The weekly water news summary is back: 14 - 20 October 2017
Elaine has provided more beautiful fall foliage and related photos - all from Maine's coastal US Route 1, from Bloomberg. Check these few out:
Here are Elaine's wonderful lists in Word/PDF:
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Geoscience Bulletin Board – 23 October 2017 - compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
5 easy(ish) steps to becoming a geologist – very punny
After forming in the eastern Atlantic and pushed by the jet stream, Hurricane Ophelia and its remnants brought heavy rains, wind gusts and red haze to Europe
- http://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-ophelia-path-europe-spain-ireland-2017-10
- http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/10/16/hurricane_ophelia_s_remnants_have_struck_ireland_as_the_strongest_storm.html
- http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-41609332
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-ex-hurricane-hit-ireland-and-turned-skies-red-180965301/
“Geostorm” is the result of the federal government taking aggressive action against climate change – sounds like an ominous warning against messing around with Mother Nature
Remnants of 94 ancient tectonic plates reside in the mantle of Earth
Synthesizing magneto-telluric and geodetic studies to map electrical properties of rocks and minerals throughout the Hikurangi subduction zone in New Zealand
Decade-long, $900M Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway project completed
Satellite-borne LIDAR maps may provide tool for safety of those fighting wildfires
Microseisms are constantly shaking the earth and creating waves that ripple across lakes
Weddell polynya is part of long-term natural variability
Video of a tidal bore during the Mid-Autumn Festival on the Qiantang River in China
OCO-2 satellite has been collecting data since 2014 – what are the trends & what do they mean?
Time, once again, for the Great California ShakeOut
- http://www.sgvtribune.com/2017/10/18/heres-our-best-earthquake-reporting-to-read-during-the-great-california-shakeout/
- https://www.usgs.gov/news/get-ready-shakeout-october-19
Volcanic eruptions may have contributed to the fall of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt – “civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice”
- http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a28688/volcanoes-ancient-egypt-study/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2017/10/18/demise-of-ancient-egypt-linked-to-a-climate-changing-volcano/#2cfa6fe332c9
Rocks beneath nuclear testing site in North Korea may have been fractured & perforated due to repeated nuclear tests
“Big Dark” and atmospheric river of moisture stretching from China to British Columbia will drop large amounts of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest
Prudhoe Bay suggests how oil drilling might transform the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Using satellite images to produce annual maps to track freshwater use for agriculture
Creating a 50,000 lake database for the Northeast and Midwest regions of the US
Understanding gas hydrates
Eocene sea turtle, Tasbacka danica, hatchling provides evidence of pigment-based survival trait
Geologic evidence is forerunner for warming Earth – more extreme conditions existed in the past
Understanding rare earth element emulsions
Study suggests less cause for concern for warming due to brown carbon aerosols from wildfires
These extinct kangaroos, Balbaroo fangaroo, had fangs
Dung from dinosaurs, like any large animal, fertilized the planet
Jakobshavn Isbræ ice stream in West Greenland retreated under a cold climate of the Younger Dryas
Evidence found in Karoo Basin in the remnants of the Gondwanides reveal details of mass extinction
Source of the largest mud eruption in the World is identified
Why is there a geoid low in the Indian Ocean?
https://phys.org/news/2017-10-masswhat-geoid-indian-ocean.html
Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 23 October 2017 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Perspective: unprecedented transformation and ecological decline caused by human activities since 1950 as ecological footprint greatly exceeds carrying capacity of Earth
- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/from-anthropocene-to-ecocene-by-2050_us_59e7b66ce4b0e60c4aa3678c
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers
Lake Baikal is polluted and over-fished – Russia commits to cleaning it up
- http://www.newser.com/story/250316/worlds-deepest-lake-is-in-deep-trouble.html
- Images: http://siberiantimes.com/ecology/casestudy/news/n0494-pollution-crisis-in-lake-baikal/
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/19/lake-baikal-russia-crippled-algae-fish-poaching-pollution
US Border Wall prototypes take shape – move toward improved national security
Repair costs for Oroville Dam spillway double original estimate & will top $500M
Book Review: Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science
- http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2017/oct/whitewash-glyphosate-monsanto-carey-gilliam
Making way for the reservoir behind largest hydropower project, Lower Sesan 2 Dam, in Cambodia
Chemicals like dichloromethane pose threat to the ozone layer in the atmosphere of Earth
EPA approves plan to clean up San Jacinto River waste pits by removing 200,000 cubic yards of contaminated waste in southeast Texas
Massive ‘sinkhole’ caused by Hurricane Harvey floodwaters along Houston tollway now fixed
They have allocated $1.25B to create a model smart city along the waterfront in Toronto, Canada, described as a “sustainability, affordability, mobility, and economic opportunity”
Santa Clara Valley Water District opts out of $17B twin tunnel project under the San Joaquin delta
Perspective: California state data shows twin tunnel project will harm life in the San Francisco Bay estuary and increase frequency of toxic cyanobacterial blooms
Variation in skin pigmentation has been in the human gene pool for at least 900,000 years
More rats (the 4-legged kind) in Washington DC necessitate recruiting cats – New York City uses terriers
Virtually visit Quttinirpaaq National Park in Canadian Territory of Nuavut to see high Arctic landscape
A review of antimicrobial efficacy – infographic
Zoonotic tuberculosis is naturally resistant to one of the most common anti-TB drugs
Deadly wildfires fanned by Hurricane Ophelia in Portugal & Spain
- https://phys.org/news/2017-10-wildfires-rage-portugal-spain.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/16/portugal-spain-wildfires-forest-fires-ophelia-villages-evacuated
Oil rig explosion on Lake Pontchartrain north of New Orleans injures seven with one missing
Terrorist attack in Somalia is deadliest on record, killed at least 276
Diploscapter pachys roundworm has not had sex in 18 million years but still maintains genetic variation
Heavy rains trigger deadly landslides and flooding in Vietnam
- http://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-floods/thousands-evacuated-in-vietnam-as-floods-landslides-kill-46-idUSKBN1CH0CA
- https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/97898272/death-toll-in-vietnam-flooding-landslides-rises-to-68
FERC gives approval to Atlantic Coast & Mountain Valley pipelines, with one dissent based on environmental impacts
Cleanup initiated after almost 9,350 barrels of oil spilled into Gulf of Mexico from LLOG Exploration Company pipeline
EPA ending the legal loophole of “sue and settle” practice
- http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/16/epa-end-obama-era-sue-and-settle-practice/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/trump-s-epa-swears-off-settling-lawsuits-with-environmentalists
The Nenets, reindeer herders, face obstacles to their traditionally nomadic life
Respecting Ainu bear-worshipping culture and tradition in Japan
Michigan DEQ is testing displaced water following beach of dam holding back contaminated sediment in Briggs Pond
Lessons learned from failed structures during the EQ that hit Mexico City on 19 September 2017
Roughly 2 million people may be exposed to naturally occurring arsenic in their drinking water wells
- https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/acs-aid101317.php
- https://www.usgs.gov/news/study-estimates-about-21-million-people-using-wells-high-arsenic
Not all herbal supplements are beneficial
Dozens of contaminants found with protected areas of Congaree National Park in South Carolina, including pharmaceutical drugs, insect repellant, flame retardants & detergent metabolites
- https://www.usgs.gov/news/shedding-light-contaminants-congaree-national-park
- https://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/2017-10-12-congaree.html
Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 23 October 2017 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Beautiful fall foliage along Coastal Route 1 in Maine
GOMESA will provide an estimated half the $$$ needed for coastal protection in Louisiana next year
• http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_7356cce0-b454-11e7-a679- 130f78101717.html
Humboldt County Board of Supervisors bans selling of pot in coastal commercial zone
King tides are garnering more attention – flooding being blamed on “global warming” but must also consider coastal subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal
Pelican found bound and tortured to death at Pelican Point in Baldwin County, Alabama
Divers begin removing “junk reef” that was dumped off Newport Beach coast about 30 years ago – leaching poisons into the ocean
Shipwreck in Pappy’s Lane in Pamlico Sound identified as WWII troop transport
Maryland plan for “water pollution trading” which means polluters win and Chesapeake Bay loses
New Jersey moves to limit pollution entering Barnegat Bay – one of most threatened in the country
NPDES stormwater pollution permit may stall $35M expansion of super refined oil (SRO) plant along Susquehanna River, a tributary to Chesapeake Bay
Pennsylvania DEP will reimburse farmers to prepare agricultural plans to protect Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Delaware Bay conservation plan needed to prevent further erosion in Maurice River and detrimental impacts to oyster farms
Turning old citrus grove into a water farm has reduced discharges from Lake O to estuaries
"Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it." - Unknown
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