Read the full story from the Washington Post.
Virginia Norwood, a pioneering aerospace engineer who used design innovations, emerging technologies and seasoned intuition in projects that scanned the lunar surface for safe Apollo landing sites and mapped the Earth from space with digital imagery never before seen, died March 26 at her home in Topanga, Calif. She was 96.
The National Water Dashboard shows provisional real-time water data collected at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) observation stations in context with weather-related data from other public sources.
The dashboard provides access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.9 million sites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The data and dashboard are available in English and Spanish.
River Runner allows users to drop a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up. A global version is currently available in beta.
The tools use USGS/MERIT Basin data. Code and data are available on Github [River Runner US | River Runner Global]
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has created a new online tool, called the Watershed Health Assessment Framework for Lakes (WHAF for Lakes), providing easy access to water quality and health information for thousands of Minnesota lakes.
WHAF for Lakes is part of the DNR’s Watershed Health Assessment Framework and is funded by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
“Our staff did very innovative work over the past year to create this valuable new tool,” Ecological and Water Resources Division Director Katie Smith said. “WHAF for Lakes will benefit anyone who wants to know more about a particular lake’s water quality and the health of the aquatic habitat and community in that lake. It will also help guide decisions about lake protection and restoration.”
Users can compare a lake’s health measures to other nearby lakes. Along with graphics showing lakes’ relative water quality, biology, and hydrology, WHAF for Lakes includes information about basic lake characteristics and lake stewardship. Quick access to this information will help Minnesotans, local government, and water resource agencies work together on comprehensive watershed management efforts.
A lake’s watershed includes all land and surface water upstream of a lake outlet that contribute water to that lake. Land uses within a watershed influence lake health. Alterations of the land, the shoreline, and nearshore vegetation affect the quality of the water and the health of the aquatic community in a particular lake.
“A healthy lake is one that is nearest to its natural state — free from pollution and with a natural shoreline that protects the bank and filters runoff — which allows it to withstand changing conditions and seasonal fluctuations,” Smith said. “Healthy lakes depend on people who value these resources and invest in the protection and restoration of the water, watershed, and biology.”
WHAF for Lakes can be accessed by searching for a particular watershed, exploring watershed health with the WHAF Map, or using the DNR’s popular LakeFinder page.
Integral developed these interactive map resources as an easy-to-use PFAS regulatory reference that is current, complete, and supported by the literature. Click on individual states to learn more about their specific PFAS regulations for drinking water, groundwater, surface water, and fish tissue. A soil advisory map is coming soon.
Read the full story from the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette.
Scientists will take to the sky over much of Champaign County to get a closer look below the earth later this month.
Area residents shouldn’t be alarmed if they spy a fast-moving helicopter towing what looks like a trampoline frame.
Beginning Nov. 19, as part of a project contracted by the Illinois State Geological Survey at the University of Illinois and funded by Champaign County, the helicopter will be mapping most of the county to provide a three-dimensional look at the Mahomet aquifer, which supplies hundreds of millions of gallons of water per day to East Central Illinois.
Read the full story from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
With free, publicly available tools, like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Renewable Energy Atlas and Marine Energy Atlas, anyone anywhere in the world can access the data they need to start planning their clean energy future. Now, new features in the Marine Energy Atlas make it even easier for communities to decide how and where to incorporate marine energy into their power mix and for marine energy developers to learn how much electricity their device could produce at various U.S. sites.
This Department of Energy tool is intended to allow users to explore and produce reports on census tracts that DOE has categorized as disadvantaged communities, or DACs, pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 14008 – Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.
Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) integrates information from across the federal government to help people consider their local exposure to climate-related hazards. View climate-related hazards in real time and use information on past, present, and future conditions to understand exposure in your area in order to plan and build more resilient community infrastructure.
People working in community organizations or for local, Tribal, state, or Federal governments can use the site to help them develop equitable climate resilience plans to protect people, property, and infrastructure. The site also points users to Federal grant funds for climate resilience projects, including those available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Read the full story from Pew.
The Connecticut Shellfish Restoration Guide provides science-based, well-tested techniques to help oyster farmers, state and local officials, academic institutions, and others involved in restoration efforts increase shellfish and fish populations, improve water quality, strengthen coastal habitats, and stabilize shorelines.
One component of the guide is the CT Shellfish Restoration Map Viewer, an online, interactive mapping tool released in 2021. Previously, without a central, comprehensive habitat map to work from, oyster restoration practitioners had insufficient information from which to choose sites effectively, and state and local agencies had a hard time properly evaluating shellfish restoration projects. That led to approval and permit delays, among other problems. The viewer helps users identify the best locations for siting shellfish restoration projects.
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