When glaciers melt, they release water that carries sulfate-rich minerals previously trapped in the ice. This sulfate flows into streams and wetlands, increasing its concentration in watersheds.



As sulfate accumulates, it creates conditions that can trigger the production of toxic methylmercury, posing risks to ecosystems and wildlife.



Methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin, forms in waterlogged, sulfate-rich wetlands and enters water systems. It accumulates in fish, moves up the food chain to birds, and eventually reaches people who consume contaminated wildlife.



"Very little research has looked at methylmercury production in high-elevation wetlands," said Hannah Miller, a PhD student at <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CU Boulder</a> and lead author of a recent study.



"This leaves important knowledge gaps regarding how much is being produced in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/glacier-melting-threatens-global-water-supplies-and-coastal-communities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mountain</a> wetlands and how this may change with ongoing climate change."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-mercury-turns-toxic-in-wetlands">How mercury turns toxic in wetlands</h2>



Methylmercury production from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-are-reshaping-landscapes-and-national-borders-around-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glacier</a> melt sulfate only occurs within a specific range in wetland soils. If glacier-derived sulfate levels are too low, the conversion process doesn’t start; too high, and it stalls.



The ideal range - 0.60 to 1.4 milligrams per gram of dry soil - creates optimal conditions for mercury to transform into its toxic methylated form.



Miller’s team pinpointed this “Goldilocks zone” after testing soil from peatlands, alpine meadows, and riparian zones. Above the treeline, methylmercury levels barely budged. Below the treeline, peatlands pulsed with microbial activity, converting mercury to its toxic form.



"We also found in our experiment that moderate sulfate additions to the subalpine peatlands resulted in the greatest production of methylmercury within the soils," Miller said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peatlands-as-mercury-hotspots">Peatlands as mercury hotspots</h2>



In the lab, Miller pumped different sulfate concentrations into soil samples. The response? Peatlands with moderate sulfate additions churned out the most methylmercury.



But there’s a catch. Wetlands above the treeline don’t have much vegetation. Fewer plants mean less carbon-rich material to feed the microbes that convert sulfate to methylmercury. But in the subalpine peatlands, dense vegetation and waterlogged soils create the perfect storm.



Sulfate-reducing bacteria thrive in these oxygen-starved <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-could-run-out-of-water-if-glaciers-continue-to-melt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environments</a>. They grab onto sulfate, munch through carbon, and churn out methylmercury as a byproduct. And as glaciers keep melting, more sulfate keeps coming.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-glaciers-spread-sulfate">Melting glaciers spread sulfate </h2>



Sulfate doesn’t stay put. It migrates downstream, riding currents and seeping into soils. In the past 30 years, sulfate levels in Boulder’s watershed have shot up by 200%. That spike mirrors a global pattern.



Glacier-fed streams in the Andes, Alps, and Himalayas show similar trends - up to a 2000% increase in sulfate concentrations. As these minerals flow, so does the risk of methylmercury contamination.



"It's a really interesting climate-driven signal that is starting to get more attention," Miller said. "And while increasing sulfate concentrations have direct implications for ecosystems, they can also have indirect impacts, including changing how mercury is transformed within wetlands."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mercury-moves-through-food-chains">Mercury moves through food chains</h2>



Methylmercury doesn’t just stay in the soil. It slips into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-threaten-global-water-security/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water</a>, where fish absorb it through their gills. Small fish pass it to bigger fish. Birds swoop down, eat the fish, and the toxin moves up the food chain.



"In semi-arid mountain ecosystems, poorly developed soils and limited water bodies make it easy to think there is a lower risk for mercury contamination," noted Miller.



"But our findings show there is a risk, particularly in subalpine peatlands, and raise important questions about how this toxin may impact the communities and wildlife that rely on that water source now and in the future."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sulfate-isn-t-the-only-player">Sulfate isn’t the only player</h2>



Sulfate takes the spotlight, but it’s not alone. Iron, carbon, and water levels also play crucial roles in the methylmercury cycle.



In Boulder’s watershed, dry conditions could limit the spread of peatlands, reducing the areas where methylmercury thrives. But increased precipitation could do the opposite - more wetlands, more methylmercury.



Miller’s study also hints at the role of iron. Sulfate additions alone triggered methylmercury production, but iron concentrations could magnify or mitigate that effect.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-glaciers-rising-mercury-levels">Melting glaciers, rising mercury levels</h2>



Glaciers worldwide are melting, releasing sulfate-rich minerals into nearby streams and wetlands. This surge in sulfate is not limited to Boulder but is occurring in mountain watersheds globally. 



As sulfate levels rise, so does the risk of toxic methylmercury formation, impacting ecosystems far beyond Colorado.



Glacial melt in Peru’s Andes has turned once-pristine wetlands into mercury-contaminated hotspots. The European Alps and the Himalayas face similar risks as warming temperatures increase sulfate runoff. 



As glaciers recede, more sulfate spills into wetlands, driving methylmercury production and threatening ecosystems globally.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-mercury-in-wetlands">Controlling mercury in wetlands</h2>



Monitoring sulfate is one thing. Mitigating its impact is another. Restoring wetlands, managing runoff, and regulating upstream mining could reduce sulfate flow. But Miller and her team aren’t stopping there.



"This research is timely, given the confluence of global changes, including climate warming, changes in the supply of reactive elements, and the occurrence of wildfires that are threatening sensitive high-elevation ecosystems," said Eve-Lyn Hinckley, co-author and CIRES Fellow.



Glaciers keep melting, releasing more sulfate into streams and wetlands. This ongoing process fuels methylmercury production, posing increasing risks to ecosystems. 



The outcome hinges on monitoring efforts and proactive intervention to manage these toxic threats.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add8a5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Research Letters</a>.



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Mountain wetlands are turning into mercury hotspots

When glaciers melt, they release water that carries sulfate-rich minerals previously trapped in the ice. This sulfate flows into streams and wetlands, increasing its concentration in watersheds. As sulfate accumulates, it creates conditions that can trigger the production of toxic methylmercury, posing risks to ecosystems and wildlife. Methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin, forms in waterlogged, sulfate-rich wetlands and enters water systems. It accumulates in fish, moves up the food chain to birds, and eventually reaches people who consume contaminated wildlife. "Very little research has looked at methylmercury production...

A recent study from <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> reveals that clown anemonefish can literally adapt to fit into their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-stability-helped-ocean-biodiversity-flourish/">environment</a>. The researchers found that clownfish control their growth to match the size of their anemone host.



In a collaboration with experts at Boston University, the team analyzed the relationship between the size of clownfish anemones. Using a series of lab experiments, the researchers paired clownfish with anemones of various sizes. They discovered that fish on large anemones grow faster than fish on small anemones.



The results explain why clownfish and anemone size are so closely correlated in the wild. The researchers propose that by adjusting their growth, clownfish likely maximize their reproductive value given their anemone context.



Study lead author Dr. Theresa Rueger is a lecturer of Tropical Marine Biology at Newcastle’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences.



“Anemonefishes are fascinating for their ability to adjust their growth rate to their specific environments, whether that’s to avoid conflict with a larger fish or, as we show here, to make sure they are the ideal size for their anemones," said Dr. Rueger.



“Anemones are important for the fish because they provide protection from predators and the larger the anemone, the more space the fish has to move around and feed while still being save. If the fish would get too big for the anemone it is on, it might not get enough food or be safe. At the same time the fish wants to be as big as possible to be able to produce lots of offspring."



“Our data from wild fish shows that anemone size and fish size is very closely correlated: large fish are always on large anemones. And our experiment shows that is not a coincidence but the fish actively regulate their growth to fit their anemone host. This is the first time that this plasticity of growth in a vertebrate has been found to depend on a mutualistic partner, and it shows how important mutualisms are."



“The next step will be to disentangle the mechanism, what makes the fish decide how large it needs to be? Through our experiment we already know it’s not food availability (all fish got the same amount of food) and it is not space availability alone (the fish did not show the same plasticity when they were on silicone anemones), so it seems to be something about the mutualistic partner itself. Lots of research still to be done!”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.



---



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

Clownfish adapt their size to fit their environment

A recent study from Newcastle University reveals that clown anemonefish...

The state of California relies on its forests to help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But this service may be in jeopardy as new research from UC Irvine reports that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heat-makes-pine-trees-more-susceptible-to-disease/">trees</a> in California are dying from wildfires and other pressures – and fewer new trees are filling the void.



“The forests are not keeping up with these large fires,” said study co-author James Randerson. Across CaliforniA, tree cover area has declined by 6.7 percent since 1985 - big changes in less than four decades.&nbsp;



This the first time that researchers have been able to measure tree population declines in California, and attribute the changes to such pressures as wildfires, drought stress and logging.



For the study, satellite data was used to study vegetation changes between 1985 and 2021. The results were alarming - one of the starkest declines in tree cover was in Southern California, where 14 percent of the tree population in local mountain ranges vanished, and possibly for good.&nbsp;



“The ability of forests to recover from fire appears to be dwindling in the south,” said Jonathan Wang, who led the study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021AV000654">AGU Advances</a>. “At the same time, the state’s coverage of shrubs and grasses is rising, which could foreshadow more permanent ecosystem shifts.”



The rate and scale of decline varies across the state. For example, tree cover in the Sierra Nevada was stable until 2010. In 2012 to 2015, a severe drought killed 8.8 percent of the Sierra forest. This mortality event was followed by some of the worst wildfires in the state’s history.



Fortunately in the north, there is recovery after fire thanks to higher rainfall levels and cooler temperatures. But even there, extreme fire seasons in 2018, 2020 and 2021 have taken a visible toll.



Study co-author Michael Goulden is a UCI professor of Earth System Science and the director of the Center for Ecosystem Climate Solutions. As a next step in the research, Professor Goulden is using the data to understand how changes in forest cover are affecting water resources, carbon storage and fire behavior across the state. This threat however, is not going to disappear, and will be exacerbated by a new age of intense fires and vulnerable forests.



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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

California's forests are losing their ability to recover

The state of California relies on its forests to help...

Although climate change is currently affecting our entire planet, the Arctic region is feeling its effects the most, in the form of glacial melt, permafrost thaw, and sea ice decline. Key players in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-arctic-is-warming-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-planet/">Arctic warming</a> include clouds and microscopic aerosols called ice nucleating particles which seed the formation of ice in the clouds.&nbsp;



Until recently, these ice-creating aerosols – which include mineral dust, microbes, or sea spray – have not been extensively studied in the Arctic. However, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.colostate.edu/">Colorado State University</a> (CSU) has sailed to the Arctic in 2019 and gathered thousands of air, seawater, sea ice, snow, and meltwater samples in order to investigate how ice nucleation and clouds over the Arctic Ocean evolve over time.



“It is important to know the natural background of these ice nucleating particles before we can really assess how changes due to climate are affecting the populations of these aerosols,” said study lead author Jessie Creamean, an expert in Atmospheric Science at CSU. By observing how ice nucleating particles in the central Arctic evolve during the entire annual sea ice growth and decline cycle, the scientists found that these particles are characterized by a strong seasonality, with lower concentrations in the winter and spring, and higher concentrations during the summer melt, most likely from marine biological production in local open waters.



Clarifying the dynamics of these ice nucleating particles is fundamental for understanding the effects of climate change on our planet. Since adding ice to clouds – a process in which these particles play a critical role - changes how clouds interact with light and heat coming from the sun or bouncing back from the Earth’s surface, the ways in which the particles fluctuate over the seasons influence global warming.



“It’s an important process we just don’t have a good understanding of, especially in the Arctic. The models just don’t get it right when it comes to estimating these ice nucleating particles or their cloud effects. So, this was a big observation – to have a look at where these things are coming form, and how they change over the course of a year,” Dr. Creamean concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31182-x">Nature Communications</a>.&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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Aerosol particles contribute to rapid warming in the Arctic

Although climate change is currently affecting our entire planet, the...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> (UCR) has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-release-a-variety-of-biological-particles-into-the-air/">plants</a> are able to protect themselves from environmental hazards such as insects, heat, and drought by producing salicylic acid, which is the main ingredient in aspirin. Better understanding this process could help scientists make plants more resilient to the increased stresses caused by climate change.&nbsp;



Although the scientists studied only a model plant called Arabidopsis, they hope to apply their understanding of stress responses in this plant’s cells to a variety of other plants, including those grown for food.&nbsp;



“We’d like to be able to use the gained knowledge to improve crop resistance,” said study co-first author Jin-Zheng Wang, a plant geneticist at UCR. “That will be crucial for the food supply in our increasingly hot, bright world.”



Environmental stresses lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in all living organisms. For instance, without sunscreen on a hot, sunny day, the human skin produces ROS, which can cause burns and freckles. In plants, high levels of ROS can be lethal. However, the researchers found that, at low levels, ROS have an important function in plant cells.



“At non-lethal levels, ROS are like an emergency call to action, enabling the production of protective hormones such as salicylic acid. ROS are a double-edged sword,” Dr. Wang explained.&nbsp;



By studying the responses of their model plant, the experts discovered that heat, unabated sunshine, or drought cause the sugar-making apparatus in plant cells to generate an initial alarm molecule known as MEcPP, which is also produced in organisms such as bacteria and malaria parasites.&nbsp;



Accumulation of this molecule in plant cells triggers the production of salicylic acid, which initiates a chain of protective actions in the cells. “It’s like plants use a painkiller for aches and pains, just like we do,” said study co-first author Wilhelmina van de Ven, a plant biologist at UCR.&nbsp;



“Because salicylic acid helps plants withstand stresses becoming more prevalent with climate change, being able to increase plants’ ability to produce it represents a step forward in challenging the impacts of climate change on everyday life,” said study senior author Katayoon Dehesh, a professor of Molecular Biochemistry at UCR.



“Those impacts go beyond our food. Plants clean our air by sequestering carbon dioxide, offer us shade, and provide habitat for numerous animals. The benefits of boosting their survival are exponential."



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo0724">Science Advances</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;

Plants produce aspirin in response to environmental stress

A new study led by the University of California, Riverside...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.stir.ac.uk/">University of Stirling</a> has revealed that several rare plants native to Scottish mountains could soon become extinct due to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-debate-is-over-humans-caused-climate-change/">climate change</a>, if no urgent measures are taken to protect them. Since plants found on the slopes of the Ben Lawers mountain range in Scotland - including the snow pearlwort, the drooping saxifrage, or the mountain sandwort – require a cool climate to thrive, the recent increase in global temperatures has led them to shift their range to higher ground. Moreover, some of these species, such as the snow pearlwort, have declined by over 66 percent since the mid-1990s, and may soon become extinct.&nbsp;



“Our research signals a rapid loss of biodiversity happening right now which means that, if it’s allowed to continue on this accelerated trajectory, due to climate change, we will see the extinction of species like these,” said study lead author Sarah Watts, a doctoral researcher in Ecology at the University of Stirling.



“What we are seeing here is range contraction – where species that grow in cold places, in the north and at high altitude, are moving further north and higher up the mountain. But at some point, they’ll have no further to go and will disappear. For example, drooping saxifrage is now only found 50 meters from the top of Ben Lawers.”



Moreover, global rises in temperature caused by climate change has also led to lowland species colonizing upland regions and outcompeting these rare mountain plants, significantly reducing the area they can grow and thrive in.



“In the context of the interacting climate change and biodiversity crises, this research has worrying global implications,” said study senior author Alistair Jump, a professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Stirling. “It shows that low-latitude, arctic-alpine plant populations already situated at maximum local elevations are effectively on the elevator to extinction. We face their loss from our mountains because there is no higher ground left for them to retreat to as temperatures continue to rise.”



According to the researchers, a solution to safeguard these endangered plant species is to move them to other sites, such as more suitable mountain habitats or even botanical gardens.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320722001732?via%3Dihub">Biological Conservation</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;&nbsp;

Rare plants are facing extinction in the Scottish mountains

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

High heat coupled with low water conditions caused by global warming can weaken the resistance of pine trees to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-water-is-driving-eelgrass-wasting-disease/">disease</a>. A new study from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> is the first to analyze host and pathogen genes in climate change conditions



The study was focused on Austrian pine trees, which are native to southern Europe, and can also be found in Canada and the United States. The researchers examined the effects of climate change by testing the trees after they were infected by two fungi that kill the pines over time.



“We decided to study the effects of the combined stresses of higher temperatures and lower water availability because that’s what trees will experience in the future,” said senior author Professor Enrico Bonello.



“Within three days of infection under climate-change conditions, the tree was pulled in two different directions: It was deprived of carbon by both reduced photosynthesis and enhanced acquisition of the carbon by the fungi. When we’re talking about carbon, we’re talking about sugars, food and reserves for all other metabolic processes in the trees, including growth and defense.”



The world’s forests provide carbon sequestration, a major mitigator of climate change. Experts say this natural service could be enhanced by ensuring the protection, management and restoration of forests.&nbsp;



In a 2021 <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2021.716582/full">study</a> of U.S. forest plots, scientists estimated recent disease and insect disturbances lowered carbon sequestration rates by 28 percent and 69 percent, compared to undisturbed forests.



“This is another reason to combat global warming induced by human activities – another piece of evidence that what we are doing to the planet has so many implications,” said Professor Bonello.



The researchers exposed Austrian pines to two sets of conditions. First, they used a control setting, where daily temperatures ranged from 59 to 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit. To mimic climate change, the trees were exposed to daily temperatures of 68 to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The hotter conditions reduced the amount of water in the atmosphere.&nbsp;



Once the trees had adjusted to these conditions, they were inoculated with one of two strains of the pathogenic fungus. The fungi are largely dormant, waiting for the best opportunity to kill host cells and feed on the dead plant material when their host is weakened. The fungi have also begun damaging Scots pines in Scandinavia.



“The hypothesis is that the warming and lower water availability in those areas is making trees more susceptible to a pathogen that would normally sit in the background,” explained Professor Bonello.



Three days after infection, the team collected plant and pathogen tissue that was used for an RNA sequencing analysis to identify gene activation in the trees and both strains of the fungi.



A fundamental change was found in the pine trees exposed to climate-change conditions. Their capacity to carry out photosynthesis decreased, leaving fewer resources to invest in their own food supply, growth and defense against disease.



At the same time, both strains of the fungus ramped up their carbon utilization machinery, and they became significantly more pathogenic.



“Essentially, climate change conditions led the host to starvation, which is compounded by the fact that the fungi became more aggressive, grew faster and killed more host tissue faster,” Bonello said. “These were early responses, but it gives us an idea of what’s happening in the system.”



The research offers insights into how much damage global warming may do to one of the planet’s main carbon sinks.



“Pathogen and pest invasions are already having an effect on carbon sequestration,” said Professor Bonello. “If you make it even worse with climate change, carbon sequestration will be affected negatively because trees will die in ever larger numbers. Trees that might otherwise survive adverse environmental conditions for a while, and recover if conditions become better or intermittent, may be killed by pathogens in the meantime.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.872584/full">Frontiers in Forests and Global Change</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Heat makes pine trees more susceptible to disease

High heat coupled with low water conditions caused by global...

The world's coastal glaciers are disappearing faster than ever, but the causes of the large-scale retreat are challenging to pinpoint due to natural fluctuations. Since researchers have been unable to conclude what is causing rapid glacier retreat, the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report determined that they could not say whether the melting is due to natural conditions or human-caused <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-may-boost-wine-production-in-the-uk/">climate change</a>. 



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ig.utexas.edu/">University of Texas Institute for Geophysics</a> (UTIG) and Georgia Tech sought to unravel the mystery of coastal glacier disappearance and uncover how much of the retreat is due to human-induced climate change.&nbsp;



The researchers developed a method that can treat glacial melting as an individual event, like a wildfire. The newly published study can account for differences between glaciers and natural climate fluxes while testing the effect of global warming. "And that's the first time anyone's done that," explained study co-author and UTIG glaciologist Ginny Catania.



To test their model, the research team conducted thousands of simulations of the past 150 years with and without global warming. Not surprisingly, the results showed that global warming caused an increased likelihood of glacial melting.&nbsp;



When they ran the simulations without human-caused climate change, they found that the current glacial retreat would be impossible without the effects of a changing climate.&nbsp;



For example, the coastal glaciers of Greenland have been retreating at different rates since 2000, with almost all of them (200) in varying stages of retreat. The researchers believe this level of retreat would not have been attainable without man-made climate change.&nbsp;



"This study gives us a toolbox to determine the role of humans in the loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica, to say with confidence that it's not just coincidence," said Georgia Tech glaciologist and study co-author Alex Robel.



The researchers hope that their conclusions will influence future policy. According to John Christian, a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin and Georgia Tech, the methodology proposes in the study is a road map toward making confident statements about what the human role is in glacier retreat. "Those statements can then be communicated to the public and policymakers, and help in their decision making."



This study is published in n the journal <a href="https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/2725/2022/">The Cryosphere.</a>&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

Coastal glacier retreat linked to human-caused climate change

The world's coastal glaciers are disappearing faster than ever, but...

Climate change poses a number of threats to plants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-different-types-of-animals-see/">animals</a>, and many species may disappear altogether. This is only expected to worsen due to human impacts such as altering land use for agriculture.&nbsp;



The habitats and preferred climate conditions of species have been drastically impacted. When there is a divergence between the climatic conditions suitable for a particular species and its abundance and distribution through time, this is known as climate decoupling.&nbsp;



For example, the grasshopper sparrow lives in grasslands across North America. However, because grasslands continue to be degraded, this has hindered the species from fully adjusting to changing climatic conditions. Climate decoupling and habitat loss may explain the high rates of grasshopper sparrow abundance declines and local extinctions.



A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.idiv.de/en/index.html">iDiv</a>, Leipzig University and MLU used the best available evidence on bird population changes through time from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS).



The study revealed that at least 30 out of 114 species (26 percent) of North American birds have become less adjusted to their climate over the last 30 years. This means that their distributions and abundances were increasingly decoupled from climate over time.&nbsp;



This can happen for various reasons, depending on the species. Some species might remain where they historically lived, while others might be limited by climate-independent resources and habitats. On the other hand, some species might be declining due to global changes, unable to adjust to the changing climate.&nbsp;



“One of the most surprising results of our analysis was that the overall trend of climate decoupling showed no signs of slowing down,” said lead author Dr. Duarte Viana. “This suggests a possible feedback between climate decoupling and declining populations that might emerge in the face of a multitude of current global changes."



The researchers showed that climate decoupling was more prevalent among habitat specialists than generalists. This is because specialists may have greater difficulty finding a suitable habitat and climate conditions in increasingly modified landscapes.



“We also found that climate decoupling was more prominent among species that were considered threatened and that were declining in population sizes,” said study senior author Dr. Jonathan Chase, head of the Biodiversity Synthesis research group at iDiv and MLU.&nbsp;



“There are many known factors that are contributing to the population declines of many species of birds, but our study adds a new facet to our understanding of the potential causes of some of these changes – that species are less likely to be living in their optimal climate conditions as the world changes around them. This, like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, might be something we humans should pay attention to as we will likely soon find ourselves similarly living in places outside of our optimal climate ranges.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



---



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

Climate decoupling is an increasing threat to birds

Climate change poses a number of threats to plants and...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-glaciers-are-melting-at-highest-rate-in-5500-years/">Glaciers</a> in tropical mountain ranges are experiencing climate change similar to those in the polar regions of Antarctica and the Northern Hemisphere. An international team of scientists is the first to show that the effects of greenhouse gases are impacting tropical glaciers in the Southern Hemisphere at the same pace as ice sheets in the north.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Much of what scientists have known about glacial changes came from records of ice growth and decay that occurred in the Northern Hemisphere. For the current study, the researchers analyzed sediments from Lake Junín - located high in the Peruvian Andes - to create a record of glacial changes stretching back 700,000 years.



“As we try to understand how climate works across the globe, we need more than just records that are influenced by and biased toward the Northern Hemisphere,” said Professor Robert Hatfield of the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a>.



The land-based lake record collected by the team matches the duration of ice core records from Antarctica. It also represents the longest time frame ever collected from the Southern Hemisphere.



“What makes our findings unique is that we were able to get a continuous and independently dated record of tropical Alpine glaciation for the first time,” said Professor Hatfield. “The key takeaway was that the tropics follow the same beat and same rhythm to what’s going on in the Northern Hemisphere.”



Glacier changes in both regions occurred simultaneously, despite variations in solar radiation. This suggests that the rise in atmospheric greenhouse gasses associated with changes in the volume of the ice sheets of the north is impacting the entire planet.



To collect the data, geologists launched a massive drilling mission at the lake in 2015, funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program. 100 meters of sediment from the lake’s basin was collected. With the sediment recovered, researchers spent the next few years developing a solid age model.



Study co-author Christine Y. Chen of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory analyzed the uranium and thorium content of the sediments to determine how much time was represented by the sediment core.



“Scientists have known for nearly a century that rising greenhouse gases will affect the climate in every corner of the world, but we’ve been less certain about how rapidly changes in ice volume at the poles will propagate to the rest of the world.” Chen said.&nbsp;



“The high-altitude mountains in the tropics are essentially as far away from the poles one can get. We’ve now shown that ice in both regions have been growing and decaying synchronously with one another for nearly a million years, which further highlights the interconnectedness of our planet.”



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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

Tropical glaciers are losing ice at the same rate as the poles

Glaciers in tropical mountain ranges are experiencing climate change similar...

Pollution,From,An,Industry,Chimney,Blowing,A,Large,White,And

A new study led by <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> has assessed the economic impacts that individual countries have caused to other countries through their cumulative national-level contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and the subsequent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/limiting-global-warming-could-reduce-human-risk-by-85/">global warming</a>. These findings provide an essential basis for nations to make legal claims for economic losses caused by emissions. 



“Greenhouse gases emitted in one country cause warming in another, and that warming can depress economic growth,” explained study senior author Justin Mankin, an assistant professor of Geography at Dartmouth. “This research provides legally valuable estimates of the financial damages individual nations have suffered due to other countries’ climate-changing activities.”



Professor Mankin and his team found that a small group of the world’s leading national greenhouse gas emitters have caused $6 trillion in global economic losses from 1990 to 2014. While emissions from the United States and China – the world’s leading emitters – are responsible for global income losses of over $1.8 trillion each, economic losses caused by Russia, India, and Brazil exceed $500 billion each.



“This research provides an answer to the question of whether there is a scientific basis for climate liability claims - the answer is yes,” said study lead author Christopher Callahan, a doctoral candidate in Climate Science at Dartmouth. “We have quantified each nation’s culpability for historical temperature-driven income changes in every other country.”



The analysis revealed that the distribution of warming impacts from individual emitters is highly unequal, with the ten leading global emitters causing over two-thirds of losses worldwide. Countries that experience economic losses - due to lower agricultural yields or industrial outputs, and reduced labor productivity caused by climate change – are warmer and poorer than the global average, and are generally located in the global South and the tropics.



“Irrespective of the accounting, warm counties have warmed and lost income because of it, while colder countries have warmed but enjoyed economic gains,” said professor Mankin. “The responsibility for the warming rests primarily with a handful of major emitters, and this warming has resulted in the enrichment of a few wealthy countries at the expense of the poorest people in the world.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



While scientists have previously argued that climate mitigation is a simple “collective action problem,” where no single country acting alone can have an impact of curbing global warming, this study is a first step towards discrediting this idea. “Until now, the complexity of the carbon cycle, natural variations in climate, and uncertainties in models have provided emitters with plausible deniability for individual damage claims. That veil of deniability has now been lifted,” Professor Mankin explained.



“Nations need to work together to stop warming, but that doesn’t mean that individual countries can’t take actions that drive change,” added Callahan. “This research upends the notion that the causes and impacts of warming only occur at the global level.”



Thus, identifying national culpability proves that individual countries can have large, attributable impacts from warming due to their emissions, and that the actions of individual countries do matter. In conclusion, country-level mitigation strategies are worthwhile to pursue and could significantly limit measurable harm to other countries.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-022-03387-y">Climatic Change</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;

Emissions cause major economic losses in other countries

A new study led by Dartmouth College has assessed the...

An,Abstract,Background,Of,Seawater,Flow,Under,Light,Exposure

Throughout the end of the century, microscopic <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/phytoplankton-are-less-productive-in-the-gulf-of-maine/">plankton</a> will be able to store an increasing amount of carbon. This will be achieved by a process called the "biological pump" in which microscopic plants take up carbon. When the plants die, they sink into the deep ocean- where the absorbed carbon is stored for hundreds of years.&nbsp;



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) expect this process to account for 5 to 17 percent of the total increase in carbon uptake by the oceans by 2100.&nbsp;



“The biological pump stores roughly double the amount of carbon dioxide that is currently in our atmosphere in the deep ocean. Because plankton are sensitive to climate change, this carbon pool is likely to change in size so we set out to understand how this would change in the future in response to climate change by looking at the latest future projections by IPCC models," explained study lead author Dr. Jamie Wilson.



Microscopic organisms called plankton, live in the sun-lit surface of the ocean and use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. When these plankton die, their remains rapidly sink down through the "Twilight Zone" of the ocean (200 - 1000m). The carbon from their bodies is then stored away from the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years.&nbsp;



However, warming of the oceans slows down the circulation, increasing the time that carbon is stored in the deep ocean. This has led the research team to find a consistent increase in the carbon stored in the ocean by the biological carbon pump over the 21st century.&nbsp;



The research team relied on the latest IPCC models (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) to conduct the analysis. These models however do not have a consistent representation of the environmental and ecological processes in the Twilight Zone, creating uncertainty in how much carbon the biological pump will store.&nbsp;



In theory, after 2100 carbon storage by the biological pump may start acting as a source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which could exacerbate climate change further.



“This research demonstrates the crucial importance of the Twilight Zone region of the ocean for biologically-driven carbon storage in the ocean," said Dr. Wilson. "This part of the ocean is still poorly understood because it is so hard to observe but it is also just now starting to come under pressures of environmental change, fishing and deep-sea mining.”&nbsp;



By understanding how the Twilight Zone controls carbon storage, researchers could begin to figure out how to best avoid human impacts on the ocean. To achieve this, the research team will study processes in the Twilight Zone to understand those that are most important for biologically-driven carbon storage and updating ocean models so they can reliably predict future changes.



This research was published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of 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

Earth's biological pump may ultimately turn into a source of carbon

Throughout the end of the century, microscopic plankton will be...

The rise in anti-science attitudes has been amplified by modern day <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americans-stressed-out-politics/">politics</a>, a potent force in the growing rejection of science. Three researchers who study attitudes and persuasion explain the rise in anti-science beliefs today and what can be done about it.



“The classic work on persuasion still applies to what we’re seeing today as many people reject the science of vaccines, climate change and other subjects,” said study lead author Aviva Philipp-Muller. “But there are evidence-based strategies that can work for increasing public acceptance of science.”



Anti-science beliefs are built on four foundations: the idea that scientific sources lack credibility; identifying with groups that have anti-science attitudes; a scientific message that contradicts a person’s current beliefs; and a mismatch between how a message is presented and a person’s style of thinking.



“What all four of these bases have in common is they reveal what happens when scientific information conflicts with what people already think or their style of thought,” said study co-author Richard Petty, professor of Psychology at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a>.



The researchers note that there has been a significant increase in anti-science attitudes in the past decades. Most recently, the sudden growth of anti-vaccination groups in the United States and other countries.&nbsp;



The rise of social media and a greater variety of news sources are some of the biggest influencing factors on anti-science beliefs. The experts also point to the growing importance of political ideology in the modern world.



“Politics were always around, and people had political views, but politics didn’t permeate everything. Science and scientific beliefs were separate from politics at one time, but not anymore,” said Professor Petty.



Today, politics is at the core of an individual's identity, and ideology affects how someone responds to scientific evidence that has been politicized, such as climate change. It can be easier for some to reject science rather than overturn their political beliefs. As a result, politics can trigger or amplify basic mental processes across all four bases of anti-science attitudes, Philipp-Muller said.



For example, take source credibility. Research shows that people see others with similar political views as more expert and knowledgeable. Because liberals and conservatives find different news sources credible, they expose themselves to different sources of scientific information – and misinformation.



“Social media platforms like Facebook provide customized news feeds that means conservatives and liberals can get highly varied information,” said Philipp-Muller.



To address key principles driving anti-science beliefs, research on persuasion and attitudes can help. Converting messages that understand opposing viewpoints should be considered. For example, messages on preventing the spread of COVID-19 can acknowledge that wearing masks can be uncomfortable, but this is a small discomfort that goes a long way to prevent the spread of disease.



Another key is to find common ground with people who reject science – even if what you have in common has nothing to do with science.



“People get their defenses up if they think they are being attacked or that you’re so different from them that you can’t be credible,” said Professor Petty.



The experts hope more scientists learn about the psychology of how to communicate about their work to different audiences, including those who might be skeptical.



“There’s an opportunity to counteract the anti-science attitudes and sentiment that is out there," said Philipp-Muller. "We have to use evidence-based strategies to increase public acceptance of science.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of 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

What is causing a rise in anti-science beliefs?

The rise in anti-science attitudes has been amplified by modern...

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"

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <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



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.

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

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

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



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.

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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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



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.

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



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.

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



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.

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



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.

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



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.

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



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.

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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