Miramar beach, Montecito, CA. On the Tuesday morning of the deadly mudslide affecting the area, Miramar beach – located at the receiving end of one of the steep downhill road gravely affected by rushing debris and mud flows – is covered with mud and debris of all kinds. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
During the week of March 26, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey carried out four days of mapping selected beaches and the adjacent seafloor in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Results will be compared to surveys from last fall to highlight changes due to winter waves, and to sediment inputs from area streams.
The study area includes Montecito, California, which was devastated on January 9 by debris flows that killed 21 people.
USGS scientists are measuring beach topography and seafloor bathymetry in this area to better understand long-term coastal changes. The researchers will use precision GPS units on backpacks and on an all-terrain vehicle for beach surveys, and personal watercraft equipped with GPS and sonar for bathymetry surveys. This will be the first comprehensive beach and nearshore survey since the Montecito debris flows on January 9, which was the first major sediment input to Santa Barbara beaches since 2005…
Read Full Article, USGS (03-26-2018)
Deadly Debris Flows in Montecito, CA; NASA / Earth Observatory (01-10-2018)
First there was fire. Then rain. And now deadly debris flows are devastating Montecito, California…
Montecito Cleanup Efforts Require Transport of Mud to Santa Barbara County Beaches, Noozhawk (01-12-2018)
The Santa Barbara County Flood Control District obtained emergency permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the California Coastal Commission to place sediment on local beaches…
Trucking Mud to the Beaches Means More Sand but Dirtier Waters, CA; Santa Barbara Independent (02-08-2018)
When Santa Barbara County dumps tons of mud from the catastrophic debris flow of January 9 on the shores of Goleta and Carpinteria, this wasn’t like anything that’s happened before. So residents are asking, “Will there be long-term effects? Might there be other locations that can share the impacts..?”
Emergency permits allowing dumping of Montecito mud on Goleta and Carpinteria Beaches expired; Heal The Ocean (02-2018)
Emergency permits that have allowed for the dumping of Montecito mud on Goleta Beach, as well as the deposition of debris basin material on Carpinteria Beach, expired February 20, 2018…
