This keynote session will explore approaches to characterizing the seafloor from multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter, as well the use of uncrewed systems to collect site characterization data. Dr. Larry Mayer is a professor in earth science and ocean engineering at the University of New Hampshire and is also the director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping and codirector of the NOAA/UNH Joint Hydrographic Center. The CCOM/JHC is a national center of excellence for developing innovative techniques for ocean mapping and exploration and for training the next generation of ocean mappers. Dr. Mayer's scientific research, along with the many widely used technologies and software tools that he's been involved in developing, have transformed a number of areas of ocean science, from marine geophysics, to paleoceanography, to marine archaeology. Dr. Mayer has been influential in defining the international efforts to map the world ocean by 2030 via the United Nations Ocean Decade for Sustainable Development’s Seabed 2030 project. Dr. Mayer’s keynote will highlight the numerous innovations being applied to seafloor mapping and other site characterization tasks. This talk should not be missed by anyone interested in illuminating the opaque ocean and gaining insights to how modern geophysical data approaches allow for the safe and efficient placement of offshore infrastructure on the seabed, understand how and where benthic habitats support biotic life, and provide new understanding to the invisible ocean.