We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN
The world’s leading climate scientists have warned there is only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.
Space junk?’ What is the ‘foamy’ mystery object that washed ashore on an SC beach?
A mystery came out of the ocean on South Carolina’s Seabrook Island, and authorities haven’t yet identified what some are calling “space junk…”
Danny Boyle’s beach takeover to honour World War One soldiers
English Director Danny Boyle has announced a nationwide beachside event to mark the centenary of the end of World War One. Members of the public are invited to assemble at dozens of beaches around the UK on Armistice Day, 11 November.
Seagrass meadows in Guam have decreased by 22 percent, new analysis shows
As the oceans warm and humans migrate to or grow in numbers in coastal areas of the world, scientists are increasingly keeping an eye on ocean seagrasses and their decline. A new analysis shows that seagrass meadows in Guam have decreased by 22 percent.
Florida has a new water problem: red tide on the state’s busiest coast
A red tide that has sloshed up and down the Gulf Coast for nearly a year, leaving a wake of dead sea life, murky water and stinky beaches, has now landed on the state’s most crowded shores in Miami-Dade County.
Thailand bay made popular by ‘The Beach’ closes indefinitely
“Maya Bay”, a popular day-trip destination, was due to reopen this month following a temporary tourist ban. But on Tuesday, Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) announced the bay will remain closed indefinitely.
California’s Coastal Harbors, Beach Compartments and Sand Dredging; By Gary Griggs
Every year the dredge at the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor along central California’s northern Monterey Bay sucks up about 250,000 cubic yards of sand, on average, from the entrance channel and pumps it out onto Twin Lakes Beach where it continues its journey down coast. If it were put in dump trucks, it would fill about 25,000 of them, but the waves can move all that sand without any human labor, and without any noise or carbon emissions.
Hawai’i land impacted by sea level rise may be double previous estimates
By including models of dynamical physical processes such as erosion and wave run-up, a team of researchers has determined that land area in Hawai’i vulnerable to future sea level rise may be double previous estimates.
PCB pollution threatens to wipe out killer whales
More than 40 years after the first initiatives were taken to ban the use of PCBs, the chemical pollutants remain a deadly threat to animals at the top of the food chain. A new study shows that the current concentrations of PCBs can lead to the disappearance of half of the world’s populations of killer whales from the most heavily contaminated areas within a period of just 30-50 years.