Sierra Leone: Beaches under attack from sand miners
Twenty-four hours a day, seven-days-a-week, truckloads of sand are being hauled from the beach into Freetown to satisfy the needs of construction companies and contractors. Hundreds of tonnes of sand from the beaches is mined and sold to builders as construction material. The activity is technically illegal but laws, as is often the case, are not being implemented or enforced.
Sockeye carcasses tossed on shore over two decades spur tree growth
In a 20-year study, researchers have found that nearly 600,000 pounds of sockeye salmon carcasses tossed to the left side of a small, remote stream in southwest Alaska, helped trees on that side of the stream grow faster than their counterparts on the other side.
How microplastics, marine aggregates and marine animals are connected
Prior research has suggested that mussels are a robust indicator of plastic debris and particles in marine environments. A new study says that’s not the case because mussels are picky eaters and have an inherent ability to choose and sort their food. Instead, the researchers have discovered that marine aggregates also called ”marine snow,” play a much bigger role in the fate of the oceans when it comes to plastic debris.
“We are at war”: Expect almost 5 feet of sea level rise when planning for the future, leaders say
Building a road, a school, a bridge in Hampton Roads? Think about how long you want it to be around, and whether it might be underwater by then. That’s what regional planners recommend in light of sea levels projected to rise nearly 5 feet over the next century.
A 14-year-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico verges on becoming one of the worst in U.S. history
An oil spill that has been quietly leaking millions of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico has gone unplugged for so long that it now verges on becoming one of the worst offshore disasters in U.S. history. Between 300 and 700 barrels of oil per day have been spewing from a site 12 miles off the Louisiana coast since 2004.
Beaches of Saint-Tropez hit by Mediterranean oil spill
A containership and a ferry collided off the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea, causing a three-mile long spill of heavy fuel, with French and Italian coastal authorities scrambling to contain it. The mayor of the village of Ramatuelle, which lies on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, told AFP that 16 kilometres (10 miles) of coastline had been affected by the spill.
Salty water causes some freshwater harmful algae to release toxins
The finding suggests that understanding the mixing of fresh and salt water, which takes place in many coastal water bodies around the world, will help researchers understand the toxic effects of these harmful algal blooms.
Plastic pollution has increased a hundredfold in remote parts of the South Atlantic
The amount of plastic debris in the ocean waters of the British islands in the South Atlantic — some of the most remote places on the planet — has increased hundredfold in the last 30 years, according to a new study.
Save Lighthouse Point, a true Bahamian treasure!
Lighthouse Point is one of the last great remaining wilderness places in The Bahamas. Located at the southernmost tip of Eleuthera, it is home to incredibly diverse and unique terrestrial and marine ecosystems as well as cultural and historic resources. Unfortunately, this outstanding Bahamian treasure is at risk of being lost to externally-driven, large-scale commercial development.