Why the current hurricane rating system needs to be scrapped
For decades, hurricanes have been rated on a scale of 1 to 5 based solely on a storm’s wind speeds. But as recent hurricanes show, a tropical cyclone’s winds often tell us little about its real threats — coastal storm surge and precipitation-driven flooding.
Sinking Santa Cruz: climate change threatens famed California beach town
Similar challenges are sprouting up along the coast, and the golden sands and beach properties that define the state at risk.
10 of Australia’s best beaches
With a coast extending more than 50,000 kilometers, Australia offers beach-hoppers a staggering 12,000 stretches of sand to choose from.
Sentinels of the sea at risk from changing climate
Climate change’s effect on coastal ecosystems is very likely to increase mortality risks of adult oyster populations in the next 20 years.
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…”
NASA Maps Indonesia Quake, Tsunami Damage
A 7.5-magnitude earthquake on Sept. 28 in northern Indonesia and the devastating tsunami that followed it killed more than 1,400 people and left a large trail of destruction. This map, produced by NASA’s Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team, shows that damage.
Global warming increases wildfire potential damages in Mediterranean Europe
Anthropogenic warming will increase the burned areas due fires in Mediterranean Europe, and the increase of the burned area could be reduced by limiting global warming to 1.5ºC. The higher the warming level is, the larger the increase of the burned area is.
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.