In this regard, Palisades and Eaton, among many that recently ransacked Los Angeles, had several secondary impacts in the marine environment off Southern California's shores. Scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography along with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in NOAA Fisheries are studying the waters to come up with some pretty unnerving changes it is suffering due to the ravishing fires.The produced massive quantities of smoke full of ash and debris that traveled well over 160 kilometers or 100 miles offshore. Whereas it is an everyday phenomenon when wildfire ash invades the ocean, the case here is not pure wildfire ash; it also concerns urban infrastructure as well as chemicals. Samples gathered aboard the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker, whose survey commenced at the start of January will be screened for a number of known marine toxins.
Since 1949, the cooperative study has been undertaken in cooperation with California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations, or CalCOFI. In monitoring ocean health, fisheries, and marine ecosystems, CalCOFI works in collaboration with the state of California, Scripps Oceanography, and NOAA. Such ashfall from wildfires presents a rare opportunity for research into the impact of urban ash on the ocean, a new and, in part, entirely untrodden phenomenon.The research team intends to find out how ash from the wildfires affects marine life, specifically its effect on plankton and fish. Normally, ash is made from burned plant material from a fire, but urban ash has adverse substances, such as heavy metals, asbestos, and PAHs. This worried scientists about the toxicity materials in these ashes affecting the regional ecosystem, providing valuable commercial and recreational fisheries.
The Reuben Lasker crew has been returning to areas that have been hit the hardest by the ash, such as Santa Monica Bay and waters offshore. Water samples have been analyzed to measure the spread of ash and to determine if toxic substances are present in marine life. Specifically, they are concerned about the impact these pollutants could have on species like anchovies, which are abundant in those waters.The new team members who reported to the ship on January 18 were on board to bring some specialized equipment on board to help quantify the ash particles in the water and preserve them for more analysis. They are also monitoring the depth at which the ash is settling because particles may sink below the surface, where they could leach toxic materials affecting the marine ecosystem.
Scripps Oceanography Julie Dinasquet discovered a new type of ash, which is formed using residence and industrial materials, and contains pollutants. Such ash is bad because heavy metals, and other harmful material that it contains, stay inside the ocean posing harm to marine and human life.The CalCOFI program has been the top resource in underlining how the ocean conditions and fisheries have changed through time. Its data, which include detailed records of marine life and water chemistry, can help scientists compare today's conditions with the baseline data set decades ago. It is a long-term perspective needed to assess the full impact of such unpredictable environmental changes as the recent wildfires.
The first ashfall was observed on board the Reuben Lasker as it moved from Dana Point to Santa Monica Bay on January 8. Ash was seen falling into the ocean, and observations indicate that ash dispersed hundreds of miles from the fires themselves, out to 100 miles off shore. Ash in the water indicated a broad and troubling breadth of environmental effects of the fires.While it is true that ash can fertilize marine life, as was the case with previous studies regarding wildfire ash in Monterey Bay, scientists believe that the urban nature of the Los Angeles fires will have a much more ecotoxic effect. This makes it all the more important to track and understand the influence of ash on marine life over the coming weeks.
In addition to this immediate feedback from the scientists at NOAA and Scripps Oceanography, fire ash is constantly tracked about its effect. This information could provide a key point for comparison: the role of fire ash in ocean systems as well as possibly shedding a little bit better light onto just how environmental effects emanate from a wildfire.The ongoing study will therefore be followed up by future studies that will explain how these newly identified toxins impact the marine life especially through bioaccumulation in the tissues of fish. Scientists will hence continue to gather more data preserving the samples for further analysis over a long period to identify changes brought about by this environmental disaster.
Source: UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA Fisheries.
