“Dynamic modeling of sea-level rise, which takes storm wind and wave action into account, paints a much graver picture for some low-lying Pacific islands under climate-change scenarios than the passive computer modeling used in earlier research.” Quote from the USGS press release.
“According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities’ social, economic and natural systems. The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
During 2012 Royal Dutch Shell produced about 191,000 barrels of oil per day in the Gulf of Mexico, making it the largest producer of crude in the Gulf. Previously BP was the largest producer. Get Gulf production data here.
NASA’s Earth Observatory has a recent satellite image that shows plumes of dust blown over the Arabian Sea by strong storms sweeping across parts of Iran and Pakistan.
USGS has created a series of Pre-Storm and Post-Storm maps using Lidar technology that document the impact of Hurricane Sandy on Fire Island, New York.
“The HazVu map provides a way to view many different geohazards in the state of Oregon. You can enter the address for your home, school, business, or public buildings in your area to see what hazards might affect you. You can print the map you create.
Geohazards include 100-year flooding; Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake shaking and tsunami; coastal erosion; volcano; landslide; active faults; earthquake soft soil; and more. Assets include state-owned/leased facilities and public buildings such as schools, police and fire stations, and hospitals, as well as links to seismic assessment reports for these public buildings.” Quoted from the HazVu website.
Researchers at Stanford University’s School of Engineering and the University of Delaware [...] show that not only is there plenty of wind over land and near to shore to provide half the world’s power, but there is enough to exceed total demand by several times.
USGS has published: “Seafloor Geology and Benthic Habitats, San Pedro Shelf, Southern California”. This is a really interesting publication with lots of seafloor photos, sediment facies maps, descriptions of geologic and biologic constituents at or near the seafloor, and much more.
“A new analysis by Stanford researchers reveals that there is enough offshore wind along the U.S. East Coast to meet the electricity demands of at least one-third of the country.” Quoted from the Stanford University press release.
Evelyn Mervine posts some great photos of the red garnet sands that can be seen along Western Beach in Nome, Alaska – and shows some results from her panning.
About 36,000 people of Kuna Yala, an archipelago off the northern coast of Panama will be moving from their islands to the Panama mainland in response to rising sea level and tropical storm threats.
The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe estimates that the Reservation is losing approximately 8 feet of shoreline per year in some locations along the Missouri River in South Dakota. USGS will monitor the erosion using unmanned flights.
This isn’t geology, but an interesting video that explains how to make a pool fast for swimmers by reducing wave turbulence. The Earth science connections are to ocean waves and seismic waves.
“Every summer for the past several decades, a large dead zone has threatened the economic and ecological health of the Gulf of Mexico, the nation’s largest and most productive fishery.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
“Since about 1990, sea-level rise in the 600-mile stretch of coastal zone from Cape Hatteras, N.C. to north of Boston, Mass. — coined a “hotspot” by scientists — has increased 2 – 3.7 millimeters per year; the global increase over the same period was 0.6 – 1.0 millimeter per year.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
Debris from the Japantsunami of March 2011 has been washing up on Oregon beaches. Recently a 66-foot-long dock washed up on Agate Beach, near Newport, Oregon.
“Earle McBride and Dane Picard were traveling across France doing geologic field work in 1988 when they took time out to play tourists at Omaha Beach, site of one of the most ferocious battles during the D-Day invasion more than 40 years earlier.”
About the image: “McBride reported that 4 percent of the sand is made up of these bits of shrapnel ranging in size from very fine to course (0.06 to 1 millimeter).” Quotes from the Jackson School of Geosciences press release.
PBS Newshour has an article with video titled: “Why is Louisiana Sinking?” that includes an interview with Torbjörn Törnqvist, a coastal geoscientist at Tulane University.
Ten years ago a retired navy ship was converted into an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. An unexpected benefit of the reef is millions of tourist dollars per year from scuba divers.
Science on MSNBC.com has an article that explains some of the impacts of the 2010 Magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off the cost of Chile. The earthquake made significant changes to the intertidal environment.
“Perched atop the sheer coastal cliffs of Ireland’s Aran Islands, ridges of giant boulders have puzzled geologists for years. What forces could have torn these rocks from the cliff edges high above sea level and deposited them far inland?” Quoted from The University of Chicago Press media release.
Warm ocean currents attacking the underside of ice shelves are the dominant cause of recent ice loss from Antarctica, a new study using measurements from NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite revealed.
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