El Niño Conditions Lead to Unusual Marine Discoveries and Wildlife Sightings on California Shores
Recent powerful swells and warming ocean waters, attributed to a growing El Niño, have resulted in unusual marine discoveries and wildlife sightings along California's coast. Ventura County officials responded to a 'bomb-like' Navy MK25 phosphorus marine marker found on a local beach. This type of marker is used to create a visible smoke and flame signal for locating objects or people in the water. The Orange County Bomb Squad indicated that recent storms might have caused several such markers to surface. Additionally, a Super Bazooka round from the 1950s, containing live explosives, washed ashore at Mugu State Beach Tower 14, an area previously used as a military training facility. Beyond these military items, the changing ocean conditions have also led to a hammerhead shark sighting near Malibu Pier, a species typically found in warmer waters, and the historic first-known nesting of two olive ridley sea turtles in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach, turtles usually found in tropical regions.
