Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy.



This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yellowstone-aspens-and-elk">Yellowstone, aspens, and elk</h2>



In the 1920s, people <a href="https://www.yellowstone.org/wolf-project/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eliminated wolves in Yellowstone</a>. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right thing to do.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/from-wolves-to-dogs-did-domestication-begin-without-human-help/">Without wolves</a>, elk herds grew very large. Elk love to eat aspen shoots - the tender young growth is highly palatable to them.



For roughly 70 years, elk browsed aspen sprouts down to stub height, and the trees couldn't grow. 



If you had walked through Yellowstone in the 1980s, you would have seen many tiny aspen shoots covering the ground, but almost no young trees gaining height. 



The forest's regeneration was stalled. Old trees died, and no new ones replaced them.



In 1995 and 1996, park managers reintroduced wolves into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/">Yellowstone Park ecosystem</a>. Scientists hoped and wondered whether this would change anything for the trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-aspen-matter-to-yellowstone">Why aspen matter to Yellowstone</h2>



Aspen groves provide habitat for many species. Birds nest in them. Beavers eat the bark and use the wood for dams. Butterflies and moths lay eggs on the leaves. 



Their canopy admits enough light for wildflowers and shrubs to grow beneath. When it rains, aspen groves hold water in the soil better than some other forest types.



In short, when aspen return, dozens of other species benefit. More trees support more insects, which in turn support more birds, enriching the ecosystem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-checking-the-trees-three-decades-later">Checking the trees three decades later</h2>



<a href="https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/users/luke-painter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luke Painter</a>, an ecologist at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a>, sought clear answers. His team returned to 87 aspen stands across Yellowstone that scientists had previously surveyed. 



They measured thousands of young trees, looked for bite marks, and counted how many stems were tall enough that elk could no longer reach the tips.



About a third of these stands now have many tall young aspens pushing toward the canopy. 



"About 26 of the 87 aspen stands we examined had large numbers of tall saplings throughout, a remarkable change from the 1990s when surveys found none at all," Painter said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-wolves-matter-to-yellowstone-aspens">Why wolves matter to Yellowstone aspens</h2>



Breaking it all down, the conclusions of this study are pretty simple. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-move-pups-across-mountains-to-adapt-to-climate-pressure/">Wolves hunt elk</a>. When wolves came back, two things happened. First, elk numbers declined from unusually high levels. Second, elk changed their behavior. They spent less time in the same areas feeding.



With fewer elk and shorter feeding bouts, more aspen shoots survived long enough to exceed the browsing zone - about six to seven feet high. 



Once a sapling reaches that height, elk cannot easily reach the growing tip. The tree continues to grow.



"The reintroduction of large carnivores has initiated a recovery process that had been shut down for decades," Painter explained.



Scientists call this a <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/trophic-cascades-across-diverse-plant-ecosystems-80060347/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trophic cascade</a> - when adding or removing one species causes changes that ripple through the whole system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-places-recover-others-don-t">Some places recover, others don't</h2>



Unfortunately, not every aspen stand has recovered yet. Some valleys still have many short, heavily browsed shoots, because it's not only elk eating them anymore. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstones-iconic-bison-have-merged-into-a-single-herd/">Bison herds have grown</a>, and bison browse on aspen as well. They are strong enough to break young trees. 



"Increasing numbers of bison may be emerging as a new constraint to aspen in some areas," Painter confirmed.



Additionally, winter snow depth varies; droughts stress trees; bears and mountain lions also hunt elk; and hunting outside the park influences elk distribution. 



All of these factors interact, which is why some sites show strong recovery, others show moderate recovery, and a few have changed very little.



The key pattern is that places with many tall saplings experience little browsing, and aspen groves that remain popular eating grounds today stay short. 



This fact is the strongest indication that tree recovery is linked directly to wolf presence, not solely to weather or soil conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-proof-in-the-measurements">Proof in the measurements</h2>



Painter's team did not rely on casual observation. They used the same methods as earlier researchers, measuring the same plots. 



They counted recruitment - when young trees surpass browsing height and begin progressing toward maturity. This measure is crucial. Sprouts are insufficient if they never grow; without recruitment, the forest cannot replace itself.



The results are robust. After being stalled for most of a century, Yellowstone's aspens are increasing in height. In recovering stands today, you will see saplings - six, eight, or ten feet tall - that were not present in the 1990s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-yellowstone-s-aspens">The future of Yellowstone's aspens</h2>



"This is a remarkable case of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-viruses-found-in-yellowstones-hot-springs-may-be-near-the-root-of-all-life-on-earth/">ecological restoration</a>," Painter concluded. "Wolf reintroduction is yielding long-term ecological changes contributing to increased biodiversity and habitat diversity."



Trees grow slowly, so even with wolves restored, it will take decades for these young aspens to form a full-grown forest. 



Some areas might never fully recover if bison numbers continue to rise or if the climate becomes too hot and dry.



Thanks to the work of Painter and his team, scientists are now certain that restoring the Yellowstone predator has restarted aspen forest regeneration. Not everywhere and not perfectly, but enough to be measured, creating hope for the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112725004499?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.



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Yellowstone's aspen trees are growing again thanks to the reintroduction of wolves

Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy. This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns. Yellowstone, aspens, and elk In the 1920s, people eliminated wolves in Yellowstone. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right...

According to a new report published by WHO’s <a href="https://theindependentpanel.org/">Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response</a>, governments around the world are no better prepared to face a new pandemic than they were at the end of 2019, when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nearly-60-percent-of-people-in-the-us-have-had-covid-19/">Covid-19</a> struck. Although the panel – established in July 2020 – made recommendations for improving political leadership, financing, and surveillance system, it seems that little has changed, and the world remains highly vulnerable to the emergence and spread of infectious diseases.



“One year on, and political focus to prepare for more waves is flagging,” wrote the report authors. “Work has begun to prevent the next pandemic, but at the current pace, the transformative change required will take years to complete.”



The scientists discussed the uneven distribution of vaccines around the globe as one of the main problems that needs to be overcome, if we are to avoid situations such as the current <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9b0ab399-b545-4433-81a7-bfd710598760">Covid catastrophe</a> in North Korea - a country that adamantly refused vaccination and is now facing a frightening Omicron surge that infected almost ten percent of the country’s population in less than two weeks.&nbsp;



Such uncontrolled spread of the virus could easily lead to the emergence of new, more dangerous variants. “Variants may still emerge that our vaccines cannot manage,” wrote the study authors. “The more quickly we vaccinate now, the less likelihood there is of ever more variants emerging.”



Currently, rich countries have more vaccines than they could possibly use, leaving many low- and middle-income countries without adequate supplies of vaccines. WHO estimates that fewer than 13 percent of the people in low-income countries have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. 



Since vaccine production is now close to its limits, new manufacturing capacity for both mRNA and other types of vaccines must be urgently built in places such as Africa and Latin America in order to prevent future waves. “Boosting production takes time, so enabling it must begin now,”&nbsp;the experts wrote.



In order to guard against new Covid variants as well as other viruses with pandemic potential, the panel recommends stronger leadership and better coordination at regional, national, and international levels. 



The experts also emphasize the need for investment in preparedness now instead of when the next crisis hits, an improved system for surveillance and alert, a pre-negotiated platform able to produce vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and supplies and secure their fast and equitable distribution as essential global common goods, and increased access to financial resources both for preparedness operations and for urgently tackling any emerging threats.



The full report can be found <a href="https://theindependentpanel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/COVID-19-Make-it-the-Last-Pandemic_final.pdf">here</a>.



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

The world is still unprepared for the next pandemic

According to a new report published by WHO’s Independent Panel...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a> has found that nighttime <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/light-pollution-has-increased-almost-everywhere/">light pollution</a> can interfere with the extraordinary navigational abilities of monarch butterflies, which often travel from Canada to Mexico during multigenerational migrations. Since artificial nightlights interfere with butterflies’ circadian rhythms, the animals often become disoriented and fly when they should be resting.



Scientists have long known that light pollution can significantly disrupt normal circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycles of both wildlife and humans. For instance, previous studies have shown that city lights interfere with the navigation of animals such as baby sea turtles, which mistake the artificial lights for the glow of the moon on the ocean, and head out of the water when they should in fact be hatching.&nbsp;



While researchers have already investigated in great depth the effects of light pollution on birds and other animals that migrate at night, animals that migrate during the day, such as the monarch butterflies, have received far less attention.



Although the erratic, circuitous movements taking them to and fro across gardens or orchards can make it difficult to imagine that these creatures are able to stick to a rigid flight plan, their mass migrations across entire continents is a clear proof that they have remarkable navigational capacities.&nbsp;



For instance, millions of monarch butterflies living east of the Rocky Mountains leave their summer breeding grounds in southern Canada and northern US, and travel as much as 4,000 kilometers to overwintering sites across Mexico. They can take up to five generations during this cross-continent journey, which is made possible by amazingly precise internal clocks that tell them where to orient themselves in relation to the position of the sun.



Yet, researchers have now found that monarchs exposed to nighttime light pollution – such as street lamps above their tree roosts – can experience a phase shift, making their bodies think that it’s either earlier or later than it really is. “It’s like jet lag,” said study senior author Patrick Guerra, an assistant professor of Biology at the University of Cincinnati. “Essentially, their sense of time is disturbed.”&nbsp;



By conducting controlled laboratory experiments that simulated and isolated the effects of light trespass perturbation on the monarchs, Professor Guerra and his team found clear evidence that light pollution disrupts the animals’ day-night cycle. Thus, if we want to be hospitable to these beautiful creatures, we should protect them from exposure to nightlights. “It’s something to think about if you’re making a pollinator garden or if you want to be eco-friendly,” Guerra&nbsp;advised.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104310">iScience</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Light pollution disorients monarch butterflies

A new study led by the University of Cincinnati has...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> has shed new light on how plant life became established on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-endured-rapid-global-warming-300-million-years-ago/">Earth</a> 470 million years ago. The experts found two genes that seem indispensable for allowing plants to defend themselves against fungal attacks – a crucial ability that paved the way for all terrestrial plant life.



When plants evolved from aquatic algae to survive on land nearly half a billion years ago, they needed to build defenses against the massive population of fungi colonizing the Earth.&nbsp;



“It is estimated that 100 million years prior, fungi crept across Earth’s surface in search of nourishment and most likely found it in dead algae washed up from the sea,” said study senior author Mads Eggert Nielsen. “So, if you, as a new plant, were going to establish yourself on land, and the first thing you encountered is a fungus that would eat you, you needed some sort of defense mechanism.”



According to the scientists, the essence of this defense mechanism can be narrowed down to two genes, PEN1 and SYP122, which help blocking the invasion of fungi.&nbsp;



“We found out that if we destroy these two genes in our model plant thale cress (Arabidopsis), we open the door for pathogenic fungi to penetrate. We found that they are essential to form this cell wall-like plug that defends against fungi. Interestingly, it appears to be a universal defense mechanism that is found in all terrestrial plants,” Dr. Nielsen explained. The same mechanism was also identified in liverwort, a direct descendent of one of the Earth’s first land plants.



While fungi posed a major obstacle for early plants, they were also a prerequisite. As soon as plants adapted to survive fungal attacks, the next problem they faced was finding nutrients. While nutrients such as phosphorous or nitrogen were easy to access in the water, the newly evolved land plants faced significant difficulties in extracting nutrients bound in the rocky land that was widespread on Earth half a billion years ago.&nbsp;



On the other hand, fungi could extract such nutrients, and entered into a symbiotic relationship with the first land plants, which, in their turn, provided fungi with the carbohydrates they could not find otherwise. Thus, the defense mechanisms plants developed simply stopped fungi from invading, but did not kill them.&nbsp;



“Since a fungus can only gain partial entry into a plant, we believe that a tipping point arises where both plant and fungus have something to gain. Therefore, it has been an advantage to maintain the relationship as is. The theory that plants tamed fungi to colonize land is not ours, but we are providing fodder that supports this idea,” explained Dr. Nielsen.



The results of this study – published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/73487#s3">eLife</a> – could be used to make crops more resistant to fungal attacks, which is currently a major problem for farmers.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Plants tamed fungi to colonize land half a billion years ago

A recent study led by the University of Copenhagen has...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> has examined how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fiber-rich-diets-reduce-antimicrobial-resistance-in-the-gut/">diet</a> is impacting the range and severity of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) symptoms in children. The experts have found that eating healthy diets with more fruits and vegetables can significantly mitigate ADHD symptoms, such as the inability to stay focused, follow instructions, remember things, and regulate emotions.



As part of a larger study, the scientists asked parents of 134 children diagnosed with ADHD to complete detailed questionnaires about the typical foods their children ate (including portion sizes), as well as the ADHD symptoms that they experienced over a period of three months. The results suggested that diets rich in fruits and vegetables substantially reduced the severity of the children’s symptoms.&nbsp;



“What clinicians usually do when kids with ADHD start having more severe symptoms is increase the dose of their treatment medication, if they are on one, or put them on medication,” said study co-author Irene Hatsu, an expert in Human Nutrition at the Ohio State University.&nbsp;



“Our studies suggest that it is worthwhile to check the children’s access to food as well as the quality of their diet to see if it may be contributing to their symptom severity.”



Moreover, according to a previous study published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/6/1306">Nutrients</a>, children whose families&nbsp;had higher levels of food insecurity were more likely than others to show severe symptoms of emotional dysregulation, such as angry moods, anger outbursts, and chronic irritability, which also occur in ADHD.&nbsp;



“Everyone tends to get irritated when they’re hungry and kids with ADHD are no exception.&nbsp;If they’re not getting enough food, it could make their symptoms worse,” Professor Hatsu explained.



“We believe clinicians should assess the food security status of children with ADHD before creating or changing a treatment program. Some symptoms might be more manageable by helping families become more food secure and able to provide a healthier diet,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1028415X.2022.2071805">Nutritional Neuroscience</a>.



----



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

Fruits and vegetables can reduce ADHD symptoms

A new study led by Ohio State University has examined...

There is water on the moon, frozen solid in the form of ice sheets scattered around its surface. The ice has probably been there for billions of years but currently, scientists don’t know much about its distribution or abundance. They also don’t know where the water came from originally. What they do know is that the moon’s surface is marked with craters and permanently shadowed regions near the poles where the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-ocean-temperatures-are-steadily-rising/">temperatures</a> are low enough to allow water ice to remain stable over long periods of time.&nbsp;



The search for the presence of lunar water has attracted considerable attention and motivated several recent lunar missions, largely because of water's usefulness in rendering long-term lunar habitation feasible. Not only would astronauts be able to supply their own needs from such deposits of ice, but water could also be used as a source of hydrogen for producing rocket fuel and for fueling habitations on the moon.



New research from scientists at <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">CU Boulder</a> now proposes that the volcanic eruptions that broke loose on the moon billions of years ago, and blanketed hundreds of thousands of square miles of the orb’s surface in hot lava, may have left an additional, more subtle effect. Water vapor that accompanied these eruptions may have condensed and then frozen on the surface, like layers of frost.&nbsp;



The researchers used computer simulations to try and recreate conditions on the moon long before complex life arose on Earth. They focused on understanding what would have happened to the gases that spewed out of erupting volcanoes and carried volatile substances from the lunar interior. In their paper, the experts state that water vapor amongst these gases could have condensed, settled on the lunar surface and then frozen, forming sheets of ice dozens or even hundreds of feet thick.&nbsp;



According to the authors, these sheets of ice may still be present in the lunar craters, particularly those towards the poles and those that are in shadow, as the temperatures would be extremely cold in these locations. The fact that massive, exposed ice deposits are not observed on the moon today means that, if they do exist, they must be buried or mixed with regolith, the surface layer of broken rock and dust.



“We envision it as a frost on the moon that built up over time,” said study lead author Andrew Wilcoski. In fact, their model suggests that about 41 percent of the total mass of water erupted during the time of peak volcanic activity on the moon could have condensed and been deposited as ice sheets that extend down several hundred meters below the surface.&nbsp;



The new study adds more support to the theory that the moon may be awash in a lot more water than scientists once believed. In a 2020 study, Professor Paul Hayne and his colleagues&nbsp;estimated that nearly 6,000 square miles&nbsp;of the lunar surface could be capable of trapping and hanging onto ice – mostly near the moon’s north and south poles.&nbsp;



The researchers of the current study feel that this water could have been introduced as a result of volcanic action. Hayne, also a co-author on the current study, explained that between 2 and 4 billion years ago, the moon was a chaotic place. Tens of thousands of volcanoes erupted across its surface during this period, generating huge rivers and lakes of lava, not unlike the features you might see in Hawaii today – only much more immense. “They dwarf almost all of the eruptions on Earth,” said Professor Hayne.&nbsp;



The fact that the moon has no atmosphere and a very small gravitational field means that, under normal circumstances, gaseous water would not be able to hang around and condense into liquid – it would disappear off into space very rapidly. However, recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X17304971">research from scientists at the Lunar and Planetary Institute</a>&nbsp;in Houston shows that these volcanoes likely ejected towering clouds of carbon monoxide along with water vapor, and these clouds may have swirled around the moon, creating thin and short-lived atmospheres. Under such circumstances it is possible that water vapor could condense, settle to the surface and then freeze.



This finding got Hayne and Wilcoski wondering: Could that same atmosphere have left ice on the lunar surface, a bit like frost forming on the ground after a chilly fall night?



Together with Margaret Landis, a research associate at LASP, they set out to recreate these conditions on the surface of the moon, billions of years ago.&nbsp;Their computer simulations estimated that, at its peak, the moon experienced one eruption every 22,000 years, on average. They then tracked how volcanic gases may have swirled around the moon, escaping into space over time. They discovered that conditions for condensation and ice formation may indeed have existed.&nbsp;“The atmospheres escaped over about 1,000 years, so there was plenty of time for ice to form,” Wilcoski said.



The researchers calculated that about 18 quadrillion pounds of water from volcanic eruptions could have settled as ice on the moon during that period. This is more water than is currently present in Lake Michigan, and it likely formed a sheen of frost as well as thick polar ice caps that would have been visible from the Earth, had anyone been looking. And the research hints that much of that lunar water may still be present today, even if it is buried under several feet of lunar dust and rock.



The researchers feel that there is potentially a very useful source of water for future moon explorers, just below the moon’s surface. “It’s possible that 5 or 10 meters below the surface, you have big sheets of ice,” said Hayne. He emphasized that it is really important that people or robots head back to the moon as soon as possible and begin digging to find out whether this predicted scenario is true. “We really need to drill down and look for it."



The study is published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/2632-3338">The Planetary Science Journal</a>.



---



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

Ancient moon volcanoes may provide astronauts with drinking water

There is water on the moon, frozen solid in the...

Pterosaur,Scene,3d,Illustration

With gigantic wings that reach 10 meters in length, the Quetzalcoatlus was the largest flying species to have ever lived. One of the most exciting moments of the new Jurassic Park sequel, Jurassic World Dominion, is when one of these giant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mystery-solved-pterosaurs-had-colorful-feathers/">pterosaurs</a> swoops down and attacks the heroes’ aircraft.&nbsp;



However, researchers from <a href="https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/">Nagoya University</a> suggest that the movie gets it wrong. By undertaking aerodynamic analysis, the experts have demonstrated that Quetzalcoatlus would not have been able to fly more than a short distance.&nbsp;



The research team compared the ability of extinct giant flying creatures and modern birds to soar using wind and air currents in an energy-efficient way..



There are two types of soaring: thermal soaring, which uses updrafts to ascend and glide, such as eagles and frigatebirds; and dynamic soaring, which uses wind gradients over the ocean, as in the case of albatrosses and petrels.&nbsp;



The performance of thermal and dynamic soaring was calculated for four extinct species and compared to the performance of present-day birds. The research team found that the famous Pteranodon of Jurassic Park III fame likely excelled at soaring using updrafts over the sea, similar to modern frigatebirds.



However, the study found that Quetzalcoatlus was not suited for soaring flight even when atmospheric density parameters were changed. This was largely due to the proportions of its large wings and large body size resulting in poor performance.



“This suggests that the wind conditions under which Quetzalcoatlus could conduct sustainable thermal soaring were limited," explained the study authors&nbsp; Although it had previously been thought that Quetzalcoatlus was a proficient thermal soarer able to cover 10,000 miles without touching the ground, our studies show that its thermal soaring abilities were below that of modern birds."&nbsp;



"We suppose that&nbsp; the flight styles of Quetzalcoatlus and other similar sized pterosaurs were similar to those of the kori bustard that is a short-range flyer and spend most of their time on land.”&nbsp;



The experts also looked at two extinct giant birds, Argentavis magnificens, the heaviest flying bird that ever existed, and Pelagornis sandersi, which had the largest known wingspan. Here, a surprising discovery was found. Like previous studies which showed that Argentavis was suited to thermal soaring, the results of the current study found that Pelagornis was suited to thermal soaring, (despite previous studies that thought the bird used dynamic soaring).



While these findings were released too late to improve Jurassic World Dominion, the results will likely change the way extinct giant birds and pterosaurs are portrayed in future sequels.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus">PNAS Nexus</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Jurassic Park was wrong about how fast pterosaurs could fly

With gigantic wings that reach 10 meters in length, the...

A new strategy using technology like satellites and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drones-can-help-monitor-the-health-of-remote-seabird-colonies/">drones</a> can provide key information to protect pollinators. The researchers examined innovative ways of using these techniques to track the availability of flowers. When combined with behavioral studies, this could help us see the world through the eyes of insects.



The flowers that are available to insects can vary, and human activities are changing landscapes in ways that affect pollinators. The University of Exeter researchers hope their findings can help better understand these changes, leading to better conservation.



"Recent advances in drone and satellite technology have created new opportunities," said lead author Dunia Gonzales, from the <a href="https://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/research/centres/crab/">Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour</a> at the University of Exeter.



"Drones can now give us fine details of a landscape - on the scale of individual flowers - and combining this with satellite imagery, we can learn about the food available to pollinators across a large area."



"Along with behavioral studies of insects, this will help us understand the threats they face and how to design conservation programmes.”



Pollinator species, including wild bees, provide key services such as pollinating food crops. Sadly, many pollinator species are in decline.&nbsp;



The research team believes that their work can help protect the great diversity of pollinator species that play vital roles in our ecosystems. This is more urgent now than ever before, as the impacts of climate change on pollinator behavior and habitats are unknown.



"Up to now, most research using satellites has focussed on large-scale agricultural landscapes such as oilseed rape, maize and almond farms," said Gonzales. "We highlight the need to study landscapes with complex communities of plants and pollinators."



"These vary from place to place – and using satellites and drones together is a good way to learn about these local differences.”



The paper is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>. The article is part of a special issue called "What sensory ecology might learn from landscape ecology" edited by Brazilian researchers.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Drones can assist efforts to save bees and other pollinators

A new strategy using technology like satellites and drones can...

Baby sea <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-sea-turtles-still-dying-on-the-east-african-coast/">turtles</a>, including leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), typically hatch at night. The young leatherbacks use the difference of light reflecting off the sea to orient themselves. It’s because of this method of navigation that turtles which hatch near inhabited areas often crawl toward the light from buildings and away from the ocean.&nbsp;



While trying to find the ocean, leatherback babies sometimes crawl in circles. This "circling" behavior depletes energy and leaves the young turtle at greater risk of being picked off by a predator such as a crab or gull.



To understand why circling happens in leatherbacks, researchers at <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a> first studied how sensitive the babies are to light. The scientists determined that compared to hard-shelled loggerhead sea turtles, leatherbacks are 10 to 100 times less sensitive to light.



The research, which was published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/animal-behaviour">Animal Behaviour</a>, revealed that leatherback circling increased when there was a new moon and the night sky was at its darkest. On the other hand, loggerheads rarely circled, even when they had little light to guide their way. The results are surprising because while leatherbacks feed during both day and night, loggerheads are known to only be active during daylight hours.          



“Leatherback eyes are less sensitive to all wavelengths of light than loggerheads, and during a dark night, they experience difficulty in determining the location of the seaward horizon,” said study first author Samantha Trail.



“Even so, leatherback hatchlings eventually crawl to the sea, even during new moon. It just takes them longer because they stop occasionally to circle, which we think enables them to re-evaluate, and eventually confirm, the correct crawl direction.”



The real question is why leatherback turtles would remain less sensitive to light when it's so important for their survival. From an evolutionary perspective this is a major cost.&nbsp;



The scientists theorize that leatherbacks haven’t evolved more light sensitivity because their difference in vision has other benefits. Perhaps having less light sensitive eyes allows them to better find prey, mates or suitable habitat - which is possible because loggerheads live in different parts of the ocean.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Baby leatherbacks are blind to the ocean

Baby sea turtles, including leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), typically hatch at...

Humans rely on a variety of cues to identify their friends, including their voices and smiles, or the way they talk. Biologists have long known that dolphins too can form close friendships with their conspecifics, and they can identify their friends by their unique whistles. Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/">University of St Andrews</a> in Scotland has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/are-bottlenose-dolphins-really-that-smart/">bottlenose dolphins</a> also rely on a very surprising cue to recognize their pals: the taste of their urine.



The researchers conducted a series of experiments on captive dolphins at the <a href="https://dolphinquest.com/">Dolphin Quest</a> facilities in Hawaii and Bermuda, where they knew which dolphins were familiar with each other based on who had lived together for at least five years. By pouring both familiar and unfamiliar urine samples into a pool, they discovered that dolphins spent about three times longer investigating the familiar urine than the unfamiliar one.



“We still know very little about how the sense of taste works in dolphins,” said study senior author Vincent Janik, a professor of Biology at the University of St Andrews. “Other studies have shown that they lost a lot of the common tastes that we find in other mammals such as sour, sweet, umami, or bitter. But they have unusual sensory cells on their tongue that are probably involved in this detection of individual tastes of other animals.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



“It is likely that dolphins use a lipid taste receptor to identify urine cues in their fellow dolphins,” added study lead author Jason Bruck, an assistant professor of Physical and Social Ecology at the <a href="https://www.sfasu.edu/">Stephen F. Austin State University</a> in Texas, who conducted this research during a fellowship at the University of St. Andrews.&nbsp;



In order to test whether dolphins had a paired understanding of other dolphins’ cues – if their whistles and urine were connected in their minds – Professor Bruck and his colleagues performed an “expectation violation” experiment, in which they exposed dolphins to incorrect urine-whistle combinations.&nbsp;



While the dolphins did not pay much attention in the case of mismatches, when they encountered a correct urine-whistle pair, they explored the area for an average of 10 seconds longer. These results suggest that dolphins can identify conspecifics by taste alone, but can also integrate information from acoustic and taste inputs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Future research is needed to clarify the mechanisms through which dolphins use gustatory cues to identify their conspecifics, and to investigate how commercial and industrial chemicals might affect dolphins’ “urine cuing.”&nbsp;



“We may find that oil spills, chemical runoff and other human effects can impede the dolphins’ natural ability to chemically signal to one another. This might prevent males from identifying reproductively capable females or diminish dolphins’ abilities to recognize individuals through honest signals,” Professor Bruck concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm7684">Science Advances</a>.



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

Dolphins recognize their friends by the taste of their urine

Humans rely on a variety of cues to identify their...

Climate change is predicted to bring more extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, hurricanes and storms; to cause changes in biodiversity; and to lead to rises in sea level. These events will undoubtedly have massive effects on economies, food security, natural environments, and human societies around the world. But apart from these more well-known consequences, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-disrupts-communication-among-animals/">climate change</a> may also influence the ways in which we live our daily lives, and have impacts on behavioral, psychological and physiological processes that are essential for human well-being.&nbsp;



Global ambient temperatures are rising in response to anthropogenic climate change and the expansion of urban heat islands, and the greatest increases from normal have been recorded during the night times. In addition, the probability of experiencing insufficient sleep has been on the rise, worldwide, although the cause has not been investigated. Now, a study of sleep data by researchers from Denmark and Germany has attempted to find out whether these two trends are perhaps linked.&nbsp;



The scientists used data on sleep patterns collected from 47,000 adults across 68 countries spanning all continents except for Antarctica. The seven million nightly sleep records were captured using accelerometer-based sleep-tracking wristbands that had previously been shown to align with independent assessments of wakefulness and sleep. Daily weather, temperature and climate data were accessed from global weather stations in the areas where the participants were located.



Adequate and regular sleep is important for healthy mental and physical functioning in humans, while insufficient sleep has been associated with reduced cognitive performance, diminished productivity, increased absenteeism, compromised immune system function, raised blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depression, anger and suicidal behaviors. Previous studies have found that both humans and animals do not sleep as well when ambient temperatures are elevated, which raises the question of what impacts global warming will have on the sleep patterns of the world’s population.



It's long been known that hot days increase deaths and hospitalizations and worsen human performance, yet the biological and behavioral mechanisms underlying these impacts have not been well understood. Recent self-reported data from the United States have suggested that subjective sleep quality decreases during periods of hot weather, but how temperature fluctuations may impact changes in sleep outcomes in people living across a variety of global climates has remained unclear.



The results of the study, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(22)00209-3">One Earth</a>, suggest that on warm nights when the temperature is 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) or more, sleep is reduced by an average of just over 14 minutes. The likelihood of getting less than seven hours of sleep also increases as temperatures rise. In fact, the team calculated that, by the year 2099, warmer temperatures may erode 50 to 58 hours of sleep per year from the average person.&nbsp;



“In this study, we provide the first planetary-scale evidence that warmer-than-average temperatures erode human sleep,” said study first author Kelton Minor of the University of Copenhagen. “We show that this erosion occurs primarily by delaying when people fall asleep and by advancing when they wake up during hot weather.”&nbsp;



“Our bodies are highly adapted to maintain a stable core body temperature, something that our lives depend on,”&nbsp;explained Minor. “Yet every night they do something remarkable without most of us consciously knowing – they shed heat from our core into the surrounding environment by dilating our blood vessels and increasing blood flow to our hands and feet.” He noted that in order for our bodies to transfer heat in this way, the surrounding environment needs to be cooler than we are.&nbsp;



The researchers found that, under normal living routines, people appear far better at adapting to colder outside temperatures than to hotter conditions. “Across seasons, demographics, and different climate contexts, warmer outside temperatures consistently erode&nbsp;sleep, with the amount of sleep loss progressively increasing as temperatures become hotter,” said Minor.



The effects of increased temperature on sleep insufficiency were not equally distributed in populations. The study found that sleep loss is substantially larger for residents from lower income countries as well as for the elderly and for females. Older people are known to be more vulnerable to hospitalization and death from extreme heat conditions.&nbsp;



It is possible that people in lower income countries do not have ready access to air conditioning, and that this may explain the unequal effect of warmer temperatures on their sleep patterns. The researchers note that because they uncovered compelling evidence that the impact of warming temperatures on sleep loss is unequal globally, new research should especially consider more vulnerable populations, particularly those residing in the world's hottest – and historically poorest – regions.



“Our results indicate that sleep – an essential restorative process integral for human health and productivity – may be degraded by warmer temperatures,” said Minor. “In order to make informed climate policy decisions moving&nbsp;forward, we need to better account for the full spectrum of plausible future climate impacts extending from today's societal greenhouse gas emissions choices.”



---



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

Sleep deprivation may become a side effect of climate change

Climate change is predicted to bring more extreme weather events,...

Caring for insects as pets may sound strange, but thousands of people all over the world already have praying mantises and other stick <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-have-found-a-terrifying-decline-in-flying-insects/">insects</a> as pets, according to a new report from <a href="https://pensoft.net/">Pensoft Publishers</a>.



Praying mantises are gaining popularity and fueling a largely unknown market. They are sold at fairs and pet markets, or collected in the wild and then reared by amateurs or professionals.&nbsp;



Some are elegant, with flower-like coloration (the Orchid Mantis, Hymenopus coronatus), and some resemble Pokémons (the Jeweled Flower Mantis, Creobroter wahlbergii). Surprisingly, some of these creatures can even be cuddled (the Giant Shield Mantis Rhombodera basalis).



When selecting an insect as a pet, features such as shape, size, colors, and behaviors are considered. Customers also shop for species that are rare or easy to care for.&nbsp;



It is important to understand how this market, which is largely unregulated, is changing. This could be crucial to conserve rare species and promote awareness of their habitat and place in the ecosystem.



Now, researchers have published a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.31.71458">first overview</a> of the praying mantis pet market. The research team includes Roberto Battiston of Museo di Archeologia e Scienze Naturali G. Zannato (Italy), William di Pietro of the World Biodiversity Association (Italy) and entomologist Kris Anderson (USA).&nbsp;



The study authors surveyed 200 hobbyists, professional sellers in the mantis community from 28 different countries. The results showed that the targets of this market are indeed predictable. The typical mantis breeder or enthusiast is 19 to 30 years old, prefers beautiful species over rare ones, and is willing to spend over $30 per insect.&nbsp;



The researchers identified buyers as “mostly curious enthusiasts with poor knowledge of the market dynamics and the laws behind it, even if they seem to generally care about their pet.”



But the data suggests the trade is not always legal. One out of four instances lack permits or transparency from the seller. To ensure these species are conserved in nature, the researchers emphasize that collaboration between scientists and the insect pet community should be considered.&nbsp;



The biology, distribution, and threats to insects are largely unknown. Many species are still waiting to be discovered. This is a big limit to conservation, since you cannot protect what you don’t know.



“Hobbyists and pet insect enthusiasts are producing and sharing a huge quantity of observations on the biology and ecology of hundreds of species, even rare or still undescribed ones, a priceless heritage for the scientific community,” said the researchers.&nbsp;



“Strengthening the dialogue between them, promoting a white market over a black one, may be a crucial help for the conservation of these insects, fundamental parts of the biodiversity of our planet, that are replacing our traditional pets at home.”



The research is published in the <a href="https://jor.pensoft.net/">Journal of Orthoptera Research</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Praying mantises are becoming more popular as pets

Caring for insects as pets may sound strange, but thousands...

A study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a> has revealed another threat to coral reefs and the creatures that depend on them. An international team of researchers has found evidence that the noise created by motorized boats leads to lower reproductive success in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-threatens-two-new-fish-species-with-extinction/">fish</a>.



The experts observed the reproductive behavior of a species of reef fish called the spiny chromis. The study consisted of two parts. First, the researchers compared reefs where motorboat noise was limited ("traffic calming" sites) to other reefs where it was business as usual (control sites).&nbsp;



The scientists discovered that traffic calming sites had a drastically higher nest survival rate. Out of 46 reefs in traffic calming sites, 30 still contained offspring at the end of the breeding season. However, only 16 of 40 reefs in the control sites still had offspring.



The second part of the study involved observing spiny chromis nests in an aquarium to determine the size of the offspring. Some of the fish were exposed to noises they would encounter in their natural environment, while others were exposed to motorboat noise.&nbsp;



The researchers noticed that the boat noises disrupted fanning behavior, which is vital for egg survival and development because it oxygenates eggs. This finding suggests that a reduction in fanning due to noise is causing less reproductive success.



Considering the state of coral reefs, this research is pertinent. "With coral reefs worldwide facing multiple threats, the results of our experiment offer a way to help struggling populations," said study lead author Dr. Sophie Nedelec from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>.



This issue is not a lost cause. Dr. Nedelec describes actions that can be taken to help the fish that call coral reefs their homes,



"Moving boating channels further away from reefs, driving slowly when approaching reefs, and avoiding anchoring next to reefs provide three simple changes that any boat driver can adopt. These solutions put the power in the hands of local people to protect vulnerable ecosystems."



If this research is seriously considered, we can give some of the creatures we share with this planet a better chance of survival for the future.&nbsp;



"Our results suggest noise mitigation could have benefits that carry through to the population-level by increasing adult reproductive output and offspring growth, thus helping to protect coral reefs from human impacts and presenting a valuable opportunity for enhancing ecosystem resilience," wrote the researchers.



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

Reducing boat noise boosts reproduction among reef fish

A study published in Nature Communications has revealed another threat...

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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...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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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;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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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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