Water-MDPI, Volume 16, Issue 8 (April-2 2024) 122 Articles bit.ly/4aS3GMl
Enjoy!
All entries below are selected and compiled by Elaine J. Hanford, except for the quote at the bottom.
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Geoscience Bulletin Board – 29 April 2024 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Record of regional climate in hydrothermal deposits in Yellowstone
Warning of further volcanic activity at Sundhnúkur in Iceland where magma may soon breach the surface – noted increased pressure & ground uplift
Landslides triggered by intense rainfall in Jiangwan, Guangdong, China
Oldest undisputed evidence of magnetic field of Earth in 3.7 byo sequence of iron-bearing rocks in Isua, Greenland, record magnetic field strength
- https://scitechdaily.com/3-7-billion-years-old-oldest-undisputed-evidence-of-earths-magnetic-field-uncovered-in-greenland/
- https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/earths-magnetic-field-formed-before-the-planets-core-study-suggests
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023JB027706
Possible point of origin of Golconda diamonds, including the Hope Diamond
Computer simulations of supercell thunderstorm that produced deadly baseball-sized hailstones in Girona in northwest Spain in 2022 – of course it is blamed on “man-made global warming”
- https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/weather/massive-heat-wave-and-a-supercell-thunderstorm-caused-deadly-baseball-sized-hailstones-to-rain-down-on-spain
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL107632
East Asian monsoon transports short-lived ozone-depleting organic chlorine substances to the upper atmosphere
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1042287
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-airborne-asian-monsoon-ozone-depleting.html
Relationship between carbon cycle & climate influenced by volcanism & seafloor spreading during Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO) between 17 and 14 myo
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-marine-carbon-tectonic-degassing-miocene.html
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095927323009386
Dozens of strong aftershocks of Taiwan earthquake
Potential for airborne interferometric radar altimeter measurements of sub-mesoscale sea surface height anomalies
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-airborne-interferometric-radar-altimeter-potential.html
- Paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/8/1359
CloudSat ends mission after nearly two decades of using W-band radar to study clouds
Fluctuations in the geomagnetic field during magnetic field excursions and complete reversals
Venezuela closes illegal Bulla Loca open-pit gold mine
- https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Venezuela_expels_10000_from_illegal_gold_mine_now_closed_999.html
Saharan dust clouds carried into Greece and sandstorm hits east Libya
Groundwater pumping in Central Valley of California – groundwater level and storage declines, land subsidence, changes to streamflow, degradation of water quality – approximately 158 cubic kilometers of storage loss including 15% of permanent total storage loss
- https://www.usgs.gov/publications/groundwater-sustainability-and-land-subsidence-californias-central-valley
- Paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/8/1189
Seabed maps of quadrangle 5 of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary offshore of Massachusetts
- https://www.usgs.gov/maps/seabed-maps-showing-topography-ruggedness-backscatter-intensity-sediment-mobility-and-0
- Pamphlet: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3515/sim3515_pamphlet.pdf
- Links to maps: https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sim3515
Geologic framework & hydro-stratigraphy of Edwards & Trinity aquifers in Andera & Kendall Counties, Texas
- https://www.usgs.gov/maps/geologic-framework-and-hydrostratigraphy-edwards-and-trinity-aquifers-within-parts-bandera-and
- Pamphlet: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3518/sim3518_pamphlet.pdf
- Map Sheet: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3518/sim3518.pdf
Toward improved modeling & prediction of arctic riverbank erosion
Evidence from 3+ byo Yangtze Block craton in China suggests crustal rejuvenation occurred globally as result of increased mantle temperatures
- https://eos.org/research-spotlights/mantle-heat-may-have-boosted-earths-crust-3-billion-years-ago
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL108715
Possible explanation for lack of renewed mega-slide activity on the Surveyor Fan in the Gulf of Alaska
- https://eos.org/research-spotlights/a-million-years-without-a-megaslide
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL108374
Five megathrust earthquakes may have led to demise of Teotihuacan
- https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/5-catastrophic-megathrust-earthquakes-led-to-the-demise-of-the-pre-aztec-city-of-teotihuacan-new-study-suggests
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X24001561
Bioluminescence evolved 540 myo in Octocorallia in depths of the ocean
- https://www.sciencealert.com/bioluminescence-evolved-in-the-abyss-540-million-years-ago-study-finds
- Paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.2626
Mine Water Energy Symposium held in Edinburgh addresses research on heat-flow modeling, biogeochemistry and social sciences
- https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/2024-mine-water-energy-symposium/
- Link to program: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/download/bgs-events-mine-water-energy-symposium-2024-programme/
Thyreosaurus atlasicus – Middle Jurassic stegosaur species from Morocco had dermal armor
- https://www.sci.news/paleontology/thyreosaurus-atlasicus-12878.html
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1342937X24000674
Vasuki indicus – new genus & species of giant madtsoiid snake from early Middle Eocene in India – reached estimated lengths of 36 to 49 feet
- https://www.sci.news/paleontology/vasuki-indicus-12873.html
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-58377-0
New geological province map of Greenland
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-geological-reveals-secrets-greenland-icy.html
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL107357
Mantle domain boundaries delineated by distinct geochemical signature
- https://news.arizona.edu/news/geologists-rewind-clock-reveal-secrets-about-earths-mysterious-mantle
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01326-6
Rockhounding in Montana
Impact of karst on diesel spill cleanup in Whiteford Township in Monroe County, Ohio
Will AI ever replace the wisdom and experience of a seasoned geologist?
Waterlogged volcano webcam is dried out and once again monitoring Kilauea
Humans took refuge in lava tube in Saudi Arabia for thousands of years
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1040773
- Paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299292
Comprehensive 3D geological model for high-grade B26 Polymetallic Deposit in Canada
Engineering & geological research completed for low-power nuclear power plant in Yakutia, Russia
Geopark Academy 2024 will explore unique geological terrain of the Burren in County Clare, Ireland
UNESCO has added 18 sites to list of Global Geoparks
Oldest blue glacial ice core from Antarctica is 6 myo from Allen Hills adjacent to Ross Ice Shelf – not a continuous record
New paradigm for studying landslide shapes & failure types
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-landslides.html
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46741-7
Factors that drive migration rates of meandering rivers – big surprise: global-scale trend based on sediment load
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-meandering-waterways-world.html
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X24001079
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Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 29 April 2024 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
“The Plasticene Era” – plastics pervade every corner of the Earth causing significant adverse impacts
US BLM releases new “Conservation & Landscape Health Rule” adding conservation list of priorities for managing roughly 245M acres of land in the American West
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/new-rule-will-change-the-way-the-federal-government-manages-245-million-acres-of-public-land/ar-AA1nsRaW
- https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/blm-public-lands-rule/
- https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOI/bulletins/351fb66
- Proposed Rule: https://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2023-03/Public%20Lands%20Proposed%20Rule%20-%20Conservation%20and%20Landscape%20Health%20-Final%20Clean%20Version%203-29-23.pdf
Construction to finally begin on $12B high-speed rail from LA to Las Vegas – when will it be done? Maybe by 2028 – already received $billions in subsidies from Biden administration & costs will likely escalate
“re-wiggling” rivers in the UK – returning streams to their natural state after humans have spent more than a century straightening, dredging & narrowing them for cultivation or development
California State Water Board adopts maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 ppb for hexavalent chromium in drinking water – Erin Brockovich says this threshold is insufficient – MCL fails the people of California
Climate models are woefully inadequate – missing 2.3 trillion tons of carbon in the soil yet being used to falsely justify the myth, mandates, and policies of net-zero
Revealing the Biden administration hypocrisy and application of unequal justice
Indigenous people rush to stop “false climate solutions” – call for permanent end to ‘carbon markets’
USDA published genetic data from avian flu virus samples – risk to humans is low – patient in Texas reported eye redness and is being treated with antiviral drug
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/usda-releases-genetic-data-of-bird-flu-after-criticism-from-scientists/ar-AA1nsMKd
- https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/usda-publishes-h5n1-influenza-virus-genetic
Investigation reveals who is responsible for massive deforestation on Borneo
Perspective: Call to stop criminal student behavior – drop ‘equity’ and bring back zero tolerance
Perspective: EVs are another failed net-zero policy – a Trojan horse for destruction of driving
Cascading human failures made Maui wildfire a massive disaster
- https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/19/24134274/infrastructure-planning-failures-maui-hawaii-wildfire-report
- Report: https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/146279/2023-Wildfire-After-Action-Report
Perspective: Rural water crisis is vital to health of the planet – but politicized & main stream media focus is still on mythological net-zero
Update: Mountain Valley Pipeline – awaiting federal approval to begin operations of $7.6B project – “want to run methane gas through their degraded pipes and shoddy work”
Evaluating safety & National Security implications of potentially expanding nuclear power – what to do with high-level nuclear waste?
Biden administration announces $7 Billion in subsidies for “Solar for All” program projects
More efficient methods of recovering and reusing copper, gold and other metals from semiconductor manufacturing process waste
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1041998
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894724010878
Such hubris! Suggesting that humans can “save” the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from melting
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-late-west-antarctic-ice-sheet.html
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47369-3
Estimating methane emissions from decommissioned O&G wells
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-emissions-potential-decommissioned-gas-wells.html
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969723083808
NWS & CDC release new online heat risk system – magenta is now the worst & deadliest of heat threat categories – whatever happened to common sense?
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-red-hot-isnt-tool-magenta.html
- CDC interactive site: https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/Applications/HeatRisk/
- NWS interactive stie: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/heatrisk/
Perspective: curbing consumerism is not a realistic nor effective way to achieve environmental “sustainability” – the elusive ‘circular economy’
Dangers of lead pollution from informal recycling of solar power batteries in Africa – lead-acid batteries are most damaging component of solar home systems
- https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Addressing_the_dangers_of_lead_pollution_from_solar_power_batteries_in_Africa_999.html
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261924005737
Fauci’s actions as head of Agency and during the pandemic should have landed him in jail - suppression of dissenting voices among medical professionals who disagreed with mainstream narratives
Visualizing the average lifespan of mammals
Visualizing nuclear energy producing countries
USF&W issues Final Environmental Assessment for Beaver Dam Notching at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana
- https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-04/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-issues-final-environmental-assessment-beaver-dam
- Final EA: https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-04/ea_final_rrl_beaverdamnotching_4_22_2024.pdf
National Wildlife Refuge System in Texas adds Columbia bottomlands on Gulf Coast, grasslands in Central Texas & coastal prairie lands in Rio Grande Valley
Al Gore desperately clinging to his infamy
Shigella (dysentery) – newly recognized as STI already includes antibiotic-resistant strains – 53% increase in antibiotic resistant Shigella in 2023
White House & Secretary of Education attacking successful private Christian Grand Canyon University – appears purely political – GCU serves 100,000+ students with affordable higher education
Military horses broke free and raced through London after being startled by construction noises – two in serious condition after being injured – thrown soldiers hospitalized with injuries
Tesla will cut 6,000+ jobs across California, Texas and New York – net income plummeted by 55% in 1st Qtr
Aging water mains in US & Canada will cost estimated $2.6B annually in maintenance & repairs and estimated $452B for replacement
- https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/article/2024/04/breaking-water-mains-present-us-canada-with-$452b-problem
- Report: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1681&context=water_rep
UN IAEA inspected Fukushima power plant to review treated radioactive wastewater discharge
EVs come with questions on reliability, costs & affordability, range limitations lack of infrastructure – but also adverse impacts on electricity grid and energy costs
Usually, it is a question of the economy or the environment – now it is both as markets plunge
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/dow-plunges-700-points-worst-day-in-14-months-as-disappointing-gdp-report-accelerates-stagflation-fears/ar-AA1nEuAg
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/oil-prices-pull-back-as-u-s-economic-growth-disappoints/ar-AA1nE6wN
Encina “pulling the plug” on proposed Point Township Circular Manufacturing Facility in Pennsylvania – will likely try to move ‘advanced recycling’ plant to another site
Why are they so surprised by this? Impacts of fishing by bottom trawling
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/scientists-uncover-neglected-ramifications-of-common-fishing-method-we-ve-never-thought-of-that/ar-BB1jJExp
- Paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1125137/full
Blaming climate change for drop in wind power production in Illinois while natural gas-generated electricity jumped by 43% in 2023 – does not explain drop in nuclear power production
New Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota will focus on environmental stewardship
Earthquakes do not kill people, bad buildings do -- or as Gilbert White concluded: natural events are acts of God, disasters are acts of man
Long-range transboundary airborne transport of radioactive iodine-129 from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants in India to Southern Tibetan Plateau
Perspective: The risks of solar engineering to “cool the planet”
This should be intuitive: the longer spilled oil lingers in fresh water, the more persistent compounds it produces
Clinging to the idea of “trades” to help solve environmental conflicts – energy trades on the Nile River as response to dispute over water resources
Potential for use of cellphone tracking data to assess human-wildlife interactions
- https://phys.org/news/2024-04-scientists-mobile-device-human-wildlife.html
- Paper: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-sustainability/fulltext/S2949-7906(24)00105-8
Another dumb tourist – got mauled by brown bear after rolling down car window to take a selfie
US DOE announces final transmission permitting reform rule (CITAP) & $331M in further energy subsidies
Closure of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York
Government policies and the environment – expensive cycles of whiplash and snapback without a thought to the impacts
Biden created this invasion of illegal aliens – people forcing their way into the US
NIH slammed for $241M tax-funded scheme to promote DEI scientists not always the best on merit – MSN removed story from its website
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13288523/Federal-national-institutes-health-tax-minority-scientist-DEI.html
- https://publination.co/federal-health-agency-under-fire-for-241-million-tax-scheme-making-dei-hires-a-priority/
Texas issued permits for discharge of treated oilfield wastewater into the Salt Creek tributary of Pecos River and other watersheds – other permits pending
Multiple criminal charges filed against man for killing nearly 18,000 young chinook salmon at Oregon fish hatchery – poured bleach into rearing tank
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/poacher-faces-potential-judgment-of-over-13-million-for-senseless-act/ar-AA1nJ4Xm
- https://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2024/04_Apr/042524.asp
Solar farms disrupt winds & cause erosion of agricultural soils
Train derailment & propane fire in McKinley County, New Mexico, forces evacuations & closure of I-40
Herds of endangered hippos trapped in mud of dried-up ponds in Botswana along Thamalakane River
Unlike some other states, California has not yet declared human rights to clean air, water & healthy environment
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Coastal Zone Managment Bulletin Board – 29 April 2024 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
FTA will award $316M to modernize passenger ferry services
Community beach clean-ups may be best approach for clearing plastic pollution
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https://phys.org/news/2024-04-community-beach-ups-high-tech.html
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Report Summary: https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/projects/legacy-plastics/
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Report: https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/legacy-plastics/legacy-plastics-policy-briefing.pdf
Thames Tideway Tunnel “Super Sewer” now fully built – not yet commissioned
NY canceled contracts for three offshore wind projects
Meanwhile, Biden administration still subsidizing & promoting offshore wind ‘opportunities’
“Catch the Rain” program in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Delaware & Pennsylvania
“Sunny day flooding” during high tides increases levels of fecal bacteria in coastal waters
Historical perspective on offshore oil resource extraction in the Republic of Congo
Suspended-sediment & turbidity modeling from marshes near Stone Harbor & Thompsons Beach, New Jerey
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USGS Data Report 1193: https://pubs.usgs.gov/dr/1193/dr1193.pdf
Report says EPA may have wasted $30M by failing to prevent spread of contaminants at former American Creosote Works wood treatment plant Superfund site in Pensacola, Florida
$20,000 reward for information leading to person(s) responsible for fatally shooting bottlenose dolphin found on West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana
Shoreline model predicts long-term storm protection & sea-level rise – coastal management practices to protect barrier islands can disrupt & degrade natural processes
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https://phys.org/news/2024-04-shoreline-term-future-storm-sea.html
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Paper part 1: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023EF003672
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Paper part 2: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023EF004200
Large offshore wind farms create internal & external “wake effects” that significantly reduces wind & energy potential
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https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-energy-offshore-farms.html
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https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-effect-offshore-farms.html
Offshore wind farms have far-reaching adverse impacts on air and water quality – Virginia offshore project
Cocaine emerging as contaminant of concern in Bay of Santos, São Paulo, Brazil – also in sediments & marine organisms throughout the coastal region accumulating since the 1930s – also PAHs & organochlorine compounds since 1940s when steel refineries were installed
Lawsuit filed against Biden administration & Dominion Energy to stop proposed Virginia offshore wind project – failed to properly assess cumulative impacts of wind farms on endangered North Atlantic right whales
With some passengers already onboard, Royal Caribbean Alaska cruise is cancelled due to propulsion issue
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"We cannot always build the future for our youth but we can build our youth for the future." - Franklin D. Roosevelt, quoted in @Architect_Today via @TheWeek
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