Decades of toxic waste dumping off the coast of Southern California have drastically altered the marine environment, according to a recent study by researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Between the 1930s and 1970s, companies disposed of barrels containing hazardous substances, including DDT, in the ocean from Santa Cruz Island south to Mexico. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that these actions have significantly changed the chemistry and microbial life on the sea floor.
Researchers used remotely operated vehicles to explore the sites, finding that some barrels appeared to be surrounded by concrete and white halos. The study suggests that these barrels contained caustic waste so alkaline it altered the seafloor’s chemistry. Samples taken near the barrels showed pH levels as high as 12, compared to the normal range of 7 to 8. The area is now dominated by alkalophilic bacteria, typically found in extreme environments like hydrothermal vents.
Paul Jensen, a professor of microbiology at Scripps and co-author of the study, explained, “We’ve created these naturally occurring extremophile environments in these little patches in the ocean wherever these barrels landed that had the caustic waste.” The study estimates that it could take thousands of years for these environmental changes to resolve…