By HANNAH LANDERS A group of K-12 teachers stepped off a skiff onto the southern tip of Tybee Island on Tuesday morning. Slathered in sunblock and carrying large plastic buckets, they weaved through lounging beachgoers and shouting children, sifting sand… Read More ›
Year: 2014
Florida Shorelines Named Critical Habitat for Loggerheads
On Wednesday, hundreds of miles of shoreline were designated as critical habitat to protect endangered loggerhead sea turtles. BY MONICA DISARE MDISARE@MIAMIHERALD.COM The federal government extended substantial protection to loggerhead sea turtles on Wednesday, designating hundreds of miles of… Read More ›
Chesapeake Bay & Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Predictions
Excerpt from the Baltimore Sun “Scientists are predicting that the Chesapeake Bay’s oxygen-starved “dead zone” will be slightly larger than average this summer. Using computer modeling underwritten by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, researchers forecast that by next month,… Read More ›
Zero Drone Tolerance at National Marine Sanctuary
A Statement from the MBNMS Superintendent June 23, 2014 The use of unmanned aircraft systems, also known as aerial drones or quadcopters, has markedly increased in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) during the past year. It is important for… Read More ›
New Plastisphere Research Discovery
We know that Australia’s waters contain lots of tiny pieces of plastic, and that these pieces can harm many marine species. But in new research published today we show that these microplastics are also home to marine life, some of… Read More ›
Underwater Gliders For Ocean Research
After tests about 40 miles offshore Galveston, Texas A&M oceanographers declared two new Slocum gliders ready to deploy in the Gulf of Mexico. A team of scientists and technicians from the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG), Department of Oceanography,… Read More ›
Acidification & Low-Oxygen Threatens Lowcountry Shellfish
That’s not a dire prediction linked to climate change. It’s already starting to happen as the ocean gets more acidic. And for the Lowcountry, ocean acidification might not even be the real threat. It might be what scientists call the one-two punch of acidification and low oxygen in the estuaries, the nursery for the shellfish we eat – shrimp, oysters, clams.
Legislation Introduced to Ban Use of Plastic Microbeads in Cosmetics
Jun 18, 2014 Issues: Environment WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) introduced legislation, the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2014, that would prohibit the sale or distribution of personal care products that contain synthetic plastic microbeads. These small… Read More ›
Sea Stars Dying from Warming Waters?
ORCAS ISLAND, Wash. — Drew Harvell peers into the nooks and crannies along the rocky shoreline of Eastsound on Orcas Island. Purple and orange starfish clutch the rocks, as if hanging on for dear life. “It’s a lot worse than… Read More ›
The Complexities of Ocean-Healing Conversation
(From Smithsonian Magazine / by Nancy Knowlton) – For European colonists, the oyster reefs of the Chesapeake Bay made ship navigation hazardous. Not for long, however. Overharvesting, pollution and disease took a heavy toll, reducing numbers to less than… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 