"FYI as of 1/5/98, Thus far the following "changes" have been observed in the nearshore ocean, over the California mainland shelf, in Orange County, California. 1. The coastal dolphin population has dwindled to an average of only 1 pod a week (approximately 10 - 12 dolphin) off any part of the Orange County coast, down from a "typical" non-El Nino/La Nina year of 3 - 4 pods of 10 - 12 dolphin. Also, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of dolphin pods sighted along the coast of southern California north of Orange County, from Santa Monica Bay north to Point Conception, ever since May of 1997. 2. Numerous examples of exotic - note: more tropical and subtropical- life forms have either been caught or drifted ashore along the Orange County coast all the way to Los Angeles harbor, than at any time in the past since the previous large El Nino (1982-83). These included: subtropical species of Bryozoa washed ashore at Balboa Pier; tropical species of puffer fish were captured inside San Pedro Harbor; green sea turtles off Newport Beach; giant Humboldt "flying" squid off Laguna Beach; "Dorado" or dolphin fish, yellowfin tuna, albacore, and blue fin tuna caught from fishing boats off Newport Beach and Dana Point; and red tuna crabs observed off Newport Beach and Dana Point. 3. The Marine Science Department at Orange Coast College ten times last year used their research vessel to carry out water column profiles of temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen from the surface to a depth of 100 meters off Newport Beach within 1 km of the Newport Pier. In all cases the water temperatures measured between the surface to 28 meters were between 4 - 6 degrees centigrade warmer than they ever been recorded in the 20 years the Marine Science Dept. has been collecting this data. 4. The surface zooplankton and phytoplankton community (1 - 3 meters) off Newport Beach has changed considerably since March of 1997. Starting in April and extending through to the end of the year we captured, examined, has normally been there during non El Nino/La Nina years. One species that has become particularly abundant is the arrow worm - Sagitta - which began showing up in large numbers about May of 1997. 5. With regard to Physical Oceanography we have observed that predicted tides within Newport Harbor have been arriving on time, according to the N.O.A.A. tide tables, but at a height of approximately 10% higher than the predicted height according to those same tide tables. This has resulted in some severe flooding on Balboa Island, especially when it has happened in conjunction with a large rainstorm (Dec 6, 1997). We will investigate this further in 1998. 6. Severe rain and flooding within Newport Harbor in late November and early December 1997, coinciding with significant drops in salinity in surface harbor water, have all but wiped out the fouling communities of mussel, solitary tunicates, limpets, barnacles, and worms on the docks in most inner harbor locations."--Dennis Kelly <73042.1163@compuserve.com> via Peter Bryant <PJBRYANT@uci.edu>