San Diego, CA
100 years of research at Scripps Pier helps explain our changing climate
At the end of the nearly 1,100 foot long Scripps Pier in La Jolla, there is a tiny room with a lot of history. Every day, scientists lower a small container through a hole in that room down into the ocean for a sample. They’re looking for two simple measurements.
“We’re hand collecting a sample from the ocean, and we are measuring that for temperature and salinity,” said Melissa Carter with Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
What makes this simple task notable is that it has been happening at this same location every day since 1916, and the scientists today are using the same technique as a century ago. The data collected is the longest continuous record of such measurements in the Pacific Ocean, which means it’s one of the best places to track long-term changes happening in the ocean.
“It’s a gold mine, if you would, for such a basic oceanographic data set,” Carter said. “Because we’re doing it the same way they have in the past, it allows us to understand those trends over time.”
What they’re seeing are long-term changes in the temperature and chemistry of the ocean. A graph of the 108 years of data shows a noticeable increase in temperatures starting around the 1980s, and nearly all of the warmest water years have occurred over just the past decade.
“So, we’ve seen that the ocean is warming, and it’s warming at almost 3 degrees Fahrenheit over 100 years,” said Carter.
There are a number of reasons a few degrees of warming is significant. For one, when the ocean warms, it expands. That raises the sea levels, pushing water higher up shorelines, which can lead to erosion.
Second, warmer oceans provide more energy for tropical storms helping those storms grow stronger — and more quickly. Hurricane Milton arrived during record warm temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and intensified at one of the fastest rates in recorded history. And it came on the heals of Hurricane Helene, now one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history.
Third, scientists say warming oceans could lead to more El Niño winters, which can change weather patterns around the globe. This past winter’s El Niño brought record rain to parts of California, including the historic Jan. 22 storm that dropped nearly 3 inches of rain on San Diego in three hours. That’s about a quarter of what the city normally gets in an entire year.
“We used to say El Niños occurred every five to seven years. More recently, that’s been occurring every three to five years. So, there is a change that’s happening,” Carter said.
And those simple daily measurements can help put the pieces of the puzzle together.
“In El Niño years, we may see more salty water coming in,” Carter says. “So, knowing the temperature, the salinity and the nutrients can really help put that signal together.”
Scripps Pier is one of 10 locations along the California coast where these daily measurements are being done. It’s called the shore station project. And while some stations have been measured for more than a century and others for just a few decades, they all show similar trends towards warmer water.
“It takes not just this station but many others and larger data sets to really put together the full picture of what’s happening along our coast,” Carter said.
As a side note, Scripps Institution of Oceanography recently installed a live underwater camera to the pier in the same area where the daily measurements are taken. You can find it here.
Gloria relents on December Nights, some community cuts in budget revise, but arts funds still on chopping block
by City News Service | Times of San Diego
Some library and recreation center hours and December Nights support were restored in Mayor Todd Gloria’s revised Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Wednesday, but city funding for the arts could still be gutted.
Gloria was joined by civic leaders Wednesday morning to announce changes to his initial proposed budget, released last month. He added “targeted protections” of certain neighborhood priorities and maintained police and fire service levels while arriving at a balanced budget.
Proposed additions include protecting rec center and library hours in Council Districts 4, 8 and 9, represented by Henry L. Foster III, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo-Rivera, respectively.
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The Learning Curve: He’s San Diego Unified’s Next Trustee – No Race Needed
By Jakob McWhinney | Voice of San Diego
The primary is still nearly a month away. The general election is even further out. Still, it’s already clear that Hayden Gore will be San Diego Unified’s next trustee. That’s because he’s running unopposed to fill the seat left open by current Trustee Cody Petterson, who opted not to run for re-election.
Though he’s a political newcomer, Gore was the early choice of San Diego Unified’s union. In fact, he was recruited by the former president of the San Diego Education Association to run for the seat.
It’s not hard to see why. He’s an avowed progressive and a longtime educator who led the then-newly formed union at High Tech High to its first contract. Exactly the kind of resume that would have SDEA champing at the bit.
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Join Us Friday, July 17, 2026 for the 11th Annual USD School of Law – RJS LAW Tax Institute
By RJS Law
The Institute is the premier annual tax event in San Diego. The region’s top tax attorneys, enrolled agents (EAs), certified public accountants (CPAs), law and business school professors will discuss topics including government loan relief and abuses, challenges in cross-border transactions, and practical and realistic solutions in trust, estate planning, and tax matters.
DATE AND TIME
Friday, July 17, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, Theatre
5555 Marian Way, San Diego, CA 92110
EVENT STATUS
Open to the Public
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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – For many families, libraries are a safe space for kids after school and a place to study.
After community outcry, the city is scaling down some of its proposed budget cuts, bringing the original $6.3 million in cuts to libraries down to $4.8 million.
Patrick Stewart, CEO of Library Foundation SD, said the change is a step in the right direction.
“We are very pleased. I think this moves the needle in the right direction.”
Mayor Gloria’s revised budget proposal restores funding focused on youth-centered programs, which includes bringing back library hours in Council Districts 4, 8, and 9 — those in underserved communities.
“This is City Heights and San Isidro, Barrio Logan, and Oak Park, and traditionally, those are smaller branches. And the kids and the families in those communities frankly, they use their library very differently than in a lot of other communities, and it’s a lifeline to them,” said Stewart.
The City Heights library is among those included in the mayor’s revised budget to restore funding. While library officials say this is a good first step, there is still concern about long-term financial challenges.
In order to voice concerns about how deep the cuts go, the Library Foundation has created a way for supporters to express that through postcards. Thousands of cards have been mailed directly to Mayor Gloria and councilmembers.
Stewart said the effort is making an impact.
“They’re seeing that this is hundreds and hundreds of people that are taking this very seriously, so it helps them to know immediately what their community feels like when it comes to these proposed cuts,” he added.
The restored funding would also keep Monday hours at Carmel Valley Library and protect the North Clairemont Library branch from closure.
Library officials remain optimistic as the revised budget heads back to the City Council.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
A man suspected of a fatal shooting in Barrio Logan was arrested Tuesday.
Benito Garcia Jr., 31, was arrested in the 3600 block of Grand Avenue in San Marcos at about 1 p.m. Tuesday for allegedly gunning down 64-year-old Raul Torres near the east end of the Coronado Bridge, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Patrol officers responding to an anonymous report of a shooting found the mortally wounded victim on a sidewalk in the 2000 block of National Avenue, near Chicano Park, shortly after 10 p.m. last Tuesday. Torres died at the scene, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi said.
Police have not disclosed a suspected motive for the slaying.
Garcia was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of first- degree murder. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
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