Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal disappears into sea

NEW DELHI – For nearly 30 years, India and Bangladesh have argued over control of a tiny rock island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have resolved the dispute for them: the island's gone.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100324/ap_on_re_as/as_india_disappearing_island;_ylt=AgJwoYENpVz39Ci7qqJYpd6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTQxbTNjdGExBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzI0L2FzX2luZGlhX2Rpc2FwcGVhcmluZ19pc2xhbmQEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMxMARwb3MDNwRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA2Rpc3B1dGVkaXNsZQ--

Day of complete chaos as floods surge across two states

The Balonne River was already at a record 13.26 metres yesterday afternoon and the weather bureau has predicted it could peak at 13.5 metres - the highest level since recordings began in 1890. VIDEO

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/day-of-complete-chaos-as-floods-surge-across-two-states-20100306-ppnj.html

Thargomindah awaits flood peak

The Bulloo Mayor says the river at Thargomindah in south-west Queensland is close to peaking today but more water will arrive later in the week.

Another 1,000 sandbags were flown into the town last night to prepare the community for its biggest flood since 1974.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/08/2839553.htm?section=justin

An Ominous Warning on the Effects of Ocean Acidification

A new study says the seas are acidifying ten times faster today than 55 million years ago when a mass extinction of marine species occurred. And, the study concludes, current changes in ocean chemistry due to the burning of fossil fuels may portend a new wave of die-offs.
by carl zimmer

http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2241

Pelican die-off blamed on disappearance of fish

A sudden disappearance of prey during stormy weather caused hundreds of brown pelicans to drop dead or strand themselves in parking lots, backyards and even on freeways, wildlife biologists said Monday.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-02-23/bay-area/17952092_1_pelicans-rescue-research-center-fish

Ocean acidification fastest in 65 million years

Ocean acidifcation is taking place at a faster rate than has been seen in the last 65 million years - and it's still accelerating.

It could potentially exceed the rate at which plankton can adapt, say researchers from the University of Bristol.

http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/48468-ocean-acidification-fastest-in-65-million-years

Drought in Philippines Forces Blackouts

Low reservoir levels have caused several hydroelectric plants to shut down or cut operations in the Southeast Asian country.

http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/asia-pacific/drought-in-philippines-forces-blackouts/

‘Superberg’ Detaches from Antarctic Glacier, Could Disrupt Ocean Currents

A giant iceberg collided with a branch of the Mertz Glacier in east Antarctica earlier this month, breaking off a 965-square-mile ‘superberg,’ The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Australian and French scientists said that the two icebergs could disrupt global ocean circulation currents, changing heat distribution patterns and lowering oxygen levels.

http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/%E2%80%98superberg%E2%80%99-detaches-from-antarctic-glacier-could-disrupt-ocean-currents/

Asia-produced ozone making its way to U.S., study finds

WASHINGTON — A new study further bolsters concerns that pollution blowing across the Pacific Ocean from China and other rapidly developing Asian nations may swamp efforts to clean up the air in the Western United States and make it difficult for states and cities to meet federal standards.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100221/sc_mcclatchy/3431419

Growing low-oxygen zones in oceans worry scientists

WASHINGTON — Lower levels of oxygen in the Earth's oceans, particularly off the United States' Pacific Northwest coast, could be another sign of fundamental changes linked to global climate change, scientists say.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100307/sc_mcclatchy/3444187

Ice Once Covered the Equator

Sea ice may have covered the Earth's surface all the way to the equator hundreds of millions of years ago, a new study finds, adding more evidence to the theory that a "snowball Earth" once existed.

The finding, detailed in the March 5 issue of the journal Science, also has implications for the survival and evolution of life on Earth through this bitter ice age.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100306/sc_livescience/iceoncecoveredtheequator

Iceberg breaks in Antarctica not where expected

"There are some crazy things going down in Antarctica," said Mark Serreze, director of the snow and ice data center, based in Boulder, Colo. "It seems kind of weird, but weird things happen."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100227/ap_on_sc/sci_antarctica

France's crumbling sea walls no match for ocean

L'AIGUILLON-SUR-MER, France – The moon was full, the wind roared, the tide was high and people died by the dozens.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100303/ap_on_sc/climate_france_sea_walls

Study Says Undersea Release of Methane Is Under Way

Climate scientists have long warned that global warming could unlock vast stores of the greenhouse gas methane that are frozen into the Arctic permafrost, setting off potentially significant increases in global warming.

Now researchers at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and elsewhere say this change is under way in a little-studied area under the sea, the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, west of the Bering Strait.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/science/earth/05methane.html