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California Undersea Imagery Archive

Providing the still and videographic imagery you need to enhance your research, education, training and professional endeavors.

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Research Labs and Programs

The California Undersea Imagery Archive (CUIA) was founded on the principle that a picture (or image) is literally ‘worth a thousand words’ and with the understanding that imagery can be mined to answer new questions long after the original project is complete. 

Image is Everything

The CUIA is composed of still and videographic imagery collected by a variety of platforms, including:

  • Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)
  • Human-occupied vehicles (HOVs)
  • Towed camera sleds
  • SCUBA diver-operated video (DOV)
  • Multibeam bathymetry data
  • Sidescan sonar

The imagery derives from a variety of projects conducted across the state ranging from the nearshore to the continental slope, including baseline characterization and long-term monitoring of the State’s marine protected area network and research on demersal fishes and invertebrates.

Powerful Partnerships and Purpose

A group of four students and a professor on a boat with life jackets on lowering a pole into the ocean

Archive Funding

The Archive was created with generous support from the California Ocean Protection Council and includes imagery paid for by state, federal and private sources.

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A group of two students and a professor working on a computer

Find the Imagery You Need

To find imagery that suits your needs, visit our Imagery Catalog page for a detailed list of all of the video transects we have currently cataloged, and/or explore our Interactive Map which displays the video locations along the coast of California.

Two students on a boat with a life jacket collaborating together

Map of Imagery

Explore a map of the study areas including the location of video transects and/or camera deployments.

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Sea Floor Mapping Lab

Imagery Catalog

Review the comprehensive list and download instructions for available imagery.

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Professor and student read a book in the professors office

Published Projects

Check out examples of projects that have utilized imagery from the archive.

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Divers sitting with each other before a dive

Dive Into Your Own Adventure

Immersive VR SCUBA “dives” enable student research, training and education like never before.

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Request Your Imagery

Once you’ve found the imagery you’re looking for, submit an Imagery Request Form or contact the CUIA archivist at cuia@csumb.edu.

Request Imagery
A group of four students standing on a boat with life jackets on looking at a clipboard
Waves crashing against rocks

Questions? We’re Here to Help.

Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about the California Undersea Imagery Archive.

Contact Us Today

To learn more about the Imagery Archive, contact Dr. James Lindholm at jlindholm@csumb.edu

Department of Marine Science

The Undersea Imagery Archive is offered through CSUMB’s College of Science, Department of Marine Science. Learn more about the Department by contacting: