The USGS Oregon Water Science Center has been extra busy because of this bad wildfire season. Click here to see what they have been dealing with and grim pictures of destroyed equipment and facilities.
Thanks to Chauncey W. Anderson of the USGS for sending these my way.
Two samples:
Cableway on North Santiam River at Niagara, Oregon (Site number 14181500)
(Credit: Johnathan Shannon, USGS. Public domain.)
Stream gage on McKenzie River near Vida, Oregon (Site number 14162500) (Credit: James King, USGS. Public domain.)
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Geoscience Bulletin Board – 28 September 2020 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
First DEEP geothermal well drilled in Saskatchewan, Canada – hits brine temp averaging 122º C
Explosion of steam & gas on Caribbean island of Dominica – harbinger for renewed activity?
Geology of PGE deposits in Paleoproterozoic Bushveld Complex in South Africa
Rare “medicane” Ianos strikes Greece – heavy rain & strong winds – 2 fatalities
Expedition finds new corals, cones and a rare fish in Great Barrier Reef
- https://www.freethink.com/articles/deep-sea-creatures
- https://schmidtocean.org/australian-scientists-discover-new-corals/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosscience&stream=science
Rains trigger landslides & erosion in river valley near Edmonton, Canada
120,000-year old footprints of humans, elephants, horses and other animals in Saudi Arabia
US Army COE begins assessing Presumpscot River landslide in Westbrook
Lightning counts recorded by NLDN 32% less in May & June 2020 than in previous years
3-D modeling suggests phytoplankton bloom under Arctic sea ice
- https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020JC016211
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020JC016211
Seismic data helps explain continental collision beneath the Himalaya
Ongoing sediment wave & sand bank survey in the Irish Sea – includes link to Marine Notice 43
New insight into formation of iron oxide-apatite deposits
Solar ripples may help forecasting size & severity of solar flares
380+ long-finned pilot whales dead in mass stranding in Tasmania, Australia
Do not take sand home from the beach as a souvenir
Just for fun: why Sheldon Cooper hates geology
The geologic field guides for O’Keeffe & Tewa country in New Mexico
Tourism to focus on geology – Geotourism NZ
Planetary geology – layered, folded & eroded rocks in portion of oldest terrain on Venus
Archeologists identify production of crucible steel containing about 1 wt% chromium in Persia
Gnathomortis stadtmani – newly described Cretaceous mosasaur genus
- http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/mosasaur-genus-gnathomortis-08881.html
- Paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2020.1784183
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus – Cretaceous theropod dinosaur had aquatic lifestyle
Gemstone commodity overview
Oceans are capturing more carbon than expected – up to 900M metric tons per year
Seismic ocean thermometry
USGS dye-tracing study on Kansas River to assess water supplies
- https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-dye-tracing-study-kansas-river-aid-protecting-water-supplies
- https://www.usgs.gov/centers/kswsc/science/kansas-river-time-travel-study?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
Funding for critical minerals projects in 21 States
- https://www.usgs.gov/news/earth-mri-funds-critical-minerals-projects-twenty-one-states-0
- Earth MRI: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/earthmri
Planetary geology – new chronology of the moons of Saturn based on crater scaling
Mitigating geohazard risk to potentially save lives in Nepal
Careless use of excavator causes significant sediment pollution of Gill Beck
Perspective: California needs to retrofit buildings for EQs and wildfires
How much precipitation is needed to trigger debris flow in wildfire burn scar?
Why hurricanes stall & the difficulty of predicting that slowed motion
Microbes may have used arsenic to thrive on early Earth with little/no oxygen
Visualizing the importance of environmental management in the mining industry – 4 key issues identified by IGF
Use of satellite science to monitor conditions on Earth
University of Nevada once again conducting DOE sponsored grant to develop geothermal energy exploration by developing “toolkit” for industry
Field work on bedrock & surficial deposits along the North Shore of Lake Superior - podcast
Toward a better understanding of carbon cycle of Earth
In Memoriam: Samuel Arthur Friedan (1927-2020) – coal geologist
Infusing geology into art
Curved slickensides trace directions of ancient earthquakes
DNR to celebrate Earth Science Week 11-17 October
Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 28 September 2020 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Impact of Mexican drug production & trafficking in the US
Perspectives on court ruling on Monsanto (Bayer) Roundup (glyphosate) settlement
- https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/517055-a-judges-monsanto-ruling-affects-both-the-law-and-the-economy
- https://www.law.com/2020/09/17/under-fire-from-judge-bayer-settles-thousands-more-roundup-lawsuits/?slreturn=20200818141410
- https://www.producer.com/2020/09/bayer-appeals-roundup-ruling/
CBP drones conducting flyovers near homes of Indigenous pipeline activists – impinging on sovereignty?
On-going controversy over Dicamba herbicide
Some insight into the history of wildfire & forest “management”
First John Muir, now John James Audubon is target of derision
Perspective: Good initiative rendered ineffective by systemic flaws – villages lost to river erosion & flooding due to lack of feasibility studies
Fish dying in Teichert Ponds – oxygen supply cut off by layer of ash from wildfires
Book Review: “Apocalypse Never – Why environmental alarmism hurts us all”
- https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/review-bad-science-and-bad-arguments-abound-in-apocalypse-never/
- Background: https://weatherwest.com/archives/7550
- Related: https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/wildfire-rise-1984-northern-californias-coastal-ranges/
Perspective: High confidence in tap water but much work remains
History, demand and heavy pumping impact the Sparta-Memphis aquifer – cones of depression now common as much as 100 feet of decline – “forcibly siphoned” water – interstate conflict
Mapping 1.6B “forest-proximate people”
- https://phys.org/news/2020-09-billion-people-forests.html
- Paper: https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(20)30425-5
Smoky rural Nevada lack sufficient air monitoring
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/parts-of-now-smoky-rural-nevada-lack-government-air-monitors/ar-BB19caXe
- Interactive air quality map: https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/
Deaths of 350 elephants in Botswana likely due to toxin produced by cyanobacteria algae blooms
Trekking 800 miles on the Arizona Trail: “hiker trash” & snakes & scorpions & scarce water
America’s Conservation Enhancement Act – a boon or a boondoggle?
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/congress-must-finish-work-on-popular-conservation-bill-before-time-runs-out/ar-BB19g6zd
- ACE Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3051/text
- Estimated cost of $1.1B over 5 years: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56036
- CBO cost estimate: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2020-01/s3051.pdf
Water wars at the Supreme Court
Strategies for filling Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) may not be feasible in critical river flow conditions
- https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/filling-africas-largest-dam-risks-political-tension-if-engineering-realities-are-ignored/
- Paper: https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(20)30424-3
Despite failures elsewhere, Texas has released final RPA and ROD for high-speed Texas Central Railroad
- https://www.kbtx.com/2020/09/21/this-is-the-moment-we-have-been-working-towards-dallas-houston-high-speed-rail-project-federally-approved/
- https://www.kens5.com/article/news/after-todays-federal-approval-construction-on-dallas-houston-bullet-train-to-begin-next-year/287-decb2e53-5db5-461b-884d-b729f60aeecf
US Bureau of Customs & Border Protection provides critical service in protecting US agriculture
Cigarette butts – most abundant litter- may be recycled into construction materials
Norway plans to spend $3B for “Longship” carbon capture project
NRCS Conservation Outcomes Webinar Series
Millions of feral swine running rampant across the country are a ticking “feral swine bomb”
Ah, the joys of living in California – raging wildfires and skyrocketing prices
Roadmap to reducing salmonella – driving change through science-based policy
Perspective: Protect Ruby Mountains from development in Nevada
Los Angeles hid methane leak for a year – calls for Valley Generating Station to be shut down
More than 4 tons of trash removed by Clean Up the Lake from Donner Lake & Lake Tahoe
Grizzly bear kills hunter in Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska
CRS InFocus: Recent Developments in Everglades Restoration
The almighty California Governor issues Executive Order that calls for phase out and then ban on selling gasoline passenger vehicles by 2035 and trucks by 2045 – wants to phase out fracking
- https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/tyler-o-neil/2020/09/23/the-almighty-gavin-newsom-orders-new-gas-powered-cars-banned-by-2035-n959775
- https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/california-governor-gavin-newsom-bans-174438751.html
Bilbies reintroduced to Sturt National Park in NSW – “trained” to fear cats & foxes – next to reintroduce to Mallee Cliffs National Park which is now “predator free” for bilbies and other native species
- https://phys.org/news/2020-09-landmark-bilbies-sturt-national-nsw.html
- https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/accelerating-evolution-greater-bilbies-will-be-trained-to-fear-cats-20200923-p55yhb.html
- https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/mallee-cliffs-park-is-now-feral-predator-free-with-zero-feral-cats-and-foxes/
Mulgara – related to Tasmanian Devil – reintroduced to Sturt National Park more than a century after being declared extinct in New South Wales
The Critical Zone - Physical structure & chemical composition of soil reflects lasting influence of humans – the influence of plants, microbes & lithology
- https://eos.org/science-updates/soil-signals-tell-of-landscape-disturbances
- https://eos.org/science-updates/life-teems-below-the-surface
- https://eos.org/agu-news/next-steps-for-the-critical-zone
- https://eos.org/features/critical-zone-science-comes-of-age
Fires are charring the Pantanal – vast floodplain in South America
Residents threatened by California wildfire choose marijuana crops over personal safety
USDA releases Final EIS for Alaska Roadless Rule
- https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2020/09/24/us-department-agriculture-releases-final-environmental-impact
- Project site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54511
Humans ignite almost every wildfire that threatens homes – made worse by forest mismanagement
- https://theconversation.com/humans-ignite-almost-every-wildfire-that-threatens-homes-145997
- https://theconversation.com/climate-change-and-forest-management-have-both-fueled-todays-epic-western-wildfires-146247
Captivity in zoos & aquariums leads to brain damage in large mammals
Horseshoe Lake dam replacement project will cost estimated $10M
3 new environmental documentaries: “Kiss the Ground” “America’s Public Lands” “Life on our Planet”
UNECE wants nuclear energy included in “sustainability” debate
Nevada Supreme Court ruled against reshuffling water rights to fix environmental issues
Perspective: “Environmental Justice” starts by providing more water for everyone in California
Florida residents concerned about health effects of burning of sugar cane fields
- https://www.miamiherald.com/article245726380.html
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-sugar-harvest-sends-fields-110000379.html
Researcher fired from teaching for telling truth – polar bear populations are stable or thriving despite “global warming” – “cancel culture” strikes academic freedom
- https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/20/susan-crockford-fired-after-finding-polar-bears-th/
Can better planning reduce urban heat island effects?
- https://commercialobserver.com/2020/09/how-climate-data-can-inform-better-urban-design-report/
- https://newyork.uli.org/resources/urban-design-climate-workshop-gowanus-brooklyn/
- Report:https://ulidigitalmarketing.blob.core.windows.net/ulidcnc/sites/54/2020/09/5f5bc22d59be9-5f5bc22d59beaULI-NY-Gowanus-UDCW-Report-Final-spreads.pdf.pdf
CORONAVIRUS
Coronavirus COVID-19 statistics by country (click on USA to get state statistics)
- https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
- https://time.com/5800901/coronavirus-map/
- interactive maps: https://geodacenter.github.io/covid/map.html
Approximately 30% of virus death toll due primarily to other conditions in July & August
Collateral deaths – 202,000 to 263,000 excess deaths through late August in the US exceed those deaths confirmed or presumed to have died of or with the virus
- https://www.sciencealert.com/2020-has-killed-up-to-200-000-extra-people-in-the-us-so-far
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/death-toll-from-covid-19-pandemic-extends-far-beyond-virus-victims/ar-BB19cFWX
No measurable reduction in atmospheric CO2 detected by TCCON – nitrogen dioxide reductions noted
- https://phys.org/news/2020-09-coronavirus-induced-carbon-dioxide-emission-reductions.html
- https://phys.org/news/2020-09-air-pollution-post-covid-world.html
Once again talking about herd immunity
Opioid & tobacco additions means more likely to die
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/substance-abuse-linked-to-covid-19-susceptibility-study/ar-BB19rUff
- https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-exacerbates-fractured-opioid-addiction-treatment-framework/story
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-020-00880-7
Politics over the virus & regarding potential vaccine
The first vaccine or the best? Hoping the vaccine is more effective & specific than rapid tests
How & when will we know if vaccine is safe & effective?
- https://theconversation.com/how-and-when-will-we-know-that-a-covid-19-vaccine-is-safe-and-effective-146091
- https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/937412
- https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/health/covid-19-vaccine-trial-astrazeneca-nih-fda-kaiser/index.html
- https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/coronavirus-vaccine-makers-see-eu-shield-against-side-effect-claims-2020-09-22
Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 28 September 2020 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Anticipating electrification of offshore O&G platforms on the UK continental shelf
• https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Electrification-Of-UK-Offshore-Oil-Gas.html
US Gulf of Mexico oil & gas production resumed following Hurricane Sally
Report on Offshore Containers (shipping containers industry – details forecast trends & threats
Ferry runs aground on Finnish island – 200+ passengers, 80 crew, no casualties
US DOI proposing regulation for oil producers to decommission abandoned offshore wells
• https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-seeks-stricter-funding-rules-183009971.html
•https://www.haynesboone.com//media/files/energy_bankruptcy_reports/oil_patch_bankruptcy_monitor.ashx
Massive bait balls have drawn sharks to waters off Waikiki
• https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/09/18/sharks-spotted-near-shore-kaimana-beachfour-straight-days/
Maine lottery for entry into scallop harvest
• https://www.wabi.tv/2020/09/16/maine-to-hold-a-lottery-for-entry-into-scallop-harvest/
Extensive damage to Pensacola Bay Bridge now being documented
• http://www.northescambia.com/2020/09/pensacola-bay-bridge-barge-damage-worse-thanfirst-thought
On Pensacola Bay, the force of Hurricane Sally pushed massive barges ashore & into yards
Florida F&W seized 109 undersized lobsters and jailed 3 for illegal catch
• https://www.yahoo.com/news/keys-boat-captain-2-crew-213904698.html
Estimated $7.4B for restoration in the Everglades focus on water quality
• https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article245830475.html
Perspective: Education & research are key to tsunami hazard preparation
US Army COE seeking comments on environmental effects of $2B Mississippi River levee work
• https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_0eecaa54-fcef-11ea-948d0b2c2d09acfe.html
• Draft SEIS II: https://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/
Concrete work platforms for nearshore wind park in Ijsselmeer Lake in the Netherlands
• https://renewablesnow.com/news/first-concrete-work-platforms-on-the-way-to-dutchnearshore-wind-project-714471/
Updates: Turkey trying to impose claim on Eastern Mediterranean – violating EEZ of Cyprus
• https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/09/19/geopolitics-of-the-eastern-mediterranean/
Perspective: Commitments arising from invocation of international law - delimitations of EEZ & continental shelf
International Criminal Court addresses China encroachment on Filipino fishermen in EEZ
• https://opinion.inquirer.net/133860/what-the-code-of-conduct-shouldnt-be
Loss of terrain for seagrass means potential loss of protection & biodiversity on Caribbean Islands
• https://phys.org/news/2020-09-caribbean-islands-loss-biodiversity-seagrass.html
“The Cove” proposal to develop Piers 30-32 in San Francisco – “Bermuda Triangle of waterfront development”
• https://www.archpaper.com/2020/09/heatherwick-studio-reveals-details-the-cove-proposal/
California endangered whales being killed by ships – “Whale Safe” may protect them
• https://www.newsweek.com/ai-whale-california-shipping-system-1532611
Marine food webs recover quickly when hurricanes temporarily halt fishing
Questions remain on why H Laura blew out windows of 22-story tower in Lake Charles – “swiss cheese”
Port Houston officials say widening of shipping channel is “necessary”
• https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-houston-bigger-ships-need-wider-channel
City of Havre de Grace, Maryland, to create “living shoreline” – estimated project cost $2.5M
Tonga Geological Service has no working offshore dredge - sand mining on beaches to meet construction demands
• https://matangitonga.to/2020/09/26/sand-miners-hit-best-beaches
Hurricane force wind & high wave warning issued for Gulf of Alaska
“Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense.” - Carl Sagan
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