Category: Coastal News

Even with practically no breeze, the Marblehead High School Sailing Team had a spirited race. Photo by Dave Kinney.

Why Mariners Use Knots Instead of Miles Per Hour

1/10/2022 - Why does a mariner (and, for that matter, an airplane pilot) measure their boat’s speed in knots, rather than miles per hour or kilometers per hour? The answer goes back to the 17th century and remains true today. The nautical mile has two origins The answer as to why mariners measure… SEE MORE

Knots

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snow_Plow_(10442280564).jpg

Safety 101: Prepare Your Car for a Winter Storm

1/7/2022 - By Jaclyn Diaz. It was the stuff of drivers' nightmares. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine called it "dystopian." This week, motorists were stuck in freezing temperatures – some for more than 20 hours — along a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia. Heavy snow fell Monday, causing several vehicles to… SEE MORE

Sailing in the J-22s. The MBHH team plots strategy between races. Photo by Ann-e Blanchard

Boating 101: A Quick Guide to Boat Operator Licensing

1/6/2022 - By OceanGrafix. Now that it’s the off season for a lot of boaters, it may be a good time to review boat operator licensing requirements and make sure you’re up to date. For recreational boaters in particular, the big issue in the eyes of the United States Coast Guard (USCG)… SEE MORE

California Adopts Water Restrictions as Drought Drags On

1/5/2022 - By Kathleen Ronayne. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — For the second time in a decade, Californians will face mandatory restrictions governing their outdoor water use as the state endures another drought and voluntary conservation efforts have fallen short. The rules adopted Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board are fairly… SEE MORE

Gulf Coast, F Panhandle - Image by Andra Jones from Pixabay

Florida Panhandle Gets Snow Dusting

1/4/2022 - SHALIMAR, Fla. (AP) — Parts of the Florida Panhandle got a dusting of snow early Monday after temperatures dropped dramatically from the previous day when the thermometer was at typical beach weather. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office posted video a deputy captured on patrol showing falling snowflakes bathed in the… SEE MORE

Extension of Right Whale Slow Zone East of Ocean City, MD – Effective Through 01/15

1/3/2022 - On December 31, 2021, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's acoustic array redetected the presence of right whales East of Ocean City, MD. The right whale Acoustic SLOW Zone is in effect immediately and expires on January 15, 2022. As a reminder, on… SEE MORE

Overwash of Cape Lookout National Seashore by large storm waves, North Carolina.

NOAA Study Assesses Vulnerability of Coastal Habitats to Climate Change in the NE

1/3/2022 - NOAA Fisheries and partners assessed the vulnerability of marine, estuarine, and riverine habitats in the Northeast United States to climate change. The findings were recently published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. We found salt marshes, shellfish reefs, deep-sea corals, seagrasses, kelp, and intertidal habitats to be among the most vulnerable. The… SEE MORE

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/12/31/stellers-sea-eagle-draws-hundreds-to-small-fishing-village/

Birders Cap Off 2021 with Sighting of Steller’s Sea Eagle in Maine

1/2/2022 - By Deirdre Fleming. GEORGETOWN - As Chris Sayers picked up his tripod from the pier at Five Islands Harbor to head back to Boston on Friday morning, the bird biologist said goodbye to Maine Audubon naturalist Doug Hitchcox and asked if the Audubon chapter was having a New Year’s Eve… SEE MORE

Steller's Sea Eagle

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1128/december-2019-the-next-full-moon-is-the-cold-moon/

Meteor Showers, Eclipses, Full Moons: All of the Reasons to Look Up in 2022

1/1/2022 - By Ashley Strickland. Total lunar eclipses, a multitude of meteor showers and supermoons will light up the sky in 2022. The new year is sure to be a sky-gazer's delight with plenty of celestial events on the calendar. There is always a good chance that the International Space Station is flying… SEE MORE

North Atlantic Hurricanes More Frequent Amid Warming

12/30/2021 - By Andrea Januta. Climate scientists have long debated whether the North Atlantic has experienced more frequent hurricanes over the last century, given uncertainties in the reliability of historical data. But new research suggests the increase is real. "As you go back in time, the observations become more and more sparse,"… SEE MORE