Simone H. Stewart, Ph.D.’s Post

When we politicize the Environmental space, biodiversity pays the price. When the Trump administration authorized the use of seismic airgun blasting in November 2018 to locate untapped oil and gas reserves deep underneath the Atlantic Ocean along the Eastern Seaboard, environmental groups expressed outrage, stating that such ear-piercing surveys would harm marine life. The administration’s action, which reverses an Obama-era policy against the use of seismic surveys, is deemed "shortsighted and dangerous" by Diane Hoskins, campaign director of Oceana. She said in a statement, "Seismic airgun blasting can harm everything from tiny zooplankton and fish to dolphins and whales." Although the National Marine Fisheries Service stated that it expects no marine life to be harmed by the surveys, some scientists disagree, asserting that the blasts could affect the mating, communication, and feeding patterns of marine mammals. Today, we witness the same actors remaining silent about seismic activities and the displacement of marine mammals' feeding grounds due to offshore wind operations. As the plankton population in our oceans dwindles, it is imperative that we seek ways to mitigate the negative impacts of these offshore projects. However, rather than pausing to address the issue, it seems to be full steam ahead as we witness the deterioration of our marine ecosystem. Despite the relentless efforts of offshore wind lobbyists to silence me in recent years, I refuse to back down. I will continue the fight to protect our ocean from this reckless rampage. It is crucial to recognize that all offshore structures, be it for oil and gas or wind energy, contribute to the decline of plankton in our oceans. We cannot afford to introduce more offshore structures and further jeopardize our marine ecosystem. Instead, we should focus on preserving existing fast-growing filter feeders on these structures. Let's set aside political rhetoric and unite towards our ultimate goal - to safeguard our ocean and prevent the extinction of humanity. oceanintegrity.org https://lnkd.in/g_VdDyYy.

USGS, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center: "In this free webinar, Sydney Lance, a soil scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), will discuss her background and work related to soil mapping techniques. AGI's Early Career Professionals in Mapping Webinar Series features early career geoscience professionals who share their work related to mapping, especially geologic mapping, and experiences entering the geoscience community. This webinar series is geared towards high school students and the general public. There will be time for live questions from the audience. The webinars will be recorded and posted on AGI's website and YouTube channel. This webinar series is generously supported by the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program" ~ -"soil-mapping" of the Mississippi embayment puts northeastern Marshall county, Mississippi at centerpoint, as it well should, being this is where a meteor took out our previous, much more technologically advanced civilization, we have all existed within devolution since, & IF we're unable to retrieve what was taken,.. in the middle of the night, December 16, 1811... -remember- C/1811F1: https://lnkd.in/ep2WVBvQ "bring back our lost Antiquitech, find the truths behind the myths"

How do you measure the impacts of a cyclone on the marine environment? 🌀 In the months following Cyclone Gabrielle, NIWA researchers carried out detailed marine surveys off the coast of Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti to collect valuable data before it was literally washed away. 🚢 The team used three main tools to investigate conditions beneath the waves: 🗺️ multibeam sonar for mapping the seabed 📹 a towed video camera for imaging the seafloor and its habitats 🦀 a sediment multicorer to sample the seafloor and the life within. Early findings showed parts of the seafloor were covered in sediment, and trawl surveys returned little biology but lots of wood debris. The data will be used to help build a comprehensive picture of Gabrielle’s legacy for the seabed. 🌊 Find the full story in our latest Water & Atmosphere issue here 👇 https://lnkd.in/gUqJG5aj

🌊 To uncover the carbon storing secrets of the seabed, we’re travelling the world to take sediment cores from protected areas and compare them to regions impacted by trawling and dredging. 🌍 The goal? To see how bottom trawling affects the seabed’s ability to capture and store carbon. This research could have significant implications for marine conservation so follow us to keep up to date! Blue Marine Foundation Convex Insurance ExeterMarine #Science #Ocean #MarineScience #ConvexSeascapeSurvey

A convergence of knowledge systems for better land management. Northern California-The Yurok Tribe and the U.S. Geological Survey unite in a groundbreaking collaboration, melding evolving Tribal scientific knowledge and practices with academic science's knowledge and practices to address the escalating challenges of wildfire and land management. #landmanagement #geologicalsurvey #indigenousknowledge #wildfire

Natural disasters endanger 10% of the world’s terrestrial vertebrate species  In an article published in the journal PNAS, a group of researchers supported by FAPESP estimates that more than 3,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates are at risk of extinction due to earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. A study conducted by Brazilian scientists and colleagues in other countries shows that earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions increase the risk of extinction for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The natural events may have synergies with hazards due to human activity. The researchers conclude that 2,001 species run a high risk of extinction because at least a quarter of their range is subject to one or more of the major natural hazards named in the study, and that 16% of these high-risk species overlap with regions where two or more hazards are frequent. Another alarming discovery is that 30% live in locations completely outside protected areas, while only 15% are covered by a specific conservation plan. https://lnkd.in/gm2JacX6

Join us for our next webinar on Wednesday, October 9th at NOON Eastern / 9 AM Pacific. This webinar is titled “The Gateway Reserve: A Story of Geology, History, and Water in the Northern Buffer.” FREE to all AAEES Members. $40 fee for non-members. https://lnkd.in/g2Db4Mzd Webinar Summary The Gateway Reserve (TGR) is a 12 acre project with old sacred roots, Industrial Revolution resource extraction fingerprints, and an existential threat that motivated a drive to secure the future. TGR sits within Boise Idaho, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas, now facing development pressure on all sides. At the edge of the largest desert in North America, lies a place called “Cop-Cop-Pa-Ala” by the indigenous Shoshone and Bannock people, who gathered along the river, traded peacefully, and lived with abundant water, plants, and wildlife. TGR was created from land intercepted from a home developer in order to protect a Northern Buffer with appropriate opportunities for humanity to enjoy this special place. This small non-commercial project was astoundingly complex requiring cooperation of Federal, State, County, and City agencies and input from public hearings, neighborhood associations, and in-kind donations from consultants and contractors. Design considerations included surface water, groundwater, water rights, FEMA and FERC jurisdictions, and study results authored by the Army Corps of Engineers. The remediation, cleanup, design, permitting, and construction process to recover the sublime from the mundane took about 11 years. By October of 2023 with the lower wetland and upland native xeriscape fully established, birds, raptors, mice, deer, bobcat, fox, owls, and coyote call this place home. So do the visiting humans and local artists who respectfully keep their distance and enjoy the beauty of nature’s offerings. The Gateway Reserve is a gem that protects and contributes to the common good. #boardcertified #environmentalengineering #environmentalscience #wastewater #geology #cleanwater #groundwater #siteremediation ##industrialhygiene

In a stunning victory for the community and wildlife, plans to conduct seismic testing in the ecologically sensitive Otway Basin, off the Victorian coast, have been abandoned by energy data company TGS. Initially Australia’s largest seismic testing proposal, the project would have paved the way for gas extraction in an area that provides habitat for endangered southern right whales, pygmy blue whales and many other marine species.  Seismic testing involves blasting compressed air from a specially adapted ship. The noise from the blasts causes sound waves to bounce off the seabed back to sensors carried by the ship.   The impact of seismic blasting on marine animals such as whales can include damage to the sensors that they use to hear, ability to communicate through their electro-frequencies, stress, displacement from habitat, physical injuries and death.  There was fierce community opposition to the TGS proposal, with the offshore regulator, NOPSEMA receiving more than 30,000 submissions during consultation.  EDO's gas team has been assisting several organisations, including Australian Marine Conservation Society and Surfrider Foundation Australia, in relation to offshore gas projects in the Otway Basin - providing support for community and environmental groups to participate in stakeholder consultation processes in an attempt to minimise impacts on the marine environment and ocean users. Our clients were already successful in reducing the original size of the Otway Basin project to minimise its impact footprint to largely exclude pygmy blue whale migration paths.  Last week, TGS announced its decision to completely withdraw its environmental plan from NOPSEMA assessment. 

BioBase Maps started out as a solution for the Aquatic Plant Management industry in the US to help inform herbicide treatments of invasive species and document effectiveness. This remains BioBase's "Bread and Butter." But I've been amazed at the diversity of applications of the BioBase technology. Most notably: 🛢 Surveys for Pipeline Water Crossings Jeff Barry, PhD 💩 Mapping "sludge" in sewage ponds 🏭Coal Fly Ash Pit mapping 🌊 Sedimentation in Harbors and Aqueducts 🔃 Methane Oxidation in Arctic Lakes 🔹 Storm water pond storage capacity 🔹 Sizing of Aeration Systems LakeTech, inc. 🐟 Fish Habitat Inventories Steven Bardin 🌿 Role of kelp in current and historical foodwebs in Chile Chris Harrod 🔹Organic sediment digestion by microbes   And my favorite: 🌋 mapping volcanic lakes in Italy, Mexico, and the Azores! Props to Dr. Jaime Alberto Cavazos Álvarez for his neat 3D rendering of a BioBase map of Volcanic lake Laguna de Quechulac in Mexico! (Exported BioBase data was processed in a 3rd Party GIS Application)   What cool non-conventional mapping application would you like to see or try?? #BioBaseMaps, #FitForPurpose, #MappingIsManaging

If we continue on our current trajectory, the sixth mass extinction is inevitable and the times we're living through now will be part of that geological period. https://lnkd.in/gAp3db2m