Scientists are using a variety of geochemical, geophysical, and numerical methods to study offshore freshened groundwater and better understand its role in the global water cycle.
beaches, coasts, & shorelines
Posted inFeatures
Cape Cod: Shipwrecks, Dune Shacks, and Shifting Sands
Living in Geologic Time: How long will the cape keep its fist raised against the waves?
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tracking How Plastic Moves in the Coastal Ocean
Researchers used a wave tank to study the movement of plastic particles experimentally and to understand the role of particle density in drift behavior.
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.