Seismicity and active compressional tectonics in Santa Monica Bay, southern California

Toxicity assessment of sediment cores from Santa Monica Bay, California.

During the summer of 1997, sediment core samples were taken at 25 stations in Santa Monica Bay. Toxicity testing was performed on 4-cm sections of the entire length of each core using purple sea urchin fertilization and amphipod survival tests. The sea urchin test identified sections as being toxic at six stations, all located near current or former Hyperion Treatment Plant (HTP) wastewater out...

Temporal and spatial distributions of contaminants in sediments of Santa Monica Bay, California.

Contaminant inputs from wastewater discharge, a major source of contamination to Santa Monica Bay (SMB), have declined drastically during the last three decades as a result of improved treatment processes and better source control. To assess the concomitant temporal changes in the SMB sediments, a study was initiated in June 1997, in which 25 box cores were collected using a stratified random s...

Habitat Partitioning by Three Species of Dolphins in Santa Monica Bay, California

—Habitat partitioning by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), shortbeaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), and long-beaked common dolphins (D. capensis), were assessed during 178 surveys conducted between 1997–2000 in Santa Monica Bay, California. Bottlenose dolphins were found year-round within 0.5 km from shore in 80.0 % of the sightings (n 137) but they were also found in deeper wat...

Effects of Marine Mammals on the Sport Fishery in Santa Monica Bay, California

Crustal geophysics and seismicity in southern California

S U M M A R Y The geographical distribution of the (1981–2005) seismicity in southern California forms a ±150 km broad zone adjacent to the Pacific–North America plate boundary, ranging from depths of ∼1–∼30 km, with the bulk of the focal depths in the range of 2–12 km. The distribution of the seismicity that includes both mainshock–aftershock sequences and background events is affected by both...