MMS Low Altitude Survey 1980-1983

Occurrence Observation
Latest version published by OBIS-SEAMAP on Apr 28, 2026 OBIS-SEAMAP
Home:
https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/41
Publication date:
28 April 2026
Published by:
OBIS-SEAMAP
License:
CC-BY-NC 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 71,453 records in English (8 MB) - Update frequency: not planned
Metadata as an EML file download in English (44 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (21 KB)

Description

Original provider: Minerals Management Service Dataset credits: Minerals Management Service Abstract: This dataset is from the marine mammal and seabird surveys of central and northern California studies: Central/northern California - low aerial [birds and mammals] study code: CL, Contract number: 14-12-0001-29090, Principal investigator: Thomas P. Dohl, Center for Marine Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz Time period: February 1980 through June 1983 Study area: Shelf, slope, and offshore waters to a distance of 100 nm off the California coast from Point Conception to the California-Oregon boundary. Methodology: Offshore transect surveys were flown twice-monthly at two different altitudes (200 ft and about 750-1,000 ft ASL) along approximately 40 east-west transect lines extending an average of 60 nm offshore. The transects sampled on a given survey were selected randomly from a set of 92 standard (predetermined) lines spaced at intervals of 5' of latitude. Standard transects provided systematic coverage of shelf, slope, and offshore waters in the study area. Sightings of seabirds, pinnipeds, and sea otters were recorded only on low-altitude surveys. Sightings of cetaceans and turtles were recorded on both low- and high-altitude surveys. Seabird sightings were recorded only on the shaded side of the aircraft within a strip transect of 50 m width. Marine mammal and turtle sightings were recorded within an unbounded corridor on both high- and low-altitude surveys, but only the shaded side of the aircraft was searched on the low-altitude surveys. Cross-legs connecting standard transects were searched only on high-altitude surveys. Offshore cross-legs were searched on both sides of the aircraft, while only the nearshore side was searched on cross-legs along the coast. Declination angle was measured and noted for each marine mammal/turtle sightings and later used to calculate a probability density function of frequency with right-angle sighting distance. Navigation was by Loran and VLF-Omega. Databases produced: Three databases of sightings at sea were produced by these studies (data on numbers of seabirds and pinnipeds on land were also collected but are not addressed in the present study). These include: 1) sightings of cetaceans and turtles recorded on 36 high-altitude aerial surveys, 2) sightings of cetaceans, pinnipeds, sea otters, and turtles recorded on 36 low-altitude aerial surveys, and 3) sightings of seabirds on 36 low-altitude aerial surveys. Each sighting database is accompanied by files providing the search effort on transect and environmental characteristics of the waters surveyed (e.g., sea surface temperature).

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 71,453 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Dohl, T. 2020. MMS Low Altitude Survey 1980-1983. Version 2.1.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/04d13dd0.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is OBIS-SEAMAP. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: dcc94d36-ba8b-4ccb-8a48-d92c0e5e98f9.  OBIS-SEAMAP publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Ocean Biodiversity Information System.

Keywords

Occurrence; Observation; Marine Biology; Visual sighting; Marine Animal Survey; Marine mammals; Seabirds; Sea turtles; Vessel; Visual Sighting; Occurrence

External data

The resource data is also available in other formats

OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/41 UTF-8 Interactive map
FGDC Metadata https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/41/fgdc UTF-8 XML
EML Metadata https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/41/eml UTF-8 XML

Contacts

Thomas P. Dohl
  • Owner ●
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
  • Primary contact
University of California, Santa Cruz
OBIS-SEAMAP
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Distributor
Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University
  • A328 LSRC building
27708 Durham
NC
US

Geographic Coverage

Northeastern Pacific Ocean

Bounding Coordinates South West [34.033, -126.483], North East [42.072, 42.072]

Taxonomic Coverage

Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Class Aves (Birds)
Order Cetacea (Cetaceans), Ciconiiformes (Ciconiiformes)
Suborder Caniformia (Pinnipeds)
Family Alcidae (Murres), Anatidae (Ducks), Cheloniidae (Sea turtles), Laridae (Gulls), Procellariidae (Fulmars / petrels / shearwaters)
Genus Aythya (Diving ducks), Balaenoptera (Baleen whales), Fulmarus, Gavia (Loons), Larus (Gulls), Melanitta (Scoters), Mesoplodon (Beaked whales), Phaethon (Tropicbirds), Phalacrocorax (Cormorants), Phalaropus (Phalaropes), Pterodroma, Stercorarius (Jaegers), Sterna (Typical Terns)
Species Aechmophorus occidentalis (Western grebe), Ardea alba (Great egret), Ardea herodias (Great blue heron), Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Common minke whale), Balaenoptera musculus (Blue whale), Balaenoptera physalus (Fin whale), Berardius bairdii (Baird's beaked whale), Brachyramphus marmoratus (Marbled murrelet), Callorhinus ursinus (Northern fur seal), Cepphus columba (Pigeon guillemot), Cerorhinca monocerata (Rhinoceros auklet), Chroicocephalus philadelphia (Bonaparte's gull), Delphinus delphis (Short-beaked common dolphin), Dermochelys coriacea (Leatherback sea turtle), Enhydra lutris (Sea otter), Eschrichtius robustus (Gray whale), Eumetopias jubatus (Steller sea lion), Fratercula cirrhata (Tufted puffin), Fratercula corniculata (Horned puffin), Fulmarus glacialis (Northern fulmar), Gavia immer (Common loon), Gavia stellata (Red-throated loon), Globicephala melas (Long-finned pilot whale), Grampus griseus (Risso's dolphin), Hydroprogne caspia (Caspian tern), Lagenorhynchus obliquidens (Pacific white-sided dolphin), Larus argentatus (Herring gull), Larus californicus (California gull), Larus canus (Mew gull), Larus delawarensis (Ring-billed gull), Larus glaucescens (Glaucous-winged gull), Larus heermanni (Heermann's gull), Larus occidentalis (Western gull), Limosa fedoa (Marbled godwit), Lissodelphis borealis (Northern right whale dolphin), Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback whale), Melanitta fusca (Velvet scoter), Melanitta nigra (Black scoter), Melanitta perspicillata (Surf scoter), Mergus serrator (Red-breasted merganser), Mirounga angustirostris (Northern elephant seal), Oceanodroma furcata (Fork-tailed storm petrel), Oceanodroma homochroa (Ashy storm petrel), Oceanodroma leucorhoa (Leach's storm petrel), Oceanodroma melania (Black storm petrel), Orcinus orca (Killer whale), Pandion haliaetus (Osprey), Pelecanus erythrorhynchos (American white pelican), Pelecanus occidentalis (Brown pelican), Phalacrocorax pelagicus (Pelagic cormorant), Phalacrocorax penicillatus (Brandt's cormorant), Phalaropus fulicarius (Red phalarope), Phalaropus lobatus (Red-necked phalarope), Phoca vitulina (Harbor seal), Phocoena phocoena (Harbor porpoise), Phocoenoides dalli (Dall's porpoise), Phoebastria immutabilis (Laysan albatross), Phoebastria nigripes (Black-footed albatross), Physeter macrocephalus (Sperm whale), Podiceps nigricollis (Black-necked grebe), Ptychoramphus aleuticus (Cassin's auklet), Puffinus bulleri (Buller's shearwater), Puffinus carneipes (Flesh-footed shearwater), Puffinus creatopus (Pink-footed shearwater), Puffinus griseus (Sooty shearwater), Puffinus puffinus (Manx shearwater), Puffinus tenuirostris (Short-tailed shearwater), Rissa tridactyla (Black-legged kittiwake), Stercorarius longicaudus (Long-tailed jaeger), Stercorarius maccormicki (South polar skua), Stercorarius parasiticus (Parasitic jaeger), Stercorarius pomarinus (Pomarine jaeger), Sterna forsteri (Forster's tern), Sterna hirundo (Common tern), Sterna paradisaea (Arctic tern), Synthliboramphus antiquus (Ancient murrelet), Synthliboramphus hypoleucus (Xantus's murrelet), Thalasseus elegans (Elegant tern), Thalasseus maximus (Royal tern), Uria aalge (Common murre), Xema sabini (Sabine's gull), Zalophus californianus (California sea lion), Ziphius cavirostris (Cuvier's beaked whale)
Subspecies Branta bernicla nigricans, Branta canadensis interior, Phalacrocorax brasilianus brasilianus

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 1980-02-25 / 1983-01-29

Project Data

No Description available

Title MMS Low Altitude Survey 1980-1983
Funding NA

The personnel involved in the project:

Thomas P. Dohl
  • Owner

Sampling Methods

NA

Study Extent NA

Method step description:

  1. NA

Collection Data

Collection Name zd_41
Collection Identifier zd_41
Parent Collection Identifier OBIS-SEAMAP

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Bonnell, M.L., M.O. Pierson and G.D. Farrens. 1983. Pinnipeds and sea otters of central and northern California, 1980-1983: Status, abundance, and distribution. Part of Investigator’s Final Report, Marine Mammal and Seabird Study, Central and Northern California, Contract No. 14-12-0001-29090. Prepared by Center for Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, for the Pacific OCS Region, Minerals Management ServiceOCS Study MMS 84-0044. 220 pp.

Additional Metadata

marine, harvested by iOBIS.

Purpose
Alternative Identifiers 10.82144/04d13dd0
dcc94d36-ba8b-4ccb-8a48-d92c0e5e98f9
https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/41
50b1b06d-f311-43f2-ad72-c7f05a9c1771
https://ipt.env.duke.edu/resource?r=zd_41