Cradle of the Earthquake: Exploring the Underwater San Andreas Fault 2010

The Derek M. Baylis heads to sea for the transit to Fort Bragg.

Derek M. Baylis images clockwise from upper left: ROV monitoring in the pilothouse/science workspace; Derek M. Baylis general view; Deploying gear from the open transom stern and A-frame; WHOI glider under the A-frame.

AUV Lucille on deck. With negative buoyancy in the lower hull, and positive buoyancy in the upper hull, Lucille is able to remain stable in the unpredictable pitch and roll of the ocean while it follows the terrain of the bottom.

The AUV Lucille coming on board the research vessel.

The AUV team placing the AUV on deck after a mission.

A photo of the Pacific Storm in its home port of Newport, Oregon.

Another view of the Pacific Storm.

The Storm will support AUV operations and map the distribution of fishes associated with the fault.

The Pacific Storm at sea.

The ER60 fisheries sonar system’s pole mounted transducer system (the red shapes are the 38, 70 and 120 kHz transducers).

Jeremy Taylor from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Corps Officer Russell Haner and OSU graduate…

After surveying several multibeam lines, graduate student Morgan Erhardt brings the Reson 8101 out of the water for transit.…

Jackson Currie and Sam Johnson from USGS prepare the “mini-sparker” for deployment. The “mini-sparker” sends out a “shot”…

The Derek M. Baylis, a San Francisco-based sailboat owned by Sea Life Conservation helped make the San Andreas…

The acoustic sonar is used to image organisms living in the water column.

Data collected by the fisheries sonar system showing returns which may indicate aggregations of organisms inhabiting the…

Prior to launch, Jeremy Taylor double checks the inner workings and wiring of the AUV to ensure clear communication between…

Erica Fruh prepares the mission plan for a dive with the AUV Lucille. For this mission, Lucille was…

Out on deck, Russell Haner and Elizabeth Clarke make final preparations before deploying the AUV Lucille for a…

Jackson Currie from USGS trims the ends of the sparker while Bran Black and Tim Kane from OSU observe. Salt water erodes the…

Sam Johnson from USGS points out the location of the San Andreas fault on a map generated by multibeam data to correlate with the incoming seismic data. Bathymetric and backscatter data obtained from multibeam sonar are used to determine seafloor depth as well as indicators of the type of sediment (hard or soft bottom) that is below.

A seismic profile of one of the fault zones surveyed.

The sun sets over the bow of the Derek M. Baylis, anchored near Shelter Cove after a successful day of multibeam…

Working double duty as Captain and cook, Mark Kocina fixes dinner on the back deck for crew and science party.

Working on a smaller boat has its challenges – as wave action and swells can cause the Baylis to take anywhere from…

Dr. Chris Goldfinger, project PI, watches the multibeam screen as data returns in near-real time. Bathymetric and backscatter…

An example backscatter image generated from multibeam sonar data, showing the visual discrepancy between hard and soft…

OSU graduate student Bran Black works with sonar bathymetry data to create a map of the sea floor in the area where the San…

Dr. Chris Goldfinger, project PI, watches the multibeam screen as data returns in near-real time. Bathymetric and backscatter…

The main sail raised on the Baylis. The crew's survey is powered solely by wind.

The Derek M. Baylis sailing off the California coast under sail.

Mark Kocina of the Baylis’s crew secures the sails as weather moves in.

Bran Black, Chris Goldfinger and Morgan Erhardt begin work on the broken support strut.

OSU Grad Student Bran Black keeps the boat steady on course while other crew and science party members work to repair a broken strut.

Morgan Erhardt works with the Baylis crew member Mark Kocina to secure the strut and continue multibeam operations.

The multibeam sonar is taken out of the water for re-calibration at a specific time each day.

OSU Graduate Student Morgan Erhardt prepares the CTD for a cast.

Project PI Chris Goldfinger keeps the Derek M. Baylis on track for another survey line.

At work during the multibeam mapping phase of the expedition.