Its surface waters are feeding areas for local and migratory seabirds and marine mammals. Sanctuary scientists collaborate with universities, nongovernmental organizations, federal agencies, and others to learn about and monitor these biodiverse waters. Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is entirely offshore, making visiting in person fairly difficult. Visit from afar through exhibits with our partners. With its southern-most boundary located about 52 miles west-northwest of San Francisco, the sanctuary is entirely offshore, with the eastern boundary about seven miles west of shore at Bodega Head.
In total, the sanctuary protects an area of about 1, square miles. Significant features of the sanctuary are Cordell Bank and Bodega Canyon. Cordell Bank is an undersea granite and rocky reef about four-and-a-half miles by nine-and-a-half miles, located 23 miles west of the Point Reyes Lighthouse.
It sits at the edge of the continental shelf, and rises abruptly from the soft sediments of the shelf to within feet of the ocean surface. Bodega Canyon is a prominent seafloor feature that cuts across the continental slope and into the shelf north of Cordell Bank.
The canyon is about 10 miles north of Cordell Bank, and is about With its southernmost boundary located 42 miles north of San Francisco, the sanctuary is entirely offshore, with the eastern boundary six miles from shore and the western boundary 30 miles offshore. In total, the sanctuary protects an area of 1, square miles. The centerpiece of the sanctuary is Cordell Bank, a four-and-a-half mile by nine-and-a-half mile rocky undersea feature located 22 miles west of the Point Reyes headlands.
The bank sits at the edge of the continental shelf and rises abruptly from the soft sediments of the shelf to within feet of the ocean surface. Cordell Bank is located in the California Current upwelling system, which is associated with one of the four major eastern boundary currents of the world. Coastal upwelling initiates an annual productivity cycle that supports a rich resident biological community as well as migratory populations of sea turtles, fishes, seabirds and whales that travel thousands of miles to feed around the bank.
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary comprises a diversity of habitats that harbor rich marine communities. Ocean processes, physical habitat and depth greatly influence the composition and distribution of species that inhabit the benthic and pelagic environments. Through partnerships with state and federal agencies, and academic and research institutions, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary seeks out the broader scientific community to ensure that the most effective and rigorous science can be attained.
Our goal is to create sound scientific information available for resource management, monitoring, interpretation, education, planning, and policy needs. The logistics of conducting research at Cordell Bank sanctuary can often be challenging, given the distance from shore, rough ocean conditions, complex habitat types, and depths. These factors make it necessary for researchers to use a wide variety of vessels, tools, and technology to explore, monitor, research, and manage this ocean environment.
0コメント