Sea Level Rising Faster Than Average In Northeastern U.S.
Sea level is rising all over the world thanks to the heat-trapping effect of greenhouse-gas emissions, but according to a new study published in the Journal of Coastal Research, the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada have seen the ocean rise at an accelerating rate in recent decades. Based on readings at 23 tidal gauges stretching along the … Read More
Forget the Melting Arctic, Sea Ice in Antarctica is Growing!
The ice that covers the Arctic Ocean has plummeted to its lowest level on record — but down at the other end of the world, the sea ice surrounding Antarctica has swelled. That’s no surprise, considering that winter is just ending in the Southern Hemisphere — but what may be surprising is that the overall extent of Antarctic ice has grown by about o… Read More
Hurricane Isaac Spurs Design of Storm Surge Warnings
Yet despite the fact that storm surge is the leading killer during hurricanes, the National Weather Service (NWS) has never issued a weather warning specifically for this threat. Instead, surge has long been addressed as part of the broader hurricane warning system.… Read More
New Study Shows How Fast Ice Sheets Can Change
A new paper released Thursday in Science says that ice can respond a lot faster than anyone had thought. Studies like this one are key to finding out, and the closer scientists look, the more they realize how rapidly glaciers can change their behavior over the short term.… Read More
Arctic Has Lost Enough Ice to Cover Canada and Texas
The official end of the Arctic Ocean melt season could come any time now, but the sea ice that covers the North Polar region has already smashed the previous record low for end-of-summer ice area set in 2007. Since March, according to one calculation, the amount of ice that has disappeared is equal to the areas of Alaska and Canada, combined.… Read More
Encroaching Seas Pit Parking Against Preservation
CHINCOTEAGUE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Va. — A sign at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service visitor center here states a simple motto: "Where Wildlife Comes First." But many visitors never see the sign, or much wildlife. Cars stream past the center on hot summer days, headed for a mile-long public beach at the refuge's southern end. The prime goals … Read More
Slow-Moving Hurricane Isaac Pummels Louisiana
New Orleans’ system of flood-protection levees and canal floodgates, upgraded to the tune of $14.5 billion after the system’s catastrophic failure due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, continued to hold against the wall of water pushed onshore by the storm — a surge that reached 11 feet in Shell Beach, La., according to Brian McNoldy’s Tropical Atlanti… Read More
Isaac Upgraded to a Hurricane, Slams Into Louisiana
Shortly after noon on Tuesday, the Weather Channel reported that Isaac had been upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane, with sustained winds above 74 mph, hours before its expected landfall in southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night.… Read More
