Archive for September, 2015

Gulf Stream ring water intrudes onto continental shelf like ‘Pinocchio’s nose’

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Ocean robots installed off the coast of Massachusetts have helped scientists understand a previously unknown process by which warm Gulf Stream water and colder waters of the continental shelf exchange. The process occurs when offshore waters, originating in the tropics, intrude onto the Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf and meet the waters originating in regions near the Arctic. This process can greatly affect shelf circulation, biogeochemistry and fisheries....

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Earthquake rupture halted by seamounts

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Experts expected for some time that one of the next mega earthquakes occurs off northern Chile. But when the earth did tremble around the northern Chilean city of Iquique in 2014, the strength and areal extent of shaking was much smaller than anticipated. Geologists now publish a possible explanation....

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Arctic sea ice still too thick for regular shipping route through Northwest Passage

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Despite climate change, sea ice in the Northwest Passage (NWP) remains too thick and treacherous for it to be a regular commercial Arctic shipping route for many decades, according to new research. Prior to this research, there was little information about the thickness of sea ice in the NWP. Next to ice coverage and type, sea ice thickness plays the most important role in assessing shipping hazards and predicting ice break-up....

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New report details 10 years of improvements in Gulf of Mexico observation systems

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A new report from the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association details the first 10 years of the nonprofit organization's work to improve access to ocean observing data that helps to protect and preserve the Gulf and its residents....

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America has fallen behind on offshore wind power

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The United States has fallen behind on offshore wind power, experts say. Their findings show that while offshore wind turbines have been successfully deployed in Europe since 1991, the U.S. is further from commercial-scale offshore wind deployment today than it was in 2005....

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Flood risk on rise for New York City, New Jersey coast, study finds

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For the first time, climate researchers compared both sea-level rise rates and storm surge heights in prehistoric and modern eras and found that the combined increases of each have raised the likelihood of a devastating 500-year flood occurring as often as every 25 years....

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Highest tides for 18.6 years set for the UK this week

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Many places along the UK coastline will experience the highest tide for 18.6 years between the 19th and 30th of September, as a result of the co-incidence of a series of astronomical factors....

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Scientists solve the riddle of deep ocean carbon

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A crucial process has been identified to explain the reason why dissolved organic carbon (DOC) levels in the deep oceans are constant despite a continuous supply from the surface ocean....

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How ocean circulation changed atmospheric CO2

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Changes to overturning circulation in the Southern Ocean as a result of temperatures over Antarctica play key role in carbon uptake by the oceans....

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Gone fishing: Loss of ocean predators has impact on climate change strategies

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As Australia engages in debate over shark culling, new research says unsustainable harvesting of larger fish will affect how we tackle climate change. A group of scientists warns the loss of top order predators through excessive culling or over-fishing has serious environmental ramifications....

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