{"database": "surfing", "table": "posts", "rows": [["377005", "24125", "Global warming is fairy science", 81, "C_M", "Oct 12, 2025", "2025-10-12T17:50:14-0400", "bc said: \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n            I loved when \"science\" cleared out the lineup for six months in 2020!\n        \n\n\nClick to expand...\n\n\n\n\nKim Prather, a leading atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, wants to yell out her window at every surfer, runner, and biker she spots along the San Diego coast.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"I wouldn't go in the water if you paid me $1 million right now,\" she said.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe beach, in her estimation, is one of the most dangerous places to be these days, as \nthe novel coronavirus\n marches silently across California.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMany beachgoers know they \ncan suffer skin rashes\n, stomach illness and serious ear and respiratory infections if they go into the water within three days of a heavy rain, because of bacteria and pathogens washing off roads and into the ocean. Raw or poorly treated sewage entering the ocean also poses major health risks.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPrather fears that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could enter coastal waters in similar ways and transfer back into the air along the coast.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn her research, Prather has found that the ocean churns up all kinds of particulate and microscopic pathogens, and every time the ocean sneezes with a big wave or two, it sprays these particles into the air. She believes that this new coronavirus is light enough to float through the air much farther than we think. The six-feet physical distancing rule, she said, doesn't apply at the beach, where coastal winds can get quite strong and send viral particles soaring.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"It's not going to kill you if you miss a few surfing sessions, but it could if you go out there and get in the wrong air,\" she said.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"You can't see the virus, you can't smell it ... It's a real silent killer right now.\"\n\n\n\nPrather, who directs the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment, a large research hub at Scripps backed by $40 million from the National Science Foundation, sent her researchers and students home long before California officials issued stay-at-home orders. She suspected this virus was contagious by air, and knew from past studies that coronaviruses can be excreted in fecal matter. She worries SARS-CoV-2 could enter the ocean from sewage spills and outfalls, and then reenter the atmosphere.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWastewater treatment plants don't necessarily deactivate viruses before sending the sewage into the ocean - they tend to target bacteria like E. Coli, she said. And in areas like Imperial Beach, sewage from the Tijuana River often spills into the ocean completely untreated.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCoronaviruses are encased by what she calls a \"hydrophobic\" lipid, or fatty, membrane. Fat tends to float to the surface of water, similar to oil in a vinaigrette dressing. When waves break in the surf zone and all the foam and bubbles pop, Prather said, \"all that stuff - the viruses, the bacteria, pollutants, all the gooey, oily stuff - just launches into the air.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe ocean, in fact, is the largest natural source of aerosol particles after dust. These marine aerosols affect the formation of clouds over the ocean and can spread over large distances.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOnce in the air, studies have shown that aerosols can travel around the globe in as little as two weeks. Prather has found dust in microbes from Africa that changed the snowfall in California. She's been tracing the bacteria and sewage pollution dumped into the ocean from the Tijuana River, showing how much ends up transferring to the atmosphere.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Once things are in the air, they can go pretty darn far. People are shocked whenever I talk about stuff becoming airborne,\" she said. \"I see pictures of the beach shut down, and the signs tell you don't walk on the beach, don't swim, don't surf, but nobody tells you: Don't breathe.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMore about the danger, here:\n\n\n\n\nhttps://www.latimes.com/california/...ia/story/2020-04-02/coronavirus-ocean-swimming-surfing-safe-beaches-los-angeles"]], "columns": ["post_id", "thread_id", "thread_title", "post_number", "author_username", "post_date", "post_date_iso", "post_body"], "primary_keys": ["post_id"], "primary_key_values": ["377005"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6353319986374117, "license": "Public Domain"}