Santa Monica's waves have turned a bright pink. How can the dye job improve water quality?

"The luminous, pink color spreading across the Santa Monica Bay is from a temporary, nontoxic dye that researchers are using to study how ocean circulation might contribute to the bay's poor water quality. The project kicked off Monday morning, as UCLA and Heal the Bay researchers discharged the first of four batches of the pink dye near the Santa Monica Pier."

"Although the pink dye on Monday didn't appear to create many "bright pink waves," as researchers warned might be the case, additional bouts of the dye - or the fluorescent rhodamine water tracer dye - will be released later this month. But the fact that the dye seemed to dissipate quickly Monday didn't mean the first phase won't lead to important data, said Gabriela Carr, a researcher in the project and doctoral student at UCLA's Samueli School of Engineering."

UCLA and Heal the Bay researchers released the first of four batches of a temporary, nontoxic fluorescent rhodamine tracer dye near the Santa Monica Pier to map water movement in the bay. The dye will be discharged over two weeks to trace how ocean circulation and the breakwater influence Santa Monica beach's persistent poor water quality. A boat with finely tuned fluorescent monitors will remain in the bay for 24 hours after release, and at least ten additional trackers will stay attached to buoys through the end of the month. Officials said fluorescence provides the main signal even when visible pink color dissipates.

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