Channel Islands: Harnessing Fog on Santa Rosa Island

The familiar marine fog of Southern California’s coasts evokes more than just beauty and emotion — it also brings life. At the remote and hauntingly gorgeous Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Los Angeles, USGS scientists are helping the National Park Service understand how the loss of native plants has changed the natural water cycle of these islands. Scientists are studying how these plants capture life-giving water from the daily fog to quench these isolated landscapes. The research is helping park managers restore native plants after decades of human impact, in hopes to bring life-giving moisture back to this National Park.