The sun is out!

California has been under a very hot high pressure weather system, and Piedsras Blancas has not been spared. On Monday September 27 there was a cool breeze, but the sun was very intense. It's hard on all of us, marine mammals and humans. Temperature records have been exceeded, http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/09/28/1305846/san-luis-obispo-county-tries-to.html. It was 105 in Cambria, where we complain if it gets over 80. Some clouds have moved in today, but our outdoor thermometer is reading 98.


Worse news is that otters on the Central Coast are suffering from a bacterial infection. The Los Angeles Times reports:

Now it turns out that some of these playful marine mammals are also being poisoned by an ancient microbe — a type of cyanobacteria — that appears to be on an upsurge in warmer, polluted waters around the world.The discovery was made by Melissa Miller, a state wildlife veterinarian and scientific sleuth investigating the multitude of things killing otters faster than they can reproduce. The Southern Sea Otter population has dropped for two years in a row, the U.S. Geological Survey announced last month. An estimated 2,711 otters remain in Central and Southern California waters.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/09/sea-otters-poisoned-by-bacteria.html

This beautiful picture was taken by Lawrence Ho of the LA Times.