SoCal DDT dumpsite 2024

We will sample using coring/dredge equipment (multicore, sleds and box cores) the sediments of the San Pedro and Santa Monica basins off Los Angeles. Areas of these basins are known to have high levels of DDT and breakdown products. We will document the animal and microbial diversity at these sites and compare them to uncontaminated sites as well as further documenting the chemistry of the sediments. Assessing microbial remediation of the sediments is one goal of the sampling. Another is to see if the animal communities are different at the contaminated sites and if they are accumulating DDT and breakdown products and so potentially becoming available to other trophic levels on the food web.