WaterWired

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 12 April 2021

Elaine informs me that today is National Licorice Day! Who knew?

But it is also the 60th anniversary of the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's historic flight - the first human in space. Read about it here.. 

 

Gagarin later (1968) died when his MiG-15 fighter jet crashed, but he had his day in the sun in 1961.

Here is his Vostok spacecraft.

Also on this date in 1861 Confederate troops under General P.G.T. Beauregard bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Union troops surrendered the next day. The Civil War had started. 

Enjoy!

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Here are Elaine's BBs as a PDF and a Word document:

Word: Download Bulletin_Boards_12April2021

PDF: Download Bulletin_Boards_12April2021

Note: If a link does not work, try pasting the URL into your browser. 

Check out Elaine's coronavirus/COVID-19 section in the Environmental Science Bulletin Board.

Geoscience Bulletin Board – 12 April – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

April brings meteor showers, a supermoon & planets visible in the night sky

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/how-to-see-meteor-showers-a-supermoon-and-the-planets-in-april/ar-BB1cvLVu

Third stream of lava issuing from fissure on Mount Fagradalsfjall to Geldingadalir Valley in Iceland

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-iceland-volcano-unleashes-lava-stream.html

Global warming alarmists once again decrying the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere – “halfway to doubled CO2 [is] not of any physical significance” - have warmed since end of last Ice Age – humans contribute 0.0016% of CO2 in the atmosphere

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/carbon-dioxide-spikes-to-critical-record-halfway-to-doubling-preindustrial-levels/ar-BB1fktCA
• https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-how-the-rise-and-fall-of-co2-levels-influenced-the-ice-ages

Improved understanding of San Andreas Fault activity in Southern California

• https://www.sjsu.edu/transform/spartan-spotlight/kim-blisniuk.php
• Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/13/eaaz5691

Every day is “Geologists Day” – Hutton, Lehmann, Steno, Mary Horner Lyell, Gutenberg, et al.

• https://www.ibtimes.com/geologists-day-2021-7-geologists-you-may-want-know-about-3173616

Private well owners urged to test water quality – bedrock may contribute naturally occurring elements

• https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Press-Room/Press-Releases---2021/Private-Well-Owners-Urged-to-Test-Water-Quality--New-Report-Shows-High-Arsenic-Uranium-in-Some-Wells
• USGS OFR 2020-1111: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2020/1111/ofr20201111.pdf

Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross Mountains) Geopark in Poland awarded UNESCO status

• https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/swietokrzyskie-geopark-with-rock-formations-datingback-400-million-years-awarded-unesco-status-21034

Geology is not always a precise science

• https://www.chilkatvalleynews.com/story/2021/04/01/news/why-dont-geologists-give-straight-answers/14723.html

In Memoriam:  Mark Joseph Davis (1960-2021) – Geologist & Fellow with American Ceramic Society

• https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/thetimes-tribune/name/mark-davis-obituary?pid=198240168

In Memoriam:  Edmund “Ross” Sawtelle (1930-2021) – International petroleum geologist

• https://www.pressherald.com/2021/04/06/obituaryedmund-ross-sawtelle-2/

Phosphate is abundant in Florida – phosphate wastewater reservoir on verge of collapse

• https://www.winknews.com/2021/04/06/what-is-phosphate-and-why-does-so-much-of-it-come-from-florida/
• https://www.winknews.com/2021/04/05/live-news-conference-on-water-reservoir-emergency-in-manatee-county/

Interacting geological processes can cause complex cascades that pose hazards to humans who turn them into disasters by their actions

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00738-9

Increased glaciation in North Patagonian Andes influenced tectonic dynamics over past 7 million years

• https://eos.org/research-spotlights/past-climate-change-affected-mountain-building-in-the-andes

Volcanic eruption forecasting may be improved by examining EQ mechanisms & clustering

• https://eos.org/editor-highlights/relating-seismicity-and-volcano-eruptions
• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020JB021294

Calibration of Mid to Late Jurassic Polarity Time Scale using multi-scale marine magnetic anomaly data in the Pacific

• https://eos.org/editor-highlights/probing-the-age-of-the-oldest-ocean-crust-in-the-pacific

Thundersnow spotted near southern Texas

• https://eos.org/articles/rare-wintertime-thunderstorms-recorded-over-the-u-s-gulf-coast

Dendrochronology from oak trees provide continuous climate record for Central Europe

• https://eos.org/articles/oak-trees-offer-a-continuous-climate-record-for-central-europe

Rethinking oceanic overturning and exchanges of water between North Atlantic & Nordic Seas

• https://eos.org/science-updates/rethinking-oceanic-overturning-in-the-nordic-seas

Apparent increasing stability of the pycnocline – part of extremely complex oceanic interactions

• https://theconversation.com/the-ocean-is-becoming-more-stable-heres-why-that-might-not-be-a-good-thing-157911

Tectonics, weathering and erosion & climate are all inter-related

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-mountain-growth-greenhouse-effect.html

5,000+ tons of extra-terrestrial dust fall to Earth each year

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-tons-extraterrestrial-fall-earth-year.html

SW US, including Colorado River Basin, will be subject of more frequent hydroclimatic events

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-colorado-river-basin-due-frequent.html

Record precipitation over China resulted from combined influence of air masses from 3 oceans

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-combined-oceans-record-breaking-rainfall-china.html

Arctic seafloor data project will use new distributed acoustic sensing interrogator system

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-sandia-embarks-arctic-seafloor-underwater.html

Early indicators of magma viscosity could facilitate forecasting eruption style

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-early-indicators-magma-viscosity-volcano.html

Speed of sliding glacier in SW Greenland related to water pressure changes at base of the ice

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-glacial-river-reveals-greenland-ice.html
• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020GL091418

Fossiomanus sinensis & Jueconodon cheni – two related species of Early Cretaceous herbivorous mammaliamorphs in China

• http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/fossiomanus-sinensis-jueconodon-cheni-09534.html

Rare Earth mining plays role in political voting in Greenland

• https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Rare_earth_mine_takes_centre_stage_in_Greenland_vote_999.html

ROV Jason sampling hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of the East Pacific Rise (long video)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Z2gWmoCz0&list=PLRAEfgEPSLx-rIzZ-gvoNLj2o7X3YhFoX

La Soufriere volcano on St. Vincent Island erupts

• https://weather.com/news/news/2021-04-09-volcano-st-vincent-la-soufriere

Sauropods swallowed gastroliths and then transported them long distances

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/rocks-made-1-000-mile-190327975.html
• Thesis: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=geogstudent

Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 12 April – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

Mountain lion P-78 died after being struck by vehicle in California – necropsy indicated 5 anticoagulant rodenticides in his system including 3 second-generation anticoagulants

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/editorial-when-will-mountain-lions-in-los-angeles-county-stop-being-killed-by-cars-and-rat-poison/ar-BB1fi1is

Plastics are causing infertility in humans – “Count Down:  How Our Modern World is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development & Imperiling the Future of the Human Race”

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/how-plastics-are-making-us-infertile-and-could-even-lead-to-human-extinction/ar-BB1fi3Ve

Developing disaster-resilient food bank supply chains for disaster-response in Houston, Texas

• https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2021/04/02/vanderbilt-civil-engineer-to-design-tech-driven-decision-making-and-disaster-response-tools-for-houston-area-food-banks/

ATX toxin from algae blooms can become airborne

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/a-dangerous-toxin-from-pond-scum-can-go-airborne-study-finds/ar-BB1fk9PT
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/meet-very-fast-death-factor-the-algal-toxin-scientists-are-finding-in-our-air/ar-BB1flygV
• Paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10402381.2021.1881191

Aetokthonos hydrillicola - Cyanobacteria that grows on invasive Hydrilla verticillate identified as cause of bald eagle deaths

• https://earther.gizmodo.com/mysterious-bald-eagle-killer-finally-identified-1846553172
• Paper: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6536/eaax9050

82% of dead bald & golden eagles have anti-coagulant rodenticides (ARs) in their system

• https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Survey_finds_82_of_dead_eagles_with_rat_poison_in_their_systems_999.html
• Paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246134

Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases stem from human exploitation of and impingement upon the natural environment – Nipah, SARS, MERS, Ebola, Lyme, HIV…

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-huge-hole-in-biden-s-pandemic-prevention-plan/ar-BB1fknNP

So-called “flushable” or “septic safe” wipes should NOT be flushed

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/are-so-called-flushable-wet-wipes-actually-safe-to-flush/ar-BB1fkwV2

Concept & detailed plans for future Compact Advance Tokamak (CAT) “compact nuclear fusion plant”

• https://www.ga.com/us-researchers-design-compact-fusion-power-plant
• Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1741-4326/abe4af

Technological hazard:  mass surveillance with facial recognition technology

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/facial-recognition-tech-is-supporting-mass-surveillance-it-s-time-for-a-ban-say-privacy-campaigners/ar-BB1flBOR

Belgium seized 27.64 tons of cocaine being trafficked by criminals using encrypted phone network

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nearly-28-tons-of-cocaine-seized-after-police-access-encrypted-network/ar-BB1fm0EF

Keystone XL pipeline permit cancelled but now Enbridge pipeline under Lake Michigan being touted as crucial infrastructure

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/enbridge-to-biden-lake-michigan-pipeline-tunnel-fits-u-s-plans/ar-BB1flMjp

Will endangered trout return to concrete corridor that is the Los Angeles River? Multi-billion $ proposal

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/endangered-trout-may-soon-return-to-the-concrete-los-angeles-river/ar-BB1fktom

Buying into the “global warming caused by CO2” mythology – Paris Accord targets not feasible

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/virtually-impossible-australian-scientists-sound-124426815.html
• AUS Report: https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/science-policy-and-analysis/reports-and-publications/risks-australia-three-degrees-c-warmer-world

Largest sugar maple tree is being taken down – more than 240 years old

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/safety-concerns-bring-down-largest-212425410.html

More cities assess stormwater fees to pay for flooding, erosion, water quality & repairs

• https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2021/04/02/increasing-rain-aging-infrastructure-lead-growing-number-of-municipalities-to-adopt-stormwater-fees/

New frameworks for conservation on working rangelands

• https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/releases/?cid=NRCSEPRD1762446
• Rangeland Analysis Platform App: https://rangelands.app/

Hope the Easter Bunny brought you dark chocolate (not milk chocolate) because it is good for your health

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/one-surprising-effect-of-eating-chocolate-new-study-says/ar-BB1fkgli
• https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.116.005162

PG&E faces new criminal charges for 2019 California wildfire

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/pg-e-faces-new-criminal-charges-for-2019-california-wildfire/ar-BB1fmGEa

A moor frog has turned blue for first time in 700 years amid calls for reintroduction to Britain

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/frog-turns-blue-first-time-122121125.html

Irreplaceable 1,000-year-old Native American petroglyphs vandalized in Chattahoochee National Forest

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/irreplaceable-1-000-year-old-native-american-rock-carvings-vandalized-in-georgia-s-chattahoochee-national-forest/ar-BB1foqEG

Ubiquitous carcinogenic TCE (trichloroethylene) may be cause of increasing rates of Parkinson’s Disease

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/rates-parkinson-disease-exploding-common-130442198.html

Interacting geological processes can cause complex cascades that pose hazards to humans who turn them into disasters by their presence & actions

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00738-9

California needs to openly acknowledge that it is STILL in drought – precipitation at 50% of average

• https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/546778-third-driest-year-reported-in-california
• Snowpack report: https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2021/April-21/Statewide-Snowpack-Well-Below-Normal-as-Wet-Season-Winds-Down

Advances (?) in wind energy – bigger blades & taller towers take more precious resources but still only generate about 8.4% of US electricity demand

• https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/6-advances-in-wind-energy
• https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php

Is it wise – or even feasible – to artificially cool Earth by “geoengineering” the atmosphere?

• https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00869-4
• NASEM Report: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00822-5
• Link to download report: https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/developing-a-research-agenda-and-research-governance-approaches-for-climate-intervention-strategies-that-reflect-sunlight-to-cool-earth#sectionPublications

Removing dingoes as the apex predator has impacted vegetation in accord with trophic cascade theory

• https://eos.org/articles/a-reminder-of-a-deserts-past-before-dingo-removal

Visualizing the futility of the Paris Accord

• https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-paris-agreement-is-the-worlds-climate-action-plan-on-track/

How do humans fix something?  They try to fix problems by adding stuff which does not work

• https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/04/the-takeaway-is-that-we-dont-tend-to-take-things-away/
• Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03380-y

Microbes found deep underground on 3 continents have been in evolutionary stasis for millions of years

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210408131423.htm

Socio-economic impacts of HABs (harmful algal blooms) in the US

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210407143759.htm

Lake Uru Uru in Bolivia is “made of plastic” – years of human garbage accumulation

• https://finance.yahoo.com/news/made-plastic-cleaning-bolivias-uru-151849955.html

Superior Judge halts Tejon Ranch development of 19,300 houses citing wildfire risks & GHG emissions

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/citing-high-wildfire-risk-judge-halts-construction-of-massive-tejon-ranch-development/ar-BB1fru9E

Draft Inventory of US GHG Emissions & Sinks 2021

• https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2021-02/documents/us-ghg-inventory-2021-main-text.pdf
• Perspective: https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2021/02/04/u-s-rejoins-paris-agreement/

5 possible future scenarios – not optimistic

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/long-range-forecast-future-world-110032606.html
• NIC Report: https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/GlobalTrends_2040.pdf

Volcanic eruptions in 536-537 darkened the skies & triggered Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) – caution:  news report contains obvious factual errors

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/skies-went-dark-historians-pinpoint-164031658.html

Endangered flowering Tiehm’s buckwheat may stop proposed lithium mine in Nevada

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/old-documents-fuel-latest-bid-040623676.html

Drought conditions and anticipating wildfire season in the Western US

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/drought-plagued-california-and-western-u-s-may-see-another-devastating-fire-season/ar-BB1fvIeU

4 myths behind the carbon tax

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/co2-tax-support-is-based-in-myth-taxing-essential-energy-harms-more-than-it-helps/ar-BB1fvsCb

CORONAVIRUS

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

• https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
• https://time.com/5800901/coronavirus-map/
• interactive map s: https://geodacenter.github.io/covid/map.html
• CDC Weekly Tracker: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/

Virus impacts highlight obesity that makes the health consequences worse

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/we-must-escape-the-covid-obesity-trap/ar-BB1fi3Ht

246 “fully vaccinated” Michigan residents diagnosed with virus – 11 hospitalized & 3 died

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/246-vaccinated-residents-diagnosed-covid-040100831.html

At least several thousand breakthrough infections since February

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cdc-ramps-up-scrutiny-of-rare-post-vaccination-breakthrough-infections/ar-BB1fubGl

“we can stay ahead of the virus” is just wishful thinking and wanton hubris

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/covid-mutants-multiply-as-scientists-race-to-decode-variations/ar-BB1fjqRf

Cannot legally mandate “emergency use” vaccines

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/doctor-rejects-4th-wave-claims-says-us-ahead-of-much-milder-covid-19/ar-BB1fkewG

CDC finally puts an end to “hygiene theater” – such protocols are not necessary as risk is low

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/end-the-hygiene-theater-cdc-says-173440864.html
• Guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html

Clear link between AZ vaccine and potentially deadly blood clots in the brain

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/clear-between-astrazeneca-vaccine-rare-115707510.html
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/possible-side-effects-of-astrazeneca-vaccine-come-into-sharper-focus/ar-BB1fmh4V

South African variant can break through vaccine

• https://www.timesofisrael.com/real-world-israeli-data-shows-south-african-variant-better-at-bypassing-vaccine/

Vaccination program in Mexico has some success but many problems and inconsistencies

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mexico-s-vaccine-campaign-faces-problems-successes/ar-BB1fmEaT

Latest crisis:  a shortage of individual serving packages of ketchup

• https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/ketchup-packet-shortage-2021

Wallowing in mixed messages from “experts”

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/cdcs-messaging-problem-highlights-pandemics-213150819.html

Fiasco in Europe – vaccine shortages, rising cases, AZ vaccine, deaths from blood clots, lock downs

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/europes-covid-19-vaccine-fiasco-continues-090013030.html

“Pandemic treaty” must follow acknowledging mistakes of the current plandemic

• https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00866-7

PPE litter is polluting the environment & killing wildlife

• https://www.treehugger.com/scientists-document-how-ppe-is-harming-wildlife-5121110
• Paper: https://brill.com/view/journals/ab/aop/article-10.1163-15707563-bja10052/article-10.1163-15707563-bja10052.xml
• Report: https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FINAL-Ocean-Conservancy-PPE-Report-March-2021.pdf

Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 12 April – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

Coastal Habitat & Protection Webinar scheduled for 19 April

• https://www.coastalreview.org/2021/03/coastal-habitat-protection-webinar-april-19/

• Registration: https://web.cvent.com/event/33405678-8f68-4bab-8555-65486e27bd38/regProcessStep1

Mozambique government reclaimed coastal town of Palma from terrorist insurgents

• https://www.voanews.com/africa/mozambiques-government-regains-control-key-coastal-town

Louisiana F&W accepting applications for Wetland Education Teacher Workshop 2021

•https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/communities/ascension/article_e1b86a94-91a6-11eb-8a3a-9bc47d5b015e.html

• WETshop: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?action=pagebuilder&pageID=forteachers

Maerl bed habitats found in northeast Atlantic & now in Fal Estuary near Cornwall, England

• https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/homepage/title_851452_en.html

• Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eva.13219

Updates on Piney Point phosphate plant waste reservoir threat to Tampa Bay – safe to go home?

Wastewater being pumped into Tampa Bay to reduce risk of reservoir failure but could impact local sea life & waterway

• https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2021/04/06/piney-point-threatens-tampa-bay-but-other-flestuaries-are-in-trouble-too/

• https://news.sky.com/story/hundreds-allowed-home-after-toxic-flash-flood-fears-at-formerphosphate-plant-site-12268345

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-officials-pumping-leaking-piney-211936974.html

Ghost forests along East Coast are result of land subsidence (not sea level rise) and salt water intrusion due to humans over-pumping fresh groundwater

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/sea-level-rise-killing-trees-122907917.html

Collaborative effort recovers marine fishing debris from coastal waters – 3,000+ crab pots

• https://www.coastalreview.org/2021/04/lost-fishing-gear-recovery-project-complete/

• https://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_a2ed7a4e-96e6-11eb-89ec-73ac00b2945a.html

Differences between coastal and inland wine regions

• https://www.winemag.com/2021/04/06/coastal-inland-wine-difference/

Beaufort, North Carolina, installs permeable paving to reduce stormwater runoff

• https://www.coastalreview.org/2021/04/towns-advance-water-quality-projects/

Law enforcement agencies in large coastal county ramping up UAVs to improve safety

• https://www.chinookobserver.com/news/local/sky-eyes-coastal-police-embracedrones/article_6c4e826c-96fa-11eb-8389-b3c810653681.html

Benefits of Louisiana coastal restoration to soil carbon sequestration

• https://phys.org/news/2021-04-paper-benefits-louisiana-coastal-soil.html

• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020JG005832

Perspective: Everglades restoration will not fix water quality in Caloosahatchee Estuary

• https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2021/04/04/everglades-report-focuses-waterquality-issues/7058820002/

Ribble Estuary & Morecambe Bay under consideration as future marine national parks

• https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/environment/ribble-estuary-and-morecambe-bayhighlighted-as-possible-future-marine-national-parks-by-conservation-charity-3191912

WWII shipwreck unearthed in River Exe estuary

• https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/ww2-shipwreck-unearthed-river-exe-5245320

Lee County accepts Innovative Technologies Grant from Florida DEP for water quality & treatment research project

• https://www.fox4now.com/news/protecting-paradise/lee-commissioners-accept-180-000-grant-for-water-quality-and-treatment-research

Freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee impacting oyster beds & seagrass in St. Lucie Estuary

• https://www.wflx.com/2021/03/31/freshwater-discharges-impacting-oyster-beds-seagrass/

• https://www.wptv.com/news/protecting-paradise/u-s-rep-brian-mast-calls-on-army-corps-topermanently-end-lake-okeechobee-discharges

Too many humans tromping in Roberts Bank Wildlife Management Area disrupting habitat & wildlife

• https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-delta-in-danger-the-beleaguered-ecologicalhot-spot-on-vancouvers/

Residents resisting free connection to sewer system in Indian River County, Florida

• https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/2021/04/06/sebastian-homeowners-offered-4-150-sewerconnection-free/7097112002/

Perspective: Connecting sugar industry use of glyphosate & impacts on manatees is a “distraction”

• https://floridapolitics.com/archives/417168-glyphosate/

Perspective: Can Congress actually help protect manatees?

• https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/guest-commentary/os-op-manatee-conservationflorida-wildlife-federation-20210405-xcddrp2p4zfnvkcl2ky34c7ndy-story.html

Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant in Singapore treats seawater & freshwater

• https://source.asce.org/singapores-newest-desalination-facility-treats-seawater-andfreshwater/

Steep decline in giant sea turtle populations off US Pacific Coast

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/steep-decline-giant-sea-turtles-153910073.html

$6.3M hurricane repair project to begin at Biscayne National Park

• https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2021/04/63-million-hurricane-repair-project-begin-lateapril-biscayne-national-park

Regional habitat differences identified along Atlantic Coast for populations of threatened Piping Plovers

• https://www.usgs.gov/news/regional-habitat-differences-identified-threatened-piping-ploversatlantic-coast

• Paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.3418

4 dead gray whales have washed ashore in San Francisco Bay area

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/4-gray-whales-found-dead-233415228.html

"The Earth is mostly just a boneyard. But pretty in the sunlight." - Larry McMurtry

CRS Report: 'The National Science Foundation: An Overview'

Laurie A. Harris penned this CRS report (9 April 2021): ''The National Science Foundation: An Overview'. 

Very informative!

I have posted a relatively large umber of graphics - click on them to enlarge them.

Download CRS_Report_NSF_Overview_9April2021

Summary
The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports basic research and education in the non-medical sciences and engineering. Congress established the foundation as an independent federal agency through the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 to “promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes.” The NSF is a major source of federal support for U.S. university research, especially in such areas as the social sciences, mathematics, and computer science. It is also responsible for substantial shares of the federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education program portfolio and federal STEM student aid and support.

The NSF is an independent federal agency. Although governed by the congressional and administration budget and oversight processes, NSF’s independent status has provided it with greater institutional autonomy than some other federal agencies. Some analysts assert that this autonomy protects NSF’s scientific mission. It may also be perceived as existing in tension with other public values, such as accountability. The tension between independence and accountability is an enduring policy theme for the NSF. It is reflected in historical debates over the agency’s authorization period and the role of Congress in topics such as grant-making and research prioritization.

NSF leadership and staff include highly trained scientists and engineers from a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In FY2020, NSF had a total workforce of over 2,000 at its headquarters in Alexandria, VA, including over 175 rotators—temporary staff from the research community who work at NSF for two to four years. NSF is governed jointly by the NSF director and the 24-person National Science Board (NSB). The director oversees the day-to-day activities of NSF, including staff and management, program creation and administration, grant-making and merit review, planning, budget, and operations. The NSB establishes agency policies, identifies issues critical to NSF’s future, approves the agency’s strategic budget direction, approves annual budget submissions to the Office of Management and Budget, and approves new major programs and awards. The board also serves as an independent body of advisors to Congress and the President.

NSF has seven directorates that support science and engineering research and education; directorates are organized mainly by academic discipline. NSF directorates are further divided into divisions—typically with between four and six divisions or offices per directorate—that manage programs. In addition to these seven directorates, two offices administer NSF-wide programs: the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) and the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA). Among various cross-directorate and agency-wide investments, two areas of particular focus at NSF and interest to Congress have been artificial intelligence (AI) and the agency’s “Big Ideas,” which the agency describes as bold inquiries into the frontiers of science and engineering that endeavor to break down the silos of conventional scientific research to embrace cross-disciplinary and dynamic research.

After the Department of Health and Human Services, NSF is the largest source of federal funding for basic research, and the top source of federal funding for basic research in the fields of computer sciences and mathematics, environmental sciences, and social sciences. NSF does not conduct research in-house; rather, the agency provides research funding to outside entities (i.e., extramural research). In FY2020, NSF distributed 74% of its obligations for research and education funding via grants, 21% via cooperative agreements, and 5% via contracts.

Approximately 80% of NSF research and education funds are typically awarded to colleges, universities, and academic consortia. The remainder goes to private industry (about 13%), federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs, about 3%), and other recipients (about 4%). In addition to research grants, NSF provides funding for the construction, operations, and maintenance of research facilities and equipment. In FY2020, NSF issued approximately 12,200 new competitive awards to almost 1,900 colleges, universities, and other institutions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 U.S. territories. In FY2021, NSF received $8.49 billion in appropriations. Of this amount, 81.4% supported the research and related activities account (RRA, $6.9 billion), 11.4% supported the education and human resources account (EHR, $968 million), and 2.8% supported major research equipment and facilities construction (MREFC, $241 million), with the remainder supporting administrative and related activities. After adjusting for inflation, NSF funding has seen slight increases in FY2020 and FY2021, after remaining relatively flat between FY2010 and FY2019.

The vast majority of NSF funding is awarded through a competitive, merit-based review process. This process involves three phases and at least five kinds of scrutiny for proposals, including an initial assessment for completeness, peer review by external subject matter experts who evaluate proposals according to two broad criteria (intellectual merit and broader impacts), program officer review, division director review, and a final assessment of the business, financial, and policy implications. Annually, NSF receives over 50,000 proposals for research, education, and training projects. In FY2020, NSF’s funding of 12,200 awards represented an overall success rate of 28% for competitively reviewed proposals. About 29,000 individuals participated in the merit review process as panelists and proposal reviewers in FY2019.

Very good report.

I got my first NSF grant in 1977, after writing my first NSF proposal in 1976. It was all downhill after that. I haven't written an NSF proposal since the early 2000s.  

I do recall getting caught up in the 'what to do with hydrology proposals' in the late 1970s. NSF was not kind to those of us with multi- or interdisciplinary hydrologic research. Neither the engineers nor geologists knew what to do with us and there was a perception among some that NSF just wanted the water people to 'go away'. All that changed in the early 1980s when NSF developed a hydrologic sciences program in the Division of Earth Sciences.  

Enjoy and good luck; an NSF grant is 'good money'.

"Chemistry is physics without thought; mathematics is physics without purpose." - Unknown (probably a physicist)