Researchers used a wave tank to study the movement of plastic particles experimentally and to understand the role of particle density in drift behavior.
beaches, coasts, & shorelines
Posted inNews
Hurricane Maria Killed Mangroves Months After Storm
An overgrown channel between a lagoon and the ocean on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques created a backup of freshwater, disrupting the delicate balance of salinity in coastal mangrove forests.
Posted inNews
Coastal Brazil Is Likely to Face More Heat Waves and Droughts
In 2014, São Paulo experienced its greatest water crisis ever, caused by an intense drought. New research indicates that it is likely to happen again and be even more severe.
Posted inNews
Human Activity Makes India’s Coastlines More Vulnerable
Researchers propose the creation of an anthropogenic vulnerability index to help guide conservation policy decisions.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Acidifying Oceans Could Get Help from Kelp
Forests of fast-growing kelp influence the chemistry of the water in which they live. A new study evaluates their potential to ameliorate ocean acidification in sensitive coastal ecosystems.
Posted inNews
Sea Level Rise May Erode Development in Africa
The continent is enduring some of the highest global sea level rise. A new report identifies the western coast as particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion.
Posted inNews
What Controls Giant Subduction Earthquakes?
Subduction zones with a low dipping angle and thick sediments can produce giant earthquakes; this finding lets researchers estimate worst-case scenarios for coastlines around the world.
Posted inFeatures
A Lost Haven for Early Modern Humans
Sea level changes have repeatedly reshaped the Paleo-Agulhas Plain, a now submerged region off the coast of South Africa that once teemed with plants, animals, and human hunter–gatherers.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Earthquake Hazard Hanging in the Balance
Earthquake hazard calculations for California’s coast are refined with a view of precariously balanced rocks that would have fallen if the largest predicted shaking happened in the past 20,000 years.
Posted inNews
Saint Lucia Works to Release Itself from Sargassum’s Stranglehold
Nearly 10 years ago, Caribbean beaches experienced a sudden onslaught of Sargassum. Today residents continue to explore ways to mitigate the seaweed’s damage to local health and livelihoods.