Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world. The unique landscape draws many tourists who come to see the salty crust in the dry season and the lakes in the wet season.&nbsp;



"For much of the year, it stretches out in a seemingly endless expanse of white, with a salt crust covering 10,000 square kilometers," reports NASA.



"During the rainy season, water can fill part of the salt flat and give it a stunning, mirror-like appearance. In early 2022, that watery mirror grew larger and lingered longer than it has in several years."



In recent months, abundant rainfall filled the Salar de Uyuni to the point of nearly overflowing. In some areas, there were local reports of flooding.



“The extent of the filling of Salar de Uyuni this year is above normal. The rainy season started earlier than previous years, and rainfall was well above average over the southern Altiplano,” said hydrologist Jorge Molina Carpio of the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. “This was probably related to the onset of a significant La Niña event. Strong La Niñas during the rainy season are related to positive rainfall anomalies in the southern Altiplano.”



“Along the Altiplano, but especially in its southwestern edge, precipitation is largely concentrated in austral summer, when transient periods of intense convection are fueled by moisture from the Bolivian lowlands and Amazon basin. The rest of the year is bone dry,” explained René Garreaud, a climate scientist at the University of Chile. “The stronger and more persistent the easterly wind, the more precipitation you get over the Altiplano.”



According to Garreaud, there was a strong easterly flow over the central Andes in December 2021 and early January 2022, leading to abundant rain in the Uyuni-Potosi region. 



“This area is a closed basin, so all of the precipitation - as rain at the valley floor and snow over the surrounding peaks - contributes to the filling of the Uyuni and Coipasa dry lakes."



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



---



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

The stunning landscape of Salar de Uyuni

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 the Black Sea in vivid colors, when an abundance of phytoplankton transformed the water in the spring of 2022. According to NASA, these blooms can paint the water with color so brilliant that it becomes visible from space.



"The turquoise swirls indicate the presence of phytoplankton tracing the flow of water currents and eddies. One type of phytoplankton commonly found in the Black Sea is coccolithophores - microscopic plankton that are plated with white calcium carbonate," reports NASA.



"When aggregated in large numbers, these reflective plates are easily visible from space and make the water appear bright, milky blue."



The vibrant colors of coccolithophores usually emerge in satellite images in May and then peak in June. But even when the sea appears black, diatoms are present. This type of phytoplankton, which is common in the Mediterranean during the spring, usually darkens the water instead of making it brighter.



"Diatoms rapidly multiply in spring, when surface waters have abundant nitrogen and phosphorous," explains NASA. "In late spring and early summer, when warmer temperatures and fewer storms leave the seawater more stratified, less nitrogen gets mixed into the surface waters - a condition in which coccolithophores are known to dominate."&nbsp;



"Later in the summer, larger species of diatoms usually show up. These phytoplankton take advantage of nutrients supplied by the occasional mixing that occurs as winds shift direction and storms pass by."



"The seasonal shift in the dominant species of phytoplankton can have a rippling effect on the structure of the food web in the Black Sea. For example, coccolithophores provide fodder for species like Noctiluca scintillans (sea sparkle), while small diatoms feed pelagic fish and large diatoms feed jellyfish."



The image was captured on June 20, 2022 by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite and the VIIRS on the Suomi NPP satellite.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory



---



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

Vibrant colors brighten the Black Sea

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname at the mouth of the Suriname River. The United Nations (UN) has designated part of the city center as a world heritage site.&nbsp;



“Composed of mainly wooden buildings, the plain and symmetrical architectural style illustrating the gradual fusion of Dutch and other European architectural and later North American influences, as well as elements from Creole culture, reflects the multi-cultural society of Suriname,” reports the UN.



According to ESA, the Dutch established a trading post at the mouth of the Suriname River in 1613, although Indigenous groups have lived in the region for thousands of years.



"England and France also had settlements along the river early in Paramaribo’s history, but the Dutch asserted full control of the area in 1667 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Until the mid-19th century, Dutch planters in the area relied on the labor of enslaved people to produce sugar, coffee, cacao, cotton, and other crops," says ESA.



"In modern times, Paramaribo has grown to be a city of 240,000 people, half of Suriname’s population. The country’s main exports are bauxite, gold, oil, hardwood, and bananas."



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory



---



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

Paramaribo on the banks of the Suriname River

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features the Furneaux Islands off the northeast coast of Tasmania.&nbsp;



The photo was captured by a camera on the International Space Station as it passed through the southernmost part of its cyclical orbit path. The ISS External High-Definition Camera camera is dedicated to Earth observation.&nbsp;



The Furneaux Group contains more than 100 islands in the eastern Bass Strait, which separates mainland Australia from Tasmania. The largest of these include Flinders, Cape Barren, and Clarke.



The islands are named after Captain Tobias Furneaux, an English navigator and Royal Navy officer who first spotted them in 1773. The group&nbsp; largest islands&nbsp;



"The sparsely populated Flinders Island appears mostly two-toned from 400 kilometers (250 miles) above," reports NASA. "Dark brownish scrub areas contrast with mottled green vegetated woodland and agricultural areas. Bright beaches outline the islands, and tidal sand banks are visible between them."



"The Furneaux Group once formed the backbone of a land bridge between Tasmania and Victoria, Australia. That land bridge was submerged by rising sea levels at the end of the Earth’s most recent ice age, with the topographic high points becoming islands."



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



---



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

Furneaux Islands off the northeast coast of Tasmania

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features the North Island of New Zealand. The photo was captured as the International Space Station (ISS) approached the southernmost extent of its prograde 51.6 degree orbit.&nbsp;



From this vantage point - and with the perfect weather conditions - astronauts can get a clear view of the North Island of New Zealand, according&nbsp; to ESA.



"Looking towards the northwest, the astronaut photographer captured the mottled-green island that separates the Tasman Sea from the South Pacific Ocean. On the other side of Cook Strait, South Island peeks out from beneath the cloud cover," reports ESA.



"Seven bays surround the North Island and define its distinctive shape. The inland landscape includes grasslands (lighter green areas), forests (darker green areas), volcanic plateaus, and mountain ranges formed from sedimentary rocks."



Lake Taupō, located in the center of the North Island, is a crater lake inside a caldera formed by a supervolcanic eruption. The lake borders the active volcano Mount Ruapehu, which has the highest peak in New Zealand.&nbsp;



"The volcanic nature of the island arises from its location on the tectonic plate boundary between the Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates," says ESA. "This plate boundary is part of the vast Pacific Ring of Fire, and leads to significant geothermal activity and earthquakes in the region. Additional volcanoes, including Egmont Volcano (Mount Taranaki), also dot the North Island landscape."



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory



---



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

Astronaut view of New Zealand’s North Island

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features Bangladesh, where the worst floods in more than a century have displaced nearly four million people.



"Torrential monsoon rains, lightning, and landslides are common in Bangladesh and the northeastern Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya during the summer. But the intensity of the severe weather that pummeled the low-lying region in mid-June 2022 stands out," reports NASA.



According to reports, weeks of downpours have swamped millions of homes, and about half of the croplands in Sylhet have flooded.



The image was captured on June 22 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory



---



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

Flooding in Bangladesh has displaced millions

Plant,Leaf,With,Water,Drops

Heat waves are not good for people, but they can be just as bad for certain plants. Hot conditions can affect the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-activate-immune-defenses-against-pathogens-in-rain/">immune</a> systems of plants such that they no longer function efficiently. This means that plants are more susceptible to infection by pathogens after heatwaves, even when the extreme temperatures do not last for long.&nbsp;



Scientists have known for decades that above-normal temperatures suppress a plant’s ability to make salicylic acid, a defense hormone that has an important role in the plant’s immune system, stopping pathogens and pests before they get established. The exact mechanism by which this immune system failure occurs, however, was not fully understood.&nbsp;



In new research, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, scientists now say that they understand why a plant’s immune system becomes compromised when the temperatures rise too high. They have also proposed a way to reverse the effect and to boost plant defenses against heat. This would help plants to survive better in conditions of global warming, and keep food on tables around the world.&nbsp;



The scientists worked on a small species of cress, Arabidopsis thaliana, which is a flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. It is considered a weed and is commonly used in laboratory experiments involving plants. In earlier research, Sheng-Yang He from Duke University, and his graduate student Bethany Huot, found that even brief heat waves had a dramatic effect on the immune system functioning of Arabidopsis plants. The heat left them more prone to infection by a bacterium known as Pseudomonas syringae.



Under normal circumstances, when this pathogen infects a plant, the levels of salicylic acid in the leaves increase up to seven-fold, preventing the bacterium from taking hold or spreading. But when the temperature rises above 86oF, the plant cannot make enough of this defense hormone to keep the pathogen in check.&nbsp;



“Plants get a lot more infections at warm temperatures because their level of basal immunity is down,” said Sheng-Yang He. “So we wanted to know, how do plants feel the heat? And can we actually fix it to make plants heat-resilient?”



Around the same time, a different team of scientists had found that, in plant cells, molecules called phytochromes function as internal thermometers, helping plants sense warmer temperatures in the spring and activate growth and flowering. He and his colleagues wondered whether these same heat-sensing molecules could be involved in compromising the immune system when the heat is on.&nbsp;



To answer this question, the researchers looked at normal plants and mutant plants in which the phytochrome photoreceptors were always active, irrespective of the temperature. The plants were all infected with P. syringae&nbsp;bacteria, and then grown at temperatures of 73oF and 82oF.&nbsp; The researchers found that the phytochrome mutants fared exactly like normal plants: they still couldn’t make enough salicylic acid to fend off infections when temperatures were high.



The scientists continued to search for the molecular mechanism behind failed immunity in Arabidopsis plants that were exposed to excess heat. Co-first authors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wlu.ca/academics/faculties/faculty-of-science/faculty-profiles/christian-danve-m-castroverde/index.html">Danve Castroverde</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://sites.google.com/yonsei.ac.kr/jonghumkim/home">Jonghum Kim</a>&nbsp;spent several years doing similar experiments involving various plant genes that could potentially have been involved, but those mutant plants also became more vulnerable to infections during warm spells.&nbsp;



A new approach had to be adopted. Using next-generation sequencing, the researchers compared gene readouts in infected&nbsp;Arabidopsis&nbsp;plants at normal and elevated temperatures. They found that many of the genes that were suppressed at the higher temperatures were regulated by the same molecule, a gene called CBP60g.



The CBP60g gene acts like a master switch that controls the activity of many other genes, so anything that downregulates or “turns off” CBP60g will also affect the functioning of those other genes. In fact, the end result is that the plant cells simply don’t make the proteins needed in order to produce salicylic acid, a key substance in the immune response.&nbsp;



Further experiments revealed that the cellular machinery needed to start reading out the genetic instructions in the CBP60g gene doesn’t assemble properly when it gets too hot, and that’s why the plant’s immune system can’t do its job anymore. When the researchers used mutant Arabidopsis plants in which the CBP60g gene was constantly “switched on," the plants were able to produce high levels of salicylic acid and keep bacteria under control, even when they were heat stressed.&nbsp;



The team also found that elevated temperatures didn’t just impair salicylic acid defenses in&nbsp;Arabidopsis&nbsp;plants, but had a similar effect on crop plants such as tomato, rapeseed and rice.&nbsp;



The implications of this are that crop plants might be engineered in the same way to have functional immune systems even under conditions of extreme heat. In fact, the researchers found a way to produce heat-resilient plants in which the CBP60g master switch was turned on only when under attack from pathogens, and this helped to protect the plant’s immune response. In addition, there was no stunting of growth, which is critical if crop are to produce maximum yields.&nbsp;



Extreme heat events are becoming more common and more severe as global warming takes hold. Under these conditions, plants’ natural defenses are set to become less effective, which could lead to worldwide food shortages. Already, up to 40 percent of food crops are lost to pests and diseases each year, costing the global economy around $300 million. Heat waves can only make this situation worse.&nbsp;



At the same time, population growth is driving up the world’s demand for food. To feed the estimated 10 billion people expected on Earth by 2050, forecasts suggest that food production will need to increase by&nbsp;60 percent. The findings of the current study could therefore be good news for food security in the future.&nbsp;



Follow-up experiments to restore CBP60g gene activity in rapeseed thus far are showing the same promising results. In fact, genes with similar DNA sequences are found across plants, He says.



In&nbsp;Arabidopsis, keeping the CPB60g master switch from feeling the heat not only restored genes involved in making salicylic acid, but also protected other defense-related genes against warmer temperatures too.



“We were able to make the whole plant immune system more robust at warm temperatures,” said Sheng-Yang He. “If this is true for crop plants as well, that's a really big deal because then we have a very powerful weapon.”



---



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

Plant immune defenses are weakened by rising temperatures

Heat waves are not good for people, but they can...

If global warming could be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the risks to humans would be reduced by up to 85 percent. This is the conclusion of a study led by the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA), which also identified hotspot regions for climate change risks.



The researchers investigated how limiting global warming could simultaneously reduce the risk of human exposure to heat stress, water scarcity, coastal and river flooding, and disease. The experts compared the extent of these threats at various levels of warming (1.5°C compared to 2°C or 3.66°C).&nbsp;



The researchers also measured the impacts of global warming on agricultural yields and the economy. The study shows that overall, human exposure to these risks would be reduced by 10-44 percent if warming is reduced to 1.5°C rather than 2°C. Compared to 3.66 degrees Celsius of warming, a 1.5°C limit would reduce human risks by 32–85 percent.



The threats that were reduced the most were river flooding, drought, and heat stress, but the risk reduction was greatest for drought. Furthermore, West Africa, India and North America were identified as regions where the risks are projected to increase the most by the end of this century.



“Our findings are important because the Paris Agreement target is to limit global warming to ‘well below’ 2°C and to ‘pursue efforts’ to limit it to 1.5°C. This means that decision makers need to understand the benefits of aiming for the lower figure," said study lead author Professor Rachel Warren.



“In addition, at COP26 last year, the commitments made by countries in terms of greenhouse gas emission reductions are not sufficient to achieve the Paris goals. At present, current policies would result in average warming of 2.7°C, while the Nationally Determined Contributions for 2030 would limit warming to 2.1°C."



“While there are a number of planned additional actions to reduce emissions further, potentially limiting warming to 1.8°C in the most optimistic case, these still need to be delivered and further additional action is needed to limit warming to 1.5°C.”



The findings are published today in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10584">Climatic Change</a>.



---



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

Limiting global warming could reduce human risk by 85%

If global warming could be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius,...

Heat waves are a harsh reality of climate change and will significantly impact India and Pakistan. A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.gu.se/en">University of Gothenburg</a> have published a study which outlines possible future scenarios for South Asian heat waves.&nbsp;



"We established a link between extreme heat and population," explained study co-author Deliang Chen. "In the best scenario, we succeeded in meeting the targets in the Paris Agreement, which added roughly two heat waves per year, exposing about 200 million people to the heat waves."&nbsp;



"But if countries continue to contribute to the greenhouse effect as they are still doing now, clearing and building on land that is actually helping to lower global temperatures, we believe that there could be as many as five more heat waves per year, with more than half a billion people being exposed to them, by the end of the century.”&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that regions of high population, such as the Indo-Gigantic Plains, are particularly susceptible to heat waves. As populations grow, so do consumption and transportation, leading to increased emissions and more heat waves. The study authors feel that governments in India and Pakistan need to start planning for this outcome now to reduce human death and suffering.&nbsp;



“We hope that the leaders in the region such as India and Pakistan read our report and think about it. In our calculation model, the range for the number of people who will be exposed to heat waves is large. The actual numbers will depend on the path that these countries choose to take in their urban planning," said Chen.&nbsp;



"We can more than halve the population exposed to intense heat waves if we reduce emissions so that we reach the targets in the Paris Agreement. Both mitigation and adaptation measures can make a huge difference."



The region is already experiencing intense heat that is affecting farming. To combat the heat, farmers are moving higher, but this only exacerbates the problem because they are cutting down trees to farm - leading to a greater release of carbon. If nothing is done, the researchers believe the situation will become volatile.&nbsp;



“Each heat wave will result in increased mortality and decreased productivity, since few people can work in 45-degree heat," said Chen. "I fear that if nothing is done, it can ultimately lead to a huge wave of migrations.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002511">Earth’s Future</a>.&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Heat waves set to explode in South Asia

Heat waves are a harsh reality of climate change and...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/english-bulldogs-are-suffering-from-poor-breeding-practices/">Dogs</a> arose from wolves, somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. They were the first species to be domesticated, long before humans petted kittens, herded sheep, cows, goats or pigs, and long before they planted rice, wheat, barley or corn. And yet, the exact timing, location and means by which wolves were tamed and made into companions is shrouded in mystery. Countless previous studies that have used the archaeological record or compared the DNA of dogs and modern wolves, have not been able to answer these unknowns.&nbsp;



Controversy exists not only around the timing of domestication, but also around the location and whether domestication was a once-off event or occurred on more than one occasion in history. The first genetic analysis, carried out in 1997, focused on the genetic differences between dogs and gray wolves and concluded that dogs may have been domesticated some 135,000 years ago. A later study by some members of the same group indicated that dogs originated in the Middle East.&nbsp;



Yet another analysis, which examined the DNA of 1,500 modern dogs and was published in 2009, argued that dogs were first domesticated in southern China less than 16,300 years ago. Then, in 2013, a team of scientists compared the mitochondrial genomes of ancient European and American dogs and wolves with their modern counterparts. It concluded that dogs originated in Europe between 32,000 and 19,000 years ago.&nbsp;



Clearly, there is as yet no definitive understanding of the details of domestication of our first and oldest animal companion.&nbsp;



A new study led by geneticists from the <a href="https://www.crick.ac.uk/">Francis Crick Institute</a>.has now taken a different approach to the conundrum of dog domestication. Following a recent finding that dogs are not the descendants of modern gray wolves but rather of an ancient, unknown wolf species that has subsequently become extinct, the scientists decided to analyze the genomes of ancient wolves that were sourced from museum collections.&nbsp;



Working together with archaeologists from 36 different institutions, in 16 different countries, the researchers analyzed the genomes of 72 ancient wolves that had been excavated previously from archaeological sites in Europe, Siberia and North America. The specimens spanned the past 100,000 years in time and included a full, perfectly preserved head from a Siberian wolf that lived 32,000 years ago. Nine different ancient DNA labs then collaborated on generating DNA sequence data from the wolf specimens.



The results of the analysis, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, confirmed that dogs, both early and modern, are more similar genetically to ancient wolves from Asia than from Europe. This suggests that domestication occurred somewhere in the East. However, the researchers also found evidence that dogs have a dual ancestry, meaning that two separate populations of wolves contributed DNA to dogs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Early dogs from northeastern Europe, Siberia and the Americas appear to have a single, shared origin from the eastern source. But early dogs from the Middle East, Africa and southern Europe appear to have some ancestry from another source related to wolves in the Middle East, in addition to the eastern source.



There are a couple of plausible explanations for this finding. One possible explanation is that wolves underwent domestication more than once, with the different populations then mixing together. Another possibility is that domestication happened only once, and that the dual ancestry is due to these early dogs then mixing with wild wolves. It is not currently possible to determine which of these two scenarios occurred.&nbsp;



“Through this project we have greatly increased the number of sequenced ancient wolf genomes, allowing us to create a detailed picture of wolf ancestry over time, including around the time of dog origins," said study co-first author Anders Bergström.



“By trying to place the dog piece into this picture, we found that dogs derive ancestry from at least two separate wolf populations – an eastern source that contributed to all dogs and a separate more westerly source that contributed to some dogs."



The researchers also used the data from the ancient wolf genomes to understand how wolf DNA changed during the 30,000 generations that were represented in their 100,000-year timeline. They were able to identify the effects of natural selection as particular genes spread within wolf populations.&nbsp;&nbsp;



For example, they observed that over a period of around 10,000 years, one gene variant went from being very rare to being present in every wolf, and it is still present in all wolves and dogs today. The variant affects a gene,&nbsp;IFT88, which is involved in the development of bones in the skull and jaw. It is possible that the spread of this variant could have been driven by a change in the types of prey available during the Ice Age, giving an advantage to wolves with a certain head shape.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This is the first time scientists have directly tracked natural selection in a large animal over a time-scale of 100,000 years, seeing evolution play out in real time rather than trying to reconstruct it from DNA today," said study senior author Pontus Skoglund, group leader of the Ancient Genomics lab at the Crick.



“We found several cases where mutations spread to the whole wolf species, which was possible because the species was highly connected over large distances. This connectivity is perhaps a reason why wolves managed to survive the Ice Age while many other large carnivores vanished."



"Similar whole-genome time series from the Ice Age, in humans or other animals, could provide new information about how evolution happens."



---



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

Dog ancestry traced to two populations of ancient wolves

Dogs arose from wolves, somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 years...

Life on Earth was devastated by the end-Permian <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/its-too-late-the-6th-mass-extinction-is-here/">mass extinction</a> 252 million years ago – the largest such event in our planet’s history, which killed over 90 percent of animal and plant species. Afterwards, it took millions of years for biodiversity to return to pre-extinction levels. By examining trails and burrows on the South China sea bed, an international team of scientists has now found that bottom burrowing animals, such as worms and shrimps, were the first to bounce back after this catastrophic event.&nbsp;



“The end-Permian mass extinction and the recovery of life in the Early Triassic are very well documented throughout South China,” said study co-author Michael Benton, a professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>. “We were able to look at trace fossils from 26 sections through the entire series of events, representing seven million crucial years of time, and showing details at 400 sampling points, we finally reconstructed the recovery stages of all animals including benthos, nekton, as well as these soft-bodied burrowing animals in the ocean.”



According to Professor Benton and his colleagues, elevated temperatures and extended anoxia coincided with very low ecological diversity across the Permian-Triassic boundary, and it took over three million years for the recovery of soft-bodied animals.



“The first animals to recover were deposit feeders such as worms and shrimps. The recovery of suspension feeders such as brachiopods, bryozoans and many bivalves took much longer,” explained study co-author Alison Cribb, a PhD student in Geobiology at the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a>.



“Maybe the deposit feeders were making such a mess of the seafloor that the water was polluted with mud, the churned mud meant suspension feeders could not properly settle on the seafloor, or the muddy water produced by those deposit feeders just clogged the filtering structures of suspension feeders and prohibited them from feeding efficiently.”



These findings suggest that soft-bodied animals are some of the creatures most resilient to elevated carbon dioxide levels and rapid global warming. “These ecosystem engineers may have played a role in benthic ecosystem recovery after severe mass extinctions, potentially triggering the evolutionary innovations and radiations in the Early Triassic,” concluded study lead author Xueqian Feng, an expert in Paleoecology at the <a href="https://en.cug.edu.cn/">China University of Geosciences</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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

Worms were first to recover after major extinction event

Life on Earth was devastated by the end-Permian mass extinction...

Agroecological practices are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/noise-from-wind-farms-could-affect-marine-mammal-behavior/">farming</a> methods that consider ecological principles. A study recently published in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-022-00789-1">Agronomy for Sustainable Development </a>shows that using this approach can improve the well-being of farmers.&nbsp;



The research, led by <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a>, showed that small-scale farmers in Tanzania who implemented agroecological tactics had significant material improvement, including savings, land acquisition, and other assets. They were also more able to care for dependents, diversify their livelihood opportunities, and secure their possessions more effectively.&nbsp;



The research team surveyed 467 farming households and found that most practiced at least one form of agroecology - the most common being mulching, intercropping, and reusing post-harvest remains.&nbsp;



Based on these results, the researchers believe ecological farming can positively influence other farmers’ lives, even if only one technique is implemented.&nbsp;



“We show that practices taking advantage of nature’s contributions to people within agricultural systems can contribute positively to food security and human well-being of smallholder farmers in rural landscapes of the tropics," said study lead author Dr. Marion Pfeifer, a professor in Newcastle’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences.



Rural landscapes in tropical regions have enormous potential to support biodiversity and mitigate climate change. Some projects, including one funded by Science and Nature People Partnership, are already considering these findings.&nbsp;



“The findings are important for the formulation of policies relevant for land use and management, such as how to manage rural landscapes for biodiversity and wellbeing outcomes," said Dr. Pfeifer.



"During the past year, we have been working with partners in government and industry as well as farmers to exchange and discuss our findings. We will continue to work with them to identify pathways that allow to increase adoption of agro-ecological practices, where feasible."&nbsp;



"As an added bonus, this may well allow us to increase or conserve the trees planted on and around farmed land, adding climate change mitigation values and opportunities for potentially tapping into carbon payment schemes.”



The study authors point out that executing agroecology comes with concerns, and researchers have to ensure that the solutions are fair and have prolonged sustainability.&nbsp; Moreover,&nbsp; it’s necessary to ensure local communities benefit from the practices.&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sustainable farming is good for farmers’ well-being

Agroecological practices are farming methods that consider ecological principles. A...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a> (UCSC) has found that the dramatic outbreak of kelp-eating sea urchins along the Central Coast of California in 2014 – which led to a significant reduction in that region’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-kelp-ecosystems/">kelp</a> forests – was mainly driven by the emergence of sea urchins from their hiding places, rather than by increases in urchin populations. In subsequent years, urchin movements allowed the recovery of kelp forests in areas from which these predators left.&nbsp;



“As people are thinking about practical ways to facilitate kelp forest recovery, most people would agree we need to reduce the number of sea urchins, but it’s also really important to consider the role of sea urchin behavior,” said study lead author Joshua Smith, a former doctoral student at UCSC, and currently a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California, Santa Barbara</a>.



According to Dr. Smith and his colleagues, a series of major disruptions to California’s kelp forest ecosystems began in 2013, when an outbreak of sea star wasting disease decimated one of the main sea urchin predators, the sunflower sea star. This was followed one year later by a massive marine heatwave, which created poor conditions for the growth of kelp, and set the stage for the unprecedented sea urchin invasion on the rocky reefs of Monterey Bay where kelp forests grew.



“In 2014, they came storming out of the crevices looking for kelp,” Smith said. “These were big adult sea urchins that showed up all of a sudden, especially in central and northern California, and that behavioral shift here along the Monterey Peninsula led to these urchin barrens where there had been kelp forest.”&nbsp;



However, the scientists found that, in subsequent years, kelp forests recovered when sea urchins moved to shallower water to feed upon red foliose algae. “They prefer kelp, but they had eaten all the kelp, so they moved up into shallower water and that allowed the kelp to regrow on the deeper reef. Interestingly, the kelp that came back was bull kelp, not the giant kelp that is typically dominant on the central coast,” Smith explained.



This year, water conditions appear excellent for kelp growth, since an unusually windy spring has brought cold, nutrient-rich water along the coast. “We’re all waiting to see how that impacts kelp recovery. There are just a lot more sea urchins now out on the reefs actively grazing, so we need to consider how we might get their numbers back down and enough predation to drive them back into the crevices,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14064">Ecology Letters</a>.



---



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

Sea urchin behavior drives destruction of kelp forests

A new study led by the University of California, Santa...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"]</div>



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 absorbed depends on a number of ocean variables, all of which can be measured from space."



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



---



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

How the ocean and climate influence each other

[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="isBvsReV7u-2073751-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes the science behind the distillation process. Liquor is produced through the distillation of fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have gone through alcoholic fermentation.



"Distilling liquor might be a relatively simple process - heating a fermented liquid and keeping only the boiled alcohol - but it is dangerous and illegal without a license," reports ACS. "To extract only alcohol from a mixture of many ingredients, scientists must explore boiling points and the intermolecular forces that shape them."



Video Credit: ACS



---



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

Can liquor be distilled at home?

[sendtonews key="isBvsReV7u-2073751-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) features a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by



NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



---



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JGysyIt6b8-2038091-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Singapore, a city-island-nation with a total of 64 offshore islands. The port of Singapore is the largest in Southeast Asia, and is one of the busiest in the world - connecting to more than 600 ports in 123 countries.



"The Republic of Singapore is located just off the southern tip of the Malayan Peninsula, between Malaysia and Indonesia, around 135 km north of the equator. It consists of the 710 sq km Singapore Island, visible in the top-centre of the image, as well as some 60 small islets," reports ESA.



"Nearly two-thirds of the Singapore Island is less than 15 m above sea level. The highest summit, Timah Hill, has an elevation of only 160 m. Changi Airport, one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia, can be seen at the eastern end of the island."



Singapore Island is separated from Peninsular Malaysia to the north by the Johore Strait, while the southern end faces the Singapore Strait. The city is among the most densely populated places in the world, and is known for its clean streets and modern buildings.



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



---



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

The modern city-island-nation of Singapore

[sendtonews key="JGysyIt6b8-2038091-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LRZLMOOJnC-2068299-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> reveals a fascinating discovery from Gaia, a space observatory launched in 2013. The researchers have discovered that Gaia is capable of detecting starquakes – tiny motions on the surface of stars that change their shape. This is unexpected, considering that detecting starquakes is not something that Gaia was built for.  



"Previously, Gaia already found radial oscillations that cause stars to swell and shrink periodically, while keeping their spherical shape. But Gaia has now also spotted other vibrations that are more like large-scale tsunamis. These nonradial oscillations change the global shape of a star and are therefore harder to detect," says ESA.



"Nonradial oscillation modes cause a star's surface to move while it rotates, as shown in the animation. Dark patches are slightly cooler than bright patches, giving rise to periodic changes in the brightness of the star. The frequency of the rotating and pulsating stars was increased 8.6 million times to shift them into the audible range of humans."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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

Gaia spacecraft is capable of detecting starquakes

[sendtonews key="LRZLMOOJnC-2068299-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MNiLvrVRVU-2065943-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Balkhash in east-central Kazakhstan. It is the largest lake in Central Asia, with a length of 605 kilometers from east to west and a maximum depth of 25 meters.&nbsp;



"Jutting out into the lake is the Sarymsek Peninsula which divides Balkhash into two separate hydraulic parts. The west part is wide and shallow with its water on this side particularly fresh and suitable for drinking," reports ESA.



"The east part, on the other hand, is narrow and relatively deep, with its waters on this side of the basin brackish and salty. The two parts of the lake are united by a narrow strait, the Uzynaral visible in the centre of the image, with a depth of around 6 m."



A sediment plume is visible passing through the Uzynaral Strait. According to ESA, it is most likely due to waves stirring up sediments from the bottom of the lake. Near the southern coastline, an abundance of sea ice appears in bright blue-green colors. Balkhash itself is usually frozen from the end of November to the beginning of April.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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

Lake Balkhash in east-central Kazakhstan

[sendtonews key="MNiLvrVRVU-2065943-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...