Huge Ice Island Near Labrador ‘s Coast
Nearly 11 months after calving off of the northwestern coast of Greenland, a massive ice island, the size of Manhattan, is now caught up in ocean currents off the coast of Labrador, Canada. The ice island stretched roughly 62 square kilometers in area and weighed between 3.5 and 4 billion tons.
Reaching The Gap Between Scientists And Policy Makers
Dr. Sylvia Earle, world-renowned oceanographer, joined a team of scientists and government officials, on a week-long expedition “the Mission Blue expedition” to the Swan Islands and Mesoamerican Reef to raise global awareness of the critical importance of the Mesoamerican Reef and surrounding areas.
Rising Oceans: Too Late to Turn the Tide?
Unless we dramatically curb global warming, we are in for centuries of sea level rise at a rate of up to three feet per century. Much of the world’s population lives relatively close to sea level, thus this is going to have huge impacts, especially on poor countries.
Strong El Niño could bring increased sea levels, storm surges to U.S. East Coast
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, according to a new study by NOAA.
Forests soak up third of fossil fuel emissions: study
An international team of climate scientists released a study showing the role global forests have played as regulators of the atmosphere. This is the first complete and global evidence of the overwhelming role of forests in removing anthropogenic carbon dioxide.
Banning plastic grocery bags just got easier in California
“This is a great day for the Pacific Ocean,” as the California Supreme Court made it easier today for cities to prohibit stores from distributing plastic grocery bags.
China Orders US Oil Giant To Halt Rigs After Spill
China said Wednesday it had ordered US oil giant ConocoPhillips to immediately stop operations at several rigs in an area off the nation’s eastern coast polluted by a huge slick.
US West Coast Erosion Spiked In Winter 2009-10, Previewing Likely Future As Climate Changes
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.
Japan Quake Makes 2011 Costliest Disaster Year
Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in March caused losses of 210 billion euros and 15,500 people perished, making it the costliest natural catastrophe on record.