Wed May 27, 2009 5:36pm EDT
by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New York, Boston and other cities on North America’s northeast coast could face a rise in sea level this century that would exceed forecasts for the rest of the planet if Greenland’s ice sheet keeps melting as fast as it is now, researchers said on Wednesday.
Sea levels off the northeast coast of North America could rise by 12 to 20 inches more than other coastal areas if the Greenland glacier-melt continues to accelerate at its present pace, the researchers reported.
This is because the current rate of ice-melting in Greenland could send so much fresh water into the salty north Atlantic Ocean that it could change the vast ocean circulation pattern sometimes called the conveyor belt. Scientists call this pattern the meridional overturning circulation.
“If the Greenland melt continues to accelerate, we could see significant impacts this century on the northeast U.S. coast from the resulting sea level rise,” said Aixie Hu, lead author of an article on the subject in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Beneath Dead Sea, Scientists Seek Natural History
/in Ocean Newswire/by Ocean DoctorRead the full article in the New York Times.
Greenland Ice Could Fuel Severe U.S. Sea Level Rise
/in Ocean Newswire/by Ocean DoctorWed May 27, 2009 5:36pm EDT
by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New York, Boston and other cities on North America’s northeast coast could face a rise in sea level this century that would exceed forecasts for the rest of the planet if Greenland’s ice sheet keeps melting as fast as it is now, researchers said on Wednesday.
Sea levels off the northeast coast of North America could rise by 12 to 20 inches more than other coastal areas if the Greenland glacier-melt continues to accelerate at its present pace, the researchers reported.
This is because the current rate of ice-melting in Greenland could send so much fresh water into the salty north Atlantic Ocean that it could change the vast ocean circulation pattern sometimes called the conveyor belt. Scientists call this pattern the meridional overturning circulation.
“If the Greenland melt continues to accelerate, we could see significant impacts this century on the northeast U.S. coast from the resulting sea level rise,” said Aixie Hu, lead author of an article on the subject in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
I Hereby Reclaim This Land for Nature!
/in Podcast/by Ocean DoctorDecember 13, 2010: Mangroves are critically important to our coastlines, to fish, manatees and other ocean wildlife we love. But in South Florida many acres of mangroves were destroyed to make way for waterfront real estate, and around the world, mangroves face a myriad of threats. Enter the Reclamation Project, a unique art, education and restoration project hosted at Miami Science Museum. Mangrove seedlings in cups are displayed as art in galleries, retail stores and schools throughout the region, and once large enough, they are replanted along the shoreline. Along the way comes lots of new awareness about the incredible wetlands residents may be only vaguely aware of, and deep appreciation for the beauty of nature. Our guests: Reclamation Project Founder and artist, Xavier Cortada and Executive Director, Fernando Bretos. Also: Attacked by the Giant Squid’s cousins and a silky shark with an appetite for video cameras.
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
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Jacques Cousteau, Fidel Castro and Cuba’s Undying Passion for the Sea
/in Cuba, Cuba Research & Conservation, Podcast/by Ocean DoctorDecember 6, 2010: Join The Ocean Doctor on a field trip to Havana to visit with Cuba’s next-generation of marine scientists at the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas). We visit with the Center’s new director, Dr. Jorge A. Angulo Vald’s. We also visit with Dr. Julia Azanza Ricardo who directs the Center’s unique sea turtle research and conservation program in the wilds of Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve on Cuba’s western tip. For these two and their colleagues, their passion for the sea runs deep, thanks in large part to two influential people in their lives: Jacques Cousteau and Fidel Castro.
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.
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Do We Dare Drill Beneath Arctic Seas?
/in Podcast/by Ocean DoctorNovember 29, 2010: Walter Parker, who has accumulated an incredible 55 years of leadership and experience in Alaska’s environmental issues, particularly as a watchdog of Alaska’s oil industry, joins us to share his unique perspectives on Alaska’s experience with the oil industry and whether we’ve yet learned our lessons. The stakes are high: The push is on to drill beneath the ice in Arctic waters. This week we hear from many of you as we give thanks to Mother Ocean!
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.
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The War, The Exodus, The Hurricane, The Oil Spill: One Gulf Community’s Determination to Endure (Part 2)
/in Gulf of Mexico, Podcast, USA & Territories/by Ocean DoctorNovember 22, 2010: CONCLUSION: Village de l’Est, known locally as “Versailles” in New Orleans East, holds the highest concentration of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam. Settled in 1975 by Vietnamese refugees when Saigon fell to the Communists, the community’s residents bought boats and have fished the Gulf of Mexico — 80 percent of the community is dependent on fishing and the fishing industry. But in 2005, Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped the community off the map. Still recovering from that disaster, the BP oil spill now leaves the future of fishing uncertain in the Gulf. Now, in a partnership with The Ocean Foundation, the community is looking at next-generation land-based fish farming as a solution. Join The Ocean Doctor in a visit to this unique community that is determined to do whatever it takes to endure.
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.
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The War, The Exodus, The Hurricane, The Oil Spill: One Gulf Community’s Determination to Endure (Part 1)
/in Podcast/by Ocean DoctorNovember 15, 2010: Village de l’Est, known locally as “Versailles” in New Orleans East, holds the highest concentration of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam. Settled in 1975 by Vietnamese refugees when Saigon fell to the Communists, the community’s residents bought boats and have fished the Gulf of Mexico — 80 percent of the community is dependent on fishing and the fishing industry. But in 2005, Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped the community off the map. Still recovering from that disaster, the BP oil spill now leaves the future of fishing uncertain in the Gulf. Now, in a partnership with The Ocean Foundation, the community is looking at next-generation land-based fish farming as a solution. Join The Ocean Doctor in a visit to this unique community that is determined to do whatever it takes to endure.
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.
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Wild and Crazy: A Worm Named Bob Marley and the Fish With a See-Through Head
/in Podcast/by Ocean DoctorNovember 8, 2010: In the oceans, Mother Nature continues to surprise and delight us with mesmerizing, jaw-dropping marine life that often wildly exceeds our imagination. Released at the completion of the decade-long Census of Marine Life, the? new book from National Geographic, Citizens of the Sea: Wondrous Creatures From the Census of Marine Life,? is not only rich with the captivating images you’d expect from the seasoned underwater photographers of National Geographic and the Census of Marine Life, but its delightful prose by author Dr. Nancy Knowlton — Sant Chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and a scientific leader of the Census of Marine Life — brings these photographs to life in captivating vignettes that will playfully bend your brain with utterly amazing facts about these utterly amazing creatures, including the Bob Marley Worm and a fish with a head you (and it) can see right through. We visit with Dr. Knowlton at her office at Smithsonian and take a field trip to the Smithsonian’s latest and wildly popular exhibit, the “Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef.”
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.
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Why Saving the Gulf of Mexico Starts in Ohio
/in 50 States Expedition, Podcast/by Ocean DoctorNovember 1, 2010: For many of us in the 48 continental United States, what we do in our own back yard can directly impact what happens in the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly 40 percent of the continental United States — and even a small portion of Canada — drains into the Mississippi river and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. We visit central Ohio where the Licking County Soil & Water Conservation District is helping its community restore and protect its natural lands, farmlands and waters while also helping countless communities downstream, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Learn about rain gardens and rain barrels and how all of us can work together to make our back yards more beautiful and our communities — and the Gulf of Mexico — more healthy and vibrant.
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.
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A Crazy Awesome Way to Get Paid to Clean Your Closet…and Help the Oceans
/in Podcast/by Ocean DoctorOctober 25, 2010: What’s lurking in your closet? Chances are there’s a cell phone or two in there, an old laptop and perhaps an iPod? Sadly most electronics waste or “e-waste” ends up in landfills where it can have very harmful effects on groundwater and the oceans. We visit with Kristina Kennedy of Gazelle, an innovative company that’s leading the way by paying you to recycle your old electronics. Plus our “In Depth” coverage of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill continues, but this week our Spin Detector alarm sounds!
The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.
Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.
Like the show? Learn how to become a sponsor. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download