HR: 0800h
AN: NS31B-0396 [Abstracts]
TI: Spatial Variability of Seafloor and Shallow Sub-surface Acoustic Properties, Shallow Water Gulf of Mexico
AU: Orange, D
EM: dorange@blackgoldenergy.com
AF: Black Gold Energy LLC, Jalan Kemang Timur 22, Jakarta, 12510, Indonesia
AU: Orange, D
EM: dorange@blackgoldenergy.com
AF: Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High
Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, United States
AU: * Garcia-Garcia, A
EM: agarcia@pmc.ucsc.edu
AF: Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High
Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, United States
AU: * Garcia-Garcia, A
EM: agarcia@pmc.ucsc.edu
AF: Marine Geosciences Division, AOA Geophysics Inc, 7532 Sandholdt Road, suite 6, Moss
Landing, CA 95039, United States
AU: Orange, A
EM: aorange1@compuserve.com
AF: Marine Geosciences Division, AOA Geophysics Inc, 7532 Sandholdt Road, suite 6, Moss
Landing, CA 95039, United States
AU: Henning, A
EM: alison_henning@aoageophysics.com
AF: AOA Geophysics Inc, 2500 Tanglewilde, suite 120, Houston, TX 77063, United States
AU: Broillete, D
EM: donny@seafloorsystems.com
AF: Seafloor Systems Inc, 3941 Park Dr, Suite 20-218, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, United
States
AU: Martin, P
EM: PMartin@infoscience.otago.ac.nz
AF: Seafloor Systems Inc, 3941 Park Dr, Suite 20-218, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, United
States
AU: Brouillete, T
EM: tylerbrolet@gmail.com
AF: Seafloor Systems Inc, 3941 Park Dr, Suite 20-218, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, United
States
AU: Shiffer, R
EM: roskop23@yahoo.com
AF: Seafloor Systems Inc, 3941 Park Dr, Suite 20-218, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, United
States
AU: Willias, J
EM: jeff@dwsii.com
AF: DWS International Inc, 318 Centaurus St., Corpus Christi, TX 78405, United States
AU: Henderson, D
EM: nuidano@gmail.com
AF: Marine Advanced Technology Education Center, MATE, Monterey Peninsula College,
980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, United States
AU: Jewell, M
EM: matthewjewell@mail.uri.edu
AF: Marine Advanced Technology Education Center, MATE, Monterey Peninsula College,
980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, United States
AU: McGuire, M
EM: mmcguire@fit.edu
AF: Marine Advanced Technology Education Center, MATE, Monterey Peninsula College,
980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, United States
AU: Willias, S
EM: jeff@dwsii.com
AF: DWS International Inc, 318 Centaurus St., Corpus Christi, TX 78405, United States
AU: Tapia, J
EM: not_completely_useless@hotmail.com
AF: Marine Advanced Technology Education Center, MATE, Monterey Peninsula College,
980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940, United States
AU: Spear, C
EM: chris.spear@vzw.blackberry.net
AF: Seafloor Systems Inc, 3941 Park Dr, Suite 20-218, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, United
States
AU: Monsalve, B
EM: brenda_monsalve@aoageophysics.com
AF: AOA Geophysics Inc, 2500 Tanglewilde, suite 120, Houston, TX 77063, United States
AB:
In June 2007 we carried out the first of two ONR field programs aboard the R/V ‘Pelican' designed to evaluate
variations in seafloor and shallow sub-surface acoustic properties at three sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
The follow-up field program is scheduled for January, 2008, and will use the same boat and same systems to
survey the same sites to determine whether there are any seasonal variations in the datasets as well spatial
variability between the sites.
Data acquisition includes multibeam bathymetry, multibeam backscatter, side scan sonar, and sub-bottom
profiling. In addition to temporal (seasonal) and spatial variations, we are examining the differences in acoustic
signature of the seafloor at different frequencies.
The three areas of interest in this two-year program are: (1) off the coast of Louisiana, west of Atchafalaya Bay, at
the site of the ONR multi-year research program ‘Mechanism of Fluid-Mud Interactions Under Waves' (MURI), (2)
off Panama city, Florida in an area of known sub-surface features and (3) off Louisiana's Southwest Pass in an
area of where mudflows triggered by Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina destroyed or damaged platforms and pipelines
(West Delta). Water depths in the areas of interest range from 3.5 to 96 m.
Preliminary analysis of the data indicates spatial differences between and within the sites. Within individual sites
there are differences in the data as a function of the frequencies used to map the seafloor. Off Southwest Pass
we find differences in mudflow character associated with a known dredge site suggesting a possible
anthropogenic component to mudflow sourcing and level of activity.
DE: 3002 Continental shelf and slope processes (4219)
DE: 3020 Littoral processes
DE: 3022 Marine sediments: processes and transport
DE: 3045 Seafloor morphology, geology, and geophysics
DE: 4259 Ocean acoustics
SC: Near-Surface Geophysics [NS]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting