California’s undersea toxic dumpsites are warping ocean life

Undersea mapping projects uncovered forty years of toxic waste dumping directly into the Pacific off the coast of Southern California. A recent Scripps study shows some of those barrels are altering the chemistry and biological makeup in the areas surrounding leaks. Many of the barrels are believed to contain DDT.

" We've created these naturally occurring extremophile environments in these little patches in the ocean wherever these barrels landed that had the caustic waste," said Paul Jensen, professor of microbiology at Scripps and co-author of the study.

When researchers tested pieces of the concrete-looking stuff, they discovered it was brucite, or magnesium hydroxide, and that the white halos are calcium carbonate, both of which form in high-pH environments.

They estimate it could t