With funding from the National Science Foundation, Farallon Institute has created a page dedicated to seabirds as a ‘sentinel species’. Allowing scientists to observe seabirds to further our understanding of the health of the oceans.   

Above: Southern California MOCI, updated through September 2024. Large positive (red) values indicate warmer ocean conditions and weaker upwelling, which benefits Sardine recruitment. Negative (blue) values represent cooler ocean temperatures and strong upwelling, supporting a wide range of species, including kelp, copepods, krill, fish, and seabirds. The West Coast ocean conditions are highly variable, influenced […]

December’s Spotlight features SCCOOS PI, Libe Washburn and High-Frequency Radar (HFR) research! HFR is used to observe the ocean’s surface currents, with applications for oil spill response, public health monitoring, Coast Guard search and rescue efforts, and many more important community services. SCCOOS and CeNCOOS manage a network of HFRs to monitor the California coast. […]

In this video message Rachael Dempsey, NOS Deputy Assistant Administrator for Navigation, Observations, and Positioning, shares news on a historic investment in our national ocean observing system to enhance our nation’s coastal resilience.

Yesterday, approximately 500,000 gallons of sewage were released into San Diego Bay due to a pump malfunction. The SCCOOS Plume Tracker (https://sccoos.org/stormwater-plume-tracking/), which is normally used to track the Tijuana River plume, indicates water from San Diego Bay may have been moving northward during the spill, then reversed to the south today. Be sure to […]

The transition to C-HARM v3 is now complete and available at: https://data.caloos.org/#module-metadata/1073bccd-2e20-47e2-9b6d-90b111069443. The CA-Harmful Algae Risk Mapping (C-HARM) generates probabilities of Pseudo-nitzschia, particulate domoic acid, and cellular domoic acid concentrations in California and Southern Oregon coastal waters. This version now uses the NOAA West Coast Operational Forecast System (WCOFS) model.

Tropical storm conditions are occurring over portions of Baja CA peninsula with heavy rainfall and strong winds. Coastal flooding and high winds at Catalina Island and coastal Santa Barbara are likely. This is a large storm with possible impacts well outside of the above plot. This is also a rare event with little historical data […]