Local nonprofits Heal the Ocean and Earthcomb have partnered to remove excess tar buildup on Santa Barbara beaches this week.
The groups report cleaning up over 550 pounds of tar from Hammonds and Leadbetter Beaches from Saturday to Tuesday.
They plan to continue cleaning other affected beaches this week as well.
Locals are familiar with frequently experiencing some tar on the bottom of their feet after a beach walk, but in recent weeks the amount of tar has significantly increased.
The Santa Barbara Channel has naturally seeped oil for hundreds of years coming from underground reservoirs. As the oil floats to the surface, it coagulates and degrades into tar. Wind and currents then carry this tar onto the beaches.
While some tar may come from historical oil spills and other sources, most experts believe natural seepage is the primary reason for its presence on the beaches.
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Nice to clear a beach for the public. Not a statement about the cause of the tar or the future of oil drilling off the coast. Just say thanks.
Welcome to the channel’s natural seepage. Check out Campus cove, IV, Coal, Oil Point. Very telling that when it washes up in Montecito Heal the Ocean suddenly jumps in to clean it up.
LOL, very telling that you ignore that they “Jumped in” to clean up Ledbetter. Which is in….Santa Barbara. Of course, you being from Goleta you may not be aware.
Leds had a bit of tar on it the other day, angry guy. So what? Missed the point.
Since you have a problem, why don’t you Alex ask yourself why HTO isn’t constantly sending out whatever the heck is their “tar cleaning operation” is to the beaches of Goleta. That’s was my point. Clunk.
Clunk, indeed, like most of your posts full of inane negativity.
Drilling helps.
Not with our oil deposits. They’ve been sucked so dry that pressurization and fracking solutions have to be used, which increases the seepage. Add to that the low grade and high sulfur content, and it’s a dubious proposition all around, even if you ignore the subsequent pipeline problems, which are myriad.
Odd that this seepage increase coincides with Sable’s restart of platform production, isn’t it?
Wow, someone’s done a current geotechnical survey on the petroleum dynamics going on offshore pre and post Sable drilling? That’s impressive. Where’s that published?
Nah, it’s likely just a variation in currents and wind. Maybe less drilling too. Oil happens around here. Cruise by the Natural History Museum and see the how the Chumash used it, Mac.
https://news.ucsb.edu/1999/011337/oil-and-gas-seepage-ocean-floor-x000b-reduced-oil-production#:~:text=FROM%20OCEAN%20FLOOR%20_x000B_-,REDUCED,-BY%20OIL%20PRODUCTION
Anti oil is so last year.
Notice that this study was done before the massive use of acidization, pressurization, and other fracking techniques in the channel.
But, oily fools gotta be oily fools.
100% sable. They are currently breaking the law, have been fined by coastal commission for operating illegally and yet continue. This is the result. There will be more.
Natural Seeps:
Always been there and always will.
South swell this time of year puts the tar that is always present in the channel, on the beaches instead of dissipating and eventually sinking out of anyone’s view or sole of their feet.
The Chumash couldn’t pressurize a “well”, so geo forces cause pressure build up and you get it expressed as seeps, before any exploration and extraction existed
My mom went to UCSB when it was a teachers college for naughty Catholic school girls, and they were taught that the Chumash traded with the Inuit because they wanted tar bad enough to come all that way, and everywhere in between..
.
“The Santa Barbara Channel area has natural oil and gas seeps due to its geological activity. These seeps occur when oil and gas are pushed up through cracks and fissures in the sea floor.”
“The Carpinteria area was a particularly important location for the Chumash, as it had large, accessible oil seeps. Historical accounts say that the Chumash would gather tar from these seeps to seal their tomols.”
trade it for anything they wanted or needed, which is probably why they were wealthy enough to have games of chance.
You failed to not the fact that this was an unusual amount of seepage.
The Chumash used the asphaltum deposits, not the minor amounts of seepage they would have encountered.
Blah Blah Anon A Mouse.
How would you know what a minor amount is?
You don’t but have to comment on everything, twist it to fit your narrative then ignore actual facts.
But hey, don’t go changin’ for me.
I wonder if maybe he’s been out on a research vessel over the years including the last few weeks monitoring the seepage levels, currents, and winds before and after the tar washed up? That’s what he’s assuming we’ll believe based on his statement.
Well, it wasn’t based on imagination, like your comments.
You seem to use the con social media definition of fact, which is far removed from what a fact is in reality.
A lot of southerly winds along the coast latest that might have concentrated the junk onto the beach – just a theory. That is really bad for non-Goodland beaches.
How is the marinelife affected? This invasive amount of tar can’t be good for the birds and marine mammals and other sea creatures.
Many years ago, as I was strolling on Haskell’s Beach, a young Italian couple (staying at the Bacara) stopped me to ask who was in charge of cleaning the tar off the beach. I laughed and said, “No one.” Guess I can’t say that again. Thank you, Heal the Ocean, for removing the tar. I hope the removal won’t adversely affect sandhoppers and other small invertebrates that dwell in the sand.
https://goletahistory.com/tar/
Get the rampant seaweed removed too!
Yeah, get rid of stuff that’s actually good for the ecosystem.
Anon: People don’t get the connection between kelp on the sand and how it provides nourishment for tiny critters and then, in turn, shorebirds feast on the invertebrates — e.g. sand hoppers, kelp flies, etc.
The seaweed that washes up is collectively known as “wrack.” Wrack fuels food webs. As kelp and other seaweeds decay, they feed beach organisms, including microbes. In other words, as you so astutely pointed out: wrack contributes greatly to a healthy beach ecosytem, in that it provides both nourishment and nutrients. Wrack is GOOD.
Darn right!! ; )
That seaweed is a pain in the arse. I don’t like the flies it brings either. While we’re at it, HTO should start cleaning, filtering, and sanitizing the sand. It could be way cleaner and whiter for gods sake. Wrack my a$$!
(This is intended as pure sarcastic humor, for those who don’t realize it already, thank you)
Chumash traded the highly valued local tar as far away as the Mississippi.
Asphaltum, maybe, but not the goo in the sand.
Here’s a terrific article re: Chumash and their use of tar:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/111006-tar-toxic-pollution-chumash-health-indians-science-heads
Forgot to add: You will have to input your email, but there’s no subscription needed to read the article. Hope you all enjoy it.
Chumash used this tar/oil for centuries to seal their watercraft… The natural seepage can be slowed down with DRILLING… The pressure reduced by the drilling affects the oil being released from natural fissures. Not what The Greenies want to hear in their twisted versions of nature.
CW – Clueless, as usual, on several levels.
1) Liquid tar like you see with this seepage would be useless, unless you wanted to make a torch. The Chumash used asphaltum, a solid form, as a sealant and adhesive.
2) The offshore petroleum deposits have essentially been depleted, as far as easy extraction. Now, the thicker formulations have to be forced out with pressurization, steam, and fracking chemicals, which increase seepage into the ocean. What we get now is poor quality, anyway, and has no contribution to gasoline production.