Satellite Imagery Shows Kelp Forests Have Collapsed

Alex Fox of Smithsonian Magazine writes, "Satellite Imagery Shows Northern California Kelp Forests Have Collapsed."

Researchers say they’re not sure these iconic coastal ecosystems will be able to make a comeback anytime soon. The coastal waters of Northern California are changing. A decade ago, hundreds of miles of the rugged seaside were flanked by thick, swaying underwater forests of amber-green bull kelp that were home to fish, abalone and a host of other species. Now, those forests have been nearly wiped out by a series of environmental events that have been falling like ill-fated dominos since 2013. A new study using satellite imagery and underwater surveys is the latest to confirm that these majestic marine ecosystems have all but disappeared. > Read More

Rock Dust Could Be Farming’s Next Climate Solution →

“For farming, the latest climate fix isn’t especially high tech or glossy. By spreading rock dust over large swatches of land, carbon dioxide could be trapped in transformed, scrubbing it from the atmosphere. If this technique, called enhanced weathering, were to be employed around the world, scientists estimate two billion tons of carbon dioxide could be removed from the atmosphere each year.

In a paper published in the journal Nature July 8, researchers at the University of Sheffield laid out the potential costs and impact of the process. If the three countries that emit the most carbon dioxide —China, the United States and India—adopted the practice, one billion metric tons could be scrubbed from the air.”

Read more from Claire Bugos’ article in Smithsonian Magazine here.