The lines crossed the middle and outer shelf as well as part of the slope and adjacent San Pedro Basin floor. Surveys were limited to water depths greater than about 40 meters. The images show evidence of pervasive biogenic reworking of the bed throughout the study area.
Most burrows are small and some large burrows are surrounded by a halo of lighter colored sediment.
These open burrows, combined with recovery of burrowing shrimp during box coring operations, indicate the potential for vertical transport of sediment. Most ripples are degraded by burrowing activity that increases with increasing water depth. The slope typically is a more tranquil and smoothly sedimented regime showing abundant traces of epifaunal activity. The occurrence of occasional large blocks of broken sediment attest to modification of the slope by mass wasting processes.