Coastal Care 2015: In Numbers and Achievements
Our deepest gratitude and thanks to our immensely talented and highly inspiring contributors of 2015.
— Santa Aguila Foundation.
Storm Frank: Slams UK and could make North Pole 50F hotter than normal
The powerful weather system “storm Frank”, bringing terrible flooding and devastation to the UK, could lead temperatures in the north pole to be pushed over 50F hotter than normal.
In Tanzania, a Horrific Fishing Tactic Destroys All Sea Life
Strewn in the shallows of the Indian Ocean off Tanzania lie shards of dead coral reefs. Experts believe that in Tanzania, blast fishing is occurring at unprecedented rates, in part because a boom in mining and construction has made it easier for people to get their hands on dynamite.
BHP dam disaster coats Brazil’s pristine beaches
New Year’s is one of the most-important holidays for Brazilians, as many flee the big cities and crowd the shoreline. After the collapse, in November, of a dam holding back mining waste, 50 million metric tons of sludge is spreading now off the coast between Rio de Janeiro and Bahia states, turning the pristine blue waters brown along an expected 30 miles of beaches.
Normal weather drives salt marsh erosion
Waves from moderate storms, rather than violent events such as hurricanes, inflict the most loss on coastal wetlands. Globally, salt marshes are being lost to waves, changes in land use, higher sea levels, loss of sediment from upstream dams and other factors.
Cronulla’s sand dunes survived Mad Max but now face a more insidious threat
The once vast sand dunes in Sydney’s south have been farmed, trimmed down by sandmining, filmed and eroded by wind and rain. Now they face encroaching housing developments
A Breathing Planet, Off Balance; Video
Earth’s oceans and land cover are doing us a favor. As people burn fossil fuels and clear forests, only half of the carbon dioxide released stays in the atmosphere, warming and altering Earth’s climate. The other half is removed from the air by the planet’s vegetation ecosystems and oceans. As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to rise, how long can this balancing act continue?
Beach work: The billion-dollar question for New Jersey
Restoring eroded beaches was a billion-dollar problem in New Jersey even before Sandy. Towns have added sand to beaches for generations, yet sand drifts. So if a town manages to keep a beach in place on one block, chances are the beach on another block will erode twice as quickly.
Piling sand to stop erosion ultimately made the land sink, study says
A new study underscores the unique difficulties Louisiana faces in maintaining its fragile delta and keeping the sea at bay: Researchers found work to replenish an eroding shoreline by pumping onto it massive amounts of sand itself caused the land to sink.