Army Corps’ proposal for sand dunes in newest plan brings questions about cost, feasibility
A $32 billion plan for a coastal barrier system to protect the Houston-Galveston region, including 14-foot-high dune fields is seen as the latest innovation designed for Texas to engineer its way out of an existential crisis: a coastline gradually vanishing and increasingly vulnerable to massive storm surges and sea level rise.
Scientists rush to rescue sea turtles threatened by mysterious Brazil oil spill
Crude oil has been washing up along a 1,200-mile stretch of coastline of the Brazilian northeast for over a month, leaving more than 150 of Brazil’s postcard-perfect beaches covered in thick, sludgy black patches. It is also along this coastline that olive ridley and loggerhead sea turtles come to make their nests and lay their eggs.
Strong storms generating earthquake-like seismic activity
Researcher have uncovered a new geophysical phenomenon where a hurricane or other strong storm can spark seismic events in the nearby ocean as strong as a 3.5 magnitude earthquake.
Ferocious typhoon leaves as many as 33 dead, floods over 1,000 homes in Japan
Typhoon Hagibis made landfall south of Tokyo on Saturday evening and battered central and northern Japan.
Melting ice redraws the World map and starts a power struggle
The Arctic is emerging as a potential geopolitical flashpoint for the U.S., Russia and China as shipping routes get unblocked.
Nor’easter submerges newly replenished N.J. beaches
An ocean storm will continue to meander off the Middle Atlantic coast through Saturday, generating a strong onshore flow that will continue to lash New Jersey beaches. Lavallette and Seaside Heights are both recent recipients of Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment and engineered protective dune systems. While the beaches were underwater, water did not appear to impact the dunes.
Broad Beach sand project hits the rocks
Eight years and millions of dollars after embarking on a sand replenishment project, a recent court ruling sends Broad Beach landowners back to square one.
Mysterious Oil Spill Becomes New Environmental Crisis for Brazil
A mysterious oil spill that has polluted shores along a vast area of Brazil’s northeast may have resulted from unspecified criminal activity. An estimated 100 tons of crude has drifted toward land since early September, polluting some of the country’s most pristine beaches.
Peruvian Glaciers Have Shrunk By 30 Percent Since 2000
Nearly 30 percent of Peru’s glaciers have melted away since 2000. Overall, the country lost nearly 8 gigatons of ice from 2000 to 2016, with 170 glaciers — covering an area equivalent to 80,000 soccer fields — disappearing entirely.