Mercury in the Global Ocean
A new study provides the first direct calculation of mercury in the global ocean from pollution based on data obtained from 12 sampling cruises over the past 8 years. The results confirmed that the ocean contains about 60,000 to 80,000 tons of pollution mercury. In addition, they found that ocean waters shallower than about 100 m (300 feet) have tripled in mercury concentration since the Industrial Revolution.
Hurricanes Iselle and Julio
In early August 2014, not one but two hurricanes were headed for the Hawaiian Islands. Storms arriving from the east are a relative rarity, and landfalling storms are also pretty infrequent.
Back from the Dead, Pacific Hurricane Becomes Super Typhoon
A week after forecasters wrote Genevieve off as dead, the tropical storm has barreled back to life, strengthening from a hurricane into a super typhoon as it crossed the International Date Line early this morning, Eastern Time. This is a rare accomplishment for a Pacific tropical storm.