LEO Network

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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Canada's Pollution Problem Is So Bad That It's Currently Raining Plastic
Microplastics from the breakdown of plastics and from microbeads used in toothpaste and exfoliants, are so small, they are able to travel in the atmosphere.
Canada

Seismic Airgun Assault to Start in Lower Cook Inlet this Fall
“Whenever a seismic boat goes past and we drop our gear, the fish aren’t there. Any fisherman, or fisherman worth their salt, will tell you there’s an impact. They’ve seen it first-hand.”
Cook Inlet Keeper

Insect 'apocalypse' in U.S. driven by 50x increase in toxic pesticides
Bees, butterflies, and other insects are under attack by the very plants they feed on as U.S. agriculture continues to use chemicals known to kill.
United States
National Geographic

Glowing 'Blue Tears' in China's Seas are Incredibly Toxic and Growing
The glowing algae is suffocating sea life.
Matsu Islands, Taiwan, East China Sea
Live Science

Tromsø Scientists Make Scary Findings in Norway’s Arctic Population: "Saturated" with Environmental Toxins
Much goes to indicate that such toxins may cause damages to children’s central nervous system. Scientists in Tromsø, Norway have long worked to map the extent of environmental toxins in the Arctic populations, and the result is frightening.
Tromsø, Troms, Norway
High North News

Prime growing areas for B.C. oysters contain alarmingly high concentrations of plastic microbeads
Baynes Sound, British Columbia
SFU News

414 million pieces of plastic found on remote island group
Debris on Cocos (Keeling) Islands was mostly bottles, cutlery, bags and straws, but also included 977,000 shoes, study says
Cocos Islands
the Guardian

Melting glaciers on Alaska’s Denali will unleash tons of human poop
Watch where you step.
Mt.Denali, Akaska, USA
Fox News

Low levels of Fukushima-related radiation found in Bering Sea samples
I knew that those Japanese currents would come to our waters, and so that’s why I volunteered to do the testing,” Eddie Ungott, a resident of Gambell.
Gambell, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Slight uptick in cesium-137 heralds arrival of Fukushima plume in Northern Bering Sea
Since 2014 St. Lawrence Islanders have been collecting sea water samples, knowing that the radiation would eventually show up. Now the signature of Fukushima has finally been identified, the northern most sample evidence of the plume. Fortunately the levels are low.
Gambell, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

South Korea plans artificial rain to reduce Seoul air pollution
President Moon hopes collaboration with China will improve air quality in the country.
Yellow Sea and Korean Peninsula
AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Teenage Diver Finds Tons of Golf Balls Rotting Off California
Alex Weber discovered more than 50,000 balls in the ocean near coastal California golf courses. When golf balls degrade, as these were doing, they release plastic particles and toxic chemicals.
Pebble Beach, California, United States
NPR.org

Critically Low Monarch Population in California
The California overwintering population has been reduced to less than 0.5% of its historical size, and has declined by 86% compared to 2017.
California, United States
The Xerces Society

Lake Erie algal blooms 'seeded' internally by overwintering cells in lake-bottom sediments
Western Lake Erie's annual summer algal blooms are triggered, at least in part, by cyanobacteria cells that survive the winter in lake-bottom sediments, then emerge in the spring to "seed" the next year's bloom, according to a research team led by University of Michigan scientists.
Western Lake Erie, United States
Phys.org

Something Living At The Bottom Of The Sea Is Absorbing Large Amounts Of The CO2 In Oceans
Bacteria living more than 4,000 meters (2 miles) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean are absorbing an estimated 10 percent of the carbon dioxide that oc
Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ)
IFLScience

Leptospirosis strains identified in Uruguay cattle
Leptospirosis infections, caused by Leptospira bacteria, occur in people and animals around the world, but different strains of the bacteria may vary in their ability to cause disease and to jump between species. Now, researchers have for the first time described the characteristics of the Leptospira variants that infect cattle in Uruguay.
Zarantonelli et al. 2018. Isolation of pathogenic Leptospira strains from naturally infected cattle in Uruguay reveals high serovar diversity, and uncovers a relevant risk for human leptospirosis. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 12 (9): e0006694 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006694
Uruguay
ScienceDaily

90 percent of Lake Okeechobee smothered in blue-green algae bloom
EUMETSAT satellite shows blue-green algae bloom covering Lake Okeechobee.
Lake Okeechobee, Florida, United States
TCPalm

Photos: How climate change is transforming Canada
From floods to fires, drought to coastal erosion, climate change is already having an impact on Canada's communities, landscapes and wildlife
Canada
Canadian Geographic

This aquatic grass could help shellfish threatened by ocean acidification
An increase in carbon emissions are showing up not only in the air, but also in water. Now researchers and shellfish farmers are teaming up to see how marine plants can help stave off the effects of ocean acidification. Special correspondent Jes Burns of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
Thornedyke Bay, Washington, United States
PBS NewsHour

Fairbanks airfields convert to alternative firefighting foam over contamination concerns
Fairbanks International Airport and Eielson Air Force Base no longer use a type of firefighting foam containing a chemical compound that’s contaminated groundwater around the city, and that poses a potential threat to human health.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Researchers see 'very reassuring' early results in N.W.T. contaminants study
The initial results represent 330 participants from six communities. Around 98 per cent of participants had mercury levels below the health guidance value - a baseline to assess health risks.
Kakisa, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC News

How debris from rockets launched far away is a risk to Inuit food security - ArcticToday
When the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a satellite into orbit on Oct. 13, it did so despite opposition from Inuit leaders in Canada and Greenland over its potential to contaminate an important Arctic area.
Greenland
ArcticToday

Fukushima derived radiocesium in subsistence-consumed northern fur seal and wild celery
Trace 134Cs in northern fur seal tissue suggests that the
population under study had been minimally exposed Fukushima-derived radionuclides. Despite this
inference, the radionuclide quantities detected are small and no impact is expected as a result of the
measured radiation exposure, either in northern fur seal or human populations consuming this species.
Saint Paul, Alaska, United States
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Tar ball deposition on Goa's beaches affecting marine life, says NIO study
Tar ball deposition on Goa's beaches affecting marine life, says NIO study on Business Standard. To carry out study the NIO also collected samples from Baga, Candolim, Calungute and Mandrem beaches from North Goa and Velsao, Betalbatim, Colva and Benaulim from South Goa.
Goa, India
Press Trust of India

Fuel contamination the next concern in flood-ravaged Hay River, N.W.T. | CBC News
Janice Moore, who lives along the West Channel, is worried about fuel contamination after intense flooding in Hay River, N.W.T., left multiple fuel containers strewn about her property. "You can smell the diesel smell and fuel smell," she said.
Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Get checked, Nunavut top doc tells Iqaluit residents complaining of skin issues amid water crisis
Nunavut's chief public health officer says Iqaluit residents complaining about skin irritations should get checked out by their doctors, but so far, Dr. Michael Patterson said he hasn't heard of any formal diagnoses.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
CBC

ConocoPhillips Alaska says gas release source is controlled
The release was first detected last month at one of the company’s North Slope drill sites. A report from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, dated Friday, listed the cause of the release as under evaluation and said that future plans included a continuation of “source remediation operations.”
Alpine Field
Alaska Public Media

Why is Canada building a pipeline through a province on fire?
Drivers on the Coquihalla could feel the heat in their cars as they rushed to clear the highway before the July Mountain fire overtook it. Somewhere in the ashes is the route for the Trans Mountain pipeline, a project that would fuel the climate change that’s making these fires worse.
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Wilderness Committee

Mercury levels in Stellar sea lion pups are rising. Researchers look to the past to find out why
A new research project is building a timeline of mercury levels in the Aleutian Islands over the last few thousand years.
Unalaska, Alaska, United States
KTOO

UN nuclear agency chief to visit Fukushima plant to see final preparations for release of wastewater
The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency will visit Japan next week to meet with officials and see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
AP News

Research project aims to spread reflective beads on Arctic ice to slow climate warming
Communities and conservation groups have raised concerns about the project. Researchers said they won’t move forward with field testing until it’s deemed safe.
Nuiqsut, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

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