Using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and towed camera system (TCS), deep-sea corals, sponges, and seafloor habitats were visually surveyed for the first time in areas of longtime trawl fishing off northern California. During an 11-day cruise aboard the R/V Point Sur 8-18 September 2014, researchers completed 6 dives with the AUV and 9 deployments of the TCS, and spent over 42 hours underwater at depths of 586-1169 meters from the Oregon-California border to the Mendocino Ridge.

This Final Cruise Report provides a detailed analysis of the benthic habitats, biota, and fish
populations at each dive site based on the ROV photo/video transects, CTD casts, and multibeam
sonar surveys.

The continental margin off the northeastern United States contains numerous, topographically complex features that increase habitat heterogeneity across the region. However, the majority of these rugged features have never been surveyed, particularly using direct observations. During summer 2013, 31 remotely-operated vehicle dives were conducted from 494 to 3271 m depth across a variety of seafloor features to document communities and to infer geological processes that produced such features.