Water & Oceans

"After a 12-day crossing, and a hard slog through sea ice, the field work on this Antarctic expedition is ready to start."

"After a 12-day journey across the southern seas, the nearly 40 scientists aboard the icebreaker Araon on Wednesday reached Antarctica’s fastest-melting glacier, the Thwaites. An ambitious campaign to study the ice by air, under sea and with boots on the frozen surface is now underway.

"Researchers at Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University are collaborating to find out if a “bubble barrier” would effectively collect trash in the Grand River."

"One of the world’s rarest whale species is having more babies this year than in some recent seasons, but experts say many more young are needed to help stave off the possibility of extinction. The North Atlantic right whale’s population numbers an estimated 384 animals and is slowly rising after several years of decline."

"Over the past 30 years, federal and state agencies in Texas have allowed hundreds of oil and chemical barges to amass in a once-tranquil section of the San Jacinto River, just east of Houston." "People who live on the San Jacinto fear chemical releases and explosions from the vessels. It’s unclear who’s policing the buildup."

"Scientists warn that a proposed expansion of Port Everglades could cause unprecedented damage to corals in the U.S., including some of the only remaining endangered staghorn corals that survived a record-breaking heat wave."

"The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it would propose a drinking water limit for perchlorate, a harmful chemical in rockets and other explosives, but also said doing so wouldn’t significantly benefit public health and that it was acting only because a court ordered it."

"The Miccosukee Tribe is rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim that the tribe worked against his administration’s immigration efforts, the basis he used to veto a flood protection project in the Everglades."

"President Trump vetoed a bill this week to help finish a water pipeline project in Colorado. The bill had overwhelmingly passed Congress with bipartisan support. The president says his veto is about "fiscal sanity." Some say the president is retaliating against the state for political reasons."

"In West Africa's Guinea, villagers say mining for the critical mineral bauxite has polluted water and decreased crop yields."

"Donald Trump has presided over a dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, according to emergency management experts."