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Acid Rain Study Show Substantial Decreases, But More Progress is Needed

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2012Environmentacid rain, acid sensitive, acidic compounds, acidification, adirondack mountains, air quality, american science, aquatic ecosystems, atmosphere, clean air act amendments, climate change, coal, coastal ecosystems, doug burns, emission reductions, emissions, environmental damage, fine particles, forest fires, fossil fuel, gas, human health, hydrologist, john p holdren, lakes, multiple pollutants, new york, nitrogen oxides, oil, oxidants, ozone concentration, population, power plants, streams, sulfur dioxide, U.S. Geological Survey, visibility, water quality

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Measurable improvements in air quality and visibility, human health, and water quality in many acid-sensitive lakes and streams, have been achieved through emissions reductions from electric generating power plants and resulting decreases in acid rain. These are some of the key findings in a report to Congress by the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, a cooperative federal program.

The report shows that since the establishment of the Acid Rain Program, under Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, there have been substantial reductions in sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions from power plants that use fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil, which are known to be the primary causes of acid rain. As of 2009, emissions of SO₂ and NO_x declined by about two-thirds relative to levels in the 1990s. These emissions levels declined even further in 2010, according to recent data compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (more…)

Satellite Tracking Helps Russian Tanker Navigate Critical Sea Duck Habitat

By Guest PostJanuary 8, 2012Naturebiologists, craig lloyd, ellen lance, Environment, habitat, marcia mcnutt, matthew sexson, northern bering sea, population, russian tanker renda, satellite telemetry information, satellite tracking technology, sea duck, species, spectacled eiders, st lawrence island, transmitter, U.S. Geological Survey, us coast guard, usgs alaska science center, wildlife resources, wintering habitat

ANCHORAGE — On its way to deliver emergency fuel to Nome, Alaska, the Russian tanker Renda will move through an area used by wintering spectacled eiders, a federally threatened sea duck. But, to protect the ducks and their wintering habitat, resource managers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and navigators from the U.S. Coast Guard are using satellite telemetry information from the U.S. Geological Survey to plot a route for the tanker that minimizes impacts to this species and its habitat.

“Nearly 20 years ago, USGS biologists used the latest satellite tracking technology available at the time to uncover the mysterious wintering behavior of the spectacled eider, now a threatened species,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “Little did these scientists know at the time that their information would be critical in allowing a Russian tanker decades later to thread the needle to Nome in order to deliver life-saving fuel oil without taking a toll on these elusive sea ducks.” (more…)

Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs Knotted Together

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2011Environment, Naturearctic breeding grounds, atlantic loggerhead sea turtles, chesapeake bay, conor mcgowan, crabs, delaware bay, ecological links, ecosphere, horseshoe crab, james hines, james lyons, james nichols, mid atlantic region, migrating shorebirds, new jersey, nutrient rich eggs, red knot, scorpions, sea turtle, shorebird species, spiders, ticks, U.S. Geological Survey, usgs, virginia

*Research Bolsters Importance of Horseshoe Crab Spawning for Migrating Shorebirds*

LAUREL, Md. – Speculation that the welfare of a small, at-risk shorebird is directly tied to horseshoe crab populations is in part supported by new scientific research, according to a U.S. Geological Survey- led study published in Ecosphere, a journal of the Ecological Society of America.

Population health of the red knot, a shorebird species whose population has plummeted over the last 15 years, has been directly tied to the number of egg-laying horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay — between Delaware and New Jersey — during the red knot’s northward migration each spring. (more…)

Significant Natural Gas Resources Remain to Be Discovered in Cook Inlet, Alaska

By Guest PostJuly 1, 2011Economy, Environmentalaska, alaska division of oil and gas, brenda pierce, coalbed gas, cook inlet, cook inlet region, natural gas, oil and gas resources, petroleum potential, U.S. Geological Survey, usgs, usgs assessment

The Cook Inlet Region of Alaska contains an estimated mean of 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, about 600 million barrels of oil, and 46 million barrels of natural gas liquids, according to a new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This estimate is of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources, and includes both unconventional and conventional resources.

These gas estimates are significantly more than the last USGS assessment of southern Alaska in 1995, in which a mean of 2.14 trillion cubic feet of gas was estimated. This increase in the undiscovered resource is attributed to new geologic information and data. (more…)

Haiti Quake Risk May Still be High

By Guest PostNovember 1, 2010Environment, Sciencecalifornia, carol prentice, earthquake, enriquillo plantain garden fault, epg fault, fault, geology, haiti, haiti earthquake, january, loma prieta quake, paleoseismology, ruptures, san andreas fault, seismic hazard, strain, U.S. Geological Survey

The fault initially thought to have triggered January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti is likely still under considerable strain and continues to pose a significant seismic hazard, according to a study published online in Nature Geoscience Sunday.

U.S. Geological Survey geologist Carol Prentice led a team of scientists to Haiti immediately after the earthquake to search for traces of ground rupture and to investigate the geology and paleoseismology of the area. (more…)

USGS Oil and Gas Resource Estimates Updated for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA)

By Guest PostOctober 26, 2010Economy, General3 d seismic survey, alaska, conventional gas, crude oil, gas, giant alpine field, marcia mcnutt, national petroleum reserve, npra, oil, oil exploration, petroleum, reservoir, reservoir rocks, U.S. Geological Survey, undiscovered oil

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 896 million barrels of conventional, undiscovered oil and 53 trillion cubic feet of conventional, undiscovered non-associated gas within NPRA and adjacent state waters. The estimated volume of undiscovered oil is significantly lower than in 2002, when the USGS estimated there was 10.6 billion barrels of oil. The new estimate, roughly 10% of the 2002 estimate, is due primarily to the incorporation of new data from recent exploration drilling revealing gas occurrence rather than oil in much of NPRA. (more…)

Mountain Vegetation Impacted by Climate Change

By Guest PostOctober 26, 2010Environmentclimate change, ecological systems, ecosystems, forests, herbaceous, low elevations, mountain vegetation, oregon, siskiyou mountains, species, stress-adapted, stresses, U.S. Geological Survey

Climate change has had a significant effect on mountain vegetation at low elevations in the past 60 years, according to a study done by the University of California at Davis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and U.S. Geological Survey.

This information may guide future conservation efforts in helping decision makers develop regional landscape predictions about biological responses to climate changes. (more…)

Petroleum in the Arctic

By ShamsJuly 24, 2008EnvironmentArctic, oil and gas reserves, U.S. Geological Survey

Technically recoverable oil and gas reserves are surveyed in the Arctic by the U.S. Geological Survey.

(more…)

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