Category: Environment

Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal is About to Go Big

10/24/2024 - By Ramin Skibba. Following its Singaporean pilot project, carbon sequestration start-up Equatic aims to build a massive plant in Quebec. Cutting carbon emissions is not enough to keep global warming to less than 1.5 °C—the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Not anymore, at least. Unless the transition… SEE MORE

Migrating Seabirds Are Bringing Forever Chemicals into the Arctic

10/23/2024 - By William von Herff. New research shows how toxic chemicals hitch a ride with seabirds flying from southern latitudes to the Arctic. Between March and May each year, 15 million black-legged kittiwakes gather from across the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to nest and breed on rocky Arctic cliffs—some making the journey… SEE MORE

In the Gateway to the Arctic, Fat, Ice and Polar Bears are Crucial. All Three are in Trouble

10/21/2024 - By Seth Borenstein. Searching for polar bears where the Churchill River dumps into Canada’s massive Hudson Bay, biologist Geoff York scans a region that’s on a low fat, low ice diet because of climate change. And it’s getting lower on polar bears. There are now about 600 polar bears in the… SEE MORE

Outer Fall built by John's Bay Boat Company

Boat of the Month: Outer Fall

10/20/2024 - By Paul Molyneaux The first time I ever saw Jimmy Tripp was in late 1982. Jimmy had his boat, the Day Star, loaded with big wooden Anderson traps and was heading offshore. It was snowing and the flakes vanished in the water of Spruce Head harbor. Tripp had his head sticking out… SEE MORE

The removal of four large dams from the Klamath River allows salmon to again reach about 400 miles of their original habitat that had been blocked for many decades. Photo courtesy Jason Hartwick/Swiftwater Films

Final Step in Klamath River Dam Removal Opens Path for Returning Salmon

10/10/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. NOAA Fisheries led coordination efforts to protect water quality. Heavy equipment removed the final obstacle separating the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. The reconnected river was turbid but remained safe for fish after crews took steps to avoid erosion and impacts to water quality. “These… SEE MORE

Extreme rain causes culvert washout at Walker Brook in Becket, Massachusetts. (Image credit: Photo courtesy Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration.)

Update to U.S. Precipitation Frequency Standards Now Accounts for Climate Trends

10/3/2024 - By noaa.gov. NOAA seeks stakeholder feedback on Precipitation Atlas 15 pilot data before expanding nationwide. A key scientific NOAA resource on extreme precipitation that is widely used by floodplain managers, city planners, civil engineers, developers and communities across the nation will soon include climate trend data. NOAA’s Precipitation Frequency Atlas of… SEE MORE

The Skinny on Slinky Pots

9/27/2024 - By Paul Molyneaux. Ezekiel Brown started working on a Cordova, Alaska salmon seiner when he was 13 and now owns his own boat, the Lucid Dream, a 58-foot seiner. He fishes salmon in season and, in the spring and summer, sets 150 slinky pots for black cod. “They work great,” Brown… SEE MORE

Do Marine Animals Need Wildlife Bridges, Too?

9/18/2024 - By Jack McGovan. Human infrastructure can hinder the mobility of marine animals. The ocean feels infinite. If you were to start swimming from shore, it’s easy to believe—fitness and oxygen aside—you could continue forever. That’s a far different experience to overland travel, where mountains, rivers, and six-lane highways buzzing with… SEE MORE

For the First Time, Part of the Ocean Has Been Granted Legal Personhood

9/17/2024 - By Isabella Kaminiski. By affording rights to its iconic waves, a Brazilian city is paving a new path to marine protection. The Brazilian city of Linhares has legally recognized its waves as living beings, marking the first known time part of the ocean has been granted legal personhood. In early… SEE MORE

The Big Baltic Bomb Cleanup

9/16/2024 - By Paul Hockenos. The ocean became a dumping ground for weapons after Allied forces defeated the Nazis. Now a team of robots and divers are making the Baltic Sea safer. Aboard the Alkor, a 55-meter oceanographic vessel anchored in the Baltic Sea several kilometers from the German port city of Kiel,… SEE MORE