http://e360.yale.edu/features/vanishing-nile-a-great-river-faces-a-multitude-of-threats-egypt-dam This article from Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies discusses a new proposed dam in Ethiopia, along the border between Sudan and Ethiopia.  It would be placed along the Blue Nile River, having significant effects on the region.  Not only will the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam cut off one of the Nile River’s […]

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/Galveston-puts-last-of-1-million-cubic-yards-of-11031401.php#photo-12200804 In this article from the Houston Chronicle, the restoration of beaches on Galveston Island, a barrier island in Texas, is discussed.  This project, coming after a failed proposal to use tax money to raise the sea walls, attempts to help counter storm surge while also maintaining economic benefit due to tourism by widening the […]

http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/investigation-into-coastal-erosion-around-the-isle-of-wight-98121.aspx Politicians in the community of the Isle of Wight in Britain have organized a pair of studies to determine the risk of and put in place preventative measures to deal with sea level rise.  This risk assessment, while viewed as a precaution at this point due to a lack of imminent danger, will allow […]

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/10/battered-by-winter-storms-big-sur-is-cut-off-from-california/ California received some much needed precipitation over this past winter, lifting it out of a severe drought.  This was not without its problems however, as the sharp increase in precipitations have led to landslides in parts of the state.  One notable example of this was the small town of Big Sur, which has essentially […]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/special-features/2014/12/141216-colorado-river-delta-restoration-water-drought-environment/ This article described restoration efforts of the Colorado River Delta, a joint US-Mexico attempt to restore biodiversity to the region.  The delta had dried up as hydroelectric dams had been installed along the river, leading to desertification of the region.  This is a region incredibly rich in nutrients due to the amount of sediment […]

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/drained-bone-dry-battling-15-years-of-drought-colorado-river-could-decline-by-35-by-end-of-century In the article above, the work of several researchers and the predictions from multiple climate models was discussed.  The research done focused on the effects of climate change on the flow of the Colorado River, particularly the decrease in flow.  Due to drought and rising temperatures, the flow of the Colorado River has been […]

Zion National Park is the home of many spectacular landscapes, perhaps most notably, Angels Landing.  This, like many of the other features within the park, were formed by rivers carving through the sandstone, forming massive slot canyons and carving the landscape around the plateaus.  While treacherous due to the height of some of these cliffs, […]

http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-tolland-crash-evacuations-0213-20170212-story.html As many of you have probably already heard, a tractor trailer slid off of I-84 in Tolland Sunday night.  This vehicle was carrying roughly 900 barrels of chemicals that were being transported to a facility in Massachusetts.  When it slid off the road, on a section state police Sgt. Kenneth Albert described as a […]

http://www.loyolamaroon.com/10012165/worldview/state/christmas-trees-stop-coastal-erosion-in-jefferson-parish/ I came across this article recently and, while a little late for this winter, it may get people thinking about what to do when the holidays are over in future years.  Louisiana is very susceptible to coastal erosion, which can affect both domestic and commercial structures and activities.  To combat this, a state project […]

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/12/2016-the-year-in-volcanic-activity/510641/ http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/volcanic-lightning While this article from The Atlantic was more of a slideshow, the captions for many of the photos did a good job simplifying complex processes.  The image that really captured my attention was the first image in the slideshow.  This was a picture of volcanic lightning forming above the erupting Sinabung volcano in […]

http://science.time.com/2012/11/02/manhattan-goes-dutch-building-levees-in-gotham/ In his discussion of the plan to build levees to protect New York City, Jeffery Kluger discussed the possible structural and economic impact posed by another storm such as Hurricane Sandy.  In his article, he focused on Manhattan, discussing how the geology of the island is primarily granite.  Due to this, if storm surge […]