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Natural solutions for coastal defense

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Protecting coastal cities and towns from the dangers of tsunamis, storm surges, and sea-level rise has become an ever-increasing challenge.  There are so-called hard coastal defenses as well as nature-based solutions.  A new study by the University of Tokyo has found that combining the two types of defenses may be the most effective way to protect, support, and enrich coastal communities.

Sea walls, dikes, dams, and breakwaters are the traditional hard measures.  They are popular and have proven track records but are facing challenges to keep pace with increasing climate risks.  They are expensive to build and require continuous upgrades and repairs.  While they do provide protection from many disaster risks, they also can cause significant disruption to coastal ecosystems as well as to coastal communities.

Nature-based coastal defenses include such things as mangroves and coral reefs.  So-called soft measures involve restoring, rehabilitating, reforesting, and nourishing natural ecosystems that protect coastal areas.

The Tokyo researchers analyzed the defense strategies in terms of risk reduction, climate change mitigation, and cost-effectiveness over a 20-year period. The results of the study were that among all coastal defense options in lower-risk areas, hybrid measures provide the highest risk reduction and can harness the advantages of both hard and soft measures. 

The findings provide strong evidence for integrating nature-based components into coastal defenses, but these approaches have not yet been adequately tested in circumstances of extreme events and high-risk urgency.  Research in this area has important implications for policy makers, coastal planners, and communities looking to make evidence-based decisions.

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A natural touch for coastal defense

Photo, posted October 22, 2021, courtesy of Kevin Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Offshore wind and the wake effect

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Electricity demand in the U.S. continues to grow and, in the summer, homes and businesses crank up their air conditioning which drives demand even further.  Many East Coast cities are banking on offshore wind projects that are underway in the Atlantic Ocean to help meet that growing demand.  The first offshore turbines are now producing power off the coasts of Massachusetts and New York.

Electric power utilities need to know how much power they can get from offshore wind farms, and this is not that easy to predict.  Wind is variable, so there is some built-in uncertainty.  But there is also a phenomenon known as the wake effect to contend with.

When wind passes through a series of giant turbines, the ones in front extract some energy from the wind and, as a result, the wind slows down and becomes more turbulent behind the turbines.  So, the downstream turbines get slower wind and may produce less power.

A study by the University of Colorado has modeled this phenomenon for planned wind farms in the Atlantic Coast region and has found that power output could be reduced by over 30%.  Researchers are installing weather monitors and radar sensors in islands off the New England coast to better understand the behavior of the wind in the area and improve prediction models.

The New England grid covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Even with the wake effect, offshore wind is predicted to be able to provide 60% of the electricity needs of the grid, but it is important to be able to accurately predict what it can produce.

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How much energy can offshore wind farms in the US produce? New study sheds light

Photo, posted August 31, 2022, courtesy of Nina Ali via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A setback for New York offshore wind

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Three major offshore wind projects in New York have been cancelled because of the unavailability of technology critical to the projects.  The projects were part of NYSERDA‘s third offshore wind solicitation and were provisionally awarded last October.  The projects, which totaled more than 4 GW of clean energy, were supposed to begin commercial operation in 2030.

The projects were Attentive Energy One, intended to benefit historically marginalized communities in New York City; Community Offshore Wind, a farm located 64 miles offshore that would power 500,000 homes; and Excelsior Wind, which would have powered 700,000 homes.

What happened is GE Vernova – a GE spinoff energy equipment company – decided to no longer develop its new 18 MW Haliade-X wind turbines and instead concentrate on its lower-powered models which already have ample demand.  The material changes to the three projects using the turbines made them no longer viable and the developers and their partners could no longer come to terms.  As a result, NYSERDA decided to not go forward with the awards.

While this represents a significant blow to the offshore wind industry and to New York’s renewable energy goals, NYSERDA said that it remains committed to advancing New York’s offshore wind industry and expects to announce new plans and additional projects in the near future.

In the bigger picture, 2023 was a record year for wind power; the world installed 117 gigawatts of new wind capacity.  This year has seen the first major offshore wind farms come online in the US.

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Massive New York projects nixed as NYSERDA concludes third offshore wind solicitation

Photo, posted August 7, 2013, courtesy of Department of Energy and Climate Change via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Marine carbon dioxide removal

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About 30% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity is absorbed by the oceans.  As a result, they are getting warmer and more acidic, and the currents that help shape global weather are shifting.  To try to reduce global warming, people want to be able to store even more carbon dioxide in the oceans without the negative effects of doing so.

There are multiple efforts across the globe to achieve effective marine carbon dioxide removal.  Some are based on sinking carbon-rich materials to the bottom of the sea.  This is the marine equivalent of capturing CO2 from the air and storing it underground.  Other efforts involve increasing the alkalinity of the ocean, which increases its ability to chemically react with carbon dioxide as well as lowers its acidity, which is desirable in many ways.

Running Tide, a U.S.-based company, has been dumping thousands of tons of wood-industry waste 190 miles off the coast of Iceland.  The company has also been experimenting with dumping algae and kelp and sinking it deep below the ocean.  Such materials on land either get burned or decay, in both cases releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.  On the deep-sea bottom, the carbon is trapped.

Other efforts involve pumping seawater through electrodialysis filter systems to remove excess acidity or adding alkaline rocks to increase water alkalinity.

All of these efforts are a form of geoengineering, and like proposed ideas to cool the atmosphere, pose potential risks.  There is no silver bullet to solve the climate crisis.  It will take a combination of many solutions to address the issue of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Marine carbon dioxide removal is one of the solutions that may play a role.

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Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2

Photo, posted February 22, 2018, courtesy of Bobbie Halchishak/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Global coral bleaching

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The world’s coral reefs are in the midst of a global bleaching event being driven by extraordinarily high ocean temperatures.  This is the fourth such global event on record and is predicted to be the largest one ever.  Coral bleaching occurs when corals are stressed by heat and eject the symbiotic algae within them that they need to survive.  Bleached corals can recover if water temperatures cool soon enough.  Otherwise, they die.

Each of the three previous coral bleaching events has been worse than the last.  The first, in 1998, affected 20% of the world’s reefs.  The second, in 2010, affected 35%.  The third, from 2014 to 2017, affected 56% of reefs.

The current bleaching event was confirmed by satellite observations early in April and was already seen to be affecting more than half of the world’s coral areas across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.  The ongoing event is expected to be the worst bleaching ever experienced by Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  A small saving grace is that the current bleaching event is not expected to be of extremely long duration because the El Niño in the Pacific has abated.

Coral bleaching events are becoming more severe and frequent due to increased marine heat waves driven by climate change.  Last year was particularly difficult for corals as global sea temperatures reached record high levels for several months.

Widespread coral bleaching impacts economies, livelihoods, food security, and more.  Coral reefs provide ecosystem services essential to marine life and human populations as well.  Global action will be needed for coral interventions and restorations.

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Satellites watch as 4th global coral bleaching event unfolds

Photo, posted March 23, 2012, courtesy of Oregon State University via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Oases and desertification

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Oases are important sources of water for people, plants, and animals in the world’s desert areas.  In fact, oases sustain 10% of the world’s population despite taking up only about 1.5% of land area.  They form when groundwater flows and settles into low-lying areas or when surface meltwater flows down from nearby mountains and pools.

New research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found that oases added 85,000 square miles of new area from 1995 to 2020, mostly from artificial expansion projects, but over the same period lost 52,000 square miles from desertification and water scarcity.  The net gain of 33,000 square miles is not considered to be sustainable given that it was mostly due to artificial causes.  The oasis expansion projects were in Asia but losses due to desertification were also mostly in Asia.

Today, oases are found in 37 countries.  Increases in oases mostly come from people intentionally converting desert land into oases using runoff water and groundwater pumping, creating grasslands and croplands. This mostly has taken place in China.

Human over-exploitation of dwindling groundwater can limit the sustainability of oases as can the long-term loss of glaciers.

The study highlighted ways to sustain healthy oases, including suggestions for improving water resource management, promoting sustainable land use and management, and encouraging water conservation and efficient water use.  As the climate continues to change, these efforts will be increasingly important for a significant portion of the world’s population.

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World’s Oases Threatened By Desertification, Even As Humans Expand Them

Photo, posted August 3, 2008, courtesy of Paul Williams via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate change and fish migration

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The warming climate is changing the distribution of fish species.  Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia have observed that tropical fish species are moving into temperate Australian waters.

The Eastern Australian Current is strengthening as the climate warms and larvae of tropical fish are getting caught in the current and moving into more temperate regions.  These larvae would not normally survive in the cooler Australian ocean water, but the warming current keeps the baby fish warm and increases their chances for survival.  The fish migration observed in the study is an ongoing process that has strengthened in the last few decades due to ocean warming.

The novel populations of tropical fish in these temperate ecosystems are not having much impact at the present time, but they may do so in the future.  The water is still cooler than the fishes’ natural environment and therefore they do not grow to their maximum size.  As a result, they don’t represent stiff competition for the native species – at least not yet.

As the ocean temperatures continue to rise, these tropical species will eventually grow to their full size and their diets will overlap more and more with those of temperate fish species.  Tropical herbivores tend to overgraze temperate kelp while the impact of tropical fish that eat invertebrates is less well understood.  Tropical fish with varied diets are the most successful invaders.  The ultimate effects on temperate ecosystems remain to be seen but survival may become difficult for the native fish in rapidly warming temperate ocean environments.

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Tropical fish are invading Australian ocean water

Photo, posted March 28, 2017, courtesy of Ryan McMinds via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Colorado River crisis

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The Colorado River serves nearly 40 million people in seven U.S. states and Mexico.  It provides water for 5 million acres of farmland.  Increasing demand from growing populations, damming, diversion, and drought have been draining the Colorado at alarming rates.  This critical resource supports countless economies, communities, and ecologies stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California.  The Colorado River essentially has made the cities of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, and Phoenix possible.

How the water of the Colorado is distributed is determined by an agreement that is over 100 years old:  the Colorado River Compact.  It was made at a time when people thought there was more water than really was there.  And at the time, no one thought that the seven states would need to use the water they were allocated down to the last drop.

There have been various measures over the years to conserve water from the Colorado River, including the Colorado River Interim Guidelines in 2007.  Those guidelines will expire in 2026 and negotiations are beginning to take place among the many stakeholders scrambling for water rights.  Apart from the seven U.S. states and Mexico, there are 30 tribal nations involved.  Collaborative governance is complicated when it crosses multiple jurisdictions with their own laws and legal precedents.  The goal is to put in place a new agreement to protect the Colorado River.

Rapidly-growing populations in major cities, a 20-year megadrought, and historically low water levels in America’s two largest reservoirs have put enormous pressure on the Colorado River.  Creating a plan to protect the lifeblood of the American West is essential.

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Addressing the Colorado River crisis

Photo, posted June 18, 2022, courtesy of Jeff Hollett via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon dioxide and wildfires

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Climate change is a key factor in the increasing risk and extent of wildfires.  Wildfires require the alignment of several factors, including humidity, temperature, and the lack of moisture in fuels, such as trees, shrubs, and grasses.  All of these factors have strong ties to climate variability and climate change.

While the global surge in wildfires is often attributed to hotter and drier conditions, a new study by researchers from the University of California – Riverside has found that increasing levels of a greenhouse gas may be an even bigger factor. 

According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, carbon dioxide is driving an increase in the severity and frequency of wildfires by fueling the growth of plants that become kindling.

Centuries of burning fossil fuels to produce heat, electricity and to power engines has added alarming amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.  In fact, atmospheric CO2 levels are measuring more than 420 parts per million, which is a level not seen on earth for 14-16 million years. 

Plants require carbon dioxide, along with sunlight and water, for photosynthesis.  But rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are driving an increase in plant photosynthesis – an effect known as the carbon fertilization effect.  This effect can make plants grow bigger and faster. 

Warming and drying are important fire factors.  These are the conditions that make the extra plant mass more flammable.  But the study found that the increase in fires during hotter seasons is driven by the CO2-fueled growth of plants.   

The researchers hope their findings will urge policymakers to focus on reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

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CO2 worsens wildfires by helping plants grow

Current carbon dioxide levels last seen 14 million years ago

Photo, posted January 17, 2024, courtesy of Jennifer Myslivy, BLM Fire/NIFC via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

An active hurricane season

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The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1st until November 30th.  Forecasters at Colorado State University have issued forecasts of Atlantic basin hurricane activity since 1984 based on the pioneering work of Professor William Gray.  This year’s forecast, issued in April, predicts a higher-than-average number of Atlantic storms.  In fact, it may be one of the most active seasons on record.

On average, there are 14 named storms each season.  This year, the prediction is for 23 of them.  On average, there are 7 hurricanes each season.  This year, the prediction is for 11. The prediction is for 5 major hurricanes among them.  These predictions are among the highest on record, although in 2020 they predicted 12 hurricanes.  In fact, that year there were 14 that actually took place.

Among the factors at play are that the El Niño that was occurring last year has dissipated and there is a good chance of a La Niña forming, which suppresses upper-level winds thereby making conditions ideal for hurricane formation and intensification.  But the overarching factor is global warming which is driving ocean temperature rise.  The water in the Atlantic, especially in the eastern Atlantic where most hurricanes form, has seen record-breaking warmth.  More warm water means more chances for storms.

Other research groups echo the predictions from Colorado State and, in some cases, see ever greater chances for an extremely active hurricane season.  The University of Pennsylvania forecast calls for 33 named storms.

The overall forecast is for a well above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States coastline and the Caribbean. 

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Weather tracker: US experts predict one of most active hurricane seasons on record

Photo, posted September 5, 2017, courtesy of NASA/NOAA GOES Project via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Artificial reefs

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The coral reefs that surround tropical islands are a refuge for a wide variety of marine life and also form a natural buffer against stormy seas.  The changing climate is bleaching coral reefs and breaking them down.  Extreme weather events are becoming more common and are threatening coastal communities with flooding and erosion.

Researchers at MIT are designing architected reefs – sustainable offshore structures that mimic the wave-buffering effects of natural reefs and can also provide habitats for fish and other marine life.

There are already artificial reefs in a number of places used to protect coastlines.  These are typically made from sunken ships, retired oil and gas platforms, and even assemblies of concrete, metal, car tires, and stones.  Generally, it takes quite a lot of material to form an effective barrier to waves.

The MIT group has developed a cylindrical structure surrounded by four rudder-like slats.  Their experiments have shown that when this structure stands in the way of a wave, it efficiently breaks the wave and creates turbulent jets that dissipate the energy in the wave.  The engineers calculated that the new design could reduce as much wave energy as existing artificial reefs but use 10 times less material.

Based on the initial experiments with lab-scale prototypes, these artificial reefs would reduce the energy of incoming waves by more than 95%.

Coral reefs are only found in tropical waters, whereas these artificial reefs don’t depend on temperature and could be placed along any coastline for protection.  In a time of rising seas and increasingly frequent storms, these artificial reefs may be just what coastlines need.

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Artificial reef designed by MIT engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage

Photo, posted December 9, 2010, courtesy of Phoenix Wolf-Ray via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Hope for amphibians

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There are more than 7,000 known species of amphibians, the group of animals that includes frogs, toads, and salamanders.  Over the past 25 years, more than 90 species are believed to have gone extinct and at least 500 more have declining populations.

There are many factors contributing to the decline of amphibian populations but the most alarming is a fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis – or Bd – that ravages the skin of frogs and toads and eventually causes heart failure.  The fungus has been devastating amphibians on nearly every continent.

In a recent paper in the journal Current Biology, scientists at the University of California Riverside documented the discovery of a virus that infects Bd and could be engineered to control the fungal disease.

The researchers were studying the population genetics of the Bd fungus with DNA sequencing technology and uncovered the virus inside the fungal genome.  Some strains of the fungus are infected with the virus and others are not.  They are now looking for insights into the ways that the virus operates to see how it gets into the fungal cells.  The goal is to engineer the virus to infect more strains of the fungus and potentially end the global amphibian pandemic.

Frogs and toads control bad insects, crop pests, and mosquitos.  If their populations around the world collapse, it could be devastating.  They are already having difficulty coping with warmer temperatures, stronger UV light, and worsening water quality in many places. 

Some amphibian species are already acquiring resistance to Bd.  The UCR researchers are hoping to assist nature in taking its course.

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Discovery could end global amphibian pandemic

Photo, posted August 25, 2010, courtesy of Kev Chapman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate change and Antarctic meteorites

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Researchers from Switzerland and Belgium have investigated the effects of the warming climate on access to meteorites in Antarctica.  Meteorites are of great scientific interest because they provide unique information about the makeup of our solar system.  Of all the meteorites that people have found, 62.6% of them were found in Antarctica.

Why is this?  It is not because more meteorites land in Antarctica.  Statistically, they can land anywhere on earth.  Most end up in the ocean since the world’s oceans cover 70% of the planet. 

Meteorites in Antarctica are more visible because environmental conditions are favorable for their preservation and their visibility.  The arid and cold Antarctic environment helps to preserve meteorites and the lack of rocks and contrast with ice makes spotting meteorites much easier.  The flow of ice sheets tends to concentrate meteorites in so-called meteorite stranding zones where the dark colored space rocks can be easily detected.

There are an estimated 300,000 to 800,000 meteorites in Antarctica.  When meteorites warm up, they can transfer heat to the ice, which locally melts.  Eventually, the meteorites sink beneath the surface.  A recent study using satellite imagery, climate model projections, and AI predicts that for every tenth of a degree of increase in global air temperature, an average of 9,000 meteorites in Antarctica will disappear from the surface and will no longer be able to be found. 

The study estimates that a quarter of Antarctic meteorites will be lost to glacial melt by 2050.  If warming continues to accelerate, closer to three-quarters of the meteorites on the continent will be lost. 

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Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites

Photo, posted April 21, 2005, courtesy of Kevin Walsh via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Winegrowing regions and climate change

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Grapes grown to make wine are sensitive to climate conditions including temperatures and amount of rainfall.  The warming climate is already having visible effects on yields, grape composition, and the quality of wine.  This has significant consequences on the geography of wine production and is of major concern for the $350 billion global industry.

Winegrowing regions are mostly at the mid-latitudes where temperatures are warm enough to allow grapes to ripen but not excessively hot.  The climates are relatively dry so that fungal diseases are not rampant.

Because of the warming climate, harvesting in most vineyards now begins two or three weeks earlier than it did 40 years ago and this affects the grapes and the resultant wines.  Temperature changes affect acidity, wine alcohol, and aromatic signatures.

If global temperature rise crosses the 2-degree level, 90% of all traditional winegrowing areas throughout Spain, Italy, Greece, and southern California may become unable to produce high-quality wines.  Conversely, areas of northern France, the states of Washington and Oregon, British Columbia, and Tasmania will see improved conditions for producing quality wines. 

As the climate warms, winegrowers face new challenges such as the emergence of new diseases and pests as well as an increasing number of extreme weather events.  Wine producers are using more drought-resistant grape varieties and are adopting management methods that better preserve soil water.

The changing climate poses many threats to the quality of wines produced in traditional vineyards.  In the future, the wine industry may look very different in terms of where and how the best wines are produced. 

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A global map of how climate change is changing winegrowing regions

Photo, posted November 14, 2008, courtesy of Curtis Foreman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Forever chemicals in water

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So-called forever chemicals are pervasive in a wide range of products.  These are man-made substances called per- and polyfluoroalkyls or PFAS.  They get their unfortunate nickname because the chemical bonds in them are so strong that the compounds don’t break down for hundreds or even thousands of years.

PFAS compounds are used in makeup, dental floss, nonstick pans, food wrappers, pesticides, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, firefighting foams, and more.  High level exposure to some of these chemicals has been linked to a variety of health problems include high cholesterol, liver and immune system damage, pregnancy problems, and kidney and testicular cancer.

A recent study published in the journal Nature Geoscience has found that PFAS chemicals are showing up in water around the world.  The study looked at more than 45,000 water samples and found that about 31% of ground water tested that wasn’t even near any obvious source of PFAS contamination had levels of the chemicals that are considered harmful to human health by the EPA.  About 16% of surface water samples – streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes – also not near any known source, had similar hazardous PFAS levels.

The EPA has now imposed strict new drinking water limits for six types of PFAS.  Going forward, water systems are required to monitor for these chemicals and remove them if they are found above allowable levels.  The new rules make the United States one of the strictest countries in the world in terms of regulating PFAS in water.

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EPA puts limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

Photo, posted May 5, 2020, courtesy of Brandon Shaw via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rising fossil fuel emissions

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Almost every nation in the world has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  There is expanding use of renewable energy sources and growing numbers of electric cars.  But despite all this, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels rose again in 2023, reaching record levels.

The world’s population continues to grow and nations with large, rapidly growing populations are becoming increasingly industrialized and are embracing more and more of the trappings of modern life.  As a result, the global burning of oil, coal, and natural gas is increasing.

Analysis of 2023 date shows that emissions from fossil fuels rose 1.1 percent compared to 2022 levels.  The total fossil fuel emissions in 2023 was 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide. 

Clearly, the world continues to head in the wrong direction in order to limit global warming.  The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from about 278 parts per million in 1750 – considered to be the start of the industrial era – to 420 parts per million in 2023.

The rise in heat-trapping carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases such as methane is the primary reason that the planet’s temperature is continuing to rise.  The average global surface temperature in 2023 was 1.2 degrees Celsius – or 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit – higher than it was in the NASA baseline period of 1951-1980.  Last year was the hottest year on record.  Unfortunately, the rise in global ocean temperature was even larger, compounding the effects of global warming.

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Emissions from Fossil Fuels Continue to Rise

Photo, posted June 22, 2020, courtesy of John Morton via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Skiing and climate change

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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, anthropogenic climate change resulting in higher average temperatures has caused a global decline in snowfall.  Less snow threatens to reinforce global warming, and to disrupt food, water, and livelihoods for billions of people.  

According to a new study recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, annual snow cover days in all major skiing regions are projected to decrease dramatically as a result of climate change.  In the study, the research team from the University of Bayreuth in Germany examined the impact of climate change on annual natural snow cover in seven major skiing regions.  Using the public climate database CHELSA, the researchers predicted annual snow cover days for each ski area for 2011-2040, 2041-2070, and 2071-2100 under low, high, and very high carbon emissions scenarios.

Under the high emissions scenario, 13% of ski areas are predicted to lose all natural snow cover by 2071-2100 relative to their historic baselines.  By 2071-2100, average annual snow cover days were predicted to decline by 78% in the Australian Alps, 51% in the Southern Alps, 50% in the Japanese Alps, 43% in the Andes, 42% in the European Alps, 37% in the Appalachians, and 23% in the the Rocky Mountains – all declines relative to their historic baselines.

The future losses of natural snow cover in ski areas around the world will be significant if global emissions continue unchecked.

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The future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change

New maps show where snowfall is disappearing

Photo, posted April 14, 2006, courtesy of Kallu via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

An ice-free Arctic

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According to a new study by Colorado University, Boulder, the Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as soon as sometime in the next few years.  Earlier predictions for when the first ice-free day in the Arctic could occur were sometime well into the 2030s.

By mid-century, the Arctic is likely to see an entire month without floating sea ice.  This would likely be in September, when ice coverage is at its minimum.  By the end of the century, the ice-free season could last for many months during the year.

Technically, an ice-free Arctic does not mean zero ice in the water.  The working definition is less than 386,000 square miles of ice, which represents less than 20% of what the minimum ice coverage was in the 1980s. In recent years, the coverage has been about 1.25 million square miles.

Sea ice coverage is a big deal because many Arctic animals rely on sea ice for survival, including seals and polar bears.  With warmer ocean water, invasive fish species could move into the Arctic Ocean, upsetting local ecosystems.  Sea ice loss also is a risk for coastal communities because the ice buffers the impact of ocean waves on the coastal land.  As the ice retreats, ocean waves would get bigger, eroding the coasts.

At this point, an ice-free Arctic is basically inevitable, but its annual duration will depend on society’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.  Lengthy periods of minimal sea ice would transform the Arctic into a completely different environment with global effects that are mostly highly undesirable.  However, Arctic sea ice is resilient and could return fairly quickly if the atmosphere cools down.

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The Arctic could become ‘ice-free’ within a decade

Photo, posted July 9, 2022, courtesy of Reiner Ehlers via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A common plant could be a valuable food source

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A new study by researchers at Penn State University has found that a common water plant in the eastern U.S. could be a valuable green fertilizer, a feed for poultry and livestock, and even a life-saving food for people in the event of a catastrophe or disaster.

The plant is the Carolina azolla.  It is sometimes called mosquito fern, fairy moss, or water fern. It is a water plant that grows very rapidly; it can double its biomass in two days.   There are many varieties of azolla, but the Carolina strain is more digestible and nutritious for people than any of the others.

Azolla species have been used across the world for centuries as a livestock feed and as a fertilizer.  They have not been good for human consumption because of high polyphenolic content, which can be 10 times more than that of common food plants.  Polyphenols are abundant compounds in many plants and, in low concentrations, are beneficial antioxidants.  But in high concentrations they act as antinutritional agents.

It turns out that the Carolina azolla – described as having a crisp texture and neutral taste – has a polyphenolic content comparable to many fruits, nuts, and vegetables.  Furthermore, cooking significantly decreases the polyphenolic content in foods.

Carolina azolla has significant nutritional value including high mineral yields and calories,  and moderate protein content.  Whether it is used as a quick-fix in a disaster situation or as part of a long-term resilience plan, the study concludes that Carolina azolla holds excellent potential for use as a fast-growing, short-season crop that requires minimal effort to grow and process and could be used to increase food security in a hungry world.

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Common plant could help reduce food insecurity, researchers find

Photo, posted October 8, 2020, courtesy of Dana L. Brown via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Progress on offshore wind in New York

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New York has now conditionally awarded two offshore wind projects that will move towards operation in 2026.  The projects, totaling more than 1,700 megawatts of power, will be the largest power generation projects in New York state in more than 35 years.  It is an important milestone toward achieving the state’s goal of developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035.

Empire Wind I, located 15 miles southeast of Long Island, and Sunrise Wind, located more than 30 miles east of the eastern point of Long Island, have already completed most federal and state permitting requirements.  Empire Wind I received final approval of their Construction and Operation Plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in late February.

Both projects are expected to ramp up construction activity this year.  Previous awards by NYSERDA for the projects in 2019 included contract provisions for specific economic benefits to New York communities and commitments for purchasing iron and steel from American sources.   Empire Wind I is being developed by Equinor, an international energy company headquartered in Norway.  Sunrise Wind, originally a joint project by Ørsted and Eversource, is now solely being developed by Ørsted, a global energy company based in Denmark.

Following successful execution of the contracts for the two projects, NYSERDA payments under these awards will only begin once the projects have obtained all required permits and approvals, the construction has been completed, and the projects begin delivering clean energy to New York.

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New York selects Empire Wind I and Sunrise Wind offshore projects

Photo, posted June 14, 2022, courtesy of Lissa Eng / BOEM via Flickr.

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