Tar Pattern on Hendry's Beach?
By an edhat reader
Hoping someone with local knowledge can explain if there is any pattern (tides/wind/geology/season) to the periodic appearance of heavy tar on local beaches. Arroyo Burro/Hendry's/The Pit, appeared to have a heavy coating of tar Saturday morning. Saw at least one dog walker turn around, saying "not today."
11 Comments
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Jul 27, 2021 12:13 PMthe Chumash Indians called the tar that washed up on the shore "Pismo". And they used it to plug cracks in their canoes....
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Jul 27, 2021 08:42 AMHere's some info-
https://goletahistory.com/tar/
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Jul 26, 2021 05:05 PMWhether the tar washes up on the beaches, and which beaches, seems to be affected by recent wind strength/direction, too.
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Jul 26, 2021 06:10 PMSorry.
Swell is the culprit,not tides or wind.
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Jul 26, 2021 12:56 PMPlatform Holly, which is now out of service (maybe 2016?) was pulling oil out of this area, but the operators also installed large metal "tents" over a natural seep (crack in ocean floor). The seep has been there for (they say) thousands of years, and I read an estimate that it seeps over 200 barrels of oil/tar/gas into the ocean every day. The tents were capturing lots of that until they closed operations in 2016 +-. Now the seep just vents directly into the ocean. There has been a marked increase in tar on the beaches since then.
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Jul 26, 2021 12:33 PMTotally. I thought it was only on East beach. I walk every morning near the shore and always end up with tar under my feet. I ruined a pair of shoes before i knew it was a problem. Oh well lol
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Jul 27, 2021 06:19 PMObviously you are new to the area. This is a fact of life living here on the “beach”.
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Jul 26, 2021 12:27 PMStrong South swell this time of year tends to push it up on the beach instead of down channel.
Always see more tar in summer.
Our boards were about 50/50 wax to tar mixture.
We thought it was funny, but our mom didn't.
3 Surfers in one house is a lot of tar in the shower, etc...
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Jul 26, 2021 12:17 PMTar is natural. Some heavy tar areas like Summerland also have leaky old oil wells.
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Jul 26, 2021 11:47 AMGlobs of tar at Ellwood/Sands/Devereaux yesterday mixed in with thousands? of dead "sea pickles" or pyrosomes. We haven't seen tar like that for several years. Speculating that the very heavy high tides in the past two full moons may have affected the near shore deposits and brought the mess on shore.
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Jul 26, 2021 11:18 AMThis may help you understand why we have tar on the beach.
http://bubbleology.com/2020/02/14/seep-science-tar-on-the-beach/