Tag: Cordell Bank

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Habitats, Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , , , ,

Scientists find exotic life in ocean depths off Sonoma Coast

Stephen Nett, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Thirteen years ago, he made history by filming the sunken RMS Titanic where it lay broken on the Atlantic seabed.Since then, he’s dived in nearly every ocean on the planet. On a good day, he can swim for 24 hours — but at 2 tons, he needs help getting out of the water.His associates call him Hercules.
And this month, the bright yellow, remotely operated diving vehicle was in the Pacific off Sonoma County to explore, for the first time, the deep-water life in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, 6 miles west of Bodega Bay.
For ROV Hercules, that meant commuting an hour-and-a-half to work, driving nearly 6,000 feet beneath the rolling ocean swells. With two flexible arms, dazzling lights, video cameras and a long, long tether, Hercules was designed to go where humans cannot — to peer into the unknown.
On a clear day when the fog lifts, you can see the Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary from shore, from either Bodega Head or Point Reyes. On the surface, it’s an unremarkable patch of blue ocean. But go 115 feet down, and you’ll find a submerged rocky island, 9 miles long and 4 miles wide, teeming with fish and a riot of colorful marine life.

Fish and coral at the Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary
Fish and coral at the Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary. Joe Hoyt, CBNMS NOAA.

The shallow bank is actually the peak of an underwater mountain sitting in what scientists call a biological hotspot. Surrounded by deep, steep walled canyons, the rocky seamount perches on the very edge of the continental shelf, which falls away in a vertical cliff another 2 miles down. No sunlight can penetrate that deep, so the walls and bottom are in permanent blackness, the water is nearly as cold as ice, and the sheer weight of the ocean above creates crushing pressure, nearly 5,000 pounds per square inch. That’s equivalent to two fully loaded 747 jumbo jets sitting on your chest.
So what’s special about Cordell Bank? Jennifer Stock, the enthusiastic Outreach Coordinator for the Marine Sanctuary, answers that question a lot from her headquarters at Point Reyes. Jennifer was also one of the lucky few pulling watch on board the Nautilus during Hercules’ dives.
Read more at: Scientists find exotic life in ocean depths off Sonoma Coast | The Press Democrat –

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Land Use, Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , Leave a comment on Hitch in North Coast marine sanctuary plans delays unveiling

Hitch in North Coast marine sanctuary plans delays unveiling

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Last-minute details related to expansion plans for two adjoining marine sanctuaries off the North Coast were still being hammered out between federal agencies Tuesday, delaying publication of a final rule, officials said.
There was no indication of a hitch significant enough to derail the expansion proposal, which was developed over the past two years under the direction of President Barack Obama.
It was unclear, however, just what was holding up the process, representatives with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
A spokesman for the National Marine Sanctuaries program said last week that the legal consultations underway between various agencies are typically privileged, though there have been reports that some of the delay, at least, relates to discussions over U.S. Coast Guard operations within sanctuary boundaries.
But most parties following developments said they doubted there was any cause for alarm.
Read more via Hitch in North Coast marine sanctuary plans delays | The Press Democrat.

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , Leave a comment on Sonoma, Mendocino coast sanctuaries expansion on track

Sonoma, Mendocino coast sanctuaries expansion on track

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The expansion plan would turn into reality decades of work aimed at preventing oil drilling offshore of the Sonoma Coast and would help protect critical feeding grounds created by the existence of an ocean upwelling offshore from the southern Mendocino Coast that pumps nutrient-rich water upward and southward toward existing marine sanctuaries. Sanctuary designation does not limit fishing.

The proposed expansion of adjoining national marine sanctuaries that would extend environmental and wildlife protections to the Sonoma and southern Mendocino coasts is on track for agency approval this winter, with suggested revisions that reflect public input, a sanctuary official said Wednesday.
Maria Brown, superintendent of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, said she hopes by spring to celebrate completion of a process that would more than double the combined area of the Farallones and neighboring Cordell Bank marine sanctuaries, prohibiting energy exploration and development in an additional 2,769 square miles of ocean and granting federal stewardship to environmentally rich waters that are brimming with sea life.
Read more via Sonoma, Mendocino coast sanctuaries expansion on track | The Press Democrat.

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , , , Leave a comment on New species of coral discovered off Sonoma Coast

New species of coral discovered off Sonoma Coast

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

This Sept. 6, 2014 photo released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a new species of deep-sea white coral found by NOAA researchers off the coast of Sonoma County, Calif. The research team also found a “highly unusual” nursery area for catsharks and skates in the underwater canyons close to the Gulf of Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries.

Scientists surveying the sea floor off the Sonoma Coast have discovered a new species of coral in an area proposed for a national marine sanctuary extension, highlighting the still-unexplored, biologically diverse habitat that would be protected if the expansion goes forward.

The white coral specimen under examination at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco is one of two key findings made by a research team during a six-day trip through two deep sea zones north of Bodega Head. Scientists also found underwater areas where hundreds of skate egg cases, or “mermaid purses,” were scattered among catshark nests in a rare, possibly unique case of nurseries for those species overlapping, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced.

The discoveries underscore the rich, productive habitat at stake in the debate over marine sanctuary boundaries, with particularly profound implications for fish and fisheries, as well as the potential for future revelations, scientists said.

“It’s exciting in that we’ve never really looked at the sea bottom off the San Francisco Coast in this detail,” said Academy of Sciences zoologist Gary Williams, invertebrates curator for the facility. “Before this, we really didn’t have an idea of what the bottom looked like, and it’s not just a uniform plain. It’s highly varied, with highly diversified habitats.”

Read more via New species of coral discovered off Sonoma Coast | The Press Democrat.