nearshore and rocky-reef communities in deep water. The potential marine benthic habitat types mapped in the Offshore of Coal Oil Point map area are directly related to its Quaternary geologic history, geomorphology, and active sedimentary processes. These potential habitats, which lie primarily within the Shelf (continental shelf) but also partly within the Flank (basin flank or continental slope) megahabitats, range from soft, unconsolidated sediment to hard sedimentary bedrock. This heterogeneous seafloor provides promising habitat for rockfish, groundfish, crabs, shrimp, and other marine benthic organisms.

California↗
USGS1976

Geologic appraisal of the petroleum potential of offshore southern California; the borderland compared to onshore coastal basins

Offshore southern California is part of a much larger Pacific continental margin, and the two areas have a similar geologic history at least as far back as middle Tertiary time. Assessment of the petroleum potential of the offshore Southern California borderland is accomplished by examining the adjacent highly explored productive coastal basins in the tectonically unstable area west of the San Andreas fault. Known oil and gas accumulations in this region can be characterized as follows: 88 percent comes from the Los Angeles and Ventura basins; 87 percent has been found in late Miocene and younger strata and only 0.2 percent has been found in Eocene strata; 80 percent has been found in thick deposits of deep-water turbidite reservoirs; and 5 percent has been found in fractured Miocene siliceous shale reservoirs. The percentage of siliceous shale reservoirs will increase as a result of recent discoveries in this rock type in the Santa Barbara Channel. Of the 212 known fields only 5 are giants (greater than 500 million barrels), and these fields account for 52 percent of all past production from the region. Most fields are faulted anticlines, and the largest fields have the highest oil recoveries per acre. Geologic knowledge of the offshore is limited by the availability of data. Data have been obtained from geophysical surveys, analyses of bedrock samples from the sea floor, and extrapolations of data from the mainland and offshore islands. Several factors have a negative effect on the assessment of the petroleum potential of the southern California borderland. They are: 1. The Neogene section is relatively thin, and the Paleogene section is thin and has a limited distribution. 2. Over large areas, Miocene sediments apparently rest directly on basement. 3. Along much of the Santa Rosa-Cortes Ridge, sediments are uplifted and truncated, exposing Paleogene rocks. 4. Organic content in Paleogene sediments is believed too low to generate large amounts of petroleum. 5. Source rocks are immature, even in sediments as old as Eocene. 6. Burial and thermal history are insufficient for the generaton of hydrocarbons over much of the borderland area. 7. Documented oil and gas seeps are unknown seaward of the Channel Islands. 8. Limited exploratory drilling nearshore, the best prospective area, has not been favorable. 9. Adequate or thick reservoirs of deep-water turbidire origin are not evident. These negative factors are partly offset by the following positive factors: 1. Miocene sediments are excellent potential source rocks. 2. Asphaltic oil in rocks of Monterey-type lithology may be generated at lower than normal temperatures. 3. Shallow-water sands of reservoir quality possibly are present in the uppermost Paleogene and lowermost Neogene section. 4. Potential structural traps may be analogous to major structural producing trends onshore. 5. Fractured shale reservoirs may be present along flanks of major banks and ridges. 6. Buried and unsampled Paleogene and Late Cretaceous sediments may be better source rocks than those sampled and measured. The southern California borderland, although a part of a locally rich petroliferous region, has no known basins with geologic histories or characteristics similar to the Los Angeles and Ventura basins. Some offshore basins are similar to less endowed basins in terms of petroleum potential such as the Santa Maria and Salinas basins. Areas with the best petroleum potential may be in deep water (greater than 500 m). Some of the past high estimates of the petroleum potential may have been overstated; the existing geologic data tend to substantiate low estimates of 0.6 to 5.8 billion barrels of oil and 0.6 to 5.8 trillion ft3 of gas for the southern California borderland at the 5 and 95 percent probability level.

Circular↗
USGS2014

A new Liopropoma sea bass (Serranidae, Epinephelinae, Liopropomini) from deep reefs off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, with comments on depth distributions of western Atlantic liopropomins

Collecting reef-fish specimens using a manned submersible diving to 300 m off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, is resulting in the discovery of numerous new fish species. The new Liopropoma sea bass described here differs from other western Atlantic members of the genus in having VIII, 13 dorsal-fin rays; a moderately indented dorsal-fin margin; a yellow-orange stripe along the entire upper lip; a series of approximately 13 white, chevron-shaped markings on the ventral portion of the trunk; and a reddish-black blotch on the tip of the lower caudal-fin lobe. The new species, with predominantly yellow body and fins, closely resembles the other two “golden basses” found together with it at Curaçao: L. aberrans and L. olneyi . It also shares morphological features with the other western Atlantic liopropomin genus, Bathyanthias . Preliminary phylogenetic data suggest that western Atlantic liopropomins, including Bathyanthias , are monophyletic with respect to Indo-Pacific Liopropoma , and that Bathyanthias is nested within Liopropoma , indicating a need for further study of the generic limits of Liopropoma . The phylogenetic data also suggest that western Atlantic liopropomins comprise three monophyletic clades that have overlapping depth distributions but different depth maxima (3–135 m, 30–150 m, 133–411 m). The new species has the deepest depth range (182–241 m) of any known western Atlantic Liopropoma species. Both allopatric and depth-mediated ecological speciation may have contributed to the evolution of western Atlantic Liopropomini.

Caribbean Sea↗
USGS1914

The Glacier National Park: A popular guide to its geology and scenery

The Glacier National Park includes that part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains lying just south of the Canadian line, in Teton and Flathead counties, Mont. It is bounded on the west by Flathead River (locally called North Fork), on the south by the Middle Fork of Flathead River and the Great Northern Railway, and on the east by the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Although this part of the Rocky Mountains has been known since Lewis and Clark crossed the continent in 1805-6, the region later made a park appears not to have been visited by white men until 1853, when Cut Bank Pass was crossed by A. W. Tinkham, one of the Government engineers engaged in exploring a route for the Pacific railroad. Tinkham, who was encamped in the Bitterroot Valley, was ordered to examine Marias Pass, but in traversing Middle Fork of Flathead River along the line of the present railroad he was evidently misled by the large size of the valley of Nyack Creek and ascended that instead of keeping to the right up the main stream. He reported the pass impracticable for railroad construction, and so this region dropped out of public attention for a long time. The next explorers to enter the region were a group of surveyors who, under the direction of American and British commissioners, established the international boundary line along the forty-ninth parallel from the Pacific coast to the main summit of the Rocky Mountains. This party reached the area now included in the park in the summer of 1861, and the stone monument shown in Plate I, B, which they erected on the Continental Divide west of Waterton Lake, still marks a point on the boundary between the United States and Canada. The land on the west side of the range formed a part of the public domain which, until the erection of the park, was open to settlement, but the land on the east originally belonged to the Blackfeet Indians and the white men had no rights upon it. About 1890 copper ore was found near the heads of Quartz and Mineral creeks, and a great boom for this region followed. Many prospectors drifted in, expecting to reap rich rewards from the discovery of mineral deposits and the general development of the region. Several of the main trails were built about this time, and considerable money was spent in prospecting, in opening mines, and in providing machinery to handle the large output of copper ore that was expected. The copper-bearing veins were found to extend through the range to the east side, but prospecting in that part of the mountains was not possible, for the land was included in the Indian reservation. This situation produced a growing discontent among the prospectors, who began to have a strong feeling that the Government should come to their relief by acquiring the coveted land and placing it at their disposal. The urgent demand of the prospectors and promoters was felt in Congress, and a bill was passed providing for the purchase from the Indians of this supposed mineral land for $1,500,000. In accordance with this act, a treaty with the Blackfeet Indians was signed at Browning, Mont., September 26, 1895, and approved by the Senate on June 10, 1896, by which the west line of the reservation was removed from the Continental Divide and was fixed along the eastern points of the spurs of the mountain range, as shown on the accompanying map, and the land so acquired was thrown open to mineral entry only. Under the stimulus of the new territory acquired, active prospecting was carried on for a time, but copper ore was found only in small quantities, and gradually the prospectors and miners drifted away to newer or more promising fields, and the region reverted to its original condition. For a long time it was visited only by hunters in search of big game and by summer visitors who, in order to escape the heat of the plains, were willing to undergo the privations and discomforts of the rude hotels then to be found in the region. Although these mountains had ceased to interest prospectors in search of mineral wealth, they still possessed a fascination for the lovers of natural scenery and almost everyone who visited the region was impressed with its alpine beauty. Again it was brought to the attention of Congress, which was urged to secure it for the use of the people by setting it aside as a national park. On May 11, 1910, President Taft signed the bill creating the Glacier National Park, and this most interesting and beautiful region thus became a permanent playground for the American people.

Bulletin↗
USGS2005

Biology and conservation of Xantus's Murrelet: Discovery, taxonomy and distribution

The biology of Xantus's Murrelets Synthliboramphus hypoleucus is similar in many respects to better-studied Ancient Murrelets S. antiquus, especially regarding morphology and the species' precocial mode of post-hatching development. It nests mainly in rock crevices but also under shrubs on islands in southern California, United States, and northwestern Baja California, Mexico (27 o N to 34 o N). The species was discovered in 1859 by Janos Xantus. Two subspecies ( S. h. hypoleucus and S. h. scrippsi ) are recognized that show limited evidence of interbreeding. At sea, closely related Craveri's Murrelets S. craveri co-occur with Xantus's Murrelets off California and western Baja California during half the year, but the former species has a discrete breeding range in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Breeding was documented at 13 island groups between 1863 and 1976. Post-breeding dispersal as far north as central British Columbia, Canada (c. 52 o N) was observed in the 1940s to 1960s. A few Xantus's Murrelets disperse south of breeding colonies to Magdalena Bay, Baja California (c. 24 o N). The southernmost record is the type specimen collected by Xantus near Cabo San Lucas, Baja California (c. 23 o N). Chief threats to this species include introduced mammalian predators on breeding islands, heightened predation by natural predators in human-modified island habitats, and oil pollution. In January 2005, a Pacific Seabird Group special symposium, "Biology and conservation of the Xantus's Murrelet," highlighted conservation concerns and promoted publication of recent studies of this little-known alcid, with nine symposium papers published in this issue of Marine Ornithology. Much of what we know about Xantus's Murrelets has been learned in recent years, and many aspects of biology remain to be described.

Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research an↗
USGS2019

Evidence of region‐wide bat population decline from long‐term monitoring and Bayesian occupancy models with empirically informed priors

Strategic conservation efforts for cryptic species, especially bats, are hindered by limited understanding of distribution and population trends. Integrating long‐term encounter surveys with multi‐season occupancy models provides a solution whereby inferences about changing occupancy probabilities and latent changes in abundance can be supported. When harnessed to a Bayesian inferential paradigm, this modeling framework offers flexibility for conservation programs that need to update prior model‐based understanding about at‐risk species with new data. This scenario is exemplified by a bat monitoring program in the Pacific Northwestern United States in which results from 8 years of surveys from 2003 to 2010 require updating with new data from 2016 to 2018. The new data were collected after the arrival of bat white‐nose syndrome and expansion of wind power generation, stressors expected to cause population declines in at least two vulnerable species, little brown bat ( Myotis lucifugus ) and the hoary bat ( Lasiurus cinereus ). We used multi‐season occupancy models with empirically informed prior distributions drawn from previous occupancy results (2003–2010) to assess evidence of contemporary decline in these two species. Empirically informed priors provided the bridge across the two monitoring periods and increased precision of parameter posterior distributions, but did not alter inferences relative to use of vague priors. We found evidence of region‐wide summertime decline for the hoary bat ( = 0.86 ± 0.10) since 2010, but no evidence of decline for the little brown bat ( = 1.1 ± 0.10). White‐nose syndrome was documented in the region in 2016 and may not yet have caused regional impact to the little brown bat. However, our discovery of hoary bat decline is consistent with the hypothesis that the longer duration and greater geographic extent of the wind energy stressor (collision and barotrauma) have impacted the species. These hypotheses can be evaluated and updated over time within our framework of pre–post impact monitoring and modeling. Our approach provides the foundation for a strategic evidence‐based conservation system and contributes to a growing preponderance of evidence from multiple lines of inquiry that bat species are declining.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2016

A new specimen of Agorophius pygmaeus (Agorophiidae, Odontoceti, Cetacea) from the Early Oligocene Ashley Formation of South Carolina, USA

The holotype partial skull of Agorophius pygmaeus (the monotypic form for both the genus Agorophius and the Family Agorophiidae) has been missing for approximately 140 years. Since the discovery of Agorophius pygmaeus , many additional taxa and specimens have been placed in the Family Agorophiidae, only to be reclassified and removed later. This has created confusion as to what is and what is not an agorophiid and a lack of clarity as to what characteristics delimit the Agorophiidae. A newly discovered skull of an agorophiid recently collected from an underwater cliff face of the Ashley River, South Carolina, USA, is assigned to Agorophius pygmaeus . It derives from the base of the Ashley Formation (early Oligocene). The new specimen consists of most of the skull and periotics, which are well preserved and described for the first time in an agorophiid. The new specimen provides an opportunity to diagnose the Agorophiidae and place the genus and species within the phylogenetic context of the early odontocete radiation in the Oligocene, along with other taxa such as the Ashleycetidae, Mirocetidae, Patriocetidae, Simocetidae, Waipatiidae, and Xenorophidae. Based on this new understanding, Agorophiidae are known with certainty only from the early Oligocene of South Carolina, with other undescribed, potential agorophiid specimens from the Oligocene of the North Pacific region (Japan, Mexico, and Washington State).

South Carolina↗
USGS1915

Guidebook of the western United States: Part A - The northern Pacific route, with a side trip to Yellowstone Park

The United States of America comprise an area so vast in extent and so diverse in natural features as well as in characters due to human agency that the American citizen who knows thoroughly his own country must have traveled widely and observed wisely. To 'know America first' is a patriotic obligation, but to meet this obligation the railroad traveler needs to have his eyes directed toward the more important or essential things within his field of vision and then to have much that he sees explained by what is unseen in the swift passage of the train. Indeed, many things that attract his attention are inexplicable except as the story of the past is available to enable him to interpret the present. Herein lie the value and the charm of history, whether human or geologic. The present stimulus given to travel in the home country will encourage many thousands of Americans to study geography at first hand. To make this study most profitable the traveler needs a handbook that will answer the questions that come to his mind so readily along the way. Furthermore, the aim of such a guide should be to stimulate the eye in the selection of the essentials in the scene that so rapidly unfolds itself in the crossing of the continent. In recognition of the opportunity afforded in 1915 to render service of this kind to an unusually large number of American citizens, as well as to visitors from other countries, the United States Geological Survey has prepared a series of guidebooks covering four of the older railroad routes west of the Mississippi. These books are educational in purpose, but the method adopted is to entertain the traveler by making more interesting what he sees from the car window. The plan of the series is to present authoritative information that may enable the reader to realize adequately the scenic and material resources of the region he is traversing, to comprehend correctly the basis of its development, and above all to appreciate keenly the real value of the country he looks out upon, not as so many square miles of territory represented on the map in a railroad folder by meaningless spaces, but rather as land - real estate, if you please - varying widely in present appearance because differing largely in its history, and characterized by even greater variation in values because possessing diversified natural resources. One region may be such as to afford a livelihood for only a pastoral people; another may present opportunity for intensive agriculture; still another may contain hidden stores of mineral wealth that may attract large industrial development; and, taken together, these varied resources afford the promise of long-continued prosperity for this or that State. Items of interest in civic development or references to significant epochs in the record of discovery and settlement may be interspersed with explanations of mountain and valley or statements of geologic history. In a broad way the story of the West is a unit, and every chapter should be told in order to meet fully the needs of the tourist who aims to understand all that he sees. To such a traveler-reader this series of guidebooks is addressed. To this interpretation of our own country the United States Geological Survey brings the accumulated data of decades of pioneering investigation, and the present contribution is only one type of return to the public which has supported this scientific work under the Federal Government.

Bulletin↗
USGS2020

Cascadia Margin cold seeps: Subduction zone fluids, gas hydrates, and chemosynthetic habitats

Priority Geographic Area: The outer continental shelf and upper continental slope from Canada/U.S. border offshore Washington State to the Mendocino Fracture Zone (Northern California), entirely within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), from the outermost shelf to at least 2000 m water depth (Figure 1). Description of Priority Area: Since 2015, over a thousand water column gas plumes originating at seafloor gas seeps have been discovered landward of the Cascadia deformation front (e.g., Embley et al., 2016; Johnson et al., 2015, 2019; Merle and Embley, 2016; NA-95 Cruise Report, 2018; Riedel et al., 2018), adding to those that had long been known on Hydrate Ridge (e.g., Heeschen et al., 2003; Tréhu et al., 2004). The recently-discovered seeps stretch from offshore Vancouver Island to the Mendocino Fracture Zone and from the outer shelf to ~2000 m water depth, occurring both landward and seaward of the nominal limit for gas hydrate stability zone on the upper continental slope (Figure 1). Hundreds of seeps likely remain undiscovered. Water column imaging is incomplete both within the target geographic area and farther seaward, between the 2000 m isobath and the deformation front, which is the subject of an imaging study described in a white paper by Watt et al. The recently-discovered Cascadia Margin cold seeps partially overlap an important active margin gas hydrate province (Spence et al., 2001; Tréhu et al., 2003, 2004), as well as an area where sediments on the North American plate are folded and faulted and affected by fluids generated in the subduction complex beneath the Cascadia forearc (e.g., Saffer and Tobin, 2011). Several Ocean Drilling Program expeditions have focused on hydrate systems offshore Vancouver and Oregon (e.g., Riedel et al., 2009; Tréhu et al., 2004) and on the connection between the shallow and deep hydrogeologic systems. Cabled observatories now continuously monitor physical, chemical, and venting processes on south Hydrate Ridge (OOI; e.g., Philip et al., 2016a) and offshore Vancouver Island (NEPTUNE; e.g. Römer et al., 2016). Outside of these well-studied gas hydrate areas, a subset of the recently-discovered Cascadia seeps, including some that we visited with R/V Falkor in 2019 (e.g., https://schmidtocean.org/cruise/methane-seeps-at-edge-of-hydrate-stability/), also likely emit methane associated with shallow subseafloor gas hydrate systems. Other seeps are delivering not only methane, but also deep-derived gases (Baumberger et al., 2018, 2020) to the seafloor. Many Cascadia Margin seeps have also been recognized at water depths too shallow (e.g., 175 m) to be connected to gas hydrate dynamics. These seeps are postulated to be emitting gas and fluids that originated deep in accretionary wedge before migrating up normal faults generated during forearc extension associated with large earthquakes (Johnson et al., 2019). Only a small fraction of the recently discovered U.S. Cascadia Margin water column gas plumes has so far been verified by ROVs (Hercules from E/V Nautilus in 2016 and 2018; SuBastian from R/V Falkor in 2018 and 2019) to correspond to seafloor seeps. Careful scientific mapping, investigation, and sampling at the seeps have also been limited (e.g., Baumberger et al., 2018, 2020; Merle and Embley, 2016; Seabrook et al., 2018; Greinert et al. 2019). This white paper focuses on expanding exploration of already-identified U.S. Cascadia Margin cold seeps through a multipronged and multidisciplinary discovery program that could be accomplished with a variety of NOAA assets. The goals of the proposed exploration activities are to develop high-resolution maps of seep fields from deep ocean vehicles; to verify (and sample) seafloor gas emissions at the locations of water column plumes for compositional and isotopic studies; to map, sample, and conduct analyses on chemosynthetic communities and deep-sea coral habitats near seep sites to document species distributions and habitats as a function of depth and latitude along the margin; to collect seep geologic samples that can constrain the timing of methane emissions through geochronology; and to record environmental data (e.g., CTD) near the seafloor and in the water column above the seeps. Seafloor mapping using shipboard systems (multibeam/backscatter) would be needed to characterize seafloor features near seep sites. Water column imaging (EK60/80 and/or multibeam WCD data) conducted before and after seafloor explorations would capture active methane plumes and constrain temporal variations in seep emissions (e.g., Kannberg et al., 2013; Philip et al., 2016a, 2016b), which are known to vary on time scales as rapid as tidal cycles on this margin (e.g., Römer et al., 2016). What are the characterization and data needs in this area? Check all that apply: __x_ Biology, Geology, Physical Oceanography, Chemistry ___ Marine Archaeology ___ Other Provide a list or brief description of the data needed within this area, from your perspective: 1. Water column backscatter to image active gas plumes 2. High-resolution multibeam bathymetry, seafloor backscatter, and shallow sub-bottom imaging 3. Visual characterization and ground truthing of potential seeps, including high-resolution mapping and photography from near-seafloor vehicles; collection of seep-associated species, corals, sediments, authigenic carbonates, gases, and seawater Describe relevance to national security, conservation, and/or the economy: The Cascadia margin seeps provide significant ecosystem services, including habitat for commercially important fishes and support for diversity along the continental margin. Methane seeps are also biological hotspots for krill, plankton, and crustaceans, which in turn sustain higher trophic levels (e.g., whales). Methane-derived authigenic carbonates serve as a hard substrate for deep-sea corals and sponges on millennial time scales. The studies proposed here will elucidate the relationship among seep environments, deep-sea corals, sponges, fisheries, and other organisms and provide new insight into subduction zone and hydrate-associated fluids in this important seismogenic zone. The studies address fishery management concerns and inform future conservation of sensitive species (e.g., deep-sea corals) and benthic habitats. From your perspective, what makes this area unique? The Cascadia Margin seeps are a critical component of the leaky margin that stretches from Baja California to the Aleutian Arc along the Pacific coastline of North America. Cold seeps have been intensely studied on the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Atlantic passive margins with a focus on chemosynthetic communities, deep-sea corals, and leakage of microbially-generated and/or thermogenic hydrocarbons; however, the recently-discovered Cascadia Margin seeps, as well as active margin seep systems in general, remain more poorly characterized. Such seeps not only contribute to the ocean carbon cycle (e.g., Pohlman et al., 2011), thereby fueling the base of the food chain in these settings, but also emit subduction zone fluids that provide clues about processes within the seismogenic zone and the accretionary complex. The Cascadia seeps area allows both biological (e.g., benthic habitats, coral distributions) and physical processes (e.g., generation of subduction zone fluids) to be studied along both depth (perpendicular to the deformation front) and latitudinal gradients.

California, Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2012

A baseline analysis of the distribution, host-range, and severity of the rust Puccinia Psidii in the Hawaiian islands, 2005-2010

Puccinia psidii was first described by Winter (1884) on guava ( Psidium guajava L.) in Brazil. The rust is still a major pest of native guava in Brazil and is often referred to as “guava rust” internationally. It is unusual among rust fungi because of its broad and ever-expanding host-range within the Myrtaceae plant family (Simpson et al . 2006). The pathogen is regarded as a major threat to Eucalyptus plantations and other Myrtaceae worldwide (Coutinho et al . 1998, Grgurinovic et al . 2006, Glen et al . 2007). Infections of leaves and meristems are particularly severe on susceptible seedlings, cuttings, young trees, and coppice, causing plants to be stunted and multi-branched, inhibiting normal growth and development, and sometimes causing death to young seedlings (Booth et al . 2000, Rayachhetry et al . 2001). The fungus has expanded its host-range in Brazil, affecting both native and introduced Myrtaceae (Coutinho et al . 1998). Since its discovery in 1884, P. psidii has continually been discovered to have an expanding host-range within the Myrtaceae, affecting hosts throughout much of South and Central America and the Caribbean. Spreading out originally from Brazil in 1884, the fungus has been reported on hosts in the following countries (first record in parentheses): Paraguay (1884), Uruguay (1889), Ecuador (1891), Colombia (1913), Puerto Rico (1913), Cuba (1926), Dominican Republic (1933), Venezuela (1934), Jamaica (1936), Argentina (1946), Dominica (1948), Trinidad and Tobago (1951), Guatemala (1968), United States (Florida; 1977), Mexico (1981), El Salvador (1987), and Costa Rica (1998) (Simpson et al . 2006). It is possible that P. psidii was present in El Salvador and Costa Rica prior to 1980, but was not reported until 1987 and 1998, respectively. Until recently, Puccinia psidii was restricted to the Neotropics, Mexico, and the state of Florida in the United States. While the rust has been present in Florida for over 30 years, only recently has it spread westward. Although possibly present earlier, P. psidii was found in California in November 2005 in a nursery in San Diego County on Myrtus communis and documented by a report in a nursery newsletter (Mellano 2006). Puccinia psidii was first found in Hawai`i on a young plant of `ōhi`a ( Metrosideros polymorpha ) in April 2005, in a nursery on the island of O`ahu (Killgore and Heu 2005; Uchida et al . 2006). The fungus subsequently spread to most islands of the Hawaiian chain, infecting `ōhi`a and other myrtaceous hosts (Hauff 2006, Anderson et al . 2007). P. psidii was first found in Japan in May 2007 on cultivated `ōhi`a (Kawanishi et al . 2009). Most recently, a rust identified as Uredo rangelii was discovered in April 2010 in New South Wales, Australia (Carnegie et al . 2010). This rust is closely related to Puccinia psidii and is part of the guava rust complex described by Simpson et al . (2006). Although treated as a separate species by Simpson et al. (2006), many authors now consider U. rangelii a synonym for U. psidii , which is the anamorph (asexual stage) of P. psidii , and therefore, the same species (Glen et al . 2007, Carnegie et al . 2010). Because of the large diversity of native Myrtaceae present in Australia, the number of Myrtaceae hosts attacked by species of the guava rust complex will likely grow now that U. rangelii has arrived and is spreading in the country. As of this writing (June 2011), 94 species of Myrtaceae have been identified as hosts of U. rangelii in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. Damage is severe on nearly one-third of the species affected, and 16 of these species are threatened or endangered native species (Secretary of Australia, May 2011). The presence of Puccinia psidii in Hawai`i is particularly alarming for at least two reasons: (1) M. polymorpha is the dominant overstory tree of the native forest, and (2) P. psidii is now established in the Pacific region, where numerous Myrtaceae species are native. Native ecosystems in Hawai`i and the Pacific could be seriously affected by the spread of P. psidii , as both native and introduced Myrtaceae are significant components of many different plant communities throughout the region (Glen et al. 2007). Because the guava rust complex (i.e., P. psidii and U. rangelii ) now attacks well over 100 species of Myrtaceae worldwide, it is currently a priority for international quarantine and import restrictions in an effort to prevent further spread among Australasian and Pacific Myrtaceae. Several different studies have been done to determine what degree of genetic variation exists between isolates of Puccinia psidii from many different host plants and many different locations (Langrell et al . 2008, Kawanishi et al . 2009, Kadooka 2010, Graça et al . 2011). So far, all of these studies have shown that all of the Hawaiian samples tested so far have had the same genetic composition. Given that the P. psidii strain in Hawai`i has continually been shown for over five years to lack genetic variation at microsatellite marker sites (which are believed to undergo relatively rapid genetic change), a baseline evaluation of incidence and severity should be especially valuable to provide comparisons with future conditions. Worldwide, 23 Neotropical species in 11 genera and 59 Australasian and Pacific species in 13 genera had been recorded as hosts of Puccinia psidii before 2010 (Simpson et al . 2006, Anderson et al . 2007). Of those 82 species known to be hosts elsewhere, 42 are cultivated or naturalized in Hawai`i. Because of its wide host-range and aggressive pathogenicity, rust disease caused by P. psidii poses a considerable disease threat to many native and cultivated Myrtaceae throughout the world (Coutinho et al . 1998, Booth et al . 2000, Simpson et al . 2006). However, there are few reports comparing the severity of rust infection on native, introduced, and cultivated Myrtaceae (Rayachhetry et al . 2001, Perez et al . 2010). Since government agencies and the public are concerned about the extent of the rust movement within and to Hawai`i (Loope and La Rosa 2008, Loope 2010), there is a need to better understand the incidence, severity, and distribution of P. psidii in Hawai`i. To address that need, this research project was initiated to survey forests, surrounding plant communities, botanical gardens, and commercial nurseries to detect the presence and severity of P. psidii rust infections throughout Hawai`i on plants in the Myrtaceae family. This study provides a baseline on the host distribution and severity to compare current and future impacts of rust infections caused by P. psidii on native, naturalized, and cultivated Myrtaceae in Hawai`i.

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