Logging in tropical forests jeopardizing drinking water

Date:

April 16, 2018

Source:

Wildlife Conservation Society

Summary:

Researchers have found that increasing land clearing for logging in Solomon Islands -- even with best management strategies in place -- will lead to unsustainable levels of soil erosio

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River plume draining into the sea full of sediment from upstream logging activity in Western Province, Solomon Islands.

Credit: Wade Fairley

Globally, remaining tropical forests are being rapidly cleared, particularly in countries like the Solomon Islands where commercial logging accounts for about 18 percent of government revenue, and at least 60 percent of exports while providing the largest number of formal sector jobs. However, the loss of native forests has huge ecological and social consequences, many of which are poorly documented.

Fish have ears, so man-made noise threatens their survival

April 10, 2018, University of Exeter

The fishy problem of underwater noise pollution

April 10, 2018 by Adam Crane And Maud Ferrari

Boat noise can interfere with the underwater communication of fishes and other marine animals. Credit: Unsplash, CC BY-SA

New satellite method enables undersea estimates from space

Statistical advance quantifies important ocean parameters in the illuminated ocean

Date:

April 3, 2018

Source:

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Summary:

Researchers have developed a statistical method to quantify six important ocean particles from satellite data.

Researchers aboard the RV Roger Revelle prepare a bottle to collect water from the deep ocean.

Credit: Rebecca Fowler

Public willing to pay to improve ecosystem water quality

Date:

March 28, 2018

Source:

University of Missouri-Columbia

Summary:

Researchers have found in a nationwide survey that members of the public are more willing to pay for improved water quality than other ecosystem services such as flood control or protecting wildlife habitats.

In the wake of the recent water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in which studies confirmed lead contamination in the city's drinking supply, awareness of the importance of protecting watersheds has increased. User-financed ecosystem service programs can compensate landowners to voluntarily participate in environmental improvement efforts. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri have found in a nationwide survey that members of the public are more willing to pay for improved water quality than other ecosystem services such as flood control or protecting wildlife habitats.

Trends of US surface water body area over three decades

Date:

March 26, 2018

Source:

University of Oklahoma

Summary:

A new research study reveals the divergent trends of open surface water bodies in the contiguous United States from 1984 to 2016, specifically, a decreasing trend in the water-poor states and an increasing trend in the water-rich states. Surface water resources are critical for public water supply, industry, agriculture, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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This is the Lake Thunderbird reservoir in Norman, Oklahoma.

Credit: University of Oklahoma

West Coast waters returning to normal but salmon catches lagging

Unusually warm conditions dissipating as 'The Blob,' El Nino wane

Date:

March 9, 2018

Source:

NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region

Summary:

Ocean conditions off most of the US West Coast are returning roughly to average, after an extreme marine heat wave from about 2014 to 2016 disrupted the California Current Ecosystem and shifted many species beyond their traditional range, according to a new report from NOAA Fisheries' two marine laboratories on the West Coast. Some warm waters remain off the Pacific Northwest, however.

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Fish school around a drill rig off Southern California. A new report says West Coast waters are returning to normal after warm temperatures shook up the food web.

Credit: Adam Obaza/West Coast Region/NOAA Fisheries