All Stations

The Manual Shore Stations Program collects, checks and publishes temperature and salinity data observed at shoreline stations along the United States West Coast from La Jolla, California to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. The data consist of daily temperature and salinity values when available. This program ranks as one of the worlds longest ocean time series and the longest on the Pacific Rim. From this time series we can accurately pin down the nature of ocean seasonality for the entire coast of California, and have begun to understand the anomalies caused by recurring equatorial El Nino Conditions. There have been large cold anomalies too, but, as yet, we do not understand their cause. In addition to these episodic anomalies, there has been a long-term trend for a warmer California Current, beginning around 1977. These warm and cold anomalies and the long-term warming trend have significant biological effects on plankton production, fish catch, and seabirds. They also are associated with changes in sea level, wave heights and beach erosion. We are only beginning to learn the details of the linkages between all these processes. This growing databank provides us with one of the first opportunities to separate natural from man-cause changes in our coastal zone.

This work is a collaborative program sponsored by the California Department of Boating and Waterways.