Environmental Restoration on EARTH Magazine

Mississippi sand still abundant

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 10:57:41 -0400

Rice University researcher Jeffrey Nittrouer on an exposed dune field in the Bonnet Carré spillway in Louisiana in July 2011. Nittrouer and colleagues found that about 40 percent of the sand being carried down the Mississippi River was diverted through the spillway during a flood diversion that year. Credit: J. Nittrouer/Rice University.

Flood control measures along the Mississippi River have likely saved countless lives, but the effects of upstream dams and containment on the river’s delta have been ecologically catastrophic: In the past 80 years, more than 5,000 square kilometers of wetlands along the Louisiana coast have been starved of vital sediment and drowned. Now, researchers have found that the lower river contains a significant reservoir of the sand needed to mitigate land loss at the river’s mouth — if it can be diverted downstream.

The Chesapeake Bay gets some good news

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 10:35:38 -0400

The Susquehanna River in eastern Pennsylvania is one of 150 major rivers that eventually flow into the Chesapeake Bay, transporting pollutants and nutrient runoff from six states. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton

By Mary Caperton Morton

Neutralizing the rain: After much success in the battle against acid rain, challenges remain

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:17:43 -0400

Hundreds of ponds and lakes in the Adirondacks, such as Blue Mountain Lake, once were devoid of life. Now they are being restocked, and so far, the fish are surviving. Copyright Mwanner, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Each of the 250 national and international stations must meet the same criteria to eliminate collection bias. Surrounding vegetation must be lower than 0.6 meters, which means the collectors sometimes must be placed on platforms, such as this one located in Northern California. National Atmospheric Deposition Program

Precipitation collections are analyzed each week at the National Atmospheric Deposition Program lab in Illinois. Scientists have been collecting data since 1978. National Atmospheric Deposition Program

Ecosystems are not the only things impacted by acid rain. Buildings and statues also show telltale acid rain damage. Copyright Nino Barbieri, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Every Tuesday at 9 a.m., Dave Warner collects water from a white plastic 3.5-gallon tub that sits on a strip of tall grass between two cornfields at the University of Nebraska Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Neb. For more than 30 years, the bucket has collected all forms of precipitation — from hail to rain to snow — to be analyzed for nitric and sulfur oxides, the main components of acid rain.

Benchmarks: December 3, 1984: Bhopal gas leak kills thousands

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

On Dec. 3, 1984, Aziza Sultan woke to the sound of coughing. When she opened her eyes, she could see that the room was filled with a white haze. She heard people shouting “Run, run.” Then she too began to cough. Each breath burned her lungs.

Impossible Odds, Irrepressible Hope: Pakistan's water woes and the science that can solve them

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

U.S. Geological Survey researchers work with Pakistani researchers to collect water samples. Courtesy of Ingrid Verstraeten, USGS

A water researcher examines water dyed from cotton production in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Courtesy of Ingrid Verstraeten, USGS

Pakistani and USGS scientists reviewing sampling techniques near Islamabad. Courtesy of Ingrid Verstraeten, USGS

At a demonstration farm near Islamabad, researchers work to improve irrigation efficiency. Courtesy of Ingrid Verstraeten, USGS

Most residents of developed countries don’t think about their water running out or worry about their water leading to the death of their children. In Pakistan, those are distinct possibilities.

Pollutants threaten the Everglades' future

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Florida panther. National Park Service Photo by Rodney Cammauf

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Everglades 'ecoregion' (south of the yellow line) includes Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades, Big Cypress Swamp, the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, the estuarine mangroves of the Ten Thousand Islands and Florida Bay. NASA

Aerial view of the Everglades. National Park Service

Freshwater prairie. National Park Service Photo

American Alligator. National Park Service Photo by Rodney Cammauf

Great Egret in Everglades National Park. National Park Service Photo by Rodney Cammauf

Pick Your Poison: If One Pollutant Doesn’t Take Down the Everglades, Another Might

Science and soccer: They're both child's play

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Claire studies water samples in the UCSC laboratory. Jim Metzner

Collecting runoff samples from a turf field... 2009 by Deanna Hodgin

...and from a grass field. 2009 by Deanna Hodgin

It’s late in the afternoon, and by now, 9-year-old Claire Dworsky has already answered questions like mine many times over. But, when I approach the crowd of people standing by her poster at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif., she jumps up from her chair and politely gives me her full attention. I ask her to explain her project, and she launches into her explanation, never turning to look at the poster behind her for backup, or at the adults nearby who are watching her with pride. Dressed in a red soccer uniform and fidgeting just a bit — it has been a long day — she outlines why she chose this project, which examines the water quality of artificial turf and natural grass soccer fields.

The rising global interest in coal fires

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Coal fires cause pollution and ground subsidence at the world's largest coal-fire complex near Jharia, India. Anupma Prakesh

Bulldozers remove burning coal from the coal fires at Jharia. Anupma Prakash

Only a few homes remain in Centralia, Pa., where an underground coal fire has been burning since 1962. Janet L. Stracher

Byproducts of combustion - potassium, iron and calcium sulfates - from the Anna coal mine dump near Aachen, Germany. Frank de Wit

Compressed air foam is used to extinguish a gob or underground coal fire. Janet L. Stracher

In eastern India, north of the Damodar River, approximately 70 fires are burning in the Jharia coalfield, the largest coalmine fire complex in the world. The majority of fires in Jharia ignite when coal, exposed to air during mining operations, spontaneously combusts. Particulate matter and noxious gases emitted from the burning coal — including sulfur, carbon and nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons released at the surface from gas vents, ground fissures and the soil — have caused illnesses that range from stroke to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Occasionally the ground collapses, swallowing buildings and people into the abyss. To escape these dangers, entire communities have been relocated by the Indian government.