Tracing Our Ancestors at the Bottom of the Sea
Researchers are studying traces of prehistoric sea-submerged settlements. Some of these drowned sites are tens of thousands of years old, and have been found in the coastal waters and open sea basins around Europe. The drowned land includes some of the earliest routes from Africa into Europe, and the areas where people survived during the multiple Ice Ages.
Rising Above the Risk: America’s First Tsunami Refuge
Washington’s coast is so close to the seismically active Cascadia Subduction Zone that if a megathrust earthquake were to occur, a tsunami would hit the Washington shoreline in just 25 minutes. One coastal community is preparing for such a disaster by starting construction on the nation’s first tsunami evacuation refuge.
Venice: Long-Admired Gondola Feature Threatened by Rising Waters
As the aqua alta -high waters- occur more frequently, largely due to rising sea levels, gondoliers are having more and more trouble getting their boats under bridges – and, as the highest part of the boat, the stern iron is becoming increasingly problematic.