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Santa Ana 2
Wed Sep 15, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook. There’s an old name for the Santa
Anas that blow across southern California each autumn – they’re called the "devil
winds," parching blasts that drive firestorms in the chaparral and whip the ocean into
towering waves. But new research shows these winds are essential to the health of
southern California’s oceans. Chris Richard has more:
Fishermen Ronnie Christopher does sometimes put out to sea during Santa Ana
season. But he’s always got an eye on the weather, ready to run for shore.
RC: We also take into consideration the wind as far as rough waters. But you have to
be very careful and you know, I’ve got a small craft, so we will come in if it gets too
out-of-hand there.
As frightening as the Santa Anas can be, it turns out that they’re ecologically essential.
Timothy Liu, a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has uncovered
evidence that the winds stir the ocean up to 50 kilometers offshore. Cold water is
pulled from the ocean depths to the surface, and its nutrients sustain the marine food
chain.
Liu says unless you’re directly in the path of a Santa Ana blast, it’s easy to miss what’s
going on. When the winds, driven down coastal canyons, hit the water, it’s like pointing
a hair dryer into a bathtub.
TL: Unless you have a wind sensor right at the place where it blows, you cannot
measure it. That’s why satellites become so important, so that we can see the whole
picture.
Liu is studying the phenomenon with a team of satellites. One measures wind
direction and velocity, another checks the water temperature and a third photographs
evidence of phytoplankton activity.
Chris Richard reports from Los Angeles. The Weather Notebook is supported by the
National Science Foundation and Subaru of America.
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