The Obama administration announcement Tuesday that it will bar oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean was cheered by Delaware politicians and environmental activists. John Doerfler, chair of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation's Delaware chapter, said the administration's decision will benefit the state's economy  by keeping its tourism industry intact.

A new study by the University of Delaware's Special Initiative on Offshore Wind (SIOW) reports that a commitment by Massachusetts to develop offshore wind (OSW) energy at a scale of 2,000 MW, combined with ongoing technology and industry advances, will lower previously projected costs for the clean energy source by as much as 55 percent in the next decade. That kind of cost reduction, driven by market forces, will put offshore wind on a clear path to deliver clean power at competitive prices for millions of ratepayers in the Boston area and beyond, and make the renewable resource a key contributor to the state's clean energy future.

Imagine if Priceline or eBay took over U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and farmers could set their own prices for conservation efforts. Four hundred farmers had the chance to do just that in 2014 through the University of Delaware’s Agricultural Values, Innovation, and Stewardship Enhancement (AgVISE) project. AgVISE is a research project that gives farmers the opportunity to set their own cost-share amounts for voluntary nutrient management practices rather than the government setting what they should pay.

While U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service agents and DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers continue an investigation into the March 19-20 deaths of five bald eagles in Sussex County, two eagles captured that weekend disoriented and possibly near death have been released back into the wild after rehabilitation by Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research of Newark, DNREC and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced today.

The Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) invites science, engineering and social science doctoral students at the University of Delaware to apply for the DENIN Environmental Fellows Program. The 2016 fellowships begin in September and will provide two years of support for up to five students to conduct environmentally relevant research that shows a direct link with societal needs and benefits.

More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, yet scientists know more about space than about what happens in the ocean. One way scientists are trying to improve their understanding of the marine environment is through the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), programmable robotic vehicles that can independently study the ocean and its inhabitants.

To examine the fate and persistence of glyphosate, one of the most common commercial herbicides used for agricultural and urban applications, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), a major byproduct of glyphosate, in soils and other environments, researchers at the University of Delaware have used isotopic signatures as a method of source tracking.

The research involves the use of manganese oxide minerals to break down glyphosate and to identify released phosphate and other byproducts such as AMPA. The researchers used oxygen isotopes of released phosphate from glyphosate and compared that from other phosphorous compounds present in soils and other environments with an aim to discriminate and track the sources. 

On Wednesday, April 20, the University of Delaware will host “Rising Seas and Extreme Events on Vulnerable Coasts,” a symposium honoring UD alumnus Brian F. Atwater, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and the recipient of the Franklin Institute’s 2016 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Science.

The symposium, set for 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Trabant University Center Multipurpose Rooms, is free and open to the public. 

To register for the symposium, or submit to the call for posters, click here.