Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features a large dust storm that was stirred up in northwest Africa and swept over the Canary Islands.&nbsp;



The dust turned the sky orange, and visibility and air quality plummeted. As wind gusts reached 40 miles) per hour, the Ministry of Heath advised people, especially those with respiratory issues, to stay inside.



NASA explained that these dust events, known to islanders as “la calima,” generally happen around this time of year as strong seasonal winds carry sand and dust away from the Sahara.



The image of dust streaming over the Canary Islands was captured on January 14, 2022 by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/ Joshua Stevens/ Lauren Dauphin



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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

Dust storm streams over the Canary Islands

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

Several filmmakers have tried to obtain said audio, but Katmai National Park rangers refused to share it with anyone in order to respect the lives of Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard. Machine was put down shortly after the fatal incident... and human remains were found inside his stomach. Photo credit: Mark Holyoak / YouTube

Putting Down Machine

Several filmmakers have tried to obtain said audio, but Katmai...

Understandably, park rangers desperately wanted the public to know that this was a very rare occurrence, one that illustrates just how dangerous grizzlies can be. "I'm sure all along he knew that he was playing with fire and that probably was part of the appeal," said the Alaska troopers' public information officer Greg Wilkinson as reported by The Chicago Tribune. Photo credit: Wolfgang Kaehler / LightRocket via Getty Images

Playing With Fire

Understandably, park rangers desperately wanted the public to know that...

In 2005, renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog released an incredible documentary about Timothy's eccentric, nature-obsessed life, Grizzly Man. In a way, Timothy's story brought more attention to his favorite animal, necessary attention. While fatal bear attacks aren't all too common, they do occur, and there's not always video evidence to prove it. Photo credit: Discovery Docs

One of Many

In 2005, renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog released an incredible...

In a twist just as unsettling as Treadwell's tragic death, authorities stumbled upon an unfortunate incident involving a North American black bear. They weren't expecting to uncover a larger conspiracy, but it led them to discover the backstory of a taxidermied bear that’s displayed at a Lexington, Kentucky-based storefront. Photo credit: Jim Martin / Wikimedia Commons

Stuffed Bear

In a twist just as unsettling as Treadwell's tragic death,...

The bear didn't seem so remarkable at first. He was stuffed and given to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in the 1980s after being discovered in the forest — dead. For years, he remained in the center’s visitor center. When a wildfire threatened the rec area, the staff evacuated themselves and the center’s valuables. Photo credit: Discovery / YouTube

Original Purpose

The bear didn't seem so remarkable at first. He was...

Diminished Snowpack In The Pacific Northwest. Despite several months with average or just-below average precipitation, concerns about drought are growing in the states of Oregon and Washington. That’s because winter and early spring snows instead fell as rain. Like many parts of the western United States and Canada, the region depends on mountaintop snow as a sort of frozen reservoir that melts and fills streams and rivers through warmer, drier summer months. Warmer than usual temperatures on land and offshore in the North Pacific led to rainfall events even at high elevations.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (<a href="http://www.earth.com/image/the-serengeti-plains-of-africa/">MODIS</a>) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired these natural-color images of Oregon, Washington, and the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. The left image shows the region on May 13, 2014, while the right was acquired on May 3, 2015. Last year was not necessarily good for snowpack, but it was substantially better than 2015.

[caption id="attachment_2381710" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/05/snowpack_cascades_2014_modis.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2381710" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/05/snowpack_cascades_2014_modis-150x150.jpg" alt="2014 snowpack. Credit: NASA" width="150" height="150" /></a> 2014 snowpack. Credit: NASA[/caption]

According to state officials, snowpack in Washington was 16 percent of normal as of May 15, and yearly runoff is predicted to be at its lowest in 64 years. Of 98 locations that are regularly monitored for snowpack, 66 were snow free by mid-May. The state’s water managers noted that 48 of 62 watersheds were at or below 75 percent of water capacity, and record-low water levels have been recorded on the Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Skykomish, and Snoqualmie rivers, among others. The data prompted Governor Jay Inslee to declare a statewide drought emergency.

In neighboring Oregon, average snow pack stood at 11 percent, its lowest level since 1992. The peak of mountain snow cover in 2015 came anywhere from three to thirteen weeks before the normal peak in April. Snow cover in May ranged from zero in the Klamath Basin to 16 percent in northeastern Oregon. Conservation managers noted that three quarters of the state’s snow monitoring stations reached their lowest April measurements on record.

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<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA</a>

Diminished Snowpack In The Pacific Northwest

When a breeder of tarantulas noticed, in 2018, that several of his spiders were becoming sick and dying, he approached parasitologist Adler Dillman from the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a>. The ailing tarantulas were characterized by what appeared to be a white discharge in and around the oral cavity. On closer inspection, however, it became clear that the white mass was a large infestation of nematode <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worms-without-ears-can-hear-through-their-skin/">worms</a> intertwined together inside and around the spider’s mouth.&nbsp;



Dillman and his colleagues examined the worms and, based on a combination of morphological and morphometrical data, and unique DNA sequences, they identified a new species of nematodes. There are more than 25,000 different species of nematode worms and they are among the most abundant animals on Earth. They parasitize a wide range of living organisms, but this is only the second time that a species has been found to infect tarantulas.



The scientists named the new species Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi, after Jeff Daniels, the American actor, musician and producer. They named it in Daniels’ honor because his character in the 1990 film ‘Arachnophobia’ saves a town from a deadly infestation of spiders.&nbsp;



“His character in the film is a spider killer, which is exactly what these nematodes are,” said Dillman, who led the team that discovered the nematode.



“When I first heard a new species of nematode had been named after me, I thought, ‘Why? Is there a resemblance?’” joked Daniels. “Honestly, I was honored by their homage to me and 'Arachnophobia.' Made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you haven’t really made it until you’ve been recognized by those in the field of parasitology.”



The scientists investigated the lifecycle of the worms, and where exactly they resided in the infected spiders. They found that infestations of worms occurred in the mouth area and on the pedipalps, special appendages near the mouth that the spiders use to sense and manipulate food. No worms were found in the stomachs of infected spiders.&nbsp;



Once infected, spiders lost the ability to use their jaws and feed themselves, and began to show strange behavior, such as walking on the very tips of their legs. The infection would ultimately prove fatal for a tarantula, as it would starve to death.&nbsp;



“It may take months because tarantulas don’t have to eat particularly often. However, if they get this infection, they will die of starvation,” Dillman said.&nbsp;



When culturing the nematode worms in the laboratory, the researchers noted that they ate bacteria such as E. coli and did not appear to feed off the parasitized spiders themselves. This led the researchers to conclude that the worms may be feeding on the bacteria found around the oral cavity of the spider.&nbsp;



However, there is not yet an understanding of how the worms change tarantula behavior or render the pedipalps and jaws non-functional. Dillman is planning additional studies to investigate this, as well as how breeders can treat or even prevent infections in their captive-bred tarantulas.



The researchers found that the average lifespan of jeffdanielsi nematodes in the laboratory was 11 days. These worms are mostly hermaphrodites – each individual produces sperm as well as eggs. Furthermore, they fertilize themselves and each produces approximately 160 offspring within its 11-day lifespan.



Although this is only the second time that nematode parasites have been found infecting tarantulas, Dillman feels this reflects the fact that little research is done on these spiders. Nematode worms are very common parasites and it would be unusual if there were no species that parasitized tarantulas.



“Nematodes have been around for hundreds of millions of years. They’ve evolved to infect every kind of host on the planet including humans,” he said. “Any animal you know of on planet Earth, there’s a nematode that can infect it.”



The team’s work describing jeffdanielsi has recently been&nbsp;<a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/journal-of-parasitology/article-abstract/108/1/30/476785/TARANTOBELUS-JEFFDANIELSI-N-SP-PANAGROLAIMOMORPHA?redirectedFrom=fulltext">published</a>&nbsp;in the&nbsp;<a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/journal-of-parasitology">Journal of Parasitology</a>.



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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

Scientists have discovered worms that kill tarantulas

When a breeder of tarantulas noticed, in 2018, that several...

Protecting 30 percent of land and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-heat-reached-a-record-high-for-the-sixth-straight-year/">sea</a> by 2030 is an important benchmark, but it will not be enough to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, according to a team of more than 50 scientists from 23 countries. 



The experts delivered a synthesis of the science supporting 21 targets in a draft of the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/draft-1-global-biodiversity-framework">Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework</a>, a plan being negotiated by the United Nations.



The scientists are calling for systematic changes, including substantial reductions in damaging fisheries and farming subsidies, great reductions in overconsumption, and limiting global warming to 1.5°C.&nbsp;



Paul Leadley, a professor at Paris-Saclay University, is also an assessment leader and past chair of <a href="http://www.biodiscovery.com/">BioDISCOVERY</a>.



“The target of protecting 30% of all land and seas is important and attracting a lot of attention. And expanding protected areas is a good start if done well, but far short of what's needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss - called ‘bending the curve’ for biodiversity."



"There’s very good evidence that we will fail again to meet ambitious international biodiversity objectives if there’s too much focus on protected areas at the expense of other urgent actions addressing the threats to biodiversity.”&nbsp;



“Governments are clearly struggling with the breadth and depth of the ‘transformative changes’ needed to bend the curve for biodiversity, and sometimes seem unwilling to face up to it.&nbsp; But deep changes are necessary and will greatly benefit people in the long run.”



The key points highlighted in the study were that reversing biodiversity loss requires transformative change, coordinated at every level. Along with these changes, assessments must be carried out and greater monitoring efforts funded. Perhaps most importantly, action must be taken immediately to be impactful.&nbsp;



“The sooner we act the better. Time lags between action and positive outcomes for biodiversity can take decades so we must act immediately and sustain our efforts if we are to reach the global goals by 2050," said study co-author Maria Cecilia Londoño Murcia of the Humboldt Institute.



"The time needed for safeguarding and restoring ecosystem structure, function and resilience is particularly critical for people and communities whose livelihoods and well-being directly depend on these systems and the benefits they provide.”&nbsp;



---By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sweeping changes needed to reverse biodiversity loss

Protecting 30 percent of land and sea by 2030 is...

One of the most striking discoveries in Astrophysics over the past decades is that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dozens-of-free-floating-planets-found-in-the-milky-way/">planets</a> or satellites with oceans beneath layers of rock or ice are quite common in our solar system. Some major examples of these “interior water ocean worlds” (IWOWs) are the icy satellites of giant planets, such as Europa, Enceladus, or Titan, or distant planets like Pluto.&nbsp;



Mimas is the small, innermost moon of Saturn, which was previously thought to be a frozen, inert satellite. By identifying a curious libration, or oscillation, in the rotation of Mimas, a research team led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has discovered that this satellite is in fact an IWOW. The experts found a liquid, internal ocean hidden under a thick icy shell.



“Because the surface of Mimas is heavily cratered, we thought it was just a frozen block of ice,” said study lead author Alyssa Rose Rhoden, an expert in the Geophysics of icy satellites at SwRI. “IWOWs, such as Enceladus and Europa, tend to be fractured and show other signs of geologic activity.”&nbsp;



“Turns out, Mimas’ surface was tricking us, and our new understanding has greatly expanded the definition of a potentially habitable world in our solar system and beyond. If Mimas has an ocean, it represents a new class of small, ‘stealth’ ocean worlds with surfaces that do not betray the ocean’s existence.”



According to the scientists, tidal heating within this satellite must be large enough to keep the ocean from freezing, but small enough to maintain a thick, steady-state ice shell covering it. Further research is needed to shed more light on the complex factors leading to this peculiar equilibrium on Mimas, and to clearly understand how its ocean formed and evolved.



“Although our results support a present-day ocean within Mimas, it is challenging to reconcile the moon’s orbital and geologic characteristics with our current understanding of its thermal-orbital evolution,” Rhoden said.&nbsp;



“Evaluating Mimas’ status as an ocean moon would benchmark models of its formation and evolution. This would help us better understand Saturn’s rings and mid-sized moons as well as the prevalence of potentially habitable ocean moons, particularly at Uranus. Mimas is a compelling target for continued investigation,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103521005091?via%3Dihub">Icarus</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

"Stealth” ocean discovered on one of Saturn’s moons

One of the most striking discoveries in Astrophysics over the...

Insects don’t have noses and are not able to “smell” the roses in the familiar sense of the word. Instead, most odor molecules are detected by chemoreceptors that occur on an insect’s antennae. Using these chemical receptors, insects are capable of perceiving and differentiating between thousands of&nbsp;airborne compounds. They use these chemical signals to locate forage <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-plants-wont-survive-the-loss-of-seed-dispersing-animals/">plants</a> and mates, as well as to avoid predators.



But now, new research indicates that common air pollutants present in rural and urban environments may be hampering the ability of insects to detect the chemical signals so crucial to their activity as pollinators.&nbsp;



A team of scientists from the <a href="http://www.reading.ac.uk/">University of Reading</a> has conducted the first study to observe that common air pollutants, including diesel exhaust fumes and ozone, have a negative impact on the success of pollination by insects.&nbsp;



“We knew from our previous lab studies that diesel exhaust can have negative effects on insect pollinators, but the impacts we found in the field were much more dramatic than we had expected," said Dr. Robbie Girling, who led the project.



These previous laboratory studies by members of the Reading team showed that&nbsp;chemicals in <a href="https://www.reading.ac.uk/news-archive/press-releases/pr649662.html">diesel fumes react with and can change the scents of flowers such that the insects cannot locate the flowers. </a>The research suggested that pollution could contribute to the ongoing declines in pollinating insects, by making it harder for them to locate the pollen and nectar that form their food.



In the new study, the researchers aimed to gather evidence showing how air pollution affects different species of pollinating insects, some of which rely on scent more heavily than others.



The study, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, used a purpose-built fumigation facility to regulate levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) – present in diesel exhaust fumes – and ozone in an open field environment. They then observed the effects these pollutants had on the pollination of black mustard plants by free-flying, locally-occurring pollinating insects over the course of two summer field seasons.



Although the experiments made use of pollution levels that were way below the maximum acceptable levels considered as safe in the US, the results of the field experiments were dramatic. The researchers observed 62 to 70 percent fewer pollinator visits to the plants located in polluted air. This reduction was seen in seven different groups of pollinators, including bees, moths, hoverflies and butterflies.&nbsp;



There were also 83 to 90 percent fewer visits to flowers by these insects, and ultimately a 14 to 31 percent reduction in pollination success, based on the measurement of seed yield and other factors.



“The findings are worrying because these pollutants are commonly found in the air many of us breathe every day," said Dr. James Ryalls. "We know that these pollutants are bad for our health, and the significant reductions we saw in pollinator numbers and activity shows that there are also clear implications for the natural ecosystems we depend on.”



Insects are important pollinators of crops upon which we depend for food and so a reduction in pollinating activity could have far-reaching economic and social consequences. Around 70 percent of crop species rely on insects for pollination; these include apples, strawberries and cocoa.&nbsp;



In addition, pollination supports around eight percent of the total value of agricultural food production, worldwide. The pollinating activity of insects thus generates hundreds of billions of pounds worth of economic value each year.&nbsp;



Furthermore, far higher levels of air pollutants are found in many areas around the world where people and businesses breach the regulations. For example, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/air-pollution-england-defra-labour-who-nitrogen-dioxide-luke-pollard-b404484.html?r=55147">2019 analysis</a> recorded illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide present in local authorities, in large areas of northern England (including Cheshire and Gateshead), and in southern England (including Wiltshire, Chichester and rural areas such as the New Forest).



“This truly cross-disciplinary work demonstrated very clearly how atmospheric pollutants negatively impact on pollination with direct consequences for food production as well as the resilience of our natural environment," concluded study co-author Dr. Christian Pfrang.



Their results are published today in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118847">&nbsp;journal&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-pollution">Environmental Pollution</a>.



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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

Air pollutants confuse pollinators and reduce food production

Insects don’t have noses and are not able to “smell”...

In a new study from <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> (WSU), experts have found that a high protein diet increases the risk of kidney <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-stimulates-digestion-and-protects-against-disease/">disease</a> and premature death among captive polar bears. 



Previous studies have suggested that there is a similar link between kidney disease and excessive protein consumption among humans. The Mayo Clinic reports that a high-protein diet may worsen kidney function in humans, particularly in the long term, because the body may struggle to eliminate all the waste products.



A research team led by WSU wildlife biologist Charlie Robbins investigated what zoos have typically been feeding polar bears. The study revealed that their diet usually consists of a food ratio intended for big cats, containing about two to three parts protein to one part fat. This diet is the opposite of what polar bears would be eating in the wild.&nbsp;



“Zoos made some assumptions in the past about the nutritional requirements of polar bears because their diet is almost exclusively animals,” said Professor Robbins. “But, unlike cats, they do not need and cannot tolerate high protein.”



Even though polar bears are carnivores that feed mainly on seals, researchers have found that they have physiology that is more closely aligned with humans and other omnivores.



Looking at death records of captive polar bears, the researchers discovered that the most common cause of death was kidney disease. Bears with fatal kidney disease died 10 years earlier than bears without the condition. The second most common causes of death were liver disease and cancer, according to the analysis.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Out of more than 600 bears examined in the wild, the team found no evidence kidney disease.



“A slate of early deaths across sexes that is limited to two major organs raised several red flags for us,” said Professor Robbins, who has researched both grizzly and polar bear nutrition for more than 35 years.



Former WSU graduate student Karyn Rode conducted field studies which showed that wild polar bears prefer a diet that is two parts fat to one part protein.



“Although we knew that polar bears selected for the blubber of their prey, this was the first time we were able to quantify how much fat they were actually consuming,” said Professor Robbins. “When it comes to feeding polar bears, the general mindset has been that they are carnivores. No one has really been paying attention to the amount of protein they might need, much less limitations on how much they might tolerate.”



In the current paper, the researchers propose that - like humans - both polar and grizzly bears require relatively low levels of protein. When captive bears were offered their choice of blocks made up of pure lard and blocks made up of high protein meat, they ultimately consumed the same ratio of fat to protein as their relatives in the wild.



The study authors recommend that zoos should adopt alternative foods for captive polar bears that mimic the fat-protein ratio found naturally in the wild. Once these alternatives are introduced, monitoring the animals could help experts determine whether the new diets may improve their health and longevity.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10982361">Zoo Biology</a>.



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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

High protein diet causes kidney disease in polar bears

In a new study from Washington State University (WSU), experts...

There are a few species of beetles that can jump, but beetle larvae tend to squirm across the substratum and have never been seen doing acrobatic jumps -- until now.



A team of researchers has published a scientific article documenting the jumping behavior of larval lined flat bark beetles (Laemophloeus biguttatus). This type of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animal-locomotion-natural-energy/">locomotion</a> has not been recorded for beetle larvae before. 



The larvae are able to spring into the air with a speed of around 0.5 meters per second, and to travel forwards a distance approximately equivalent to four times their own body length. While flying through the air, the larva curls itself into a loop and as it lands, it bounces and rolls along until it becomes stationary.&nbsp;



“Jumping at all is exceedingly rare in the larvae of beetle species, and the mechanism they use to execute their leaps is – as far as we can tell – previously unrecorded in any insect larvae,” said study co-author Matt Bertone, director of <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a>’s Plant Disease and Insect Clinic.&nbsp;



“The way these larvae were jumping was impressive at first, but we didn’t immediately understand how unique it was,” said Bertone. “We then shared it with a number of beetle experts around the country, and none of them had seen the jumping behavior before. That’s when we realized we needed to take a closer look at just how the larvae was doing what it was doing.”



Usually when insects make impressive jumps, they rely on a “latch-mediated spring actuation mechanism.” This means that two parts of the body latch onto each other while the insect exerts force using its muscles. When this builds up a significant amount of potential energy, the insect unlatches the two parts and all the stored energy is released at once. This results in an action-packed spring off the ground.



The researchers looked for a two-part latch mechanism on the surface of the lined flat bark beetle larvae and found nothing. Then, they used microCT scans to measure how much muscle the beetle larvae had and calculated whether this would provide enough power to launch the larvae into the air at a speed of 0.5 meters per second. The larvae did not have enough muscle to achieve this by muscle action alone.&nbsp;



The conclusion was that the larvae must be using some form of spring-loaded system to achieve their acrobatic jumps. This is when Bertone and study co-author Adrian Smith decided to film the behavior in order to get a better understanding of what was taking place. Smith is a research assistant professor of biological sciences at NC State and head of the Evolutionary Biology &amp; Behavior Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.



The team filmed some jumps at 60,000 frames per second and were able to see that the beetle larvae actually hook their feet into the ground as they arch their bodies and prepare to jump. As soon as one foot loses its grip on the ground, the spring is released and the larva is propelled into the air under the power of its body’s own potential energy store.



“What makes the&nbsp;L. biguttatus&nbsp;so remarkable is that it makes these leaps without latching two parts of its body together,” said Bertone. “Instead, it uses claws on its legs to grip the ground while it builds up that potential energy – and once those claws release their hold on the ground, that potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, launching it skyward.”



Meanwhile, in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEst5RERHJ4">an unrelated video about jumping maggots</a>, Smith had included a short clip of the jumping behavior in&nbsp;L. biguttatus. That video was seen by Takahiro Yoshida, a researcher from Tokyo Metropolitan University in Japan, who had witnessed similar jumps in the larvae of another beetle species called&nbsp;Placonotus testaceus, but had not published anything related to the behavior. Yoshida is a co-author on the publication about this unusual form of locomotion.



“We don’t have high-speed footage of&nbsp;P. testaceus, but the video evidence we do have from Yoshida’s lab suggests that this previously unknown behavior is found in two different genera which are not even closely related,” said Bertone.



“This raises a lot of questions. Has this behavior evolved separately? Is it found in other beetle species? Are these genera more closely related than we previously suspected? There’s a lot of interesting work to be done here.”



Details of this unusual method of locomotion in lined flat bark beetle larvae are published today in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.



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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

Unusual jumping behavior recorded in beetle larvae

There are a few species of beetles that can jump,...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> has revealed that 45 percent of the fish that cross through two or more exclusive economic zones (EEZs) will shift their movement patterns by 2100. This is expected to possibly bring international conflict.&nbsp;



By 2030, 23 percent of these fish are predicted to change their historic ranges. By 2100, this increases to 45 percent of the transnational fish, along with 81 percent of EEZs seeing at least one species shift. The culprit for these changes is, of course, human-caused climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This is not only an issue of stocks leaving or arriving to new EEZs, but of stocks that are shared between countries, completely changing their dynamics,” said study lead author Dr. Juliano Palacios-Abrantes, who conducted the study while at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF).&nbsp;



“We will see even more dramatic changes by 2030 and onwards, given current emissions rates. Many of the fisheries management agreements made to regulate shared stocks were established in past decades, with rules that apply to a world situation that is not the same as today.”



The researchers tracked the changing ranges of 9,132 transnational fish populations, which account for 80 percent of the catch from the world's exclusive economic zones. The research started in 2006 and continued forward with projections predicted up to 2100.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“By providing estimates of the size and timing of projected shifts, our study offers tangible reference points around which to consider climate change impacts and negotiate fair policies for sustainable management” said study co-author Dr. Colette Wabnitz, lead scientist at Stanford’s Center for Ocean Solutions.



“We must accept that climate change is happening, and then move fast enough to adapt fisheries management regulations to account for it,” said co-author Dr. Gabriel Reygondeau, a research associate at IOF.



The scientists hope their study can create a framework for international negotiations and planning to create a well designed fisheries management plan for the future. Without this, conflict, even violent conflict could arise over dwindling fish populations supporting a hungry human populace.&nbsp;



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



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nearly half of the world’s shared fish are on the move

A new study from the University of British Columbia has...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> describes the environmental threat of monogenetic volcanoes. Even though these volcanoes only erupt once in their lifetime, the eruption can last for years or even decades.&nbsp;



A recent study led by the University of Buffalo, which is published in the journal Geosphere, provides an overview of what we know about monogenetic volcanism in the U.S. Southwest over the past 2.58 million years. During this geologic period - known as the Quaternary - more than 1,800 monogenetic volcanoes erupted across Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and parts of California’s eastern edge.



“Monogenetic means ‘one life,’” explained study lead author and UB volcanologist Greg Valentine. “So a monogenetic volcano will erupt once, and that eruption may last for several days to several decades, but after that, the volcano is basically dead."



“In the United States, most volcanic hazards-related attention has rightly gone to places like Hawaii, and to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, where we have big stratovolcanoes like Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, which will have many eruptive episodes over a long life, with widespread hazardous effects. In the past, these smaller monogenetic volcanoes really haven’t been looked at from a focus on hazards; they have been instead studied mainly for what they tell us about the deep Earth."



“Recently, however, there has been more buzz in the research community about how we need to take a look at the kinds of hazards these volcanoes might pose. My experience with the general public is that most people are surprised to know that there are so many young volcanoes in the Southwest.”



The study highlights gaps in our knowledge of one life volcanoes, and the researchers hope that it can serve as a launchpad for future research.



Based on the number of volcanoes that erupted in the study region during the Quaternary Period, the chances of a new volcano emerging in the area within 100 years would be about 8 percent, said Valentine. However, he noted that this figure does not account for buried volcanoes, or the fact that a single eruption can create multiple vents. 



“There’s so much uncertainty here, and this is part of the problem. It’s kind of a wide-open research field. When you look at the region from the perspective of volcanic hazards, we really have very little information. Most of the volcanoes have not been dated, so we don’t know how old they are, except that they likely formed sometime within the Quaternary Period. Very few have been studied in detail.”



Video Credit: NSF



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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

Exploring the threat of monogenetic volcanoes

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Cancún, located on the northeast coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.



With a long stretch of tropical beaches on the Caribbean Sea, Cancún is one of Mexico’s top tourist destinations.



The Cancún Island resort area, just off the coast, is linked by two causeways at each end.&nbsp;



To the north of Cancún, Isla Contoy is an important nesting place for more than 150 species of birds.



The El Eden Ecological Reserve is located 50 kilometers northwest of Cancún, and Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protected Area is located near the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula.



According to ESA, Yum Balam is home to several endangered species including jaguars, crocodiles and monkeys.



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

The city of Cancún on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features a time lapse of the Northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, captured from space. The images were acquired in November of 2021 during ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s second mission to the International Space Station, the Alpha mission. 



According to ESA, the camera was set up to take pictures at intervals of two per second, and the time lapse video plays 25 pictures a second.&nbsp;



The fascinating light show, which can be viewed at both the north and south poles, is produced when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million miles per hour. Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles, creating the fascinating waves of light.&nbsp;



The earliest known record of the northern lights is in a cave painting in France that dates back 30,000 years.&nbsp; In 1619, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei named the northern lights "aurora borealis" after the Roman goddess of dawn (Aurora) and the Greek god of the north wind (Boreas).



When Pesquet shared the stunning Alpha mission video on social media, he noted that the pictures were taken from the docked Crew Dragon spacecraft windows. Pesquet said it was the strongest aurora the crew had seen during their six months in space.



Updates on the Alpha mission can be found on Twitter via @esaspaceflight.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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

Spectacular astronaut view of the northern lights

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NASA data reveal a clear warming trend on our planet Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> describes how scientists know what they do about climate change and global warming. 



Experts recently announced that 2021 was tied for the sixth warmest year in recorded history. This spans more than a century, dating back to 1880.



To determine how warm the Earth is from year to year, NASA uses millions of observations from instruments on weather stations, ships, ocean buoys, and Antarctic research stations.



Overall, the data show a clear warming trend on our planet. This warming trend is not distributed evenly across the globe. Some places on Earth had record-high temperatures in 2021, while others did not experience heat extremes. There were also record droughts, floods and wildfires.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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

NASA data reveal a clear warming trend on our planet

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Fairbanks, Alaska in the central Tanana Valley Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the city of Fairbanks, the second largest city in Alaska.



Fairbanks is known for its museums, historic sites, and native Alaskan culture, and is located just over 12 miles from the city of North Pole.



It is located in the central Tanana Valley on the banks of the Chena River near its confluence with the Tanana River.



The Tanana River’s name is an Athabascan word meaning "river trail." The river flows in a northwest direction across 584 miles along the base of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/fairbanks-alaska-in-the-central-tanana-valley/">Alaska </a>Range before joining the Yukon River near the village of Tanana. 



According to ESA, the river drains the north slopes of the high Alaska Range and is fed by several glaciers. Located in the Alaska Range, Denali is the highest mountain in North America and reaches an elevation of over 6,000 meters. Middle Tanana Valley Rest Of Tonight Partly cloudy. 



Areas of freezing fog and ice fog early in the evening, then areas of ice fog and patchy freezing fog. Visibility one mile or less at times decreasing to one quarter mile or less at times after midnight. Lows around 40 below. Light winds. Wednesday Mostly clear.  Fairbanks is the largest city of Alaska’s interior. Population is around 90,000 people, many of which are scattered in cabins in the surrounding forests. Fairbanks, Alaska in the central Tanana Valley as seen above in video showing the distance of between the coast and how far the terrain goes.



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

Fairbanks, Alaska in the central Tanana Valley

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a> 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="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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On May 18, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image of Typhoon Dolphin near the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
The storm has weakened since it first intensified into a Category 5 storm on May 16. The center of racked between Guam and Rota on May 15. Typhoon Dolphin was a powerful tropical cyclone that produced the first typhoon-force winds on Guam since Typhoon Pongsona in 2002. The seventh named storm of the 2015 Pacific typhoon season, Dolphin formed on May 6 in the vicinity of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Moving eastward at first, the storm slowly organized before beginning a north and west-northwest trajectory.
Dolphin intensified into a typhoon before passing between <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/island-guam-clear-day/">Guam</a> and Rota on May 15, producing typhoon-force winds on both islands. It later rapidly intensified as it curved to the north. The American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) designated Dolphin as a super typhoon, while the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) estimated 10 minute sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). Dolphin turned to the northeast and weakened, becoming extratropical on May 20 and exiting the western Pacific basin on May 24.
&#8212;The storm first affected the FSM, notably Pohnpei where it dropped 603 mm (23.73 in) of rainfall over three days. The rains and gusty winds knocked down many trees on the island, one of which killed a person, and causing $1 million in damage (2015 USD). Dolphin passed between Guam and Rota, producing gusts of 171 km/h (106 mph) at Andersen Air Force Base on northern Guam. The winds left 40% of the island without power and left at least 3,300 people without water. The storm also dropped heavy rainfall, flooding Guam Memorial Hospital. Dolphin damaged 390 houses, including nine that were destroyed, leaving 1,055 people homeless. With damage estimated at around $10 million, the island was declared a disaster area. The typhoon also brushed Rota, causing $2.5 million in damage there, as well as Saipan.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA</a>

Typhoon Dolphin

May 2015 has brought record to near-record rainfall in much of the deep southern United States. That water has filled lakes, streams, and rivers to the brim, and several have flooded, leading to property losses and evacuations in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. At least eight people have died and twelve have been reported missing, according to news reports.

The two false-color satellite images above show the Arkansas River as it runs through <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/explosive-wildfires-western-oklahoma/">Oklahoma</a> and Arkansas. The top image was acquired on May 26, 2015, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. For comparison, the lower image shows the same area under more typical conditions as observed by MODIS on the Terra satellite on May 14, 2013.

<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/05/arkansas-river_flooding_051415_nasa.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2381965" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/05/arkansas-river_flooding_051415_nasa-300x250.jpg" alt="arkansas-river_flooding_051415_nasa" width="300" height="250" /></a>The Arkansas River is the second-longest tributary of the Mississippi River, flowing from Colorado down through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. On May 26, the river reached 33.39 feet (10.18 meters) at the Van Buren gauge near Fort Smith. Flood stage at that area is 22 feet; above 31 feet is considered a major flood. Waters appeared to crest in the evening on May 26 and began to subside, but more rain was predicted for the watershed in the final days of May.

Fort Smith, the second largest city in Arkansas, sits along that river and was drenched with 18.33 inches (465.58 millimeters) of rain from May 1–26. The previous May rainfall record was 13.67 inches (347.22 mm); the previous high rainfall for any month was 15.02 inches (381.51 mm) in June 1945.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed four of Arkansas’ five navigable rivers to commercial and recreation traffic due to the flooding. Federal and state authorities in the region have been trying to manage the outflow from lakes and reservoirs, as well as river flow. Gauges monitored by the NOAA Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service also reported major flooding on the Red River (Texas-Oklahoma border) and on the Washita River in Oklahoma. Flood watches and warnings were in effect in much of the three states.

Rain and flood conditions have been as bad or worse in much of Oklahoma and Texas, but persistent cloud cover has prevented a clear satellite view since early May. Meteorologists are beginning to see connections between the rain in southern North America and the developing El Niño in the eastern Pacific.

“I do think there is a connection,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Thesubtropical jet stream has shifted north and is feeding the Texas and Mexico flooding. The expanding warm waters in the eastern tropical Pacific appear to have energized the hydrologic cycle across the southern United States. What we know for sure is that this was an extreme, punishing deluge, even for flood-prone Texas, and emergency preparedness agencies should remain on high alert.”

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<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA</a>