Latest Coastal geography Stories
Harsh living conditions caused by major fluctuations in the carbon content and sea levels, overacidification and oxygen deficiency in the seas triggered the largest mass extinction of all time at the end of the Permian era 252 million years ago. Life on Earth was also anything but easy after the obliteration of over 90 percent of all species: Throughout the entire Early Triassic era, metazoan-dominated reefs were replaced by microbial deposits. Researchers had always assumed it took the Earth...
Picturesque beach towns up and down the coast of California may be facing hefty economic losses caused by rising ocean levels in the next century, according to a new state-commissioned study funded by the California Department of Boating and Waterways and conducted by economists at San Francisco State University. The study examines the cost of both coastal storm damage and erosion which are expected to increase as average coastal sea levels rise. Economists also expect impacts on...
New evidence of sea-level oscillations during a warm period that started about 125,000 years ago raises the possibility of a similar scenario if the planet continues its more recent warming trend, says a research team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). In a paper published online in the Sept. 11 Nature Geoscience, the researchers report data from an improved method of dating fossil coral reef skeletons in the Bahamas. By calculating more accurate ages for the...
AMSTERDAM, September 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsevier, world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, organizes the 50th Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA) Conference: "Today's Science for Tomorrow's Management". [http://www.estuarinecoastalconference.com ] The conference, taking place 3-7 June 2012 in Venice, seeks to find answers to potentially massive risks for the long-term changes to coastal environments....
TAU researcher discovers that endangered soft corals are also building blocks of coral reefs Scientists have long believed soft corals, one of the many endangered elements of marine life, are only minor contributors to the structure of coral reefs. But that's not true, says new research from Tel Aviv University "” and the preservation of soft corals is essential to the health of our seas. Joint research by Tel Aviv University and the Academia Sinica, the National Museum of Natural...
Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have conducted an initial survey of what appears to be an important, ancient water source in a cave that was been discovered during excavation work for a new train station being constructed at the entrance to Jerusalem.The work was done by members of the Cave Research Unit of the university, headed by Prof. Amos Frumkin of the Department of Geography. The cave was exposed near the base of a deep service shaft that was dug for the train tunnel leading...
Forecasting the state of the sea is important for shipping, offshore and coastal engineering, management of coastal zones and tourism. This is set to become easier through ESA's GlobWave project, which offers a one-stop shop for satellite data on ocean waves.Safety and financial losses associated with rough seas are a real concern. Ocean waves slow down the passage of ships, endanger marine industries such as oil and gas extraction, damage aquaculture and offshore wind farms, and erode...
It is a very muddy trek from the small boat to the field site along Raccoon Creek near Bridgeport, N.J. Villanova University marine scientist Nathaniel Weston and his team are all carrying ladders and equipment as they slosh through ankle deep mud toward their experiments. "The whole reason I got into this line of research is because I like being outside, I like coastal estuaries and marsh systems, I like getting muddy, so I have fun with it," says Weston enthusiastically. With support...
In one of his songs Bob Dylan asks "How many years can a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea?", and thus poses an intriguing geological question for which an accurate answer is not easily provided. Mountain ranges are in a constant interplay between climatically controlled weathering processes on the one hand and the tectonic forces that cause folding and thrusting and thus thickening of the Earth's crust on the other hand. While erosion eventually erases any geological...
Although the dune ecosystem is unusual, fragile and is protected by the "habitats" directive of the network Natura 2000, its conservation is very vulnerable to the proliferation of car parks, nearby buildings and inadequate boardwalks installed for protection or beach access.Researchers at the University of Seville (UoS) have published a study in the Journal of Coastal Research of human impact on the natural dunes at two sites in the Gulf of Cádiz, specifically in the protected...
Latest Coastal geography Reference Libraries
Coral reefs are submerged structures consisting of calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of small animals found in marine waters that enclose few nutrients. The majority of coral reefs are constructed from stony corals, which then consist of polyps that come together in groups. The polyps are like small sea anemones, to which they are very closely related. Unlike the sea anemones, coral polyps secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which provide support and protections...
Mudflats, or otherwise known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is left behind by tides or rivers. They’re found in sheltered regions such as bayous, lagoons, estuaries, and bays. Mudflats might be seen geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, a result from the deposition of estuarine silts, marine animal detritus, and clays. The majority of the sediment in a mudflat is within the intertidal zone, therefore the flat is submerged and exposed about twice per day. In...
A salt marsh, also otherwise known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone that lies between the land and the open salt water or brackish water that is routinely flooded by the tides. It’s dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants, for example, herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants originate from all around the globe and are important to the stability of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes...
Image Credit: Meteorologist Joshua Kelly When meteorologists are forecasting for ocean-going vessels, there are a few terms that we need to understand. The first term is wavelength. Wavelength is defined as the distance between two crests or between two troughs as seen in the image above. The example above highlights the crest to crest concept of wavelength. The next term that we use is wave height, and to determine this, we first must look at the wave when it passes our station. When...
![Marine Life of California\](/media/gallery/national-science-foundation-gallery/thumbs/thumbs_17ane7453_h.jpg "Marine Life of California\")
