Oregon: ocean habitat mapping funded

The Oregon Ocean Policy Advisory Council unanimously endorsed the proposal for $5.6 million seafloor mapping project that would benefit the region in a number of critical areas - including fisheries management, tsunami planning and the creation of marine reserves. Researchers plan to use multibeam sonar to produce a highly detailed map of the 3-mile-wide strip of ocean floor along Oregon's coast. The project is being developed by Mark Hixon, an Oregon State University professor of zoology, and led by Chris Goldfinger, a professor of oceanic and atmospheric sciences, and Dawn Wright, professor of geosciences.