MS70 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During RL2206

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: April 12, 2026 at 08:59 PM | Dataset Last Updated: January 12, 2026 at 12:00 AM

This report provides: 1) a detailed description of the acoustic-trawl method (ATM) used by NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center for direct assessments of the dominant coastal pelagic species (CPS; i.e.: Pacifc Sardine Sardinops sagax, Northern Anchovy Engraulis mordax, Pacifc Mackerel Scomber japonicus, Jack Mackerel Trachurus symmetricus, and Pacifc Herring Clupea pallasii in the California Current Ecosystem of the west coast of the United States (U.S.) and portions of Baja CA, Mexico (MX); and 2) estimates of the biomasses, distributions, and demographics of those CPS encountered in the survey area between 27 June and 30 September 2022. The core region transects were perpendicular to the coast, extending from the shallowest navigable depth (~20 m) to either a distance of 35 nmi or to the 1,000 ftm isobath, whichever was farthest. Compulsory transects were spaced 10 nmi-apart in areas of historic CPS abundance (e.g., between Cape Flattery and Newport, and between San Francisco and San Diego) and 20-nmi apart elsewhere. When CPS were observed within the westernmost 3 nmi of a transect, that transect and the next one to the south were extended in 5-nmi increments until no CPS were observed in the last 3 nmi of the extension, to a maximum extension of 50 nmi. If a transect was extended, the ensuing transect was extended by the same amount. Multi-frequency Wide-Bandwidth Transceivers (18-, 38-, 70-, 120-, 200-, and 333-kHz Simrad EK80 WBTs; Kongsberg) were confgured with split-beam transducers (Simrad ES18-11, ES38B, ES70-7C, ES120-7C, ES200-7C, and ES333-7C, respectively; Kongsberg). The transducers were mounted on the bottom of a retractable keel or “centerboard”. The keel was retracted (transducers at ~5-m depth) during calibration, and extended to the intermediate position (transducers at ~7-m depth) during the survey. Exceptions were made during shallow water operations, when the keel was retracted; or during times of heavy weather, when the keel was extended (transducers at ~9-m depth) to provide extra stability and reduce the efect of weather-generated noise. In addition, acoustic data were also collected using a multibeam echosounder (Simrad ME70; Kongsberg), multibeam sonar (Simrad MS70; Kongsberg), scanning sonar (Simrad SX90; Kongsberg), acoustic Doppler current profler and echosounder (Simrad EC150-3C, Kongsberg), and a separate ADCP (Ocean Surveyor OS75; Teledyne RD Instruments). Transducer position and motion were measured at 5 Hz using an inertial motion unit (Applanix POS-MV; Trimble).

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Water Column Sonar Data Map Viewer

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Water Column Sonar Data Archive Homepage

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GCMD Keyword Forum Page

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International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Sea Area ("Limits of Oceans and Seas" publication S-23)

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@type	dcat:Dataset
accessLevel	non-public
contactPoint	{ "fn": "Not provided - Contact data.gov", "hasEmail": "mailto:datagovsupport@gsa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	This report provides: 1) a detailed description of the acoustic-trawl method (ATM) used by NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center for direct assessments of the dominant coastal pelagic species (CPS; i.e.: Pacifc Sardine Sardinops sagax, Northern Anchovy Engraulis mordax, Pacifc Mackerel Scomber japonicus, Jack Mackerel Trachurus symmetricus, and Pacifc Herring Clupea pallasii in the California Current Ecosystem of the west coast of the United States (U.S.) and portions of Baja CA, Mexico (MX); and 2) estimates of the biomasses, distributions, and demographics of those CPS encountered in the survey area between 27 June and 30 September 2022. The core region transects were perpendicular to the coast, extending from the shallowest navigable depth (~20 m) to either a distance of 35 nmi or to the 1,000 ftm isobath, whichever was farthest. Compulsory transects were spaced 10 nmi-apart in areas of historic CPS abundance (e.g., between Cape Flattery and Newport, and between San Francisco and San Diego) and 20-nmi apart elsewhere. When CPS were observed within the westernmost 3 nmi of a transect, that transect and the next one to the south were extended in 5-nmi increments until no CPS were observed in the last 3 nmi of the extension, to a maximum extension of 50 nmi. If a transect was extended, the ensuing transect was extended by the same amount. Multi-frequency Wide-Bandwidth Transceivers (18-, 38-, 70-, 120-, 200-, and 333-kHz Simrad EK80 WBTs; Kongsberg) were confgured with split-beam transducers (Simrad ES18-11, ES38B, ES70-7C, ES120-7C, ES200-7C, and ES333-7C, respectively; Kongsberg). The transducers were mounted on the bottom of a retractable keel or “centerboard”. The keel was retracted (transducers at ~5-m depth) during calibration, and extended to the intermediate position (transducers at ~7-m depth) during the survey. Exceptions were made during shallow water operations, when the keel was retracted; or during times of heavy weather, when the keel was extended (transducers at ~9-m depth) to provide extra stability and reduce the efect of weather-generated noise. In addition, acoustic data were also collected using a multibeam echosounder (Simrad ME70; Kongsberg), multibeam sonar (Simrad MS70; Kongsberg), scanning sonar (Simrad SX90; Kongsberg), acoustic Doppler current profler and echosounder (Simrad EC150-3C, Kongsberg), and a separate ADCP (Ocean Surveyor OS75; Teledyne RD Instruments). Transducer position and motion were measured at 5 Hz using an inertial motion unit (Applanix POS-MV; Trimble).
distribution	[ { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "Water Column Sonar Data Map Viewer", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/water-column-sonar/index.html?surveys=RL2206&instruments=MS70", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Interactive map viewer to allow discovery and access to water column sonar data", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "AWS Cloud Storage Bucket", "accessURL": "https://registry.opendata.aws/ncei-wcsd-archive/", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "AWS Cloud Storage to provide additional public access to water column sonar data through the NOAA Open Data Dissemination project (NODD)", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "Water Column Sonar Data Archive Homepage", "accessURL": "https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/wcd/", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Web page containing information on the water column sonar data archive.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "GCMD Keyword Forum Page", "accessURL": "https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Sea Area ("Limits of Oceans and Seas" publication S-23)", "accessURL": "https://iho.int/", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Publication of Sea Areas is maintained by IHO.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "NCEI Contact Information", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Information for contacts at NCEI.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" } ]
identifier	https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC/MGG/Sonar_Water_Column/iso/xml/RL2206_MS70.xml
issued	2022-06-27T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Acoustics > Acoustic Scattering", "Earth Science > Oceans > Aquatic Sciences > Fisheries", "Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Acoustics", "Earth Science > Biosphere > Ecosystems > Marine Ecosystems > Pelagic", "Earth Science > Biosphere > Ecosystems > Marine Ecosystems", "Earth Science > Biosphere > Ecosystems > Marine Ecosystems > Benthic", "Earth Science > Biosphere > Ecosystems > Aquatic Ecosystems", "Earth Science > Oceans > Bathymetry/Seafloor Topography > Bathymetry", "Earth Science > Oceans > Bathymetry/Seafloor Topography > Seafloor Topography", "North Pacific Ocean", "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "Vertical Location > Water Column", "In Situ/Laboratory Instruments > Profilers/Sounders > Acoustic Sounders > WCMS > Water Column Mapping System" ]
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2026-01-12T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information", "@type": "org:Organization" }
rights	otherRestrictions, otherRestrictions
spatial	-116.33044,30.8951,-124.07988,39.90192
temporal	2022-06-27T00:00:00+00:00/2022-09-30T11:59:59+00:00
title	MS70 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During RL2206

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