Report card names Bay Area's cleanest beaches

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(05-22) 10:34 PDT San Francisco -- There might be one upside to the drought, and it's just in time for the holiday weekend.

Bay Area beaches are cleaner and healthier than ever, because so little rain has washed dangerous bacteria and other pathogens into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific coastline, according to a report released Thursday by Heal the Bay.

"Dry weather has meant less urban runoff. This is all great heading into Memorial Day weekend, but we shouldn't have a false sense of security," said Amanda Griesbach, a water quality scientist for Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmental group. "Next year, especially if we have an El Nio cycle, things could be very different."

Heal the Bay's 24th annual survey of 650 West Coast beaches showed some of the highest-ever grades for cleanliness, with 95 percent of California's beaches receiving "excellent" or "good" marks.

The group looked at the amounts of harmful bacteria from sewage leaks, pollution runoff and industry, pathogens that are flushed into creeks and storm drains and ultimately onto the beaches.

When people or wildlife come into contact with the bacteria, they're likely to suffer from gastro-intestinal problems like diarrhea, skin rashes or eye, ear or lung infections.

In San Francisco, the beaches with the highest grades include Aquatic Beach at the Hyde Street Pier, Ocean Beach at Balboa Avenue and Baker Beach.

Most Marin and East Bay beaches also received high scores.

The Peninsula saw some challenges. Marina Lagoon in San Mateo is a perpetual low-scorer, and 2013-14 was no exception. In fact, it ranked as the second-worst beach in the state, largely because it's enclosed and shallow and the water tends to stagnate.

Pillar Point near Half Moon Bay also received poor grades, and was singled out as a "beach bummer."

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Report card names Bay Area's cleanest beaches

San Diego beaches make high grade

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The dog beach at Ocean Beach earned an A or higher for water quality during all of the past year, according to the latest Beach Report Card from the group Heal the Bay. / photo by Hayne Palmour IV * U-T San Diego

San Diego beaches earned high marks on Heal the Bays 24th annual beach report card, but the environmental organization cautioned that stormwater flows to the countys beaches still pose health problems.

For nearly a quarter century, Heal the Bay has been analyzing and grading West Coast beaches based on levels of bacterial pollution in the water. The report is widely recognized as the definitive source for beach water quality along California, Oregon and Washington.

For the period from April 2013 through March 2014, nearly 99% of beaches in San Diego County received top marks in the summer dry season, with 73 of 74 beaches sampled receiving A or A+ grades, the report concluded. Thats the second year in a row the county has scored 99 percent for that period. During winter dry weather, 98 percent of San Diego beaches earned A grades.

Grades of A or B represent generally safe beaches. But beaches marked C or lower present in increased risk of illnesses such as rashes, stomach ailments or ear infections.

Seven San Diego beaches made the reports honor roll with perfect scores of A+ for all weather conditions. Those included Saint Malo Beach in Oceanside; Carlsbads beaches at Cerezo Drive, Encina Creek, Ponto Drive and Poinsettia lane; Windansea Beach at Playa del Norte, and the Point Loma Lighthouse.

And this year, no San Diego beaches made the beach bummer list of shorelines with the poorest dry weather water quality.

The catch, however, is that the pristine beach conditions are due largely to long dry periods this year. The ongoing drought that has left the region thirsting for rainfall has also reduced stormwater flows that carry pollution to sea.

If you can call it a silver lining that comes with the drought, it would be beach water quality, said Heal the Bay beach report card manager James Alamillo. If theres no rain, theres no runoff, and there is in essence great water quality.

During wet weather, however, just over one in five San Diego beaches earned grades of C, D, or F, the report noted.

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San Diego beaches make high grade

There's an upside to California's drought: Cleaner beaches

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(05-22) 10:34 PDT San Francisco -- There might be one upside to the drought, and it's just in time for the holiday weekend.

Bay Area beaches are cleaner and healthier than ever, because so little rain has washed dangerous bacteria and other pathogens into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific coastline, according to a report released Thursday by Heal the Bay.

"Dry weather has meant less urban runoff. This is all great heading into Memorial Day weekend, but we shouldn't have a false sense of security," said Amanda Griesbach, a water quality scientist for Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmental group. "Next year, especially if we have an El Nio cycle, things could be very different."

Heal the Bay's 24th annual survey of 650 West Coast beaches showed some of the highest-ever grades for cleanliness, with 95 percent of California's beaches receiving "excellent" or "good" marks.

The group looked at the amounts of harmful bacteria from sewage leaks, pollution runoff and industry, pathogens that are flushed into creeks and storm drains and ultimately onto the beaches.

When people or wildlife come into contact with the bacteria, they're likely to suffer from gastro-intestinal problems like diarrhea, skin rashes or eye, ear or lung infections.

In San Francisco, the beaches with the highest grades include Aquatic Beach at the Hyde Street Pier, Ocean Beach at Balboa Avenue and Baker Beach.

Most Marin and East Bay beaches also received high scores.

The Peninsula saw some challenges. Marina Lagoon in San Mateo is a perpetual low-scorer, and 2013-14 was no exception. In fact, it ranked as the second-worst beach in the state, largely because it's enclosed and shallow and the water tends to stagnate.

Pillar Point near Half Moon Bay also received poor grades, and was singled out as a "beach bummer."

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There's an upside to California's drought: Cleaner beaches

Sandy-Ravaged Babylon Beaches Fully Restored For Memorial Day Weekend

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TRI-STATE NEWS HEADLINES

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BABYLON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) Two Sandy-damaged beaches on Long Island have been fully restored, and are now ready to open for Memorial Day.

As TV 10/55 Long Island Bureau Chief Richard Rose reported Tuesday night, Babylon residents are ready for some fun and sun come Memorial Day weekend.

Workers have carved the final touches into the newly-rebuilt dunes that once again protect Overlook and Cedar Beach from the oceans punishing waves.

The Army Corps of Engineers placed 5,000 cubic yards of sand along the shore, replacing what Superstorm Sandy washed away a year and a half ago.

After living through the hurricane, I cant believe its all back in once place, said Steve Civardi of Babylon.

Civardi said his family practically grew up on the beaches.

I worked at this beach when I was in high school. I went here for came to this beach before there was a bridge; we used to come here by the ferry when I was a child, he said.

Ahead of the upcoming holiday, construction workers pounded 30-foot poles into the sand, just outside one beach vendors restaurant.

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Sandy-Ravaged Babylon Beaches Fully Restored For Memorial Day Weekend

Blue Flag beaches in Cornwall reduced in number by 80 per cent, prompting tourism fears

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Number of Cornish beaches with Blue Flag status falls 80 per cent on 2013 Cornwall Council has decided not to pay for the 820 inspections this year Businesses in Falmouth and St Ives are concerned tourists will stay away

By Travelmail Reporter

Published: 07:45 EST, 21 May 2014 | Updated: 09:21 EST, 21 May 2014

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Towns and holiday attractions in Cornwall are worried that tourists will stay away this summer after the number of Blue Flag beaches in the country plummeted to just one.

In the sun: Porthmeor Beach, near St Ives, will not be able to boast Blue Flag status this summer

This is a drop of 80 per cent on 2013. Last year, five coastal strips in the region flew the prestigious marker of quality and cleanliness, and there are fears among those who rely on tourism from their income that potential visitors will be put off by the news.

Only Carbis Bay a privately owned beach on the north coast of the Cornish peninsula, near St Ives will have Blue Flag status this year after Cornwall Council decided not to involve itself in the application process, arguing that it is too costly.

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Blue Flag beaches in Cornwall reduced in number by 80 per cent, prompting tourism fears

Astronomy: New meteor shower peaks Memorial Day weekend

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Overnight Friday into Saturday, skywatchers could witness the fresh, first ever-seen May Camelopardalid meteor shower, weather permitting.

The Comet 209P/LINEAR, discovered Feb. 3, 2004, by the automated Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research sky survey, will make an unusually close approach to earth May 29. Despite coming within 5,150,000 miles, the periodic comet will remain no brighter than 11th far too faint for naked eye observation.

Nevertheless, the earth and the night sky of North America will pass a few days beforehand through the comet's dust and rubble trails, and a brand new, and quite possibly exceptionally dramatic, meteor shower is expected to radiate from the northern circumpolar Constellation Camelopardalis, "the leopard-spotted giraffe."

Daniel Zantzinger / Skywatcher's Guide

How outstanding this new meteor shower will be remains to be seen. Calculations have indicated that this newly discovered comet has crossed the earth's orbit dozens of times since at least 1763, and has sloughed off dust trails that have piled upon one another. This month, the earth's atmosphere will pass through an estimated 25 thin trails of comet debris overnight May 23/24, precipitating a meteor shower that will peak around 1 a.m. May 24, perhaps replete with dramatic fireballs.

The question is, how many meteors per hour (Zenithal Hourly Rate) can be expected?

Astronomers Quanzhi Ye and Paul A. Weigert conservatively estimate a ZHR of about 200 per hour with the qualification that the comet's current weak dust production could make the number much lower. Compare this to the 60 or more per hour ZHR of the famed Perseid meteor shower peaking Aug. 12. Astronomers Mikhail Maslov and Esko Lyytinen, while both predicting a ZHR of around 100, concede that the uncertainties are very wide and a meteor storm level outburst (around 1,000 ZHR) is still a distinct possibility.

Though many in the media are hyping the "meteor storm" possibility, it's wiser for the skywatcher to keep expectations dampened and simply enjoy the spectacle. The reality is that no one really knows how many meteors there'll be because astronomers base their forecasts upon various models using the inexact science of meteor shower prediction.

At any rate, it is widely hoped that Comet 209P/LINEAR's latest pass will contribute material for the most spectacular meteor shower in more than a decade, providing between 100-400 meteors per hour from the Constellation Camelopardalis radiant.

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Astronomy: New meteor shower peaks Memorial Day weekend

Astronomy: Revealing the complex outflow structure of binary UY Aurigae

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An international team of astronomers, led by Dr. Tae-Soo Pyo (Subaru Telescope, NAOJ), has revealed a complicated outflow structure in the binary UY Aur (Aurigae). The team observed the binary using the Gemini North"s NIFS (Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer) with the Altair adaptive optics system. The team found that the primary star has a wide, open outflow, while the secondary star has a well-collimated jet.

Because many stars form together as companions in binary or multiple systems, investigating these systems is essential for understanding star and planet formation. Although jets (i.e., narrow bright streams of gas) and outflows (i.e., less collimated flows of gas) from single young stars are ubiquitous, only a few observations have shown jets or outflows from multiple, low-mass young stars. Therefore, the current team chose to examine the outflow structure of binary UY Aur, which is a close binary system composed of young stars separated by less than an arcsecond (0." 89).

UY Aur has a very complicated structure. Both the primary star (UY Aur A, more masive and brighter) and the secondary star (UY Aur B, fainter and cooler) have small circumstellar disks (disks of gas and material orbiting around them). In addition, a circumbinary disk of the type that has been resolved and imaged . Receding ("redshifted") jets have been observed, and approaching ("blueshifted") ones have been reported for this system. However, their driving sources are not clear, because the spatial resolution of the images was too low (> one arcsecond).

To better understand this system, the team began by trying to identify the driving source of the receding jets. To separate the binary stars and distinguish their driving sources, they used Gemini North's NIFS with its adaptive optics system to observe this close binary system in the 1-micrometer infrared wavelength region. Since ionized iron gas ([Fe II]) traces shocked gas in jets and outflows very well, the team used iron gas emissions to examine the emission gas distribution. They found that [Fe II] is associated with both the primary and the secondary stars.

In addition, they found that the shape of the gas distribution conformed to simulations of gas streaming between the primary and secondary stars. However, the high velocity of the gas (100 km/s or > 20,000 mile/h) indicated that it emanated from the close vicinity of stars rather than arose in the disk gas around the two stars.

Further investigation of the emission structure involved separation of the receding and approaching emissions. The team found that the distribution of gas was different for each of the stars. While the approaching gas was widely spread in an outflow from the primary star and slightly connected with the secondary star, the receding gas was spread widely toward the secondary star and flowing beyond it.

What explains this difference? The team analyzed the system in terms of bipolar outflow, i.e., each star has a disk and ejects both blueshifted (approaching) and redshifted (receding) outflows or jets. The primary ejects wide, open bipolar outflows. Its redshifted (receding) outflow overlaps with the secondary. In contrast, the approaching gas from the secondary is distributed in a well-collimated bipolar jet, with its blueshifted flow tilted toward the wide, open wind from the primary. It is known from mid-infrared (wavelength of ~10 micrometer) observations that the circumstellar disk of the secondary is not aligned with the plane of the circumbinary disk. This misalignment is consistent with jet from the secondary tilted toward the wide, open outflow from the primary star.

Two jets from a binary system can be explained if the jets emanate from each of the star-disk system. Some binaries show only one jet or outflow. A larger sample of [Fe II] gas distribution toward binary and multiple young-star systems can clarify how typical the outflow structure of the UY Aur system is.

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The above story is based on materials provided by National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Astronomy: Revealing the complex outflow structure of binary UY Aurigae

Committee Examines Advances in Astrobiology Research

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Washington, D.C. - The Science, Space, and Technology Committee today held a hearing to review the current state of the science related to the search for life in the universe, including radio and optical astronomy techniques.

Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas): "The unknown and unexplored areas of space spark human curiosity. Whether life exists on other planets in the universe continues to be a matter of debate among scientists. The United States has pioneered the field of astrobiology and continues to lead the world in this type of research. Finding other sentient life in the universe would be the most significant discovery in human history."

Discoveries made by the Kepler space telescope of more than 1,700 planets within the Milky Way galaxy renewed interest in the search for life in the universe. Scientists estimate that there are 800 billion stars in the Milky Way. Last month, astronomers discovered the first Earth-like planet orbiting its star at a distance where liquid water could be present, a condition thought essential to life. Called Kepler 186f, it is only 10 percent larger than Earth and is 490 light years away.

Witnesses today said that scientists conduct either targeted searches or sky surveys to search for emitted signals. Targeted searches are longer searches in a fixed location. Sky surveys are brief sweeps of the entire sky. Other astronomers search for laser light pulses, instead of radio waves. Researchers at the SETI Optical Telescope use optical telescopes to try to detect nanosecond pulses or flashes of light distinct from pulsars or other naturally occurring phenomena.

Radio astronomy studies the radio frequencies of celestial bodies. Astronomical phenomenon, such as stars, galaxies, pulsars and quasars, emit radio waves of varying lengths. Radio telescopes detect these different frequencies, and astronomers use this data to characterize bodies and take scientific measurements used to understand the formation and expansion of the universe.

Today's hearing follows a May 2013 hearing that explored the search for exoplanets, as well as a December 2013 hearing that reviewed the different methods astrobiologists use to search for microbial life on exoplanets, including biosignatures.

The following witnesses testified today:

Dr. Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

Dr. Dan Werthimer, Director of SETI Research at the University of California Berkeley

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Committee Examines Advances in Astrobiology Research

Find out about life in space at Carter Observatory

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Astronomy Presenter, Hedley Stirrat joins Carter Observatory on Saturday 14 June to lead a live tour of the Solar System in Life in Space.

The bespoke live guided tour of the Solar System will include the possibilities of life in space, the Habitable Zone and what characteristics a planet needs to support life. Speaking about the event, Hedley Stirrat says, "The Life in Space tour will be covered in three sections. Part one will cover the questions of life itself - what chemical ingredients and environments does biology require, and is it inevitable if these conditions are met? Looking at the Solar System, we'll explore the planets and moons that have shown the most promise for life, such as Mars and Europa. We'll also touch on some of the techniques that are being used to discover potentially habitable planets and moons outside our solar system. Finally, we'll look outward at the universe itself: does its incredible vastness say anything about the probability of extra-terrestrial life?"

With three different showings at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm, people will experience one of Carters latest planetarium shows, followed by an exclusive tour of the Solar System in the Planetarium. After the tour, people will have the opportunity to look through the historic and impressive Thomas Cooke Telescope with a Carter Observatory Astronomer (weather depending).

When: Saturday 14 June, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm

Where: Carter Observatory (top of the Cable Car)

Booking: $18 adult/ $13.50 concession/ $8 child/ free for Star Pass holders

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Find out about life in space at Carter Observatory