gulf of mexico

An ancient underwater forest in the Gulf of Mexico

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Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Earthsky.org- 7/25/13, Deanna Conners

Image via Ben Raines/AL.com

There are large stumps, roots and logs from an ancient bald cypress forest about 60 feet (18 meters) below the surface of the water, near coastal Alabama. Image via Ben Raines/AL.com

Scientists are exploring a submerged forest of bald cypress trees off the coast of Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Katrina is thought to have uncovered it. Earlier in 2013, they announced that the forest is much older than originally thought. An early speculation was that the submerged trees were between 8,000 and 12,000 years old. The newer estimate dates the submerged trees from about 50,000 to 80,000 years ago. The submerged forest provides evidence that coastal Alabama has risen between 60 and 120 feet (18 to 36 meters) in the last 50,000 years. Scientists are now hoping to sample the ancient forest to understand what climate conditions were like along the Gulf coast during that time in Earth’s history.

Gulf of Mexico Whales, Dolphins Protected from Industry’s High-Intensity Airgun Surveys in Landmark Agreement

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Submitted by cocolove77 on

BY Earth Justice

Washington, D.C.  — 

Today, a coalition of conservation groups (the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Gulf Restoration Network, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Sierra Club) announce a major settlement agreement with the Department of the Interior and oil and gas industry representatives, to protect whales and dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico from high-intensity airgun surveys. The settlement requires new safeguards, including putting biologically important areas off-limits, expanding protections to additional at-risk species, and requiring the use of listening detection devices to better ensure surveys do not injure endangered sperm whales. The agreement was filed in the case of NRDC v. Jewell, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

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