Coopladoop
Registered
Good day all,
Bit of a seemingly obvious question here.
Been doing some work on the jobsite recently, and after a few days of being topside needed to hit the water to clear some debris along the oceanfloor.
We had noticed, over the past few days, a vast influx of floating seaweed(moss? Not sure the proper name for these) into the marina, of sufficient volume that I've no doubt its dry weight could be measured in tons. It appears to have been partially cleared by marina staff, and the remainder has lost buoyancy and sunk to the bottom.
At any rate, suffice it to say the water is quite blackened, with small dead fish regularly to be seen in what still remains floating at the top. Thinking it would be bad, but not overly hazardous, I hopped in none the wiser and was immediately struck by several things.
1) I could "smell" the... putrefaction? immediately, through my air supply and all. I wear a full face Ocean Reef mask, and though I've some stubble that might fuss with a seal, there is no substantial leaking during normal operation to speak of.
2) Creatures I hadn't even know lived in this biome lay, still and dead, as if frozen in time. The fields of jellyfish that usually covered the bottom were nowhere to be seen. Crabs, more than I've ever seen in a single area, of greatly varying size lay locked in death poses as far as the eye could see. One crab, about the size of my palm and probably occupying the better part of a foot long ruler from pincer to pincer- looked as if, in his final moments he had raised both claws in defiance to the dark destruction that snuffed out his existence. Worms, nearly two finger widths in diameter and twice as long were sprawled up and out of their holes, motionless and gently swaying in the current.
So.
What I want to ask this forum is not for opinions on whether this water is safe to swim in. Decay and rot on this scale leads me to believe with certainty it is not.
But instead, seeing as it is my lunch break and for the second half of the day I will be back in the water- what is the worst a human can "pick up" from this stuff? Contract, become infected by, etc.
Is it a disease, a symptom, a common cold?
I have a small cut that is scabbed over on my knee, and smaller injuries that are in various states of healing, most of which are further sealed than the above- is there a legitimate and substantial chance for viral/bacterial ingress to my body through such?
If swimming in this muck cannot be avoided, what can be done to counter any possible substances in the water?
Thanks for reading, all.
Have a great day,
-A
Pics included to show moss field, water colour,
and contrast of contaminated marina water with the ocean at the mouth of the channel(usually there is no real clear distinction).
To clarify, visibility such that the bottom is visible(~15ft), is the norm here.
Bit of a seemingly obvious question here.
Been doing some work on the jobsite recently, and after a few days of being topside needed to hit the water to clear some debris along the oceanfloor.
We had noticed, over the past few days, a vast influx of floating seaweed(moss? Not sure the proper name for these) into the marina, of sufficient volume that I've no doubt its dry weight could be measured in tons. It appears to have been partially cleared by marina staff, and the remainder has lost buoyancy and sunk to the bottom.
At any rate, suffice it to say the water is quite blackened, with small dead fish regularly to be seen in what still remains floating at the top. Thinking it would be bad, but not overly hazardous, I hopped in none the wiser and was immediately struck by several things.
1) I could "smell" the... putrefaction? immediately, through my air supply and all. I wear a full face Ocean Reef mask, and though I've some stubble that might fuss with a seal, there is no substantial leaking during normal operation to speak of.
2) Creatures I hadn't even know lived in this biome lay, still and dead, as if frozen in time. The fields of jellyfish that usually covered the bottom were nowhere to be seen. Crabs, more than I've ever seen in a single area, of greatly varying size lay locked in death poses as far as the eye could see. One crab, about the size of my palm and probably occupying the better part of a foot long ruler from pincer to pincer- looked as if, in his final moments he had raised both claws in defiance to the dark destruction that snuffed out his existence. Worms, nearly two finger widths in diameter and twice as long were sprawled up and out of their holes, motionless and gently swaying in the current.
So.
What I want to ask this forum is not for opinions on whether this water is safe to swim in. Decay and rot on this scale leads me to believe with certainty it is not.
But instead, seeing as it is my lunch break and for the second half of the day I will be back in the water- what is the worst a human can "pick up" from this stuff? Contract, become infected by, etc.
Is it a disease, a symptom, a common cold?
I have a small cut that is scabbed over on my knee, and smaller injuries that are in various states of healing, most of which are further sealed than the above- is there a legitimate and substantial chance for viral/bacterial ingress to my body through such?
If swimming in this muck cannot be avoided, what can be done to counter any possible substances in the water?
Thanks for reading, all.
Have a great day,
-A
Pics included to show moss field, water colour,
To clarify, visibility such that the bottom is visible(~15ft), is the norm here.
