What it"s like counting 528,000 albatross nests on Midway islands
Nancy Caruso sat on an island in the North Pacific Ocean just inches from an albatross and watched as the large black-and-white sea bird with a 12-foot wingspan added grass to its nest to cover up a precious 4-inch white egg......»»
Artificial reef designed by engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage
The beautiful, gnarled, nooked-and-crannied reefs that surround tropical islands serve as a marine refuge and natural buffer against stormy seas. But as the effects of climate change bleach and break down coral reefs around the world, and extreme wea.....»»
The key to Florida beaches" hurricane recovery: The humble sea oat
From eye level, the wisps of green emerging from sand dunes up and down Pinellas County's barrier islands look sparse, stubby, almost tentative as they peek at the sun. Below the surface, though, they are spreading out, trapping sand in place and act.....»»
Wordle is 1,000 — these are the 50 hardest games so far
Counting down the most difficult Wordles in the game's first 1,000 days......»»
Digital nomads: A benefit or burden for local communities?
Many criticize digital nomads for fueling gentrification and pricing out locals. Social, economic, spatial and cultural segregation between nomads and local communities has already stirred controversy from Canada to the Canary Islands......»»
The US Buried Nuclear Waste Abroad. Climate Change Could Unearth It
A new report says melting ice sheets and rising seas could disturb waste from US nuclear projects in Greenland and the Marshall Islands......»»
Billionaires are building bunkers and buying islands—are they prepping for apocalypse or pioneering a new feudalism?
In December 2023, WIRED reported that Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta and one of the foremost architects of today's social-media-dominated world, has been buying up large swathes of the Hawaiian island Kauai......»»
Secrets in the canopy: Scientists discover 8 striking new bee species in the Pacific
After a decade searching for new species of bees in forests of the Pacific Islands, all we had to do was look up......»»
Counting rays: Aerial surveys reveal ample populations in southeast Florida
The whitespotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) and the giant manta ray (Mobula birostris) are rapidly declining globally. Both species are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as endangered worldwide, and the giant manta.....»»
First reports of severe coral bleaching this summer as the Great Barrier Reef warms up
As ocean temperatures continue to warm over the Great Barrier Reef this summer, James Cook University scientists have reported areas of moderate to severe coral bleaching around the Keppel Islands offshore from Rockhampton......»»
Mapping out a novel way to assess the effectiveness of development aid
Assessing the effectiveness of international aid across Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and an archipelago of around 17,000 islands, is no easy task. But that has not deterred Singapore Management University Assistant Professor of.....»»
A new tool can help protect California and Nevada communities from floods while preserving their water supply
At the dawn of the new year in 1997, the Truckee River transformed. The winter season had thus far been great for snow, but when a subtropical storm from near the Hawaiian Islands rolled in, it carried with it unseasonably warm rain. The warm rainfal.....»»
Murderous mice attack and kill nesting albatrosses on Midway Atoll—scientists struggle to stop them
At the far end of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands lies Kuaihelani—also known as Midway Atoll—a small set of islands home to the world's largest albatross colony. Over a million albatrosses return to Kuaihelani each year to breed. These seemingl.....»»
A new species of rare pseudoscorpion has been named after the Slovak president
There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The most remote of them are in North and East Polynesia, the Hawaiian Islands, and French Polynesia. Biologists have been attracted to these regions since the 18th century, but French Polynesia has.....»»
Nature"s checkup: Surveying biodiversity with environmental DNA sequencing
A thousand kilometers south of Tokyo, far into the largest ocean on Earth, lies a chain of small, volcanic islands—the Ogasawara Islands. Nature has been able to develop on its own terms here, far from both humans and the warm Kuroshio current, whi.....»»
Australia"s most at-risk bird species share some common traits
Australian birds that live on islands are among the species most at risk of extinction, a first-of-its-kind study from The Australian National University (ANU) has shown. The study is published in the journal Emu—Austral Ornithology......»»
Florida coral reef still struggling after 2023 heat wave
Coral reefs off the Florida Keys islands are struggling to recover from last summer's record-breaking heat wave, new data showed Thursday, in another sign of the devastating impacts of human-caused climate change......»»
Islands of Insight review: open-world puzzler has infinite potential
Even with a lot of duds, Islands of Insight is a near-infinite puzzle collection for dedicated genre fans......»»
What it"s like counting 528,000 albatross nests on Midway islands
Nancy Caruso sat on an island in the North Pacific Ocean just inches from an albatross and watched as the large black-and-white sea bird with a 12-foot wingspan added grass to its nest to cover up a precious 4-inch white egg......»»
Unlocking quantum precision: Expanded superconducting strips for enhanced photon-counting accuracy
Using single photons as qubits has become a prominent strategy in quantum information technology. Accurately determining the number of photons is crucial in various quantum systems, including quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum me.....»»
Researchers describe a novel species of jellyfish discovered in a remote location in Japan
A research team has published a description of a rare medusa found at a depth of 812 meters. The animal has been sighted only twice in a deep-sea volcanic structure called Sumisu Caldera, in the Ogasawara Islands. The gelatinous animal with a diamete.....»»