Latest news with #ScrippsInstituteofOceanography
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Oceanographers study the impact of toxic ash from the L.A. wildfires
Los Angeles — A research ship from the San Diego-based Scripps Institute of Oceanography goes out every three months along the Southern California coastline. Recently, the ship was traveling the coast collecting plankton samples, small organisms that many larger fish live on. But this trip was anything but ordinary. "This is something I've never experienced before, and I don't know anybody else that has," Scripps Institute scientist Dr. Rasmus Swalethorp told CBS News. What the researchers experienced, by total coincidence, was pulling up to Los Angeles in January as the deadly and devastating Palisades and Eaton fires were burning thousands of homes, incinerating plastic, paint, asbestos and car batteries. The fires released a cloud of toxic ash that settled over the ocean for about 100 miles. Crew members put on masks to protect against the smoke as black ash settled on the ship, while the plankton they collected was also swimming in ash. "All the organisms that are going to live down on the seabed, they're certainly going to be exposed to this, potentially transporting whatever is in that ash further up the food chain," Swalethorp said. Scientists with the Scripps Institute have been collecting California ocean samples for 75 years. The new ash-laden samples will be added to this vast archive. "We know what the fish are like under normal circumstances, but the scientific opportunity here is to look at the condition of the fish when they're exposed to all the ash," said Andrew Thompson, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Commercial and recreational fishing in California brings in about $1 billion a year and supports 193,000 full and part-time jobs, according to numbers from the NOAA. While it could take years to know how, or if, these toxins impact fish, both fishermen and restaurants say knowing the answer is important. "The damage that these fires has caused is like woven so deeply into the fabric of our food systems that it's something that you know, it should be just an absolute red flag for anyone involved…a red flag for change," said Michael Cimarusti, a chef at the L.A. seafood restaurant Providence. "Like, what can be done to ensure that these kinds of fires, like, don't happen again." Swalethorp says monitoring how ocean life responds will continue for years. "We are also going to be looking for chromium, for mercury," Swalethorp said. "…Things we don't want in the ocean." But because of a grim kind of luck, scientists at least have a head start in knowing exactly what toxins they are looking for. Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, died at age 82. Here's a look back at their love story Federal employees received a new email about weekly tasks. Here's how agencies responded. "Anora" wins 5 Oscars at 97th Academy Awards
CBS News
05-03-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Oceanographers study the impact of toxic ash from the Los Angeles wildfires on marine life
Los Angeles — A research ship from the San Diego-based Scripps Institute of Oceanography goes out every three months along the Southern California coastline. Recently, the ship was traveling the coast collecting plankton samples, small organisms that many larger fish live on. But this trip was anything but ordinary. "This is something I've never experienced before, and I don't know anybody else that has," Scripps Institute scientist Dr. Rasmus Swalethorp told CBS News. What the researchers experienced, by total coincidence, was pulling up to Los Angeles in January as the deadly and devastating Palisades and Eaton fires were burning thousands of homes, incinerating plastic, paint, asbestos and car batteries. The fires released a cloud of toxic ash that settled over the ocean for about 100 miles. Crew members put on masks to protect against the smoke as black ash settled on the ship, while the plankton they collected was also swimming in ash. "All the organisms that are going to live down on the seabed, they're certainly going to be exposed to this, potentially transporting whatever is in that ash further up the food chain," Swalethorp said. Scientists with the Scripps Institute have been collecting California ocean samples for 75 years. The new ash-laden samples will be added to this vast archive. "We know what the fish are like under normal circumstances, but the scientific opportunity here is to look at the condition of the fish when they're exposed to all the ash," said Andrew Thompson, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Commercial and recreational fishing in California brings in about $1 billion a year and supports 193,000 full and part-time jobs, according to numbers from the NOAA. While it could take years to know how, or if, these toxins impact fish, both fishermen and restaurants say knowing the answer is important. "The damage that these fires has caused is like woven so deeply into the fabric of our food systems that it's something that you know, it should be just an absolute red flag for anyone involved…a red flag for change," said Michael Cimarusti, a chef at the L.A. seafood restaurant Providence. "Like, what can be done to ensure that these kinds of fires, like, don't happen again." Swalethorp says monitoring how ocean life responds will continue for years. "We are also going to be looking for chromium, for mercury," Swalethorp said. "…Things we don't want in the ocean."
CBS News
21-02-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
U.S. Air Force hurricane hunters being used to study atmospheric rivers in California
YUBA COUNTY – The Yuba Water Agency is partnering with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography to collect data on atmospheric rivers through weather balloons. Now, part of that research includes heavy-duty hurricane aircraft. Researchers are using a U.S. Air Force WC-130 J Hurricane Hunter to study atmospheric rivers. "We do have our hurricane season and we do fly hurricanes in tropical systems. But we also, in the winter time, fly winter storms and now we're also a part of atmospheric rivers," said U.S. Air Force Aerial Reconnaissance Weather Officer Amaryllis Cotto. A partnership spanning several agencies—Yuba Water, the Department of Water Resources, the U.S. Air Force, and Scripps Institute of Oceanography—is working to better understand atmospheric rivers. "The one thing with California is that it's really the land of extremes, it's either feast or famine. The variability from year to year, in terms of the amount of precipitation that falls, is the most varied compared to anywhere else in the United States," said research and operations meteorologist for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes Chad Hecht. Too many or too few atmospheric rivers can be a determining factor of flood or drought. So researchers are learning more about them to help with the forecast and optimize water management. "This place is a very good location for us because of, one, the proximity of the atmospheric rivers for us and, two, just how the weather is here we can easily come in and come out," Cotto said. Atmospheric river research flights are typically done from January through March. Teams are flying out from Mather Air Base to the Pacific Ocean. "The Pacific Ocean is very data smart and these are really the best ways to go out and observe these storms. And if these forecast models don't know what's going on over the Pacific Ocean, they're not going to forecast them well as they make landfall over California," Hecht said. "They're looking at how the storm is developing as it comes closer to the shore, to the west coast," Cotto said. During a typical mission, there are about 25 drop sondes that are dropped out of the plane to collect data. "It has a parachute on it and as it drops through the storm it collects data that allows them to draw a vertical map of the storm," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. John Douglas. "If we've had a couple atmospheric rivers that aren't really producing a lot of rain then they try to conserve more water in certain areas. But if it is going to be a heavy rainfall event, they might be talking about releasing the water from the dams," Cotto said. All of this data collected from the flights are sent back to weather centers to compile and compare, ultimately improving storm predictability and forecasting. "In a warming climate, we're seeing that variability is becoming even more so and California is becoming even more dependent on these atmospheric rivers to provide the water necessary for agriculture and drinking and other uses across the state," Hecht said. While atmospheric rivers have been around throughout history, they were only given a name in the 1990s. Researchers say understanding them could play a key role in California's water management going forward.
