Plastic may not always float where we expect it. The ocean’s surface might look clean in some places, but far beneath the waves, a different story is unfolding. 



In the southeastern Mediterranean, the deep seafloor is turning into a massive storage ground for plastic packaging, especially bags. A new study shows how this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-retailers-are-replacing-plastic-bags-with-eco-friendly-paper-bags/">waste</a> ends up thousands of feet below the surface, and the answer isn’t as simple as trash just “sinking.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-in-the-deep-sea">Plastic in the deep sea</h2>



Plastic debris has entered every corner of the ocean, but previously, most of the research has concentrated on floating plastic or beach trash. That changed with this latest study, which took a closer look at what is occurring on the ocean floor. 



Scientists discovered that the Levant Basin - a deep section of the eastern <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/two-continents-meet-along-the-mediterranean-coastline/">Mediterranean</a> off the coasts of Israel, Egypt, and Turkey - is among the world's most contaminated deep-sea areas.



“We used trawls to survey the seafloor and we mainly found plastic bags and packaging that dominate the debris,” said Xing-Yu Li from the <a href="https://www.haifa.ac.il/?lang=en">University of Haifa</a>, the study’s lead author.



This raised a question: how does something so light - something meant to float - end up nearly a mile underwater?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-forensic-approach-to-trash">A forensic approach to trash</h2>



To answer that, the team decided to treat each plastic item like a crime scene. Every piece of debris was carefully examined using a method called multi-marker analysis. 



This approach looks at everything about the plastic - size, shape, color, material, surface features, and even what kinds of things are stuck to it, like tar or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-organisms-may-adapt-to-climate-change-but-with-hidden-costs/">marine organisms</a>.



“In the multi-marker approach anything that is found on a piece of plastic is an evidence,” said Xing-yu. “We extracted as many evidence as possible from every piece of waste, more than many previous studies, to build a fuller, more detailed view of the bottom waste.”



Instead of just counting how much trash was found, this method helped researchers understand how it got there, why it sank, and where it might have come from.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-some-plastic-doesn-t-sink">Why some plastic doesn’t sink</h2>



Most of the plastics found were <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/everyday-kitchen-tool-that-could-be-leaching-toxins-into-your-food-polypropylene-cutting-board/">polyethylene</a> - the same material used in grocery bags. Normally, this kind of plastic floats. But when additives like calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) are mixed in during manufacturing, the plastic becomes heavier. 



Those with CaCO₃ sank closer to the shore. Others, without these additives, drifted farther out before eventually settling on the seafloor.



The study also revealed that the deep basin at over 3,000 feet deep acts like a trap. Pressure and fine sediments help keep the plastic down. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biofilms-could-change-the-way-we-track-plastic-pollution/">Biofilms</a>, which are slimy layers formed by microbes, usually help weigh plastics down too, but they don’t grow well in this part of the sea. Instead, things like tar, sand, and tiny shells helped plastics stay put.



The scientists noted that these plastic films - while thin and lightweight - are ending up where they can do the most long-term damage. 



Even more troubling, the team found that some of this plastic could become buoyant again if disturbed, but because of how the deep sea works, that rarely happens. Once the plastic settles, it stays.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-the-trash-is-coming-from">Where the trash is coming from</h2>



The plastic pollution isn’t only from local beaches. According to the research, land-based sources from Egypt, Israel, and Turkey are a big part of the problem. 



Shipping also plays a role, especially in deeper waters. Surprisingly, fishing was not a major contributor - possibly due to strict Israeli regulations.



For years, scientists noticed high levels of plastic at the seafloor, but they didn’t fully understand why. 



“For years in our monitoring reports we have reported a high concentration of plastic debris in this area. It was an unsolved mystery as we know that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-floor-harbors-up-to-11-million-tons-of-plastic-debris/">plastic debris</a> should remain floating on the sea surface. Now we have a deep understanding of how it happens,” said Dr. Yael Segal from Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR). 



“The Eastern Mediterranean is the most polluted area in the world, and we must take action for the sake of the next generation.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-term-risks-to-marine-life">Long-term risks to marine life</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grapevines-could-offer-a-breakthrough-alternative-to-plastic-packaging/">Plastic packaging</a> is cheap, easy to produce, and used globally - but it doesn’t go away. It breaks into smaller pieces and can remain in the environment for hundreds of years. 



Deep-sea habitats are already fragile, and adding plastic into the mix could disrupt food webs, introduce toxins, and harm species that haven’t even been fully studied yet.



“As the head of the national monitoring program, I see firsthand how plastic pollution is impacting the entire sea environment: beaches, water, sea bottom, and even local turtle populations,” said Dr. Segal.



Professor Revital Bookman said that the discovery is fascinating in the worst possible way. 



"The eastern Mediterranean is quietly turning into a deep-sea landfill. Plastics that we use for only a few minutes are ending up trapped for centuries, threatening deep marine ecosystems we barely understand," noted Professor Bookman. 



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



According to the researchers, this study changes how we should think about ocean pollution. Plastic doesn’t just float around until it hits a beach. It travels far, interacts with other pollutants like tar, and ends up in hidden places. 



“This previously overlooked dynamic necessitates a broader perspective on pollution processes in marine environments,” said Professor Bookman. 



“Without systematic deep-sea accounting, we risk underestimating the true environmental footprint of plastic pollution and misallocating mitigation efforts by neglecting offshore and deep-sea sinks.”



To deal with this, the experts call for coordinated efforts across the region. Countries that share the sea need to work together on monitoring, cleanup, and prevention. 



Without a shared strategy, plastics will continue piling up, silently choking one of the planet’s most mysterious ecosystems.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X25009671?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a>.



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Hidden plastic graveyard uncovered in the deep Mediterranean Sea

Plastic may not always float where we expect it. The ocean’s surface might look clean in some places, but far beneath the waves, a different story is unfolding. In the southeastern Mediterranean, the deep seafloor is turning into a massive storage ground for plastic packaging, especially bags. A new study shows how this waste ends up thousands of feet below the surface, and the answer isn’t as simple as trash just “sinking.” Plastic in the deep sea Plastic debris has entered every corner of the ocean, but...

Monitoring marine biodiversity and ocean health usually involves teams of scientists that collect samples of seawater while traveling around on board a research vessel. This is a time-consuming and costly activity that can really only survey small areas and involves considerable laboratory work once back on shore to identify all the organisms present in each sample.&nbsp;



In a groundbreaking new step, researchers from the <a href="https://www.mbari.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</a> (MBARI) have now used autonomous underwater robots to sample DNA from marine environments. They combined two novel autonomous platforms, both developed by MBARI, in order to sample and analyse environmental DNA (eDNA) in ocean locations.&nbsp;



The long-range autonomous underwater vehicle (LRAUV) is a nimble, streamlined robot that can travel to remote areas of the ocean and remain submerged for long periods of time. The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is a robotic “laboratory-in-a-can” that filters seawater and extracts the eDNA for future analysis. By equipping an LRAUV with ESP technology, researchers can expand the scale of ocean monitoring enormously over time and space.&nbsp;



“We know that eDNA is an incredibly powerful tool for studying ocean communities, but we’ve been limited by what we can accomplish using crewed research vessels. Now, autonomous technology is helping us make better use of our time and resources to study new parts of the ocean,” said study lead author Kobun Truelove, a biological oceanographer at MBARI.



Organisms that inhabit marine environments, from the smallest plankton to the largest whales, form communities that are connected by food webs. The biodiversity of these organisms is a measure of ocean health and it is important that scientists know which organisms are present in which localities. Autonomous tools like the LRAUV and ESP enable MBARI researchers to maintain a persistent presence in the ocean and monitor changes in sensitive ecosystems in ways that were not possible previously.



“Organisms move as conditions change in our oceans and Great Lakes, affecting the people and economies that rely on those species. We need cheaper and more nimble approaches to monitor biodiversity on a large scale. This study provides the synergistic development of eDNA and uncrewed technologies we need, in direct response to priorities laid out in the&nbsp;<a href="https://sciencecouncil.noaa.gov/Portals/0/Omics%20Strategic%20Plan_Final%20Signed.pdf?ver=2021-01-19-112404-443">NOAA ‘Omics Strategic Plan</a>,” explained study co-author and NOAA scientist Kelly Goodwin.



In the current research, MBARI collaborated with researchers at the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and the University of Washington to complete three expeditions in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The teams carried out sample collection via MBARI’s fleet of LRAUVs as well as conducting traditional, ship based sampling using MBARI’s three research vessels and the NOAA Fisheries ship&nbsp;Reuben Lasker. The purpose of this multi-pronged approach was to find out whether the two different sampling procedures produced comparable results in terms of the marine organisms present in the different water samples.&nbsp;



The ship-based researchers lowered bottles to a specific depth to collect and preserve water samples, while LRAUVs equipped with ESP technology autonomously sampled and preserved eDNA at similar locations and depths. The eDNA samples were returned to the lab for in-depth sequencing.



Environmental DNA allows scientists to detect the presence of aquatic species from the tiny bits of genetic material they leave behind. This DNA soup offers clues about biodiversity changes in sensitive areas, the presence of rare or endangered species, and the spread of invasive species – all of which is critical to understanding, promoting, and maintaining a healthy ocean.&nbsp;



In this study, researchers analyzed eDNA samples with a technique known as metabarcoding. This method looks for short sections of DNA, known as gene markers, which are shared by related organisms. In this way the researchers can get an idea of the groups of organisms that are present in the water at each location. This technique enables eDNA data to be interpreted as a measure of biodiversity.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed four different types of gene markers, each representing a slightly different level of the food web. Together, the results yielded a more holistic picture of community composition. The samples collected from research ships and autonomous vehicles revealed similar patterns of biodiversity, which supports the future use of autonomous vehicles for marine sampling and monitoring.



LRAUVs are able to travel for weeks at a time and for hundreds of kilometers underwater. They allow more frequent sampling in areas of interest than do traditional research vessels. Autonomous robots will allow researchers to study previously unsurveyed regions of the ocean and fill in gaps in knowledge about global ocean health. Ship-based research will continue to play an important role in oceanographic studies, but adding new autonomous technology to the toolkit will expand capacity for research, monitoring, and resource management. Ultimately, MBARI researchers envision deploying a fleet of LRAUVs equipped with ESP technology.



Truelove noted that the findings from the study mark an exciting step forward for monitoring marine ecosystems. “This work is all about increasing the scale of eDNA research. Instead of looking at an individual species, we can start to more broadly characterize biological community structure in the ocean,” he said.&nbsp;



“Good data are the bedrock of sustainable ocean management,” said Francisco Chavez, MBARI Senior Scientist and a co-author of the study. “Regular environmental DNA monitoring tells us who is there and what is changing over time. When it comes to understanding the impacts of climate change – one of the biggest threats to ocean health – this information is essential.”



The research is published today in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/edn3.299">Environmental DNA</a>.



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

Autonomous vehicles will help monitor ocean health

Monitoring marine biodiversity and ocean health usually involves teams of...

New research published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326">Environmental Research Letters</a> emphasizes the urgency of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-disrupts-communication-among-animals/">climate</a> change. The study shows that stopping new oil, gas and coal development isn’t enough. To avoid going over the 1.5°C temperature change limit, not only do new fossil fuel extraction projects need to be stopped, but some existing and approved projects must also be decommissioned.&nbsp;



“Our findings show that halting new extraction projects is a necessary step, but still not enough to stay within our rapidly dwindling carbon budget,” said co-lead author, Greg Muttitt of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. “Some existing fossil fuel licences and production will need to be revoked and phased out early. Governments need to start tackling head-on how to do this in a fair and equitable way, which will require overcoming opposition from fossil fuel interests.”



The research is the first full assessment of committed CO2 emissions in current and future approved fossil fuel extraction projects. The researchers used a commercial database of more than 25,000 oil and gas fields. They also developed their own database of coal fields. Using this information, the experts calculated that existing and committed projects are set to release 60 percent more carbon than budgeted for 1.5°C and push the budget for the upper limit of 2°C set by the Paris Agreement.&nbsp;



“Our study reinforces that building new fossil fuel infrastructure is not a viable response to Russia’s war on Ukraine,” said co-lead author Kelly Trout of Oil Change International. “The world has already tapped too much oil, gas, and coal. Developing more would either cause more dangerous levels of warming, if fully extracted, or create a larger scale of stranded assets.”



The researchers emphasize that increasing oil and gas projects to supplement the loss in fossil fuels from Russia is not an appropriate response to the war in Ukraine. They point out that each new fossil fuel project just gets the governments of the world more entrenched in the broken system of fossil fuels.&nbsp;



“Our research should also be a warning sign for publicly listed companies and their investors that reserves that are on the books to be developed cannot be developed to stay below 1.5°C," said co-author Dimitri Lafleur of Global Climate Insights. "Fossil fuel companies that claim to be aligned with the Paris Agreement and that need to transition their core businesses, need to accelerate their transition plans."



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

Fossil fuel extraction must be stopped to limit global warming

New research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters emphasizes...

View,Of,Lagoon,And,Wetland,Habitat,,Lagunas,De,Villafafila,Rese

Wetlands fringe the edges of land adjacent to the sea and, although they represent a small proportion of Earth’s terrestrial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrinking-habitats-alien-species-threaten-native-trout/">habitats</a>, they provide important ecosystem services. They protect communities against the worst effects of hurricanes and typhoons and the plants sequester large amounts of carbon. But, as sea levels rise, the fate of wetlands hangs in the balance. Will they adapt or will they drown?



For decades, scientists have hoped that rising concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) would stimulate increased plant growth in general. In the case of coastal wetlands, this scenario would enable them to grow fast enough to outpace the rise in sea level. A new study, conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://serc.si.edu/">Smithsonian Environmental Research Center</a>&nbsp;(SERC), has now shed light on this question, and the findings do not look as hopeful.



The study took place at SERC’s&nbsp;<a href="https://serc.si.edu/gcrew">Global Change Research Wetland</a>, a research site run by biogeochemist Pat Megonigal on the western shore of Maryland. The research on wetland plant growth there represents the longest-running field experiment in the world on the impact of rising CO2&nbsp;levels on plants. Started in 1987, the design involves enclosing 15 small areas of wetland within open-top chambers, and then modifying the concentration of CO2 in the chambers and monitoring the growth responses of the plants as sea levels have slowly risen. A further 15 chambers serve as experimental controls that did not have any CO2 enrichment.



Over time, the scientists have raised the concentration of CO2 within the experimental chambers by an additional 340 parts per million, roughly doubling the atmospheric levels of 1987. In monitoring plant growth, they have focused particularly on the 10 chambers that contain “C3” plants that use a specific metabolic pathway to incorporate carbon from the atmosphere into sugars in their cells. These plants include roughly 85 percent of all plant species on Earth and they are known to respond vigorously to CO2&nbsp;enrichment.



The results, published today in the journal Science Advances, show that plant growth in the higher CO2 chambers flourished for about the first two decades of the study. Above ground, plants in the high-CO2&nbsp;chambers grew on average 25 percent more than plants in the untreated chambers. The effect was even more powerful underground, where higher levels of CO2&nbsp;triggered about 35 percent more root growth. Root growth is especially critical for wetland survival, as roots help wetlands trap soil and keep the foundations growing&nbsp;upward&nbsp;even as seas continue to rise.&nbsp;



“Even though elevated CO2&nbsp;contributes to sea-level rise, it also enhanced the marsh’s ability to accrete vertically during the early years of the experiment,” said Don Cahoon, a co-author and research ecologist, emeritus, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a>.



“In some ways, this is a race, a race between what CO2&nbsp;can do and what sea level can do," said study co-author Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/">Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health</a>.



But after 2005, the growth effect declined and then stopped altogether. For the past 14 years of data in the study, there was no average difference in plant growth between the high-CO2&nbsp;and the normal chambers.&nbsp;



“The CO2&nbsp;effect has always been one of the silver linings of climate change,” said study co-author Adam Langley, an ecologist with&nbsp;<a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/university.html">Villanova University</a>. “Well, at least plants are going to grow more. But we see here that they didn’t. So the silver lining to me just got a little cloudier.”



The team investigated several possible explanations for the return to normal growth rate: precipitation, temperature, the saltiness of the water during growing season, and the presence of critical soil nutrients, like nitrogen. Only sea-level rise showed any link to plant growth. Once the sea level at the wetland rose by 15 centimeters from where it was in 1987, the benefits of higher CO2&nbsp;disappeared.



Sea water contains far less oxygen than air does and so, when wetlands flood, plants are deprived of oxygen. Plants need oxygen as well as CO2 for growth, and wetland plants are adapted to get most of their oxygen from the air rather than extracting it from water. As sea levels rise, the frequency of flooding increases and plants are unable to obtain the oxygen they need, so growth rates slow down.&nbsp;



“Plants are aerobic, oxygen-breathing organisms,” explained Megonigal. “And that includes their roots. And so they’re fundamentally faced with this problem of having their root system in an environment that doesn’t have any oxygen in it.”



Some wetlands may still be able to escape drowning. If wetlands cannot rise higher by building soil, migrating inland is another possibility. However, that can only happen if they have enough space to move into. For many communities, allowing room for wetlands to move inland would require a shift in how they use and value the land.



In the meantime, Earth’s climate accountants will need to rethink the planet’s carbon budget because it is possible that wetlands will not be around to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, as was originally thought. Now that scientists know extra CO2&nbsp;does not always stimulate wetland growth as much as they thought, the amount of carbon that can be sequestered in wetland plants in the coming decades is no longer certain.&nbsp;



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

Wetlands are caught in a battle between CO2 and rising seas

Wetlands fringe the edges of land adjacent to the sea...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.sdsu.edu/">San Diego State University</a> (SDSU) has found that contaminants which were banned decades ago are still imperiling California <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/andean-condors-ride-wind-currents-for-hours-at-a-time/">condors</a>, which are already critically endangered. Since they feed upon marine mammals stranded on the Californian coast and harboring high levels of halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs), these condors are at increased risk of reproductive impairment.&nbsp;&nbsp;



California condors were nearly extinct a few decades ago, mostly from lead poisoning due to ingesting fragments from land animals shot with lead ammunition. Fortunately, their population has been slowly recovering thanks to extensive breeding and reintroduction efforts.&nbsp;



Since coastal habitats present a lower risk of exposure to lead because of the availability of marine species that condors can feed on, these sites appeared highly advantageous for condor reintroduction. However, old contaminants detected in marine mammal carcasses are now posing a new threat to coastal condors.



Although HOCs were banned a long time ago, they are highly resistant to environmental degradation and continue to accumulate in marine food webs. Some of these compounds, such as DDT or PCBs, are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, leading to reproductive problems in the animals that consume them.&nbsp;



The scientists found that on the California coast, marine mammals had about seven times more DDT and 3.5 times more PCBs than their counterparts in Baja California, Mexico.



“This kind of broad survey of contaminants shows us that the condors and the marine mammals have a multitude of contaminants that have never really been examined before, especially in detail,” explained senior author Nathan Dodder, an analytical chemist at SDSU. “The non-targeted contaminant analysis we used not only identifies known legacy contaminants, but has the added advantage of identifying novel contaminants, in addition to known but less-examined contaminants that are not routinely screened.”



Dr. Dodder and his colleagues detected an average of 32 contaminants in the coastal condor blood samples, compared to only eight in their inland counterparts. Besides a high prevalence of DDT and PCBs (seven times and 40 times more abundant, respectively, in coastal condors compared to inland ones), other harmful contaminants such as TCMP and TCPMOH have also been found in these birds, posing new threats to an already highly endangered species.



“Some of the contaminants present in marine mammal samples that we collected are ‘unknown’ in terms of their structure and potential to disrupt hormone function,” said study co-author Christopher Tubbs, the associate director of the <a href="https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/">San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance</a>. “This study exclusively looked at one hormone pathway, estrogen, but many of the contaminants identified are well known to interfere with multiple hormone pathways. These warrant further study,” he concluded.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c07302">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</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

California condors are threatened by organic contaminants

A new study led by San Diego State University (SDSU)...

Forests have long been considered to act as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-bomb-projects-must-be-halted-to-limit-global-warming/">carbon</a> sinks, locations where carbon from the atmosphere can be stored in the form of organic molecules and sequestered from circulation. Such sinks are predicted to become more and more important as the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increase due to human activities. However, the results of a study on tropical trees in Australia’s rainforests indicate that this may not be a role that forests will fulfil in future. 



A research team led by <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University</a> monitored more than 8,300 trees in 24 permanent moist tropical forest plots in rainforests across Australia. The unique data set stretches back over 50 years and is thus able to track demographic details of these typically long-lived trees.&nbsp;



“Many decades of data are needed to detect long-term changes in long-lived organisms, and the signal of a change can be overwhelmed by the noise of many processes," said study senior author Dr. Sean McMahon.&nbsp;



The results of the study, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/952693">Nature</a>, show that trees in these forests are dying faster than they used to. In fact, the average tree death rates in these forests have doubled over the past four decades. The researchers found trees are living around half as long as they did previously, a pattern that is repeated across species and across sites in the region. 



“It was a shock to detect such a marked increase in tree mortality, let alone a trend consistent across the diversity of species and sites we studied," said study lead author Dr. David Bauman. "A sustained doubling of mortality risk would imply the carbon stored in trees returns twice as fast to the atmosphere.”&nbsp;



“One remarkable result from this study is that, not only do we detect an increase in mortality, but this increase seems to have started in the 1980s, indicating the Earth’s natural systems may have been responding to changing climate for decades," noted the researchers.&nbsp;



Healthy tropical forests have acted as significant carbon sinks in the past, removing carbon from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis, and storing it in the living tissues of the trees. As such, these forests were able to slow down the rate of climate change by absorbing around 12 percent of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions.



Study co-author Yadvinder Malhi pointed out that, in recent years, the effects of climate change on the corals of the Great Barrier Reef have become well known. But this is not where the impacts of climate change end.



“Our work shows if you look shoreward from the Reef, Australia’s famous rainforests are also changing rapidly. Moreover, the likely driving factor we identify, the increasing drying power of the atmosphere caused by global warming, suggests similar increases in tree death rates may be occurring across the world’s tropical forests. If that is the case, tropical forests may soon become carbon sources, and the challenge of limiting global warming well below 2 °C becomes both more urgent and more difficult.”



When forest trees die, they cease to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and can no longer act as carbon sinks. In fact, as their great trunks and branches slowly decompose, their carbon-based organic molecules are broken down and CO2 is released back into the atmosphere, making them additional sources of CO2 emissions.&nbsp;



Interestingly, recent studies in Amazonia have also suggested that the death rates of tropical trees are increasing, thus weakening the global carbon sink. The reason for these increased mortalities in Amazonia is, as yet, unclear.



In the Australian study, the researchers examined the climate ranges of the tree species that show the highest death rates, and concluded that the main climate driver of tree mortality is the increasing drying power of the atmosphere. As the atmosphere warms, evaporation rates increase and more moisture is drawn from plants, resulting in increased water stress in trees and ultimately increased risk of death.



When the researchers conducted further analysis, they found that the loss of biomass from the increased mortality of trees over the past decades has not been offset by biomass gains from the growth of living trees, or by the recruitment of new trees. This implies the mortality increase has translated into a net decrease in the potential of these forests to offset carbon emissions.



“Long-term datasets like this one are very rare and very important for studying forest changes in response to climate change," said study co-author Susan Laurance. "This is because rainforest trees can have such long lives and also because tree death is not always immediate.”



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

Rainforest tree death rates have doubled since the 80s

Forests have long been considered to act as carbon sinks,...

A recent study led by <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> (OSU) has found that over 98 percent of U.S. waters outside the central Pacific Ocean are not part of a marine protected area (MPA), and even those that are tend to be only “lightly” or “minimally” protected from harmful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-island-birds-are-changing-and-human-activities-are-to-blame/">human activities</a>.&nbsp;



According to the experts, urgent actions are needed to improve the level of protection offered by existing marine protected areas, and to expand the number of such areas in the Antarctic, Arctic, and northeast Pacific Oceans, as well as in the Caribbean Sea.



“These findings highlight an urgent need to improve the quality, quantity and representativeness of MPA protection across U.S. waters to bring benefits to human and marine communities,” said study lead author Jenna Sullivan-Stack, a postdoctoral fellow in Integrative Biology at OSU.



“The benefits from marine protected areas are key for our future,” added study senior author Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, a marine ecologist at OSU, who led the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf0861?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D49172270223902357213481499257602856343%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1652865871&amp;_ga=2.200266542.1296602334.1652688862-2046344334.1629960599">MPA Guide project</a> in 2021, which proposed a set of comprehensive criteria to assess the distribution and effectiveness of MPAs.&nbsp;



“The MPA coverage in regions outside the central Pacific is surprisingly sparse, and the gaps in protection represent a challenge to meeting the goals laid out in the Biden administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.doi.gov/priorities/america-the-beautiful">America the Beautiful</a>&nbsp;initiative,” which promises to conserve at least 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters by 2030.



By using the MPA Guide to assess the 50 largest U.S. marine protected areas, the scientists found that most of them are located in the central Pacific Ocean, and that only 25.2 percent are “fully” or at least “highly” protected.&nbsp;



These findings highlight the need to establish new, networked MPAs with better representation of marine biodiversity, and to improve equity and other social and ecological conditions needed for the new and already existing areas to be effective. Moreover, in order for the MPAs to last and function as efficiently as possible, governance structures and long-term funding support for staffing, monitoring, and other activities should be established or strengthened.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“It is important to recognize that well-managed MPAs, designed with the local context in mind, can deliver benefits that extend beyond marine life to coastal communities that depend on sustainable marine resources for their livelihoods and cultural survival,” concluded study co-author Ana Spalding, an associate professor of Marine and Coastal Policy at OSU.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.849927">Frontiers in Marine 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;&nbsp;

Marine protected areas are "key for our future"

A recent study led by Oregon State University (OSU) has...

The most recent update of <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/">The Lancet</a> Commission on Pollution and Health has revealed that nine million people died from causes attributable to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heavy-metal-pollution-increases-antibiotic-resistance-in-rivers/">pollution</a> during 2019, which is equivalent to one out of every six deaths in that year. Even more sobering is the fact that this of deaths number has hardly changed since the last survey, conducted in 2015.&nbsp;



The previous Lancet&nbsp;report on pollution and health used data from the 2015 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. That analysis found that pollution was responsible for an estimated nine million deaths – 16 percent of all deaths globally. The new report provides updated estimates for the health effects of pollution, based on the most recently available 2019 GBD data.&nbsp;



The experts determined that, although the number of deaths from pollution sources associated with extreme poverty (such as indoor air and water pollution) have decreased, these reductions are offset by increased deaths attributable to industrial contaminants (such as ambient air and chemical pollution).&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The health impacts of pollution remain enormous, and low- and middle-income countries bear the brunt of this burden. Despite its enormous health, social and economic impacts, pollution prevention is largely overlooked in the international development agenda,” said Richard Fuller, lead author of the report. “Attention and funding has only minimally increased since 2015, despite well-documented increases in public concern about pollution and its health effects.”



“Pollution is still the largest existential threat to human and planetary health and jeopardizes the sustainability of modern societies. Preventing pollution can also slow climate change – achieving a double benefit for planetary health – and our report calls for a massive, rapid transition away from all fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy,” said co-author Professor Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College. 



Of the nine million deaths identified in the study, air pollution (both household and ambient) remains responsible for the greatest number of deaths – 6.67 million worldwide. By comparison, water pollution was responsible for 1.36 million premature deaths. Lead poisoning contributed 900,000 additional premature deaths, followed by toxic occupational hazards at 870,000 deaths.



Ambient air pollution was responsible for 4.5 million deaths in 2019, up from 4.2 million deaths in 2015 and 2.9 million in 2000. Deaths from hazardous chemical pollutants increased from 0.9 million in 2000, to 1.7 million in 2015, to 1.8 million in 2019, with 900,000 deaths attributable to lead pollution in 2019.&nbsp;



Overall, deaths from modern pollution have increased by 66 percent in the past two decades, from an estimated 3.8 million deaths in 2000 to 6.3 million deaths in 2019. Figures on deaths from chemical pollutants are likely to be underestimates as only a small number of manufactured chemicals in commerce have been adequately tested for safety or toxicity.



Further analysis of the trends showed that deaths from traditional pollution (household air pollution from the use of solid fuels, and unsafe water) have decreased since 2009. This was most evident in Africa, where improvements in water supply and sanitation, enhanced availability of antibiotics and treatments, and cleaner fuels have had a positive impact. 



However, this reduction has been offset by a substantial increase in deaths from exposure to industrial pollution – such as ambient air pollution, lead pollution, and other forms of chemical pollution – across all regions over the past 20 years. This is especially the case in Southeast Asia, where rising levels of industrial pollution are combined with aging populations and increasing numbers of people exposed.



The excess deaths due to pollution have had an economic impact, leading to losses totaling US$ 4.6 trillion in 2019, a sum that equates to 6.2 percent of global economic output. The study also notes the deep inequity of pollution’s impact, with 92 percent of pollution-related deaths, and the greatest burden of pollution’s economic losses, being recorded in low-income and middle-income countries.



The study authors make eight recommendations for improving the situation. These include the establishment of an independent, intergovernmental science/policy panel on pollution, in addition to increased funding for pollution control from governments, independent, and philanthropic donors, and improved pollution monitoring and data collection. 



The experts also suggest that international organizations need to establish a better connection between science and policy for pollution, like those for climate and biodiversity, initially for chemicals, waste, and air pollution.



“Pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss are closely linked. Successful control of these conjoined threats requires a globally supported, formal science-policy interface to inform intervention, influence research and guide funding," said study co-author Rachael Kupka, executive director of the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution.



"Pollution has typically been viewed as a local issue to be addressed through subnational and national regulation, or occasionally with regional policy in higher income regions. However, it is clear that pollution is a planetary threat, and that its drivers, dispersion, and health impacts transcend local boundaries and demand a global response. Global action on all major modern pollutants is needed." 



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00090-0/fulltext">The Lancet Planetary Health</a>.



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

One in six deaths in 2019 was caused by pollution

The most recent update of The Lancet Commission on Pollution...

In a recent study from <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a>, researchers tracked over two million people for twenty years to investigate the link between wildfire exposure and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-plant-virus-could-help-cure-cancer/">cancer</a> rates. The results show that people exposed to wildfires are more likely to develop lung cancer and brain tumors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Wildfires tend to happen in the same locations each year, but we know very little about the long-term health effects of these events. Our study shows that living in close proximity to wildfires may increase the risk of certain cancers," said Scott Weichenthal, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill.



People living within 50 kilometers of wildfires over the last ten years had 10 percent higher instances of brain tumors and 4.9 percent higher instances of lung cancer.&nbsp;



Although one of the main culprits for cancer in wildfires comes from poor air quality and carcinogens emitted into the air, this isn’t the only problem. Fires also pollute water supplies where many toxins can run off to collect in streams and lakes. Likewise, soil can also be polluted by wildfires. Regardless of how exposure occurs, there are several carcinogens released by wildfires.&nbsp;&nbsp;



&nbsp;"Many of the pollutants emitted by wildfires are known human carcinogens, suggesting that exposure could increase cancer risk in humans," said Jill Korsiak, a PhD student in Professor Weichenthal's lab who led the analysis.



"Exposure to harmful environmental pollutants might continue beyond the period of active burning through several routes of exposure," added Professor Weichenthal.



Unfortunately, due to climate change and mismanagement of forests, wildfires are on the rise and expected to continue to increase in frequency and intensity. Research into the health impacts of fires will only become more relevant as the negative impact of climate change becomes more widespread.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/home">The Lancet Planetary Health</a>.



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

Wildfire exposure increases the risk of certain cancers

In a recent study from McGill University, researchers tracked over...

Elevated heavy metal levels in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ocean-microplastics-originate-in-european-rivers/">rivers</a> can lead to higher levels of antibiotic resistance. This is the conclusion of new research from <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> and the Indian Institute of Technology.



The scientists quantified antibiotic and metal resistance in sediments from the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers in India and streams in the River Tyne catchment.&nbsp;



River Tyne has high traces of heavy metals due to historic mining and industrial activity, and this is related to antibiotic resistance levels in the river. The same was found in areas of industrial activity across the Indian rivers.



The research team investigated the relationships between heavy metals concentrations, metal resistance gene (MRG) and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) abundances. The experts found that MRG and ARG abundances increase where metal levels are higher. This suggests that metal pollution has increased antibiotic resistance, even when elevated antibiotics are not evident.



Metall pollution was also found to affect resident bacteria, with Firmicutes and Bacteroidota being the most abundant phyla at sites with high metal pollution. These bacteria are common in metal contaminated environments and are known to carry MRGs and ARGs in groups in “gene cassettes," which explains why metal exposures can cause antibiotic resistance.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study identified metals that promote the strongest bacterial responses, and these include cobalt combined with nickel, and the combination of cobalt, zinc and cadmium.



“The work does not necessarily imply a health risk, but it shows that a river or stream without antibiotics pollution can still have elevated antibiotic resistance due to other pollutants, such as metals," said study co-author Professor David Graham. "However, in a river like the Yamuna, which has high metals in combination with many other pollutants, greater concerns about the spread of antibiotic resistance exist.”



High metal exposure can co-select antibiotic resistance in bacteria, with the potential to become resistant to many antibiotics.&nbsp;



“The impacts of heavy metals-induced antibiotic resistance get exacerbated when high metal levels are combined with other pollutants such as antibiotics, detergents, and other chemicals, highlighting the importance of reducing heavy metal pollution as part of One Health solutions for reducing ARG transmission and spread," said study lead author Dr. Sonia Gupta.



Antibiotic resistance is a global public health issue, with implications on the effective treatment of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. Antibiotic use selects for resistant bacterial strains in human and animal waste, which can be spread through wastewater. This can lead to antibiotic resistance spreading in bacteria across various natural ecosystems.&nbsp;



The research team p<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749122005401?dgcid=coauthor">ublished their findings</a> in the journal Environmental Pollution.&nbsp;



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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

Heavy metal pollution increases antibiotic resistance in rivers

Elevated heavy metal levels in rivers can lead to higher...

Although methane emissions have been increasing rapidly over the past years, contributing significantly to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-disrupts-communication-among-animals/">climate</a> change, this problem is not adequately treated within current national and international governance frameworks. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.iass-potsdam.de/de">Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies</a> (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany highlights the urgent need for action to curb methane emissions in order to mitigate global warming.&nbsp;



Under the Paris Agreement, the effects of all greenhouse gases are expressed in terms of “CO2&nbsp;equivalents,” a unit of measurement which reflects these gases’ warming effects over a period of 100 years. However, such an approach fails to adequately represent methane’s impact on the climate, while also neglecting its negative effects on human health and ecosystems.



“Governing methane based on assigning it a “CO2&nbsp;equivalence” means that only its climate impact on a 100-year timescale is robustly taken into account – including within carbon pricing schemes, for example,” said study lead author Kathleen Mar, an expert in Atmospheric Chemistry at IASS.



“This neglects methane’s critically important role in near-term climate – over the course of the next 20 years – during which time methane’s warming impact is roughly 80 times greater than that of CO2. Methane’s short atmospheric lifetime means that efforts to reduce emissions can rapidly reduce atmospheric concentrations and, as a consequence, global warming.”



Methane emissions are caused by both natural and anthropogenic factors, including wetlands, fires, fossil fuels, agriculture, and waste management. While scientists have already noted that these emissions have increased dramatically in recent years, the full scope of methane pollution is still underestimated. For instance, methane emissions due to leakages from gas and oil operations are underreported, while in the agricultural sector, reporting remains dominated by basic estimation methods.



However, some developments in controlling these emissions – such as the “Global Methane Pledge” to reduce emissions by at least 30 percent during this decade that was signed by 100 countries at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow – offer a glimmer of hope that the impact of this harmful gas on our planet could be mitigated.



According to Dr. Mar, swift implementation of these pledges is critical. “When it comes to climate change, governments have often failed to deliver on their promises. This doesn’t have to be the case when it comes to methane: significant reductions in methane emissions are within our reach with available technologies and cost-effective measures, including the improved detection of leakages in the oil and gas industry as well as methane capture and utilization technologies for landfills."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901122001204?via%3Dihub">Environmental Science &amp; Policy</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Impacts of methane emissions are greatly underestimated

Although methane emissions have been increasing rapidly over the past...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that much of the excess heat stored in the subtropical North Atlantic is in the deep part of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/95-percent-of-ocean-could-become-inhospitable-this-century/">ocean</a>, below 700 meters. The scientists estimated that, over the next 50 years, the deep ocean’s temperatures will increase by a further 0.2°C.&nbsp;



Until now, oceans have absorbed about 90 percent of the warming caused by human activities. By using temperature records and “chemical tracers” – compounds whose composition can be used to discover past changes in the oceans – the researchers have found that, in the subtropical North Atlantic, 62 percent of the warming from 1850 to 2018 is held in the deep ocean. This warming will most likely have a negative impact on our planet, leading to sea-level rise, changing ecosystems, ocean currents and chemistry, and deoxygenation.



“As our planet warms, it’s vital to understand how the excess heat taken up by the ocean is redistributed in the ocean interior all the way from the surface to the bottom, and it is important to take into account the deep ocean to assess the growth of Earth’s ‘energy imbalance,’” said Dr. Marie-Jose Messias, a senior lecturer in Oceanography at the University of Exeter.&nbsp;



“As well as finding that the deep ocean is holding much of this excess heat, our research shows how ocean currents redistribute heat to different regions. We found that this redistribution was a key driver of warming in the North Atlantic.”



According to Dr. Messias and her colleagues, the main cause of North Atlantic deep ocean warming is the system of currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This system works like a conveyor belt, carrying warm water from the tropics north, where colder and denser water sinks into the deep ocean, slowly spreading southward. Thus, excess heat from the Southern Hemisphere oceans is constantly transferred to the North Atlantic by AMOC.



Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms of heat transferred from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere oceans, and the role that AMOC plays in these processes.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00443-4">Nature Communications: Earth &amp; Environment</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

Deep ocean temperatures are steadily rising

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

The ways in which we produce <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-production-linked-to-one-third-of-global-emissions/">food</a> and manage our lands are responsible for almost a third of global greenhouse gas emissions along the entire supply chain. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/home">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</a> (PIK) has found that just shrinking the size of our current food system will not substantially cut emissions. Instead, the experts argue that fundamental transformations in the very nature of the global food system are necessary in order to fix these problems.



“That means on the one hand that people consume what they need in terms of nutritional requirements, curb food waste, and eat a more balanced diet, with much more vegetables and less animal products,” explained study lead author Benjamin Bodirsky, a senior scientist at PIK.



“On the other hand, a qualitative transformation means more efficiency, hence producing food in a less-polluting way: smarter dosing of fertilizers or planting higher-yield crops. Also, carbon pricing could help steer farmers towards lower-emission agricultural practices, because emitting less means paying less. Put together, this could drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”



Dr. Bodirsky and his colleagues performed an in-depth review of degrowth proposals and created a set of scenarios which they fed into a food and land systems computer simulation to explore their effect on the food system. These analyses revealed that the current food system is unsustainable for any society, regardless of economic growth rates.



According to the simulations, simply curbing growth in rich countries would not lead to sizable sustainability benefits in the food system. Moreover, financial transfers from richer to poorer countries within the current development paradigms could even increase emissions, since carbon-intensive diet changes are most pronounced when countries move from low to medium incomes.



However, when the researchers included consumption changes and efficiency gains incentivized by the price of carbon, the results pointed towards improved nutritional outcomes for all consumers, as well as lower greenhouse emissions.&nbsp;



“For the food sector, we can say that a certain degree of degrowth would be the result of the sustainable transformation, not the starting point,” said study co-author Hermann Lotze-Campen, an agricultural economist at PIK. “So basically this is not really about less but about different growth.”



Since a sustainable food system transformation that takes into account all costs to the environment would lead to a slight increase in food prices, any such changes must be accompanied by a comprehensive policy mix of smart taxing schemes, social compensation for carbon dioxide pricing, and international transfers. Finally, making agriculture more climate friendly – by controlling nitrogen flows in croplands for, instance – would entail further investments. According to the experts though, all these costs will likely be offset by the urgently needed restoration of crucial ecosystem services.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00500-3">Nature Food</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

Global food system is unsustainable and must be transformed

The ways in which we produce food and manage our...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic pollution.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invisible-threat-in-urban-air">Invisible threat in urban air</h2>



City dwellers face an unseen danger with every breath. New findings from Emory University researchers suggest that fine particulate matter from <a href="http://earth.com/news/traffic-related-air-pollution-might-increase-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vehicle emissions may significantly elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease</a>. The study examined brain tissue samples from 224 individuals who had confirmed diagnoses and volunteered their brains for scientific research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disturbing-connections-emerge">Disturbing connections emerge</h2>



Scientists analyzed neuritic plaques — protein clusters that characterize Alzheimer's — while mapping each participant's exposure to PM2.5 particles based on residential location and surrounding traffic density. The correlation proved more alarming than anticipated. Individuals experiencing higher pollution exposure showed nearly double the likelihood of elevated plaque accumulation in brain tissue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timing-matters">Timing matters</h2>



The research team discovered that pollution exposure during the final year before death demonstrated the strongest association with brain changes. This timeline suggests relatively rapid impacts from environmental toxins on neural health. The connection remained robust even after accounting for various demographic and health factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-vulnerability-patterns">Genetic vulnerability patterns</h2>



Perhaps most concerning, people lacking the APOE gene—which naturally predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's — exhibited more than twice the susceptibility to pollution-related brain damage. Study author Dr. Anke Huels noted this indicates environmental elements like air contamination could trigger the disease in cases where hereditary factors don't explain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-health-implications">Public health implications</h2>



These findings, published in <a href="https://www.neurology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neurology</a>, underscore the critical importance of air quality regulations in urban planning. The research suggests that implementing stricter emission controls and promoting alternative transportation could serve as powerful tools in Alzheimer's prevention.



As cities worldwide grapple with growing traffic congestion and aging populations, this study highlights an urgent need for comprehensive approaches to environmental health that protect both our lungs and our minds.



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Traffic fumes may trigger Alzheimer's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-earth-became-a-frozen-wasteland">When Earth became a frozen wasteland</h2>



Imagine Earth as a giant snowball, frozen solid from the North Pole to the equator. This wasn't the plot of a science fiction movie – it was our planet's reality 700 million years ago during an extreme ice age that has puzzled scientists for decades.



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



Australian researchers from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a> have finally cracked one of geology's greatest mysteries: what caused the Sturtian glaciation and why it persisted for an unprecedented 57 million years. This period occurred long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, when no complex plants or multicellular animals existed.



Dr. Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study's lead author, describes a world completely unlike today's climate. "Imagine the Earth almost completely frozen over," she explained. "The planet was blanketed in ice from poles to equator, and temperatures plunged."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-combination-of-climate-factors">The combination of climate factors</h2>



The research team discovered that this massive freeze resulted from a "double whammy" of geological events. First, plate tectonic activity reduced volcanic carbon dioxide emissions to historically low levels. Volcanic activity typically releases CO2 into the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that keeps Earth warm.



Simultaneously, weathering of volcanic rocks in what is now Canada actively absorbed atmospheric CO2, further reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. When atmospheric carbon dioxide levels dropped below 200 parts per million – less than half of today's levels – glaciation engulfed the entire planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-climate-implications">Modern climate implications</h2>



Published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geology</a>, this research provides crucial insights into Earth's climate system. While geological climate changes occur over millions of years, the study emphasizes that human-induced climate change is happening at a pace ten times faster than previously observed natural changes, highlighting the urgent need to understand our planet's delicate climate balance.



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What caused the planet's longest ice age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY 57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists....

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



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



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



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



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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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



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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 



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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



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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



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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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Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

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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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