A team in central China has done something simple and bold, they directly dated dinosaur eggs instead of the rocks around them. The eggshell calcite from the Qinglongshan site yielded an age of 85.91 ± 1.74 million years.



This matters because it turns eggs from interesting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/">fossils</a> into reliable timestamps for life on land during the Late Cretaceous, a time of shifting climates and ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-eggshells-dated">Dinosaur eggshells dated</h2>



The fossils come from Qinglongshan in the Yunyang Basin of Hubei Province, where thousands of intact eggs rest in stacked layers with little distortion.&nbsp;



“We show that these dinosaur eggs were deposited roughly 85 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period,” said <a href="https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/3140051/overview" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Bi Zhao</a>, from the Hubei Institute of Geosciences (<a href="https://en.cug.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HIG</a>).



The group used carbonate <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/zircon-u-pb-dating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U-Pb dating</a> on eggshell material, measuring uranium and lead atoms to calculate time since the shell formed. 



In their tests, the radiogenic signal sits in biogenic calcite, the carbonate built by the egg-laying animal, which behaved as a semi-closed system for uranium uptake after burial.



The <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1638838/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> relied on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/laser-ablation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laser ablation</a>, a micro laser that vaporizes pinpoint spots of carbonate which are then analyzed by a mass spectrometer for uranium and lead ratios.&nbsp;



The resulting age is not from ash fall or nearby minerals, it is from the eggshell itself, which frees researchers from indirect age constraints that can mislead if volcanic layers formed earlier or later than the nest horizon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-carbonate-u-pb-works">How carbonate U-Pb works</h2>



Uranium isotopes in carbonates decay into lead at known, constant rates, and the proportion of parent to daughter isotopes reveals elapsed time. 



Cross checks, like repeated spots in different shell areas and agreement between fragments, keep the numbers honest, and the reported uncertainty of ± 1.74 million years reflects instrument precision and sample scatter, not guesswork.



Indirect <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1367912012005019" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">approaches</a> have anchored many Asian egg sites by dating interbedded tuffs, for example zircon based SIMS ages from the Tiantai Basin that bracket egg layers in the Laijia and Chichengshan formations at roughly 96 to 99 million years and 91 to 94 million years. 



That prior dating set a framework that eggshell ages can now refine where ash is missing.



Carbonate geochronology has matured fast, with careful comparisons between uranium thorium and U-Pb techniques on the same samples showing strong consistency over wide timescales. 



That broader look at geochronology <a href="https://gchron.copernicus.org/articles/7/335/2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">methods</a> helps explain why a tiny eggshell can carry a credible age.



The study team also separated signals, finding consistent ages from biogenic carbonates, and noisy or unusable signals from late pore filling calcite, a reminder that not all carbonates are equal for keeping time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-eggshell-site">Dinosaur eggshell site</h2>



The Qinglongshan reserve preserves egg clutches in red siltstones and sandstones, with many eggs still three dimensional and minimally deformed, a rare condition that helps both taphonomy and dating. 



The sampled clutch belonged to an oblate style of egg typical of the family <a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dendrobatidae/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dendroolithidae</a>, which is known for highly porous shells.



Those Yunyang eggs have been assigned to Placoolithus tumiaolingensis by <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app63/app005232018.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> that cleaned up the taxonomy and emphasized the diagnostic shell microstructure. That classification anchors the site in a broader Chinese record of dendroolithid eggs.



Porous eggshell architecture affects gas exchange and incubation, and the microstructure varies in ways that may reflect nesting style in a semi arid fluvial landscape. 



The new age puts those choices in a tight slice of time, late Coniacian to early Santonian, rather than a vague Late Cretaceous window.



Thousands of eggs across stacked horizons also open the door to building a basin scale timeline where shell ages from different levels track local ecological change, sedimentation rates, and any shifts in the nesting fauna.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/dinosaur-eggs_dating-method_china_credit-Bi-Zhao_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/dinosaur-eggs_dating-method_china_credit-Bi-Zhao_1s.webp" alt="Egg clutch sampled for chronological studies. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao" class="wp-image-1985991"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Egg clutch sampled for chronological studies. Click image to enlarge. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-climate-context">Dinosaur climate context</h2>



Marine records indicate the Late Cretaceous did not stay uniformly hot. 



One North Atlantic sea surface temperature <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24937202/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">record</a> shows a drop of about 7 degrees Celsius (12.6 degrees Fahrenheit), from around 35 degrees to below 28 degrees, between the earliest Campanian and the Maastrichtian.



Independent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18187651/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> from oxygen isotopes suggests brief glaciation episodes punctuated parts of the mid Cretaceous greenhouse, showing that climate could swing even when the world was generally warm. 



Inland Asia would have felt those shifts in precipitation, seasonality, and vegetation.



Pinned ages on terrestrial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-extinction-theories-are-challenged-by-new-research/">fossils</a> let scientists ask tighter questions about whether nesting density changed across cooler intervals or whether certain egg types rose or fell with climate. 



The eggshell ages at Qinglongshan now give one fixed point for such tests, and more layers can add the sequence needed to see patterns.



Cause and effect claims are premature at a single site, but a direct eggshell chronology makes it practical to compare neighboring basins and see whether bird and non avian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-sized-baby-dinosaur-unearthed-after-166-million-years/">dinosaur</a> nesting moved, paused, or persisted during regional climate transitions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next">What comes next</h2>



The team plans to sample eggs from additional horizons at Qinglongshan, then from basins to the north and south, to build a regional timeline that can be compared with dated marine and volcanic records. 



That will clarify which changes are local quirks and which ones reflect broader environmental forcing across East Asia.



Applying the same protocol to eggs in the Xixia, Jiaolai, and Nanxiong basins would close large age gaps where ash beds are absent. 



Those basins have different egg assemblages, so a uniform clock could test migration ideas and turnover hypotheses without assuming rock ages transfer cleanly between sites.



Direct dinosaur eggshell dating also complements existing zircon frameworks rather than replacing them, since both tools answer different parts of the age question. 



Zircons pin eruptive or depositional moments for ash, while eggshells date the biological event of nesting, and together they can resolve the tempo of life on land.



With better <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-ground-dwellers-survived-the-asteroid-impact-that-killed-the-dinosaurs/">timescales</a>, small details like pore geometry, clutch spacing, and shell thickness will be tied to environmental context, not guesswork. 



That is how a few careful ages can turn a crowded egg hillside into a precise chronicle of Late Cretaceous life in central China.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1638838/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

These dinosaur eggs tell an incredible story from 85 million years ago

A team in central China has done something simple and bold, they directly dated dinosaur eggs instead of the rocks around them. The eggshell calcite from the Qinglongshan site yielded an age of 85.91 ± 1.74 million years. This matters because it turns eggs from interesting fossils into reliable timestamps for life on land during the Late Cretaceous, a time of shifting climates and ecosystems. Dinosaur eggshells dated The fossils come from Qinglongshan in the Yunyang Basin of Hubei Province, where thousands of intact eggs rest in...

Non-human primates, including apes, monkeys, and galagos, are increasingly threatened by human activities in sub-Saharan Africa. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/restoring-wildlife-habitats-may-prevent-the-next-pandemic/">Habitat</a> loss, the wild animal trade, hunting, and human infrastructure, including roads, electric power lines and fences, are some of the factors that endanger these animals. In South Africa, the expanding urban areas, extensive road networks, use of electrification and guard dogs to protect properties, and traditional hunting practices are taking a large toll on the remaining populations of these primates.&nbsp;



Two recent collaborative studies between the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> and three South Africa-based institutions (the University of Venda, Lajuma Research Center and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) conservation organization) have taken an in-depth look at the effects of roads, power lines and dogs on non-human primates in a study area in the northeastern part of the country.&nbsp;



South Africa has five species of endemic non-human primates, including greater (Otolemur crassicaudatus) and southern lesser (Galago moholis) bushbabies. These nocturnal primates spend most of their lives in trees, and some are so small they can fit in the palm of your hand. In addition, samango monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis), vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) are present.&nbsp;



All of these species are listed in the IUCN red list as being of least concern in terms of conservation status, except for the samango monkey which has a status of vulnerable or threatened, depending on the subspecies. However, the findings arising from these two studies indicate that the threats facing these species are not always easy to see, especially if the species have not been intensely researched or monitored&nbsp;



In one study, scientists led by Birthe Linden at Lajuma analyzed hundreds of cases in which non-human primates were killed on roads or around power lines across the country. In a companion paper, the researchers explored the growing risks that domestic dogs pose to the animals.



Primatologist Linden first became interested in the many dangers facing primates on her almost daily drives to the University of Venda in South Africa’s Soutpansberg Mountains. She kept seeing samango monkeys that had been run over and killed by motorists, and wondered how often this was happening to primate species across the country. These monkeys are listed in the “Red List of Mammals of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho” as vulnerable, and the roadkill represented another threat to their already fragile populations.&nbsp;



“It’s one stretch where the road is quite close to indigenous forest, which is where samango monkeys typically live,” Linden said..She wondered whether road fatalities represented more of a threat to non-human primates than researchers suspected. South Africa is home to more than 675,000 miles (1,090,000 kilometers) of roads and power lines – and the number keeps climbing.



To explore the extent of this pervasive threat, Linden and her colleagues drew from a wide range of data sources. They include Road Watch, a citizen science app released by the EWT that allows anyone in South Africa to upload reports of roadkill. In all, the team gathered 483 examples of primates killed on roads or around power lines, some dating back to the late 1990s. All five species of primates were represented in the database.&nbsp;



In the second study, Frank Cuozzo of the Lajuma Research Centre and a research fellow at the University of Pretoria’s Mammal Research Institute, led researchers in exploring the impact of domestic dog kills on greater bushbabies. In fact, the team gathered data opportunistically during the course of their research on bushbabies in the mountains of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. They recorded the deaths of greater bushbabies, regardless of the cause – whether by domestic dogs, road kills, electrocutions, or natural predation.&nbsp;



“Bushbabies, especially, are an example of species that may be having problems, but we don’t know what they are until we go looking,” said Michelle Sauther, co-author of the two studies and professor of anthropology at CU Boulder.



Their information was also derived using the broad network of citizen scientists, along with newspaper articles and reports on social media, and their own experiences in the study area. In particular, they recorded 13 known incidents since 2014 where greater bushbabies were killed by dogs. In one instance, people intentionally sent their hunting dogs out to kill a bushbaby that had ventured too close to town and that was considered the embodiment of an evil spirit.&nbsp;



In another instance, a greater bushbaby that was personally known at the Lajuma Research Center was killed by a dog. This bushbaby had been captured and measured four times between 2015 and 2018. It was not in a good shape, having lost one eye and also showing signs of significant dental decay and tooth abscesses. The researchers nicknamed it “Bruiser” because it reminded them of a prize fighter. In 2019, Bruiser was caught and killed by a domestic dog. It seems that the bushbaby came down from the trees and was walking on the ground when the pet dog found and killed him.&nbsp;



“These are small stories,” said Sauther, who has studied bushbabies for a decade. “They’re not the big stories of conservation, but they really do matter, especially as we have no good data on bushbaby mortality and thus cannot easily judge their conservation status.”



They may be small stories, but they probably represent the situation for almost all non-human primate species across the continent, not just in South Africa. And the data that has been collected by the researchers in these two studies is likely to underrepresent the situation considerably because to most people the deaths of these animals are considered insignificant and not worthy of recording.



“These reports are clearly a sliver of what’s actually happening,” said Cuozzo who earned his doctorate in biological anthropology from CU Boulder in 2000. “It’s happening in the towns and suburban areas, in the rural areas, the reserve areas, and it’s happening far more than anyone would think.”



The researchers do not know whether fatalities from roads, power lines and domestic dogs are significant in terms of non-human primate numbers in South Africa, mostly because the population status of each species is not known. However, they argue that it is important to monitor these deaths, especially since all of the species are already suffering the consequences of climate change and habitat loss.&nbsp;



Wendy Collinson-Jonker, co-author of the infrastructure study and a researcher at the EWT, noted that these problems are widespread, but may be surprisingly simple to rectify. Studies have shown, for example, that monkeys and other forest climbers can hop across roads safely on a “canopy bridge,” such as a rope suspended between trees.



Humans can also keep dogs away from primates by being careful not to leave food out, especially at night. Leftover dog or cat food, or even fruit left out on bird feeders, can attract bushbabies and monkeys into areas where they are then vulnerable to attack by dogs.



“We know the solutions,” Collinson-Jonker said. “It’s a case of now getting them implemented.”



As for Bruiser the bushbaby, Sauther noted that his story ended with a small bit of consolation. The team was able to recover his body and collected X-rays that helped reveal a deeper picture of his more than a decade of life, right down to the arthritis building up between his joints that likely led him to climb down to the ground rather than leap through the trees in search of food.



“We were able to document his whole life story,” Sauther said. “We knew him right to the end.”



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</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.

South African primates face multiple threats

Non-human primates, including apes, monkeys, and galagos, are increasingly threatened...

During its recent update of at-risk plants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-are-increasingly-threatened-by-heatwaves-worldwide/">animals</a> to be included on the “Red List,” the IUCN decided to recognize two species of African elephants. Apart from the better-known savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana), they have also included the more reclusive forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) as a species, after new genetic evidence of their status emerged. Forest elephants occur in the tropical forests of Central Africa and West Africa, and their numbers have declined drastically in the past 30 years – to the extent that they are now deemed critically endangered by the IUCN.&nbsp;



Humans do not have a good record when it comes to the way in which we have treated elephants. We have killed them for their ivory, made them work for us and perform for us, consigned them to captivity and reduced their habitat to fragmented patches. For forest elephants, poaching and habitat loss have taken the worst toll and resulted in the loss of around 65 percent of individuals in the past 12 years.&nbsp;



This decline in forest elephant numbers may have serious consequences for carbon storage in tropical rainforests, report <a href="https://www.slu.edu/">Saint Louis University</a> researchers and colleagues.&nbsp;The scientists state that, if the already critically endangered elephants become extinct, the rainforests of Central and West Africa would lose between six and nine percent of their ability to capture atmospheric carbon, thereby contributing to planetary warming.



Stephen Blake, who is assistant professor of biology at Saint Louis University and senior author on the research paper, has spent much of his career dedicated to studying elephants. In the report, published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, he and lead author Fabio Berzaghi from the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE) in France, along with colleagues, document exactly how the ecology of these mega-herbivores ends up having such a strong influence on carbon retention in African rainforests.



“Elephants have been hunted by humans for millennia,” Blake said. “As a result, African forest elephants are critically endangered. The argument that everybody loves elephants hasn’t raised sufficient support to stop the killing. Shifting the argument for elephant conservation toward the role forest elephants play in maintaining the biodiversity of the forest, that losing elephants would mean losing forest biodiversity, hasn’t worked either, as numbers continue to fall,” explains Blake.&nbsp;



“We can now add the robust conclusion that if we lose forest elephants, we will be doing a global disservice to climate change mitigation. The importance of forest elephants for climate mitigation must be taken seriously by policy makers to generate the support needed for elephant conservation. The role of forest elephants in our global environment is too important to ignore."



Blake and his colleagues explain that forest elephants are critical in maintaining tropical forests in several ways.&nbsp;Firstly, their foraging thins out the density of trees in a way that favors the growth of high carbon density trees. Within the forest, some trees have light wood (low carbon density trees) while others make heavy wood (high carbon density trees). Low carbon density trees grow quickly, rising above other plants and trees to get to the sunlight, whereas high carbon density trees grow more slowly and take longer to reach the sunlight.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Elephants tend to forage more intensively on low carbon density trees, which are more palatable and nutritious. This reduces the density of trees and introduces more light within the canopy, resulting in less competition between trees for light, space and soil nutrients. In this way, the high carbon density trees are able to flourish.&nbsp;



“Elephants eat lots of leaves from lots of trees, and they do a lot of damage when they eat,” Blake said. “They’ll strip leaves from trees, rip off a whole branch or uproot a sapling when eating, and our data shows most of this damage occurs to low carbon density trees. If there are a lot of high carbon density trees around, that’s one less competitor, eliminated by the elephants.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Elephants can change the structure of the forest by their foraging activity, and they can also help regenerate areas by dispersing seeds. The fruits of high carbon density trees, in particular, contain nutritious flesh and seeds. The animals favor the fruits of these trees and the seeds they consume pass unaffected through their&nbsp; guts. In fact, some seeds will not germinate without first travelling through an elephant’s digestive system and being deposited on the forest floor in a pile of nutritious dung. These saplings will, in turn, become some of the largest trees in the forest.



“Elephants are the gardeners of the forest,” Blake said. “They plant the forest with high carbon density trees and they get rid of the ‘weeds,’ which are the low carbon density trees. They do a tremendous amount of work maintaining the diversity of the forest.”



The actions of these elephants can therefore influence the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High carbon density trees store more carbon from the atmosphere in their wood than low carbon density trees, which helps limit the extent of global warming. Given this important role in mitigating climate change, it becomes even more urgent to conserve the forest elephants of the Congo Basin and West Africa.



“The illegal killing of elephants and the illegal trade remains active,” Blake said. “Ten million elephants once roamed across Africa, and now there are fewer than 500,000, with most populations living in isolated pockets. These elephants range from endangered to critically endangered, with their numbers plummeting by more than 80 percent in the last 30-plus years.”



“Elephants are protected under national and international law, and yet poaching continues,” he explains. “These illegal killings must stop to prevent forest elephant extinction. Now we have a choice. As a global society, we can continue to hunt these highly social and intelligent animals and watch them become extinct, or we can find ways to stop this illegal activity. Save the elephants and help save the planet, it really is that simple.”



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</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.

Elephants are forest gardeners that help reduce global warming

During its recent update of at-risk plants and animals to...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/open-water-is-accelerating-ocean-acidification-in-the-arctic/">oceans</a> absorbed approximately 22 percent of the carbon emissions generated by human activities between 2010 and 2019, making them critically important in the current fight against climate change. Absorbed carbon may end up being recycled or stored by marine organisms, or sinking to the bottom of the deep sea, where it can be sequestered over long time periods. Whales are the largest ocean inhabitants and, due to their size and longevity, can influence carbon dynamics in marine ecosystems. For this reason, some scientists have proposed that whales may represent a possible nature-based solution to mitigate increased carbon emissions.



While we are familiar with mitigation efforts focused on reforestation or restoring wetlands, a new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.10.012">Trends in Ecology and Evolution</a> stresses the importance of understanding the role of whales in marine carbon cycles, and how they influence the amount of carbon in our air and waters, and may potentially contribute to the overall reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide.



“Understanding the role of whales in the carbon cycle is a dynamic and emerging field that may benefit both marine conservation and climate-change strategies,” wrote the researchers, led by Heidi Pearson from the University of Alaska Southeast. “This will require interdisciplinary collaboration between marine ecologists, oceanographers, biogeochemists, carbon-cycle modelers, and economists.”



Whales can weigh up to 150 tons, live for over 100 years, and be the size of large airplanes. Like all living things, their biomass contains a lot of carbon and they influence the marine carbon cycles in several different ways. They feed on huge quantities of nutrient rich prey (up to 4 percent of their body weight each day) and are better at long-term storage of this carbon, given their longevity.&nbsp;



Once they have digested their food, whales excrete waste which enriches the water with nutrients and is used by small organisms for their own growth. Some of these organisms are phytoplankton that photosynthesize, a process that removes large quantities of carbon dioxide and incorporates the carbon into biological molecules.&nbsp;



Whales move across the world’s oceans during migratory journeys, transporting and spreading carbon around. Some whale species also move vertically, diving down deep to catch prey. When a whale dies, its carcass may sink to the bottom of the deep sea where the carbon from its decaying body may remain sequestered for long periods of time. Whales thus have a role in the animal-driven biological carbon pump whereby biogenic carbon is moved from the atmosphere and surface waters down to the depths of the oceans.



“Their size and longevity allow whales to exert strong effects on the carbon cycle by storing carbon more effectively than small animals, ingesting extreme quantities of prey, and producing large volumes of waste products,” wrote the researchers. “Considering that baleen whales have some of the longest migrations on the planet, they potentially influence nutrient dynamics and carbon cycling over ocean-basin scales.”



There have been several studies examining the impact of whales on the carbon cycle that hold promise for including whales in blue carbon schemes. These are nature-based solutions that take a holistic approach to mitigating climate change effects through promoting biodiversity and ecosystem preservation in coastal and marine ecosystems. The great whales are capable of removing carbon through direct pathways by storing it in their bodies and by transferring it to the deep via whale falls (carcasses). For these reasons, the authors consider that whales may indeed have a role to play in a nature-based solution for climate change mitigation.&nbsp;



Currently, data on the carbon sequestration potential of whales is lacking but it would be true to say that the recovery of whale populations would certainly increase their capacity as participants in the biological carbon pump. Commercial hunting, the largest source of whale population decline, has decreased populations by an estimated 81 percent and so the recovery of these populations would undoubtedly enhance the role of these marine giants in oceanic carbon cycling and carbon dioxide removal.



Today, although commercial hunting has largely ceased, whale populations continue to be affected by ship strikes, underwater noise pollution, entanglement in fishing gear, ocean warming and reduction in prey populations. They are also still caught commercially in some locations. All these factors affect the potential for whales to act as carbon removers in blue carbon schemes.



“Whale recovery has the potential for long-term self-sustained enhancement of the ocean carbon sink,” write the study authors. “The full carbon dioxide reduction role of great whales (and other organisms) will only be realized through robust conservation and management interventions that directly promote population increases.”



“While whales are capable of some degree of carbon dioxide removal, there are numerous knowledge gaps that must also be addressed by policy makers seeking to incorporate whale conservation strategies as part of their climate policy. Persistence of carbon stored in whale bodies and exported to the deep sea as whale falls via direct pathways are the best resolved and most precise, yet the largest carbon benefits may result from the indirect pathways, which are also currently the least understood. Elucidating these key unknowns, including realizing the full potential for whales to sequester carbon, presents rich opportunities for further study.”



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.



---



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

World Whale Day: Can whales help mitigate climate change?

The oceans absorbed approximately 22 percent of the carbon emissions...

Children learn at a young age how to help other humans and, by the age of two, can understand that people have feelings, thoughts and experiences that may differ from their own. The start of prosocial behavior (helping others) can be recognized at this age when children carry out actions for the purpose of helping, comforting, sharing or co-operating. But does this early empathy extend to non-human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-animals-feel-safe-using-wildlife-crossings/">animals</a> as well?



According to the authors of a new study on whether young children spontaneously help pet dogs, two key psychological capacities are necessary before a child begins to act prosocially. Firstly, the child must be able to infer the mental state of others, including their knowledge, emotions, beliefs and goals. Second, the child must be motivated to behave prosocially towards others, and especially to help them reach their own or joint goals.&nbsp;



In the latest study, scientists from Duke University and from the University of Michigan tested whether children aged between two and three years spontaneously helped dogs to access a food treat or dog toy that was positioned just out of the dog’s reach. In this case, helping the dog necessitated both the ability to recognize the dog’s goals, and a motivation to behave prosocially on the part of the young children.



The researchers recruited 97 children between the ages of 1.7 and 3.1 years, from the city of Ann Arbor and surrounding towns. Among these children, 44 had pet dogs at home while 53 did not. The children took part in 338 trials at the University of Michigan’s child laboratory, between 2015 and 2020, where dogs were presented with a desirable item (food or toy) that was beyond their reach. There were three friendly dogs involved, namely Fiona, Henry and Seymour, and for each trial they were kept in a medium-sized pen from which they could see the desirable items through the sides.&nbsp;



The results, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/hai.2023.0001">Human-Animal Interactions</a>,&nbsp;showed that children spontaneously helped dogs to get the out-of-reach treats and toys in 50 percent of all trials where the dogs attempted to access these items themselves. The dogs would indicate their desire to acquire the item by either scratching on the sides of the pen, or attempting to lick the item through the enclosure gaps.&nbsp;



In contrast, if the dog showed no interest in accessing the out-of-reach toy or treat, children only offered it the objects in 26 percent of instances. The researchers found that several other factors influenced whether children would help the dogs. Children who had a pet dog at home were more likely to help a dog access the object, and they were also more likely to help the dog in cases where the treat was a food item rather than a toy. Livelier dogs who were more engaged with a child were more readily helped than aloof dogs.&nbsp;



“These findings lend support to our hypothesis that children’s early-developing proclivities for goal-reading and prosociality extend beyond humans, to other animals," said Dr. Rachna Reddy, a lead scientist at Duke University.



“From several perspectives, children’s proclivities to attribute desires and goals to pet dogs during real-life, in-person interactions is unsurprising,” added Dr. Reddy, who is also a research associate in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. “However, we observed as early as two years of age, children behave in ways showing they are not only able to read the goal-directed behavior of another animal but can, and do, employ that knowledge to help an animal reach its own goal.”



The researchers suggest that, because helping behavior develops at such a young age in children, and because it is so culturally widespread, it may have significance in the evolutionary history of humans. Their findings add to a wide body of literature emphasizing that helpful, prosocial motivation has had a key role in the evolutionary success of humans.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“In addition to informing us about childhood helping, these early child behaviors may have important evolutionary significance,” said Dr. Reddy.&nbsp;



The researchers now suggest that future research will be necessary to examine additional psychological components of inter-specific instrumental helping, including the emotions that underlie children’s motivation to help dogs, how these motivations – as well as their cognitive attributions – are shaped by culture, and how all of the preceding processes change throughout a child’s development.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</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.

Prosocial behavior by young children extends to dogs

Children learn at a young age how to help other...

With the largest wingspan of any living bird on Earth, the Wandering Albatross is a spectacular creature. Unfortunately, like many other tube-nosed bird species, it is currently under threat of extinction. Now, a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/">Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization</a> (CSIRO) and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a> (UNISA) has found that the feathers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kauai-endangered-seabird-populations/">seabirds</a> such as the albatross can provide clues about their long-distance foraging, which could protect these endangered species from further decline.



The experts compared 15 element concentrations in the feathers of 253 tube-nosed seabirds from the Southern Hemisphere, representing a total of 15 species. The analysis revealed that the feathers of large seabirds (weighing over 400 grams) such as the Wandering Albatross contained nutrients which did not match the availability of nutrients from their habitats. By contrast, smaller birds which foraged more locally had feathers with trace element concentrations that were 10-to-100-fold higher than those of larger species. These “feather profiles” could help scientists decipher the movements and habitats of open ocean seabirds.



“Small birds that spend a lot of time feeding on planktonic crustaceans in particular areas acquire specific elements from those areas. In contrast, larger birds do not have the same element signature because they forage across multiple ocean basins,” said study co-author Sophie Petit, a wildlife ecologist at UNISA.



“Our work with feathers may explain why species like the Wandering Albatross that breed slowly and that are difficult to study because of their open ocean habits travel over such extraordinary distances. It points at the significance of micronutrient availability and associated ocean processes in the conservation of seabirds.”



Better understanding the factors which affect the distribution of an endangered group of seabirds could help future conservation efforts. “It’s fascinating to think that highly mobile marine animals may be travelling long distances to meet their mineral needs, in addition to their energy needs. But what this also tells us is that we must continue to protect biodiverse marine areas to ensure micronutrient availability for threatened bird species,” said study lead author Lauren Roman, a postdoctoral fellow at CSIRO.



“One of the biggest threats to biodiverse marine areas is climate change, as it has the potential to affect nutrient cycles and distribution across the Southern Ocean. While more research needs to be done, this work expands our ecological knowledge about oceanic species and the significance of micronutrient availability for the survival of seabirds like the Wandering Albatross,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.13629">Global Ecology and Biogeography</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Feather “fingerprints” reveal secrets of endangered seabirds

With the largest wingspan of any living bird on Earth,...

With funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, researchers and conservationists have launched Operation Pangolin in an effort to save endangered pangolins from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lynx-population-in-france-is-on-the-brink-of-extinction/">extinction</a>.&nbsp;



The pangolin is the most trafficked wild mammal in the world, and is also among the least studied animals. This makes it difficult for experts to develop effective conservation strategies.



There are eight species of pangolins, all of which are protected under national and international laws. Even still, pangolins are illegally trafficked for sale of their scales.



Dr. Dan Challender is an interdisciplinary conservation scientist based in Oxford University’s Department of Biology and the Oxford Martin School who has been involved in pangolin research and conservation for 15 years.&nbsp;



“In the last decade pangolin populations in Central Africa have been under increasing pressure from offtake for local use and international trafficking of their scales,” said Dr. Challender.



“This project has the potential to transform pangolin conservation, first in key locations in Central Africa, and then extending into parts of Asia. By taking an interdisciplinary approach and using novel technology and artificial intelligence methods, the project will give pangolin populations in these regions the best chance of survival.”



Matthew H. Shirley from Florida International University is the project lead for Operation Pangolin.“Without urgent conservation action at a global scale, all eight species of pangolins face extinction,” said Shirley. “Operation Pangolin is a chance to alter the conservation landscape for pangolins and other wildlife threatened by illicit human behavior.”



According to a press release, the team is developing toolkits for pangolin monitoring and data collection, a critical first step to prevent extinction of these evolutionarily distinct and imperiled mammals.&nbsp;



“Accurate, actionable data is the foundation of effective conservation efforts,” said Gabe Miller, director of technology on behalf of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “Operation Pangolin will provide a blueprint for how conservationists can turn data into solutions that address important issues like wildlife trafficking and the biodiversity crisis head on.”



---



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.

World Pangolin Day: project launched to save the elusive mammal

With funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, researchers...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/southern-resident-killer-whales-are-undernourished/">Southern resident killer whales</a> are an iconic species living in British Columbia’s Salish Sea and the northeastern Pacific coast. Unfortunately, there are only 73 of these fierce, social creatures left in the world. 



Now, a recent study led by the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> (UBC) has found that, although these whales are critically endangered by many anthropogenic factors, such as water contaminants and noise pollution, their decline is mostly caused by the limited availability of their preferred prey, the Chinook salmon.&nbsp;



However, while scientists previously assumed that all types of Chinook salmon are equal in terms of their energy density, the UBC researchers discovered that, in fact, the spring-run Chinook salmon (the earliest to arrive to the Salish Sea) are much richer in lipids and energy density than those that arrive later in the autumn.



“This research helps us quantify the energetic requirements of the southern residents,” said study lead author Jacob Lerner, a doctoral student in Pelagic Ecosystems at UBC. “For example, if the southern residents ate just low-lipid salmon, they would have to eat around 80,000 more Chinook salmon every year than if they just ate high-lipid salmon.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Quantifying the lipid content of various species of salmon is important since it directly relates to their caloric value. Thus, specific estimates of lipid content for different Chinook populations could be used to inform trends in killer whale populations, properly time fishing closures, and decide which hatcheries to augment in order to ensure high quality food availability for southern residents.



“We identified a spectrum of high, medium, and low-lipid Chinook populations from the Fraser that can be used to better inform energetics models and manage both species,” Lerner explained. “We also identified life history parameters for the salmon to predict where on this spectrum they may fall.”



These findings are particularly important since southern resident killer whales are a migratory species that often spend their winter months elsewhere and return to the Salish Sea for the spring and summer. 



“Southern resident killer whales used to come here earlier in the spring season when they could eat early migrating Chinook salmon,” said study senior author Brian Hunt, an associate professor of Oceanography at UBC. 



“Those early Chinook were very energy dense as they need to fuel their long freshwater migration back to their spawning grounds, but those stocks have been declining. With the whales coming later, they mainly have access to Chinook from the lower Fraser. These fish don’t migrate very far, and have lower energy density.”



Further research is needed to clarify how ocean conditions influence energy accumulation in Chinook salmon. 



“We plan to keep monitoring Fraser Chinook salmon fat content. And one of questions we want to answer is how changing ocean conditions might be affecting their energy accumulation. Our concern is that ocean warming and food web shifts in the North Pacific Ocean are leading to lower energy accumulation in Chinook salmon. This will have implications for both the Chinook themselves – will they have enough energy for return migration and spawning? – and the killer whales that depend on them,” Hunt concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-28321-9">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Killer whales threatened by lack of high quality food

Southern resident killer whales are an iconic species living in...

A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> (ELTE) in Hungary has recently investigated whether young puppies, wolf pups, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kittens-who-socialize-with-humans-are-less-fearful-aggressive/">kittens</a> have different tendencies to observe and imitate human actions, without pre-training or food or toy rewards. The experiments revealed that puppies – but not kittens or wolf cubs – tended to spontaneously imitate what humans did, even if they were not offered any rewards.



Imitating what others do in a new situation is an efficient way for individuals to learn about their environments and the possibilities it offers. Moreover, besides helping them learn new skills or new information, copying another’s actions is also a way of promoting belonging to a social group.



In their experiments, the researchers first observed how 42 puppies, 39 kittens, and eight wolf pups – all socialized and living in human families - reacted to a novel object placed in a room (such as touching it with their nose or paw). In a second step, while the owner was holding the pet, the experimenter demonstrated a different type of action on the object. For instance, if the animal previously touched the object with its nose, the experimenter touched it with her hand. Finally, the scientists observed whether the animals eventually performed the same action on the object.



“Since paying attention to the demonstration is a fundamental requisite for social learning, we first assessed whether the puppies, kittens, and wolf pups looked at us when we performed the demonstration,” explained study lead author&nbsp;Claudia&nbsp;Fugazza, an ethologist at ELTE. “While typically the puppies looked at us almost immediately, it took four-five times longer to get the attention of wolf pups and kittens.”



Although both puppies and wolf pups replicated the demonstrated actions in nearly 70 percent of the trials (twice as often as kittens), only puppies tended to imitate the actions with a body part homologue to that of the human experimenters, even if the action differed from the action they performed before watching a demonstration.



“Typically, most subjects touched the object with their nose, when they had not observed a demonstration. However, after observing the experimenter touching the object with her hand, the puppies tended to touch it using their paw,” reported study co-author&nbsp;Stefania&nbsp;Uccheddu, another ethologist from the same university.



These findings could be explained by the fact that while dogs’ and wolves’ ancestors were social animals with intense within-group collaboration for survival, cats’ ancestors were solitary hunters. In addition, dogs were domesticated much earlier than cats (between 20,000 and 40,000 versus 10,000 years ago) and were selected for various forms of collaboration with humans. By contrast, cats had a different domestication process: although they hunted mice, rats, or snakes in the human environment, they did not have to closely cooperate or communicate with humans.



“We believe that our findings can form the basis for the development of novel training methods that rely on the tendency of puppies to learn by observation and to imitate human actions. This way, dog training can be less dependent on the use of food rewards and more able to take advantage of dogs’ natural propensity for social learning,” concluded senior author Ákos&nbsp;Pogány, an assistant professor of Biology at ELTE.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-28959-5">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Puppies spontaneously imitate human actions

A team of researchers from the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)...

A new modeling study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16612">Global Change Biology</a> has found that, if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-earths-thermostat-control-the-climate/">climate change</a> continues at the current pace, most of marine species will lose significant amounts of their suitable habitat ranges by 2100.&nbsp;



“Ocean’s biodiversity changes faster than in terrestrial ecosystems. To be able to protect marine species and with them all the marine resources that humans depend on, it is important to understand where and how marine species communities may change,” explained study co-lead author Irene Roca, a biologist at the <a href="https://hifmb.de/">Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg</a> (HIFMB).&nbsp;&nbsp;



While many marine species have already started shifting their distributional ranges due to global warming, estimating what marine biodiversity will look like in the future is challenging, particularly since previous studies have focused solely on temperature as the main environmental factor leading to future changes in biodiversity.



Now, the scientists examined occurrence data of over 33,500 marine species and took into consideration seven environmental factors, including water depth, water temperature, salinity, and oxygen concentrations. Based on this data, they estimated whether and where these species are likely to occur in the future in the case of three different CO2 emissions scenarios.



The analysis revealed that species’ core habitat ranges – the marine areas in which chances are higher than 50 percent that a species occurs based on its preferred environmental conditions – may not only shift but also considerably decline in a high emissions scenario.



Besides habitat loss, the preferred habitat area of a variety of species will be disrupted. “Especially along the equator, our model projections revealed areas which are ill-suited for most marine species, for instance because of high temperatures,” Roca said.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, fragmented habitats will lead to diminished population sizes which can threaten many species with extinction (although new species could also develop in changed climatic conditions). Another significant problem is that different species can keep up with changing environmental conditions to varying degrees, thus leading to a restructuring of food webs and changes in the relationship between habitat-forming species such as coral and their inhabitants.



“Even though our model does not account for such interspecific interactions, the results provide valuable clues on how differently marine environments and communities are likely to change depending on the future CO2&nbsp;emission scenarios,” said study co-lead author Dorothee Hodapp, a marine ecologist at HIFMB.



Understanding this high risk of critical reorganization of marine life will pose further challenges to conservation efforts. “We need to think ahead and work on effectively implementing the recent international agreements on biodiversity protection,” Hodapp concluded.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Climate change disrupts the distribution of marine species

A new modeling study published in the journal Global Change...

Ripe,Red,Tomatoes,Growing,On,A,Vine,In,A,Vegetable

Spiders could provide an environmentally-friendly option to protect crops against pests. New research led by the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> suggests that web-building groups of spiders can control a pest moth that is known to devastate important crops like tomatoes.



The tomato leafminer moth, Tuta absoluta, has developed resistance to chemical insecticides that are also known to cause human and environmental damage. Natural approaches, like using predators such as spiders, are needed to combat infestations.&nbsp;



Climate change is facilitating the spread of invasive pests that attack agricultural crops by expanding their habitable environment ranges.



To explore natural options, the researchers used tropical tent web spiders, Cyrtophora citricola, which form groups and create large webs to trap prey. In lab settings, different types of prey were introduced to colonies of spiders of varying body sizes. Larger spiders were found to build larger webs that caught more prey.



These findings suggest that the tropical tent web spiders could provide an effective alternative to controlling pests.&nbsp;



“Because they have evolved the ability to live in groups, these spiders might be better suited for biological control than more aggressive, solitary spiders that are prone to cannibalism," said study lead author Dr. Lena Grinsted.



“Spiders that can form groups of hundreds, or even thousands, of interconnected webs can provide large surface areas of capture webs capable of intercepting high frequencies of airborne insects. Spider colonies also provide a substrate for other spider species, further increasing the number of predators and therefore, potentially increasing pest insect capture capability within colonies.”



Tropical tent web spiders are found around the world and their global range overlaps with regions of moth infestations, including Mediterranean Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In these regions, environmental health and economic stability could greatly benefit from this sustainable approach. Since the spiders are already found in these regions, using them as pest control would not likely damage the native biodiversity.



The researchers further investigated the seasonal variations in web sizes in southern Spain, and found that pest control would be most effective in the tomato planting and growing season in May and June.&nbsp;



However, a wasp species (Philolema palanichamyi) found in the region, whose larvae eat spider eggs, could be detrimental to the spider colony. About half of the spider egg sacs were infected with zero surviving spiderlings.



“If wasp infections are controlled, these spiders could form an important part of an integrated pest management system," said Dr. Grinsted. "This could potentially lead to a reduction of reliance on chemical pesticides, resulting in reduced pollutants in soils, waterways, and food chains in the future.”



“Future studies are now needed to investigate whether the spiders may negatively impact crop pollination by also catching and feeding on bees and other key pollinators.”



The study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects14010034">Insects</a>, involved researchers from the Universities of Portsmouth and Nottingham, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</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.

Spiders can protect tomatoes from invasive pests

Spiders could provide an environmentally-friendly option to protect crops against...

A team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> has recently confirmed the first cases of canine distemper virus (CDV) in tigers and leopards in Nepal. This virus, usually affecting dogs, can cause fatal neurological diseases and thus be a significant threat to already dwindling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-cats-meet-wild-dogs-happens/">big cat</a> populations.



“Canine distemper virus has been repeatedly identified as a threat to wild carnivores and their conservation,”&nbsp;said study senior author Martin Gilbert, a wild carnivore health specialist at Cornell. “This study is a first step to understanding the potential impact for Nepalese tiger and leopard populations.”



Although scientists have already suspected that CDV can infect big cats, this is the first definitive proof of infection in Nepal. The experts found that 11 percent of tigers (three out of 28) and 30 percent of leopards (six out of 20) had antibodies to this virus, indicating that they had been infected in the past.



While relatively little is known about Nepal’s leopards, studies suggest that their population is in decline due to a mixture of poaching, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflicts. Moreover, they are also facing increasing competition caused by the expansion of the country’s tiger population, which has tripled over the past 12 years (although, globally, this species remains endangered too).&nbsp;



As the larger and stronger species, tigers are frequently displacing leopards from national parks into areas with more people, where they often prey on street dogs. According to the researchers, these dogs may be the source of infection. “We already know CDV is circulating in the Nepali dog population and that leopards frequently eat dogs, while tigers do not,” said study co-author Jessica Bodgener, a veterinarian at <a href="https://www.wildlifevetsinternational.org/">Wildlife Vets International</a>.&nbsp;



“When we found a greater exposure in leopards it seemed like a good fit, but we need more evidence to be sure. And we can’t forget three tigers also tested positive. If tigers aren’t eating dogs, it raises the question, how did these animals get infected? The situation may not be straightforward.” Other species, such as jackals or civets, could also act as reservoirs.



The scientists recommend several immediate actions to control the spread of the virus, including: raising awareness of wildlife managers, expanding molecular testing and genetic sequencing of leopards and tigers, continuing to monitor the presence of antibodies, vaccinating dogs and potentially the big cats themselves, and - since small, isolated populations are most at risk of CDV outbreaks - increasing habitat connectivity through wildlife corridors.



“Since 2014, we have seen ten leopards showing neurological disease that could be consistent with CDV infection. With increased awareness, we plan to confirm future cases and obtain genetic sequences to help determine the source of infections,” concluded co-author Amir Sadaula, a veterinarian at the <a href="https://www.ntnc.org.np/">National Trust for Nature Conservation</a> (NTNC).



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12020203">Pathogens</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Canine distemper virus detected in Nepali tigers

A team of scientists led by Cornell University has recently...

Researchers from Harvard Law School’s Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law &amp; Policy Program and <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a>’s Center for Environmental and Animal Protection have been involved in an ambitious project to study the global policy responses to live animal markets and their role in the transmission of animal-borne (zoonotic) <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-rodent-borne-diseases-spill-over-into-humans/">diseases</a>. The research team has investigated case studies in 15 different countries, including the U.S. which, they say, is startlingly unprepared for the dangers posed by zoonotic diseases.&nbsp;



In an editorial published in the journal Science, and titled “Blind spots in biodefense,” the researchers highlight gaps among U.S. governmental agencies that are tasked with combating these types of diseases. Lead authors Ann Linder and Professor Dale Jamieson call for the rebuilding of the U.S. regulatory system in its entirety, in order to combat zoonotic disease risk effectively.&nbsp;



The United States is the largest importer of wildlife in the world and yet, Linder and Jamieson note, the Biden administration’s recent release of its National Biodefense Strategy (NBS-22), the first update since the COVID-19 pandemic began, considers mainly threats that originate largely outside the country.&nbsp;



“NBS-22 focuses primarily on bioterrorism and laboratory accidents, neglecting threats posed by routine practices of animal use and production inside the United States,” they write.&nbsp;



This oversight is significant, Linder and Jamieson observe, given the United States’ past and present record when it comes to interactions at the human-animal interface:



<ul><li>More zoonotic diseases originated in the U.S. than in any other country during the second half of the 20th century.&nbsp;</li><li>In 2022, the U.S. processed more than 10 billion livestock, the largest number ever recorded and an increase of 204 million over 2021.</li><li>The ongoing H5N1 avian influenza outbreak has left 58 million animals dead in backyard chicken coops and industrial farms in the U.S.</li><li>Since 2011, the U.S. has recorded more swine-origin influenza infections than any other country in the world. Most occurred at state and county fairs, which attract 150 million visitors each year and where an estimated 18 percent of swine have tested positive for the virus.&nbsp;</li></ul>



The authors of the editorial also add that the current patchwork of siloed agencies and authorities is marked by a lack of coordination which leaves significant gaps and areas of underregulation. In fact, of the many agencies that govern food animal production, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the most important, but it has no authority to regulate on-farm animal production. The authors say that a “One Health” approach is needed such that the interconnection between the health of people, animals, plants, and their shared environment is recognized.



“What is needed is not simply for agencies to do their jobs better or to paper over the gaps, but a fundamental restructuring of the way that human–animal interfaces are governed,” Linder and Jamieson urge.&nbsp;



“A One Health approach, which NBS-22 claims as its guiding principle, would take the health of other living things not merely as the occasional means or obstacles to human health, but as continuous with it. The first step in implementing such an approach would be to create a high-level process for integrating the broken mosaic of multiple agencies, with their unclear and sometimes competing mandates, into an effective, comprehensive regime.”



The Live Animal Markets Project, which undertakes collaborative research involving local and international scientists in the 15 countries, aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of appropriate responses to zoonotic disease risks in order to aid policymakers in future, to contribute to public education about these risks, and to support the human health and animal protection communities.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</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.

The U.S. is alarmingly unprepared for zoonotic diseases

Researchers from Harvard Law School’s Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law...

<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=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



—–



Like what you saw and read?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a>&nbsp;for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



—–



Check us out on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth.com</a>.



—–

Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<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.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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>



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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.

<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://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







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.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



-----

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.

<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://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter 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://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

News coming your way