This raster dataset is a 20-meter resolution grid containing multibeam bathymetry data for Monterey Bay, California. These data are provided in GCS WGS 84 and UTM Zone 10 (NAD 83) projections. Shallow-water data are from NOAA CD-ROM "Marine Trackline Geophysics and Hydrographic Survey Data". Deep-water data are from USGS Branch of Pacific Marine Geology seabeam survey. Individual pings were used in gridding. This layer is part of the GIS Data of the Monterey Bay collection, a compilation of data and imagery of the Monterey Bay area, including coastline, imagery, and bathymetry. This collection of data provides documented layers of of the Monterey Bay to persons/institutions of interest throughout the research and educational communities. These maps help define the geological variability of the seafloor and provide a detailed framework for future research, monitoring, and management activities. Hatcher, G (1998). 20-Meter Bathymetric Grid: Monterey Bay, California, 1997. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/qf877qt6621 All data are registered to the WGS84 datum with two versions of each feature, image, and grid coverage included in the collection. One is in a Geographic (decimal degrees) coordinate system and the second is in a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) zone 10 projection. To most easily use the grid data, the ArcView Spatial Analyst extension should be installed on your system.
For strict accuracy and hard-copy production requiring feature, grid, and/or image data, the UTM projection coverages should be used. In fact, some ArcView functions will not be available unless the data are displayed in a projection. This is because a Geographic Coordinate System is NOT a projection but rather a spherical coordinate system dealing directly in latitude and longitude. However, at the scale of maps covering Monterey Bay, the errors produced by ignoring this fact are small.