This figure shows how average temperatures in the lower 48 states have changed since 1901. Surface data come from land-based weather stations, while satellite measurements cover the lower troposphere, which is the lowest level of the Earth’s atmosphere (see diagram on p. 20). “UAH” and “RSS” represent two different methods of analyzing the original satellite […]
By Glenn Smith, The Post and CourierSaturday, July 31, 2010 FOLLY BEACH — Tom Borum was trying to beat the heat with a cool dip in the Atlantic when –Zaappp!– a nasty little sting hit him right in the calf. Borum heard his fiancee cry out. Something zinged her beneath the waves as well, leaving […]
Data on wildland fires in the United States show that the number of acres burned per fire has increased since the 1980s. In the western United States, both the frequency of large wildfires and the length of the fire season have increased substantially in recent decades, due primarily to earlier spring snowmelt and higher spring […]
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2010) — Chemicals present in two rivers in southern Alberta are likely the cause of the feminization of fish say researchers at the University of Calgary who have published results of their study in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. “What is unique about our study is the huge geographical area we […]
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 […]
ABSTRACT — Climate change is expected to cause mass human migration, including immigration across international borders. This study quantitatively examines the linkages among variations in climate, agricultural yields, and people’s migration responses by using an instrumental variables approach. Our method allows us to identify the relationship between crop yields and migration without explicitly controlling for […]
Fingers crossed: it looks like the cap on BP’s Macondo well will hold until the relief well intercepts and permanently plugs it, and no more oil from this blowout will enter the Gulf. So here’s a map showing the cumulative oil slick footprint for the BP / Deepwater Horizon oil spill, created by overlaying all […]
By Bonny SchumakerMonday, July 26, 2010 Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s “aviation wing” has been extremely busy in the Gulf of Mexico for the past couple of months, and especially this past month. In keeping with the strong emphasis being put on collaboration, Sea Shepherd has been working with other NGOs as well as local people […]
Freshwater coastal wetlands are more vulnerable to erosion during hurricanes than habitats with higher levels of salinity, a study suggests. US researchers say freshwater marshes have shallower root systems, leaving them at risk from wave erosion during storm surges. They added that the results could have implications for wetland restoration projects in hurricane-prone areas. The […]
By JEFFREY BALL JULY 27, 2010 GRAND ISLE, La.—To keep crude oil out of Louisiana’s sensitive marshes, workers have spread barriers known as boom in unprecedented amounts. Now the marshes face a new threat—from the boom itself. Recent storms have tossed dozens of miles of oil-soaked boom into the marshes, mowing down grass and threatening […]
