Observations of Oceanic Processes and Water Quality following Seven Years of CTD Surveys in Santa Monica Bay, California

Abstract

The Environmental Monitoring Division conducted weekly CTD (con- <br /><br />ductivity-temperature-density) surveys in the Santa Monica Bay from September <br /><br />1987 through June 1994 as part of a federal and state mandated ocean monitoring <br /><br />program for Los Angeles City's wastewater discharge. The data provide a unique <br /><br />opportunity to track the development and direction of movement of the discharged <br /><br />wastewater. Direction of wastewater field movement was highly variable whereas <br /><br />seasonal development followed general trends. Salinity anomaly, a measure of <br /><br />the deviation from mean salinity, was devised to more effectively detect the <br /><br />wastewater field and provided for estimation of effluent dilution in situ.