This Sardinian Town May Ban Towels to Save Popular Beach
La Pelosa-one of the Italian island’s more popular beaches—might be banning towels and large beach bags to preserve its sand dunes. The announcement was made earlier this week by Mayor Antonio Diana, who plans to enact strict measures to save the beach.
Scientists race to explore Antarctic marine life revealed by giant iceberg
British Antarctic Survey is trying to reach a newly revealed ecosystem that had been hidden for 120,000 years below the Larsen C ice shelf. Scientists say it is a race against time to explore these new ecosystems before they are transformed by exposure to the light.
High levels of microplastics found in Northwest Atlantic fish
A new study finds 73 percent of mesopelagic fish caught in the Northwest Atlantic had microplastics in their stomachs, one of the highest levels globally. These fish could spread microplastic pollution throughout the marine ecosystem, by carrying microplastics from the surface down to deeper waters. They are also prey for fish eaten by humans, meaning that microplastics could indirectly contaminate our food supply.
Factbox: Sifting Through U.S. Beach Sand Numbers
Here is a summary of what Florida and other coastal states and communities have been doing to protect and rebuild their shorelines based on to the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) data.
Gone with the wind: storms deepen Florida’s beach sand crunch
Costs of so-called beach renourishments are a fraction of the total, measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, but the effort is crucial for Florida’s $67 billion tourism industry. And while sand needs are surging, there is not enough to go around.
Tropical cyclone Gita Batters the South Pacific
For nearly a week, Tropical Cyclone Gita has been battering and threatening small South Pacific islands. And the storm is not done.
Balearics launch pioneering plan to phase out emissions
The Balearic islands’ government has launched a pioneering plan to phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Hurricanes are not to blame for most big storm surges in Northeast
Hurricanes spawn most of the largest storm surges in the northeastern U.S., right? Wrong, according to a study by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists. Extratropical cyclones , including nor’easters and other non-tropical storms, generate most of the large storm surges in the Northeast.
New Study Finds Sea Level Rise Accelerating
Global sea level rise is accelerating incrementally over time rather than increasing at a steady rate, as previously thought, according to a new study based on 25 years of NASA and European satellite data.