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Gifts from the Easterlies

Spring weather on the Farallones is deceptive. While the mainland begins to wake up from the dormant stage of winter, the temperature on the islands becomes cooler. The trademark northwesterly winds of spring that creates rich upwelling zones within the California Current rips through the lonesome rock, sometimes reaching gusts up to 40 knots. After

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Happy New Year, let’s talk about E-Seals! By Seth Bartusek

Hello everyone and Happy 2022! It’s already been an exciting Northern Elephant Seal breeding season on SEFI, and I’m excited to update you all on the Colony. But first let’s back up and go over some background context: Elephant Seals have been recolonizing SEFI since the 1960s, and we now have a modestly sized breeding

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Exciting Encounters at SST Point!

One of the most exciting aspects of our daily weather observations that take place midday every day is heading towards East Landing to record Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and to collect salinity samples at the aptly named SST Point. While a seemingly straightforward procedure, the position of the point past the landing with the potential

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SEFI’s Giant Gray Visitors

Each winter the waters surrounding the Farallon Islands teem with charcoal-colored, behemoth-sized visitors arriving from the north… the Gray Whale!

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Fantastic Find on the Farallones

The crews on the Southeast Farallon Island are used to finding random objects throughout the island since gulls bring many back from the coast, but they weren’t prepared for what they found on February 6th.

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Spring Tides Reveal Intertidal Treasures

We’re not referring to the season spring, but a ‘spring tide.’ This is a term referring to the periods of higher high and lower low tides during new and full moon. There is some really cool stuff in our intertidal!

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