Tags: California

BP Starts To Settle After Nasty Oil-Spill Related Deaths

POLICY BP has begun to settle claims related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill with Halliburton and Transocean. This means that as to Halliburton and Transocean only (the litigation is ongoing) the battle is over. The long-term in court battle has centered upon the human costs of the offshore well disaster, which included the deaths of 11 workers. The overall impact of the disaster has been sobering for the scientific community as well; the Deepwater disaster has thus far been the largest offshore oil spill in US history.

Record-Setting Drought Forces California Salmon to Take to the Highway

California's record-setting drought has dried up large swaths of the San Joaquin River; bad news for the state's salmon. So in a desperate effort to save a generation of hatchlings, tanker trucks are being employed to transport the young fish downstream. With their normal passage blocked, the fish are now migrating via Highway 99.

How Can The Pacific and a ‘Warm Blob’ Be the Cause of California’s Drought?

For several years now it has appeared that the climate in the West has been drastically changing. Naysayers might say that the illusion of “climate change” is all in our heads, but for those who had to ration water this past summer in California, the concept of climate change is certainly no longer a joke. But the conversation may not be entirely full of gloom and doom. In fact, thanks to our beloved Pacific Ocean and that nice coastal breeze that we love so dear, we may just see cooler temperatures after all, but we’re not like to get more rain.

Climate Change And the Urban Heat Island in California's Central Valley

Life’s warm in California, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always a beach. Today is March 27th and it’s barely the start of spring, yet we’re currently in the 90s and four degrees above the anticipated high for the day. And with an ever-changing landscape, going from rural to urban through land conversion, researchers expect for the heat of our situation to continue to rise. But some researchers are hopeful that with new technology and new techniques in urban design, California may be able to keep its cool days and its beach appeal even in the Central Valley.

Catalina Fox Populations—From the Brink of Extinction to Potentially Off the List

Though the Catalina fox species may be the smallest species of fox in the world, it appears that size may not have anything to do with their survival. And while the animal may have been endangered decades ago, locals and visitors to the island of Santa Catalina are realized that their abundant numbers may be a sign of drastic change.

When Roses Bloom in Northern California, Researchers Take Notice

While the presence of small pink roses may seem like an innocuous blossom, researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz are finding that as little creatures appear they signal warmer waters to come. No, these pink roses aren’t flora species, they’re hot pink sea slugs found traditionally in southern California tide pools. But as they’ve migrated north, researchers now believe that coastal water temperatures are on the rise, and this could have serious implications farther up on the food chain.

Is Climate Change To Blame for These Blooming Pink Nudibranchs?

While they be fun to look at, a new sight in northern California tide pools are causing quite a bit of concern as the shades of oceanic blue are filled with one-inch blotches of hot pink. The culprits, known as Hopkin’s Rose Nudibranch (Okenia rosacea), are sea slugs common to the warmer waters of southern California. But as water temperatures shift, researchers fear that their migration further up the coast may be a sign of what’s to come.

Partial Eclipse Captures Daylight [Oct. 23, 2014]—Seen Across the Northern Sky (CA, NV, NY, OR, FL)

Today marks a rare occasion, one where alignment makes a spectacle in the sky. While you can expect the autumn day to have cool weather and an added air of sunshine, you can also expect quite a surprise when part of the sun disappears in the mid-afternoon shade. It’s a rare occurrence that you won’t catch for another 3 years at the soonest, but the partial solar eclipse won’t be enjoyed by everyone. Mostly it’ll be a show for the northern United States.

On Droughts and Dust Bowls—California Looks Back to 1934

Recently accepted for publication by the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, the research lead by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies analyzed the relative intensity and devastation caused by droughts since 1000 AD and found that though the 2014 summer in California was particularly out of the ordinary even in the driest of areas, it did not quite compare to the drought of 1934.
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