Case Studies – envirobites

Is climate change increasing the number of hurricanes we get and will we continue seeing more hurricane damage?

December 13, 2018December 12, 2018 Laura Schifman 0 Comments coastal environment, GEO577, hurricanes, NewYorkCity, tsunami, typhoon, Typhoon Haiyan

Recent climate change science has shown that since 500 AD the current levels of storm activity are the most active. The increased activity combined with rising sea levels has the potential to cause more damage than ever before. Although Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest ever recorded storm, stronger than Sandy and Katrina combined, occurred in the Pacific, the Atlantic can see events similar in the future.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

Sea-Level Rise & the State of Sinking: A Brief Discussion of Land Subsidence Factors in the US

December 3, 2018December 9, 2018 Laura Schifman 0 Comments coastal environments, compaction, GEO577, seal level rise, sediments, subsidence

What’s scarier than sea level rise? How about sea level rise in a sinking city? Land levels are slowly lowering due to a combination of natural and man-made processes across many US cities. This sinking is known as land subsidence. Read on to learn how land subsidence contributes to sea level rise conflicts across the United States.

Case Studies Climate Science through time

Soil in the Succotash Marsh, Rhode Island: Coring for clues to past coastal storms

November 28, 2018December 3, 2018 Laura Schifman 0 Comments Climate Change, coastal environments, GEO577, rhode island, salt marsh, sediment

When you think of a saltmarsh, what comes to mind? Maybe a place that smells bad and you prefer to avoid? A place to fish? Turns out, salt marshes hold clues to the past. Scientists along the East Coast of the United States, for example, can use the information in salt marsh soils to reconstruct past storms and determine the past sea levels. As scientists in Rhode Island, we were able to easily try and replicate the findings of a previously published study from the Succotash Marsh also located in Rhode Island.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

Climate change could make your beer dear

November 23, 2018December 2, 2018 Sakshi Rana 0 Comments Beer supply, Climate Change, Extreme weather events

Apart from being popular beverages in the world, do you know what the common link between beer and coffee is? Both may be affected by climate change. While we already know that climate change will impact coffee, a new study published in Nature Plants has established that beer is also under threat. Rising temperature and drought due to climate change can hit the beer supply hard all over the world and make beer more expensive.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

Timing is Everything: Sockeye Salmon Migration on the Skeena River

November 16, 2018December 13, 2018 Maddie Halloran 0 Comments British Columbia, Climate Change, Ecology, environmental science, life-cycle assessment, salmon, zooplankton

For most salmon to complete their life cycle, juveniles must migrate out to the ocean as “smolts”. They are then able to grow quickly by taking advantage of marine food sources, before they return as adults to spawn in the river where they were born. With climate change affecting environmental cues and conditions, the timing of their migration might not match up to the availability of crucial food resources, which could reduce smolt survival. Will this phenomenon affect the Skeena River populations of Sockeye Salmon? Read on to learn more!

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

Nature vs. Nature or Engineering? The Case of Coastal Resilience

November 14, 2018December 3, 2018 Laura Schifman 0 Comments Climate Change, coastal resilience, engineering solution, GEO577, nature based solutions, sea level rise, storm surge

Coastal flooding has been a problem for as long as civilization has settled along the coast. During that same time civilization has been impacting natural features that would otherwise help mitigate this problem. There are two schools of thought in combating coastal flooding today: installing conventional engineering solutions and bringing back natural barriers. There are pros and cons to both strategies, but it really boils down to cost, space, and unintended consequences. In our opinion, nature should be used to fight nature. Read the article and decide for yourself!

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

The resilience of coastal wetlands – an optimistic look to the future

November 14, 2018December 3, 2018 Matt Baumann 0 Comments adaptation, Climate Change, coastal wetlands, Conservation, socioeconomics

Loss estimates for coastal wetlands by the end of the century are severe. Coastal communities depend on these critical systems for the services they provide. With rising sea levels and encroaching human populations, the fate of coastal wetlands remains uncertain. However, a new study suggests that there is hope for these habitats even if the direst rates of sea-level rise occur. As long as coastal wetlands are given space to build upwards and migrate inland, we could preserve these habitats and the benefits they provide.

Case Studies Climate Science through time

Sea-Level Rise won’t affect every place in the same way

November 6, 2018December 3, 2018 Laura Schifman 0 Comments Climate Change, coastal environments, GEO577, paleocliamte, sea level rise

Do you, like 40% of the global population, live within 100 km of the coast? If so, you have probably wondered about the impacts sea level rise will have on your home, your community, and daily activities. Interestingly, sea level is not expected increase the same amount in all places around the globe. Read on to learn about how the reconstruction of historical environments can help us define how different areas around the globe will be impacted by sea level rise.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

Warming bugs, insects decline in forest associated with climate change

November 5, 2018November 9, 2018 Kevin Aviles Rodriguez 0 Comments Climate Change, Ecology, ecosystems, el yunque

Can small changes in temperature really lead to dramatic impacts on habitats? Sometimes, small changes like a 2 Celsius degree warming of forest interiors, can affect a great number of species. Read on to learn how bugs, birds, and frogs were affected by climate change documented over a 36 year study in the tropical forest of Puerto Rico.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science Science through time

Summertime Sadness: Hurricanes and Water Quality

October 26, 2018October 29, 2018 Nick Iraola 0 Comments environmental policy, flooding, human impacts, hurricanes, river ecology, swine farms, water pollution, water quality

Hurricanes are natural disasters that can turn water quality nasty! Just how nasty depends on what’s on the land that’s being flooded. Hurricane Fran (1996) struck the Cape Fear region in southeastern North Carolina, and researchers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington noticed dissolved oxygen plummeted as a result of swamp water and swine farm waste flooding. The lack of oxygen in the water caused widespread death of fish and critters living in the bottom of the rivers, not to mention all that sewage introduced bacteria and disease into the environment! Swamp water flooding may be a natural, unavoidable consequence of hurricanes, but we must have policies and practices in place to reduce further degrading water quality from human activities.

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