March 2020

The MEDEA Program; Human Migrations to the Americas, 2019 Flooding of Venice; Citizen Science; Using Data in Teaching; and More…

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OCEANOGRAPHY SOCIETY

VOL.33, NO.1, MARCH 2020

Oceanography

THE MEDEA PROGRAM

OPENING A WINDOW INTO NEW DATA

HUMAN MIGRATIONS

TO THE AMERICAS

AN OCEANOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

2019 FLOODING OF VENICE

IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE PREDICTIONS

CITIZEN SCIENCE

IN THE WESTERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA

USING DATA IN TEACHING

NSF’S OCEAN OBSERVATORIES INITIATIVE

PLUS

• DIY OCEANOGRAPHY

• HANDS-ON OCEANOGRAPHY

• THE OCEANOGRAPHY CLASSROOM

• CAREER PROFILES

Oceanography | March 2020

VOL. 33, NO. 1, MARCH 2020

contents

VOL. 33, NO. 1, MARCH 2020

REGULAR ISSUE FEATURES

20

The MEDEA Program: Opening a Window into New Earth Science Data

By D.J. Baker and L. Zall

32

An Oceanographic Perspective on Early Human Migrations to

the Americas

By T.C. Royer and B. Finney

42

The 2019 Flooding of Venice and Its Implications for Future Predictions

By The ISMAR Team: L. Cavaleri, M. Bajo, F. Barbariol, M. Bastianini, A. Benetazzo,

L. Bertotti, J. Chiggiato, C. Ferrarin, F. Trincardi, and G. Umgiesser

50

Polar Tourism as an Effective Research Tool: Citizen Science in the

Western Antarctic Peninsula

By A.M. Cusick, R. Gilmore, A. Bombosch, M. Mascioni, G.O. Almandoz,

and M. Vernet

62

Using Authentic Data from NSF’s Ocean Observatories Initiative in

Undergraduate Teaching: An Invitation

By C. Greengrove, C.S. Lichtenwalner, H.I. Palevsky, A. Pfeiffer-Herbert,

S. Severmann, D. Soule, S. Murphy, L.M. Smith, and K. Yarincik

DEPARTMENTS

05

QUARTERDECK. Introduction to the March Issue of Oceanography

By E.S. Kappel

07

FROM THE PRESIDENT. Oceanography in the Decade of Digital Science

and Sustainable Development: New Opportunities for TOS?

By M. Visbeck

08

RIPPLE MARKS. Sand: A Resource That’s Washing Away

By C.L. Dybas

11

COMMENTARY. The Importance of Bottom-Up Approaches to

International Cooperation in Ocean Science: The Iron Story

By E.R. Urban Jr., A.R. Bowie, P.W. Boyd, K.N. Buck, M.C. Lohan, S.G. Sander,

R. Schlitzer, A. Tagliabue, and D. Turner

16

COMMENTARY. California Wildfire Burns Boundaries Between

Science and Art

By K.M. Bisson, N. Baetge, S.J. Kramer, D. Catlett, G. Girling, H. McNair, E. Arrington,

D. Hayes, C. Jacobs, A. James, I. Closset, A.D. Fischer, S. Wagner, M. Reading,

J. Comstock, S. Amiri, E. Harvey, C. Carlson, P. Gaube, K. Drushka, and D.L. Valentine

42

62

16

20

Oceanography | March 2020

ON THE COVER

Tourism and science come together in the Western

Antarctic Peninsula through citizen science projects

like FjordPhyto (see Cusick et  al., 2020, in this

issue). As travelers visit this remote region, tour

staff explain the implications of melting glaciers for

Antarctic ecosystems. Photo credit: Allison Cusick,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

CONTACT US

The Oceanography Society

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CORRECTIONS

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Corrections will be printed in the next issue

of Oceanography.

74

WORKSHOP REPORT. Data Needs for Hyperspectral Detection of Algal

Diversity Across the Globe

By H. Dierssen, A. Bracher, V. Brando, H. Loisel, and K. Ruddick

80

DIY OCEANOGRAPHY. Inlinino: A Modular Software Data Logger for

Oceanography

By N. Haëntjens and E. Boss

85

HANDS-ON OCEANOGRAPHY. Digging into the Geologic Record of

Environmentally Driven Changes in Coral Reef Development

By P.M. Gravinese, R.B. Aronson, and L.T. Toth

92

THE OCEANOGRAPHY CLASSROOM. The Bureaucratic Oaf

By S. Boxall

94

CAREER PROFILES. Conor McManus, Deputy Chief, Rhode Island

Department of Environmental Management, Division of Marine Fisheries •

Nicole Elko, President, Elko Coastal Consulting Inc.

80

Thank You for Joining Us at the TOS HONORS BREAKFAST

Recognizing and Celebrating our Colleagues’ Accomplishments

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OCEANOGRAPHY SOCIETY

VOL.33, NO.1, MARCH 2020

Oceanography

THE MEDEA PROGRAM

OPENING A WINDOW INTO NEW DATA

HUMAN MIGRATIONS

TO THE AMERICAS

AN OCEANOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

2019 FLOODING OF VENICE

IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE PREDICTIONS

CITIZEN SCIENCE

IN THE WESTERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA

USING DATA IN TEACHING

NSF’S OCEAN OBSERVATORIES INITIATIVE

PLUS

• DIY OCEANOGRAPHY

• HANDS-ON OCEANOGRAPHY

• THE OCEANOGRAPHY CLASSROOM

• CAREER PROFILES

EDITOR

Ellen S. Kappel

Geosciences Professional

Services Inc.

ekappel@geo-prose.com

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Vicky Cullen

vcullen@whoi.edu

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Cheryl Lyn Dybas

cheryl.lyn.dybas@gmail.com

DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Johanna Adams

johanna-adams@cox.net

Oceanography

https://tos.org/oceanography

Oceanography contains peer-reviewed articles that chronicle all aspects of

ocean science and its applications. The journal presents significant research,

noteworthy achievements, exciting new technology, and articles that address

public policy and education and how they are affected by science and tech-

nology. The overall goal of Oceanography is cross-disciplinary communica-

tion in the ocean sciences.

Oceanography (ISSN 1042-8275) is published by The Oceanography Society,

1 Research Court, Suite 450, Rockville, MD 20850 USA. Oceanography arti-

cles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and repro-

duction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appro-

priately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the

changes that were made to the original content. Third-party material used

in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated

otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in

the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission

directly from the license holder to reproduce the material. Please contact

Jennifer Ramarui at info@tos.org for further information.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Claudia Benitez-Nelson

University of South Carolina

cbnelson@geol.sc.edu

Ian Brosnan

NASA Ames Research Center

ian.g.brosnan@nasa.gov

Grace Chang

Integral Consulting Inc.

gchang@integral-corp.com

Margaret L. (Peggy) Delaney

University of California, Santa Cruz

delaney@ucsc.edu

Philip N. Froelich

Duke University

froelich@magnet.fsu.edu

Charles H. Greene

Cornell University

chg2@cornell.edu

William Smyth

Oregon State University

smyth@coas.oregonstate.edu

Kiyoshi Suyehiro

Yokohama Institute for Earth

Sciences, JAMSTEC

suyehiro@jamstec.go.jp

Peter Wadhams

University of Cambridge

p.wadhams@damtp.cam.ac.uk

The Oceanography Society was founded in 1988 to

advance oceanographic research, technology, and

education, and to disseminate knowledge of ocean-

ography and its application through research and

education. TOS promotes the broad understand-

ing of oceanography, facilitates consensus building

across all the disciplines of the field, and informs the

public about ocean research, innovative technology,

and educational opportunities throughout the spec-

trum of oceanographic inquiry.

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT: Martin Visbeck

PRESIDENT-ELECT: Andone Lavery

PAST-PRESIDENT: Alan C. Mix

SECRETARY: Allison Miller

TREASURER: Susan Banahan

COUNCILORS

AT-LARGE: Richard Crout

APPLIED TECHNOLOGY: Larry Mayer

BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Charles H. Greene

CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Galen McKinley

EDUCATION: Carolyn Scheurle

GEOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Amelia Shevenell

PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Magdalena Andres

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Christina Hernández

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jennifer Ramarui

CORPORATE AND

INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS

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» https://www.bakerdonelson.com

INTEGRAL CONSULTING INC.

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» https://www.metocean.co.nz/

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» http://www.sequoiasci.com/

SUBMARINE CABLE SALVAGE

» https://www.oceannetworks.com/

submarine-cable-salvage

TELEDYNE RD INSTRUMENTS

» http://www.teledynemarine.com/rdi

US ARCTIC RESEARCH COMMISSION

» https://www.arctic.gov

tos.org

Oceanography | March 2020

The Oceanography Society (TOS) was founded in 1988 to encourage collabo-

ration and innovation among ocean scientists worldwide and across subdisci-

plines. The Society continues to support this community through publishing

Oceanography magazine, convening scientific conferences, and recognizing

major achievements in ocean sciences through the TOS Honors Program.

TOS is fully committed to nurturing the next generation of ocean scientists

through mentoring, providing leadership opportunities, and disseminating

student-curated newsletters that highlight student members, provide links to

resources, and announce opportunities.

The membership period is January 1 through December 31 of each year. Upon

joining, new members will receive access to all back issues of Oceanography

published during this membership period.

Membership Options

Regular Membership [$70]. Available to oceanographers, scientists, or engi-

neers active in ocean-related fields, or to persons who have advanced ocean-

ography by management or other public service.

Student Membership [Free!]. Available for students enrolled in an oceanog-

raphy or ocean-related program at the baccalaureate or higher level.

Early Career Membership [$30]. Available to non-student oceanographers,

scientists, or engineers active in ocean- related fields, or to persons who have

advanced oceanography by management or other public service who have

received their highest degree within the past three years.

Sponsoring Membership [$125]. Available to individuals who wish to pro-

vide enhanced support annually. In the United States, $50 of the annual dues

in this category is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution as are any addi-

tional contributions, over and above the annual regular membership dues.

Visit https://tos.org and click on join TOS

to complete your application!

Call for Corporate and

Institutional TOS Members

[Starting at $300] TOS invites all corporate or

nonprofit organizations interested in the ocean

sciences to join as members in this category.

Membership benefits include:

• An active link from the TOS website to the

organization’s website

• Complimentary inclusion of one quarter-

page ad in Oceanography magazine

• Organization’s name and contact information

included in each issue of Oceanography

• Discounted rates for employment opportu-

nity postings in the TOS Jobs Center

• Fifteen percent discount on advertising in

Oceanography

For more information, go to:

https://tos.org/corporate- and-

institutional-members

Make connections,

advance your career,

enrich your research

JoinTOS

Welcome to the March issue of Oceanography. In this issue,

instead of focusing on one theme or topic in a special invited

section, five feature articles cover an extraordinarily broad range

of subjects that for the most part came to us via unsolicited man-

uscript submission. We are also very excited to introduce a new

department called DIY Oceanography, where authors share all

relevant information about a homemade sensor, an instrument,

or new software so that others can build, or build upon, it.

The March issue kicks off with a bit of history. Baker and

Zall describe the origins and impacts of the MEDEA pro-

gram, launched in 1992, that resulted in declassification of huge

amounts of data collected by the US Intelligence and Defense

Communities that could enhance research on Earth’s envi-

ronment. One of the most widely recognized outcomes of the

MEDEA program is the global map of ocean bottom topogra-

phy produced by Walter Smith and David Sandwell based on

GEOSAT altimeter data that were declassified during MEDEA.

The MEDEA retrospective is followed by a contribution

from Royer and Finney that provides an “oceanographic

perspective” on early human migrations to the Americas. Adding

to the discussion of this much written about subject, the authors

discuss ocean currents and sea levels that likely existed during

and after the Last Glacial Maximum that could have enhanced

or hindered boat journeys along the route from Berengia, which

included parts of what are now Alaska and eastern Siberia, to the

Pacific Northwest.

The ISMAR Team analyzes the different factors that led up to

the 2019 great flooding of Venice and shows why it was unlikely

that an accurate forecast could have been developed for this

event. Coastal regions around the world are facing similar situa-

tions, which may worsen in the future. The authors suggest that

scientists working on such problems should exchange ideas and

information to improve local solutions.

Cusick et al. provide details about how they developed and

executed their citizen science project that partners scientists with

the Antarctic tourism industry to enable regular data collection

in coastal waters from November to March. In this inspiring arti-

cle, the authors show how using an untraditional approach for

gathering data can enhance research in Antarctica and also edu-

cate tourists about the polar environment.

The final feature article in this issue by Greengrove et al.

provides an overview of current Ocean Observatories Initiative

(OOI) educational resources and opportunities, along with exam-

ple applications of OOI data. The authors invite the community

to create and share new ways to engage students with OOI data.

The March Oceanography department contributions are also

varied. They include a commentary that champions the continu-

ing need for organizations that support the bottom-up develop-

ment and nurturing of science ideas (Urban et al.) and another

that describes a student-led research cruise and the insights the

students gained from the experience at their stage of graduate

education (Bisson et al.). A report by Dierssen et al. details the

recommendations of a recent workshop on data needs for hyper-

spectral detection of algal diversity, and a hands-on oceanogra-

phy contribution by Gravinese et al. provides three activities

in which undergraduates can use real data to understand how

climate and oceanographic conditions have impacted coral reef

growth over the last 5,000 years.

The kick-off DIY contribution by Haëntjens and Boss intro-

duces Inlinino, an open-source software data logger with real-

time visualization capabilities whose main purpose is to log sci-

entific measurements collected at sea over extended periods. In

line with the mission of DIY Oceanography, anyone with moder-

ate coding skills should be able to add new sensors.

The March issue also contains our usual education, Ripple

Marks, and careers columns.

For those who only receive electronic copies of Oceanography,

don’t forget that along with the March issue, we publish the

annual ocean exploration supplement that details the latest

E/V  Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor

field seasons. The supplement—now in its tenth year—is mailed

with hard copies of the March issue to TOS members and is also

available online on the Oceanography website (https://tos.org/

ocean-exploration).

It’s been an astonishing seven years since Oceanography has

published an issue without a special section devoted to one

theme or one program. While we don’t know when the next

one will be, we strongly encourage continued submission of

articles that are of broad interest to the oceanographic com-

munity; those articles can be published in any issue, special or

not. See the Oceanography author guidelines (https://tos.org/

oceanography/guidelines) or drop me or any editorial board

member a note (email addresses available here: https://tos.org/

oceanography/editors) with an idea for an article. We look for-

ward to hearing from you!

Ellen S. Kappel, Editor

QUARTERDECK

Introduction to the March Issue of Oceanography

Oceanography | March 2020

OCEANOGRAPHY

NEW IN OCEANOGRAPHY IN MARCH 2020. Oceanography guest edi-

tors Melissa Omand and Emmanuel Boss are seeking contributions to

DIY Oceanography. In this new section, contributing authors share all of the

relevant information on a homemade sensor or instrument so that others can

build, or build upon, it. The short articles will also showcase how this technol-

ogy was used successfully in the field. Contributions should include a list of

the materials and costs, instructions on how to build, and any blueprints and

codes (those could be deposited elsewhere). See Oceanography’s Author

Guidelines page (https://tos.org/oceanography/guidelines) for detailed infor-

mation on submission requirements.

CALL

FOR

CONTRIBUTIONS

June 2020

PALEOCEANOGRAPHY:

LESSONS FOR A

CHANGING WORLD

September 2020

MARINE BIODIVERSITY

OBSERVATION NETWORK:

AN OBSERVING SYSTEM

FOR LIFE IN THE SEA

December 2020

ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS

OF OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY

DEVELOPMENT

March 2021

GoMRI:

GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL

& ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE

2010–2020

https://tos.org/oceanography

Oceanography

UPCOMING

Oceanography

Style Now Available

for EndNote

We are pleased to announce that the

Oceanography citation style is now

available for download from EndNote.

Please go to the EndNote web page

https://endnote.com/

and search on “oceanography”

SPECIAL ISSUES

This section of Oceanography provides an outlet for short papers that

describe novel approaches to multidisciplinary problems in oceanography.

These provocative papers will present findings that are synthetic by design

and have the potential to move the field of oceanography forward or in new

directions. The Associate Editor overseeing Breaking Waves is Ian Brosnan

(ian.g.brosnan@nasa.gov). Authors should submit a brief email to Dr. Brosnan

that outlines their ideas for papers prior to actual manuscript preparation. For

more information, see the Author Guidelines at:

https://tos.org/oceanography/guidelines

Breaking Waves CALL FOR MANUSCRIPTS

Oceanography | Vol.33, No.1

FROM THE PRESIDENT

The key word in our society’s name, oceanography, combines the

Greek words ὠκεανός meaning “ocean,” and γράφω, meaning

“write.” Other languages use oceanology, with the second word

λογία meaning “logic.” To me, the science of modern ocean-

ography includes both the description and the understanding

of ocean systems that cover a wide range of topics, including

marine life and ecosystems, ocean circulation, plate tectonics

and the geology of the seafloor, and the ocean’s chemical, bio-

geochemical, and physical properties. Since the beginning of

The Oceanography Society (TOS), we have recognized four sci-

entific disciplines with seats on our Council—physical, biologi-

cal, chemical, and geological oceanography—and we recognize

the importance of applied technology and education. I’d like to

suggest that to keep TOS—the only international society that

bridges all areas of ocean science—current, it is time to revisit its

disciplinary building blocks.

Erik van Sebille, one of the invited lecturers at the recent Ocean

Sciences Meeting, introduced himself as a “plastic oceanogra-

pher” with a twinkle in his eye. And Jane Lubchenco, in her Mary

Sears Medal lecture, ended with a call to action for our commu-

nity to “embrace a new social contract, one in which scientists

and their institutions are fully engaged in co-creating scalable

solutions that heal people and the ocean.” These words parallel

an agenda that the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable

Development will promote during 2021–2030. We need to ask

ourselves whether TOS embraces all ocean disciplinary commu-

nities needed to support these emerging challenges.

I also saw a large number of contributions at the Ocean

Sciences Meeting in the area of “digital oceanography.” About

15 abstracts explicitly mentioned the word “digital,” 20 included

“artificial intelligence,” another 20 referred to “big data,” and

more than 50 used “machine learning” methods. The European

Union is currently discussing a Mission Earth initiative that

would bring together scientific and industrial excellence to

develop a high-precision digital model of Earth (its “digital

twin”) that would radically improve Europe’s environmental

prediction and crisis management capabilities. Is TOS ready

to support the ocean’s piece? I am excited about an OCEAN5D

initiative supporting “digital twin oceans” that would describe

an ocean in one temporal and three spatial dimensions (4D).

The fifth dimension would refer to an ocean issue such as sea-

floor habitat, sea level changes, seagrass abundance, coastal vul-

nerability to harmful algae blooms, or the economic poten-

tial of zoning for mariculture or wind energy farming. If all of

our existing data were interoperable and FAIR (for details, see

https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/), we could deliver the

first OCEAN5D pilots rapidly at regional or sub-basin scales.

The US EarthCube initiative (https://www.earthcube.org/)

seems like a most relevant step in the direction of open and

interoperable environmental data.

For TOS to capitalize on these ideas, we should consider

enlarging our Council by two members, one to connect us to the

socioeconomic-legal ocean communities and another to repre-

sent the digital dimension of oceanography. Moreover, should

we consider cosponsoring two topical ocean meetings in 2021,

perhaps one on ocean solutions in partnership with the Ocean

Visions network (http://www.oceanvisions.org/) and another on

the digital ocean jointly with IEEE (https://www.ieee.org/)? I am

interested to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Martin Visbeck, TOS President

REFERENCE

El Saddik, A. 2018. Digital twins: The convergence of multimedia technologies.

IEEE MultiMedia 25(2):87–92, https://doi.org/10.1109/MMUL.2018.023121167.

OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE DECADE OF

DIGITAL SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

New Opportunities for TOS?

A “digital twin” is a digital replica of a living

or non- living physical entity. By bridging

the physical and the virtual worlds, data

are transmitted seamlessly, allowing the

virtual entity to exist simultaneously with the

physical entity (El Saddik, 2018).

Oceanography | March 2020

SAND A Resource That’s Washing Away

By Cheryl Lyn Dybas

Sand. It’s under our feet when we walk on

a beach, and is in every house and road,

wine glass and cellphone, brick and can

of paint. But we rarely spare a thought for

this seemingly endless resource.

That needs to change, according to

a 2019 report by the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP): Sand

and Sustainability: Finding New Solutions

for Environmental Governance of Global

Sand Resources.

After water, sand is the second most

traded resource by volume worldwide.

Sand and gravel together are the number

one solid material mined globally, accord-

ing to an earlier (2014) UNEP report: Sand,

Rarer than One Thinks.

Researchers are finding that even an

apparently ubiquitous substance like sand

cannot keep up with current demand.

Around the world, 40 to 50 billion tons of

sand and gravel are used every year, the

equivalent of a 35 m high by 35 m wide

wall circling the equator.

“Formed by slow erosive processes,

sand and gravel are now being extracted

at a rate far greater than their renewal,”

states the 2014 UN report. “That’s hav-

ing a major impact on rivers, deltas, and

marine ecosystems, resulting in a loss of

Photo credit: Ilya Raskin

land through river or coastal erosion, low-

ering of the water table, and decreases in

the [downstream] sediment supply.”

Despite the colossal quantities of sand

being removed, our increasing depen-

dence on it, and the impact its extraction

has on the environment, the situation has

been largely ignored by policy makers and

is almost unknown to the public.

“Sand is used by everyone,” says

Pascal Peduzzi, director of the Global

Resources Information Database-Geneva

at UN Environment. Peduzzi first raised

the issue of dwindling sand supplies.

“We are now working with stakeholders

at every level, hoping to find sustainable

solutions,” he says.

SHIFTING SANDS

Shifting sand consumption patterns, grow-

ing human populations, and increasing

urbanization and infrastructure devel-

opment have increased the demand for

sand threefold over the last two decades.

At the same time, damming and extraction

have slowed sediment delivery from rivers

to coastal areas, leading to reduced sand

deposits in river deltas and accelerated

beach erosion.

“We’re spending our sand ‘budget’

faster than it’s being produced,” says

Joyce Msuya, deputy executive director

of UNEP. “We now need 50 billion tons

per year, an average of 18 kilograms per

person per day. These expectations can-

not be met without improved governance

of global sand resources. We can better

manage this critical resource, and demon-

strate that infrastructure and nature can

go hand-in-hand.”

Most sand goes into the production of

concrete—made of sand, gravel, water,

and cement. Sand is also used to replen-

ish retreating beaches and extend territo-

ries by constructing artificial islands, such

as The World in Dubai, or filling in coastal

areas like those surrounding Singapore.

Until recently, sand was extracted from

land quarries and riverbeds. A result of the

decline of inland sand resources, a shift to

marine and coastal sand mining has taken

place. Now sand mining from marine envi-

ronments is increasing significantly.

Sand extraction from fragile marine eco-

systems may destroy local biodiversity.

And the demand for sand may lead to ille-

gal sand extraction. “Sand mafias” in India,

for example, threaten communities and

their livelihoods and leave environmental

protection efforts at risk.

RIPPLE MARKS: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Oceanography | Vol.33, No.1

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