Tag: Reefs

January Temperatures Hit Record Highs on Land and at Sea

The exceptional warmth that first enveloped the planet last summer is continuing strong into 2024: Last month clocked in as the hottest January ever measured, the European Union climate monitor announced on Thursday. It was the hottest January on record for the oceans, too, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Sea surface […]

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Fire Blanketed Lahaina in Toxic Debris. Where Can They Put It?

When a firestorm consumed the Hawaii town of Lahaina last year, killing 100 people, it left behind a toxic wasteland of melted batteries, charred propane tanks, and miles of debris tainted by arsenic and lead. Crews have already removed some of the most hazardous items, shipping them out for disposal on the mainland. Now begins […]

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The Crochet Coral Reef Keeps Spawning, Hyperbolically

Every year after the full moons in late October and November, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef begins its annual spawning — first the coral species inshore, where waters are warmer, then the offshore corals, the main event. Last year, this natural spectacle coincided with the woolly propagation of two new colonies of the Crochet Coral Reef, […]

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U.S. Navy Works to Salvage Plane From Fragile Hawaiian Bay

In the crystal-clear waters of Kaneohe Bay, a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft that weighs over 130,000 pounds is stuck atop a fragile reef ecosystem. The P-8A Poseidon plane ended up there after overshooting the runway at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii last month, careening into the water, leaving nine crew members scrambling to safety […]

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Blasting Bullhorns and Water Cannons, Chinese Ships Wall Off the Sea

The Chinese military base on Mischief Reef, off the Philippine island of Palawan, loomed in front of our boat, obvious even in the predawn dark. Radar domes, used for military surveillance, floated like nimbus clouds. Lights pointed to a runway made for fighter jets, backed by warehouses perfect for surface-to-air missiles. More than 900 miles […]

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