Insects are the tiny engines of life: flying, crawling, pollinating, and recycling. They sustain plants, hold food webs together, and enrich the soil. But despite the fact that insects are everywhere, they are quietly disappearing.



The crisis is no longer just in farmlands and cities. A new study from Colorado’s mountains shows steep declines even in wild, remote areas. That makes the warning louder: no <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insect-populations-dramatically-declining-around-the-world-rising-temperatures/">ecosystem</a> is safe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insects-decline-in-mountains">Insects decline in mountains</h2>



Keith Sockman, a biologist at the <a href="https://www.unc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> at Chapel Hill, spent 20 years counting flying insects in a high Colorado meadow. 



The site sits above 3,000 meters, near wilderness, with little human disturbance. It has decades of weather records, which made it ideal for linking insect numbers with climate.



The results were stark. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/very-little-is-known-about-99-of-all-insects-on-earth/">Insect</a> numbers fell by an average of 6.6 percent every year. Over two decades, that meant a 72.4 percent drop. The main culprit was rising summer temperatures, especially warmer nights.



“Insects have a unique, if inauspicious position in the biodiversity crisis due to the ecological services, such as nutrient cycling and pollination, they provide and to their vulnerability to environmental change,” Sockman said. “Insects are necessary for terrestrial and fresh-water ecosystems to function.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-warmth-lingers-at-night">When warmth lingers at night</h2>



The study found a lagged effect. Hot summers hurt <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-are-still-disappearing-and-there-are-hundreds-of-reasons-why/">insect</a> numbers the following year. Warmer nights were the most damaging. 



Over the past 38 years, summer low temperatures in the region rose by about 0.8°C per decade. That left insects with less recovery time from daytime heat.



This matches what scientists have seen with mountain butterflies. Even slight rises in nightly lows can strain species already adapted to narrow temperature ranges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-than-farmland-losses">More than farmland losses</h2>



Germany’s famous study showed over 80 percent declines in farmed landscapes over 27 years. Those findings were often blamed on pesticides and habitat loss. 



Sockman’s work shows something different. Insects are collapsing even in a meadow with little human pressure. Climate itself may be enough.



“Several recent studies report significant insect declines across a variety of human-altered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-farming-is-causing-many-insect-species-to-collapse/">ecosystems</a>, particularly in North America and Europe,” Sockman said. 



“Most such studies report on ecosystems that have been directly impacted by humans or are surrounded by impacted areas, raising questions about insect declines and their drivers in more natural areas.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other-forces-at-play">Other forces at play</h2>



Climate change explains much, but not everything. Sockman points to other possibilities: shifts in vegetation as meadows change, rising carbon and nitrogen altering plant nutrition, or natural succession. 



The traps used in the study also captured mainly flying insects. That means the decline may not reflect every insect group, though the loss is still severe.



Seasonal timing shifts (when insects emerge earlier or later) could also play a role. But the data showed consistent drops that timing alone could not explain. Even if some insects shifted their activity to earlier in the season, the overall counts did not recover. 



Years with hotter summers still produced smaller populations the next year, which suggests the pressure is deeper than timing changes. It points toward long-term stress, not just seasonal mismatch, driving the collapse.



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



Mountain ecosystems are fragile. Insects there need traits like cold tolerance, rapid development, and resilience to harsh winds. 



They pollinate alpine flowers, recycle nutrients in short growing seasons, and serve as prey for birds. If they vanish, the entire system weakens.



“Mountains are host to disproportionately high numbers of locally adapted endemic species, including insects. Thus, the status of mountains as biodiversity hotspots may be in jeopardy if the declines shown here reflect trends broadly,” Sockman said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-global-signal">A global signal</h2>



High mountains and high latitudes are warming faster than the rest of the planet. They act like islands, with no higher ground for species to escape to. What is happening in Colorado is likely happening elsewhere too. 



The losses here are not local - they are global warnings, signaling risks for ecosystems from the Andes to the Himalayas and across Arctic regions where insects support both wildlife and human livelihoods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-insects-in-mountains">Protecting insects in mountains</h2>



Insect monitoring must expand beyond farmland and suburban areas. Remote ecosystems also need attention. Long-term studies like Sockman’s are rare but essential for tracking change.



The message is urgent. Insects are not resilient enough to withstand unchecked warming. If they vanish, food webs will collapse, pollination will falter, and ecosystems will unravel. Their fate is tied to ours.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.70187" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecology</a>.



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Remote mountain meadow confirms global insect crisis

Insects are the tiny engines of life: flying, crawling, pollinating, and recycling. They sustain plants, hold food webs together, and enrich the soil. But despite the fact that insects are everywhere, they are quietly disappearing. The crisis is no longer just in farmlands and cities. A new study from Colorado’s mountains shows steep declines even in wild, remote areas. That makes the warning louder: no ecosystem is safe. Insects decline in mountains Keith Sockman, a biologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spent 20...

There’s a new weapon in the battle against outdoor-biting malaria mosquitoes: decoys that look and smell like cattle.

Efforts to spread mosquito netting, indoor spraying and other techniques have gone a long way toward <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/malaria-carrying-mosquitoes/">controlling populations of the biting insects</a> in areas where malaria is endemic. But it’s not enough, officials say. Outdoor-biting mosquitoes are just as capable of spreading the devastating illness.

So an international team of scientists from Kenya, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States teamed up to develop a way to keep outdoor malaria mosquitoes from biting.

“In regions with high bed net coverage like western Kenya, mosquitoes are likely to rest and bite outdoors since bed nets prevent them from feeding indoors. With increased outdoor biting and resting of mosquitoes, it becomes extremely difficult to collect and study the vectors due to their wide dispersal in the outdoor environment,” Bernard Abong'o, a doctoral student at the <a href="https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/">Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine</a>, said in a press release.

The team created decoy traps that mimic humans and cattle using scent, heat and visual stimuli to attempt to attract the biting bugs. They compared the traps against the old method of using human volunteers to trap malaria mosquitoes. 

The team collected a total of 1,807 Anopheles mosquitoes, finding that the mosquitoes seemed most attracted to the cattle-baited traps, and less attracted to volunteers or human-baited traps. They also discovered that, in the two villages in western Kenya used for the study, four different species of malaria mosquitoes – An. arabiensis, An. gambiae, An. funestus and An. coustani – resort to outdoor biting when indoor biting doesn’t provide enough food.

"Host decoy traps may provide us with a new system to monitor and potentially control outdoor-biting mosquitoes and to obtain insights into their host choice, while minimising the risk to human volunteers otherwise exposed to mosquitoes during landing catches," Abong’o said.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-018-3099-7">Parasites &amp; Vectors</a>.

Decoys could help in the battle against malaria mosquitoes

There’s a new weapon in the battle against outdoor-biting malaria...

An experiment on mice in China has one fertility expert looking toward a future of pregnancy without men.

Dr. David Molloy, a <a href="http://www.gynaecologymolloy.com/">fertility expert from Australia</a>, believes that women will be able to reproduce without male input within the next few decades. 

“It would mean that heterosexual couples where the man has low-quality sperm, and women couples, can have their own genetic child,” Molloy told the <a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/">Courier-Mail</a>. “I think it will be possible to fertilise an egg with a set of half chromosomes and targeted gene editing.”

The <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a> reported Molloy’s comments just a few weeks after researchers at the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> reported that they’d used gene editing to create 29 healthy baby mice using stem cells from female mice alone.

The baby mice grew up into healthy adults and had their own healthy offspring.

The experiment raises hopes for pregnancy without men, giving hope that two women could have their own biological children someday. The team of researchers used haploid stem cells, which contain half the number of chromosomes that other cells do. The team used <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prenatal-gene-editing-fatal-disease/">CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing</a> to merge two haploid stem cells, mimicking the way reproductive cells merge to create a fetus.

However, the experiment was less hopeful for men. The scientists were able to use the sperm from two male mice to create living offspring, but the infant mice survived no more than 48 hours. Several had “gruesome” mutations, the Mail reported.

That’s one of several reasons some scientists not involved with the experiment are cautioning people to wait. As fascinating as the prospect of pregnancy without men may seem, more testing and rigorous studies are needed to ensure that the method is safe.

“The amount of work that is necessary to convince us that doing this in humans will do no harm is enormous, and is very much ahead of us,” Fyodor Urnov, deputy director of Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Seattle, told <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/">Scientific American</a>. Urnov was not involved in the research. 

While the experiment gives hope to same-sex couples who want to someday have their own biological children, there is more work ahead before it is a viable possibility, researchers said.

“The concept is intriguing for human reproduction, particularly for same-sex couples, but there are far too many uncertainties at present to attempt such an approach for many years to come,” Robert Norman, a reproductive expert at the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/">University of Adelaide</a>, told the Mail.

Some scientists see pregnancy without men in future

An experiment on mice in China has one fertility expert...

When <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plant-eating-dinosaurs-largest/">dinosaurs</a> roamed the Earth, researchers theorize that some ancient ancestors of modern mammals escaped to subterranean environments or became exclusively nocturnal to avoid being eaten. 

It’s called the nocturnal bottleneck theory and it helps explain the lack of key characteristics in cave and nocturnal species today. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.kit.edu/english/">Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany</a> set out to investigate how species evolve in extreme environments like a sunless cave. Now, a new study has provided interesting insights into the evolution of a blind cavefish found in Somalia. 

The research, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)31123-0">Current Biology</a>, shows that a species of blind cavefish,  Phreatichthys andruzzii, lacks an ancient system of DNA repair found in most other animals except placental mammals including humans. 

It’s an ancient system that harnesses visible light to repair DNA caused by UV light, but over millions of years, the blind fish evolved without this crucial repair system. 

“We have revealed in a species of blind cavefish the loss of an ancient DNA repair system that is highly conserved,” said Nicholas Foulkes, an author of the study. “Curiously, the only other animals previously known to lack photoreactivation DNA repair are placental mammals. So, what we see in this species of cavefish may be the first stages in a process that happened before in our ancestors in the Mesozoic era.” 

Phreatichthys andruzzii was an ideal model for study because it has lived without sunlight for over three million years and so can provide a glimpse into evolution in extreme environments as well as help explain changes in a species DNA repair systems.

The researchers discovered mutations in the cavefish that disrupt DNA repair genes. 

Phreatichthys andruzzii was also found to lack an element that enhances DNA repair in response to sunlight because other genes were activated in its place. 

What’s especially interesting is that other cavefish species contain the DNA repair mechanisms and so the researchers say further study is needed to understand what drove the cavefish in Somalia to adapt the way it did. 

“Many features of modern mammals, such as the anatomy and function of the eye, show tell-tale features of a nocturnal lifestyle,” said Foulkes. “It means we can now more confidently predict that mammalian ancestors experienced a prolonged period of evolution in complete darkness.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Luca Scapoli at the University of Ferrara

How cavefish evolved for millions of years without sunlight

When dinosaurs roamed the Earth, researchers theorize that some ancient...

Tigers have long been a symbol of strength in Asia as potent as the symbol of dragons.  Ornate water buffalo horns are carved with both animals and sold to tourists in Thailand.  <a href="http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/10-ways-tigers-are-used-as-symbols/">Animal Planet</a> tells us that the Bengal Tiger is the national symbol of India and Bangladesh.  The Malayan Tiger is the national animal of Malaysia and South Korea has made the Siberian Tiger their national emblem.  It is said that the stripes on a tiger’s forehead spell out the Chinese character, ‘wang’ which means ‘king’. The tiger is truly the king of the jungle too, being the biggest and possibly most dangerous of the world’s big cats.  

Despite their size and charisma, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tigers-captive-us-nature/">tigers</a> are in danger.  For the same reasons humans respect the big cats, we often kill them.  Sometimes it’s to gain a part of their power as when tigers are used in Chinese traditional medicine.  Other times, tigers are killed because they represent a clear danger to humans and their livestock. 

According to an article from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2010/06/tiger-farming-and-traditional-chinese-medicine/">Mongabay</a>, tiger populations dropped from approximately 25,000 to 30,000 individuals in the wild to roughly 3,200 individuals in 2010.  In 2016, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/world/asia/wild-tiger-numbers-are-rising-wildlife-groups-say.html">The New York Times</a> reported a global tiger survey estimated the world population to be at 3,890 individual wild tigers.  

Part of the reduction in tiger population is due to habitat destruction.  Tiger habitat has been reduced by 40% over the last 10 years. Today tigers live in only 7% of their original range, according to <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2010/06/tiger-farming-and-traditional-chinese-medicine/">Mongabay</a>.  Tigers sometimes make uneasy neighbors with humans and when their habitat shrinks, besides having fewer resources, they also more often come into conflict with humans.  There’s also poaching of tigers for other reasons.

Tigers and their body parts are a common ingredient in concoctions made by the superstitious trying to capture some of the great cat’s essence. In his book, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=lR6rlkBuIGAC&amp;q=wine#v=snippet&amp;q=wine&amp;f=false">The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival</a>, John Vaillant gives a vivid account of ‘tiger wine’ one such elixir:

“The trade in tiger-based products has been officially banned in China since 1993, but it is lackadaisically enforced, and blatant evidence of this greets every visitor to the Harbin Tiger Park: in the center of the ticket lobby stands a huge glass vat filled with “tiger wine.”  Immersed in this transparent liquid like a piece of provocative modern art is the full skeleton of a tiger, shreds of flesh still hanging from the bone. Around its feet are strewn more bones from other tigers. Visitors may have some of this morbid elixir decanted for 1,000 yuan (about $140) per liter.”

Tigers used in Chinese medicine, human conflict and habitat destruction have led to a dire situation for tigers in the wild, one that has just started to be addressed by governments and the international community.

2010 marked the world’s first tiger summit.  The summit, held in St. Petersburg, was called by Russian President Vladimir Putin and World Bank chief Robert Zoellick and had celebrity attendees.  At that time, a poached tiger was estimated to bring $25,000 to $50,000 on the black market according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/nov/24/tiger-summit-vladimir-putin">The Guardian</a>.  Together, the organizations and governments participating in the tiger summit committed $329 million over five years to the goal of doubling tiger populations in the 13 countries where tigers ‘roam freely’.  

Surprisingly for many, Vladmir Putin took one of the stronger stances on tiger conservation.  In the past the Russian leader has banned seal hunting, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2010/nov/23/putin-tiger-china-premier-wen">The Guardian</a> reports that Russia’s tiger population rebounded from 30 in 1945 to around 500 individual tigers in 2010.  In many ways Russia has lead global tiger conservation, but the important decisions will have to be made by China, home of the biggest demand for illegal tiger products.  This year, Nepal also announced that it’s been rather successful in the commitment the country made during the tiger summit. 

The <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/nepal-nearly-doubles-its-wild-tiger-population">WWF</a> reports that Nepal is on track to be the first of the countries to agree to the Global Tiger Recovery Programme endorsed during the 2010 Tiger Summit.  Nepal was one of the countries that pledged to double their population of wild tigers by 2022 and now it’s almost certain they’ll succeed. 

The good news comes as the result of an extensive tiger survey carried out by Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Department of Forestry partnered by the World Wildlife Fund – Nepal.  The project included analysis of some 4,387 camera trap images, boring, time consuming but necessary work. The area monitored was over 1,700 miles along an important area near India. Nepal now has an estimated population of 235 wild tigers, almost twice the estimated population of 121 tigers found in 2009, according to <a href="https://www.apnews.com/3c57b8a5b8f7466db8621fe3acf2e18e/Nepal-says-its-tiger-population-has-almost-doubled-from-2009">AP News</a>.  Nepal has taken real initiative in tiger conservation, the prime minister of the small country is even head of their National Tiger Conservation Committee.  Other countries have started to show positive signs for tiger survival as well.

Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom, long recognized for measuring government success on happiness as well as promoting conservation has shown promise for protecting tigers.  <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/species/201707/high-hopes-mountain-tigers-bhutan">IUCN.org</a> reports that 72% of Bhutan is forested and an impressive 51.4% of the nation is made up of protected areas.  Introduction of camera traps into tiger conservation in Bhutan has lodged new records in how high above sea level tigers have been found.  

Since monitoring tigers in Bhutan, one was found at an impressive 4200 masl ( about 13,779 feet above sea level).  Research such as this demonstrates for the first time that high elevation habitat may be important for tigers in the Himalaya region.  There is also hope that high elevations that are difficult to access may act as safe havens for tigers. India is important having part of the Himalaya as well as lower elevation tiger habitat.

In 2014, there was estimated to be 2,226 wild tigers in India, <a href="http://time.com/5345610/global-tiger-day-tigers-india-conservation/">Time</a> reports.  The 2018 All India Tiger Estimation, said to be the largest wildlife survey ever still hasn’t resulted in numbers yet.  Signs of past tiger population estimates in India have been promising, with tiger numbers slowly growing since 2009. Russia, Nepal, Bhutan and India are only part of the equation though.  Without the full cooperation of China, there will continue to be an incentive to kill tigers for money. The saddest part perhaps is how pointless it all is. Killing a tiger, making it into useless medicine is the last resort of the uneducated and superstitious.  Tiger survival depends on whether humans can be as wise as we assume ourselves to be. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Nepal’s tigers set to double in population

Tigers have long been a symbol of strength in Asia...

Collisions with human activity cause some of the highest numbers of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/led-lights-birds-collisions-planes/">bird deaths</a> every year. 

According to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6084936/">one study</a>, 365 to 988 million birds are killed annually in the United States through collisions with buildings. In France, over 800 bird collisions with planes are reported every year. 

Wind turbines, airplane traffic, urban expansion, and infrastructure are all major drivers of bird decline, and so findings effective ways to repel birds away from high-risk collision areas is critical. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.cnrs.fr/">Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)</a> and the <a href="https://www.univ-rennes1.fr/">Université de Rennes 1 </a>in France and the aeronautics company <a href="https://www.airbus.com/">Airbus</a> collaborated together to create a safe and effective visual display that keeps birds away. 

The result was the development of a new visual pattern that specifically works to repel raptors, and the research was published in the journal PLOS ONE. 

The study not only helps with keeping birds protected and away from high-risk areas, but also could also aid in future research into raptor visual cognition. 

Raptors are not able to detect glazed surfaces and often don’t see a moving object until it’s too late. 

To remedy this, the researchers took what they already knew about raptor vision and experimented with a series of visual stimuli, testing how captive raptors responded. 

It took over 300 different attempts to find a pattern that tricked the birds into staying away by serving as a kind of optical illusion. 

Two black circles displayed on a white background made the birds think that a collision was imminent. 

The researchers tested this pattern at the Lourdes-Tarbes-Pyrénées Airport, an area where buzzards (a kind of raptor) has been known to forage. The black circles were displayed on two LED screens continuously throughout the day. 

8,800 observations were made while the LED screens were displayed near the planes. The researchers noticed a drop in collisions and that the birds stayed clear of the areas near the screens. 

The results of the study are promising and show that it’s possible to create efficient and sustainable solutions for repelling birds away from high-risk collision areas. 
--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Anthony Boigné

New optical illusion used to repel birds from planes

Collisions with human activity cause some of the highest numbers...

For over a century, scientists have speculated that plants adapted brightly colored fruit to attract animals to eat them and spread out their seeds. A new study has provided the first strong evidence to support this theory.

Animals that act as seed dispersers have notable differences in their visual capacities. Birds and mammals, who play critical roles in seed dispersal, do not perceive colors the same way as humans.

To investigate what drives variation in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fruit-product-slow-aging/">fruit</a> color, the experts analyzed the colors of the fruit and leaves of 97 tropical plant species in Madagascar and Uganda.

The study revealed that fruits dispersed by mammals such as monkeys and apes are greener than those dispersed by birds, which are redder in color. Since birds tend to rely more heavily on their color vision, the reds would be easier to detect against the green foliage.

The researchers also found that fruit color does not correlate with leaf color in the visible spectrum, but in the ultraviolet area of the spectrum fruit reflection is strongly correlated with leaf reflectance.

“These results confirm previous studies reporting that mammals exert weaker selective pressure for visual signals than birds, and support previous findings that other sensory trajectories, such as touch or olfaction, are critical to some mammal-plant interactions,” wrote the study authors.

Next, the researchers will expand upon their findings by analyzing additional characteristics of fruit such as odor, size, and texture. 

Study author Omer Nevo of the <a href="https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/">University of Ulm</a> explained: “It may be that visual conspicuousness - often achieved using red - entices birds, but scent is more important for luring animals whose sense of smell is keener than their sight.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The color of fruit evolved to attract animals, spread seeds

For over a century, scientists have speculated that plants adapted...

Gastronomes the world over are familiar with monkfish. Once referred to as the “poor man’s lobster” due to its similar consistency and use it as a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/conservation-lobster-populations/">lobster</a> substitute, it now features prominently on the menus of many fine restaurants. It was even served this year at the White House Correspondents’ dinner; comedian Michelle Wolf wryly remarked that it was … “fine.” 

This dubious ascendancy is interesting in that, prior to the mid-1980s, monkfish was considered a trash fish, merely bycatch from other bottom-trawling enterprises, notably those in search of scallops. However, due to declining fisheries for cod and other whitefish, it began to gain popularity in the 1990s. Now, it rates as a delicacy; even its liver have been vaunted as a piscine version of foie gras. 

Tastes in seafood are notoriously driven by market availability. What was once an undesirable bottom dweller becomes haute cuisine in short order when previously beloved species are overfished and unavailable. Patagonian toothfish became Chilean sea bass. Slimeheads became orange roughy. And the dogfish lost its identity entirely and became the basis for processed foods like the fried fish served with chips in the United Kingdom. These species pay dearly for their new-found status as preferred dishes. Many have been overharvested, a huge problem for slowly reproducing species such as the orange roughy and the monkfish.

[caption id="attachment_1860811" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/42795206491_e629667fb7_o.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1860811" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/42795206491_e629667fb7_o-1024x599.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="409" /></a> Illustration from The Natural History of British Fishes (1802) by Edward Donovan (1768-1837).[/caption]

The species served as monkfish is typically one of five of the seven or eight species in the genus Lophius of the family Lophiidae, a group of anglerfish which are characterized by their use of fleshy lures dangling from the first spine of their dorsal fins to entice smaller fish toward their gaping maws. In North America, the species most often served is L. americanus, which ranges from the shores of Maine to those of northern Florida. L. litulon is found in the Pacific, as is the related Lophiodes caulinaris. L. piscatorius and L. budegassa are harvested from European waters. And L. vomerinus is taken off of the coast of southern Africa. 

All of them are large, squat fish with enormous mouths and jointed, arm-like caudal fins adapted for walking along the bottom. Females may reach lengths of 5 feet; males are usually smaller. They are typically found from the tidal line up to half a mile deep. Their diets consist of smaller fish, including conspecifics, and they will also take crustaceans and even seabirds that venture too close. With needle-like, recurved teeth, monkfish’s prey has little chance once its jaws gape. 

The breeding habits of the Lophius species are particularly intriguing. Females do not become sexually mature until 7-10 years of age. When they do, they release so-called veils, long, gelatinous strips that contain up to a million eggs. These eggs are carried by the currents until they hatch. The larvae spend some 120 days drifting as zooplankton before settling to the continental shelf and assuming the largely bottom-dwelling lifestyle of an adult. This information has been pieced together from centuries of research. For such ubiquitous species, their habits are rather cryptic. And they are apparently <a href="http://plymsea.ac.uk/931/1/The_habits_of_the_angler-fish%2C_Lophius_piscatorius_L.%2C_in_the_Plymouth_aquarium.pdf">quite difficult to keep in captivity</a>. Their ravenous appetite seems to dissipate in the confines of an aquarium and they often require hand-feeding to survive. 

Monkfish and their relatives have long been remarked upon by human observers. Even Aristotle was moved to comment on the strange habits of anglerfish. One of the more fascinating legends concerns the “sea monks” noted in 16th century natural history manuscripts. Accounts <a href="http://www.zmuc.dk/commonweb/JOURNALS/PDF/Vol29-1/Paxton&amp;Holland.pdf">dating to at least the 13th century</a> reference fish that supposedly resembled human monks, with tonsured heads and peasant-like features. Circa 1545, the king of Denmark, Christian III, received reports of a strange sea creature landed in the Strait of Øresund between Sweden and his own nation. Matching earlier descriptions, it supposedly had a human-like head and fins. He summarily ordered that the creature be buried to avoid arousing the superstitious sensibilities of his subjects. Numerous further reports ensued over the years, resulting in <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4770183#page/79/mode/1up">hilarious illustrations</a> of monk-like figures sporting fins in natural history manuscripts. Some have speculated that these were actually monkfish. However, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/reports-sea-monster-looked-like-monk-wearing-fish-scales-horrified-renaissance-europe-180960885/">other authors claim</a> that they were squid, angel sharks, or seals.

Questionable mythological origin story aside, monkfish—and the fishing practices that harvest them—are front and center in issues of contemporary marine conservation. During their brief period as cheap, yet marketable meat in the 1990s, fishing intensified and by 1999, quotas had to be set by the New England Fisheries Management Council after fisherman noted decreasing yields and the landing of much smaller specimens, indicating that their reproduction was not keeping pace with demand. Other countries followed suit. 

While these measures have in a number of cases been shown to have a positive effect, the methods still used to harvest monkfish and other bottom-dwellers have devastating effects on the ocean floor. Bottom trawling is rated as the most detrimental fishing practice in existence. Using massive apparatus with doors weighing 6.5 tons and enormous wheels that bounce along the ocean floor, these nets scour up anything in their paths. In addition to capturing unwanted species, they devastate slow-growing coral communities. Enormous areas of the seas have been scrubbed of their vital demersal ecosystems because of bottom trawling. Some sources on sustainable seafood still list them as being acceptable to eat due to rising populations in some areas. But methods used to harvest it, even at “sustainable” levels, should give any conscious seafood consumer pause.

Sea monster it might be—I mean, come on, look at the picture—the monkfish is nonetheless an instructively well-adapted denizen of the deep, one whose ecosystem role is poorly defined and quite likely important.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hendry/2483537703/in/photolist-4MsMez-6qhMeV-5Xj6ta-4DtX8t-vYMqUh-w1sM47-AmVb4Z-f84LK-gCspSV-Q5Zvvn-MXx7K-bNJd1K-926FdS-hCUJvj-c6uGCG-28cEBVM-edn1Z9-5AvrDJ-9XYbGX-5Tuvri-dMwxYo-bC8BhZ-KeyLb-9bUuZ6-nVx8gR-86e19E-jJSWNC-oEHiu8-h1DW4x-DXtdZ-nVpXkE-gXahc-hhfLWq-8eQ86n-nVeWKF-4ZiTuG-Xo4gjV-7ECVdG-6uKgN7-6DezT3-bLgcq6-jJ8JaK-fp7rvJ-dvNUc9-26X8WJW-hCHuBt-6Ug9n7-6U92eP-JBVYVX-6UcEWB">Kai Hendry</a>

Plight of the sea monk: Monkfish and sustainable fishing

Gastronomes the world over are familiar with monkfish. Once referred...

A team of researchers has described the well-preserved remains of a sauropod which lived about 185 million years ago during the Early Jurassic. The fossils may help scientists to understand how plant-eating dinosaurs such as the Brontosaurus grew to be so large.

By the time they were driven to extinction, sauropods weighed as much as 100 tons. It has been a mystery how these animals managed to become the largest land animals in history when their ancestors were small enough to be found in a modern-day petting zoo.

A <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fossils-modern-birds-dinosaurs/">dinosaur</a> called Sarahsaurus aurifontanalis belonged to a group of dinosaurs that preceded sauropods, and may hold important clues about their enormous size.

Adam Marsh, who is now a paleontologist at Petrified Forest National Park, led the study while pursuing his master's degree at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>.

“Sarahsaurus preserves in its anatomy the anatomical changes that were happening in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic that were occurring in the evolutionary lineage,” said Marsh. “It can help tell us how getting big happens.”

The description was based on two Sarahsaurus skeletons discovered in Arizona by study co-author Professor Timothy Rowe in 1997. The bones are still partially linked together into body parts such as the hand and tail, and the only major missing part is the skull.

"The specimens are well preserved in three dimensions and remarkably complete, which is very rare in the fossil record,” said Matthew Brown, the director of the Jackson School Museum of Earth History Vertebrate Paleontology Collections. “Such complete specimens help paleontologists better understand the fragmentary and incomplete fossils remains we typically find.”

According to Marsh, Sarahsaurus was a “ground sloth-like” animal that stood upright and walked on its hind-legs. The dinosaur had powerful forelimbs with a large, curved claw on the first finger of each hand. It shared many things in common with the earliest sauropods, but features such as a bigger body size and longer neck vertebrae were beginning to foreshadow how massive its relatives would become.

Marsh is currently working on another study that could shed more light on how sauropods evolved. He said that the two Sarahsaurus skeletons examined for this paper are a great addition to the project.

“We've got two individuals from basically the same hole in the ground with different bumps and grooves on their femora,” said Marsh. “It lends itself really well to this comprehensive anatomical description and it's going to be really important for comparisons of early dinosaur anatomy.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Brian Engh

How did plant-eating dinosaurs become the largest animals in history?

A team of researchers has described the well-preserved remains of...

A new study has found that chimps who are more agreeable and sensitive tend to live longer lives. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> conducted the study to see how personality traits, particularly aggressiveness, in male <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-clean-beds/">chimpanzees</a> impacted lifespans. 

The results were published in the journal eLife and the study is the largest assessment of individual chimpanzee behavior. 

The researchers tested conscientiousness, dominance, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness in chimps to find any potential links to lifespan. 

In humans and other primates, these personality traits have been shown to impact longevity, but in chimps, none of these behavioral tendencies affect lifespans. 

Non-human primates that are more extroverted or conscientious have been shown to live longer but in chimps, it’s cooperation and protectiveness that has the most impact on longevity. 

The researchers reviewed analyzed personality questionnaires and survival data from 538 captive chimpanzees in the UK, US, Netherlands, Australia, and Japan, to find which personality traits were linked to longevity. 

Zookeepers and caretakers filled out the personality questionnaires using animals they had been working with for 7 to 24 years. 

Male chimps who were more co-operative and sensitive lived longer than the chimps who exhibited more aggression. 


“Studying the personality of chimps - one of our closest biological relatives - suggests that the quality of our social relationships can significantly impact our lives,” said Drew Altschul, an author of the study.

Agreeable male chimps were more likely to live longer, and female chimps that were more open and adaptable to changes in their environment had longer lifespans.

“The present study is a reminder of the complex, multifaceted nature of personality and sex, social relationships and the life course in chimpanzees,” the researchers concluded. “It also shows how studying the personality of our biological kin reveals that, as in humans, it is not the quantity of social relationships that matters, but the quality.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chimps who are less aggressive live longer

A new study has found that chimps who are more...

A group of thirteen pigeons currently living in a research facility in Australia are making history as the first ever pigeons to contain the Cas9 gene in their reproductive systems. 

Ben Novak, a scientist committed to “de-extinction” and bringing back the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/passenger-pigeons-extinct/">passenger pigeon</a>, has high hopes for the offspring of the pigeons.

Because the birds contain the Cas9 genes, their squabs (fledgling pigeons) will have the Cas9 gene in every single cell and researchers will be able to edit their DNA using CRISPR, a revolutionary gene-editing tool. 

If successful, the pigeons will be the first live animals ever edited with extinct DNA. 

The ultimate goal is to edit the DNA of the pigeons and incorporate crucial traits of the long-since exciting passenger pigeon to create wholly new hybrids that look and act like passenger pigeons. 

This process is similar to plans for bringing back the woolly mammoth by using Asian elephants, the woolly mammoth’s closest living relative. 

Sequencing the genome of an extinct species presents many challenges for researchers because the fossil fragments left behind and on display in museums or labs contain only a partial picture. 

According to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-the-scientists-bringing-extinct-species-back-from-the-dead-1539093600">Wall Street Journal,</a> after an animal dies, it's DNA begins to degrade and so extinct animals have only fragments of a complete genome. 

From this, researchers need to get creative to fill in the blanks and so the obvious solution is to look to the closest living relative of the extinct species in question. 

Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>, led a project that compared the sequenced genome of the band-tailed pigeon and extinct passenger pigeons. 

This allowed the research team to identify the genes that set the two species apart. The newly sequenced fragments of the passenger pigeon also revealed new insight into why the birds went extinct. 

Once, passenger pigeons were the most abundant land bird in the United States. Passenger pigeons suffered speedy declines because their meat was prized and they were hunted to the brink of extinction. The last known passenger pigeon died in 1914. 

Shapiro's research shows that the birds were genetically geared to thrive in large flocks and it was their sharp dip in numbers that made them more vulnerable and less able to cope. 

“Passenger pigeons were fantastically well adapted to living in their large population sizes,” Shapiro told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6257933/The-birds-bring-passenger-pigeon-life.html">Daily Mail</a>. “It was the very sudden shift to a small population size that was problematic.” 

The researchers also found that the birds were not as genetically diverse as other abundant species. 

Building on Shapiro’s research, Novak hopes to breed his new Cas9 pigeons until he has 22 living pairs of feelings that will eventually be bred as well. Once the birds are introduced to passenger pigeon DNA, Novak’s team will edit band-tailed pigeons with as many traits from the passenger pigeon as possible. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

De-extinction may become a reality for passenger pigeons

A group of thirteen pigeons currently living in a research...

Seahorse populations disappearing due to recreational boating. Recreational boating along the British seaside may be needlessly endangering populations of native seahorses. 

<a href="https://www.theseahorsetrust.org/">The Seahorse Trust</a>, an organization dedicated to conserving marine wildlife, particularly seahorses, has recorded major declines in Studland Bay in Dorset County. 

Studland Bay is the only area in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/worlds-fifth-largest-wind-farm-england/">England</a> where two native species, spiny seahorses and short-snouted seahorses, have been observed in the same place. 

According to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6256815/Marine-creatures-decline-popular-seaside-spots-pleasure-boats.html">Daily Mail</a>, which reported on the alarming declines, the seahorses flock to Studland Bay to breed in early spring and leave in the fall. 

The bay should be a hotspot for the seahorses, but the Seahorse Trust says that the marine creatures have all but disappeared from their breeding grounds. 

Only one dead spiny seahorse was found in the bay which indicates that there are fewer and fewer seahorses visiting the area each year. 

“We need to protect the most important site for seahorses in the UK,” Neil Garrick-Maidment, the director of the Seahorse Trust told the Daily Mail. “The numbers have declined since 2008 and the fact that we have only found one dead seahorse this year is alarming and appalling. This site should be thriving and vibrant but it is now a bit of a desert.” 

The reason for the declines in seahorse populations, according to the conservation organization, is recreational boating in the bay. Boaters are dragging their anchors along the seagrass beds and disrupting the delicate breeding grounds of the two species of seahorses. 

An application to classify the bay as a protected Marine Conservation Zone has been submitted to the government and a decision is expected in the next few months on whether or not the request will be granted. 

“We're not calling for boats to be banned from the site, but it would be beneficial if environmentally-friendly moorings could be put in for boats so that anchors don't drag along the seabed,” Garrick-Maidment said to the Daily Mail. “We've submitted a formal application to the government and it is now in their hands.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Seahorse populations disappearing due to recreational boating

Seahorse populations disappearing due to recreational boating. Recreational boating along...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> are reporting that antidepressant drugs have become a major threat to the environment. After entering water systems in the form of human waste, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/antidepressants-fish-great-lakes/">drugs</a> are persisting and harming marine life. In the UK alone, an estimated six million people are taking antidepressants such as Prozac on a regular basis.

“Our aquatic life is bathing in a soup of antidepressants,” said study co-author Professor Alex Ford. “Antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications are found everywhere, in sewage, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, soil, and accumulating in wildlife tissues. They are found in sea water and rivers and their potential ability to disrupt the normal biological systems of aquatic organisms is extensive.”

“This isn't about a one-off pollutant entering their habitat; wildlife are bathed in drugs for their entire lifecycle. Laboratory studies are reporting changes such as how some creatures reproduce, grow, the rate at which it matures, metabolism, immunity, feeding habits, the way it moves, its color and its behavior.”

Dr. Helena Herrera of Portsmouth's School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences explained that many doctors who are prescribing antidepressant medication may not be aware that it persists in the environment or that it is harmful to marine life.

On the other hand, Dr. Herrera said that “prescribers which may be aware of the problems and persistence of such drugs in the environment need to weight those concerns with the human in front of them presenting with a debilitating medical condition.”

The researchers have identified many important steps that could be taken to address the environmental issues of prescription drugs, including educating patients on the safe disposal of medications and modifying wastewater treatment so that the chemicals can be filtered out.

The team also suggested that pharmacological companies should make drugs that break down more easily and safely. Furthermore, counseling could be used to replace many prescriptions. The experts say that taking just one of these steps would make a big difference.


The research is published in the <a href="https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/systempages/usefulresources/journals.aspx">British Journal of Psychiatry Bulletin</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.vom">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antidepressants are seeping into waterways and harming marine life

Experts at the University of Portsmouth are reporting that antidepressant...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



<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...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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