Massive Quake triggers devastating Tsunami, Japan

A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes on record slammed Japan’s north-eastern coast Friday, killing hundreds of people as it swept away ships, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control. Japan issued its most serious tsunami warning, saying a wave as high as 20 ft could strike the coast near Miyagi prefecture.The massive 8.8 magnitude quake struck about 382 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

Médano Blanco Coastal Dunes, Argentina

white-dunes-argentina

Narrow cordons of coastal dunes stretch for hundreds of kilometers along this part of Argentina’s coast. The Médano Blanco is not far from the arid and windy borderlands with Patagonia, one of the windiest places on Earth.

Surprisingly Few White Sharks Off California Coast, First Census Finds

Satellite tagging studies have demonstrated that white sharks in the northeast Pacific make annual migrations from coastal areas in Central California and Guadalupe Island, Mexico, out to the Hawaiian Islands, and then they return to the same regions of the coast year after year.

Belo Monte hydroelectric dam construction work begins

With most Brazilian eyes firmly fixed on the country’s annual carnival, construction work officially started this week on the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon, after reversal of a February suspension ruling.

Louisiana’s Grand Isle: Mardi Gras Amid Oil-Spill Remnants

In the days and months following the Gulf oil spill, life changed for residents of this seaside paradise. Grand Isle beaches closed.The seafood industry was decimated. Today, Mayor David Camardelle estimates that Grand Isle is 80% back to normal, yet admits tar balls keep washing ashore, likening the oil-spill remnants to a ghost in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s there… then it’s gone.

Sustainable Surf Craft, a Project by Kevin Cunningham

Inspired by the beauty of nature yet distressed by the large amounts of man-made debris in the oceans washing up on the beaches where he rides, surfer and artist Kevin Cunningham, embarked on a series of surfboards making, that reclaim trash that washes up onto the shore. It is a dichotomy between the natural and unnatural.

The Lost Emperors

A small colony of emperor penguins on an island off the West Antarctic Peninsula is gone, and the most likely culprit is loss of sea ice caused by warming. Most emperor penguins breed on sea ice, called fast ice, which attaches to the ice shelves and coastlines. This is the first time the disappearance of a colony has been documented.