Paleoshorelines--Offshore Monterey Map Area, California

This part of DS 781 presents data for the paleoshorelines for the geologic and geomorphic map of Offshore Monterey, California. The vector data file is included in "Paleoshorelines_OffshoreMonterey.zip," which is accessible from http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161110.
Sea level has risen about 125 to 130 m over about the last 21,000 years (for example, Stanford and others, 2011), leading to broadening of the continental shelf, progressive eastward migration of the shoreline, and associated transgressive erosion and deposition. Sea-level rise was apparently not steady, leading to development of a submerged shoreline along the flank of Carmel Canyon (water depths of 80 to 90 m) during a relative stillstand.
Paleoshorelines were primarily mapped by interpretation of bathymetry and backscatter data. The bathymetry and backscatter data were collected between 2006 and 2009.
References Cited
Stanford, J.D., Hemingway, R., Rohling, E.J., Challenor, P.G., Medina-Elizalde, M., and Lester, A.J., 2011, Sea-level probability for the last deglaciation—A statistical analysis of far-field records: Global and Planetary Change, v. 79, p. 193–203, doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.11.002.