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.
“The Mississippi River Delta is one of the largest and most productive coastal ecosystems in North America. From energy, to fisheries, to navigation, the richness of this ecosystem has sustained the U.S. economy for 300 years. [...] This document presents that evidence, based on a thorough examination of the primary questions people have raised about the future of the Mississippi River Delta.” Quoted from the report.
“The Earth’s crust beneath the Mississippi Delta sinks at a much slower rate than what had been assumed. [...] However, these subsidence rates are small compared to the rate of present-day sea-level rise.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
“Even if humankind manages to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius [...] future generations will likely have to deal with a completely different world.
One with sea levels 40 to 70 feet higher than at present.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
There are three possible solutions for the landslide that destroyed a 900-foot stretch of Paseo del Mar in September, 2011. A) build a bridge, B) build a road through a nature preserve, C) terminate the Paseo del Mar.
An article on the New York Times website explores the impact of sea level rise on the United States. Coastal flooding is expected to become much more common in the near future and millions of people could be displaced by rising waters. Florida, New York, Loisiana, California and the Chesapeake area are at particular risk.
“Decision-support systems can be used to help synthesize, visualize, and analyze the natural-science and socioeconomic information needed for making risk-reduction and land-use choices.”
“This large Burmese python, weighing 162 pounds and more than 15 feet long at the time of its capture in 2009, was caught alive in the Everglades and was found to have eaten an American alligator that measured about 6 feet in length.” Quoted from the USGS media gallery.
In the Mississippi River Delta Plain, there are large expanses of floating marsh. This unique ecosystem is dominated by a variety of grasses and forbs, which can create a buoyant mat that floats on a layer of water. How these marshes form and some of their unique features are described.
“Fountain Stream is one of the largest rivers draining Malaspina Glacier. The changes in this river over the past 120 years provides an example of how glacial retreat can starve rivers of sediment and lead to erosion downstream, and an example of the complex changes that can result from climate change.”
” The storm we watched eroded 10 feet of forest floor. Beneath the tree roots, we could see the remains of beaches formed only a few decades ago, when a surplus of sand was still flowing from the glacier.” Quoted from the case study.
After a storm, the signs of rapid coastal erosion are especially obvious. Here, spruce roots trail uselessly down to the beach, where the dirt has been washed away beneath them. Coastal Erosion Slideshow
“After the recent great quakes that have swept away entire coastlines and cities in Japan, Haiti and Sumatra, scientists are now looking hard at the nation that may suffer the gravest threat of all: Bangladesh.”
We thought that this was an excellent video. Did you know that a magnitude 8 earthquake caused the Brahmaputra River to change course? Have you ever seen a human powered drill rig – made from bamboo – that can complete a 300 foot-deep well in one day?
A powerful storm moving across the Bering Sea has brought 80 mph winds to the western Alaska coastline and is expected to cause storm surges of over ten feet.
“California beach towns could face hefty economic losses caused by sea level rise in the next century, according to a new state-commissioned study conducted by economists at San Francisco State University.” Quoted from the San Francisco State University news release.
“This video describes causes of wetland loss in the Mississippi River Delta. Rapid land subsidence due to sediment compaction and dewatering increases the rate of submergence in this deltaic system.” Quoted from the USGS video release.
Some members of Congress recommend opening portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the outer continental shelf for oil and natural gas drilling as a way to create jobs and cut the deficit.
Pre- and post-storm photo comparisons between Cape Lookout, NC and Oregon Inlet, NC. ”
The barrier island coast between Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras has a very different orientation than the coast between Cape Hatteras and Oregon Inlet; in fact, together, they form nearly a right angle. This difference in orientation has contributed to differences in impact on each coast during the passage of Hurricane Irene.” Quoted from the USGS news release.
This fall the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will consider legislation that will allow the leasing of 3 million acres for offshore exploration off the coast of Virginia.
“Seventy-five percent of the world’s coral reefs are currently threatened by local and global pressures. Most threats arise from local sources, which currently threaten more than 60% of coral reefs. Local threats include impacts from fishing, coastal development, and pollution. The percent of threatened reefs will increase to more than 90% by 2030 and to nearly all reefs by 2050.” Quote from USA.gov.
“This video podcast looks at the science behind understanding coastal vulnerability and hazards posed by extreme storms. It documents how USGS scientists study the response of coastal environments to the extreme winds, waves, and currents brought by such storms.” Quoted from the USGS video release.
“This process of longshore transport is responsible for moving sediment up and down coastlines. It can sometimes lead to the development of barrier islands and spits—thin strips of beach that generally form parallel to the mainland.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
“The ebb and flow of the ocean tides, generally thought to be one of the most predictable forces on Earth, are actually quite variable over long time periods, in ways that have not been adequately accounted for in most evaluations of prehistoric sea level changes.” Quoted from the Oregon State University news release.
“The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is engaged in a research project of national scope to measure, report, and interpret historical shoreline change along open-ocean coasts of the United States. One of the primary goals of this project is to understand shoreline change hazards using methods that are comparable from one area of the country to another and that will allow for future, repeatable analyses of shoreline movement, coastal erosion, and land loss.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet.
“Coastal erosion is a widespread process along most open-ocean shores of the United States that affects both developed and natural coastlines. As the coast changes, there are a wide range of ways that change can affect coastal communities, habitats, and the physical characteristics of the coast—including beach erosion, shoreline retreat, land loss, and damage to infrastructure. Global climate change will likely increase the rate of coastal change.” Quoted from the USGS Factsheet.
Sinking retired warships a few miles off the US east coast is a way to provide habitats for marine life and create recreational opportunities for people. However, some researchers object to the practice.
“Knowing that the U.S. west coast was battered during the winter before last by a climatic pattern expected more often in the future, scientists have now pieced together a San Diego-to-Seattle assessment of the damage wrought by that winter’s extreme waves and higher-than-usual water levels.” Quoted from the USGS news release.
“Coastal communities along the U.S. East Coast may be at risk to higher sea levels accompanied by more destructive storm surges in future El Niño years.” Quoted from the NOAA news release.
The U.S. Geological Survey [...] has taken a number of actions to prepare for monitoring floods arising from hurricanes and other tropical storms. Activities include hardening of streamgages along the Gulf Coast; implementing rapidly deployable, mobile streamgages; installing an emergency satellite-communications and data-distribution system; and developing storm-surge monitoring capabilities. Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet.
“To better understand and reduce tsunami hazards, USGS scientists examined sediment deposited by the tsunami in and around Sendai, Japan, as part of an international tsunami survey team organized by Japanese scientific cooperators.” Quoted from the USGS Science Features page.
“This potentially deadly force is the #1 safety threat at beaches – it’s called a rip current. Rip currents are fast, powerful channels of water flowing away from the beach and out past the breaking waves. And before you realize it, you can get dragged out far from the shore.” Quoted from the NOAA video transcript.
“The rate of sea level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years–and has shown a consistent link between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
“Follow the Pacific Nearshore Project as researchers from the USGS, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and other institutions sail Alaskan waters to study sea otters and investigate coastal health.” Quoted from the USGS project descripton.
Google Earth now has high resolution maps of the seafloor that show submarine canyons, underwater volcanoes, faults, oceanic ridges and many other features.
“What we wanted to do was have sites that are a gradient from fresh water to salt water so that we could investigate these processes of how salt water intrusion impacts freshwater marshes, and how sea level rise impacts both tidal freshwater and salt marshes…” Quoted from the NSF press release.
“A new map that illustrates wetland losses and gains on the Louisiana coastline from 1932-2010 has been developed by the USGS National Wetlands Research Center. This product provides opportunities to better understand the timing and causes of wetland loss, which are critical for forecasting landscape changes in the future.”
In an Earth Magazine article, Earle McBride and M. Dane Picard report on a petrographic analysis of sand collected in 1988 from Omaha Beach, where part of the World War II D-Day invasion took place. Surprising evidence of the battle remained in the sand over 40 years later.
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article titled: “Fighting Back the Waves” that explores the role of engineered structures that protect important cities around the world. Rising sea levels and underestimated hazards are being recognized as an enormous problem.
Researchers studying the effects of Hurricane Katrina and Rita say that hurricanes could supply all of the inorganic sediment and silt that healthy wetlands need. The silt and sediment are a small portion of wetlands but a major part of the framework for a wetland.
Hundreds of years ago people in Japan placed “tsunami stones” along the coastline to mark the elevation below which development should not occur. “Do not build your homes below this point!” The New York Times has an interesting story about these markers.
“The coastline in Arctic regions reacts to climate change with increased erosion and retreats by half a metre per year on average. This means substantial changes for Arctic ecosystems near the coast and the population living there.” Quoted from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research.
“Cities worldwide are failing to take necessary steps to protect residents from the likely impacts of climate change, even though billions of urban dwellers are vulnerable to heat waves, sea level rise and other changes associated with warming temperatures.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
“Colorado State University researchers predicted that the 2011 hurricane season will have significantly more activity than average. They predict 9 hurricanes (compared to an average of 5.9) and 16 named storms (compared to an average of 9.6). The probability for one major hurricane (category 3, 4, or 5) tracking into the Caribbean is 61 percent, compared to an average probability of 42 percent. The probability for a major hurricane making landfall on the Gulf Coast is 47 percent, compared to an average of 30 percent.” Quote from the Energy Information Administration.
Heavy use and contamination have cause ground water levels beneath Ho Chi Minh City to fall, develop high concentrations of iron and nitrate, and become brackish near the coast.
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