Personnel from the Stephen Birch Aquarium-Museum at Scripps take daily temperature and salinity samples from the end of the Scripps Pier at the sea surface and a depth of about 5 meters. The proximity of Scripps Pier to the deep waters at the head of La Jolla submarine canyon results in data quite representative of oceanic conditions. Scripps Pier is a total of 1084 ft. long (330.4 M) and 22.5 ft. wide for most of it's length. However it is 46.0 ft. wide at the end where the lab/pump house structure is situated with the west wall standing 88.0 ft. from the end of the pier (=996 ft. from the shore). The orientation is 277 / 97 degrees magnetic, 14 degrees East variation. The deck of the pier is 33.5 ft. above Mean Low Low Water (MLLW).