Ocean

SAN FRANCISCO -- A year ago, the great Japanese tsunami destroyed entire towns and killed thousands of people. But the dreaded second tsunami -- the 25 million tons of debris washed into the Pacific Ocean -- looks to be a much tamer affair.

Most of that garbage sank, disintegrated or joined the rest of the Pacific trash vortex. Very little of it is expected to wash up on West Coast beaches, officials say.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- In the worst case, nearly half the turbines in proposed offshore wind farms along the most vulnerable parts of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are likely to be destroyed by hurricanes in a 20-year period, a new study suggests.

ROME -- Italy's cruise liner tragedy turned into an environmental crisis Monday, as rough seas battering the stricken mega-ship raised fears that fuel might leak into pristine waters off Tuscany that are part of a protected sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales.

The ship's jailed captain, meanwhile, lost the support of the vessel's Italian owner as he battled prosecutors' claims that he caused the deadly wreck that killed at least six and left 29 missing.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The ocean floor off the coast of Northern California and southern Oregon reveals a record of massive earthquakes that have hit the region over the past 10,000 years -- and there's a 1-in-3 chance that another could strike again within the next 50 years, scientists say.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The harbor porpoise that washed ashore last month at San Francisco's Fort Funston was clearly a victim of foul play.

NEWPORT, Ore. -- The Lincoln County sheriff's office says the body recovered by the Coast Guard Wednesday in Depoe Bay is a Utah man who had been reported missing on Tuesday.

The sheriff's office says 26-year-old Cody McCormick of West Jordan, Utah, had been visiting relatives who reported him missing from their home at Gleneden Beach, south of Lincoln City.