[blog post interrupted by random clippings from Marika's trip summary!]
In June. Marika, Julia, Whitney, and I decided to go for a paddle in Elkhorn Slough. This was shortly after I found out my company was applying to work on a restoration project for the slough. In 1947 a harbor was built at the mouth of the slough to provide a safe haven for boats coming in and out of the slough. Unfortunately, constructing a permanent structure like a harbor limits the slough's ability to naturally manage itself by opening, closing, and moving north to south, depending on factors like inflows and sediment supply. Since 1947 the slough has experienced massive erosion - even when we were there we could see big chunks of the marsh falling into the channel. Keeping the mouth of the slough wide open makes it so that the water moves in and out with the tide more quickly than it otherwise would. This makes sand and mud move back and forth more quickly. On the ocean side of the slough is a huge submarine canyon:
Source: NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries |
This canyon is like a big sink - much of the sediment that comes out of Elkhorn Slough falls into the canyon and doesn't come back. I found out recently that my company will be working on the restoration project (that I'll be helping to manage!), which will look at different options to try to fix this problem. Getting rid of the harbor isn't really an option, so the main focus will be on importing sediment from other sources (to be determined) and placing it upstream in the slough to try and counteract erosion. The project is just starting, so more info on that later!
Cormorants and sea lions hanging out on the mud flat. |
Happy Julia! Here you can see how quickly the marsh edge is eroding. |
Seagull hanging out above the pickleweed. Everyone in CA hates seagulls because they're invasive, but they're still fun to take pictures of because they're not very scared of people... :) |
The slough is full of jelly fish. We tried to pick them up with our paddles and toss them at each, but gravity is not their friend, so they ended up being 2D instead of 3D. It was a little gross, so we stopped. "We passed by a cow farm with manure sliding down a hill into the water...nasty smell." - Marika
While the slough is known for it's excellent sea kayaking, it's also known for intense winds and fast moving tides, that can combine in the afternoons to make for tricky returns to the harbor. The wind was pretty strong on this day, so it took us at least two times longer on the way back to the kayak shop.
Date: Saturday, June 30, 2012
Time: 2 hoursDistance: ~5 miles
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