By Marcia GoodrichSeptember 7, 2010 12:23 PM September 2, 2010 — Something has been eating Charlie Kerfoot’s doughnut, and all fingers point to a European mollusk about the size of a fat lima bean. No one knew about the doughnut in southern Lake Michigan, much less the mollusk, until Michigan Technological University biologist W. […]
By Mike Lee, UNION-TRIBUNEFriday, September 3, 2010 at 10:03 a.m. Dead zones increased dramatically in U.S. waters over the past 50 years, threatening ecosystems and fisheries nationwide, according to a sweeping report Friday by the federal Office of Science and Technology Policy. The multiagency assessment said that incidents of hypoxia — a condition in which […]
By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment CorrespondentTue Aug 24, 2010 5:25pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Manhattan-sized plume of oil spewed deep into the Gulf of Mexico by BP’s broken Macondo well has been consumed by a newly discovered fast-eating species of microbes, scientists reported on Tuesday. The micro-organisms were apparently stimulated by the massive oil spill […]
(American Geophysical Union) A new simulation of oil and methane leaked into the Gulf of Mexico suggests that deep hypoxic zones or “dead zones” could form near the source of the pollution. The research investigates five scenarios of oil and methane plumes at different depths and incorporates an estimated rate of flow from the Deepwater […]
By KATIE ZEZIMAPublished: August 17, 2010 ORLEANS, Mass. — Rising nitrogen levels are suffocating the vegetation and marine life in saltwater ponds and estuaries on Cape Cod, creating an environmental and infrastructure problem that, if left unchecked, will threaten the shellfishing industry, the tourist economy and the beaches that lure so many summer visitors. More […]
SkyTruthWednesday, August 18, 2010 Scientists vehemently disagreed with the brief report issued by the federal government on August 4 that some interpreted as evidence that most of the oil spilled from BP’s Macondo well was … gone. Researchers at the University of Georgia issued their own report yesterday, claiming that nearly 80% of the oil […]
Climate change affects coastal currents that moderate ocean temperatures and the productivity of ecosystems. As such, it is believed to be a factor in the low-oxygen “dead zone” that has appeared along the coast of Washington and Oregon in recent years. In the maps above, blue indicates low-oxygen areas and purple shows areas that are […]
Provided by American Physiological SocietyAugust 5, 2010 Human impact is causing lower oxygen and higher carbon dioxide levels in coastal water bodies. Increased levels of carbon dioxide cause the water to become more acidic, having dramatic effects on the lifestyles of the wildlife that call these regions home. The problems are expected to worsen if […]
By Deborah Zabarenko; editing by Doina ChiacuMon Aug 2, 2010 1:36pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) – This year’s low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest ever, about the size of Massachusetts, and overlaps areas hit by oil from BP’s broken Macondo well, Louisiana scientists report. The area of hypoxia, […]
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSONPublished: July 29, 2010 HOUMA, La. — Loulan Pitre Sr. was born on the Gulf Coast in 1921, the son of an oysterman. Nearly all his life, he worked on the water, abiding by the widely shared faith that the resources of the Gulf of Mexico were limitless. As a young Marine staff […]
