LA5 San Diego Disposal Site, CA

The EPA is responsible for designating and managing ocean disposal sites under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). eTrac was contracted to perform a bathymetry and sediment classification survey of an area approximately 30 square nm (~7nm long and ~5nm wide) centered around the EPA-Designated Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (LA-5). Full coverage multibeam and snippets data was acquired in depths greater than 1,200ft. Steep sided submarine canyons, sediment mound features, and pockmarks were imaged in the data. Objects were identified down to depths of 700ft. Six different sediment types were able to be identified in the snippets backscatter data ranging from mud to gravel. The snippets data also identified anomalous sediment streaks and undetermined circular sediment features. The final dataset was used to support sampling efforts that the agency conducts.

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