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Climate change-induced perturbations in the hydrologic regime are expected to impact biogeochemical processes, including contaminant mobility and cycling. Elevated levels of geogenic and anthropogenic arsenic are found along many coasts around the world, most notably in south and southeast Asia but also in the United States, particularly along the Mid-Atlantic coast. The mechanism by and the extent to which arsenic may be released in contaminated coastal soils due to sea level rise are unknown. Here we show a series of data from a coastal arsenic-contaminated soil exposed to sea and river waters in biogeochemical microcosm reactors across field-validated redox conditions. We find that reducing conditions lead to arsenic release from historically contaminated coastal soils through reductive dissolution of arsenic-bearing mineral oxides in both sea and river water inundations, with less arsenic release from seawater scenarios than river water due to inhibition of oxide dissolution. For the first time, we systematically display gradation of solid phase soil-arsenic speciation across defined redox windows from reducing to oxidizing conditions in natural waters by combining biogeochemical microcosm experiments and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Our results demonstrate the threat of sea level rise stands to impact arsenic release from contaminated coastal soils by changing redox conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between land use and climate change in America, focusing on the environmental conditions in the nation and a 2009 report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program which addresses flooding in the Northeast portion of the nation, as well as droughts and fires in the Southwest region of the U.S. The judgment of the nation's Supreme Court in the case Massachusetts v. EPA is examined, along with Greenhouse Gases, U.S. common law, and rising sea levels.

Objectives We analyze patterns in environmental views of Gulf Coast residents, in the wake of the 2010 oil spill. To what extent do spill-related and other environmental views vary with individual characteristics, personal experience with the spill, or characteristics of place? Methods About 2,000 residents of selected coastal regions in Louisiana and Florida were interviewed by telephone in late summer 2010. Results One-quarter of the respondents said that their environmental views had changed as a result of the spill. Despite reporting more change, more spill effects, and greater threats from climate-induced sea-level rise, Louisiana respondents were less likely to support a deepwater moratorium, alternative energy, or resource conservation. Conclusions Results are consistent with real effects from the spill. Differences between Louisiana and Florida respondents are not explained by spill effects or individual characteristics, however. The patterns reflect biophysical differences of the coastlines that shaped their socioeconomic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the increasing prominence of reports citing the potential environmental risks associated with rising sea levels. Driven by greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and the melting of icecaps, sea-level rise has attracted the interests of governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and academicians. A multiagency study involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (USCCSP) discussing the encroachment of sea level onto the nation's mid-Atlantic coastline is presented. The implications of this process for creatures such as horseshoe crabs is discussed, and Delaware state biologist Stewart Michaels is quoted.

The article discusses the implications to the U.S. of the rise in global sea level as a result of climate change. Topics discussed include the risk for flooding in the shorelines of the U.S., possible causes of rising sea level including the expansion of water at it heats and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and the government's policy challenges with regards to the sea level rise.

The article discusses several areas of science that the next president of the U.S. should addressed which include the evolution of pathogens, gene editing technology and rising sea level due to climate change.

This section offers news briefs on the fisheries industry in the U.S. A study reveals that there will be an increase in the number of American eel in headwater streams if the Embrey Dam on Rappahannock River in Virginia will be removed. A ban on recreational and commercial fishing for deepwater snapper-grouper in the South Atlantic was lifted on May 10, 2012. The state of Delaware is helping the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware prepare for a rise in sea level.

The article reports on the possibility that climate warming and the rise of sea levels will increase the frequency of local extremes in storm surges along much of the coastline in the U.S.