Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features Comet ZTF in a photo that was captured on January 19, 2023.



Comets have two tails - one that is composed of ionized gas and another made of dust. These tails are formed as radiation from the sun vaporizes materials within the comet.



"In the dust tail, large grains scatter the sun’s light in all directions, some of which is detected by cameras and telescopes on Earth – like the moon and planets," says ESA.



"In the ion tail, molecules are much smaller but glow through a process called ‘fluorescence’: ionized atoms and molecules in the gas are struck by photons of light which they absorb, becoming ‘excited.' They then spontaneously re-emit photons at another wavelength, in a different colour, depending on the molecule."



Comet ZTF's bright green appearance reveals that the emissions are predominantly composed of diatomic carbon.



“The two tails point in slightly different directions because the forces act on dust and ions in different ways. While the larger dust particles are pushed by pressure from sunlight, the ions are much lighter and electrically charged so are easily carried by the solar wind and its magnetic field,” explained Jorge Amaya from ESA’s Space Weather Office.



“Recently, a strange phenomenon has occurred with comet ZTF as it appears to have a third tail. This is, in fact, an optical illusion, due to our point of view of the dust trail.”



Image Credit: ESA/ Óscar Martín



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Comet ZTF appears green as it streams dust and gases

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features vegetation throughout the Himalaya Mountains, where grasses and shrubs have been thriving in recent decades.&nbsp;



Karen Anderson, an eco-hydrologist at the University of Exeter, was exploring rock glaciers in the Himalayas in 2017 when she began to wonder how plant coverage has changed across the region.&nbsp;



According to NASA, research in other parts of the world has shown that changes in the type and expanse of vegetation can lead to changes in the flows and stores of water. Ultimately,&nbsp; the extent of vegetation in the Himalayas has an influence on the water supply for about one-fifth of the global population.



“There is such a lack of information about Himalayan ecology in this high-altitude zone, at least in western science, that we don’t really understand what the impacts of changing vegetation will be,” said Anderson. “Most of the scientific expeditions to the Himalaya have been to the glaciers, which have been an area of major concern as they retreat under climate change.”



The researchers focused their study on how plant life has changed in the Hindu Kush Himalaya over the span of 26 years.&nbsp;



To map the abundance of vegetation across the subnival zone from 1993 to 2018, the team used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, derived from Landsat satellites.



&nbsp;They span the mountainous area around Mount Everest and Dingboche, Nepal, a mountain village at an altitude of 4,410 meters (14,500 feet). Notice the&nbsp;



The experts found small but significant increases in vegetation during the study period. The biggest gains were located on steeper slopes at lower elevations, and on flatter areas at higher elevations.&nbsp;



“This work was the first step towards trying to explore the scale of this ecosystem, to describe how it is changing, and to discuss the likely implications,” said Anderson.



“As glaciers recede and plants expand with climate change, what will this mean for water security? I think this is a really important question and something that my research group is taking forward.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/ Joshua Stevens&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Vegetation is expanding across the Himalayas

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features an astronaut photograph of the northern part of the Quirimbas Islands near the Tanzania border. According to NASA, the light blue-green water highlights the shallow complex of corals, sand, and seagrass surrounding the islands.



"The Quirimbas Islands stretch 322 kilometers (200 miles) along Mozambique’s coastline and are teeming with an impressive array of plants and animals. The 32 small islands that make up the archipelago are partly linked to the coast by mangroves, sand bars, and coral reefs," says NASA.



"The islands’ waters host 52 species of corals, 140 species of mollusk, and eight species of marine mammals including whales and dolphins. Five species of sea turtles are found there: loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), green turtle (Chelonia midas), leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea). All five of these species are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction."



Vamizi is one of the largest islands of the Quirimbas Archipelago and the most important green turtle nesting site in Mozambique. NASA reports that increased tourism and fishing on and around Vamizi has put pressure on the island’s marine ecosystem.&nbsp;



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The Quirimbas Islands off the coast of Mozambique

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features the Chachani volcano in the Andes Mountains. The photo was captured by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS) while orbiting over the western edge of South America.



The Chachani volcano is located north of Arequipa, the second most-populous city in Peru. "While Peru has several active volcanos, Chachani is considered dormant. Evidence of past volcanic activity here arises from the remnant lava domes, stratovolcanoes, and shield volcano that mark the landscape," reports NASA.



"Chachani is much broader than it is tall, standing approximately 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above its surrounding terrain with a width of about 17,000 meters (55,800 feet). Its slopes are still steep for those navigating the terrain, as indicated by faint zig-zag roads (also called switchbacks) on the southeastern flank of the mountain. These paths are used by hikers to start their ascent toward the peak.'



"Snowfields are visible near the peaks, but no glaciers currently remain on this mountain. The region once had extensive glaciers during the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago."



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The Chachani volcano in the Andes Mountains

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China, where the remains of an ancient lake have been transformed into rolling hills and fertile farmland over time. According to NASA, the basin is often filled with air pollution and haze.



"When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image on January 31, 2023, a layer of haze had settled in the basin. The pall obscured cities and other surface features that are visible on clearer days, though a series of ridges could be seen poking above the pollution in the northeastern part of the basin," says NASA.



"On the day the image was acquired, measurements from several ground-based sensors in Chongqing and around the southeastern part of the basin reported fine particulate matter (PM2.5) measurements well above 200 on the air quality index, according to data published by the World Air Quality Index Project. That is high enough to be designated 'very unhealthy' by health authorities."



The most common sources of pollution in the Sichuan Basin include vehicle emissions and coal and wood burning during winter.&nbsp;



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The Sichuan Basin filled with haze

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features northwestern Madagascar, where Tropical Storm Cheneso triggered deadly flash flooding and landslides. Dozens of people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced as a result of the storm.&nbsp;



"Cheneso first hit northeast Madagascar on January 19 as a strong tropical storm. The storm weakened as it moved inland but high winds and substantial rainfall continued as it tracked southwest across the island. On January 23, the storm’s center moved offshore and over the Mozambique Channel, where it spent several days churning, strengthening, and pummeling the western coast with rain," says NASA.



The image was captured on January 29, 2023 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Madagascar swamped with rain from Tropical Storm Cheneso

In a study published by <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a>, experts describe how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-reprogram-their-cells-to-fight-pathogens/">plants</a> use epigenetic memories to adapt to climate change. Plants store memories of environmental stressors so that when these conditions occur again in the future, they will know how to respond. Remarkably, plants also pass these memories along to their offspring.



“One day I thought how the living style and experience of a person can affect his or her gametes transmitting molecular marks of their life into their children,” said Federico Martinelli, a plant geneticist at the University of Florence. “Immediately I thought that even more epigenetic marks must be transmitted in plants, being that plants are sessile organisms that are subjected to many more environmental stresses than animals during their life.”



Climate change is presenting plants with an increasing number of environmental stressors. For example, winters have become warmer and shorter in many regions, and plants must respond accordingly.



“Many plants require a minimum period of cold in order to set up their environmental clock to define their flowering time,” said Martinelli. “As cold seasons shorten, plants have adapted to require less period of cold to delay flowering. These mechanisms allow plants to avoid flowering in periods where they have less chances to reproduce.”



Plants do not have neural networks, so their memory is based on cellular, molecular, and biochemical networks. Experts refer to these collective networks and experiences as a plant's "somatic" memory, which can be passed along to future generations through epigenetics.



“These mechanisms allow plants to recognize the occurrence of a previous environmental condition and to react more promptly in presence of the same consequential condition,” said Martinelli.



“We have highlighted key genes, proteins, and small oligonucleotides, which previous studies have shown play a key role in the memory of abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, cold, heat, and heavy metals and pathogen attacks."



“In this peer-reviewed opinion piece, we provide several examples that demonstrate the existence of molecular mechanisms modulating plant memory to environmental stresses and affecting the adaptation of offspring to these stresses.”



Through further research, Martinelli and his colleagues hope to understand even more about the genes that are being passed down.&nbsp;



“We are particularly interested in decoding the epigenetic alphabet underlying all the modifications of the genetic material caused by the environment, without changes in DNA sequence. This is especially important when we consider the rapid climate change we observe today that every living organism, including plants, needs to quickly adapt to in order to survive.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2022.09.004">Trends in Plant Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Plants pass down memories to help offspring survive

In a study published by Cell Press, experts describe how...

Scientists have long wondered how microbes growing in the deepest parts of the oceans can survive with no sunlight. Now, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University</a> in Australia has shown that a distinct process called “chemosynthesis” (growth using inorganic compounds) fuels these microbes. More specifically, two common gases – hydrogen and carbon monoxide – serve as fuel for the trillions of microbes living in the depths of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/how-the-ocean-and-climate-influence-each-other/">oceans</a> from the tropics to the poles.



Until recently, most scientists believed that ocean microbial life is also driven by photosynthesis (growth by using light energy). "But what about those regions so deep that light can’t penetrate or so nutrient-poor that algae can’t thrive? We showed in this study that instead chemosynthesis is dominant in these regions,” said study senior author Chris Greening, an expert in Microbiology at Monash. 



“Hydrogen and carbon monoxide in fact “fed” microbes in all regions we’ve looked at: from urban bays to around tropical islands to hundreds of meters below the surface. Some can even be found beneath Antarctica’s ice shelves.”



The researchers combined chemical measurements during ocean voyages with lab-based characterization of microbial cultures, as well as metagenomic sequencing (a method providing the genetic blueprints of all the microbes present in a specific region in the ocean).&nbsp;



“We found the genes that enable hydrogen consumption across eight distantly related types of microbes, known as phyla, and this survival strategy becomes more common the deeper they live,” reported lead author Racheal Lappan, a research fellow in Microbiology at Monash.



The study was inspired by previous work on soil bacteria which revealed that most of these terrestrial microorganisms can thrive by consuming hydrogen and carbon monoxide from the atmosphere.&nbsp;



“The surface layers of the world’s oceans generally contain high levels of dissolved hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases due to various geological and biological processes. So it made sense that oceanic bacteria used the same gases as their terrestrial cousins,” Lappan explained.



The findings provide novel insights into how life on Earth evolved. “The first life probably emerged in deep-sea vents using hydrogen, not sunlight, as the energy source. It’s incredible that, 3.7 billion years later, so many microbes in the oceans are still using this high-energy gas and we’ve completely overlooked this until now,” Greening concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01322-0">Nature Microbiology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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How can deep ocean microbes survive without sunlight?

Scientists have long wondered how microbes growing in the deepest...

This year’s second full moon – known as the “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-snow-moon-will-peak-all-over-the-world-on-wednesday/">Snow Moon</a>” – will light up the sky during the next two days. Due to the fact that the moon will be at its farthest point from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-earths-thermostat-control-the-climate/">Earth</a> in its orbit (over 250,000 miles away), it will appear 14 percent smaller than a supermoon (when a full moon appears larger and brighter because it is closest to the Earth’s orbit), and is thus called by astronomers a “micromoon.” However, most observers will not be able to notice this difference with the naked eye, so this moon too will offer a spectacular view, provided that the skies are clear.&nbsp;



Although the Snow Moon has reached peak illumination at approximately 1:29 p.m. ET on Sunday, it has appeared full from early Saturday morning and will continue to do so until early Tuesday morning.



“Seeing the moon yourself shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as clouds aren’t in the way.&nbsp;It will be easily the brightest object in the night sky and fully visible to the unaided eye; however, a pair of binoculars or a small telescope will enable you to see some of the smaller features on its surface,” said Gregory Brown, a Public Astronomy Officer at the <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory">Royal Observatory Greenwich</a>.



According to the <a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-february">Old Farmer’s Almanac</a>, the name of this full moon emerged due to the fact that February is associated with more snowfall in North America. Across Native American tribes, this moon’s name varies, including “the sleet moon” (the Comanches), “cannapopa wi,” which means “when trees crack because of cold” (the Lakota), or “atchiulartadsh,” meaning “out of food” and signifying the usual lack of food resources characterizing the lands inhabited by the Kalapuya tribe in February. Other tribes named the moon in connection to animals, such as the Bald Eagle Moon (the Cree), the Black Bear Moon (the Tlingit), the Racoon Moon (the Dakota), the Groundhog Moon (the Alonquin), or the Goose Moon (the Haida).



Europeans have often referred to this moon as “the Candles moon,” and connected it to the Candlemas feast (the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ) on February 2. In the Hebrew tradition, the moon occurs in the middle of the month of Shevat and on the holiday Tu BiShvat (“the New Year of the Trees”), which is celebrated by planting trees in order to raise ecological awareness.&nbsp;



“So long as there’s not too much cloud, the full moon will be an unmistakable white orb in the sky. This is a good opportunity to use a small telescope or a pair of binoculars to see the moon’s detailed surface, or even try taking a few interesting moon photos,” experts from the Royal Observatory Greenwich concluded.



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Full Snow Moon will be bright in the sky tonight

This year’s second full moon – known as the “Snow...

The Arctic is currently warming faster than the global average and this is contributing to the seasonal melting of sea ice, ice sheets and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/half-of-the-worlds-glaciers-will-melt-by-2100/">glaciers</a>. However, winter temperatures in the region are still well below freezing and this should give the ice an opportunity to recover from the summer melt. However, a new study led by scientists from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has identified that powerful storms, brought by atmospheric rivers, are increasingly reaching the Arctic in winter and are slowing down the recovery of the sea ice.&nbsp;



“Arctic sea ice decline is among the most obvious evidence of global warming from the past several decades,” said Pengfei Zhang, assistant research professor of meteorology and atmospheric science at Penn State and lead author of the study. “Despite temperatures in the Arctic being well below freezing, sea ice decline in winter is still very significant. And our research shows atmospheric rivers are one factor in understanding why.”



Atmospheric rivers are typically long, narrow bands in the atmosphere - like rivers in the sky - that carry large amounts of condensed water vapor away from the tropics towards lower latitudes. Likened to great conveyer belts of water in the sky, they play a central role in the global water cycle. The water-laden plumes move with the weather and, when they make landfall, often release this water vapor in the form of rain.&nbsp;



Although atmospheric rivers come in many sizes, those that contain the largest amounts of water vapor and bring the strongest winds can give rise to extreme rainfall and floods. The very largest of these carry a greater flux of water than the Amazon River. There are typically 3–5 atmospheric rivers present within a hemisphere at any one time, and they have increased slightly in intensity over the past century.&nbsp;



Using satellite observations and climate model simulations, the Penn State scientists and their colleagues found that these storms are increasingly reaching the Arctic – particularly the Barents and Kara seas off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia – during the winter ice-growing season.&nbsp;The rain that they bring is slowing sea ice recovery and accounts for a third of all winter sea ice decline.&nbsp;These findings are published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01599-3">Nature Climate Change</a>.



“We often think that Arctic sea ice decline is a gradual process due to gradual forcings like global warming,” said study co-author L. Ruby Leung, Battelle Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “This study is important in that it finds sea ice decline is due to episodic extreme weather events - atmospheric rivers - which have occurred more frequently in recent decades partly due to global warming.”



According to the researchers, the storms brought by atmospheric rivers affect ice melt in two important ways. Firstly, warm moisture carried from the tropics falls on the Arctic ice at a time when the thin, fragile ice cover is regrowing during winter. Secondly, the storms increase long-wave radiation, or heat, emitted back to Earth from the atmosphere. Both these factors slow down the recovery of sea ice during the cold months.&nbsp;



Using satellite remote sensing images, the scientists observed that sea ice retreated almost immediately following atmospheric river storms and that the retreat persisted for up to 10 days. Because of this melting and because the storms are becoming&nbsp;more common, atmospheric rivers are slowing down seasonal sea-ice recovery in the Arctic, the scientists said.



“When this kind of moisture transport happens in the Arctic, the effect is not only the amount of rain or snow that falls from it, but also the powerful melting effect on the ice,” said study co-author Mingfang Ting, a professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University. “This is important since we are losing Arctic sea ice fast in the past few decades that brought many unwanted consequences such as Arctic warming, erosion of Arctic coastlines, disturbance to global weather patterns and disruption to the Arctic communities and ecosystems.”



The loss of Arctic sea ice has broad implications, the scientists said. Open waters may enable new, more direct shipping routes but also trigger geopolitical concerns between countries. Additionally, freshwater melting into the salty ocean may impact oceanic circulations patterns that stabilize global temperatures. From a biological perspective, sea ice cover is important for the successful reproduction of many animal species, and reductions in cover will negatively impact breeding success.&nbsp;



“Those factors make this study especially important from a science perspective, but also from social and security perspectives," said study co-author Professor Laifang Li of Penn State. “Sea ice melting has a big impact for the climate system and for society, and our study finds the Arctic is an open system and that climate change is way more complicated than temperature change alone can explain.”



Using large-ensemble climate models, the scientists determined that human-induced warming has increased the rate of atmospheric river storms in the Arctic. But they also found that one major mode of natural climate variabilities - the so-called Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation - also contributes to atmospheric river changes.



“This study, together with other work that noted the presence of atmospheric rivers in the tropics, highlights that atmospheric rivers represent a global phenomenon,” said Bin Guan, Earth systems scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.&nbsp;



“Since they were discovered relatively recently - in the 1990s, and even more recently in terms of recognizing their societal impacts - atmospheric rivers provide an opportunity for potentially coordinated research and applications globally, that is, with today’s computational and technological capabilities."



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Rivers in the sky prevent the seasonal recovery of Arctic sea ice

The Arctic is currently warming faster than the global average...

A new analysis led by <a href="https://www.natureserve.org/">NatureServe</a> has revealed that more than one-third of plants and animals are at risk of vanishing in the United States. The unprecedented report, <a href="http://www.natureserve.org/bif">Biodiversity in Focus: United States Edition</a>, warns that 34 percent of plants and 40 percent of animals are threatened with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/relentless-sex-drive-may-lead-northern-quolls-to-extinction/">extinction</a>.&nbsp;



The rare Venus flytrap, 200 species of trees, and nearly half of all cacti species are all at risk of disappearing, according to the report. The greatest numbers of threatened species were found in California, Texas and the southeastern United States.&nbsp;



Furthermore, the researchers determined that 41 percent of ecosystems are at risk of collapse, which means that they could rapidly lose their structure and function.



“For fifty years, the NatureServe Network has been collecting the information necessary to understand biodiversity imperilment in the United States. This new analysis of that data, a first in 20 years, makes crystal clear the urgency of that work,” said Regan Smyth of NatureServe.&nbsp;



“Two-fifths of our ecosystems are in trouble. Freshwater invertebrates and many pollinators, the foundation of a healthy, functional planet, are in precipitous decline. Understanding and addressing these risks is critical if we are to forestall devastating consequences for the biodiversity that humanity needs to survive.”&nbsp;



The experts set out to gain a better understanding of how many species and ecosystems are currently at risk in the United States, and whether or not they are protected. The team also wanted to identify the major threats to biodiversity, as well as how to address these threats.&nbsp;



The analysis showed that habitat degradation, invasive species, dams, and climate change are among the primary threats to biodiversity in the United States.&nbsp;



The analysis also revealed that species face different types of threats in different parts of the country. Overall, 37 percent of the bee species examined in the study are at risk, and this threat is greater for bees in the Western U.S.



Among the country's ecosystems that are facing collapse, the experts found that grasslands and wetlands are particularly in need of conservation efforts. The report states that over half of 78 grassland types at risk of a range-wide collapse.



“We are currently experiencing and causing the Sixth Extinction - the mass extinction of species across the planet. NatureServe’s data highlight where the threats are right here at home,” said Dr. Sean T. O’Brien, president and CEO of NatureServe. “The plants, animals, and ecosystems found in our state, tribal, and federal lands are key components of our cultural and natural heritage. We should be proud of the biodiversity in our backyard and should prioritize protecting what is here, now.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



U.S. Representative Don Beyer said NatureServe's work would be critical to helping agencies identify what areas to prioritize and where to establish migration routes.



"The data reported by NatureServe is grim, a harrowing sign of the very real problems our wildlife and ecosystems are facing," Beyer told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/huge-chunk-plants-animals-us-risk-extinction-report-2023-02-06/">Reuters</a>. "I am thankful for their efforts, which will give a boost to efforts to protect biodiversity."



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U.S. biodiversity crisis: more than a third of species are threatened

A new analysis led by NatureServe has revealed that more...

The number of unprovoked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shark-populations-are-rebounding-in-the-northwest-atlantic/">shark</a> attacks in oceans around the world was at a 10-year low during 2022, with a total of 57. This number is on a par with the attacks recorded during 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic kept tourists and locals off beaches and out of coastal waters. According to the latest annual report of the University of Florida’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/">International Shark Attack File</a> (ISAF), most of the 2022 attacks occurred in the United States and Australia. Of these, five attacks were fatal, down from nine deaths in 2021 and 10 the year before.



The ISAF is the world’s only scientifically documented, comprehensive database of all known shark attacks. It was initiated in 1958 and is housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Currently, the list documents 6,800 shark attack cases during the period from the early 1500s to the present. This annual report focuses particularly on unprovoked shark attacks, defined as “incidents in which a bite on a live human occurs in the shark’s natural&nbsp;habitat with no human provocation of the shark.”



According to the latest statistics, there have been an average of 74 unprovoked bites per year since 2013. Therefore, the bites recorded during 2022 mark a significant decrease. According to scientists, this overall reduction in the number of last year’s bites may reflect the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03173-9">documented global decline</a>&nbsp;of shark populations.&nbsp;



“Generally speaking, the number of sharks in the world’s oceans has decreased, which may have contributed to recent lulls” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/sharks/">Florida Program for Shark Research</a>. “It’s likely that fatalities are down because some areas have recently implemented rigorous beach safety protocols, especially in Australia.”



Analysis of the geographic distribution of shark attacks in the 2022 Annual Report shows that the U.S. recorded the highest number of shark bites, and that Florida, in particular, had more bites than anywhere else on Earth. However, none of Florida’s 16 unprovoked bites was fatal, but two – likely from bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) – required medical treatment resulting in amputations. Only one of the unprovoked shark attacks in U.S. waters resulted in a fatality, which occurred late in the year when a snorkeler went missing along Keawakapu Beach in Maui, Hawaii.



In contrast, Australia had nine confirmed unprovoked bites, and single bites occurred in New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil. Two fatal attacks occurred on the same day in Egypt’s Red Sea, where shark encounters are considered rare. South Africa, which averages a few bites a year, had two unprovoked attacks in 2022, both of which were fatal and likely caused by great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias).



Although there were fewer bites in the U.S. last year, there were spikes in certain hotspot regions that have caused concern from residents and government officials in these areas. For example, New York had a record eight bites in 2022, compared with a total of only 12 reported unprovoked bites in the State before this time.



In 2016, researchers discovered that juvenile sand tiger sharks (<a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/carcharias-taurus/">Carcharias taurus</a>) had taken up residence in Great South Bay, between Long Island and Fire Island. The sharks continue to use the sheltered bay as a nursery, where they’re better protected from predation than they’d otherwise be in the open ocean. According to Naylor, the majority of bites in Long Island were likely from sand tiger sharks that were drawn into the surf zone by an influx of baitfish.



“The Gulf Stream’s eddies ebb and flow each year. Sometimes they can come very close to shore, bringing nutrients and fish with them. The juvenile sand tigers will follow the fish, which in some cases leads to an uptick in encounters with people,” he said. “But local perceptions of shark bites rarely map to global statistics. If you zoom out, these eddies unpredictably break off from oceanic currents all over the world in haphazard ways.”



For as long as records have been kept, there have been no reported fatalities from sand tiger attacks, but juveniles have often been implicated in non-lethal bites.



“Juveniles tend to be more experimental and will try things that an adult shark wouldn’t,” Naylor said. “If fish are especially dense where people are swimming and visibility is poor, then it is more likely that young sharks, which lack the experience of older animals, will mistake a swimmer’s foot for their intended prey.”



Another noteworthy record in the 2022 Annual Report comes from the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. On January 8, 2022, two attacks occurred less than a mile from each other and both were fatal. It is possible that the attacks were perpetrated by the same individual shark, most likely considered to be a tiger shark (<a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/galeocerdo-cuvier/">Galeocerdo cuvier</a>).&nbsp;



Shark attacks are relatively rare in the Red Sea, but when they do occur, they’re often fatal, Naylor said. This is due primarily to the unique topography of the region. The Red Sea began forming roughly 50 million years ago as the tectonic plates underlying Africa and Arabia began pulling apart, creating a steep gorge between them.



“It’s a very unusual marine system because the seafloor drops so precipitously, as much as 1,000 feet in 100 yards in some places,” noted Naylor.



In regions like eastern North America, where the continental shelf slopes gradually, large pelagic sharks often forage far from the coast. In the Red Sea, however, they’re mere meters from the shore, Naylor explained. “Open oceans are often pretty bleak, and the pelagic sharks that live in them make their living by opportunism. Whatever potential food source they find, they’ll sample.”



The authors of the report emphasize that the chances of being bitten by a shark remain incredibly low. According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drowning">third leading cause of accidental death</a>&nbsp;worldwide, and coastal features like rip tides and strong currents pose a greater risk to beachgoers than do sharks.&nbsp;



Despite this, the ISAF provides recommendations for reducing the risk of a shark bite for those who swim in the oceans. These include removing shiny jewelry before entering the water, not swimming at dawn or dusk, and avoiding areas where there are active fishermen or shoals of fish. For more resources, including the full 2022 report, you can visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/">International Shark Attack File’s website</a>. &nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Shark attacks decreased in 2022, but spiked in local hotspots

The number of unprovoked shark attacks in oceans around the...

Most of the research on skin coloration and patterning in vertebrates has been conducted on laboratory mice. However, since mice don’t share all of the same kinds of color-producing cells (known as chromatophores) with other vertebrates, there are limits to what mice can tell us about coloration in reptiles such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-snakes-evolved-from-just-a-few-surviving-species/">snakes</a>, for instance.&nbsp;



Now, by combining techniques such as whole gene sequencing, gene-editing, and electron microscopy, a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a> in Canada has examined color variations and patterning in the skin shed by ball pythons (Python regius) bred in captivity. The analysis revealed that a particular gene (tfec) plays a crucial role these snakes’ pigmentation, more specifically in a classic color variant found across vertebrates and distinguished by blotches of white (the so-called “piebald coloration”).



The captive-bred reptile industry is currently booming, with over 4.5 million households in the U.S. alone keeping reptiles. Due to the spectacular color variations produced through captive breeding, a single ball python can now sell for tens of thousands of dollars.



“Ball pythons show incredible variation in skin coloring and patterning, which is part of their appeal for hobbyists, but also makes them really useful for researchers who want to understand the genetic basis of coloration,” said study senior author Rowan Barrett, an expert in Biodiversity Science at McGill.



“The pet trade has created a huge pool of color variation that would not have existed otherwise. This provides a catalogue for us to figure out the many ways that genes produce the amazing diversity of colors, spots, and stripes we see across different animals.”



In order to identify the genes responsible for particular traits, scientists usually examine genetic variants that are present in the animals that have the traits, and absent in those that don’t have them. By using shed skin samples collected from snake breeders, the researchers discovered that piebald snakes carried the same mutation in a gene called tfec.



However, since finding a correlation between a specific gene and a particular trait does not necessarily imply causation, the scientists used the genetic-editing technique CRISPR to modify this gene in a different species of reptile, the brown anole lizard. This intervention revealed that genetically modified lizards do indeed show altered coloration, thus proving that mutations to tfec cause changes to color-producing cells.



“Our research advances knowledge of the genetics of vertebrate coloration generally and particularly of the development of iridescent cells, which haven’t been studied as much as other color pathways,” said study lead author Alan Garcia-Elfring, a PhD student in Biology at McGill.



“It also highlights the potential benefits of working with non-academic communities like ball python breeders to accelerate discoveries in fundamental science. Our job, at this point, is to figure out what other mutations underlie all this variation seen in captivity, and how these mutations interact. It’s an exciting time for both researchers and reptile hobbyists.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.004">Current Biology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Ball pythons shed new light on reptile coloration

Most of the research on skin coloration and patterning in...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features San Francisco Bay in California. The shallow estuary is surrounded by an extensive metropolitan area that includes major cities like San Francisco and Oakland. In the image, green forests and parks are easy to distinguish from urban areas.



The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta appears brown from sediment as it flows into San Pablo Bay. In the bottom right portion of the photo, salt ponds in the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge appear bright green and yellow.&nbsp;



The Golden Gate Bridge is visible crossing the opening of the bay into the Pacific Ocean between Marin County and San Francisco. The bay was searchable as far south as San Jose until the 1850s, when hydraulic mining released large amounts of sediment from the rivers that settled in those parts of the bay that had little or no current.&nbsp;



Later on, the wetlands and inlets were deliberately filled in, reducing the Bay’s size since the mid-19th century by as much as one third. Recently, large areas of wetlands have been restored, further confusing the issue of the Bay’s size.



Despite its value as a waterway and harbor, many thousands of acres of marshy wetlands at the edges of the bay were, for many years, considered wasted space. As a result, soil excavated for building projects or dredged from channels was often dumped onto the wetlands and other parts of the bay as landfill.



Treasure, Angel and Alcatraz islands can also be seen in the photo, along with several bridges connecting the eastern and western shores of San Francisco Bay.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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San Francisco Bay in western California

[sendtonews key="Bx1bStwN0x-1615160-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Gulf of Morbihan, a natural harbor with numerous islands and islets in northwest France. 



In this region, Brittany is an important cultural center that is divided into four departments: Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes d'Armor, Finistère, and Morbihan.



According to ESA, Brittany is known for its rich and varied agriculture including meats and dairy products and a variety of high quality fruit and vegetables.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The Gulf of Morbihan opens onto the Bay of Quiberon by a narrow passage between Locmariaquer and Port-Navalo.



Morbihan is known for its Alignements de Carnac, which consists of around 3,000 standing stones and megalithic tombs. The stones were erected during the Neolithic period, around 4500 BC.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



The towns and villages around the edges of the Morbihan Gulf are a popular destination with visitors and the bay itself contains numerous small islands, some of which can be visited, and is a haven for wildlife, especially birds. 



The most important towns around the coast of the Morbihan Gulf are Vannes to the north-east and Auray to the north-west. The Morbihan Gulf is an area of sea that extends 20 kilometres inland from the Bay of Quiberon.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The Gulf of Morbihan in northwest France

[sendtonews key="8V1sUR2uFM-1651636-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a>&nbsp;features the Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of the largest tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland. The glacier is located on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet.



As human-induced climate change continues to drive up temperatures, global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. ESA reports that, over the past decade alone, 3.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet. This is enough to cover the UK with meltwater 15 meters deep.



Based on satellite imagery, researchers determined that Kangerlussuaq entered a new phase of rapid retreat and acceleration in 2017. In their study, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00123/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>,&nbsp; the experts report that the glacier's ice front is now at its most retreated position since the early 20th century.



"Given Kangerlussuaq’s previous impacts on both the magnitude and pattern of ice sheet wide mass loss, we predict that its new phase of retreat, acceleration and thinning will markedly enhance the south-east region’s contribution to increasing discharge from the ice sheet," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"More broadly, accurate forecasting of the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise will require a deeper understanding of, and responses to, these non-linear ice dynamic processes."



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

[sendtonews key="EPdZexVR30-1731237-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the complex relationship between ocean and climate. ESA's Climate Change Initiative will help us understand how oceans influence the climate and how climate change is impacting the oceans.&nbsp;



"Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate," explains ESA.



"As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life."



The amount of heat and carbon dioxide soaked up by the ocean depends on specific variables, including phytoplankton, temperatures, waves, salinity, and ice cover. Satellites can be used to measure these variables from space.



"From their unique vantage point, satellites provide key information for understanding the complexities of our planet and monitoring environmental issues," says ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

[sendtonews key="JrMLDXHmjl-1911953-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...