Salton Sea, California
Located about a three-hour drive southwest of UCLA, the Salton Sea is a hypersaline, hypereutrophic lake that has become the center of significant environmental injustice. Contrary to the common belief that the Salton Sea is merely an accident of human activity, it has historically served as a basin for the fluctuating waters of Lake Cahuilla. Today, the Cahuilla Nation resides in the area alongside many Latinx and other communities, most of whom are increasingly vulnerable.
Air and Water Quality in the Salton Sea
In 2020, we helped organize a community science program designed to promote local water quality monitoring. This initiative evolved into a more comprehensive study of hydrodynamics, water quality, and air quality in the area, led by Diego Centeno from UCLA and Alejandra López from Brown University. Both are PhD students who grew up around the Salton Sea and participated in the community science program.
We currently utilize data from three long-term moorings and two air quality monitoring stations that measure hydrogen sulfide concentrations. The water-based sensors we employ measure variables such as pressure, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, temperature, pH, nitrate concentrations, and current velocities. Our research aims to explore the connections between hydrodynamics, hypoxia, pH changes, and the release of hydrogen sulfide from the shallower areas of the Sea.
We strive to center the community in our work, although we recognize that we have much to learn and improve upon. To this end, we have collaborated with Alianza Coachella Valley and Dr. Kaily Heitz to conduct interviews, focus groups, and community workshops in the region. Currently, we are seeking funding to establish a more consistent community science advisory board and to provide summer internships for community members. If you or anyone you know would like to support this effort, please contact us.
This research is a collaboration with Brown University, Loma Linda University, and Alianza Coachella Valley. So far, it has resulted in two peer-reviewed publications (Centeno et al., 2023; Centeno et al., 2025) and two policy briefs (Márquez et al., 2025a; 2025b), with multiple additional forthcoming publications.
Salton Sea Receding Shoreline (side quest)
Since we frequent the Salton Sea for our air and water quality research, we have been able to document via photos some of the drastic changes in the Salton Sea shoreline.
