Plumes And Blooms Project

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CINMS
113 Harbor Way, #150
Santa Barbara, CA
93109
805-966-7107

Scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) are very interested in the impacts of the sediment plumes and phytoplankton blooms on the marine environment. In order to study this phenomenon they have organized the "Plumes and Blooms" project, which began in 1996. The organizations involved include UCSB and their Institute for Computational Earth System Science (ICESS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS).

The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

"Wait a minute, why are there so many organizations involved in this project?" you ask. Well, such a large project requires many agencies to work togetherœ

ICESS - the project organizer. They conduct the scientific research and provide the scientific equipment used on the research boat.
NOAA - Research vessel provider and manager of the CINMS NOAA authorized ICESS to use their research vessel to go out on the ocean and sample the Santa Barbara channel's waters.

CINMS - The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary regulates activities within the sanctuary, which is where some of the sampling takes place.

The SPIRIT

The Cruises

The Plumes and Blooms project conducts most of its research on every other Monday of each month. These cruises are called core cruises because they are conducted on a regular basis & provide the bulk of the data that is collected.

In addition to the core cruises the project also goes out during storms and takes water samples at the mouth of the Ventura harbor. These cruises are called process cruises.

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