Interpreted and Uninterpreted Seismic-Reflection Profiles In HTML Format

Two 21-day field operations were conducted in 1997 and 1998 in the estuaries and on the inner continental shelf off the northern Oregon and southern Washington coast. These cruises aboard the R/V Corliss were run in order to generate reconnaissance maps of the seafloor geology and the shallow subsurface stratigraphy using sidescan sonar and seismic-reflection mapping techniques. The 1998 cruise also collected sediment grab samples, bottom photographs, and video images to verify the sidescan-sonar imagery and to document the seafloor geology. The combination of these data with previously
collected sediment sample data (Robert, 1974; Nittrouer, 1978; and Smith et. al., 1980) has been used to define the extent and lithology of shelf sediments associated with the Columbia River littoral cell. This work is one component of a larger project studying the erosion of the Washington and Oregon coast and is being coordinated by the U.S.
Geological Survey and the Washington State Department of Ecology. The reason for collecting these data is to
provide a regional synthesis of the offshore geology to support a wide variety of management decisions and to
provide a basis for further process-oriented investigations.

For more information on the seismic surveys see http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=1998-014-FA

These data are also available via GeoMapApp (http://www.geomapapp.org/) and Virtual Ocean (http://www.virtualocean.org/) earth science exploration and visualization applications.