As part of an unprecedented effort to map and better understand the history of ocean dumping in the region, scientists have found a multitude of discarded munition boxes, smoke floats and depth charges lurking 3,000 feet underwater.
Publication:
Merrifield, S. T., Celona, S., McCarthy, R. A., Pietruszka, A., Batchelor, H., Hess, R., Nager, A., Young, R., Sadorf, K., Levin, L. A., Valentine, D. L., Conrad, J. E., & Terrill, E. J. (2023). Wide-Area Debris Field and Seabed Characterization of a Deep Ocean Dump Site Surveyed by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. Environmental Science & Technology, acs.est.3c01256. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c01256
More on this research project:
Jan 05, 2024
Second Seafloor Survey of Dumpsite off Coast of Southern California Completed
Researchers mapped 135 square miles, found high volume of discarded military munitions
(https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/second-seafloor-survey-dumpsite-coast-southern-california-completed)
and
Chemical Dumpsite Offshore Southern California
(https://scripps.ucsd.edu/ddtcoastaldumpsite)
Publication:
Merrifield, S. T., Celona, S., McCarthy, R. A., Pietruszka, A., Batchelor, H., Hess, R., Nager, A., Young, R., Sadorf, K., Levin, L. A., Valentine, D. L., Conrad, J. E., & Terrill, E. J. (2023). Wide-Area Debris Field and Seabed Characterization of a Deep Ocean Dump Site Surveyed by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. Environmental Science & Technology, acs.est.3c01256. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c01256