Tracking Sargassum’s ocean path could help predict coastal inundation events
New research explores how the Sargassum might grow while it is meandering along the currents, not just where it floats, combining both ocean physics and seaweed biology for the first time to understand the distribution patterns. Knowing could eventually help predict its arrival and impact on beaches around the world
Worst “red tide” toxic algae bloom in years killing turtles, manatees in Florida
Thousands of fish, eels and turtles are dying, sometimes as far as the eye can see, in parts of southwest Florida. Just this week, one of several lifeless manatees was pulled from the water. The suspected culprit is a toxic algae bloom known as “red tide.”
At Last, the Shipping Industry Begins Cleaning Up Its Dirty Fuels
By 2020, the global shipping fleet will be required to slash the noxious emissions from thick, sulfur-laden “bunker” fuel, a move that is expected to sharply reduce air pollution and prevent millions of cases of childhood asthma and other respiratory ailments.
Why is Hawaii banning oxybenzone and octinoxate from sunscreens?
The two ingredients help protect skin from UV rays, but researchers have found that they also cause bleaching, deformities, DNA damage and ultimately death in coral when sunscreen washes off beachgoers or is discharged into wastewater treatment plants and deposited into bodies of water.
Beachgoers Beware? 5 Pathogens That Lurk In Sand
Although most microbes in the sand are harmless, some are linked with disease. Here are five types of pathogens found in sand.
13 of the dirtiest beaches in the world
Wide scale pollution has turned some of the world’s most beautiful beaches into trash heaps.
3 SoCal Beaches Among the Most Polluted in the State
Three Southern California beaches are among the 10 most polluted in the state.
Beach Report Card 2017-18: Banner Year for Water Quality
Heal the Bay today, released their 28th annual Beach Report Card, which assigns yearly A-to-F water-quality grades for more than 400 beaches along the California shoreline, based on levels of harmful bacteria.
Could sunscreen be destroying our coral reefs? Hawaii lawmakers say yes
Hawaii is set to become the first state to ban the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate, two chemicals believed to be harmful to the environment.