Comm Assistant, Author at Southern California Coastal Water Research Project

Articles by: Comm Assistant

Interactive, web-based stream causal assessment tool developed to ID likely causes of degradation

in Bioassessment, Regional Monitoring Comments are Disabled

SCCWRP and its partners have developed a user-friendly, web-based tool to help managers rapidly evaluate the likely vs. unlikely causes of degraded biological condition in streams in the San Gabriel … More

Workshop works to transition eDNA methods to managers

in Bioassessment, DNA Barcoding, Top News Comments are Disabled

More than 300 researchers and environmental managers gathered at SCCWRP and online during a national scientific workshop in September to coordinate and advance strategies for transitioning DNA-based methods for identifying … More

Street sweeping is a stormwater management strategy commonly used to prevent trash, bacteria, nutrients, trace heavy metals and other pollutants from entering storm drain systems. The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) is working to quantify the
effectiveness of routine street sweeping in removing contaminants that contribute to runoff pollution.

SMC study to probe effectiveness of street sweeping for reducing runoff pollution

in Runoff Water Quality, Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition, Stormwater BMPs, Top News Comments are Disabled

The Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) has launched a three-year study to investigate the effectiveness of routine street sweeping in removing contaminants that enter storm drains and contribute to … More

A rescue crew from the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute prepares to transport a sea lion stranded on the beach as a result of neurotoxin exposure to a rehabilitation center for treatment. Researchers are exploring a potential link between an offshore, toxin-producing HAB event in late summer 2022 and the strandings of more than 250 marine mammals on Southern California beaches during the same time period.

Study examines how marine mammals are affected by summer HABs toxin exposure

in Eutrophication, Harmful Algal Blooms, Top News Comments are Disabled

SCCWRP and its partners have launched a yearlong study to document the severity of a harmful algal blooms (HABs) event that sickened hundreds of sea lions and other marine mammals … More

Runoff from a parking lot drains to a bioretention system containing special engineered soil media designed to remove contaminants. These runoff management solutions are the focus of newly developed statewide guidance for how to periodically evaluate long-term, multi-phased plans for improving runoff water quality.

Toolkit developed for adaptive watershed management

in Runoff Water Quality, Stormwater BMPs, Top News Comments are Disabled

SCCWRP and its partners have developed statewide guidance and a set of freely accessible web tools to help California stormwater managers take a consistent, standardized approach to periodically evaluating their … More

The Toxicity of Microplastics Explorer (ToMEx) tool, described in a newly published special issue of the journal Microplastics and Nanoplastics, is a public, web-based repository of toxicity data from published microplastics health effects studies; it also contains integrated data analysis tools. SCCWRP developed ToMEx to derive preliminary thresholds for aquatic life that define for environmental managers the exposure levels at which microplastics can be expected to trigger adverse biological effects.

Special journal issue highlights new scientific tools to support microplastics management

in Emerging Contaminants, Top News, Trash Pollution Comments are Disabled

An initial set of scientific products and health thresholds that could form the technical underpinnings for how California protects aquatic life and humans from exposure to microplastics pollution is featured … More

A field crew from the aquaculture company Ocean Rainforest examines kelp that has been growing on ropes suspended in an underwater farm off the coast of Santa Barbara. SCCWRP and its partners are using computer modeling to explore how offshore kelp farms might be used to reduce the ecological effects of intensifying coastal ocean acidification and hypoxia.

Kelp farms being studied to improve coastal water quality

in Climate Change, Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia, Top News Comments are Disabled

SCCWRP and its partners have completed the initial phases of integrating a pair of Southern California Bight computer models to investigate how offshore kelp farms might be used to reduce … More

Database being compiled to probe quality-assurance issues with Ceriodaphnia toxicity test

in Runoff Water Quality Comments are Disabled

SCCWRP is compiling a comprehensive database of historical information from nearly 1,000 Ceriodaphnia dubia toxicity tests as part of an ongoing, two-year effort to ensure that this commonly used toxicity … More

Monitoring framework undergoing final testing to evaluate health of estuaries statewide

in Regional Monitoring Comments are Disabled

SCCWRP and its partners are initiating a final round of field testing this fall on a proposed statewide monitoring framework for assessing the health of California’s coastal estuaries, including two … More

SCCWRP’s Anne Holt deploys a passive sampling device in Legg Lake in Whittier Narrows Recreation Area to measure cyanotoxin concentrations in the lake, which has been tainted green by a toxin-producing cyanobacterial bloom. Researchers are examining whether existing cyanotoxin thresholds designed to protect the health of humans from cyanotoxin exposure also could be used to protect the health of aquatic life.

Study examines feasibility of using human cyanotoxin thresholds to protect aquatic life

in Emerging Contaminants, Eutrophication, Harmful Algal Blooms, Top News Comments are Disabled

SCCWRP and its partners have completed an initial investigation into whether existing cyanotoxin thresholds intended to protect the health of humans exposed to cyanotoxins in freshwater systems also could be … More