May is American Wetlands Month!
Also: JAWRA Seeks New Editor-in-Chief - Apply: Open Until Filled. bit.ly/3yisCfK
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Here are Elaine's BBs as PDF and Word documents:
PDF: Download EJH_Bulletin_Boards_WW_9May2022
Word: Download EJH_Bulletin_Boards_WW_9May2022
Note: If a link does not work, try pasting the URL into your browser.
The articles displayed herein are selected by Dr. Elaine J. Hanford. I do not necessarily agree with the viewpoints expressed and the article descriptions that precede each link.
Geoscience Bulletin Board – 9 May 2022 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
3 University of Oklahoma meteorology students died in car crash returning from storm chase
“Bathtubs” may catch mudslides in Glenwood Canyon along I-70 in Colorado
Loss of lichens that help hold soil crusts together may increase wind erosion
Improving fault-slip simulations & 3D dynamic modeling of earthquakes & aseismic slip
- https://eos.org/research-spotlights/earthquake-modelers-unite-to-compare-and-improve-code
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JB023519?af=R
Dendrochronology & ice cores narrow down potential dates for Thera volcanic eruption
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/951455
- Link to paper: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac048/6575909
Geophysical insights into the composition and structure of Earth
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220502142132.htm
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL096336
Garth Brooks concert in Louisiana registered as an earthquake
British geologist faces death penalty in Iraq for smuggling pottery shards
Rapid global climate change in ice-capped world about 304 myo – CO2 doubled from 350 to 700 ppm possibly from volcanic eruptions – no humans involved
- https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/carbon-climate-change-and-ocean-anoxia-ancient-icehouse-world
- Paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2115231119
Book Review: Weird But True! Know-It-All Rocks & Minerals”
Kekerengu Fault in New Zealand has roughly 375-year rupture recurrence interval
- https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/128443741/dates-calculated-for-past-kekerengu-fault-ruptures-could-help-identify-previous-multifault-earthquakes
- Paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00288306.2022.2059766
New high-resolution topographic map reveals complex geological history of Yellowstone
- https://www.gim-international.com/content/news/new-elevation-map-reveals-yellowstone-s-complex-geologic-history
- https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/yellowstone-exposed-new-elevation-map-reveals-parks-complex-geologic-history
EPA recommends US Army COE decline to reissue key permit for proposed PolyMet Cu-Ni mine
PERiLS (Propagation, Evolution & Rotation in Linear Storms) will research tornadoes in SE US
Growing databases of isotopic data in the ocean
Oceanic biological carbon pump still poorly understood
- https://eos.org/articles/the-ocean-is-still-sucking-up-carbon-maybe-more-than-we-think
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28842-3
3D models to forecast rock tower frequencies & seismic impacts
The view from inside a tornado
Kilauea now erupting a steady stream of lava
Impact of landslides on glacial melt and movement
Using portable Raman spectrometer to classify rocks according to particle size
Framework for forecasting snowpack contribution to flood risk during winter storms
- https://phys.org/news/2022-05-framework-contribution-snowpack-winter-storms.html
- Paper: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)00510-7
Electrical conductivity & density in the crust reflect plate tectonic processes in crust & mantle
- https://phys.org/news/2022-05-earth-interior-electrical-density-crust.html
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL096336
Lizards, snakes and other squamates diverged during Mid to Late Jurassic epochs before Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution
- http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/squamate-macroevolutionary-history-10769.html
- Paper: https://elifesciences.org/articles/66511
“Greek salad” of hydrothermal microbes
Genomics of sponges in coral reefs provide insight into symbiotic evolution
New tool to assess lahar hazards on Mount Rainier
- https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/usgs-offers-emergency-managers-new-tool-assess-lahar-hazards-mount-rainier
- OFR 2021-1118: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1118/ofr20211118.pdf
Vikings abandoned Greenland not because of cold during Little Ice Age but because of drought
- https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=305004&org=GEO&from=news
- Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm4346
Online portal for forecasting large convective storms in West Africa
- https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_portal_improves_forecasts_of_devastating_storms_in_West_Africa_999.html
- Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac536d/pdf
The Blue Whale – endangered giant of the sea revealed by whaling records
- https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Chasing_the_blue_whale_999.html
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-09570-6
Yet another significant dust storm in Iraq
NASA simulation suggests flood basal eruptions may warm climate & devastate ozone layer
Extinction of large dinosaurs 66 myo changed plant evolution
- https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Dinosaur_extinction_changed_plant_evolution_999.html
- Paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.2633
September 2021 Claxton Bay landslide in Trinidad
Podokesaurus holyokensis – mid-Jurassic “cute little guy” is now official state dinosaur of Massachusetts – received 60% of votes in public poll
LiDAR provides more accurate 3D images of topography to aid in landslide delineation in North Carolina
First the Big Bang, then the “Big Crunch” – a cycle in the existence of the Universe - cyclic cosmology
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/universe-may-collapse-in-a-big-crunch-sooner-then-we-thought-physicists-say/ar-AAWWxsj
- Paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2200539119#sec-3
- Hindu cycles and Vedic age of Universe: https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~goyal/age_of_universe.php
- Conformal Cyclic Cosmology Model: https://mhshighlife.com/2020/12/21/the-indefinite-cycle-of-the-universe/
Perspective: Recognizing the “hot model” problem of climate simulations – the problem is projecting
Seismic activity on the island of São Jorge in the Azores reveals “trend toward stabilization”
The potential “golden spike” of the Anthropocene – is a formal geological definition really needed?
Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 9 May 2022 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Texas revolt against giant new highways
984-foot-tall Abeno Haruka is now tallest skyscraper in Japan – vertical garden city
Arizona DEQ issued aquifer protection plan permit for proposed Pinyon Plain uranium mine about 10 miles south of Grand Canyon in Kaibab National Forest
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/arizona-approves-key-environmental-permit-004941170.html
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/conservation-groups-contest-discharge-permit-193233009.html
During severe drought not all Southern California neighborhoods equally restricted in water use
More than 300 employees at CDC have been vaxxed against covid
Wasteful government spending significantly increases National Debt
- https://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/15714/20220427/report-reveals-biden-administration-s-wasteful-spending-including-funding-chinese-researchers.htm
- Report: https://senlankford.app.box.com/s/xw4l1l51sj7n8k3kuhst93b9j0lr1si2
Required E15 gas will increase price per gallon by 15 cents – but Biden said it would lower price
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/two-days-left-to-pump-less-expensive-gas-prices-scheduled-to-soar-here-s-why/ar-AAWLody
- https://kmph.com/news/nation-world/explainer-why-president-joe-biden-is-allowing-more-ethanol-in-gasoline-russia-ukraine-war-high-fuel-prices-environmental-protection-agency-emergency-waiver
$118M American Flat Project near Reno, NV to treat water before releasing it to replenish aquifer
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/reno-city-council-moves-forward-with-water-purification-facility/ar-AAWLE4i
- Project: https://tmwa.com/project/american-flat-project-information/
Glen Canyon Dam losing ability to generate hydroelectric power
MIT develops portable desalination unit that uses electric currents to remove salts
San Luis Obispo County to immediately halt all new water-using development, including housing
New study predicts “unprecedented” 5X increase in people falling from US Border Wall – but they deliberately try to illegally enter the US – their bad decisions cost San Diego health care $13M
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/border-wall-falls-increasing-at-unprecedented-level-study-says/ar-AAWLdKQ
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-s-taller-wall-is-killing-migrants/ar-AAWSELe
- Study: https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2022-04-29-study-unprecedented-increase-in-number-of-border-wall-falls-and-trauma.aspx
Tuberculosis outbreak in State of Washington – largest cluster of cases in 20 years
Almost 5 million bees die in extreme heat on tarmac in Atlanta, Georgia
Number of babies born with syphilis surging over the decade – rate in Hispanics increased more than 200%
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/babies-die-as-congenital-syphilis-continues-a-decade-long-surge/ar-AAWNZQ0
- CDC data for Hispanics: https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/healthdisparities/hispanics.html
Wedgewood, Florida, home to clay & sand pits turned into unlined landfills that spontaneously erupted in fires, along with heavy traffic and high cancer & heart disease death rates – Escambia County has 7 Superfund sites & 56 Brownfield sites overlying contaminated groundwater
Greyhound racing may soon end in the US – only two tracks will remain at the end of the year
Sacrifice our veterans to provide benefits for illegal aliens at the Southern Border
US Census Bureau changing the definition of urban area
Acetaminophen - most dangerous OTC drug in Tylenol and a whole host of other OTC products – acute liver failure from large dose or repeated doses or mixed with other drugs or alcohol
- https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/popular-med-most-dangerous-otc-130202501.html
- https://www.drugwatch.com/tylenol/
6-story residential/commercial building collapses in Wangcheng District in China – several still trapped or missing – owners detained
Veteran rattlesnake handler dies after being bitten during a show in Texas Rattlesnake Roundup
Highly food-conditioned harem stallion from Assateague Island relocated to Texas sanctuary
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/aggressive-wild-horse-named-chip-160504583.html
- Black Beauty Ranch: https://www.humanesociety.org/blackbeautyranch
California claims to have become 100% powered by “renewable” energy sources for brief moment
Arizona trying to cope with water demand that exceeds water supply
Perspective: Why are US National Parks are filled with plastic?
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/why-are-american-national-parks-filled-with-plastic/ar-AAWRYdd
Former Krejci toxic dump site is part of 200-acre addition to Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Failed GoTriangle light rail project in North Carolina cost $157M
EIR completed for 90-mile segment of California High-Speed Rail from San Jose to Merced
It is about time - Los Angeles, California, is beginning to change how it uses water
Book Review: “The Geography of Wisconsin”
Wild boar terrorizing Rome
San Franciso $160M supportive housing program for homeless is plagued with crime, violence, drug overdoses, rat infestations & unsanitary living conditions
With supply greatly exceeding demand, Denmark to dispose of vaccines ready to expire
Pfizer accused of profiteering from vaccines & Paxlovid – reduces viral load but does not cure patient and when rebound occurs patient told to take more drug even though under EUA drug is not authorized for use longer than 5 consecutive days – FDA contradicts advice
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/pfizer-accused-of-covid-profiteering-as-first-quarter-sales-hit-26bn/ar-AAWS9M1
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/pfizer-says-patients-who-relapse-after-covid-pill-can-repeat/ar-AAWSWOt
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/pfizer-s-advice-on-retaking-covid-drug-contradicted-by-fda/ar-AAWVluW
Madras High Court in India ruled that Mother Nature has same legal status as a human being
Construction begun on 8.9MS floating solar installation at New Jersey American Water Canoe Brook Wastewater Treatment Plant
“Resilient” water portfolio design in California
- https://eos.org/research-spotlights/assessing-water-infrastructure-investments-in-california
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021EF002573
Visualizing the potential phase out of coal for energy production
Visualizing the most produced cash crops in Africa
Western river compacts – viewed within current drought and increasing population demand
Hot drinks cause plastic cups to shed trillions of nano-plastic particles that impact your body
- https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2022/04/nist-study-shows-everyday-plastic-products-release-trillions-microscopic
- https://www.treehugger.com/microplastics-in-humans-5202993
Impacts of 4 million visitors on Acadia National Park
Animals exhibit a spectrum of strategies to survive in the cold
- https://phys.org/news/2022-05-cold-survival-strategies-animals-spectrum-either-or.html
- Paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0050
Benefits of ecological flood control measures
- https://phys.org/news/2022-05-reduction-confers-multiple-benefits.html
- Paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.778568/full
WHO warns of consequences of obesity epidemic in Europe
Do we really computer-designed repurposing of chemical waste to create more drugs?
- https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/05/turning-waste-into-gold-drugs/
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04503-9
Plastic recycling rate drops below 6% in the US – plastic waste exports plummeted
Ranking states on improvements in lives of senior citizens – Nevada is the worst
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/study-shows-nevada-ranks-51st-in-life-improvement-for-seniors-over-last-decade/ar-AAWTPf4
- Report: https://www.seniorly.com/resource-center/health-and-lifestyle/states-with-the-most-improved-outlook-for-older-adults
Young Bison that had escaped and wandered free since November is killed when hit by vehicle – had been shot in the head and was malnourished
The human trophic level - since the Pleistocene humans have been apex predators
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/humans-were-actually-apex-predators-for-2-million-years-evidence-shows/ar-AAWWgGR
- Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.24247
We need to protect national sovereignty and security of all American citizens under the law – how to deal with 11 million illegal immigrants?
Has the “Great Green Wall” project in Africa achieved more than a modicum of success?
Health risks of exposure to PFAS forever chemicals – liver disease as well as low birth weight, cancer & immune dysfunction
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/healthy-people-risk-liver-disease-145957804.html
- Paper: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP10092
Devil’s Hole pupfish is not yet extinct
Sioux Falls breaks ground on $215M expansion of wastewater reclamation plant
FEMA again certifies Metro East levees in Missouri to withstand 100-year- level flood
GAO assesses National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program benefits to communities
GAF Energy creates solar shingles that can be directly nailed to the roof – design life of 25 years
Plastic recycling does not work and never will – generating 287 pounds of plastic per person per year – rate of recycling reached peak of 14% and continues to decline – now less than 6%
COVID by the numbers – assuming all US covid deaths were due to the virus
Texas legally used Coronavirus Relief Fund monies to protect US citizens through Operation Lone Star to enforce the Southern Border
Analysis tallied more than 2,200 high-hazard dams across the US – most are in SE US states
Following construction site fatality, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, pauses all projects to conduct safety reviews
California anticipating power brown outs over upcoming summer due to shortages and threats from drought and wildfires and extreme heat increasing air conditioning demand – but what about all that “green” renewable energy?
- https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/california-prepares-energy-shortfalls-hot-214114597.html
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-says-needs-more-power-194133420.html
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-100-percent-powered-renewables-232255938.html
Recognizing significant impacts of 22-year megadrought on Colorado River – but Californians still water their lawns thinking they put water “into Lake Mead”
More and more deaths occurring in those who were vaxxed & boostered
Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 9 May 2022 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Alabama Shipyard at Mobile was essentially dormant for many decades
Caribbean beaches along coast of Mexico may see “alarming” levels of sargassum
Port of Long Beach drives golden spikes to celebrate rail lines intended to increase efficiency & reduce pollution and congestion – project cost $34.7M part of $1B rail capital improvement program
Coos Bay, Oregon, container terminal revitalization proposed as new infrastructure mega-project
Long Beach Municipal Urban Stormwater Treatment Project intended to reduce flow of untreated stormwater runoff into Los Angeles River, San Pedro Bay & Pacific Ocean – first phase budget $44M
- https://stormwater.wef.org/2022/04/long-beach-stormwater-project-promises-protection-for-la-river/
- LB-MUST: https://longbeach.gov/pw/projects/lbmust/
Sea grass accumulates sucrose – a large reservoir of stored organic carbon
- http://www.natureasia.com/en/research/highlight/14063
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01740-z
Land subsidence and rise can impact coastal flooding under potential scenarios
A potential increase in floating offshore wind by 2030 to 6.1% – current contribution is only 0.1%
Towns along mid coast of Maine considering moratoriums on building private piers
Qatar Coastal Defense System – 2 missile systems
Coastal cities are sinking faster than sea level is rising due to excess groundwater withdrawal
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coastal-cities-are-drinking-themselves-underwater1/
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2022GL098477
New species of salamander discovered in Gulf Coastal Plain of SE Mississippi & SW Alabama
California considering “blue carbon” to mitigate effects of coastal developments
California Condors once again soar over coastal redwoods – 2 captive-bred birds released
Celebrating National Travel & Tourism Week in Corpus Christi, Texas
US Dept Interior Office of Natural Resources Revenue to disburse $252M to offshore Gulf O&G producing states – AL, LA, MS & TX – to support coastal conservation, restoration, resilience
Future of aquaculture hinges on research & education
Coastal aquaculture may reduce nutrient transport & alter hydrodynamics
US Army COE launches coastal resilience study for the Great Lakes (GLCRS)
- https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/04/army-corps-launching-8-state-great-lakes-coastal-resilience-study.html
- GLCRS: https://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/Missions/GLCRS/
Public role in securing coastal access under California Coastal Act
Cruise ship returns to Schneider Dock in Eureka, California
Supply chain at existing ports could be improved by more efficient use of existing infrastructure
EPA announced $40M to help restore Chesapeake Bay
Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana is US largest cypress swamp – protects critical coast
Seagrass meadow “lungs of the Mediterranean” are at risk
500,000 barrels of DDT and acid sludge dumped into ocean near Catalina Island from 1947-1961 – a ticking time bomb environmental disaster
Lack of policy enforcement has allowed illegal construction in protected ecological reserves in Puerto Rico – 3,600 mangrove trees cut in Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Dolphin, sharks, catfish and redfish tangled in illegally-placed gill net off coast of Texas
USDA to invest $22.5M in water quality improvements & conservation in Chesapeake Bay watershed
Panama City Beach approved $21M grant to construct offshore stormwater outfall about 1,500 feet into the Gulf of Mexico across from Lullwater Lake
Collapse of steel frame scaffold injures 3 construction workers at Port of Long Beach
6 missiles hit coastal city of Odesa in Ukraine
Invasive species are significant threat to coastal estuaries in California
Town of Avila on northern San Luis Obispo Bay offers excellent whale watching & other recreation
Residents of South Shore & Cape Cod worried they will not be notified prior to dumping of radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay by Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station
Best coastal towns in Georgia – I can attest to the beauty of Tybee Island
Homebuyers fail to factor potential sea level rise risk into home prices
- https://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20220506-homebuyers-coastal-florida-are-not-factoring-sea-level-rise-risk-home
- Research Note: https://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20220316-sea-level-rise-and-impact-home-prices-coastal-florida
Coastal areas are focus of conservation efforts since passage of Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972
Historic settlement site at Jamestown, Virginia, is now endangered
Air conditioner leaks of Freon at Sandals Emerald Bay Resort result in deaths of vacationers
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/american-killed-by-sandals-air-con-leak-was-celebrating-anniversary/ar-AAX1VQs
- Freon banned in the US: https://www.callaqm.com/blog/freon-refrigerant-banned-us-2020/
“You are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights for there is not sufficient water to supply the land.” - John Wesley Powell, 1893
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