Hurricane Sandy Eroded Half of Fire Island’s Beaches and Dunes: New Report Quantifies Coastal Change
Beaches and dunes on Fire Island, New York, lost more than half of their pre-storm volume during Hurricane Sandy, leaving the area more vulnerable to future storms.
Sea Otters: Combat Water Pollution And Promote Recovery of Seagrass Beds
Seagrass meadows, which provide coastal protection and important habitat for fish, are declining worldwide, partly because of excessive nutrients entering coastal waters in runoff from farms and urban areas. Scientists studying the decline and recovery of seagrass beds in one of California’s largest estuaries have found that recolonization of the estuary by sea otters was a crucial factor in the seagrass comeback.