Tag: Climate

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Why Is the Sea So Hot?

3/21/2024 - By Elizabeth Kolbert. In early 2023, climate scientists—and anyone else paying attention to the data—started to notice something strange. At the beginning of March, sea-surface temperatures began to rise. By April, they’d set a new record: the average temperature at the surface of the world’s oceans, excluding those at the… SEE MORE

Climate Change Affects Different U.S. West Coast Fishing Fleets Unequally

3/20/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Climate change is hitting fishermen hard. But it's not hitting all those who depend on the sea for their livelihood the same way. A new NOAA Fisheries study examined how climate change might affect commercial fishing fleets on the U.S. West Coast. The findings were published recently in the journal PLoS… SEE MORE

North Atlantic right whale Pediddle (#1012) and calf. This species was hunted nearly to extinction by commercial whalers in the 1800s, and continues to face threats from vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Whales and Carbon Sequestration: Can Whales Store Carbon?

3/18/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. The ocean captures about 31 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, removing carbon from the atmosphere that would otherwise continue to trap heat and increase temperatures. Blue carbon, or carbon captured by ocean ecosystems includes: Carbon absorbed by aquatic plants, algae, and phytoplankton Carbon stored in the bodies of living animals… SEE MORE

The land between lagoon and beach in Funafuti, Tuvalu. The highest point on Tuvalu is 4.6 metres above sea level. With five millimetres per year of regional sea level rise (above the global average), the small nation could be inundated within a century. Credit: Mario Tama / Getty Images

Rising Sea Levels Increase Threat Of Arsenic In Drinking Water

3/17/2024 - By Kendra Pierre-Louis. (Bloomberg) —Rising seas due to climate change could exacerbate the threat of arsenic in drinking water, according to a study published in PLOS ONE in January. Researchers focused on arsenic in well water in Bangladesh, where up to 97% of the population relies on such water for drinking. Arsenic occurs naturally… SEE MORE

https://wwmt.com/news/local/ice-on-the-great-lakes-sets-record-low-for-mid-february

Great Lakes Ice Reaches Historic Low

3/10/2024 - By nesdis.noaa.gov. For the second consecutive year, ice cover on the Great Lakes remains significantly below average for this time of year, which typically sees the peak of ice cover at levels around 53 percent. As of February 11, total ice coverage across all lakes measured a mere 2.7 percent.… SEE MORE

Sunset on a road with frozen lake in front. Image from Canva.com

Vernal Equinox Oddities: Lots to Learn about the First Day of Spring

3/4/2024 - By Bob Berman at Almanac.com. March Equinox Fun Facts On this March equinox, does the Sun rise due east and set due west? Are day and night of equal duration? Some of these answers are quite contrary to common wisdom. Bob Berman brings the fun facts to celebrate the first day of spring!… SEE MORE

Unprecedented Shipping Disruptions Reshaping Global Trade, UN Report Warns

3/2/2024 - By Mike Schuler. The recent attacks on Red Sea shipping coupled with existing geopolitical and climate-related challenges are reshaping global trade routes with the potential for major economic and environmental implications. This is according to a new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), titled “Navigating… SEE MORE

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The Coast of Maine Gets Back to Business

2/29/2024 - By Paul Molyneaux. Putting the coast of Maine back together will take know-how and patience. After two back-to-back, record-breaking storms in Maine, there may not be any getting back to normal. According to a webinar offered by the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine, normal is over. The Gulf of Maine has risen 7.5… SEE MORE

NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center | Credit: NASA

NASA Climate Satellite Blasts off to Survey Oceans and Atmosphere of a Warming Earth

2/26/2024 - By Jonathan Watts. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s newest climate satellite rocketed into orbit Thursday to survey the world’s oceans and atmosphere in never-before-seen detail. SpaceX launched the Pace satellite on its $948 million mission before dawn, with the Falcon rocket heading south over the Atlantic to achieve a… SEE MORE

Atlantic Ocean Circulation Nearing ‘Devastating’ Tipping Point, Study Finds

2/25/2024 - By Jonathan Watts. The circulation of the Atlantic Ocean is heading towards a tipping point that is “bad news for the climate system and humanity”, a study has found. The scientists behind the research said they were shocked at the forecast speed of collapse once the point is reached, although… SEE MORE