The Mediterranean has long been a crossroads of trade and tourism, yet its deepest pocket, the Calypso Deep, seemed beyond the reach of day-to-day pollution. 



That hope ended earlier this year when researchers reported plastic bags, glass shards, and crumpled cans resting 16,770 feet beneath the waves in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionian_Sea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ionian Sea</a>.



Their survey logged 167 items on the trench floor - 148 confirmed pieces of marine litter and 19 more that almost certainly came from people. 



By any measure, it is one of the densest concentrations of trash ever recorded in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-ocean-buffet-big-fish-are-surprisingly-reliant-on-the-twilight-zone/">dark zone</a> of the ocean.



The discovery arrives as global attention continues to focus on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/surprise-study-some-scientists-call-for-halting-ocean-plastic-cleanup-efforts/">plastic waste</a>. 



Videos of snagged sea turtles and bottle-strewn beaches have already ignited public concern, but those images barely hint at what sinks far below the reach of sunlight.



Now evidence from Calypso Deep shows that even the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/calypso" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mediterranean’s farthest recesses</a> are filling up.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-calypso-deep-is-full-of-plastic-waste">Calypso Deep is full of plastic waste</h2>



The team used the submersible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSV_Limiting_Factor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Limiting Factor</a> to reach the bottom of a kidney-shaped trench roughly 12.4 miles long and 3.1 miles across. 



During a 43-minute trek near the seafloor of the Calypso Deep, cameras captured thousands of objects per square mile, mostly plastic waste discarded by humans.



A single straight-line pass of 2,130 feet was enough to confirm that human trash blankets large stretches of the basin. Most pieces were flexible plastics; glass, metal, and paper rounded out the list. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-trash_Calypso-Deep-region_Mediterranean_study-map_UBarcelona_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-trash_Calypso-Deep-region_Mediterranean_study-map_UBarcelona_1s.webp" alt="(A) General location of the Calypso Deep (box) in the Ionian Sea. PP: Peloponnese Peninsula. (B) Close up and general bathymetry of Calypso Deep (box) and surrounding area. For depth ranges, see color scale. (C) Detailed bathymetry of Calypso Deep with depth contours in meters. The position of the deepest point is indicated by the white dot, while the dive area is indicated by the red dot. Credit: University of Barcelona" class="wp-image-1976573"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(A) General location of the Calypso Deep (box) in the Ionian Sea. PP: Peloponnese Peninsula. (B) Close up and general bathymetry of Calypso Deep (box) and surrounding area. For depth ranges, see color scale. (C) Detailed bathymetry of Calypso Deep with depth contours in meters. The position of the deepest point is indicated by the white dot, while the dive area is indicated by the red dot. Click image to enlarge. Credit: University of Barcelona</figcaption></figure>



Even without animals caught on camera, the piles raise alarms because deep-sea communities recover slowly from disturbance.



Calypso Deep lies about 37 miles west of the Peloponnese coast inside the Hellenic Trench, a zone of steep, stepped walls prone to earthquakes. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-waste-rides-currents">Plastic waste rides currents</h2>



Weak currents, usually under 0.8 inches per second and rarely reaching 7 inches per second, let debris settle instead of sweeping it away.



“It comes from various sources, both terrestrial and marine. It could have arrived by various routes, including long-distance transport by ocean currents or direct dumping,” explains <a href="https://web.ub.edu/en/web/directori/?accio=SEL&amp;id=v759w8s35bo5v72r&amp;lang=ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Miquel Canals</a>, professor at the Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics at the University of Barcelona.



“Some light waste, such as plastics, comes from the coast and escapes to Calypso Deep, just about 37 miles away. Certain plastics, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-bag-bans-have-drastically-reduced-ocean-pollution/">like bags</a>, drift just above the seabed until they are partially or completely buried or break down into smaller fragments," Canals continued.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-trash_Calypso-Deep-region_Mediterranean_litter-photos_UBarcelona_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-trash_Calypso-Deep-region_Mediterranean_litter-photos_UBarcelona_1s.webp" alt="Examples of identified litter items with category attribution per material type (cf. Table 2). (A) Plastic bag, J3. (B) Plastic heavy-duty sack, J36. (C) Plastic sheet, J67. (D) Plastic food container made of hard plastic, J225. (E) Plastic heavy-duty sack, J36. (F) Plastic bag, J3 (G) Cups and lids of hard plastic, J227. (H) Plastic rope &gt; 1 cm in diameter, J49. (I) Paper cartons/Tetrapak (non-milk), J151. (J) Metal drink can, J175. (K) Glass bottle. Note sediment shadow with side scouring downwards of the bottle J200. (L) Plastic drink bottle. Credit: University of Barcelona" class="wp-image-1976569"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Examples of identified litter items with category attribution per material type. (A) Plastic bag, J3. (B) Plastic heavy-duty sack, J36. (C) Plastic sheet, J67. (D) Plastic food container made of hard plastic, J225. (E) Plastic heavy-duty sack, J36. (F) Plastic bag, J3 (G) Cups and lids of hard plastic, J227. (H) Plastic rope > 1 cm in diameter, J49. (I) Paper cartons/Tetrapak (non-milk), J151. (J) Metal drink can, J175. (K) Glass bottle. Note sediment shadow with side scouring downwards of the bottle J200. (L) Plastic drink bottle. Click image to enlarge. Credit: University of Barcelona</figcaption></figure>



Rivers, wind, and ship traffic all feed the stream of refuse heading offshore. As algae and other organisms cling to floating polymers, the added weight turns buoyant scraps into sinking hazards. The trench’s closed shape then locks the pieces in place.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-calypso-deep-as-a-plastic-graveyard">Calypso Deep as a plastic graveyard</h2>



Surface eddies often corral floating trash into the trench. When these eddies form over the Calypso Trench, some debris slowly falls to the bottom, aided by degradation and ballasting processes that increase its density. 



Surface currents can also carry debris northward from the Adriatic Sea through the Strait of Otranto and from waters off northwestern Greece. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-trash_Calypso-Deep-region_Mediterranean_3D-model_UBarcelona_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-trash_Calypso-Deep-region_Mediterranean_3D-model_UBarcelona_1s.webp" alt="(A) 3D model generated from a subset of video frames by reference to a litter item of known size shown in B. The white dashed line in A represents the camera frames along the Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) Limiting Factor moving path, whereas the red dashed line represents the frames counted between two items identified on the seabed. (B) Accumulation of litter items in the inner Calypso Deep with a litter item of known size (12 cm) used as a reference for 3D model generation. Credit: University of Barcelona" class="wp-image-1976567"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(A) 3D model generated from a subset of video frames by reference to a litter item of known size shown in B. The white dashed line in A represents the camera frames along the Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) Limiting Factor moving path, whereas the red dashed line represents the frames counted between two items identified on the seabed. (B) Accumulation of litter items in the inner Calypso Deep with a litter item of known size (12 cm) used as a reference for 3D model generation. Click image to enlarge. Credit: University of Barcelona</figcaption></figure>



The same circular flows that drive marine life cycles are now channeling waste into permanent graveyards at the very bottom of Earth's deepest bodies of water.



<a href="https://web.ub.edu/ca/web/actualitat/w/a-sea-of-rubbish-ocean-floor-landfills-?" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earlier work in 2021</a> showed the Strait of Messina carrying the world’s heaviest load of undersea garbage, confirming that the Mediterranean is especially at risk.



“We have also found evidence of boats dumping bags of rubbish, indicated by piles of assorted waste followed by an almost straight furrow," said Canals, expressing his frustration.



That is why the bottom of the Calypso Deep is littered with humans' plastic waste, and also why the problem will do nothing but continue to worsen.



"Unfortunately, when it comes to the Mediterranean, it is fair to say that ‘not a single inch of it is clean.’”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-do-we-go-from-here">Where do we go from here?</h2>



Unlike beaches and coastlines, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/99-percent-of-the-deep-ocean-floor-has-still-never-been-seen-by-humans/">ocean floor</a> remains largely out of sight, making it difficult to build social and political momentum for its conservation. 



Yet what settles at the bottom can influence marine life, food webs, fisheries, climate feedback loops, and even geological stability.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-mediterranean-nearly-lost-all-of-its-water-6-million-years-ago/">The Mediterranean</a> is an enclosed sea, surrounded by humanity, with intense maritime traffic and widespread fishing activity.



“Scientists, communicators, journalists, influencers - everyone with a platform - must work together. The problem is vast, even if it is not directly visible, and we cannot ignore it," Canals implored.



The trail of refuse from shorelines to Calypso Deep underlines a plain truth: plastics and other debris do not vanish once tossed aside. They ride currents, sink in stages, and ultimately collect in the planet’s most secluded hollows. 



The evidence provided by this research should galvanize global efforts - especially in the Mediterranean - to curb dumping, particularly of plastics, in line with the pending <a href="https://www.globalplasticlaws.org/un-global-plastics-treaty" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN Global Plastics Treaty</a>.



From the North Atlantic’s first recorded litter in 1975 to the record densities documented across the Mediterranean today, the pattern remains the same - human waste reaches everywhere water flows.



We must do more, we must do better, and we must do it now.



-----



Thanks to the leaders of this research team - Miquel Canals of the <a href="https://web.ub.edu/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Barcelona</a>, Georg Hanke of the European Commission’s <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/about/departments-and-executive-agencies/joint-research-centre_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joint Research Centre</a>, François Galgani of <a href="https://www.ifremer.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IFREMER</a>, and Victor Vescovo of <a href="https://caladanoceanic.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caladan Oceanic</a>



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X25000852">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a>.



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Scientists make disturbing discovery on the deepest parts of the seafloor: 'Not a single inch of it is clean'

The Mediterranean has long been a crossroads of trade and tourism, yet its deepest pocket, the Calypso Deep, seemed beyond the reach of day-to-day pollution. That hope ended earlier this year when researchers reported plastic bags, glass shards, and crumpled cans resting 16,770 feet beneath the waves in the Ionian Sea. Their survey logged 167 items on the trench floor - 148 confirmed pieces of marine litter and 19 more that almost certainly came from people. By any measure, it is one of the densest concentrations of...

A recent grant from the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/science/office-science">Department of Energy’s Office of Science</a> will fund a three-year project led by the <a href="https://www.uh.edu/">University of Houston</a> to investigate the impact of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-clouds-be-affected-by-climate-change/">clouds</a> on our planet’s climate. By studying the interaction between clouds and the tiny particles that comprise them -&nbsp; known as aerosols - the scientists will try to better understand how cloud formation and location in the atmosphere maintain the Earth’s temperature.



“Clouds cover about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface,” said project leader Professor Yunsoo Choi. “They are one of the most essential components of the global climate system because of their regulation of surface precipitation and the atmosphere’s radiation balance,” i.e. the difference between the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the Earth and the amount released back into space.



The scientists will focus on how aerosols form various types of clouds with different radiative impacts. Aerosols – which can be both inorganic, consisting of sulfates, nitrates, or ammonium, and organic, such as black carbon or soil particles – play a fundamental role in cloud formation. When water vapor condenses on their surface, it forms cloud condensing nuclei, which are essentially the “seeds” from which clouds grow.



“The formation of cloud droplets typically cannot occur without aerosols. Clouds strongly affect the Earth’s energy balance by trapping heat near the surface and reflecting solar radiation back to space,” explained study co-author Ali Mousavinezhad.



To better understand the role of aerosols in cloud formation and their impact on the Earth’s climate, the researchers will use data from the Department of Energy-funded Atmospheric Radiation Measurement’s&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.uh.edu/2021-tracer-campaign/index.html">TRacking Aerosol Convection Interaction ExpeRiment</a>, together with data from an aerosol-cloud interaction targeted modelling system.



“For me, the most interesting aspect of this project is the combination of a modeling system with the dataset from an ongoing campaign, happening right here in our backyard,” said study co-author Arman Pouyaei. “The idea is to use this dataset in a novel technical approach. We hope to learn important lessons about the capabilities of current modeling frameworks in representing the impacts of aerosols on cloud formation and climate change.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Climate change is primarily discussed in terms of greenhouse gases. By the end of this project, we&nbsp;will gain a deeper understanding of how aerosols as air pollutants influence cloud formation and our planet’s climate, which I am very excited about,” concluded Mousavinezhad.



---



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

How do clouds influence Earth’s climate?

A recent grant from the Department of Energy’s Office of...

Conifers are dominant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/in-tropical-forests-lightning-strikes-the-most-resilient-trees/">tree</a> species in boreal forests that are susceptible to bark beetle attacks. When under attack, the trees release volatile organic compounds to warn neighboring seedlings. These are the findings from a new study out of the <a href="https://www.uef.fi/en">University of Eastern Finland</a>.



When plants are damaged, they release odorous chemicals into the atmosphere as a way to communicate. This defense mechanism had not been identified in conifer trees. 



“We decided to look at whether conifers undergo a similar response and were amazed at the results,” said study co-author Hao Yu.



The experts found that when Scots pine seedlings are damaged by bark-feeding weevils, they release volatile chemicals into the atmosphere. Undamaged plants exposed to these chemicals also start to release volatiles and prepare themselves to emit more once they are under attack.&nbsp;



“This observation is novel and has broad implications for further research investigating the mechanisms of how plants obtain information from their neighbors,” said Professor James Blande.



After the warning, receiver plants altered resin duct traits, and were subject to reduced amounts of damage by pine weevils. The researchers also discovered that receiver plants had increased their net photosynthesis rate.



The team investigated the responses of receiver plants under elevated ozone conditions to represent more polluted regions. They found that the responses were significantly altered, but the final defense outcome was not affected.



“The different responses of receiver plants made us think that the communication process was eliminated, but receiver plants still had more resistance to weevils,” said Yu.&nbsp;



The research sheds new light on conifer communication, and indicates that it can be substantially altered by air pollution.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0963">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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

Conifer communication is altered by air pollution

Conifers are dominant tree species in boreal forests that are...

Teenagers,Student,Wearing,Mouth,Mask,Against,Smog,In,City

The negative effects of breathing polluted air are well known for adults. Inhaling polluted air has been associated with increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/medical-cannabis-increases-risk-of-heart-arrhythmia/">arrhythmias</a>, and the development of atherosclerosis, the build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries. Although there are many chemical components to polluted air, experts are especially concerned about the levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) because it can be drawn deeply into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream.



According to new research published in the <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/jaha">Journal of the American Heart Association</a>, polluted air may have a negative effect on the heart health of teenagers as well. The study examined the impact of inhaling fine particulate matter on the heart rhythms of adolescents and found that this form of air pollution may trigger irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) in healthy teenagers.



“While relatively rare, irregular heart rhythms can lead to&nbsp;sudden cardiac death&nbsp;in otherwise healthy adolescents and young adults. Our findings linking air pollution to irregular heart rhythms suggest that particulate matter may contribute to the risk of sudden cardiac death among youth,” said study lead author Dr. Fan He, an instructor at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania.&nbsp;



“Since childhood and adolescent cardiovascular conditions can track into adulthood and affect risk of major cardiovascular disease later in life, identifying modifiable risk factors of cardiac arrhythmia that may cause sudden cardiac death among adolescents should be of great public interest.”



Fine particulates (PM2.5) are tiny particles less than 2.5 microns in size. They derive from the combustion of fuel and from wildfires and, when inhaled deeply, can enter the blood stream. These particles irritate the lungs and blood vessels around the heart and may, over time, increase the risk of disease in the arteries.&nbsp;



The investigators analyzed the impact of breathing PM2.5 pollution on two types of irregular heart rhythms in adolescent participants. Arrhythmia is characterized by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/about-arrhythmia/premature-contractions-pacs-and-pvcs">premature contraction in the heart muscle</a>, often described as a “skipped heart beat,” but this condition can originate in either the top chambers (atria) or bottom chambers (ventricles) of the heart.&nbsp;



In premature atrial contractions (PACs), the abnormal heart beat usually causes no symptoms or harm, although frequent premature atrial contractions have been related to an increased risk of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation">atrial fibrillation</a>&nbsp;– a severe form of arrhythmia in which the top chambers quiver instead of beating effectively, thereby raising the risk of blood clots and strokes. Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are more serious and raise the risk of later heart attacks, strokes, heart failure or sudden cardiac death.



The researchers analyzed health data for 322 adolescents (average age 17 years; 56 percent males; 79 percent non-Hispanic white teens) living in central Pennsylvania who participated in a follow-up evaluation in the Penn State Child Cohort study. That study, conducted between 2002 and 2006, initially recruited children aged between six and twelve years. The data analyzed in this study reviewed results from the follow-up evaluation nearly 7.5 years later (2010-2013).&nbsp;



The children in this group were free of major cardiovascular conditions at the start of the study and were considered at low risk for irregular heart rhythms. In the follow-up study, the researchers simultaneously measured exposure to fine particulate matter in the air each teen breathed (using a device called a nephelometer) for 24 hours, and took EKG tracings of each teen’s heart rhythms via a small wearable device called a Holter monitor.



Data collected during the study showed that the average PM2.5&nbsp;concentration recorded in the air around the participants was approximately 17 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) per day, which is well-below the health-based air quality standard of 35 µg/m3/day&nbsp;established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).&nbsp;



Despite this low level of PM2.5&nbsp;present, almost 80 percent of the participants experienced at least one irregular heart rhythm during the 24-hour study period. Of that group, 40 percent had only premature atrial contractions, 12 percent had only premature ventricular contractions, and 48 percent experienced both.



In addition, although no association was found between the concentration of fine particulate matter and the number of premature atrial contractions, there was a link between premature ventricular contractions and the levels of PM2.5&nbsp;. The researchers found an increase of 5 percent in the number of PVCs for each 10 µg/m3&nbsp;increase in PM2.5. This result was recorded within two hours of exposure to higher levels of particulate matter in the air.&nbsp;



“Our study found that air pollution increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and sudden cardiac death, even among healthy adolescents,” said Dr. He. “Protective measures, such as wearing masks and avoiding vigorous physical activities, may be warranted on days that particulate matter concentration is high, especially during early morning rush hours.”



“It is alarming that we were able to observe such a significant impact of air pollution on cardiac arrhythmias when the air quality remained well within the health-based standards established by the EPA. It may suggest that adolescents who live in highly polluted areas such as inner cities are at even higher risk.”&nbsp;



The results were consistent with data previously obtained for adults, using similar methods, although the increase in premature ventricular contractions was even higher in adults. The researchers propose that reducing the risk of irregular heart rhythms in adolescents may reduce their risk of developing heart disease as adults.



“The most effective way to reduce everyone’s exposure to air pollution is by supporting more robust national-level air quality regulations,” said American Heart Association volunteer expert Dr. Robert D. Brook, who has co-authored several American Heart Association scientific statements on air pollution.



“PM2.5&nbsp;levels have fallen dramatically since the 1970s–80s due to regulations that have been unquestionably linked to improved health effects and life expectancy. We outlined, in a recent AHA scientific statement titled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000931?utm_campaign=sciencenews20-21&amp;utm_source=science-news&amp;utm_medium=phd-link&amp;utm_content=phd11-05-20">Personal-Level Protective Actions Against Particulate Matter Air Pollution Exposure</a>,&nbsp;strategies and activity or behavioral changes that may reduce pollution exposure, such as portable air cleaners, facemasks, respirators and exercising during non-peak hours. However, there have been no studies to show these measures can actually prevent adverse clinical health effects such as heart attacks.”



According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000930?utm_campaign=sciencenews20-21&amp;utm_source=science-news&amp;utm_medium=phd-link&amp;utm_content=phd11-05-20">2020 American Heart Association policy statement</a>, ambient air pollution is widely recognized as a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease and death. In 2017, exposure to particulate air pollution was estimated to be associated with more than 7 million premature deaths and the loss of 147 million healthy life-years globally. The Association recommends further development of evidence-based policy approaches, continued investment in research and greater innovation and transformational partnerships to reduce the cardiovascular burden of ambient air pollutants in the U.S.



“The most interesting and significant aspect of this study is clearly that the results were found in healthy young adolescents,” said Dr. Brook. “The study adds support for the concern that even healthy young people are not immune to adverse cardiovascular responses to PM2.5&nbsp;and at exposure levels within National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 24 hours, established by the EPA. It is plausible that the findings help explain the potential reason for the time of onset of arrhythmias and even sudden death in some susceptible young people.”



Dr. He and colleagues are currently evaluating the impact of air pollution on other markers of cardiac electrical activity.



---



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

Irregular heartbeat in teens linked to air pollution

The negative effects of breathing polluted air are well known...

Recent studies using computational modeling to investigate how melting ice in Antarctica may impact the world’s oceans have largely focused on aspects such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-we-prevent-a-catastrophic-meltdown-of-the-worlds-largest-ice-sheet/">ice-sheet</a> geometry, fracture, and surface melting, which could potentially trigger or accelerate ice-sheet mass loss. Now, a research team from <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> has identified and described an additional process which could have a similarly strong impact on the future of Antarctic ice sheets: the thawing of the bed at the interface of the land and the miles-thick ice sheets above it – a phenomenon known as basal thaw.



By using numerical ice-sheet models, the researchers tested whether the onset of basal thaw could lead to significant ice loss within a 100-year period, and discovered that triggering thaw can lead to mass loss in areas of the ice sheet which are not usually associated with instability and sea-level rise contributions at such a short timescale.



“There really has been little to no continental-wide work that looks at the onset of thawing –&nbsp;that transition from frozen ice to ice at the melting point, where a little bit of water at the bed can cause the ice to slide,” said study lead study author Eliza Dawson, a doctoral student in Geophysics at Stanford. “We were interested in learning how big an effect thawing could have and what regions of the ice sheet were potentially most susceptible.”



Together with her colleagues, Dawson modeled temperature changes at Antarctica’s base according to shifts in friction caused by the ice sheet sliding over the land beneath it. The simulations revealed that in East Antarctica - an area considered relatively stable compared to West Antarctica - the Enderby-Kemp and George V Land regions would be most sensitive to basal thaw. If thawing were to occur, such areas could end up being leading sea-level rise contributors, comparable to the rapidly evolving and highly unstable Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica.



“The whole community is really focusing on Thwaites right now,” said study senior author Dustin Schroeder, an associate professor of Geophysics and Electrical Engineering at Stanford. “But some of the regions that are the usual suspects for big, impactful changes aren’t the most provocative and impactful areas in this study.”



Although scientists do not yet know what forces are most capable of triggering basal thaw in the potentially susceptible regions identified in this study, one possible driver could be changing ocean conditions. “Warm ocean water does not necessarily reach these East Antarctica regions as it does in parts of West Antarctica, but it’s nearby, so there’s potential that could change,” Professor Schroeder explained. “When you consider the recent theoretical work showing that thermal processes at the bed can be easy to activate – even spontaneous – it makes near-term thawing of the ice-sheet bed seem like a far easier switch to flip than we’d thought.”



“Follow-on work will be needed to take a closer look at these regions that this paper identified. Showing that thawing at the bed can result in mass loss from the ice sheet is a process that the community needs to understand and really start looking at – especially in these potentially vulnerable areas,” Dawson concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32632-2">Nature Communications</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;&nbsp;

New trigger of Antarctic ice-sheet loss identified

Recent studies using computational modeling to investigate how melting ice...

Insects that are adapted to wet, tropical regions will be impacted by the drier conditions associated with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-limits-the-forest-canopys-cooling-response/">climate change</a>. A paper recently published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb16379">Global Change Biology</a> reveals that tropical insects will also be affected by relatively heavy rainfall.&nbsp;



Researchers in Peru conducted a five-year study on the effects of short-term droughts followed by increased precipitation and found a 50 percent decline in the biomass of arthropods (spiders and insects). These findings suggest that arthropods are more sensitive to climate change than previously thought.&nbsp;



"Most of the time when we think about climate change, we think about warming temperatures, but rainfall patterns will change as well, which is something insects seem to be especially sensitive to," said Felicity Newell, a postdoctoral associate at the <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/">Florida Museum of Natural History</a>. "We're seeing that rainfall extremes can have negative effects over very short timescales."



This phenomenon of just the right amount of water is an example of Goldilocks preference. Insects, in particular, are already suffering assaults on many fronts, and now we know climate change is another serious threat to their populations. This data is especially alarming because over half of the world's insect diversity occurs in the tropics.&nbsp;



For part of the study, Newell and co-author Ian Ausprey compared rainfall and temperature measurements to the number of insects they collected in the Andes mountains of northern Peru for two-and-a-half years. While they expected that plant growth would determine insect abundance, they found that rainfall had the biggest influence.&nbsp;



"Arthropod biomass decreased after three months of dry weather, but it also decreased after three months of exceptionally wet conditions," Newell explained. "Biomass peaked at intermediate rainfall, creating a dynamic balance between too wet and too dry."&nbsp;



Although the researchers determined that tropical insects, especially smaller ones, were vulnerable to dry conditions in an experimental study, they could not determine why they also reacted negatively to very wet environments.&nbsp;



Moreover, the predictive model they developed places insects as canaries in the coal mine since it predicts that insects will be the first type of animals to react to a climate in peril. Whatever the case, insects are indispensable. Many ecosystems depend on them as engineers, pollinators, and food sources.&nbsp;



"Insects are incredibly diverse and important," said Newell. "They fill the ecosystem roles of pollination and decomposition, and they serve as a food resource for many birds and mammals."&nbsp;



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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

Tropical insects are more sensitive to climate change than expected

Insects that are adapted to wet, tropical regions will be...

Increasingly more scientists have recently argued that multiple, dangerous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tipping-points-could-be-triggered-without-further-warming/">tipping points</a> are most likely approaching worldwide due to anthropogenic climate change. Now, a team of experts from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has used centuries-old clam shells to investigate how the North Atlantic climate system reached such a tipping point before the Little Ice Age - a period of regional cooling (most pronounced in the North Atlantic region) that occurred between the 14th and 19th centuries.



A long-standing scientific theory suggests that the initial cooling in this period was sustained by so-called “sea-ice to ocean feedbacks” – a phenomenon in which sea-ice expansion slowed ocean currents, which in turn significantly reduced the flow of warm water from the South.&nbsp;



By analyzing shells of quahog clams – which can live for several centuries – the researchers aimed to understand how the ocean has evolved and responded to external changes during the past centuries. The experts discovered that the North Atlantic climate system destabilized and lost resilience immediately before the Little Ice Age, possibly causing the Earth to tip into a new, colder state.



“One way to tell that a system is approaching a sudden transition is that it becomes slow to respond to perturbations (external changes),” said study lead author Beatriz Arellano-Nava, a doctoral student in Geography and Global Systems at the University of Exeter. “In other words, a system loses the ability to return to its average state, and can instead ‘tip’ into a new state.”



“In the case of the North Atlantic prior to the Little Ice Age, this loss of resilience made the system vulnerable to an abrupt switch, potentially heralding the transition to Little Ice Age conditions,” added study co-author Paul Halloran, an associate professor of Earth Sciences at the same university.



According to the scientists, the North Atlantic could be approaching once more a tipping point, with major consequences for the world’s climate.&nbsp;



“Our latest analysis suggests that the system of ocean currents in the northern North Atlantic could be at risk of a tipping point again now due to global warming, leading once again to abrupt climate change over Europe,” concluded study senior author Timothy Lenton, the director of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32653-x">Nature Communications</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;&nbsp;

The North Atlantic may be approaching another tipping point

Increasingly more scientists have recently argued that multiple, dangerous tipping...

As a response to higher amounts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-costs-of-carbon-are-much-higher-than-expected/">carbon</a> in the atmosphere, plants grow faster and bigger. This change in growth also shows a loss in the plant's nutritional value. Researchers from <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> have found that phosphorus might be a key to maintaining nutrition along with greater growth.



“We can’t synthesize [phosphorus] like we can nitrogen,” said Hatem Rouached, an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “We need to develop a better understanding of how plants regulate phosphorus to survive.”&nbsp;



Rouached and other researchers noticed that as plants exposed to carbon dioxide grow larger, their phosphorus content declines and they wondered why.



“We wanted to know why the plants weren’t taking up more phosphorus," said Rouached. "And to see if the decrease of phosphorus levels is a defect or adaptive response, and whether there was a way to change that to ensure the plants grow and provide nutritious food too.”&nbsp;



Looking inside of plant cells, the scientists discovered that not overloading chloroplasts (where photosynthesis takes place) with phosphorus was an adaptive measure. Phosphorus as part of photosynthesis is an important part of creating energy for a plant.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“What was really important in our discovery is that when we try to force the plant to put a lot of phosphorus in the chloroplast, the plant failed to grow,” said Rouached. “We discovered that the increase in phytic acid levels needs to be tightly controlled in plants to allow the plants to grow under elevated carbon dioxide.”&nbsp;



The cessation of plant growth with an increase in phytic acid has important implications for agriculture and nutrition, especially as carbon in the atmosphere continues to increase. There’s still much left for scientists to explore on the topic though.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This paper is the first to show there is an urgent need for discussion of how we can protect plant malnutrition against the increase of carbon dioxide worldwide,” said Rouached.&nbsp;



---



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

Growing plants bigger isn’t necessarily better

As a response to higher amounts of carbon in the...

How rivers function is fundamentally affected by how much sediment they transport and deposit. River sediment – consisting mostly of sand, clay, and silt – plays a major ecological role, providing habitat for a variety of organisms downstream and in estuaries. Moreover, sediment also affects human lives and activities, by resupplying nutrients to agricultural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drying-soils-pose-a-major-threat-to-public-health/">soils</a> in floodplains or buffering the rise in sea level caused by climate change by delivering sand to coastlines and deltas.&nbsp;



However, according to a new study led by <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a>, over the past four decades, humans have caused unprecedented changes to river sediment transport by building dams and modifying land-use.&nbsp;



By using satellite images and streamflow data, the scientists investigated changes in how much sediment was carried to the oceans by 414 of our planet’s largest rivers from 1984 to 2020. “Humans have been able to alter the world’s biggest rivers at rates that are unprecedented in the recent geologic record,” said study lead author Evan Dethier, an expert in Fluvial Geomorphology at Dartmouth.&nbsp;



“The amount of sediment rivers carry is generally dictated by natural processes in watersheds, like how much rain there is or whether there are landslides or vegetation. We found that human activities are overwhelming these natural processes and outweighing the effects of climate change.”



The analysis revealed that widespread dam building in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere (North America, Europe, and parts of Asia) have reduced the global delivery of water-borne sediment from rivers to the oceans by 49 percent. However, in the Southern Hemisphere (South America, Africa, and Oceania), sediment transport has increased in 36 percent of the rivers, mainly due to land-use changes, such as deforestation.



The results in the North are worrisome, and could predict future changes in the South. Since there are over 300 dams planned for South America’s and Oceania’s largest rivers – including the Amazon River, which carries more sediment than any other river in the world – the problems northern areas are currently facing could soon haunt the global South too.&nbsp;



“Rivers are pretty sensitive indicators of what we’re doing to the surface of the Earth — they are like a thermometer for land-use change,” explained study co-author&nbsp;Carl Renshaw, an earth scientist at Dartmouth. “It’s well-established that there’s a soil loss crisis in the U.S., but we just don’t see it in the sediment export record because it’s all getting stuck behind these dams, whereas we can see the signal for rivers in the global South.”



Better understanding how dams retain sediment and how land-use practices are increasing downstream erosion could help scientists and decision-makers develop more efficient environmental management policies in the future.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7980">Science</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;&nbsp;

Humans have caused unprecedented changes to rivers

How rivers function is fundamentally affected by how much sediment...

Green,Romain,Or,Cos,Lettuce,Plant,In,Organic,Garden

Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-found-on-water-trapped-on-plant-leaves/">plastic</a> pollution, particularly after they realized that mismanaged plastics that reach the environment break down into smaller pieces known as microplastics and nanoplastics. Due to their very small size, nanoplastics can break through physiological barriers and enter a variety of organisms.&nbsp;



However, despite the growing awareness of the potential toxicity of nanoplastics to plants and animals, the current scientific understanding of plastic transfer in food chains remains limited. For instance, little is known about the presence of nanoplastics in soil ecosystems and their uptake by soil organisms, even though agricultural soils are most likely polluted by nanoplastics from sources such as atmospheric deposition, wastewater irrigation, sewage sludge application, or mulching film use.&nbsp;



Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.uef.fi/en">University of Eastern Finland</a> has developed a novel, metallic fingerprint-based method to detect and measure microplastics in organisms, and applied it to a model food chain consisting of three trophic levels: lettuce as a primary producer, black soldier fly larvae as primary consumers, and the common roach (an insectivorous fish) as a secondary consumer.



The researchers exposed lettuce plants to polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) nanoplastics for two weeks via contaminated soil, after which they harvested and fed them to black soldier fly larvae. After five days of feeding with lettuce, the flies were fed to the fish. By using scanning electron microscopy to analyze the dissected plants, larvae, and fish, the scientists discovered that nanoplastics were taken up by the roots of the plants and, after accumulating in the leaves, were transferred to the insects and, eventually, the fish. The pollutants were found in the mouth and gut of insects even after allowing them to empty their guts for 24 hours, as well as in the gills, liver, and intestines of fish.



“Our results show that lettuce can take up nanoplastics from the soil and transfer them into the food chain. This indicates that the presence of tiny plastic particles in soil could be associated with a potential health risk to herbivores and humans if these findings are found to be generalizable to other plants and crops and to field settings. However, further research into the topic is still urgently needed,”&nbsp;concluded lead author Fazel Monikh, an expert in Nanotoxicology at the University of Eastern Finland.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nantod.2022.101611">Nano Today</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;&nbsp;

Nanoplastics can easily travel through food webs

Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about plastic pollution, particularly after...

According to a recent study led by the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a>, even if we did have the infinite power to artificially cool enough of the ocean to weaken a hurricane, the benefits would be minimal. By using sophisticated computer simulations, the experts found that even the energy alone which would be necessary to weaken <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hurricanes-stronger-climate-change/">hurricanes</a> before landfall makes it a highly inefficient method to mitigate such natural disasters.



“The main result from our study is that massive amounts of artificially cooled water would be needed for only a modest weakening in hurricane intensity before landfall,” said study lead author James Hlywiak, a postdoctoral fellow in Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami.



“Plus, weakening the intensity by marginal amounts doesn’t necessarily mean that the likelihood for inland damages and safety risks would decrease as well. While any amount of weakening before landfall is a good thing, for these reasons it makes more sense to direct focus towards adaptation strategies such as reinforcing infrastructure, improving the efficiency of evacuation procedures, and advancing the science around detection and prediction of impending storms.”



By using a combination of air-sea interaction theories and a state-of-the-art computer model of the atmosphere, the researchers estimated whether cooling areas of the ocean up to 260,000 km2&nbsp;in size - larger than the state of Oregon and equating to 21,000 cubic kilometers of water - by up to two degrees Celsius, would considerably weaken possible hurricanes. Their analysis revealed that, even with the largest area of cooling, the simulated hurricanes would weaken only by 15 percent. Moreover, the amount of energy needed to achieve such a small reduction would be the equivalent to over 100 times the amount consumed across the entire U.S. in 2019 alone.



“You might think that the main finding of our article, that it’s pointless to try to weaken hurricanes, should be obvious,” said study senior author David Nolan, a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami. “And yet, various ideas for hurricane modification appear often in popular media and are even submitted for patents every few years. We’re happy to be able to put something into the peer-reviewed literature that actually addresses this.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00519-1">Nature Communications Earth &amp; Environment</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;

Artificial ocean cooling could not weaken hurricanes

According to a recent study led by the University of...

Magnificent,Colours,In,The,Great,Barrier,Reef

In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>, experts report that climate models are unreliable when it comes to predicting how much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-played-a-key-role-in-shifting-ancient-coral-reefs/">coral reefs</a> will be damaged by tropical cyclones.



As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like tropical cyclones, scientists are attempting to use climate models to identify reef communities that will be the most vulnerable to storm damage.



In the current study, however, experts warn that the climate models are not yet reliable enough to determine which reefs will be most at risk from cyclone damage.&nbsp;



Cyclones produce destructive waves that can break apart or flatten coral reefs. The most damaging weather is found close to the eye of a cyclone.



“It can take decades to centuries for coral communities to recover from the damage that is caused by extreme weather events - and it is important that conservationists target their limited resources at those reefs which are more likely to survive climate change," explained study co-author Dr Marji Puotinen, a scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science.



“To do that, they need to assess the vulnerability of coral reefs in the face of more extreme weather patterns. But currently, we are urging caution when it comes to predicting the damage that could be done to a coral reef from future cyclones.”&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed the accuracy of climate models by looking at how well they predicted recent extreme weather events. The study revealed that the models had failed to account for all of the features of a cyclone that result in damaging waves.



While the climate models predicted that the average cyclone will be more intense in the future with medium to high confidence, the models were less certain about the impact of tropical cyclone wave damage on coral reefs.&nbsp;



“Our investigation has identified the pros and cons of using climate models in coral reef conservation work," explained Adele Dixon, a doctoral researcher at the University of Leeds who led the study.



“The models are accurate in projecting at a global scale that cyclones in the future are highly likely to be more intense because of climate change. But they are less accurate in projecting how those cyclones will affect individual coral reefs – that is the result of more localised conditions such as the pounding of waves.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the study authors, further research is needed to better understand the impacts of climate change on tropical cyclones and the damage they cause to coral reefs.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23284277">Earth's Future</a>.



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

Climate models do not reliably predict cyclone damage to coral reefs

In a new study led by the University of Leeds,...

In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.naturalis.nl/en">Naturalis Biodiversity Center</a>, experts have begun to unravel the evolutionary mystery of why some plants grow into woody shrubs or trees, while others never produce wood. The researchers have assembled the first global overview of the evolution of woody plants on islands.



“The first woody trees evolved on Earth some 400 million years ago, but still we know so little about why they developed wood in the first place," said study co-author Frederic Lens.



While all of the earliest woody trees are now extinct, woodiness is still evolving in some plants today - particularly on islands.&nbsp;



In a phenomenon that Charles Darwin described as "insular woodiness," a non-woody plant gradually evolves into a woody shrub or tree on the same island over the course of tens or hundreds of thousands of years.



To gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, the research team compiled a new database that includes over 1,000 insular woody species and their distribution. This will allow the experts to test some existing theories.&nbsp;



“We identified a link between increased drought and increased wood formation in plant stems on islands. I am convinced that the link between drought and woodiness will be even much stronger on continents," said Lens.&nbsp;



The experts will test this hypothesis using the completed database, which will also contain about 6,000 additional woody species that evolved their woodiness on continents. The team has identified every insular woody species in the world, their distribution, and the number of transitions the plants made throughout their evolution.



“It was really crazy to compile such a dataset in the first place," said Lens. “It took me more than 10 years to finalize the database, but fortunately, it all paid off in the end."



The new database identified three times as many insular woody species compared to what had been documented. These include more than 1,000 species that were formed through at least 175 independent transitions.&nbsp;



“This clearly emphasises that islands are remarkable&nbsp; biodiversity hotspots in the world, with a unique flora that urgently needs protection," said study first author Alexander Zizka of the University of Marburg.



“With the dry European summer of 2022 in mind, the fact that drought pops up as one of most likely drivers of wood formation, offers promising research avenues in agriculture to help safeguard our food production,” explained Lens. 



“Suppose we would be able to turn every non-woody crop into a woody crop, we will not only have larger crops with a higher yield per plant, but more importantly, we will also be able to increase the drought tolerance of these woodier crops. In a world facing climate change and a growing global human population, this is simply essential.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2208629119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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

Exploring the mystery of why some plants become woody

In a new study led by the Naturalis Biodiversity Center,...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



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.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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 <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



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.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video 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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



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.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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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.

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



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



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Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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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



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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



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



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Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



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



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a>&nbsp;features the Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of the largest tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland. The glacier is located on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet.



As human-induced climate change continues to drive up temperatures, global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. ESA reports that, over the past decade alone, 3.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet. This is enough to cover the UK with meltwater 15 meters deep.



Based on satellite imagery, researchers determined that Kangerlussuaq entered a new phase of rapid retreat and acceleration in 2017. In their study, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00123/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>,&nbsp; the experts report that the glacier's ice front is now at its most retreated position since the early 20th century.



"Given Kangerlussuaq’s previous impacts on both the magnitude and pattern of ice sheet wide mass loss, we predict that its new phase of retreat, acceleration and thinning will markedly enhance the south-east region’s contribution to increasing discharge from the ice sheet," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"More broadly, accurate forecasting of the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise will require a deeper understanding of, and responses to, these non-linear ice dynamic processes."



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the complex relationship between ocean and climate. ESA's Climate Change Initiative will help us understand how oceans influence the climate and how climate change is impacting the oceans.&nbsp;



"Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate," explains ESA.



"As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life."



The amount of heat and carbon dioxide soaked up by the ocean depends on specific variables, including phytoplankton, temperatures, waves, salinity, and ice cover. Satellites can be used to measure these variables from space.



"From their unique vantage point, satellites provide key information for understanding the complexities of our planet and monitoring environmental issues," says ESA.



Video 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



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Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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