Newly Discovered Crack Leaks Radioactive Water Into Sea Off Japan
On Saturday, workers discovered an 8-inch (20-centimeter) long crack in a maintenance pit that was leaking highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, said Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama.
Flotsam From Japan’s Tsunami to be Carried by Currents and Pushed Onshore
The biggest haul of floating debris will likely be carried by currents off of Japan toward Washington, Oregon and California, then turning toward Hawaii and back again toward Asia, unless wind and ocean currents eventually push some of the massive debris from Japan’s tsunami onto the shores of the U.S. West Coast, said Curt Ebbesmeyer, a Seattle oceanographer who has spent decades tracking flotsam.
BP is finished with coastal Alabama cleanup
BP PLC said Friday it has removed workers and machinery from its deep-cleaning operation on the state’s tourist beaches.
Radiation Leaks Into Groundwater Under Japan Nuclear Plant
Radiation exceeding government safety limits has seeped into groundwater under a tsunami-crippled Japanese nuclear plant, according to the operator, but experts said Friday that it was unlikely to contaminate drinking supplies…
Sebastian Inlet, Florida; By Eddie Jarvis
A surfer’s view of shoreline engineering.
Earth’s Gravity Revealed in Unprecedented Detail
After just two years in orbit, ESA’s GOCE satellite, a European spacecraft that skims the upper reaches of the atmosphere, has gathered enough data to map Earth’s gravity with unrivalled precision, from deep ocean trenches to majestic mountain ranges. The data will be crucial for understanding sea level changes, shifts in ice flows and how ocean currents, which are driven by gravity, respond as the planet warms over the next few decades.
Sea turtle deaths up along Gulf Shores, joining dolphin trend
The discovery of more than 100 dead dolphins on Gulf of Mexico shores likely reflects only a small fraction of the total killed by the BP oil spill last year, a study suggested on Wednesday. And Federal scientists are trying to figure out why dolphin deaths along the Gulf of Mexico are up this year now have a second challenge: a sharp jump in sea turtle deaths in some Gulf areas.
Corals Moving North to Escape Warming
Corals are dying in tropical areas, but now it appears they are expanding their range poleward. However, even if range expansion of corals does occur, the amount of dying corals in tropical areas may be much greater than the new settlements in the temperate regions.
Plutonium found in soil at Japan nuclear plant
Plutonium was detected Monday in soil at five places at the Fukushima Dai-ichi tsunami-stricken nuclear plant in Japan, but the levels are, allegedly, not believed to pose a threat to human health…