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Alligator Maps
Image courtesy of NOAA's National Oceanographic Data Center
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This image illustrates the complex bathymetry in the region of the Alligator's loss. The USS Sumpter and Alligator's last known fix at noon on April 3 is approximately 50.5 nautical miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras and is approximately 36 nautical miles south-southeast of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. The continental shelf break marks the abrupt transition from the continental shelf and the continental slope. On this image, the shelf break can be interpreted by determining the depth at which the contour lines begin to bunch up (indicating a transition to the steeper continental slope). In the ocean, the average shelf break occurs at about 150 meters (~500 ft). Three prevailing currents influence the bathymetry and sedimentation in this region: a south-tending drift, the north-east flowing Gulf Stream, and the south west flowing deep western boundary undercurrent that flows beneath and opposite to the Gulf Stream. Because of the high amounts of erosion and sediment transport, the slope off North Carolina has many channels, canyons, and submarine landslides.
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