'Nowcasting' beach water quality
Wednesday, July 18, 2018 - 11:15
in Earth & Climate
Arriving at your favorite beach only to discover it's closed because of bacterial contamination can be a bummer. But even worse would be unknowingly swimming in waters polluted with fecal material -- a very real possibility, given that current detection methods can require up to 24 hours to obtain results. Now, researchers have identified computer models that provide accurate short-term forecasts, or 'nowcasts,' of beach water quality.