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Deeper corals bleaching

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When ocean waters get too warm, corals – which are actually tiny animals – eject the colorful algae that inhabit their tissues.  The symbiotic relationship between coral polyps and algae is essential to coral survival   When the algae is ejected, previously colorful coral turns white, and the coral can ultimately die.  If waters cool off, the algae can reestablish themselves and the coral can regain its color and health.

The world’s oceans have been warming at an unprecedented rate, making coral bleaching and die-off a global phenomenon.  It is estimated that half of the planet’s reefs have already disappeared.  Some places are worse off than others.  For example, almost 95% of coral reefs in Southeast Asia are threatened.  Florida’s reefs are especially threatened, particularly since there have been unprecedented marine heatwaves off its coast.

It has long been assumed that deeper reefs, where water is cooler, would remain safe from the effects of warming, but a few years ago researchers recorded coral bleaching some 300 feet underwater along the Egmont Atoll in the western Indian Ocean.  At one point, bleaching affected 80% of corals in some areas.  This discovery came as a huge surprise to oceanographers.  It was probably associated with an El Niño-like phenomenon in the waters and those reefs have mostly recovered in the intervening years.

Fairly recently, researchers have found pristine coral reefs deep down in the waters off the Galapagos Islands, where shallow reefs have largely disappeared.  There are likely to be similar reefs in the ocean depths around the world, but scientists are expressing concern that even coral reefs lying deep beneath the ocean surface may not ultimately be protected from the warming seas.

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As Oceans Warm, Coral Bleaching Seen at Greater Depths

Photo, posted June 5, 2023, courtesy of Ryan Hagerty / USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric planes: Fantasy or reality?

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Airplanes have been around for over a century, but the idea of powering them with electricity rather than with liquid fuels has been little more than a fantasy.  Over the years, billions of dollars have been invested trying to make electric planes practical.  In recent times, progress on battery technology has provided a much-needed boost for the field.

Electric planes are nowhere near becoming competitive with long distance commercial aircraft.  The weight and power requirements for such craft are far beyond what electric plane technology can do.  But electric planes could offer a very practical solution for transporting relatively small numbers of passengers over relatively short distances.

A plane built by the well-funded private company Beta Technologies has flown as far as 386 miles on a single battery charge.  The company envisions such planes to be mostly used for trips of 100 to 150 miles.  These planes could open new opportunities, like better connecting rural areas that have little or no direct air service.

Their latest model was tested on a trip between Burlington, Vermont and Florida, making multiple stops and flying through congested airspace over Boston, New York, and Washington.

Commercial versions of the planes will likely have lift rotors to take off and land like helicopters, making them deployable in a wide range of places.  Many companies are working on electric aviation, and they have backers like major automakers, major airlines, and large investment firms. 

Electric planes are not likely to replace conventional aircraft but are likely to have a meaningful impact how we move goods and services and reconnect rural parts of the country.

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Electric Planes, Once a Fantasy, Start to Take to the Skies

Photo courtesy of Beta Technologies.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Too hot for people

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The effort to mitigate the effects of climate change has a goal of keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.  To date, the average global temperature has increased by more than 1 degree.  We hear about rising sea levels, powerful storms, and various other alterations in climate and weather patterns.  A new interdisciplinary study by three institutions looked at the impact of surpassing the 1.5-degree level upon people being able to withstand heat and humidity.

Humans can only withstand certain combinations of heat and humidity before their bodies begin to experience heat-related health problems such as heat stroke and heart attacks. 

In human history, temperatures and humidity that exceed human limits have been recorded only a limited number of times and only for a few hours at a time, in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

According to the new study, if global temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the 2.2 billion residents of Pakistan and India’s Indus River Valley, the one billion people living in eastern China, and the 800 million residents of sub-Saharan Africa will annually experience many hours of heat surpassing human tolerance.

If the warming continues further to 3 degrees, heat and humidity levels that surpass human tolerance would affect the Eastern Seaboard and the middle of the US from Florida to New York and from Houston to Chicago.

The worst heat stress will occur in regions that are not wealthy and that are experiencing rapid population growth.  But even wealthy nations will not escape from the expansion of conditions that are too hot for people.

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Climate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans

Photo, posted June 28, 2018, courtesy of Ivan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Lots of female turtles

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Green sea turtles were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1978.  Since that time, there have been conservation measures put in place in many locations.  One such place is Florida, where restrictions on beachfront development and careful monitoring of turtle nests has helped to get hatchlings safely into the water.  A gill net ban in 1995 sharply reduced the number of young turtles killed by fishing gear.

All of this has resulted in what is described as an explosion in turtle populations in Florida.  Volunteers monitoring the 2023 nesting season on Florida’s beaches have counted more than 74,000 nests.  That beats the previous record – set in 2017 – by an incredible 40%.

Unfortunately, this does not represent a guaranteed great future for the species.  Sea turtles are particularly sensitive to the warming climate.  The sex of a baby sea turtle is not determined by DNA, but rather by the temperature of the sand in which its egg develops.  Cooler temperatures mean more males; warmer ones mean more females.

In recent years, the proportion of male green sea turtles has dwindled substantially.  In the past few seasons, between 87 percent and 100 percent of the hatchlings tested in Florida have been female.

In the short term, the skewed sex ratio might be a boon for the species.  Lots of females laying lots of eggs means lots of turtles.  Sea turtles don’t reach sexual maturity until their twenties or thirties.  So, for the next few decades, there are likely to be growing numbers of turtle nests.  But down the line, there is going to be a real problem.  Where will for all the female turtles find the mates to populate the species in the future?

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Florida Turtle Nests Are Recovering. When They Hatch, Expect Mostly Girls.

Photo, posted October 5, 2011, courtesy of Keenan Adams / USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Wildfires And Air Quality | Earth Wise

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People in the Northeast have been dealing with unhealthy air quality in recent times because of smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada.  Canada has experienced a much higher than average incidence of blazes this year with nearly 500 fires burning uncontrolled at times.

It turns out that states far away from Canada aren’t necessarily free from the impact of the fires.  Early in October, smoke from a wildfire burning in Quebec made its way south all the way down to Florida and created unhealthy air quality and reduced visibility across much of the state.  Smoke from the same fire had created hazy air in Boston, New York City, and parts of Connecticut before heading south.

It took a rather unusual set of atmospheric conditions to make this happen.  The smoke drifted from Canada into the western Atlantic.  From there, it got trapped behind a cold front and was then pushed south along the east coast until it finally moved inland across Florida. 

Wildfires produce a variety of particles and gases from the burning of vegetation such as organic carbon, black carbon, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hazardous air pollutants.  The mixture of particles and gases in wildfire smoke is associated with respiratory symptoms like shortness of breath and reduced lung function, as well as dangerous cardiovascular effects.

Smoke from increasingly frequent and increasingly large fires has started to undo decades of gains in air quality brought about by air pollution policies.  According to researchers, wildfires in the United States in recent years have undone about 25% of past progress in cleaning up air pollution in states from coast to coast.

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Wildfire Smoke From Canada Creates Unhealthy Air Quality in Florida

Photo, posted June 8, 2023, courtesy of Anthony Quintano via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Billion-Dollar Disasters | Earth Wise

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By the end of August, the United States had already broken the one-year record for the number of weather and climate disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through August there had already been 23 billion-dollar disasters.  The previous record of 22 had been set in 2020.  The 23 this year racked up $58 billion in damages.

The unfortunate litany of events included two in August:  Hurricane Idalia, which struck Florida’s Big Bend region and the Lahaina fire storm on Maui.  Earlier in the year, winter storms in the Northeast, floods in California and Vermont, and 18 other severe storm events contributed to the record.

With a very active Atlantic hurricane season underway and the prospects for more wildfires in the west, it is likely that the record for billion-dollar disasters will climb even higher before the year ends.

The massive financial losses incurred this year highlight the need for more funding and attention to be directed toward climate resistance and adaptation.  The NOAA report urges policymakers to invest much more in getting out ahead of disasters before they strike rather than only looking for ways to help communities to pick up the pieces after disaster has struck.

Congress is currently considering $16 billion in additional funding for FEMA to keep the agency functioning in this very trying year.

As climate change continues to contribute to more intense storms and larger and more frequent wildfires, the price of adaptation and recovery efforts is likely to continue to grow.

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2023 has already broken the US record for billion-dollar climate disasters

Photo, posted August 31, 2023, courtesy of Spc. Christian Wilson / The National Guard via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Saving Florida’s Corals | Earth Wise

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When corals are exposed to extended periods of excess heat, they are subject to bleaching, which occurs when they expel the algae that live within their structure.  Bleaching can lead to coral death.

This summer, temperatures in the Florida Keys crossed the bleaching threshold in mid-June and remained above it for extended periods of time.  This cumulative heat exposure leads to widespread bleaching and significant die-offs.  The last major mass bleaching event in the Florida Keys occurred in 2014 and 2015.

The Coral Restoration Foundation has been receiving reports ranging from partial bleaching to mass coral mortality throughout the keys.  Several coral restoration sites in the lower Keys have been totally lost already.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its state agency, university, and non-profit partners have initiated actions to try to save Florida’s corals.

They have halted all restoration-related planting and are evacuating some of their nursery-grown stock to climate-controlled labs.  They are considering interventions such as shading coral nurseries or even high-value reef sites.  They are also considering feeding nursery and wild corals until the waters cool off enough for algae to return.

Modeling indicates that there is a 70-100% chance that the extreme heat in the North Atlantic will persist through September-October.  NOAA and its partners will continue to do what they can to save Florida’s Coral Reef for the marine and human communities that depend on them.

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NOAA and partners race to rescue remaining Florida corals from historic ocean heat wave

Photo, posted April 19, 2012, courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Marine Heat Waves | Earth Wise

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In late July, the ocean temperature measured in Florida Bay, between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys, was 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit, a possible world record for sea surface temperature.  There is no official record keeping for ocean temperatures, but the highest previous reading ever reported was 99.7 degrees in the middle of Kuwait Bay in 2020. 

What is going on is a marine heat wave and marine heat waves can last for weeks, months, or even years.  The current Gulf of Mexico marine heat wave has been present for several months, beginning in February or March.  Experimental forecasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the extreme ocean temperatures in the area may persist through at least October.

The ocean absorbs 90% of the excess heat associated with global warming.  Therefore, marine heat waves all over the planet are becoming warmer over time.  The current marine heat wave would likely have occurred even without climate change, but because of it, the event is extraordinarily warm.

Marine heat waves cause stress to corals and other marine ecosystems.  Exposure to extreme temperatures for long periods of time causes corals to eject the algae that live inside of them, resulting in white or pale coral.  This coral bleaching leaves the coral without food and will ultimately kill it.

In general, extreme heat can be destructive and deadly for marine ecosystems.  A massive marine heat wave known as “the Blob” took hold in 2013-2016 in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and led to an ecological cascade of fishery collapses, toxic algal blooms, and record numbers of humpback whale entanglements.

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The ongoing marine heat waves in U.S. waters, explained

Photo, posted December 25, 2016, courtesy of Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Water For Arizona | Earth Wise

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The Phoenix area is the fastest growing region in the country.  Arizona’s two major sources of water – groundwater and the Colorado River – are dwindling from drought, climate change, and overuse.  Officials in the state are considering a radical plan to construct a desalination plant off the Mexican coast that will take the salt out of seawater, and then pipe that water hundreds of miles, much of it uphill, to Phoenix.

The project is the brainchild of the Israeli company, IDE, which is one of the world’s largest desalination companies.  IDE has asked Arizona to sign a 100-year contract to buy water from the project. 

There are multiple complications surrounding the plan.  Desalination plants are common in California, Texas, and Florida, and in more than 100 other countries.  But the Arizona project is unusual because of the distance involved and because the state is landlocked.  The water would have to travel 200 miles and climb 2,000 feet along the way.

There is also the issue of waste brine, which is a major output of desalination plants.  In this case, the brine would flood the northern Gulf of California, potentially threatening a productive fishery.  In addition, the pipeline, as well as electrical transmission lines, would have to go through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

The plant would be located in Puerto Peñasco, a struggling town with its own water problems.

With booming home construction going on in the Phoenix area, the need for more water continues to grow.  Whether this plan will be approved by Arizona and by Mexico remains to be seen.

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Arizona, Low on Water, Weighs Taking It From the Sea. In Mexico.

Photo, posted September 26, 2008, courtesy of Dan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Seaweed On The Way | Earth Wise

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A type of seaweed called sargassum has long formed large blooms in the Atlantic Ocean.  It gets its name from the Sargasso Sea in the western Atlantic.  Since 2011, scientists have been tracking massive accumulations of the stuff each year that starts out off the coast of Africa and works its way across the Atlantic to end up in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The amount of sargassum present each year can shift depending on factors like changes in nutrients, rainfall, and wind conditions.  But since the 1980s, nitrogen content in the Atlantic has gone up by 45%.  This is likely due to human activities such as agriculture and fossil fuel production dumping materials into the rivers that feed into the ocean.

According to recent observations, the mass of seaweed now heading for Florida and other coastlines throughout the Gulf of Mexico may be the largest on record.  The giant blob of sargassum spans more than 5,000 miles in extent.  It is moving west and will pass through the Caribbean and up into the Gulf during the summer.  The seaweed is expected to become prevalent on beaches in Florida around July.

The seaweed provides food and protection for fishes, mammals, marine birds, crabs, sea turtles, and more.  But unfortunately, when sargassum hits the beaches, it piles up in mounds that can be difficult to walk through and eventually emits a gas that smells like rotten eggs.

Tourist destinations in the Caribbean region have their work cut out for them to remove seaweed that can pile up several feet deep.  For example, in Barbados, locals were using 1,600 dump trucks a day to clean their beaches.  Caribbean and Florida resorts spend millions of dollars each year to remove sargassum seaweed.

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A 5,000-mile-wide blob of seaweed is headed for Florida, threatening tourism across the Caribbean

Photo, posted February 24, 2020, courtesy of Bernard Dupont via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon In The Congo Peatlands | Earth Wise

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The Congo peatlands in central Africa are the world’s largest tropical peatlands complex, occupying an area of 65,000 square miles, about the size of the entire state of Florida. Peatlands represent a huge store of carbon and therefore are important to the stability of the climate.

A study by scientists at the University of Leeds and University College London found that around the time that Stonehenge was built – about 5,000 years ago – there was an extended drying period in central Congo and the peatlands started emitting carbon dioxide rather than storing it.  Over the course of time, the climate in the area got wetter again and over the past 2,000 years, the Congo peatlands have been a place that takes large amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.

The study utilized peat samples taken from beneath remote swamp forests to build a record of the vegetation and rainfall in the central Congo Basin over the past 17,500 years.

In a paper published in Nature, the researchers warn that if modern-day global warming produces extended droughts in the Congo region, history could repeat itself and the peatlands could once again become carbon emitters.  If that were to happen, over 30 billion tons of carbon could be released into the atmosphere.  That is the equivalent to the total global emissions from fossil fuel burning over a three-year period.

There is some evidence that dry seasons are lengthening in the Congo Basin, but it is unknown if these will continue.  In any case, the study reveals that peatlands are more vulnerable than previously thought and need to be protected.  They are some of the most wildlife and carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth.

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Congo peatlands could release billions of tonnes of carbon

Photo, posted November 5, 2016, courtesy of Roni Ziade / Forest Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Threat From Thwaites | Earth Wise

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The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is the widest glacier in the world. It is about 80 miles across and in places extends to a depth of about 2,600 to 3,900 feet.  The glacier is roughly the size of Florida, and it currently contributes 4% of annual global sea level rise as it continues to retreat from a warming ocean.

The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration is a team of nearly 100 scientists dedicated to studying the glacier.  According to the scientists, Thwaites has doubled its outflow speed within the last 30 years.  The glacier in its entirety holds enough water to raise global sea levels by over two feet, which would be catastrophic.

A third of the glacier flows more slowly than the rest because it is braced by a floating ice shelf that is held in place by an underwater mountain.  The concern is that the brace of ice slowing the glacier may not last for long.

Beneath the surface, warmer ocean water is attacking the glacier from all angles.  The water is melting the ice directly beneath the glacier causing it to lose its grip on the underwater mountain.  Massive fractures have formed and are growing.

Warm water is also a threat for what is called the grounding zone, which is the area where the glacier lifts off the seabed. There are many possible scenarios under which there could be a major ice loss from the glacier.  It is unclear how quickly it could occur.  It might take decades, or it could be centuries.  The threat is large enough and real enough that continued observation and research is essential.

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The Threat from Thwaites: The Retreat of Antarctica’s Riskiest Glacier

Photo, posted October 16, 2012, courtesy of J. Yungel / NASA Ice via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Florida’s Starving Manatees | Earth Wise

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Manatees, also called “sea cows”, have been the victims of farm runoff.  They have starved to death by the hundreds along Florida’s east coast because algae blooms fed by nitrogen-rich fertilizer runoff are proliferating on the ocean surface and blocking sunlight from reaching seagrass below.  Seagrass is the primary source of food for manatees in the winter.  As seagrass dies off, so do the manatees.

Over 1,000 manatees have been found dead so far this year.  It is estimated that fewer than 8,000 remain in Florida waters.  Efforts are underway to restore coastal seagrass in the region as well as clams and oysters, which filter pollutants from water.  Unless the water is cleared up, it will be difficult to regrow the seagrass.  But the current situation is that manatees are so short on food that they are eating seagrass roots, killing the plants and thwarting efforts to help seagrass recovery.

Given this dire situation, the federal governmental has approved a program of feeding manatees.  The starving animals will be fed by hand in Florida, which is a rare wildlife intervention.  Conservation agencies tend to favor leaving wild animals to their own foraging and hunting so that they don’t become dependent on human handouts.

During the trial phase of the program, wildlife experts are likely to feed the animals romaine lettuce and cabbage, which is what manatees in captivity eat.  The hope is to give the animals enough additional food for them to get through the winter.  The trial feeding will begin on private property.  It remains illegal for the public to feed manatees.

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Florida to feed starving manatees in rare conservation move

Photo, posted February 21, 2008, courtesy of Keith Ramos/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Large Solar Projects In The U.S. | Earth Wise

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The United States now has over 108 gigawatts of total solar generating capacity, which is enough to power about 19 million homes.  There are more than 3 million solar installations across the country, the majority of which are residential systems.

The growth in solar power has been enormous over the past 13 years.  In 2008, the total solar capacity in the U.S. was 0.34 gigawatts.

In recent times, utility-scale solar installations have been on the rise.  At least 10 systems in excess of 100 megawatts have come online just in 2021.  These systems have been built in Georgia, Ohio, California, Texas, and Nevada.  Other large installations have come online in Virginia, Utah, Indiana, and Florida.  Overall, Texas has had the most new installations, followed by California and Florida.

The largest utility-scale solar project completed this year is the Eunice Solar Project in Andrew, Texas.  The 420-megawatt project is part of the Permian Energy Center which also features 40 megawatts of battery energy storage.

The pipeline for new utility-scale solar projects under construction includes more than 17 gigawatts, so there is strong continuing growth in the industry.

The Biden administration has proposed a blueprint for the nation to produce 45% of its electricity from solar power by 2050.  Currently, solar energy contributes about 4% of the country’s power.  Being able to produce almost half the country’s electricity from the sun by 2050 would require a vast transformation in technology and the energy industry.  Whether there is the political will and the wherewithal to achieve this remains to be seen.

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U.S. Solar Market Insight

Photo, posted March 7, 2019, courtesy of Hedgerow Inc via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Energy Storage Boom | Earth Wise

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Global energy storage deployment is increasing at a very rapid pace.  According to recent industry forecasts, there will be 12.4 gigawatts of new energy storage capacity online in 2021 breaking the previous annual record of 4.9 gigawatts set last year.

To understand these numbers, the world only reached 1 gigawatt of new capacity in a year for the first time in 2016.  Five years later, 1 gigawatt represents a good month.

Industry projections are that new global storage capacity will increase each year, reaching 70 gigawatts by 2030.

Almost all of this new storage capacity is in the form of batteries and most of that is lithium-ion batteries.  The largest battery storage facility in the world – the Manatee Energy Storage Center in Florida – is scheduled to be completed before the end of this year.  But there are other battery technologies that offer promise and there are other storage technologies apart from batteries.

Pumped hydroelectric storage is long established technology that still represents the largest amount of storage capacity in the world with more than 181 GW of capacity.  There is not much room for expansion of pumped hydro, which is limited to specific locations.   But it will be years before battery storage catches up to this total.

The United States and China have a large majority of energy storage capacity and projections are that the two countries will still have nearly three-quarters of the world’s total capacity in 2030.

With the ongoing rapid expansion of wind and solar power, the need for energy storage continues to grow and is the driving force for the energy storage boom.   It is not clear how it will all shake out, but energy storage is going to be a big deal from now on.

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Inside Clean Energy: Taking Stock of the Energy Storage Boom Happening Right Now

Photo, posted March 15, 2013, courtesy of Portland General Electric via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Manatees And Pollution | Earth Wise

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Manatees are large, gentle, and curious marine mammals measuring up to 13 feet long and weighing up to 3,300 lbs.  There are three living species of manatees:  The Amazonian Manatee, the West African Manatee, and the West Indian Manatee, which is commonly found in Florida and the Gulf Coast.  Manatees inhabit the shallow, marshy coastal areas and rivers of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coast, the Amazon basin, and West Africa. 

The West Indian Manatee, which includes the Florida Manatee, is protected under the Endangered Species Act.  Today, the range-wide population is estimated to be at least 13,000 manatees, with more than 6,500 in the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico.

In Florida, an uptick in nutrient loading from nonpoint sources is triggering algal blooms in Indian River Lagoon and neighboring areas.  These algal blooms have decimated seagrass, manatees’ primary food source. 

As a result , manatees have starved to death by the hundreds along Florida’s east coast.  The state has recorded 974 manatee deaths in 2021, shattering previous annual all-time highs with still approximately two months to go.  Manatees, which need to eat between 100-200 pounds of seagrass daily, are now eating the seagrass roots, which permanently kills the aquatic plants.

Efforts are being made to replant seagrass and to restore clam and oyster beds so that the mollusks can help clean the water.  But manatees face a myriad of additional threats, including collisions with boats and ships, temperature changes, disease, and crocodile predation.

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Florida lawmakers hear Fish & Wildlife agency response to manatee death ‘catastrophe’

West Indian manatee

Preliminary 2021 Manatee Mortality Table by County

Photo, posted May 7, 2010, courtesy of Jim Reid/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The World’s Largest Harmful Algal Bloom | Earth Wise

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Brown sargassum seaweed floats in surface water in a bloom that stretches all the way from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico.  Sargassum provides habitat for turtles, crabs, fish, and birds.

The stuff carpets beaches along the tropical Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the east coast of Florida disrupting tourism.  Florida’s Miami-Dade County alone spends $45 million a year cleaning up sargassum.  Annual Caribbean clean-up is in excess of $120 million.

A study by Florida Atlantic University has discovered dramatic changes in the chemistry and composition of sargassum which has transformed the so-called Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt into a toxic dead zone.

The findings of the study suggest that increased nitrogen availability from both natural and human-generated sources, including sewage, is supporting blooms of sargassum and turning a critical marine nursery habitat into harmful algal blooms with catastrophic impacts on coastal ecosystems, economies, and human health.

The study found that today’s sargassum tissues compared with those of the 1980s have 35% more nitrogen content and 42% less phosphorus.  Much of the nitrogen increase is a result of agricultural and industrial runoff from the Congo, Amazon, and Mississippi Rivers. 

The fact that the bloom itself has expanded so tremendously was already suspected to be the result of significant changes in the ocean’s chemistry.  Given the negative effect that the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is having on the coastal communities, additional research is essential to guide mitigation and adaptation efforts.

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Sargassum now world’s largest harmful algal bloom due to nitrogen

Photo, posted June 5, 2016, courtesy of J Brew via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Sea Turtles And The Sargasso Sea | Earth Wise

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The lifecycle of sea turtles includes a longstanding mystery, often called the “lost years”.  Turtles hatching from nests along Florida’s Atlantic coast head into the ocean and are generally not seen again for several years before they return in their adolescence. Very little is known about where they spend this time in the open ocean.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida have learned that green turtles as well as loggerhead turtles – both iconic species in conservation efforts – may be spending their youth in the legendary Sargasso Sea.  The Sargasso Sea is located off the east coast of the U.S. in the North Atlantic Ocean.  It has frequently been featured in popular culture, such as in the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, as a place where ships could be trapped in thick mats of floating, brown Sargassum seaweed for which the sea is named.

The researchers tracked the baby turtles by attaching advanced, solar-powered tracking devices, about an inch long, to their shells.  They used a special adhesive that held the devices to the turtle shells but would allow the devices to fall off after a few months causing no harm to the turtles or inhibiting shell growth or behavior.

It was previously thought that baby turtles would passively drift in sea currents and simply ride those currents until their later juvenile years.  The new research shows that the turtles actively orient to go into the Sargasso Sea.

Studies of where turtles go as they develop are fundamental to sound sea turtle conservation.  If we don’t know where turtles are and what parts of the ocean are important to them, we are doing conservation blindfolded.

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Legendary Sargasso Sea May be Sea Turtles’ Destination during Mysterious ‘Lost Years’

Photo, posted October 23, 2016, courtesy of Kris-Mikael Krister via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Not All Eggs In One Basket | Earth Wise

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Sea turtles lay their eggs in burrows on sandy beaches.  Many species lay their eggs on the exact same beach year after year.  On average, sea turtles lay over 100 eggs in a nest and produce between 2 and 8 nests per season.

Animals that produce such large numbers of eggs have this reproductive strategy because so few survive to adulthood.   Sea turtle eggs and hatchlings face numerous threats including powerful storms, poachers, marauding birds, and more.  Estimates are that only one in thousand sea turtle eggs leads to an adult turtle.

A recent study by the University of South Florida looked at the reproductive strategy of loggerhead sea turtles nesting on Keewaydin Island off the southwestern Gulf coast of Florida.  The researchers found that individual females lay numerous clutches of eggs in locations as much as six miles apart from each other to increase the chance that some of their offspring will survive.

As the saying goes, nesting loggerhead turtles don’t lay all their eggs in one basket.  The researchers compare the turtles’ strategy to investing in a mutual fund.  The female turtles divide their resources among many stocks rather than investing everything in a single stock.

During their 50-year lifetime, a single female loggerhead will produce over 4,000 eggs and scatter them at 40 different sites.  This strategy helps reduce the risk of complete reproductive failure caused by hurricanes and thunderstorms that could wash out or flood all their clutches.  The combination of unpredictable patterns of nests over time and space results in nearly two-thirds of loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings making it into the Gulf of Mexico.  The species still faces significant challenges but it is doing its part to try to survive.

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Not all in one basket: Loggerhead sea turtles lay eggs in multiple locations to improve reproductive success

Photo, posted January 27, 2012, courtesy of Jeroen Looye via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Grid-Scale Battery Storage is on the Rise | Earth Wise

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Driven by steeply falling prices and improving technology, grid-scale battery storage systems are seeing record growth in the U.S. and around the world. Battery storage is a way to overcome one of the biggest obstacles to renewable energy:  the cycling between oversupply when the sun shines or the wind blows, and shortage when the sun sets or the wind drops.  Storing excess energy in battery banks can smooth imbalances between supply and demand.

In California, a 300-megawatt lithium-ion battery plant is being readied for operation with another 100 megawatts to come online in 2021.  The system will be able to power roughly 300,000 California homes for four-hour periods when energy demand outstrips supply.  It will be the world’s largest battery system for a while until even larger systems in Florida and in Saudi Arabia come online.

Nationwide, a record 1.2 gigawatts of storage were installed last year and that number is projected to jump dramatically over the next five years to nearly 7.5 gigawatts in 2025.

The price tag for utility-scale battery storage in the U.S. has plummeted, dropping nearly 70% just between 2015 and 2018.  Prices are expected to drop by a further 45% over the next decade.  Battery performance has continued to improve dramatically with increased power capacity and the ability to store and discharge energy over ever-longer periods of time. 

Favorable energy policies including renewable energy mandates coupled with continued price drops will drive the widespread expansion of battery energy storage.

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In Boost for Renewables, Grid-Scale Battery Storage Is on the Rise

Photo, posted November 17, 2016, courtesy of Steve Ryan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)