| In this dissertation, I describe a series of studies aimed at (1) exploring how coastal wetlands (specifically the Talbert Marsh and Newport Bay, in Orange County, California) influence coastal water quality, and (2) developing a new approach for the early detection of fecal indicator bacteria impairment at popular marine beaches. The first study investigates the contribution of several marinas to fecal indicator bacteria impairment in Newport Bay, a regionally important tidal embayment in southern California. The second study demonstrates that episodes of poor water quality at a popular marine beach in southern California are signaled by changes in the information contents (specifically Fisher Information and Shannon Entropy) of high frequency (114 min -1), measurements of coastal ocean salinity and temperature. The third study investigates the impact of the dry weather flow of fecal indicator bacteria out of tidal saltwater marshes on nearby surf zone water quality at Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. Collectively, these studies provide new insights into the sources, wetland treatment, and early detection, of contamination events in the coastal ocean. |
