This Week in Water

Archaeologists believe they might have found Christopher Columbus's lost 1492 flagship, the Santa Maria off the coast of Haiti.

James Cameron's deep sea robotic research vessel, Nereus, imploded some six miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean north of New Zealand. Though Cameron is the director of such films as "Titanic" and "Avatar", he is also a renowned deep sea explorer.

The deepest parts of the Mediterranean Ocean floor are littered with tons of human rubbish.

Ever wonder how the ancient Egyptians managed to sledge the giant stone blocks of the pyramids across those fine, sinking sands? An ancient drawing found in a tomb shows workers saturating the sand with water before moving the giant sledges.

An ancient drawing found in the tomb of Djehutihotep shows a large statue being transported by sledge. A person standing on the front of the sledge wets the sand.

A 37-year old indigenous Peruvian activist and mother has thwarted not one but two planned massive hydroelectric dams that would have displaced the Ashaninka peoples and destroyed their ancestral lands.

Many scientists believe the western Antarctic glacier is melting faster than anticipated and that its irreversible retreat will cause sea levels worldwide to rise upwards of four feet.

Meanwhile, the Wilkes Basin in eastern Antartica is proving to be more vulnerable than expected to potential melting due to warming temperatures. It holds enough ice to cause seas to rise anywhere from 10-15 feet.

The Earth's mantle under Antarctica is moving at such a rapid rate it is changing the shape of the land at a rate that can be measured by GPS. Some of this is due to ice loss.

Studies are showing that Southern Ocean winds are the strongest they have been in 1000 years.

The worst floods in decades hit the U.S. Gulf Coast after 24 hours of rain. Some areas were under four feet of water.

Political denial of climate change and global warming is keeping Alabama from preparing for rising seas that menace its port of Mobile.

High tides in Miami are now filling the streets with seawater.

Massive flooding in Afghanistan claimed over 100 lives. News feed here.

Over 2100 people died in landslides in remote northeastern Afghanistan. The landslides resulted from torrential rains.

About 1600 gallons of oil-based lubricant leaked into a southeastern Ohio river after an equipment failure at a fracking well.

Seismologists assert that fracking causes earthquakes.

Wet countries will continue to get wetter and dry countries will continue to get drier, hydrologist predict, resulting in crisis levels of greater flooding and deeper droughts as the century progresses.

Historic levels of drought continue relatively unabated in California and Texas.

Sacramento plans to build a battery made entirely out of water.

Jupiter's moon Ganymede may possess ice and liquid ocean layers, increasing the chances that life may have developed there.

[BTW: If your blog receives a ping! that seems to originate from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean over the next week or so, it's liable to be me checking in. Don't expect Comments. I will be next week in water, hoping for a smoother diving experience than last year's Ni'ihau near-fiasco. Expect pics!]