Did rapid sea-level rise drown fossil coral reefs around Hawaii?
Investigations to predict changes in sea levels and their impacts on coastal systems are a step closer, as a result of a new international collaboration.
Maria, again a hurricane, swirls over North Carolina beaches
Maria regained strength and became a hurricane again Wednesday, pushing water over both sides of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and taking its time to slowly turn away from the U.S. Atlantic coast.
Brain damage in fish from plastic nanoparticles in water
A new study shows that plastic particles in water may end up inside fish brains. The plastic can cause brain damage, which is the likely cause of behavioral disorders observed in the fish.
Florida without its beaches: Seawall dooms state oceanfronts, By Robert Young
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued an emergency authorization last week that will allow individual property owners in a portion of St. Johns County to build new seawalls without the typical engineering and scientific analysis. This is a terrible mistake for the communities impacted. It is poor coastal management.
What happens to marine wildlife during hurricanes?
Hurricanes are incredibly powerful storms that wreak havoc on marine and coastal ecosystems as they work their way from deeper water toward land. The force of the storm churns up water, mixing warmer water at the surface with cooler water from farther down the water column. In all this churning, what happens to the wildlife living in the storm-tossed waters?
Irma builds bridge between Hatteras Point and Shelly Island
Rough surf from Hurricane Irma brought more than just great waves to the popular Shelly Island sandbar. It also brought some dramatic changes to the long formation off of Cape Point.
In a Stunning Turnaround, Britain Moves to End the Burning of Coal
Britain is phasing out its coal-burning power plants, with the last one slated to be shuttered by 2025, if not sooner. It is a startling development for the nation that founded an industrial revolution powered by coal.
Mathematics predicts a sixth mass extinction
MIT scientists have analyzed significant changes in the carbon cycle over the last 540 million years, including the five mass extinction events. They have identified ‘thresholds of catastrophe’ in the carbon cycle that, if exceeded, would lead to an unstable environment, and ultimately, mass extinction.
Hurricanes: A perfect storm of chance and climate change?
The succession of intense and deadly tropical cyclones that have barrelled across the Atlantic in recent weeks have left many people wondering if a threshold of some sort has been crossed. Is this chain of hurricanes evidence of some significant new frontier in our changing climate? The answer is mostly no, but with worrying undertones of yes.