Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 1 June 2020

The Atlantic hurricane season starts today and extends through November. Here is what NOAA says:

May 21, 2020 - An above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected, according to forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The outlook predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and only a 10% chance of a below-normal season. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30.

Keep those reservoirs filled!

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Check out Elaine's coronavirus/COVI-19 section in the ES BBs.

Geoscience Bulletin Board – 1 June 2020 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

Oil shale requires constant drilling of new locations to sustain output

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/oils-sudden-rebound-is-exposing-the-achilles-heel-of-shale/ar-BB14wxh9

Chicxulub meteor hit Earth at “deadliest possible” angle

• https://scitechdaily.com/asteroid-that-doomed-the-dinosaurs-struck-earth-at-deadliest-possible-angle/
• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-dinosaur-dooming-asteroid-struck-earth-deadliest.html

Details of the 2015 eruption of Axial Seamount

• https://eos.org/editor-highlights/volcano-monitoring-goes-offshore

Tracking stratospheric & tropospheric ozone over 3 decades

• https://eos.org/research-spotlights/tracking-tropospheric-ozone-since-1979
• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019GL086901

NOAA predicts 60% chance of above-average North Atlantic Hurricane Season

• https://eos.org/articles/noaa-predicts-busy-hurricane-season

Species survival in the California Current – aerobic habitat loss

• https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300626&org=GEO&from=news
• Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/20/eaay3188

South Atlantic Anomaly in the magnetic field of Earth – could split into two separate “low” points

• https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Swarm/Swarm_probes_weakening_of_Earth_s_magnetic_field

1. rexwas a “power walker”

• https://www.livescience.com/t-rex-power-walker.html
• Paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0223698

These now-extinct fish sported fanged teeth and single saber tooth

• https://www.livescience.com/ancient-anchovy-fangs-saber-tooth.html
• Paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.192260

Identifying dozens of submarine landslides in the Gulf of Mexico using seismic noise

• https://eos.org/articles/seismic-noise-reveals-landslides-in-the-gulf-of-mexico

Seafloor faults linked to M6.4 EQ off southern Puerto Rico

• https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-scientists-find-seafloor-faults-near-puerto-rico-quakes-epicenters

More accurate technique for dating past earthquakes

• https://www.eastoregonian.com/townnews/geology/oregon-scientists-develop-a-more-accurate-way-to-date-past-earthquakes/article_8323a4ec-9eb0-11ea-947a-f30d55f18beb.html

In Memoriam:  Robyn Seymour (1962-2020)

• http://myracinecounty.com/obituaries/2020/robyn-seymour/

308 myo Tully “monster” from Mazon Creek, Illinois, is member of vertebrate family

• https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200523/geology-test-puts-tully-lsquomonsterrsquo-in-vertebrate-family

Using geo-statistics to unravel relationships between human health & geological formations

• https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/2454/reading-the-earth-doctoral-student-focuses-on-geostatistics

The GEOPARKS of Greece

• https://neoskosmos.com/en/166207/the-beautiful-geoparks-of-greece/

On the 40^thanniversary of the Mammoth Lakes EQs

• https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/23606-today-is-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-mammoth-lakes-earthquakes-produced-dust-plumes-over-the-sierra-nevada-and-injured-hikers-in-yosemite-national-park

Contributions of the Sulzer brothers

• http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/SulzerBrothers/052420_Sulzer_Brothers.html

Echoes of history at Blue Notch

• https://www.sjrnews.com/blanding-notes-westwater/listening-echoes-history-blue-notch

In Memoriam:  James David Lowell (1928 – 2020) – long career as exploration geologist

• https://tucson.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/james-lowell/article_f2c0ea9e-9d98-11ea-b2e0-f7ae81fad559.html

Lessons in geology in Kenna Cartwright Park near The Home Depot – instability in glacial till

• https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/news/sliding-slope-near-the-home-depot-a-lesson-in-unstable-earth-1.24137839

Cave-in potential in abandoned mines and sinkholes in the Black Hills

• https://listen.sdpb.org/post/cave-raises-alarm-about-abandoned-mines-and-sinkholes-lurking-black-hills

Plate tectonic activity began at least 4 billion years ago

• https://news.yale.edu/2020/05/26/yale-finds-much-earlier-birth-date-tectonic-plates

Models may explain mechanism of deep subduction zone earthquakes

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-clues-deep-earthquake-mystery.html
• Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/22/eaaz7692.full

Breakdown of ozone layer may have caused 360 myo (end-Devonian) extinction event

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-erosion-ozone-layer-responsible-mass.html
• Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/22/eaba0768

High-resolution airborne remote sensing data show geomorphic controls of Bornean forests

• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/asu-asd052620.php

Glacial melt & retreat influence nutritional condition of bivalve Nuculana inaequisculptain Antarctica

• https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/publication/the-influence-of-glacial-melt-and-retreat-on-the-nutritional/

Narwhals sound like chain saws – click, buzz & whistle

• https://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2020/05/scientists-record-rarely-heard-sounds-made-by-narwhals/
• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020JC016116

Salvaging fossils on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, England

• https://www.hakaimagazine.com/videos-visuals/salvaging-fossils-on-the-jurassic-coast/

Earthquake-coda tomography correlates seismic events to image inner core structure

• https://eos.org/editor-highlights/earthquake-coda-tomography-boosts-illumination-of-the-deep-earth
• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019JB018848

USGS:  Statistical Methods in Water Resources (TWRI) book 4, chapter A3, version 1.1

• https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/tm4A3
• Report: https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/04/a03/tm4a3.pdf

Chicxulub Meteor created long-lived hydrothermal system in impact crater

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-steaming-cauldron-dinosaurs-demise.html
• Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/22/eaaz3053

Small swarm of earthquake in Yellowstone

• https://www.insider.com/swarm-of-earthquakes-shake-yellowstone-national-park-in-24-hours-2020-5

Impacts of small-scale gold mining using mercury for mineral extraction extend miles downstream

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200528161056.htm

Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 1 June 2020 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

US Army COE Saginaw River Dredge Material Disposal Facility holding dioxin-laden sediment appears to have withstood flooding in Michigan

• https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/see-dow-chemical-ponds-dioxin-cleanup-site-after-michigan-flooding

YouTube censors “Planet of the Humans”

• https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/planet-humans-ep-michael-moore-003114966.html

Mass emergence of cicadas will make 2020 a noisy summer – battle ostensibly over 4 seconds of film

• https://www.today.com/news/cicadas-2020-over-million-will-swarm-parts-us-t182377
• https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/17-year-cicadas-to-emerge-this-spring-summer/740722

Initial cost estimate of $205B - $240B for proposed “national high-speed rail network – will go far over-budget – may lead to increased emissions

• https://www.progressiverailroading.com/high_speed_rail/news/US-Rep-Moulton-proposes-national-high-speed-rail-network--60509
• https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/100907/plans-investment-us-high-speed-rail/
• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-01/california-s-high-speed-rail-line-cost-grows-by-about-2-billion
• https://www.enr.com/articles/49391-uk-parliament-questions-hidden-details-on-high-speed-rail-costs
• https://www.whatech.com/market-research/transport/652921-bullet-train-high-speed-rail-market-to-2026-report-reviews-important-changes-in-market-dynamics
• https://www.dailynews.com/2020/05/07/curtailing-the-reckless-california-bullet-train-plan/
• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-25/australia-should-abandon-bullet-train-dream-report-says/12281246
• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-high-speed-rail-australia-east-coast.html

Asian long-horned tick capable of spreading Rocky Mountain spotted fever

• https://entomologytoday.org/2020/05/21/cdc-lab-study-asian-longhorned-tick-haemaphysalis-longicornis-rocky-mountain-spotted-fever/

Rabbit owners petitioning to import vaccine against Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus type 2

• https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/22/rabbit-owners-petition-mn-to-import-rhdv2-vaccine/

Thinking “green” buildings can save the environment by reducing emissions

• https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/22/we-have-a-problem-with-buildings-ideas-and-tech-can-change-things.html

Proposal to dam the Little Colorado River raises serious concerns – applied for preliminary permit

• https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2020/05/23/company-plans-dams-canyon-next-little-colorado-river/5238590002/
• https://grandcanyontrust.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/d/9B0F52B9CEF53C572540EF23F30FEDED/6FF57603C56A30D2419C69E1CEBE89F9

Mosquitoes have resulted in the most deaths in human history – 35-minute podcast

• https://www.npr.org/2020/04/15/835271594/buzzkill

Re-evaluating fish consumption – health benefits vs chemical exposure risks

• https://www.ehn.org/safe-to-eat-fish-2646025526.html

Are PFAS-free firefighting foams safer? – “regrettable substitution” - greenwashing marketing spins

• https://www.ehn.org/pfas-free-firefighting-foam-2645972099.html

The science behind human irrationality – loss and risk

• https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05/the-science-behind-human-irrationality-just-passed-a-huge-test/

How well do Germans understand weather risks?

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-germans-weather.html
• Paper: https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/WCAS-D-19-0043.1

Research on brown tree snake continues at Guam National Wildlife Refuge – invasive species has devastated native animals

• https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-brown-treesnake-research-continues-guam-national-wildlife-refuge

Will humans adapt/tolerate high heat indexes?

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200508145333.htm
• Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/19/eaaw1838

Deforestation continues despite national & international initiatives

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-deforestation.html
• Paper: https://phys.org/news/2020-05-deforestation.html

Smoke from Australian bushfires linked to hundreds of deaths

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-australia-bushfire-linked-hundreds-deaths.html

High-precision measurements of pollution path between stratosphere & troposphere

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-depicting-pollution-path-stratosphere-troposphere.html

2020 NOAA hurricane forecast

• https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05/heres-noaas-outlook-for-us-summer-weather-and-hurricane-season/

Bats have evolved tolerance to viruses

• https://www.livescience.com/why-bats-not-sick-from-viruses-carried.html

Toramus larvae carry their exuviae as a means of protection – “exuvial autotomy”

• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/eu-pbo052120.php

Bumblebees damage plants to speed up flowering

• https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/hungry-bumblebees-make-plants-flower-early-cutting-holes-their-leaves
• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/ez-bsu052620.php

50M years of evolution and now groups of animals are at risk of extinction due to human activity – global biodiversity crisis caused by human actions

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/50-billion-years-animal-evolution-132306296.html
• Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16410-6

What if the US resumed nuclear testing?

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/america-never-conduct-another-nuclear-123000714.html

Developing a plan to revamp the Erie Canal

• https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2020/05/25/lifes-a-ditch-state-eyes-new-beginning-for-erie-canal-1286431

Wolverine spotted on Long Beach Peninsula in Washington State

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/when-a-woman-said-she-saw-a-wolverine-on-a-washington-state-beach-a-wildlife-official-didnt-believe-her/ar-BB14GZIr

Bald eagle nest with eggs on Cape Cod for first time in 115 years

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bald-eagle-nest-with-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-1st-time-in-115-years-officials-say/ar-BB14Ihq7

PCB-like halogenated marine natural products being investigated in fish

• https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/natural-pollutants-in-fish/

Modernizing and expanding Port of entry facility at Otay Mesa will help protect the country

• https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/story/2020-05-28/otay-mesa-port-expansion

Federal Appeals Court decision on US Army COE permits could delay more than 70 pipeline projects

• https://apnews.com/73b270cd91fbc29ca99acea22445deb0

FDA to update list of medically important antibiotics given to animals

• https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/05/27/fda-to-update-medically-important-animal-antibiotics-list

Marking 85^thanniversary of the final concrete pour on Hoover Dam

• https://bouldercityreview.com/news/hoover-dam-marks-85th-anniversary-of-final-concrete-pour-61185/

CRS Report:  The Federal Role in Groundwater Supply

• https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45259

African redhead agamas “rainbow lizards” invasive (pet trade) species population exploding in Florida

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/invasive-rainbow-lizard-population-rapidly-194053995.html

CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus COVID-19 statistics by country (click on USA to get State statistics)

• https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

An “act of God” not a legal liability

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-is-our-government-holding-us-liable-for-covid-19/ar-BB14qRkp

Lasting impacts on the US workforce

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/a-silicon-valley-exodus-law-firm-drama-and-the-most-consequential-startup-of-all-time/ar-BB14wPSZ

Why the virus is more virulent in men than women

• https://www.livescience.com/why-covid-19-more-severe-men.html

With fewer vehicles on the road motor vehicle fatality rates spiked by 14%

• https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/20/859829779/as-states-locked-down-in-march-motor-vehicle-fatality-rate-spiked-by-14

Up to 80% of those “infected” may be asymptomatic

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/up-to-80percent-of-covid-19-infections-are-asymptomatic-a-new-case-report-says/ar-BB14GB3y
• Paper: https://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2020/05/27/thoraxjnl-2020-215091

Perspective:  misinformation needs researchers to respond – do we really need more models? -  try common sense & critical thinking instead of following mandates that are not supported by science

• https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01550-y
• https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01504-4

Unwarranted surveillance of sewage

• https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/sewage-could-become-next-virus-surveillance-method-epa-says

Monkeys attack lab assistant in Delhi & stole blood samples

• https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/xandr/gang-monkeys-escape-covid-19-131706566.html

Diabetes is significant co-morbidity – as is obesity

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/one-in-10-covid-19-patients-with-diabetes-die-within-a-week-study-finds/ar-BB14MMsC

Psychologically done with the “pandemic” and the shut-down – desire for normal life

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-pandemic-isnt-over-but-america-sure-seems-over-it/ar-BB14KY2O

Virus may have “disappeared” in Italy

• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-virus/new-coronavirus-losing-potency-top-italian-doctor-says-idUSKBN2370OQ

96% of deaths in Italy in persons suffering from other illnesses

• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-26/italy-says-96-of-virus-fatalities-suffered-from-other-illnesses

Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 1 June 2020 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

City of Long Beach charged with illegal tree trimming damaging nests of endangered great blue heron

• https://www.presstelegram.com/2020/05/14/coastal-commission-charges-long-beach-withpattern-of-illegal-tree-trimming/

Dredging of Schuylkill River begins 1 June in advance of rowing regatta

• https://www.inquirer.com/science/climate/schuylkill-river-dredge-philadelphia-boathouserowers-20200522.html

Prediction: Marshlands along the Louisiana coast could disappear in next 50 years – land subsidence

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/loss-of-louisiana-marsh-lands-highly-likely-as-sealevels-rise-study-shows/ar-BB14vghq

• Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/21/eaaz5512

Trying new methods in futile attempts to stop natural erosion processes in Maldives

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/extraordinary-way-well-rebuild-shrinking-142100297.html

People not heeding warnings about incoming spring tides in Cornwall

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/two-dead-third-hospital-cornwall-185157754.html

Seismic & wave sensors in SW Pacific may provide coastal residents of approaching tsunami

• https://eos.org/science-updates/sensor-network-warns-of-stealth-tsunamis

New bill would allow coastal homeowners to make improvements to attempt to prevent bluff collapse

• https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2020/05/26/new-bill-would-let-coastal-homeownersmake-improvements-to-prevent-bluff-collapse/

Refining representation of coastal interfaces in Earth systems models

• https://phys.org/news/2020-05-coastal-global.html

• Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16236-2

Partnership goal to improve coastal sustainability & ocean health along Atlantic coast

• https://gsabusiness.com/news/retail/78584/

Direct-drive offshore wind turbines selected for Dominion Energy CVOW project

• https://nawindpower.com/siemens-gamesa-turbines-to-power-dominion-energy-offshoreproject

Coastal Land Trust announced donation of additional private land holdings at Springer’s Point

• https://www.thecoastlandtimes.com/2020/05/23/coastal-land-trust-announces-purchase-ofadditional-land-at-springers-point-preserve/

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on new US postage stamps

• https://lcnme.com/announcements/coastal-maine-botanical-gardens-to-feature-on-newpostage-stamp/

New leadership of Restore America’s Estuaries

• https://www.coastalreview.org/2020/05/hayden-new-restore-americas-estuaries-ceo/

New algorithm to enhance search & rescue techniques

• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/ez-mcs052620.php

The importance of protecting kelp along the West Coast

• https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/05/27/5-reasons-toprotect-kelp-the-west-coasts-powerhouse-marine-algae

Future USS Oakland successfully completed acceptance trials & USS Zumwalt completes first livefire test

• https://www.workboat.com/news/shipbuilding/lcs-24-completes-navy-acceptance-trials/

• https://seapowermagazine.org/uss-zumwalt-completes-first-live-fire-test/

Finland may expand sea trout farming industry

• https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2020/05/25/finland-looks-offshore-to-build-sea-troutfarming-industry/

Book Review: “Exploring Bowen’s Marine World”

• https://www.bowenislandundercurrent.com/community/it-s-here-dive-into-bowen-s-ownmarine-atlas-1.24139076

Proposed dredging to 50 feet to increase large ship access to Uptown wharves in New Orleans –cost $9M+ - dump spoils in main river channel – Draft EA found “no significant impact”

• https://www.nola.com/news/business/article_7d92ca7a-9f6f-11ea-9625-fbf09f06ec14.html

• Project: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/PONO-Deepening/

• Draft EA: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Portals/56/PONO%20Draft%20EA%20-%20Final%20Version_Redacted.pdf

32-foot humpback whale washed up near Cupsogue Beach County Park - “inconclusive” cause of death

• https://patch.com/new-york/westhampton-hamptonbays/humpback-whales-cause-deathinconclusive

Harbor seals

• https://newportnewstimes.com/article/animal-of-the-week-harbor-seal

Beach nourishment program threatens marine assets of Sri Lanka

• http://www.dailymirror.lk/news-features/Beach-nourishment-threats-Sri-Lankas-uniquemarine-assets/131-189046

Water wheel barrage proposed to manage tidal flow & flood water on River Severn

• https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/water-wheel-barrage-concept-could-solve-riversevern-flood-challenge-28-05-2020

"Without funding you're kind of spinning your wheels." - Idaho water planner