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Researchers Report Potential for a Moderate New England ‘Red Tide’ in 2011

By Guest PostApril 10, 2011Environmentalexandrium fundyense, alexandrium germination, cyst, darcie couture, dennis mcgillicuddy, don anderson, ecomon, ecosystem monitoring program, gomtox, gulf of maine, gulf of maine toxicity, jane lubchenco, new england shellfish industry, new hampshire coasts, noaa, paralytic shellfish poisoning, psp, psp toxicity, red tides, ruoying he, shellfish beds, stacy knapp, toxic alga, toxicity

*Bloom could be suppressed by changes in ocean conditions in the Gulf of Maine*

Scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project issued an outlook for a moderate regional bloom of a toxic alga that can cause ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry. However, there are signs this year’s bloom could be suppressed by recent changes in ocean conditions in the Gulf of Maine.

An abundant seed population in bottom sediments has set the stage for a moderate bloom of the toxic alga Alexandrium fundyense. This organism swims in the water, and divides again and again to form a “bloom” or red tide, but it also produces dormant cells or cysts that fall to the ocean bottom at the end of these blooms where they remain until they germinate the next year to restart the process. (more…)

Gulf Oil Spill Study Sheds Light On Urban Air Pollution

By Guest PostMarch 12, 20111 commentEnvironmentbp deepwater horizon, gouw, gulf oil spill, microscopic particles, noaa, organic aerosols, university of california, university of colorado boulder, university of miami, urban air pollution, urban environments, volatile components

When a team of researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences raced to the scene of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill to assess the disaster’s impact on air quality last year, they found more than they expected. (more…)

‘Thawing Permafrost Likely Will Accelerate Global Warming in Coming Decades’

By Guest PostFebruary 18, 2011Environmentalaska, Arctic, atmosphere, carbon, carbon dioxide concentration, climate change, CO2, earth, environmental sciences, fossil fuel emissions, frozen in soil, greenhouse gases, industrial age, kevin schaefer, last glacial period, lori bruhwiler, noaa, permafrost, Siberia, tingjun zhang, warming temperatures

Up to two-thirds of Earth’s permafrost likely will disappear by 2200 as a result of warming temperatures, unleashing vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere, says a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

The carbon resides in permanently frozen ground that is beginning to thaw in high latitudes from warming temperatures, which will impact not only the climate but also international strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, said CU-Boulder’s Kevin Schaefer, lead study author. “If we want to hit a target carbon dioxide concentration, then we have to reduce fossil fuel emissions that much lower than previously thought to account for this additional carbon from the permafrost,” he said. “Otherwise we will end up with a warmer Earth than we want.” (more…)

High-Tech Software and Unmanned Planes Allow Scientists to Keep Tabs on Arctic Seals

By Guest PostDecember 15, 2010Environment, Natureaerial photos, aircraft, Arctic, arctic ringed seal, atmosphere, bearded, bering sea, cameras, climate scientists, earth, elizabeth weatherhead, four species of arctic seals, greenhouse gases, ice floes, marine, noaa, novel project, peter boveng, polar ecosystems, ribbon seals, ringed, scan eagle, sea ice, seal populations, seals, spotted, temperatures, terrestrial mammals

A novel project using cameras mounted on unmanned aircraft flying over the Arctic is serving double duty by assessing the characteristics of declining sea ice and using the same aerial photos to pinpoint seals that have hauled up on ice floes.

The project is the first to use aircraft to monitor ice and seals in remote areas without putting pilots and observers at risk, said Elizabeth Weatherhead of the University of Colorado at Boulder, who is leading the study team. Weatherhead is a senior scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a joint venture of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (more…)

Smithsonian Researchers Report that Regional Sea Temperature Rise and Coral Bleaching Event Has Reached Western Caribbean

By Guest PostOctober 15, 20101 commentEnvironmentanomalous sea temperature rise, anoxic conditions, arcadio castillo, bocas del toro research station, caribbean coast, coral bleaching, coral polyps, costa rica, dissolved oxygen, héctor m guzmán, hotosynthetic algae, isla colon, kuna-yala to bocas del toro, nancy knowlton, noaa, panama, sea surface temperatures, turbid waters, warm pocket, western caribbean, zoxanthellae

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Bocas del Toro Research Station and Galeta Point Marine Laboratory are reporting an anomalous sea temperature rise and a major coral bleaching event in the western Caribbean. Although the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, issued an advisory in July announcing above-average sea surface temperatures in the wider Caribbean region, there had been no clear indication of increased sea temperatures in Panama and the western Caribbean until late August-early September. (more…)

Deep Plumes of Oil Could Cause Dead Zones in the Gulf

By Guest PostAugust 21, 20101 commentEnvironmentalistair adcroft, dead zones, deepwater horizon spill, dissolved oil, gulf of mexico, hypoxic zones, methane, methane plumes, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, noaa, ocean hypoxia, oil, oxygen, pollution, princeton university, robert hallberg, simulation, toxic concentrations

WASHINGTON — 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 Horizon spill, which released oil and methane gas into the Gulf from April to mid July of this year.

(more…)

Ocean’s Color Affects Hurricane Paths

By Guest PostAugust 14, 20101 commentEnvironmentanand gnanadesikan, biological desert, chlorophyll, color, color of ocean, color-depleted zone, ecosystem, fluid dynamics laboratory, hurricanes, noaa, north pacific, ocean, phytoplankton, phytoplankton population, subtropical gyre

WASHINGTON — A change in the color of ocean waters could have a drastic effect on the prevalence of hurricanes, new research indicates. In a simulation of such a change in one region of the North Pacific, the study finds that hurricane formation decreases by 70 percent. That would be a big drop for a region that accounts for more than half the world’s reported hurricane-force winds.

(more…)

Texas Petrochemical Emissions Down, but Still Underestimated

By Guest PostAugust 12, 20104 commentsEnvironmentagricultural crops, bill dube, cires, climate research, emissions, environmental sciences, joost de gouw, modeling program, noaa, ozone, petrochemical-producing, petroleum products, pollution, texas air quality, texas commission on environmental quality, washenfelder, wd-p3 aircraft, yellow haze

WASHINGTON — A thick blanket of yellow haze hovering over Houston as a result of chemical pollution from petroleum products may be getting a little bit thinner, according to a new study. But the new findings — which have implications for petrochemical-producing cities around the world — come with a catch, says a team of scientists who participated in the research.

(more…)

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