The Ruben Ruscar was about 4 miles away from the coast of Manhattan Beach when Ash began to rain in the sea.
A few days ago, the fishery research ship was sailing for coastal surveys. This is a daily voyage that the Calcofi Cooperative Marine Fisheries Survey (Calcofi) program is a type that will be a kind of Calcofi, as part of the longest marine ecosystem monitoring initiatives in the world. did.
As observed by the sea marine research ship Louven Ruscar, smoke from the Parisade fire is blown off by the Pacific Ocean.
(RASMUS Swalethorp/Scripps facility ocean studies)
However, when the Parisade and Eaton fire occurred, scientists on the national marine and atmosphere were the first investigators in the brewing disaster where they could accidentally overturn life. 。
Smoke that suffocated Los Angeles, fragments along the destroyed streets, and thousands of destroyed houses, companies, cars, and electronic devices -almost all in the sea. You will rest.
There is no precedence about how countless fires, including ourselves, change the ecosystem that countless species, including ourselves, rely on food and nutrition.
Scientists on REUBEN LASKER wear goggles and masks to protect themselves from smoke while observing seabirds and marine mammals.
(RASMUS Swalethorp/Scripps facility ocean studies)
However, there is no better team to understand how the fire that has changed Los Angeles will affect life in the sea.
Unlike the smoke emitted from rural mountains, the scorched ingredients that are currently entering the sea are “people’s houses, cars, batteries, and electronic equipment.” “Certainly, we ideally contain many things that we don’t want to see in our sea, and for it, for the flow of water, and ours The flow of water, and it is certainly not in our dinner plate. “
Calcofi was established in 1949 to study the collapse of the sardine industry with a joint effort by Scrips, NOAA FISHERIES, and State Fish and Wildlife.
However, scientists immediately noticed that they could answer questions only by studying a more wide marine ecosystem -connected layer.
Calcofi has begun to systematically collect detailed marine samples from the same 113 locations a year, along a systematic grid that straddles the coast of California. Later, millions of plankton, fish eggs and marine animals have been preserved in the archive, providing irreplaceable sea snapshots over time.
Since 1949, scientists of Scripps and NOAA have been systematically collecting samples from more than 100 stations on the coast of California.
(Calcofi)
When this month’s fire was furious on the land, Ruben Lasker continued on an orderly turf mowing style through the sea. Researchers at Southwest Fisheries Science Center for Scripps and NOAA wore goggles and masks. The number of wildlife was temporarily suspended when the smoke was too thick to make seabirds and marine mammals.
The fragments of the fire fell on the sea surface to 100 miles offshore. In the past, the white collection net was soaked and blacked with a burnt detritus. When the team raised the sample of seawater filled with ash, Swarth Soap reacted with odor.
“It didn’t have a typical bon -fire smell,” said Swartho Tosope, which operates Carcoppy’s ship. “The first thing I jumped into my heart when I smelled it was that it smelled like burning electronics.”
Typical Calcofi cruises collect data on everything, from the transparency of water to local plants and animal species. The data archive for several decades in this program is ideal for studying long -term changes in marine ecosystems.
“I don’t think there is a precedent in this type of input to the marine ecosystem,” said Noel Bowlin, the Calcofidator of Noah Fisheries. However, in order to measure the data for 76 years, “Can this event be provided to the question of how large this event is?”
Calcofi researchers hold a white net that has become black with a scorched fragment once. His first reaction to pulling up the net was, according to a team member, “it smells of burning electronic devices.”
(RASMUS Swalethorp/Scripps facility ocean studies)
The samples collected at the start of the fire will help to provide a very necessary answer to whether or not the high concentration of toxic metals, PCB, PFA, and other chemical substances is involved in the sea. At the Council of Natural Resources Defense.
“It’s a coincidence, and Calcofi is literally there during the catastrophe and can collect such a wide range of samples,” Gold said.
One of the most close concerns is seawater pollution. In addition to the ash Offshore’s footprint, gold pointed out that the first few outflow from the storm is a major concern. He has a fuss with cities, counties, and state officials who have been actively restricting the amount of fire pollution in the sea.
Imagine a Los Angeles County surrounded by hills and mountains with a huge bowl tilted towards the mountains. When it rains, water runs around the roof, street and sidewalks, picks up pesticides, garbage, car residue, and other pollutants.
Unlike the sewage in this area, it is filtered before being discharged in the processing facility, but this mixture of rainwater and debris usually flows straight through the storm drainage and concrete lining river huge networks. 。
Calcofi researchers have found 100 miles and debris offshore on the sea.
(RASMUS Swalethorp/Scripps facility ocean studies)
This week’s rain was the first important precipitation in this area since May. In addition to the ash of fire and the residue of chemistry, it was also the first flash for nine months of daily pollution to the sea.
Local environmental groups, such as HEAL THE BAY, have urged beach fans to avoid water contact from Surfrider Beach in Malibu to Beach, Dockwiles near LA International Airport.
The Los Angeles County Public Health Bureau has issued similar ocean prevention measures and closing beaches along with a map of closed or contaminated beaches.
Public health authorities warn that sand may contain toxic or carcinogenic chemicals, and to avoid leakage from beach fans and beach sand or ponds. I advised me. Gold added as an extra precautionary measure that you wouldn’t swim or surf in the water for at least a few weeks after the rain.
In the long term, there are serious questions about whether pollutants released by fire penetrate into the food chain.
Ash from the forest fire may promote the growth of plant plankton, a microscopy algae, which is the root of the marine food network, thanks to the injection of nutrients from burned plants. No one knows how large asbestos, lead, microplastics, heavy metal mixture and large -scale ash injections from urban fire will affect our food supply.
The Calcofi team has collected seawater samples contaminated with fragments.
(RASMUS Swalethorp/Scripps facility ocean studies)
“Does it affect the interaction of all the food networks that start with the base of food chain, plant plankton, and microorganisms and then accumulate slowly … Will the fish we eat?” Julie Dinasuke, a project leader, a clips marine ecosologist, said. “Probably a few months to a year, people will notice that there is a heavy metal organic accumulation. [these fish]Or something from these fires. “
The catastrophic fire of LA is only the latest episode that has been useful as a container that is not evaluated for garbage or danger caused by the sea.
In recent years, a series of Times reports have revealed an unforgettable history of DDT’s largest manufacturer on the coast off the coast off Los Angeles. Since then, this part of the ocean has also been revealed that it has also been useful as a garbage dump for military ammunition and radioactive waste.
“For me, the situation and size of these fires indicate that the LA area has no elasticity in the climate,” gold said Gold. “One of the results of the lack of recovery is that the sea will be a garbage dump again, whether it is intentional or not.”
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