Dog owners are increasingly asking whether their pets can thrive without meat. A new analysis offers a nuanced answer: plant-based dry foods sold in the UK can deliver nutrition comparable to meat-based products.



However, most products of all kinds, including veterinary renal diets, fall short of industry nutrient guidelines.&nbsp;



The study, led by the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Nottingham</a>, included laboratory testing of thirty-one dry foods labeled “complete,” a term that signals a product should provide all essential macro- and micronutrients for an adult dog.



The research team examined 19 meat-based diets, six plant-based diets and six veterinary formulations designed to be lower in protein for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-evolving-to-fit-the-modern-lives-of-humans/">dogs</a> with kidney disease. 



The team measured total protein, essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamin D, all B-vitamins, and major and trace minerals, then compared those values with <a href="https://europeanpetfood.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Pet Food Industry Federation</a> (FEDIAF) recommendations for adult maintenance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nutrition-from-different-dog-diets">Nutrition from different dog diets</h2>



Perhaps the most striking result is how closely plant-based and meat-based diets aligned for total protein and most essential amino acids.&nbsp;



The big differences emerged elsewhere. On average, vegan formulas provided less iodine and fewer B-vitamins than meat-based diets - shortfalls that echo what nutritionists often see in human plant-forward eating.&nbsp;



Crucially, these are straightforward formulation problems to solve. Iodine fortification and robust, bioavailable B-vitamin premixes can close the gap without changing the overall dietary philosophy.



According to study lead author Rebecca Brociek, while many people assume dogs “need meat” to stay healthy, biologically they just need nutrients in the right amounts and forms.



Thus, plant-based products “stacked up more closely to meat-based diets than expected,” even as both categories revealed some nutritional gaps. 



Similar studies in Brazil and Canada point in the same direction: properly formulated vegan diets can be a viable option for adult dogs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-complete-label-falls-short">The “complete” label falls short</h2>



While every food in the study met the guideline for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taking-vitamin-d-supplements-may-add-years-to-your-life/">vitamin D</a>, very few met all targets at once. Just over half complied with essential amino-acid recommendations, fewer than one in five hit all mineral targets, and only a handful satisfied every B-vitamin requirement. 



In practical terms, 30 of the 31 products were missing at least one essential nutrient for adult maintenance. 



This does not mean a single bowlful is dangerous. Shortfalls accumulate over time. If iodine remains low, for example, the thyroid can struggle; if B-vitamin levels are chronically inadequate, energy metabolism and nerve function may be affected. 



The takeaway for manufacturers is clear: publish full nutrient profiles, test routinely, and fortify thoughtfully. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-owners-ages-and-beliefs-influence-their-pet-food-choices/">dog owners</a>, it is a reminder to look beyond marketing claims and, when possible, ask brands for detailed analyses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-medical-diets-and-dog-nutrition">Medical diets and dog nutrition </h2>



The veterinary renal diets in the sample illustrate a different kind of trade-off. These foods intentionally lower crude protein to reduce kidney workload, a valid clinical strategy. 



But the study found that two-thirds of these low-protein products also fell short on one or more essential amino acids.&nbsp;



That is not an indictment of renal nutrition; it is a formulation challenge. Even at reduced total protein, companies can blend higher-quality protein sources or add specific amino acids - lysine, methionine, tryptophan, and others - to maintain adequacy while meeting therapeutic goals. 



For dogs managing kidney disease, veterinarians remain the best guides; the solution here is better amino-acid balancing, not abandoning medical diets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-everyday-feeding">What this means for everyday feeding</h2>



For healthy adult dogs, the findings open space rather than close doors. A well-designed plant-based diet can be nutritionally adequate, provided it is properly fortified with iodine and a complete B-vitamin spectrum and meets amino acid and mineral targets.&nbsp;



Meat-based diets are not automatically superior; they must meet the same benchmarks. Labels that claim “complete” should be supported by transparent data, and pet owners can reasonably expect brands to share that information.



Every dog is an individual. Age, activity level, body condition, pre-existing conditions, and even <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-dogs-have-a-higher-risk-of-digestive-problems-like-diarrhea/">gut health</a> can shift needs and influence how well a dog absorbs and uses nutrients.



That is why regular veterinary checkups - ideally with periodic bloodwork for dogs on unconventional or therapeutic diets - remain the gold standard for catching problems early.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limitations-of-the-study">Limitations of the study </h2>



This research analysed nutrients in the lab; it did not follow dogs over months or years to track clinical outcomes. The study also focused on adult-maintenance foods rather than puppy diets, where requirements are higher and the margin for error is smaller. 



And while hitting a target on paper is essential, bioavailability can vary with ingredient sources, processing methods and the health of a dog’s digestive tract.&nbsp;



The authors call for long-term feeding trials and bioavailability studies, especially for plant-based and renal formulations, to connect lab values with real-world health markers.



These markers include body condition, muscle maintenance, thyroid and kidney function, skin and coat quality, and immune status.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-achieving-complete-nutrition-for-dogs">Achieving complete nutrition for dogs</h2>



The encouraging part is how fixable the shortfalls appear. Fortifying vegan recipes with iodine and comprehensive B-vitamin premixes, tightening amino-acid balance in low-protein therapeutic diets, and publishing batch-tested nutrient profiles would close most of the gaps identified.&nbsp;



For environmentally minded owners curious about lower-impact options, that matters. For veterinarians and formulators, it is a roadmap: engineer for nutrients, not narratives; verify with data rather than assumptions.



Brociek’s own conclusion captures the pragmatic spirit of the work. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-on-vegan-diets-stay-healthier-and-visit-the-vet-less-often/">Plant-based diets</a>, when properly formulated, can be a healthy and viable alternative to meat-based options. 



The next step should be long-term feeding studies. In the meantime, the message to the industry is straightforward. Whether the protein comes from chicken or chickpeas, the job is the same: deliver complete, bioavailable nutrition, prove it with transparent testing, and give owners the information they need to feed confidently.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328506">PLOS One</a>.&nbsp;



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Meat or vegan? Scientists decide which diet is better for the all-around health of dogs

Dog owners are increasingly asking whether their pets can thrive without meat. A new analysis offers a nuanced answer: plant-based dry foods sold in the UK can deliver nutrition comparable to meat-based products. However, most products of all kinds, including veterinary renal diets, fall short of industry nutrient guidelines.&nbsp; The study, led by the University of Nottingham, included laboratory testing of thirty-one dry foods labeled “complete,” a term that signals a product should provide all essential macro- and micronutrients for an adult dog. The research team examined...

Dinosaur teeth are best known for their bite, yet new research says they also stored a chemical snapshot of prehistoric air. By probing that record, scientists have rebuilt carbon dioxide levels and plant productivity for the age of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jurassic-dinosaurs-had-specialized-diets-to-coexist-peacefully/">dinosaurs</a> with a detail once thought impossible.



The study comes from <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TzDE38MAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Dingsu Feng</a> and colleagues at the <a href="https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Göttingen</a>, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (<a href="https://www.uni-mainz.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JGUM</a>), and Ruhr University Bochum (<a href="https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RUB</a>). 



Feng’s team focused on the Mesozoic Era, a span from 252 million to 66 million years ago when ecosystems ran hot and lush.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-teeth-lock-in-ancient-air">Dinosaur teeth lock in ancient air</h2>



The outer coat of a dinosaur’s tooth, made of durable tooth enamel, is harder than bone and shrugs off most chemical change. 



Inside that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/with-teeth-like-knives-this-giant-kept-the-young-tyrannosaurs-at-bay/">enamel</a> sits a mix of oxygen atoms captured when the animal breathed and drank, effectively sealing in the atmosphere of its time.



"Our method provides us with completely new insights into the Earth's past," stated Dr. Feng. He and his co-authors adapted a laboratory technique that separates the three natural oxygen isotopes in enamel to parts per million accuracy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-isotopes-reveal-past-climate">Isotopes reveal past climate</h2>



What they measured is called the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2105074118" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">triple oxygen isotope</a> signal. A slight excess of the rare isotope in atmospheric oxygen rises when carbon dioxide climbs and falls when global plant growth, or gross primary productivity (<a href="https://www.un-redd.org/glossary/gross-primary-productivity-gpp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GPP</a>), surges.



Because animals incorporate that signal through their body water, enamel preserves it like handwriting in stone. Earlier <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304580458_Temperature_and_atmospheric_CO2_concentration_estimates_through_the_PETM_using_triple_oxygen_isotope_analysis_of_mammalian_bioapatite" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> proved the idea in Cenozoic mammal teeth, but this is the first time it has been applied to dinosaurs.



"The analysis of the three oxygen isotopes in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-plant-eating-dinosaurs-chewed-through-thousands-of-teeth/">dental</a> enamel allows us to also measure the proportions of oxygen assimilated with respiratory air and drinking water," explained <a href="https://www.paleontology.uni-mainz.de/pub_tt.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Thomas Tütken</a> of Mainz. His remark highlights why enamel, not bone, became the sample of choice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-teeth-show-co₂-changes">Dinosaur teeth show CO₂ changes</h2>



Results show Late Jurassic skies carried about 1,200 ppm of CO₂, roughly four times the pre industrial benchmark of 280 ppm. By the Late Cretaceous, CO₂ dipped to near 750 ppm, still three times today’s level.



Certain Tyrannosaurus rex and Kaatedocus siberi teeth held isotope <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-predator-dissacus-praenuntius-ate-bones-adapting-to-climate-shock/">patterns</a> that differ sharply from their peers. Those outliers hint at short lived CO₂ spikes, possibly tied to volcanic gas releases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-co₂-sped-plant-growth">High CO₂ sped plant growth</h2>



Using published climate <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2504324122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">models</a>, the team calculated that GPP in the Late Cretaceous ran almost double modern output. More CO₂ means photosynthesis can run faster, so forests and plankton likely pumped out extra oxygen while drawing down carbon.



"The information obtained through our study on the global primary production provides important evidence of both marine and terrestrial food webs that would be otherwise difficult to obtain," emphasized <a href="https://evo.oeko.uni-mainz.de/prof-dr-eva-m-griebeler-publikationen/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Eva M. Griebeler</a> of Mainz. 



Greater plant productivity could explain how giant herbivores found enough calories to thrive.



High output also suggests rapid carbon cycling. Fast plant growth pulls CO₂ from air, but equally fast decay and volcanism can add it back, creating a dynamic greenhouse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-teeth-reveal-volcano-co₂-spikes">Dinosaur teeth reveal volcano CO₂ spikes</h2>



The isotope peaks coincide with the timing of eruptions in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X25001777" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Deccan Traps</a>, a vast lava field in what is now India. Geochemical studies estimate the province vented more than 200,000 gigatons of CO₂ over a short geological window.



Such gas surges could drive abrupt warming, reinforce monsoons, and disturb ocean chemistry. Some researchers see them as a prelude to the mass extinction that followed.



Modeling <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2007797118" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> of Deccan outgassing show that even moderate estimates of emitted carbon can lift global temperatures by several degrees Fahrenheit. The new tooth data provide a direct terrestrial check on those calculations.



"Our teeth samples offer a previously missing land based puzzle piece," Feng added. By pairing enamel records with marine proxies, scientists can now test how quickly air, sea, and life responded to volcanic jolts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-teeth-help-study-climate-future">Dinosaur teeth help study climate future</h2>



Today’s CO₂ is racing past 420 ppm, still only a third of Late Jurassic values, yet the planet is already warming fast. 



That difference reminds us that continental layouts, ocean circulation, and solar input frame how sensitive the climate is to greenhouse gases.



The method promises fresh looks at other deep time events, from Permian super greenhouses to ice house swings. It could also refine biogeochemical models that feed into future climate projections.



Feng’s group is now collecting enamel from early mammals to chart CO₂ through the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, an analog for rapid warming driven by carbon release. 



If the technique holds up, museum drawers filled with fossil teeth may become a new archive for climate science.



"Our work turns dinosaurs into climate experts," Feng said with a grin. Their bites, it seems, still have plenty to teach.



Image credit: Tooth of a Tyrannosaurus rex that was excavated in Alberta, Canada. Credit: photo/©: Thomas Tütken



The study is published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2504324122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Dinosaur teeth reveal CO2 levels and climate conditions in the Jurassic Period

Dinosaur teeth are best known for their bite, yet new...

On August 12, the world pauses for one of nature’s most awe-inspiring creatures - the elephant. From the open savannahs of Africa to the lush forests of Asia, these gentle giants are symbols of strength, memory, and family. Yet, behind their calm eyes lies a struggle for survival. 



This year, World Elephant Day is about more than saving a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-take-more-risks-when-they-live-around-people/">species</a>. It is about protecting their knowledge, relationships, and their place in our shared world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-land-alone-won-t-save-elephants">Land alone won’t save elephants</h2>



Preserving elephant habitat is vital, but space alone will not keep them alive. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephant-brains-reveal-big-differences-among-species/">Elephants</a> depend on the wisdom of their elders, especially the matriarchs, to make it through the hardest conditions.



These experienced leaders are living maps, carrying decades of memory about where to find water when rivers run dry and which paths will keep the herd away from predators or human danger. Older elephants are the decision-makers in moments when survival depends on choosing the right direction.



When a matriarch is killed by poachers or removed during relocation, the herd loses more than just a member. The group loses its guide and the knowledge that only comes from years of experience. 



Without that leadership, younger elephants are left to guess, often making mistakes that put them at risk.



Calves grow up without learning the skills that once kept the group safe. This kind of loss happens instantly, but the damage lasts for decades. In some cases, it may never be fully repaired, leaving herds more vulnerable with each missing elder.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-elephants-in-a-changing-climate">Elephants in a changing climate</h2>



Hotter temperatures and shifting rainfall are changing how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-choose-their-paths-carefully-to-conserve-energy/">elephants</a> move. Many end up near farms, especially in East Africa and India. 



Crops like corn and millet are an easy food source, but raiding fields comes at a cost. Farmers can lose an entire season’s harvest in one night.



Sometimes they respond with force. Without smarter planning - safe corridors, better water access, and farming layouts that reduce risk - these clashes will only increase.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-elephants-take-more-risks">Some elephants take more risks</h2>



In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-take-more-risks-when-they-live-around-people/">Thailand</a>, researchers from the <a href="https://www.gc.cuny.edu/">CUNY Graduate Center</a>&nbsp;looked at elephants living near farms and compared them with those deep in the forest. 



The farm-edge elephants were bolder and more curious. They approached new objects more often and took more risks. This personality difference matters.



Bold elephants are more likely to enter villages or raid crops. If communities know which individuals are most likely to take these risks, they can target early warnings and stronger barriers where they’re needed most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-technology-is-stepping-in">Technology is stepping in</h2>



In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-era-in-wildlife-conservation-how-ai-will-help-protect-elephants/">Malaysia</a>, scientists built an AI system called PoachNet. It predicts where elephants are likely to be and where they’re most at risk from poachers. The system uses GPS data, movement patterns, and environmental details to guide patrols. 



“PoachNet offers a big improvement in tracking and protecting elephants,” said lead researcher Naeima Hamed from <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/">Cardiff University</a>. 



For Bornean elephants, with fewer than 1,500 individuals left, this could mean the difference between survival and extinction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture-matters-in-conservation">Culture matters in conservation</h2>



A <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Portsmouth</a> study warns that losing older <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephant-culture-could-be-lost-forever-if-elders-disappear/">elephants</a> is more than a numbers problem. 



“Elders are the keepers of knowledge in elephant societies,” said lead author Dr. Lucy Bates. Without them, herds lose their history - migration routes, safe water points, and how to respond to threats.



Young elephants without guidance can become unpredictable and even dangerous. Protecting matriarchs isn’t optional; it’s part of keeping elephant society stable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-action-on-world-elephant-day">Action on World Elephant Day</h2>



This year, World Elephant Day is not about catchy slogans or a few trending hashtags. It is about real action that combines modern science, new technology, and a deep respect for the way elephants live and pass down their knowledge. 



Protecting them now means looking beyond short-term fixes and focusing on solutions that work for decades to come.



We already know what needs to be done. Keep the matriarchs alive so herds do not lose their leaders. Reduce conflict between elephants and people by creating safe corridors and better farming plans. 



Use smarter tools, like AI systems that can predict poaching risks before they happen. Plan ahead for a changing climate so water and food sources remain accessible even in the harshest seasons.



The choice is straightforward but urgent. Either we make space for elephants - in our landscapes, in our policies, and in our priorities - or we stand by as one of the planet’s most intelligent and socially complex animals disappears before our eyes. The responsibility is ours, and the time to act is now.



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World Elephant Day 2025: Fighting for survival

On August 12, the world pauses for one of nature’s...

A quick flight over the Gulf of Carpentaria now reveals what once lurked unseen: almost one abandoned fishing net for every stretch of shoreline the length of eleven football fields.



PhD candidate <a href="https://researchers.cdu.edu.au/en/persons/aliesha-jane-hvala" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aliesha Hvala</a> at Charles Darwin University’s North Australia Center for Autonomous Systems (<a href="https://www.cdu.edu.au/nacas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NACAS</a>) says the drone based survey of the <a href="https://anindilyakwa.com.au/land-and-sea/indigenous-protected-area/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anindilyakwa Indigenous Protected Area</a> has covered roughly 52 mi of coastline and located seventy two ghost nets, some as small as 20 inches and others topping 16 feet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-ghost-nets-matter">Why ghost nets matter</h2>



Every year an estimated 640,000 tons of lost or discarded fishing gear drifts through the world’s oceans, snagging everything from coral heads to endangered turtles.



Ghost gear now makes up as much as 46 percent to 70 percent of all large plastic debris at sea, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<a href="https://www.fao.org/responsible-fishing/news-events/news/news-details/en/c/1333761" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAO</a>).



Entanglement by these silent traps kills whales, dolphins, and dugongs, and the nylon and polyethylene fibers break down into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-are-escaping-from-water-treatment-plants/">microplastics</a> that move up the food chain.



The Gulf’s remote headlands, mangrove creeks, and sea grass meadows shelter dugong nurseries and nesting flatback turtles, so a single stranded trawl net can undo years of conservation work.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-chopper-to-controller">From chopper to controller</h2>



“With CDU, we’ve successfully used drones to map the most affected beaches within the IPA, enabling more efficient planning and targeted net removal,” said Kirsten Eden, Land &amp; Sea Manager for the <a href="https://anindilyakwa.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anindilyakwa Land Council</a>. 



Helicopter patrols once scanned this coast, but flight time, fuel, and weather windows turned monitoring into an expensive gamble.



A six rotor UAV that fits in a pickup bed now does the same job for the price of a tank of gas and a few charged batteries, and it can fly during breaks in the wet season storms when aircraft stay grounded.&nbsp;



Once nets are tagged from the air, the Ranger crew steers the 36 foot purpose built vessel Jarrangwa to the nearest landing, sets up a portable winch, and hauls the gear aboard for safe disposal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-tech-local-hands">High tech, local hands</h2>



Survey work is paired with training, and ten Anindilyakwa rangers have earned the nationally recognized <a href="https://training.gov.au/training/details/AVI30419" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Certificate III in Aviation (Remote Pilot)</a> that meets <a href="https://www.casa.gov.au/rules" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Civil Aviation Safety Authority rules</a>.



“I wasn’t very comfortable doing it, but I had the right people around me to overcome that and I’m very grateful,” said ranger Louise Mountford after finishing the course.



Building these skills on Country means <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-pod-of-1500-dolphins-captured-in-stunning-drone-footage/">drone</a> batteries get swapped next to mangroves instead of at distant city airports, keeping knowledge and jobs in the community.



It also shortens response time; a net reported on Monday can be removed by Wednesday before tides rebury it or refloat it onto a reef.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-ai-finds-buried-ghost-nets">How AI finds buried ghost nets</h2>



High resolution imagery is run through an onboard algorithm trained to flag the spectral signature of green or orange twine against sand and spinifex.



“High resolution images combined with precise GPS coordinates of ghost nets has greatly improved the efficiency of trip planning,” said Aquatic Biosecurity Officer Benjamin McArdle.



<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/10/1770" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Remote sensing</a> researchers note that pairing drones with machine learning classifiers can pick up plastic items smaller than three inches and distinguish gear fragments from driftwood or rock shadows.



Some nets resemble icebergs, with only a palm sized knot visible above the sand while yards of mesh hide below, so the team carries shovels and a battery powered capstan to winch out the buried mass.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cleaning-up-the-ghost-nets">Cleaning up the ghost nets</h2>



The initial survey has already pulled more than thirty tons of netting, floats, and rope off the beaches, freeing sandstone ledges where turtles haul out to nest.



Another broad scale <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/leonardo-da-vinci-design-solves-modern-drone-noise-problems/">drone</a> campaign begins later this month, timed for the southeast trade winds that wash gear ashore from fisheries in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northern Australia.



Eden warns that sustained success depends on long term gear, data storage, and refresher training funds, because batteries die faster in tropical heat, and software needs regular updates to stay accurate.



<a href="https://australianmarineparks.gov.au/management/partnerships/ghost-nets-initiative/ghost-nets-innovative-solutions-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Federal Ghost Net Innovative Solutions</a> grants currently foot the bill, but rangers are exploring carbon credit partnerships that reward habitat protection and create an independent revenue stream.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-template-for-global-coastlines">Template for global coastlines</h2>



From Hawaii to the Galápagos, coastal managers are watching the <a href="https://environment.nt.gov.au/careers-programs-publications/groote-archipelago-threatened-species-management-plan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Groote Archipelago project </a>as a field test of low cost aerial surveillance married to Indigenous stewardship.



Lightweight drones can be packed onto small boats, driven inland on all terrain vehicles, and even recharged with portable solar panels, letting crews cover beaches that satellites miss because of cloud cover.



Global fisheries bodies are rolling out electronic tags and mandatory gear marking rules so nets can be traced back to owners, while local <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drone-swarms-help-combat-forest-fires-natural-disasters/">drone</a> teams provide the fast detection that turns regulations into retrieved plastic instead of paperwork.



Plastic production is projected to triple by 2060, yet the lessons from this remote stretch of Northern Territory show that swift technology adoption, community ownership, and clear funding paths can keep that future from becoming a tangled one.



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AI drones discover dozens of 'ghost nets' hidden on remote beaches

A quick flight over the Gulf of Carpentaria now reveals...

Sixty-six million years ago, what is now pine forest and bayou lay beneath a warm inland sea. In that Cretaceous Gulf, the apex hunters were mosasaurs - serpentine marine reptiles that could stretch nearly 50 feet nose to tail.



Research led by <a href="https://www.smu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SMU</a> paleontologist Michael J. Polcyn has compiled the first comprehensive portrait of these creatures in Louisiana, combining scattered fossil finds with seismic images and well cores.



“Louisiana is not known for having a great <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-some-animals-become-fossils-while-others-just-disappear/">fossil</a> record, but when you put it all together, it has a pretty interesting and valuable,” said team member Louis Jacobs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mosasaur-in-ancient-seas">Mosasaur in ancient seas</h2>



The rare Cretaceous exposures occur in Bienville Parish, where rising salt domes have tilted ancient strata to the surface.



Among the few bones found is a strong tooth likely from Prognathodon, one of the largest and most powerful mosasaurs - a genus also uncovered by the SMU team along Angola’s coast. 



This connection links Louisiana’s ancient sea directly to the newly forming South Atlantic Ocean basin of the same time period, indicating that these “sea lizards” once had a worldwide presence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disaster-etched-in-the-seabed">Disaster etched in the seabed</h2>



The marine idyll ended in seconds. When a six-mile-wide asteroid slammed into the Yucatán Peninsula, it vaporized rock, ignited worldwide firestorms, and launched <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/20-years-later-remembering-the-worlds-deadliest-tsunami/">tsunamis</a> that echoed around the proto-Gulf.



The SMU-led survey records that violence in an unexpected place: underground. Seismic data gathered by co-author Gary L. Kinsland of the <a href="https://louisiana.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Louisiana at Lafayette</a> reveals buried “ghost-maker megaripples.” 



These tsunami-sculpted dunes stand about 52 feet high and stretch more than a third of a mile crest to crest - likely the largest on record.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/mososaurs_dinosaurs_fossils_louisiana_credit-Judith-Schiebout_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/mososaurs_dinosaurs_fossils_louisiana_credit-Judith-Schiebout_1s.webp" alt="Louisiana mosasaurs and dinosaur fossils. A-C. Partial tooth of a mosasaur Prognathodon. D-J. Mosasaur anterior intermediate caudal vertebra. K-M. Dromaesorid dinosaur tooth. Credit: Judith Schiebout" class="wp-image-1981228"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Louisiana mosasaurs and dinosaur fossils. A-C. Partial tooth of a mosasaur Prognathodon. D-J. Mosasaur anterior intermediate caudal vertebra. K-M. Dromaesorid dinosaur tooth. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Judith Schiebout</figcaption></figure>



“The seismic image showing the megaripples on the ancient seafloor is a wonderful illustration of the tremendous amount of energy introduced into the area by the impact tsunami in a very short period of time,” Polcyn said.



These ripples, frozen beneath younger sediments, serve as Louisiana’s signature of the Chicxulub impact that triggered Earth’s fifth mass extinction. They mark the exact horizon where mosasaurs, ammonites, and countless other Cretaceous species vanished.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chance-discovery-reshapes-the-timeline">Chance discovery reshapes the timeline</h2>



Fast-forward roughly three million years into the Paleocene, and the fossil record picks up a very different protagonist. An oil-well core drilled to 2,460 feet in central Louisiana pierced a layer dating to 63–62 million years ago.



Locked inside was the partial jaw of Anisonchus fortunatus - a hoofed mammal scarcely larger than a cat. The specimen, recovered by chance, underscores how quickly mammals occupied ecological space left vacant by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/">dinosaurs</a>. It also provides the young state with its oldest known terrestrial mammal.



Polcyn calls the little jaw a “striking bookend” to the extinction narrative. On one end is a tooth from an apex reptilian predator. On the other are the modest remains of a mammal poised to radiate across the planet.



“The contribution of this work reports the first Cretaceous marine reptile fossils known from Louisiana, putting them in a broader geographic and temporal context in the Gulf region,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stitching-the-past-together">Stitching the past together</h2>



The new synthesis is published in the journal <a href="https://repository.lsu.edu/spmns/5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vertebrate Fossils of Louisiana</a>, an LSU Museum of Natural Science tribute volume honoring the late paleontologist Judith A. Schiebout, who championed her adopted state’s fossil heritage.



Schiebout's vision is realized in the way Polcyn, Jacobs, and their collaborators integrate multiple lines of evidence. These include museum collections, fresh fieldwork, well-core microscopy, and petroleum-industry seismic scans.



The result is a timeline stretching from the last flourishing of Cretaceous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-impacting-marine-life-more-than-we-realized/">marine life</a>, through the instantaneous destruction wrought by the asteroid, to the first stirrings of the “Age of Mammals.”



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/dinosaurs_mososaurs_asteorid-extinction_before-during-after_mosaic-timeline_SMU_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/dinosaurs_mososaurs_asteorid-extinction_before-during-after_mosaic-timeline_SMU_1s.webp" alt="(A-C) Prognathodon kianda, based on specimens from Bentiaba, Angola on display in Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. B. Tooth of shark Squalicorax from Bentiaba with scavenged Prognathodon bone. D. Life reconstruction of the shark Squalicorax scavenging a carcass of Prognathodon kianda. Remains of Prognathodon and Squalicorax are widespread, which suggests that scavenging behavior documented elsewhere also occurred in Louisiana. E. Life reconstruction of Prognathodon kianda. Credit: Smithsonian Institute; artwork by Karen Carr" class="wp-image-1981226"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(A-C) Prognathodon kianda, based on specimens from Bentiaba, Angola on display in Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. B. Tooth of shark Squalicorax from Bentiaba with scavenged Prognathodon bone. D. Life reconstruction of the shark Squalicorax scavenging a carcass of Prognathodon kianda. Remains of Prognathodon and Squalicorax are widespread, which suggests that scavenging behavior documented elsewhere also occurred in Louisiana. E. Life reconstruction of Prognathodon kianda. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Smithsonian Institute; artwork by Karen Carr</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mosasaur-record-connects-continents">Mosasaur record connects continents </h2>



Although Louisiana contributes only snippets of bone, each piece lengthens a record that links North America to South America and Africa.



The same Prognathodon lineage patrolled both the Gulf and the South Atlantic, an insight made famous in the Smithsonian traveling exhibition “Sea Monsters Unearthed,” co-curated by SMU. Such parallels help paleontologists map ancient ocean currents, climate zones, and continental drift.



The impact story is likewise global. The Louisiana megaripples complement tsunami deposits in Texas and Mexico, collectively illustrating the reach of a single cosmic collision. For geologists today, ancient dunes reveal how quickly and powerfully energy moves through shallow seas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-fossil-hunting-in-louisiana">Future fossil hunting in Louisiana </h2>



Polcyn hopes the compilation will spur more fossil hunting in a state better known for oil rigs than dinosaurs. Salt-dome uplifts, riverbanks, and drill cores still hide clues to life’s greatest turnover event.



“When you put it all together, it has a pretty interesting and valuable fossil record," said Jacobs.



Each new discovery can refine models of extinction, recovery, and resilience - lessons increasingly relevant as modern ecosystems face rapid change.



From 50-foot mosasaurs to coin-sized mammal jaws, Louisiana’s deep past captures the drama of both endings and beginnings.



By piecing together shards of tooth, ripples of sand, and slivers of bone, scientists have illuminated how a once-<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-reveal-how-humans-completely-changed-caribbean-reef-ecosystems/">tropical sea</a> gave way to a landscape ready for jazz, shrimp boats, and human history. 



But that transformation came only after a cosmic catastrophe rewrote the rules of life on Earth.



The findings were <a href="https://repository.lsu.edu/spmns/5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in LSU Museum of Natural Science’s “Vertebrate Fossils of Louisiana” in a tribute to the late paleontologist <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/science/geology/people/faculty/schiebout.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Judith A. Schiebout</a>. 



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Life on Earth before, during and after the dinosaur-killing asteroid strike

Sixty-six million years ago, what is now pine forest and...

For more than a decade, sea star wasting disease (SSWD) has ravaged starfish along North America’s Pacific coast. It shreds arms, melts bodies, and pushes iconic species like the sunflower sea star to the brink of extinction.



Now there’s a turning point: researchers have identified a single bacterial species - Vibrio pectenicida - that can trigger the full suite of wasting symptoms. 



This breakthrough offers a path toward earlier detection and, eventually, smarter response strategies, even as the ocean’s “three-dimensional dynamic environment” makes intervention challenging.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pacific-starfish-face-collapse">Pacific starfish face collapse</h2>



The scale and speed of SSWD are unprecedented. Since 2013, outbreaks have swept from Alaska to Mexico, striking more than 20 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/terrifying-sea-stars-could-be-the-key-to-kelp-forest-recovery/">sea star</a> species.



Early signs include loss of appetite and small white lesions. Then the animals go limp as the disease hits the water vascular system. Arms detach and sometimes wriggle independently, and the entire body disintegrates into mush within days.



“Sea star wasting disease is pretty horrid,” said Hugh Carter, a marine invertebrate curator at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum</a> in London and a starfish expert. “It causes the starfish to stop feeding and forms white lesions across the body as the soft tissue starts breaking down.”



The ecological shock is profound. Sunflower sea stars - important predators of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reefs-cant-survive-rising-sea-urchin-numbers/">sea urchins</a> - have lost more than 90 percent of their population, and the cascade is visible on the seafloor.



“When we lose billions of sea stars, that really shifts the ecological dynamics,” said lead author Melanie Prentice from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of British Columbia</a> (UBC). “In the absence of sunflower stars, sea urchin populations increase.”



“This means the loss of kelp forests, which has broad implications for all the other marine species and humans that rely on them. So, losing a sea star goes far beyond the loss of that single species.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solving-a-marine-mystery">Solving a marine mystery</h2>



For years, scientists pursued competing hypotheses, with a virus suspected early on but later ruled out. One reason the search took so long is that sea stars deteriorate rapidly - often within a week of exposure.



By the time researchers collect samples, secondary infections and generalized stress responses may obscure the primary trigger.



The new study overcomes those obstacles. In controlled laboratory experiments, the team raised <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunflower-sea-stars-are-nearly-extinct-but-scientists-are-growing-them/">sunflower sea stars</a> and exposed them to diseased tissue in different ways.



Simply touching infected parts or being injected with tissue homogenates proved deadly: 92 percent of exposed sea stars died.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-name-the-starfish-killer">Scientists name the starfish killer</h2>



Critically, when the homogenates were filtered or heat-treated first, the starfish did not develop the disease. This was strong evidence that a living microbe was the cause.



The researchers then compared coelomic fluid - the sea stars’ blood-like internal fluid - from healthy and exposed animals. One signal dominated.



“When we compared the coelomic fluid of exposed and healthy sea stars, there was basically one thing different: Vibrio,” said senior author Alyssa Gehman from UBC. “We all had chills, we thought that’s it. We have it, that’s what causes wasting.’”



To satisfy the gold standard of causation, they isolated Vibrio pectenicida from diseased sea stars, cultured it to a pure strain, and injected it into healthy animals. The recipients rapidly developed classic wasting symptoms.



Field data reinforced the lab results: in British Columbia, V. pectenicida appeared in sea star samples only after an outbreak had begun.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-progress-with-no-easy-fix">Progress with no easy fix</h2>



The identification of V. pectenicida marks the first time researchers have reproduced the full disease by introducing a single pathogen.



“There have been lots of competing theories over what causes sea star wasting disease, so it’s great that we know what is actually causing it,” Carter said. “It’s a massive step forward, but we’re still a long way from a solution.”



Pinpointing the bacterium could improve surveillance, allowing diagnostics to target V. pectenicida during early flare-ups. But practical control is far tougher offshore.



“While knowing the bacteria that cause it might allow us to detect new outbreaks earlier, it’s still hard to quarantine or treat the disease in the 3D dynamic environment of the sea. It’ll take a great deal more research until sea star wasting disease can be managed effectively.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warming-seas-fuel-starfish-disease">Warming seas fuel starfish disease</h2>



Like many vibrios, V. pectenicida appears to thrive in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-foraging-behavior-changing-climate-warming-waters/">warmer conditions</a>, which aligns with observations that wasting spreads faster during marine heatwaves.



The bacterium is already infamous in aquaculture as a scallop pathogen that secretes toxins. Those same virulence factors may damage sea star tissues and water vascular systems, accelerating the grisly progression.



Unpacking that mechanism - what toxins are produced, how they interact with sea star immunity - will be crucial for forecasting risk and testing interventions.



With oceans warming due to climate change, the stakes are rising. Hotter waters can both boost bacterial growth and stress sea stars, potentially lowering their defenses.



Understanding that one-two punch could help managers anticipate where and when disease pressure will spike, enabling them to prioritize monitoring or protective measures for the most vulnerable populations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fighting-future-outbreaks">Fighting future outbreaks</h2>



The immediate priorities are clear. Researchers need to map the distribution of V. pectenicida across species and coastlines and refine rapid tests for early detection. They also need to investigate how environmental variables - temperature, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salinity-is-rising-in-coastal-areas-and-hurting-farmlands/">salinity</a>, organic matter - modulate bacterial bloom-and-bust cycles.



Hatchery and aquarium settings may serve as testbeds for mitigation strategies, from biosecurity protocols to microbiome-based approaches that bolster sea stars’ defenses.



But translating lab breakthroughs into ocean-scale solutions will take time. In the near term, the best defense for kelp forests and the myriad species that depend on them may be vigilant disease surveillance. 



Ecosystem management that reduces compounding stressors, such as overgrazing by urchins, is also crucial.



Even so, science has turned a corner. Identifying the culprit shifts the field from guesswork to targeted investigation and from helpless witness to informed action.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02797-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



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Bacteria that’s melting starfish alive has finally been identified

For more than a decade, sea star wasting disease (SSWD)...

Myloplus sauron, a newly described Amazonian fish, looks like trouble at first glance. Its round silver body wears a stark black stripe that tapers toward the belly, a pattern that recalls the fiery “Eye of Sauron” from The Lord of the Rings.



Yet appearances mislead. The fish is a peace loving herbivore equipped with human style molars instead of razor blades. <a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9135-1169" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr Rupert Collins</a> of the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2024/june/new-species-vegetarian-piranha-named-after-lord-of-the-rings-villain-sauron.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum</a> in London, senior curator of fishes, helped lead the international team responsible for the finding.



“As soon as my colleagues suggested the name for this fish, we knew it was perfect for it. Its pattern looks a lot like the Eye of Sauron, especially with the orange patches on its body,” Collins said.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decoding-myloplus-sauron">Decoding Myloplus sauron</h2>



Myloplus sauron belongs to the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/513675-Serrasalmidae" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Serrasalmidae</a> family, the same clan that includes the infamous piranhas. 



Its relatives called pacu are mostly plant eaters, and the new species follows that script, using flat, stubby teeth to munch fruits and seeds rather than flesh. 



A close look at those teeth shows square crowns and enamel ridges that grip and crush fibrous food.



DNA barcoding and detailed scale counts confirmed that the fish is distinct from two look alike pacus long lumped together with M. schomburgkii. 



Those genetic tools revealed three separate lineages: the newly named M. sauron in the Xingu River, M. aylan in western Amazon tributaries, and a rediagnosed M. schomburgkii spread across shield rivers farther north and east.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-eye-of-sauron-fits">Why the Eye of Sauron fits</h2>



The Xingu’s rocky clear water lets sunlight reach the riverbed, turning fish into living billboards. M. sauron amplifies that spotlight with a vivid orange blush on its flanks and blood red fins that accentuate the central stripe.



Collins notes that naming a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-species-joro-spiders-has-invaded-the-united-states-heres-what-to-look-for/">species</a> after a cultural icon helps people remember the discovery and, more importantly, the river it inhabits. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/piranha-fish_new-species_Myloplus-sauron_credit-Sabaj_1big.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/piranha-fish_new-species_Myloplus-sauron_credit-Sabaj_1s.webp" alt="Myloplus sauron, coloration immediately after capture. A. Male. Notice the faint vertical mark, common during breeding period. B. Mature female. Xingu River basin. Photo by M. H. Sabaj" class="wp-image-1981128"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Myloplus sauron, coloration immediately after capture. A. Male. Notice the faint vertical mark, common during breeding period. B. Mature female. Xingu River basin. Click image to enlarge. Photo by M. H. Sabaj</figcaption></figure>



Public attention can translate into support for protecting the Xingu’s unique rapids, which already face altered flows from one of Brazil’s largest hydroelectric dams.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-myloplus-sauron-teeth-built-for-plants">Myloplus sauron teeth built for plants</h2>



Unlike the triangular blades of piranhas, pacu teeth are nearly square. They meet edge to edge like a set of pruning shears, ideal for cracking palm nuts or slicing thick leaves.



Studies of feeding mechanics show that these teeth distribute pressure evenly across the bite, preventing cracks while maximizing crushing force. 



That adaptation matters because the Amazon’s flood pulse delivers seasonal windfalls of fruit; fish able to process tough skins enjoy a buffet when trees overhang flooded banks.



<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.13016" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Taxonomists</a> have cataloged about 2,500 fish species in the Amazon, yet an estimated 34 to 42 percent of the basin’s freshwater fishes remain undescribed. 



In practical terms, nearly one in three fish that swims past a researcher’s net could still lack a formal name.



That uncertainty complicates conservation. Without reliable species lists, it is hard to assess which populations are thriving and which are shrinking under pressures such as mining runoff, overfishing, or dam construction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-a-species-narrow-home">Mapping a species' narrow home</h2>



Myloplus sauron lives only in the Xingu River Basin, a sun drenched tributary that cuts through both Brazil’s Pará and Mato Grosso states. The basin already boasts more than 600 recorded fish <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colorful-aquarium-creature-cherax-pulverulentus-is-new-crayfish-species-never-catalogued/">species</a>, seventy of which occur nowhere else.



Researchers collected most M. sauron specimens below the Tamaracá waterfall, where swift water tumbles over polished granite. 



The fish’s deep body and strong pectoral fins suggest it hugs eddies behind boulders, grazing on algae and fallen leaves swept into crevices.



To confirm Myloplus sauron was a separate species, researchers combined both physical and genetic data. They used DNA barcoding, a method that compares short sequences in mitochondrial DNA, to distinguish M. sauron from its close relatives M. aylan and M. schomburgkii.



The team also analyzed dozens of traits like fin rays, body shape, scale counts, and the distinct black stripe. Together, the physical measurements and genetic divergence gave researchers enough evidence to confidently describe M. sauron as its own <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-tiger-swallowtail-butterfly-discovered-in-the-u-s-had-gone-unnoticed-by-scientists/">species</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-find-means-for-conservation">What the find means for conservation</h2>



A flashy new name does not guarantee safety. Large dams upstream can flatten seasonal floods that once triggered pacu breeding runs, while unregulated gold mining clouds clear channels with silt and mercury.



For now, the team lists M. sauron as “Least Concern” because its range extends along several hundred river miles. Even so, Collins argues that early recognition is vital.&nbsp;



The discovery also highlights the value of DNA barcoding, a technique that flags hidden lineages before they vanish. 



Every barcode added to global databases sharpens our picture of Amazon diversity and guides future field expeditions toward rivers likely to house more surprises.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.scielo.br/j/ni/a/fFG9HTqKTjCs4Z4W3MxwSLJ/?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neotropical Ichthyology</a>.



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Scientists discover a new species of vegetarian piranha with human-like teeth

Myloplus sauron, a newly described Amazonian fish, looks like trouble...

A new camera system called EyeRIS has captured crisp three-dimensional footage of deep-sea <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopuses-could-dominate-earth-if-humans-vanish/">octopuses</a> crawling almost two miles below the surface. 



The images reveal subtle bends and strains in each arm, data that engineers hope will guide the next wave of flexible machines.



Researchers filmed the animals at <a href="https://www.mbari.org/project/the-octopus-garden/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Octopus Garden</a>, a nursery site that hosts about 6,000 brooding pearl octopuses on a warm patch of seafloor near Central California. 



Principal Engineer <a href="https://www.mbari.org/person/kakani-katija/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kakani Katija</a> and Senior Research Specialist <a href="https://www.mbari.org/person/christine-huffard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crissy Huffard</a>, both with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (<a href="https://www.mbari.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MBARI</a>), led the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09379-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-filming-deep-sea-octopuses">Filming deep-sea octopuses</h2>



EyeRIS rode on a remotely operated vehicle during dives to roughly 9,850 ft, a zone too dark for sunlight yet rich with life. 



Because the system works in low light, it left the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-caught-riding-on-the-back-of-the-worlds-fastest-shark-in-the-open-ocean/">octopuses</a> undisturbed, no bright lamps or tether lines altered their behavior.



The camera delivered real-time models of each animal’s posture, letting scientists tag and follow individuals over boulder fields. 



Those models stream to the surface ship through fiber-optic cable, so the team can adjust focus and angle on the fly.



Such immediate feedback matters when observations cost thousands of dollars per hour and harsh currents limit dive time. 



By knowing exactly what the camera “sees,” pilots can linger on rare actions like mating dances or defensive color flashes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-eyeris-sees-in-3d">How EyeRIS sees in 3D</h2>



At the heart of EyeRIS sits a dense microlens array that captures dozens of perspectives in a single shot, a principle known as light-field imaging. 



Software then stitches those perspectives into one frame where every pixel is sharp, even when subjects dart across uneven terrain.



That sharpness lets algorithms plot the octopus’s arm <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-dumbo-octopus-species-carnarvon-flapjack-discovered-in-very-deep-ocean-waters/">skeleton</a>, frame by frame, without attaching markers or probes. 



The approach contrasts with laboratory studies that often require tanks or anesthetized animals, settings that miss natural movements.



Engineers built the housing from titanium and acrylic to survive crushing pressures and icy temperatures. The package weighs under 110 lbs, light enough for quick swaps between MBARI’s submersibles during routine maintenance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-octopus-arms">Lessons from octopus arms </h2>



“These flexible joints concentrate and bend above and below a single point, giving the octopus simple yet elegant control,” explained Huffard. 



EyeRIS data revealed that each arm forms temporary muscular “joints” which shift position as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/turquets-octopus-dna-tells-scientists-that-west-antarctic-ice-sheet-collapse-is-close/">animal</a> crawls. 



The finding supports earlier <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12888" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> showing that octopus arms act as muscular hydrostats, organs that stiffen without bones by selectively contracting fibers. 



By localizing strain, the animal reduces the number of commands the brain must send, a form of biological efficiency.



“There was no need to bring animals to the lab, which keeps the behavior authentic,” said Katija. She noted that fine-scale maps of curvature came straight off the seafloor.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-robots-deep-sea-octopus-biomimicry">Robots, deep-sea octopus, biomimicry</h2>



Soft-robot designers crave blueprints for limbs that bend anywhere yet still push against the world. Light-field <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33157856/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">footage</a> supplies those blueprints in millisecond increments, turning a mysterious crawl into numbers that code can mimic.



Early prototypes already pair silicone sleeves with pressurized chambers to copy the octopus gait. Future versions could inspect ship hulls, grip delicate coral, or thread wiring through collapsed buildings.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/deep-sea-pearl-octopus_Muusoctopus-robustus_ocean-floor_MBARI_1big.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/deep-sea-pearl-octopus_Muusoctopus-robustus_ocean-floor_MBARI_1s.webp" alt="MBARI's innovative EyeRIS camera system collects near real-time three-dimensional visual data about the structure and biomechanics of marine life. Filming deep-sea pearl octopus (Muusoctopus robustus) with this system has provided new insight into octopus locomotion that can contribute to the design of bioinspired robots in the future. Credit: MBARI" class="wp-image-1981119"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">MBARI's innovative EyeRIS camera system collects near real-time three-dimensional visual data about the structure and biomechanics of marine life. Filming deep-sea pearl octopus (Muusoctopus robustus) with this system has provided new insight into octopus locomotion that can contribute to the design of bioinspired robots in the future. Click image to enlarge. Credit: MBARI</figcaption></figure>



Because the control scheme looks simplified, software may run on low-power chips rather than bulky processors. That shift could lower costs and widen adoption in medicine, manufacturing, and search-and-rescue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-hidden-ecosystems">Protecting hidden ecosystems</h2>



The Octopus Garden sits inside the <a href="https://montereybay.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary</a>, an area under consideration for stricter protections as deep-sea mining expands. 



Non-invasive tools like EyeRIS strengthen conservation arguments by proving that fragile nurseries thrive in seemingly barren depths.



Long time-series footage will also track how warming currents affect brooding success, egg development, and predator visits. 



Such baseline data barely exist for most abyssal species, leaving policymakers with little guidance on cumulative impacts.



MBARI plans to release segments of the footage to educators and documentary crews. Seeing a pearl octopus hustle across 35°F mud may kindle public interest in preserving regions far beyond human sight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eyeris-and-future-missions">EyeRIS and future missions</h2>



The <a href="https://www.packard.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David and Lucile Packard Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://www.moore.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation</a> financed the camera’s development. 



Their grants covered custom optics, pressure testing, and the software pipeline that converts raw pixels into usable models.



“I’m excited to watch other labs adapt this technology for jellyfish, squid, and even plankton swarms,” said Katija. She went on to explain that the team is adding a spectral sensor to measure how skin pigments shift during motion.&nbsp;



The next deployment will explore hydrothermal seeps 60 miles offshore, places where methane bubbles lure both octopuses and crabs. 



If EyeRIS can cope with shimmering hot fluids, its design could inspire cameras for Europa or Enceladus <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2010/01/Europa_and_Enceladus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">missions</a>.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09379-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Deep sea octopus footage could revolutionize flexible robot design

A new camera system called EyeRIS has captured crisp three-dimensional...

casa-prefabricada-alternativa-vivienda-tradicional-espana-menos-

Up high in California's eastern Sierra Nevada, a mammal as light as two paper clips has been hustling under rocks and meadows, escaping every camera for more than a century. 



Earlier this winter, three college students strapped snowshoes to their backpacks and shouldered a simple goal: catch the ghost on film.



Their gamble paid off, yielding the first clear portraits of the Mount Lyell shrew and closing the only photographic blind spot in <a href="https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101253/Sorex_lyelli" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California’s mammal list</a>. 



The expedition teamed wildlife photographer Vishal Subramanyan of the <a href="https://www.calacademy.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Academy of Sciences</a> with undergraduate naturalists Prakrit Jain from <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Berkeley</a> and Harper Forbes from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mount-lyell-shrew-in-the-wild">Mount Lyell shrew in the wild</h2>



The trio had set around 150 pitfall traps (plastic cups sunk flush with damp soil, baited with mealworms and cat food) and checked each cup every two hours through freezing nights.



After each session the students disinfected the traps and moved them a few yards to avoid recapturing the same individuals, a low-tech version of mark-recapture that minimized stress. 



The shuffle also built a broader map of where Lyell <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-shrews-and-other-tiny-creatures-have-superfast-heartbeats/">shrews</a> prowl between springs, sedges, and talus edges.



Over the course of three nights the team checked traps until the successful caught the Lyell. They reported measurements of barely 9 to 10 centimeters in length and 2 to 3 grams in weight. 



Tissue clips taken from the tip of the tail later confirmed the identity at the California Academy’s genetics lab.



“For every photo that we got in focus, we must have 10 or 20 photos where the shrew is running out of the frame,” admitted Jain after the trip. Although the catch came quickly, the photos did not.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mount-lyell-shrew-camera-trap">Mount Lyell shrew camera trap</h2>



Unlike mice that can handle brief fasting, shrews burn food at a blistering rate, their <a href="https://www.mpg.de/14755962/shrews-metabolism-winter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metabolism</a> requires eating every hour or two. 



Leaving one stuck overnight could kill it, so the students slept in two-hour shifts while temperatures slid to 15°F.



That discipline spared all four species of the shrews they caught, an important ethical point because the species is so poorly studied that its maximum lifespan remains unknown. 



With each release the students watched the gray blur vanish into grass, confirming the animals were alert and unharmed.



When a trap sprung, they built a miniature studio: a white board for contrast, a terrarium stuffed with leaf litter, and a camera on rapid fire. 



The result is an image set that finally places a personality on what was only a skull in museum drawers.



Five Lyell <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rats-and-shrews-living-close-together-trade-gut-bacteria/">shrews</a> and ten individuals from three related species cycled through this assembly line, each released a few minutes later at its capture spot. 



Every animal left with a small mealworm to offset the calorie debt of the impromptu photo shoot.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-shrews-slipped-past-cameras">Why shrews slipped past cameras</h2>



Shrews, although superficially mouse-like, belong to their own insect-eating order, and they favor damp tunnels hidden under alpine sedges. 



That combination of size, speed, and habitat has kept them invisible to standard wildlife surveys for decades.



Scientists suspect the shrew's ears cannot detect most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weasels-are-vanishing-or-are-they-just-too-sneaky-to-spot/">camera-trap</a> infrared flashes, so the animals never pause, further explaining the lack of historical images. 



Coupled with their habit of tunneling just beneath leaf litter, traditional motion sensors rarely trigger.



The Lyell species pushes secrecy further by occupying a slice of marshy high ground between 7,000 and 10,000 feet where few biologists linger after summer snowfalls. 



Previous museum specimens were collected only after the animals drowned in buckets set for other studies.



Photographs change that dynamic, field scientists can now train artificial-intelligence recognition models on real pelage patterns and search camera-trap archives for missed detections, a step impossible without a reference image.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-the-mount-lyell-shrew">Saving the Mount Lyell shrew</h2>



Even with new publicity, the outlook for the Mount Lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli) is tight. 



UC Berkeley researchers project the shrew will lose 89 percent of its alpine wetland range by the 2080s if warming continues on its current path.



Modeling by state <a href="https://stewartecology.org/docs/CA%20MCCV/Stewart%20et%20al.%20-%202016%20-%20A%20Climate%20Change%20Vulnerability%20Assessment%20for%20Twenty%20California%20Mammal%20Taxa.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biologists</a> shows that a 3°F rise in average summer temperature could lift the tree line into the sub-alpine fens the shrew occupies, drying those seeps within a couple of decades. That shift would push the species upslope toward bare granite with nowhere else to migrate.



The state has labeled the animal a “species of special concern,” a tier below endangered but still warranting monitoring. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Mount-Lyell-shrew_elusive-mammal-species_first-time-photograph_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Mount-Lyell-shrew_elusive-mammal-species_first-time-photograph_1s.webp" alt="The Mount Lyell shrew. Photo Courtesy of Subramanyan, Jain, and Forbes" class="wp-image-1981082"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Mount Lyell shrew. Click image to enlarge. Photo Courtesy of Subramanyan, Jain, and Forbes</figcaption></figure>



Because the shrew’s range spans only about 35 square miles, a single wildfire or drought year could erase entire sub-populations.



Conservationists are using the fresh genetic samples to gauge diversity across that range, hoping to pinpoint refuges that stay cool and wet even during dry spells. 



Protecting those micro-pockets, they argue, may offer the quickest insurance policy for the shrew and the invertebrates it devours.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-mammal-big-message">Tiny mammal, big message</h2>



“Nobody, not even us, really thought this was going to work, especially on our first try,” Subramanyan told a reporter once the images went public. He sees the photos as a recruitment poster for unglamorous wildlife.&nbsp;



Forbes, who studies public engagement, plans to turn their footage into a short video for classrooms, arguing that conservation begins with curiosity. 



He says younger viewers often latch onto small, quirky creatures more than majestic megafauna once they learn the role each plays in healthy soils.



Jain adds that hundreds of shrew <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-species-joro-spiders-has-invaded-the-united-states-heres-what-to-look-for/">species</a> around the world sit in the same data void, known only from a single specimen or location. 



He hopes the Lyell success nudges more students to chase overlooked creatures before climate curves turn against them.



For now, the animal’s cameo has given scientists a living face to protect and has reminded Californians that even in a state wired with trail cameras, some stories still wait in the shadows.



Image credit: Vishal Subramanyan, Prakrit Jain, and Harper Forbes/University of California, Berkeley



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Students photograph an incredibly elusive mammal for the first time ever

Up high in California's eastern Sierra Nevada, a mammal as...

Not all meat-eating dinosaurs used the same tricks to bring down their prey. While they may look similar - big skulls, sharp teeth, and a terrifying presence - their bite strategies were very different.



In a new study, scientists at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a> analyzed 18 species of theropod dinosaurs that lived throughout the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-were-not-the-only-animals-that-grew-fast-during-the-mesozoic/">Mesozoic</a> Era.



These two-legged predators include some of the most famous names in dinosaur history: Tyrannosaurus rex, Giganotosaurus, and Spinosaurus. Despite their similar appearances, the way they hunted was far more varied than previously assumed.



“The feeding strategies of these top predators are more complex than we thought in the past,” said Fion Waisum Ma of the Beipiao Pterosaur Museum of China.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blade-like-teeth-for-slicing">Blade-like teeth for slicing</h2>



To understand how these dinosaurs hunted, the researchers used 3D scans of fossilized skulls. They applied engineering methods that are normally used to test how bridges handle stress. The goal was to investigate how force traveled through the skull bones during a bite.



The researchers found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/australia-had-huge-predatory-dinosaurs-during-the-late-jurassic/">Giganotosaurus</a> had an elongated skull lined with blade-like teeth designed more for slicing than smashing. Instead of crushing bone, it likely hunted by tearing large chunks of flesh from its prey.



Giganotosaurus’ thin, serrated teeth were “like a cross between a great white shark and a Komodo dragon,” said Eric Snively, associate professor of anatomy at Oklahoma State University.



Giganotosaurus lived in what’s now South America during the mid-Cretaceous period. It was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered, possibly even rivaling T. rex in size. Some scientists believe it may have hunted large sauropods, possibly even in coordinated groups - though that part is still debated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-dinosaur-built-for-water">A dinosaur built for water</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spinosaurus-reveals-a-link-between-bone-density-and-hunting-underwater/">Spinosaurus</a>, on the other hand, had a very different lifestyle. Its teeth were conical and not built for slicing or crushing. Its long, narrow snout and retracted nostrils suggest it spent much of its time in or near water.



Spinosaurus was “like a fin-backed heron with the body of a wiener dog, and teeth like a crocodile,” said Snively.



These features point to a diet focused on aquatic prey. It likely snatched up massive fish and other water-dwelling animals, using its jaws more like a fishing spear than a typical predator’s bite.



Its body also supported this role: a long, possibly paddle-shaped tail, short hind limbs, and a sail-like structure on its back. Spinosaurus didn’t dominate on land the way T. rex or Giganotosaurus might have - but in its river systems, it was probably unmatched.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ultimate-skull-smasher">The ultimate skull smasher</h2>



T. rex, though, was a different kind of predator, with a bite that wasn’t just powerful - it was extreme, thanks to its shorter, thicker skull and strong jaw muscles that allowed it to bite down with incredible force.



“It turns out, tyrannosaurs were biting so hard they were actually stressing their skulls more than we expected,” said Snively.



By comparing the skull structure and muscle attachment points with modern relatives like crocodiles and birds, the researchers discovered that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/t-rex-was-about-70-percent-bigger-than-we-thought/">T. rex</a> had one of the most intense bites of any land predator in history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-survival-in-a-competitive-world">Survival in a competitive world</h2>



There may be a reason behind T. rex’s brutal efficiency. It wasn’t just about being big or strong - it was about surviving in a world packed with danger and competition.



“T-Rex lived later during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/late-cretaceous-dinosaur-was-sluggish-and-nearly-deaf/">Late Cretaceous</a> Period, when hunting was highly competitive,” Ma said. That environment, she added, may have pushed it to develop a “unique feeding strategy.”



This may explain why T. rex evolved such an overbuilt skull and one of the most powerful bites ever recorded in a land animal. It needed to kill fast, defend kills from rivals, and even crush through bone to reach the nutrients inside. 



Unlike earlier theropods that relied more on speed or slashing, T. rex was built to finish the job. In an ecosystem where hesitation could mean losing a meal - or becoming one - T. rex didn’t just survive. It took control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-skulls-and-hunting-strategies">Dinosaur skulls and hunting strategies </h2>



The study makes one thing clear: just because these dinosaurs shared a body plan doesn’t mean they hunted the same way. 



Some had teeth designed for slicing or crushing, while others were adapted for hunting in water. "Their behavior shouldn’t be thought of as ‘one size fits all,'” said Snively. 



This diversity makes sense considering that these predators lived in different eras and environments, hunting various kinds of prey. Each dinosaur evolved to fit its unique surroundings - and their skulls still reveal that story.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00811-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Giant dinosaur skulls reveal unique hunting strategies

Not all meat-eating dinosaurs used the same tricks to bring...

A new hybrid fire ant is marching across the United States, and scientists say it can handle nearly any weather conditions or terrain that it encounters in the country.



Dubbed the "Frankenstein ant" by local residents, the invasive species is a cross between the red imported fire ant and the black imported fire ant and has now taken root in almost every state in the U.S.



“Right now, it just seems they are very adaptable, and that includes moving their nests further underground … to some degree outsmarting the environment,” said <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amy-Michael" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amy Michael</a>, an entomologist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (<a href="https://www.ncagr.gov/news/press-releases/2025/06/24/ncdacs-finds-spotted-lanternfly-caldwell-county" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NCDA&amp;CS</a>). 



Her warning comes as field teams from several universities confirm that the insect’s range is <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ants-are-shifting-to-new-habitats-to-cope-with-climate-change/">expanding faster</a> than any previous models predicted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-southern-soil-to-mountain-chill">From southern soil to mountain chill</h2>



The first imported fire ants slipped into Mobile, Alabama, in the early 1900s and spread through the Gulf States before federal regulators declared a quarantine in <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/ifa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1958</a>. 



As land warmed, the ants pushed north, filling every county in Georgia and Alabama and climbing into the Appalachian foothills.



<a href="https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/red-imported-fire-ant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hybrid colonies</a> have leapfrogged even farther, showing up 250 miles beyond the traditional fire ant frontier in less than a decade. 



Range mapping <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/southeast-area/gainesville-fl/cmave/imported-fire-ant-and-household-insects-research/docs/potential-united-states-range-expansion-of-the-invasive-fire-ant/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> estimate that the insects now occupy more than 100,000 square miles of new territory since 2015.



Laboratory trials indicate that workers from mixed parentage survive two hours at 28 degrees Fahrenheit, twice the endurance of their red or black relatives. 



Researchers suspect that genes for membrane stability in cold cells hitchhiked across species lines, giving the offspring an all weather edge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-the-hybrid-ant-nest">Inside the hybrid ant nest</h2>



A mature hybrid ant nest can shelter half a million workers and dozens of queens, an arrangement scientists call <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674072404" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polygyny</a>. 



Multiple queens mean the colony rebounds quickly after pesticide treatments, because killing one breeder rarely removes them all.



Eggs hatch in about a week, and larvae pass three molts before pupating into adults that can bite, sting, or reproduce. 



Winged males and females ride thermal updrafts every spring, drifting as far as twelve miles before founding new nests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stings-shocks-and-short-circuits">Stings, shocks, and short circuits</h2>



The venom packs an alkaloid called solenopsin that causes painful pustules and, in sensitive people, life threatening anaphylaxis. Doctors in fire ant counties report that about five percent of sting victims need emergency care.



Livestock suffer too: newborn calves, foals, and chicks can be blinded or suffocated when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-destabilizing-ant-plant-relationships/">ants</a> mob birthing sites, and poultry producers lose thousands of eggs each year as foraging workers chew through shells. 



Electric utilities spend millions replacing transformers and junction boxes after ants bridge contacts with their bodies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-hybrid-ant-matters">Why this hybrid ant matters</h2>



Geneticists use the term “heterosis” to describe the extra punch hybrids often display. “[O]nce you introduce a species to a new place, anything can really happen,” added <a href="https://www.ento.vt.edu/people/Faculty0/Yang.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scotty Yang</a>, an invasive ant specialist at <a href="https://www.vt.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Tech</a>.



Cold endurance is only one advantage. Mixed colonies out forage single species nests by about thirty percent in cage trials, converting protein into brood more quickly and swelling their ranks during long growing seasons.



The ants thrive in pine barrens, soybean rows, and suburban lawns, while red ants prefer open fields and black ants linger near water. Flexibility means almost any patch of disturbed ground can become a launchpad for the next wave.



Average winter lows in the southern Appalachians have risen about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1980, enough to push the frost line higher into the mountains. Warmer soil shortens the brood rearing pause that once kept colonies small through December and January.



El Niño years bring extra rainfall that softens clay pans, allowing queens to tunnel deeper and escape lethal freezes. 



The same storms wash loose soil into roadside ditches, perfect sites for founding nests that vehicles later move across state lines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-managing-the-menace">Managing the menace</h2>



Because the ants travel in nursery <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-destabilizing-ant-plant-relationships/">plants</a>, sod, and hay bales, regulators use a patchwork of state and federal quarantines to slow the spread. 



Inspectors look for telltale soil pellets and require producers to treat stock with certified baits before shipping.



Homeowners inside quarantine zones can protect pets and children by broadcasting <a href="https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/hydragen.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hydramethylnon</a> granules when daily highs top 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Professionals follow up ten days later with a mound drench to reach queens that survive the first pass.



Agricultural operators often alternate growth regulating baits with faster acting spinosad to avoid resistance. Surveillance never stops, and many ranchers walk pastures each month, flagging fresh mounds for treatment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-can-do-today">What you can do today</h2>



Check trailers, flowerpots, and birdhouses before moving them even a few miles, because a single queen and a handful of workers can start a new infestation. Shake off loose soil, rinse equipment, and seal crates to deny the ants a free ride.



Planting native groundcovers such as blue lupine and switchgrass shades soil, lowering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-temperatures-are-rising-faster-than-expected-and-likely-to-accelerate/">temperatures</a> and moisture swings that favor mound building. 



Neighborhood groups can pool resources, hiring certified applicators to treat large common areas at once.



If you find a suspected Frankenstein ant nest outside the quarantine, collect a tablespoon of workers in rubbing alcohol and contact the <a href="https://cnas.ucr.edu/about/cooperative-extension" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cooperative Extension office at UCR</a>. Early reports help scientists map the invasion front and guide education campaigns.



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Warning issued for an invasive 'Frankenstein' hybrid insect that harms plants and humans

A new hybrid fire ant is marching across the United...

Climate change is altering life at every scale, from ice caps to insect wings. But beyond the well-known shifts in temperature and weather patterns, there is another, less obvious change underway. 



A new study published in the journal National Science Review&nbsp;reveals that rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) are scrambling the reproductive instincts of one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests - the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera).



By throwing off these insects’ ability to select the best egg-laying sites, the shift could ripple through ecosystems, affect food security, and rewrite pest management <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-are-still-disappearing-and-there-are-hundreds-of-reasons-why/">strategies</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-co2-matters-to-insects">Why CO2 matters to insects</h2>



Insects have survived mass extinctions, ice ages, and volcanic winters thanks to their adaptability. Yet their fine-tuned sensory systems make them vulnerable to environmental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urbanization-causes-massive-decline-in-insect-pollinators/">shifts</a>. Many species use chemical cues to locate food, mates, or egg-laying spots.



For&nbsp;H. armigera, CO2 is not just background atmosphere - it is a guidepost. Female moths can detect tiny differences in plant-emitted CO2, homing in on younger leaves that produce slightly more of the gas. These leaves tend to offer better nutrition for developing larvae.



From 1750 to 2023, atmospheric CO2 climbed from 278 parts per million (ppm) to about 420 ppm, largely due to human activity. Scientists now project levels could reach 1000 ppm by 2100. The concern is that such a jump may overwhelm insects’ CO2 “signal,” replacing a clear guide with confusing noise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-young-leaves-give-off-more-co2">Young leaves give off more CO2</h2>



The research team - led by experts at the <a href="https://www.caas.cn/en/">Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences</a> - began by confirming the bollworm’s preference for young cotton leaves. 



In semi-natural enclosures, mated females deposited the majority of their eggs on these tender leaves rather than older ones.



The choice is not cosmetic. Larvae feeding on young leaves had higher survival rates, longer bodies, and greater weights after a week compared to those on older leaves. Measurements showed young leaves emitted about 200 ppm more CO2 than mature <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-farming-is-causing-many-insect-species-to-collapse/">leaves</a> - a signal strong enough for moths to track.



This makes evolutionary sense: laying eggs where food is fresh and nutritious boosts the odds of offspring survival, a fundamental driver of insect behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-co2-confuses-moths">High CO2 confuses moths</h2>



Researchers grew cotton and bollworms in normal and high CO2. At high CO2, females lost their strong preference for young leaves.



Instead, moths laid more eggs on older leaves - less nutritious sites that could compromise larval health. 



“This disruption is akin to confusing a key olfactory cue from a GPS system,” said study co-author Professor Guirong Wang. “Without accurate CO2 signals, the insects struggle to find ideal egg-laying sites, which could affect pest population dynamics and agricultural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-heat-shrinking-habitats-insects-face-hidden-threats/">damage</a>.”



Only mated females reacted to CO2 in experiments. Virgin females and males detected it but did not act on it, hinting that hormonal or brain-level changes shape how the signal is used.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moths-have-three-co2-sensors">Moths have three CO2 sensors</h2>



The bollworm’s CO2 sense comes from three gustatory receptor genes - HarmGR1, HarmGR2, and HarmGR3 - expressed in a small sensory organ called the labial palp. From there, nerve signals travel to a specific processing center in the brain called the labial pit organ glomerulus.



While many insects use just two CO2 receptors,&nbsp;H. armigera&nbsp;needs all three. The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to delete each receptor individually. Any loss broke the insect’s ability to respond to CO2, both in lab tests and in naturalistic settings.



Interestingly, receptor loss did not change the total number of eggs laid - just where they were placed. Mutant moths spread their eggs more randomly, ignoring the young leaves they would normally target.



The trimeric receptor setup may give bollworms finer sensitivity to different CO2 concentrations. This could be an evolutionary edge in complex environments where atmospheric and plant-emitted CO2 levels fluctuate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insects-use-more-than-co2">Insects use more than CO2</h2>



Even without CO2 detection, mutant moths showed a faint preference for young leaves. That suggests other cues - perhaps smell, taste, touch, or even visual signals - help guide oviposition. The redundancy makes sense; in nature, relying on one sense can be risky.



Still, CO2 appears to be a major driver. Its disruption could throw insect reproductive strategies out of alignment with the environments their larvae need to thrive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ecological-stakes-beyond-cotton-fields">Ecological stakes beyond cotton fields</h2>



H. armigera&nbsp;feeds on over 200 plants and causes huge crop losses. Lower reproduction might reduce larvae, but pests can adapt or spread, making outcomes uncertain for farmers.



On a larger scale, altered oviposition behavior could affect the balance between pests, their predators, and pollinators. 



Changes in plant chemistry under high CO2 - such as shifts in volatile compounds - could compound these effects, influencing not just bollworms but entire insect communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blocking-co2-sense-in-insects">Blocking CO2 sense in insects </h2>



For decades, scientists have explored ways to manipulate insect senses to manage populations. CO2 is already used to lure mosquitoes and soil pests into traps. The bollworm’s reliance on CO2 for oviposition opens a similar door.



“By targeting the CO2 receptors, we can explore novel, eco-friendly pest control strategies,” said Dr. Qiuyan Cheng, first author of the study. 



One promising approach is RNA interference (RNAi), which can silence specific genes. Disabling CO2 receptors could make bollworms misplace their eggs, reducing their impact without pesticides.



Such strategies would need to be carefully tested to avoid unintended consequences for non-target species and ecosystems. But as chemical pesticides lose effectiveness due to resistance, sensory-based controls are gaining appeal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-as-a-sensory-disruptor">Climate change as a sensory disruptor</h2>



This study adds to a growing body of evidence that climate change does not just push species poleward or alter breeding seasons - it can fundamentally interfere with how animals perceive their world. 



For insects, whose survival often depends on chemical cues, this could be especially disruptive.



As atmospheric CO2 heads toward unprecedented levels, the signals insects evolved to follow may become unreliable. That means adaptation will be essential - for insects, ecosystems, and agriculture.



For the cotton bollworm, a scrambled CO2 compass might lead to lower reproductive success, but it could also drive unpredictable shifts in where and how it attacks crops. 



For farmers and ecologists, understanding these sensory changes will be key to anticipating future pest pressures.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwaf270/8196188" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Science Review</a>.



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How rising CO2 levels threaten insect reproduction

Climate change is altering life at every scale, from ice...

Lions have shared the world with us for thousands of years, roaring through our myths, flags, and countless stories. 



On World Lion Day 2025, we’re reminded that they need more than admiration - they need protection. The survival of lions now depends on the choices we make and the actions we take.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lions-keep-nature-in-balance">Lions keep nature in balance</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lions-and-hyenas-change-behavior-when-tourists-are-nearby/p">Lions</a> are more than hunters. They control herbivore numbers, protect grasslands, and keep ecosystems healthy. Remove them and you create chaos - prey populations explode, plants disappear, and other species struggle to survive.



They also stand out among big cats for their social lives. A pride works together to hunt, defend territory, and raise cubs. Without those bonds, they can’t survive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lions-face-many-threats">Lions face many threats</h2>



Wild lions face shrinking space. Farms, towns, and roads eat away at their range. When they go after livestock, the response is often a bullet. Poachers target them for trophies. Climate change makes prey harder to find.



In some places, numbers have fallen by half within a few decades. For a species once spread across Africa, Asia, and Europe, that’s a sharp and dangerous decline.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-lions-need-to-survive">What lions need to survive</h2>



Researchers are learning that a lion’s social life plays a bigger role in survival than anyone expected.



A <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oxford</a> team studied over 30 years of Serengeti lions. They found that females’ bonds with other females drop steadily with age, while males reconnect more with other males later in life. 



The pattern matters - females with strong friendships live longer, and males with bigger networks <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/male-and-female-lions-have-different-social-strategies-for-survival/">survive longer too</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conflict-and-changing-ecosystems">Conflict and changing ecosystems </h2>



In Namibia, <a href="https://www.uga.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Georgia</a> scientists tracked human-lion conflict around Etosha National Park. From 1980 to 2018, 698 lions were killed outside its borders. 



The park acts as a safe zone, but nearby lands are what researchers call an “ecological trap.” <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-lions-and-farmers-coexist-experts-are-cautiously-optimistic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lions</a> leave for prey and water - and meet armed farmers instead. Young males are hit hardest.



Another study from the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Adelaide</a> looked far back in time. Fossil DNA showed how climate change pushed lions out of parts of North America long before humans were involved. 



Warming altered vegetation, herbivores died off, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-led-ancient-lions-and-bears-to-extinction/">predators</a> followed. The lesson is that ecosystems can shift fast, and predators struggle to adapt. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-action-on-world-lion-day-2025">Action on World Lion Day 2025</h2>



In Africa today, conservationists and communities are working to keep lions wild. Protected reserves and wildlife corridors give them space to move. Eco-tourism, when run well, gives local people an income and a reason to protect lions instead of kill them.



Because lions cross national borders, many projects link multiple countries. Survival depends on that kind of cooperation.



You don’t have to travel to Africa to make a difference for lions. Start by supporting wildlife groups that work directly on lion conservation. 



Many of these organizations fund anti-poaching patrols, restore habitats, and help local communities live safely alongside lions. Your donation, no matter the size, can help keep rangers in the field and give prides a fighting chance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-awareness-can-create-change">Awareness can create change</h2>



You can also use your voice. Share news articles, documentaries, or even personal posts on social media to spark conversations about the threats lions face. Awareness creates pressure for change - and it can inspire others to take action too.



If you plan to visit a country where lions live, look into where your travel money will go. Choose safaris and tours that follow ethical practices, employ local people, and reinvest in conservation. 



Responsible tourism can bring in vital funds and give communities more reason to protect lions rather than hunt them.



Every action counts. The more people who understand the pressures on lions, the stronger the support for solutions - and the better their chances of surviving in the wild.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-is-uncertain">The future is uncertain</h2>



If lions disappear from the wild, the loss will be far greater than a single species. We will be losing an animal that has shaped human culture for thousands of years, appearing in ancient carvings, religious symbols, and national emblems. 



To survive, lions need vast, connected landscapes that are free from the constant threat of poaching and human-wildlife conflict. They depend on healthy ecosystems, where their role as apex predators keeps nature in balance. 



Protecting lions means safeguarding entire habitats - and the countless other species that share them. Their absence would leave a gap in nature that no other species could fill. It would also mark a failure to protect one of the planet’s most iconic predators.



Future generations would grow up knowing lions only from pictures, books, and recordings instead of seeing them roam the grasslands or hearing their calls at night.



On World Lion Day 2025, the choice is clear and urgent. We must decide whether the roar of the lion remains a living sound in the wild or fades into something remembered only from the past.



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World Lion Day 2025: The science of survival

Lions have shared the world with us for thousands of...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

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Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image 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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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