Is That Spilled Pink Sauce? Researchers Turn Seawater Pink in PiNC Experiment at San Diego Beach

An experiment called PiNC (Plumes in Nearshore Conditions) is being conducted at a San Diego beach, turning the seawater pink.

This picturesque experiment studies how small freshwater outflows interact with the surf zone in the estuary and surrounding coastline at Los Peñasquitos Lagoon, located within Torrey Pines State Beach and Natural Reserve.

The surf zone, also known as the breaker zone, is where waves break due to depth limitations and surf onshore as wave bores.

Researchers from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Washington are conducting the experiment funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

A Study in Pink

According to a press release from UC San Diego, the experiment aims to improve understanding of how freshwater plumes interact with the denser, saltier, and often colder nearshore ocean environment, particularly when encountering breaking waves.

The researchers will release a non-toxic pink dye into the estuary and track its movement with drones, sensors in the river mouth and surf zone, and a fluorometer-equipped jet ski.

The experiment will provide a comprehensive picture of the buoyant plume/wave mixing dynamics and will aid in quantifying material spread in the nearshore environment, including sediment, pollutants, larvae, and other vital materials.

The researchers chose the study site because it is a small river plume that discharges into the surf zone along a uniform stretch of coastline. The lagoon is a small estuary that is intermittently closed between the cities of San Diego and Del Mar.

The dye will be released during an ebb tide, when the water level falls, to ensure that it is carried out of the estuary and into the coastal ocean.

The dye will be visible for several hours after it is released, and small traces will be detectable for about 24 hours. Due to the active research, beachgoers are advised to recreate further south or north of the estuary on the release dates (if they don't want to look like flamingoes after a quick dip).

Importance of the Study

According to InterestingEngineering, materials like sediments and pollutants must travel through rivers and estuaries to reach the coastal ocean.

According to the same report, little is known about how these lighter, fresher plumes interact with the denser, saltier, and frequently colder nearshore ocean environment, mainly when the plumes come into contact with breaking waves.

This experiment offers a one-of-a-kind chance for scientists to examine how small-scale plumes interact with the surfzone and will yield important information for the field.

PiNC is supported by NSF award #1924005, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation's Natural Resources Division is funding supplementary data.

The experts say that Scripps Oceanography has successfully used pink dye in other nearshore experiments, including earlier work based at Imperial Beach and Huntington State Beach, as well as a global study tracking beach pollution dynamics close to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2015.

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