ECU geologist Stanley Riggs and astronomer Brian Baker of the science education and literacy nonprofit A Time for Science are leading a study to better understand the nocturnal environment and dark skies of the Outer Albemarle Peninsula. The study is designed to map and characterize the visual landscape and sounds of the region.
Better Beaches OBX and Carolina Panthers volunteers worked together to plant 6,000 sea oats along about a mile of beachfront in southern Kitty Hawk as part of the inaugural Keep Pounding Day May 1, a Panthers community service initiative to make a positive difference in 25 communities in the across Carolinas.
Marine cargo surveyor Charles Leeuwenburg recorded the crew of the 105-foot schooner Tres Hombres unloading bags of organic cocoa beans at the North Carolina Port of Morehead City. The vessel is a prototype for opening the market for sailing cargo, according to the Netherlands-based Fairtransport, “the world’s first modern ’emission free’ shipping company.”
The Carolina Recycling Association recognized New Hanover County’s Environmental Management Department with the 2019 Annual Recycling Award for the food waste composting program during the organization’s annual conference in March. Since beginning the program in November 2017, the county has generated more than 80 tons of compost, which is used in parks and gardens and shared with area organic farmers.
In 1989, Bill Nye “The Science Guy” takes his audience on an educational tour of wetlands to illustrate the importance of, as Nye sums up, a wetland, which “is any place where the land is wet.” The video was filmed in Washington State’s Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are developing a modeling platform that they say provides a more detailed, accurate picture of the effects of storm surge on communities and their water quality. They say the SCHISM, or Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model, which is an open-source, community-supported modeling system, may be used to build more resilient communities and improve the economic strength of coastal towns and counties.
Environmental Protection Agency Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announces Thursday EPA’s Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS, Action Plan. EPA said its plan identifies both short-term solutions for addressing these chemicals and long-term strategies for providing clean, safe drinking water and addressing PFAS at the source. Critics say EPA could do more.
Earth’s global surface temperatures in 2018 were the fourth warmest since 1880, according to studies by NASA and NOAA. The planet’s long-term warming trend can be seen in this visualization of NASA’s global temperature record that shows the planet’s temperatures changing over time.
The 60-minute documentary “Sonic Sea” about the impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life will be screened Wednesday evening at Waterman’s Brewing Co. in Wilmington.
Jared Lloyd takes viewers “Behind the Lens” during a visit to the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula, home to not only the largest concentration of black bears in the world but also the physically largest black bears. It is not uncommon to find bears weighing more than 700 pounds here.
Researchers at the Australian Institute of Marine Science have conducted what they’re calling the first real-world seismic experiment to determine the effects of marine noise on fish and oysters. Using the seismic vessel the BGP Explorer, the researchers surveyed two sites off the northwest of Western Australia over the course of 10 days. The collaborative experiment involving more than 100 people took a year to design and coordinate and could provide answers on the effects of marine noise.
The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noted this year will be remembered most for hurricanes Florence and Michael and the damage they caused in the Southeast. For the first time, the GOES East satellite was able to see the entire Atlantic basin, allowing for a view of storms as they form off the coast of Africa and then enter the Atlantic.
