Over the last 10 days, we got into a very efficient groove that required coordination of everyone onboard the Western Flyer. We conducted two ROV dives each day, collecting as many cores as we can, given the time we have on the seafloor.
Today we explored the San Clemente Fault Bank and were intrigued by what we found. Along the fault, we found a vast expanse of rock mounds made of some kind of precipitated mineral.
Today we explored another section of the fault system off northern Baja California that had been previously mapped with MBARI’s AUV. The AUV mapping surveys were conducted in areas where Chief Scientist Charlie Paull suspected that faults are present.
Offshore faults are important sources of earthquakes and associated tsunamis. To investigate the occurrence of offshore faults, marine geologists look for two kinds of evidence.
On this expedition we are exploring the offshore extensions of tectonic faults that cross the northern Baja California peninsula or run offshore parallel to the Baja peninsula and coastline of Southern California.
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.