Hann Bay, Senegal: from coastal idyll to industrial dumping ground – in pictures – the Guardian
It’s mid-morning on a sunny day and Yvette Yaa Konadu Tetteh’s arms and legs barely make a splash as she powers along the blue-green waters of the River Volta in Ghana. This is the last leg of a journey that has seen Tetteh cover 450km (280 miles) in 40 days to become the first person known to swim the length of the waterway.
It’s an epic mission but with a purpose: to find out whatis in the water and raise awareness of pollution in Ghana…
Plastic credits are supposed to support new cleanup projects. Do they? – Grist
Critics say they won’t work, for one of the same reasons carbon credits haven’t…
We Traced the Forever Chemicals Getting Into Ocean Ecosystems – the Conversation
PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that have been raising health concerns across the country, are not just a problem in drinking water. As these chemicals leach out of failing septic systems and landfills and wash off airport runways and farm fields, they can end up in streams that ultimately discharge into ocean ecosystems where fish, dolphins, manatees, sharks and other marine species live…
Microplastic-eating plankton may be worsening crisis in oceans, say scientists – the Guardian
A type of zooplankton found in marine and fresh water can ingest and break down microplastics, scientists have discovered. But rather than providing a solution to the threat plastics pose to aquatic life, the tiny creatures known as rotifers could be accelerating the risk by splitting the particles into thousands of smaller and potentially more dangerous nanoplastics…
The World Is Running Out of Male Sea Turtles – Science Alert
Green sea turtles are already an endangered species, mainly due to humans hunting them, harvesting their eggs, degrading their habitats, or entangling them in garbage of some kind. But they also face another, more insidious threat from people: the loss of male hatchlings from the species…that this is partly caused by rising temperatures due to climate change – but a new study has now unveiled another human-caused problem driving this trend. Certain pollutants may promote feminization in sea turtles, explains lead author Arthur Barraza, a toxicologist with the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University…
Oil spill tops 1 million gallons, threatens Gulf of Mexico wildlife – the Washington Post
Skimming vessels are working to contain and recover oil from a spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, which the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday estimated to be at least 1.1 million gallons. The spill was discovered Thursday near a 67-mile pipeline operated by the Main Pass Oil Gathering Co., owned by Houston-based Third Coast Infrastructure, and the Coast Guard said it was still reviewing whether that pipeline was the source of the contamination…
Weaving the Harbor Back to Life – Hakai Magazine
How Māori knowledge is helping to revive the mussel population in New Zealand’s Ōhiwa Harbour…
One solution to the plastic crisis may lie in bugs’ bellies – the Washington Post
One way to help tackle the growing plastic pollution problem could be all around us: microscopic bacteria and fungi. A growing body of research has identified a host of microorganisms, some of which can be found in the bellies of certain larvae and other insects, that contain enzymes capable of breaking down common types of plastic..
Research Confirms Link Between Snow Crab Decline and Marine Heatwave – NOAA Fisheries
“During the marine heatwave, snow crabs faced a triple threat,” said lead author and Alaska Fisheries Science Center stock assessment scientist Cody Szuwalski. “Their metabolism increased, so they needed more food; their habitat was reduced so there was less area to forage; and crabs caught in our survey weighed less than usual. These conditions likely set them up for the dramatic decline we saw in 2021…”