EK60 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During NF1609

The mission of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) is to conserve, protect, and enhance the biodiversity, ecological integrity, and cultural legacy of specially designated marine protected areas around the world. NOAA has recently given clearance to begin scoping meetings to explore expansion of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS). This project will allow MNMS to inventory and assess resources in the proposed new expansion areas. Data collected in these new areas and within the existing sanctuary is critical to expansion and the completion of the MNMS Condition Report. This project also furthers ONMS and NCCOS goals by providing critical data to support our understanding of essential fish habitat on both naturally occurring and anthropomorphic bottom features on the continental shelf off the mid-Atlantic coast. This project employs new advances in underwater acoustic seafloor mapping technologies that will not only assess the biota of live bottom habitats but also submerged cultural resources such as shipwrecks, that have become essential fish habitats in their current role as artificial reefs. Acoustic survey methods, along with multi-beam mapping provide an efficient method on producing information on fish distribution, areas of high productivity, seafloor features, and cultural resources.