The Stream, December 23: Huge Quantity of Meltwater Trapped in Greenland Glaciers

Scientists discovered an area of meltwater the size of Ireland trapped in the snow above Greenland’s southern glaciers, raising questions about how glaciers might be moderating increases in global sea levels, Discovery News reported. The scientists, who recently published their findings in the journal Nature Geoscience, want to focus further study on how the water is moving through the glaciers to the sea.

Water Contamination
The presence of elevated levels of artificial sweeteners in North American rivers reveals one of the new challenges facing wastewater treatment facilities, The Los Angeles Times reported. The sweeteners can pass through even advanced wastewater treatment processes, much like antibiotics and other chemical contaminants.

A legacy of heavy metal water pollution is one of the obstacles challenging the development of gold mining in the Dominican Republic, Reuters reported. The country is also changing the government agency in charge of overseeing mine projects, creating a bureaucratic bottleneck for project approvals.

Agriculture
Argentina’s soybean crop could suffer mild setbacks due to hot and dry weather, conditions that have caused soybean prices to rise slightly, Bloomberg News reported. Argentina is the world’s third largest grower of soybeans.

Water Supply
A project aimed at reducing water shortages and increasing water supply and wastewater treatment coverage in Albania has received a $US 85.3 million loan from the World Bank, Bloomberg News reported. The project will focus on improvements in the city of Durres.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek