Our planet has just recorded its hottest April ever, marking an unprecedented sequence where each of the past 11 months has set a new heat record, according to the European Union's climate change monitoring institute, <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Copernicus Climate Change Service</a> (C3S). 



The report, released on Wednesday, highlights that since June 2023, each month has been the hottest of its kind in recorded history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shift-in-the-climate-system">Shift in the climate system</h2>



In their latest monthly bulletin, C3S reported that with the inclusion of this April, the global average temperature over the past 12 months has been the highest ever recorded, at 1.61 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average from 1850-1900.



Recent extreme temperatures, such as prolonged periods of record-breaking sea surface temperatures, have prompted scientists to explore the possibility that human actions might have pushed the climate system to a critical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-tipping-points-report-shows-humanity-on-a-disastrous-trajectory/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tipping point</a>. 



“I think many scientists have asked the question whether there could be a shift in the climate system,” said Julien Nicolas, a Senior Climate Scientist at C3S.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recent-el-nino-phenomenon-nbsp">Recent El Niño phenomenon&nbsp;</h2>



The principal driver of climate change is the emission of greenhouse gasses from fossil fuels, but the recent natural El Niño phenomenon, which causes warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, has also contributed to the temperature increases.



"El Niño peaked at the beginning of the year and the sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are now going back towards neutral conditions," said Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo.&nbsp;



"However, whilst temperature variations associated with natural cycles like El Niño come and go, the extra energy trapped into the ocean and the atmosphere by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases will keep pushing the global temperature towards new records."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-record-heat-in-april">Broader implications of the record heat in April</h2>



The impact of climate change was starkly evident in April's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/compound-weather-extremes-are-now-more-frequent-and-severe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weather extremes</a>, including a heatwave in the Sahel region, which is linked to thousands of deaths. 



Hayley Fowler, a climate scientist at <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Newcastle University</a>, pointed out the urgency of the situation regarding global warming limits set by international agreements. “At what point do we declare we've lost the battle to keep temperatures below 1.5? My personal opinion is we've already lost that battle, and we really need to think very seriously about keeping below 2C and reducing our emissions as fast as we can,” she said.



The target to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius was set at the 2015 U.N. climate summit, a threshold that scientists argue would prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change, such as extreme heat, severe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seeking-ways-to-prevent-flooding-caused-by-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flooding</a>, and irreversible damage to ecosystems. 



Although technically the 1.5C target has not been breached - as it refers to a long-term global temperature average - some experts believe it is no longer feasible to achieve this goal and are calling for more aggressive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/met-office-2024-co2-levels-will-surpass-the-point-of-no-return/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CO2 emissions</a> reductions to minimize exceeding the target.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-record-ocean-heat">Record ocean heat</h2>



According to a recent analysis from the BBC, the world's oceans have set new heat records every single day over the past year.



"The fact that all this heat is going into the ocean, and in fact, it's warming in some respects even more rapidly than we thought it would, is a cause for great concern," said Professor Mike Meredith from the British Antarctic Survey.



"These are real signs of the environment moving into areas where we really don't want it to be and if it carries on in that direction the consequences will be severe."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fourth-global-coral-bleaching-event-nbsp">Fourth global coral bleaching event&nbsp;</h2>



The latest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-worlds-largest-coral-bleaching-event-is-now-underway/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coral bleaching event</a>, confirmed as the fourth global event of its kind, is currently underway and has been significantly impacting coral reefs around the world. This ongoing event has been observed since early 2023 and has affected over 54% of the world's coral reefs, with conditions worsening, making it potentially the largest bleaching event ever recorded.



The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been monitoring the bleaching event through its Coral Reef Watch program, which has recorded extensive heat stress across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean basins.&nbsp;



Coral bleaching has been particularly severe in areas like the Great Barrier Reef, which has experienced simultaneous high levels of bleaching across its entire area for the first time ever.&nbsp;



This widespread bleaching has profound implications not only for marine biodiversity but also for the economies and food security of communities that rely on these ecosystems. The global economic value of coral reefs is immense, estimated at $2.7 trillion annually, supporting industries such as tourism and fishing.



More details about C3S' report on record April heat can be found <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-global-temperature-record-streak-continues-april-2024-was-hottest-record" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.



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April's record heat extends an alarming climate trend

Our planet has just recorded its hottest April ever, marking an unprecedented sequence where each of the past 11 months has set a new heat record, according to the European Union's climate change monitoring institute, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).  The report, released on Wednesday, highlights that since June 2023, each month has been the hottest of its kind in recorded history. Shift in the climate system In their latest monthly bulletin, C3S reported that with the inclusion of this April, the global average temperature over the...

<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> has issued a warning that this Saturday, an <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/asteroids-surprise-near-miss/">asteroid</a> bigger than the Empire State Building will be passing close to the Earth at over 14,000 miles per hour. After recent close calls, space agencies meet to discuss asteroid defense

While this “close approach” estimated by NASA is about 3.3 million miles away, NASA policy dictates that any fast-moving space object within 4.65 million miles of Earth is to be considered “potentially hazardous.”

This asteroid has been creatively named Qw7, and is one of 878 asteroids currently at risk of hitting Earth in the next 100 years, according to the <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA">European Space Agency</a> (ESA). 

The agency warns that an impact by even a small asteroid could result in “serious devastation,” which is why the ESA and several other groups have joined together to search for asteroids. 

These teams are also developing technology that could be used to deflect asteroids, and they will be meeting to discuss potential deflection tactics in Europe over the next few days.

The first meeting will take place in Rome, where experts will discuss NASA’s plans to crash its DART spacecraft into a 160-meter asteroid named Didymos-B. Experts will also meet in Munich to discuss asteroid 2006 QV89, which had already whizzed by Earth on September 9th.

ESA also plans to host an emergency response workshop in Germany alongside civil protection agencies from six countries, as well as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. 

The agency adds, “These three meetings illustrate the breadth of activity currently taking place across the globe to mitigate the risk of an asteroid impact, to ensure early warnings of such a threat, and to prepare on Earth in the unlikely event of a strike – planetary defense is heating up!”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/muratart

After recent close calls, space agencies meet to discuss asteroid defense

NASA has issued a warning that this Saturday, an asteroid...

Trump administration announces official repeal of the clean water rule. In yet another controversial move, the Trump administration has finalized the reversal of an <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/clean-water-protections-trump/">Obama-era rule</a> that was designed to protect the nation's waterways from pollution. President Trump made it clear before he was even elected that he wanted to overhaul the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, calling it "one of the worst examples of federal regulation."  

The deregulatory action represents the biggest rollback of Clean Water Act protections since the law was passed in 1972, removing federal safeguards for tens of thousands of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands.

Critics of the WOTUS rule said that it placed too many restrictions on farmers, land owners, and developers, and gave the government too much power over what people were allowed to do on their private properties. For example, farmers using land near streams and wetlands were restricted from planting certain crops and needed special permits to use chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

According to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the new approach will make it simple for farmers to determine which water bodies on their property are subject to federal regulation without paying thousands of dollars for engineers and legal consultants.

"Today's final rule puts an end to an egregious power grab, eliminates an ongoing patchwork of clean water regulations and restores a longstanding and familiar regulatory framework while we consider public comments on our proposed revised definition of waters of the U.S.," said Wheeler.

However, not everyone agrees with the logic behind the repeal, which will take effect in just a few weeks. The replacement rule is still in the works, but some environmentalists are already prepared to seek legal action. 

"The clean water rule represented solid science and smart public policy. Where it has been enforced, it has protected important waterways and wetlands, providing certainty to all stakeholders," said Jon Devine, who is the director of federal water policy at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>.

"The Trump administration's wild-eyed attempts to reward polluters, however, knows no bounds, so it is repealing these important protections without regard for the law or sound science."

Betsy Southerland is the former director of Science and Technology in the EPA’s Office of Water.

"This will mean that miners can do mountaintop removal and fill in streams, pipelines can cut across wetlands, land developers can build on wetlands without a permit,” Southerland told <a href="https://www.nbc.com/">NBC</a>. “What they are doing with this repeal, is leaving it to the states to handle it. I can tell you that there are very few states that have permitting and enforcement programs to do this. They have always depended on EPA.”

"The cumulative effect of all these wetlands being lost and all these headwater streams being destroyed is going to have an enormous negative impact on all the waters we use for drinking and recreation."

"Wetlands are big flood control functions and filter pollutants out before they get to streams that we drink from. All of that will be lost if we no longer have these protections, and once you lose them you can’t get them back.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Sanimfocus

Trump administration announces official repeal of the clean water rule

Trump administration announces official repeal of the clean water rule....

Ten percent of Earth has warmed by more than two degrees, WaPo analysis shows. Hot spots are popping up around the globe, and researchers have identified pockets where temperatures have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-two-degrees-warming/">crossed a dangerous threshold</a> in many regions.

An analysis conducted by the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/climate-change-world/">Washington Post</a> found that in the past five years, roughly ten percent of the Earth has warmed by more than two degrees Celsius and nearly twice as many areas have warmed by 1.5 degrees. 

Four global temperature data sets, dating back to the 1800s up until the present, were reviewed and analyzed by the Washington Post. 

The analysis found that the Arctic is not the only fast-warming region on Earth and parts of Europe, northern Asia, and the Middle East have experienced a warming of two degrees Celsius. 

The Washington Post defines a hot spot as an area where accelerating temperatures have reached a critical point, and geophysical processes intensify warming. 

Rising sea levels from shrinking sea ice and glaciers in the Poles are one of the biggest projected impacts of accelerated warming, but we are already witnessing the fallout from rising temperatures in many regions around the world. 

Wildfires, mass coral bleaching, record-breaking heat waves, severe hurricanes, and weather extremes have all been linked to human-driven climate change. 

The Washington Post analysis focused on the Brazil current, which has experienced rapid warming in recent years. The warming of key ocean currents is leading to the expansion of the tropics and heating up the oceans. 

For example, the Agulhas Current in the southwest Indian Ocean has warmed above 1.5 degrees Celsius in many areas, and as warm water spirals off from the current it mixes with the South Atlantic Ocean. 

In Uruguay, clams are dying en masse, strewn across beaches due to an ocean hot spot linked to the Brazil Current, according to the Washington Post. 

Unfortunately, the warm waters aren’t just impacting clams. Fish are dying off, algae blooms are getting more severe, and tropical species are spreading into fisheries.  

Can life on Earth catch up with the rising temperatures and adapt to the changing climates? 

“We’re really playing catch-up,” said Boris Worm, from <a href="https://www.dal.ca/">Dalhousie University</a> in Canada, told the Washington Post.“Everything we base our civilization on is based on the accumulated experience from the last 7,000 years, about how the world works, and how we can survive in this world that had an exceptionally stable climate. And we’re shifting away from that equilibrium at breakneck speed now. We’re living in a no-analog world that none of us has any experience with.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Lane V. Erickson

Ten percent of Earth has warmed by more than two degrees, WaPo analysis shows

Ten percent of Earth has warmed by more than two...

In a new study from <a href="https://aru.ac.uk/">Anglia Ruskin University</a>, researchers have demonstrated that soil <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-human-food-chain/">microplastics</a> adversely affect earthworms by stunting their growth and potentially causing them to lose weight. Because of their contribution to soil structure and nutrient availability, earthworms play a crucial role in the soil ecosystem. 

"Earthworms can be called 'ecosystem engineers' as they help maintain a healthy soil. They do this through ingesting dead organic matter, therefore contributing to the availability of nutrients," explained study co-author Connor Russell.

"Their burrowing activity improves soil structure, helping with drainage and preventing erosion. It's therefore highly likely that any pollution that impacts the health of soil fauna, such as earthworms, may have cascading effects on other aspects of the soil ecosystem, such as plant growth."

The study was focused on endogeic worms, which live in the upper layers of soil. The team investigated the impact of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and microplastic clothing fibers (acrylic and nylon) on earthworms.

High-density polyethylene is commonly used in the production of plastic bottles and carrier bags. After 30 days of exposure to HDPE, rosy-tipped earthworms had lost an average of 3.1 percent of their weight. By comparison, a group of earthworms living in control conditions without the presence of microplastics had weight increases of 5.1 percent in the same time frame.

High-density polyethylene was also found to decrease the soil pH, which is a measure of the acidity and alkalinity in soil.

When the team planted ryegrass across the affected and unaffected soil, dirt containing the biodegradable plastic PLA was much less productive and the shoot height of the grass was significantly reduced. At the same time, microplastic clothing fibers led to fewer ryegrass seeds germinating.

"The earthworms lost weight overall when certain microplastics were present and grew significantly in weight in soil without added microplastics. However, the specific reasons for this weight loss needs unravelling," said study lead author Dr. Bas Boots.

"It may be that the response mechanisms to microplastics may be comparable in earthworms to that of the aquatic lugworms, which have been previously studied. These effects include the obstruction and irritation of the digestive tract, limiting the absorption of nutrients and reducing growth."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/photographyfirm

Microplastics are negatively affecting the ‘engineers’ of soil ecosystems

In a new study from Anglia Ruskin University, researchers have...

Earth may have already experienced an additional extinction event. Scientists have warned that Earth is in the midst of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warning-imminent-mass-extinction/">sixth mass extinction</a> due to plummeting animal and plant populations as human activities continue to ramp up climate change. 

However, researchers may need to rethink their count of extinction events. 

A potential sixth mass extinction event that occurred before the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs has been identified in a new study published in the journal<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2019.1658096"> Historical Biology</a>.

In Earth’s history, there have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-mass-extinctions-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them-about-the-planet-today-79971">five mass die-offs or extinction events</a>, and these events correlate with the end of geological periods. The first was the Late Ordovician which took place around 445 million years ago when global cooling wiped out a large majority of species. 

The second mass extinction, the Late Devonian, started around 380 million years and was characterized by “pulses” of extinctions spread over twenty million years. Nearly 70 to 80 percent of all animal species were wiped out during that time. 

The Middle Permian event occurred 252 million years ago, and more than 8o percent of all life on Earth went extinct. 

After the Middle Permian came the Triassic extinction event 201 million years ago, followed lastly by the Cretaceous extinction event which killed off the dinosaurs. 

This puts the total number of extinction events to five. 

But now, researchers from <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> and<a href="https://www.nju.edu.cn/en/"> Nanjing University</a> in China argue that there was a sixth mass extinction 260 million years ago. 

The event, called the end-Guadalopian extinction, coincided with the Emeishan flood-basalt eruption which produced a major rock formation in southern China known as the Emeishan Traps. 

During the Guadalupian or Middle Permian period (272 to 260 million years ago), the Emeishan flood-basalt eruption released large amounts of greenhouse gasses which warmed up the planet. 

“Massive eruptions such as this one release large amounts of greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide and methane, that cause severe global warming, with warm, oxygen-poor oceans that are not conducive to marine life,” said Michael Rampino, a co-author of the study. 

Looking at past events like the end-Guadalopian extinction which is characterized by global warming due to increases in atmospheric CO2 can help researchers predict future climate outcomes and understand what triggered past events. 

“It is crucial that we know the number of severe mass extinctions and their timing in order to investigate their causes,” Rampino, “Notably, all six major mass extinctions are correlated with devastating environmental upheavals--specifically, massive flood-basalt eruptions, each covering more than a million square kilometers with thick lava flows.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/xtock

Earth may have already experienced an additional extinction event

Earth may have already experienced an additional extinction event. Scientists...

Mercury and other high concentrations of pollutants were discovered in the skin and blubber of bottlenose dolphins that live in the English Channel. 

The levels of pollutants are some of the highest ever found in bottlenose dolphins in Europe, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-48485-7">Scientific Reports.</a>

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uliege.be/">University of Liège</a> in Belgium measured levels of organic pollutants and mercury in the blubber and skin 82 bottlenose dolphins that inhabit the Normanno-Breton Gulf in the English Channel. 

In the blubber, the researchers found high concentrations of pollutants from industrial fluids containing chlorine and the pollutants were found in 91 percent of males and 92 percent of females. 

High concentrations of mercy in the skin of the dolphins matched mercury levels found in bottlenose dolphins in the Florida Everglades and the Mediterranean Sea.

Even though chlorine-containing pollutants were banned from many countries in the 1970s and 80s, marine biologists are still finding levels of harmful organic pollutants in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-white-sharks-mercury-arsenic/">marine life. </a>

When industrial waste and fertilizer runoff filter into the ocean, the organic pollutants carried with them can dissolve in the fat and oils of marine species like dolphins. 

This is why bottlenose dolphins serve as an excellent model for studying pollution because of the build-up of mercury and chlorine in the fatty tissues. 

Due to the high levels of mercury and pollutants discovered in the dolphins in the English Channel, the researchers recommend that Normanno-Breton Gulf become a conservation area to ensure that Europe’s largest population of coastal bottlenose dolphins is protected.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Hannah Stanbury

High levels of mercury and pollutants found in English Channel dolphins

Mercury and other high concentrations of pollutants were discovered in...

Rising temperatures could lead to a shortage in omega-3 fatty acids. Declines in global fish stocks due to climate change could lead to deficiencies in a crucial brain-building <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omega-3s-seafood-healthy-aging/">omega-3 fatty acid </a>for a majority of the world’s population, according to a new study. 

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the most abundant fatty acid in the brain, and DHA plays an essential role in cell survival and neuroprotection. 

Even though DHA is a necessary fatty acid and crucial for brain development, we can’t make enough of the stuff on our own. Instead, people get DHA from fish or supplements. 

In a new study, researchers from <a href="https://www.dal.ca/">Dalhousie University,</a> the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a>, and <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/">Ryerson University</a> found that climate change could drastically limit DHA availability in the future. 

Ninety-six percent of the world’s population may not have enough access to DHA from fish by 2100, according to the study if global temperatures continue to rise. 

For the study, the researchers used data from the <a href="http://www.seaaroundus.org/">Sea Around Us database</a>, which shows how fishing impacts marine ecosystems. 

The researchers also collected data from the United Nations on fishery catches, and aquaculture to create a mathematical model that predicted annual DHA production in different United Nations Fishing Zones under various global warming scenarios. 

DHA is primarily produced by algae and makes its way up the aquatic food chain. 

The model’s predictions showed that countries like Greenland, Norway, and New Zealand where fish production is high and populations are smaller will not have to worry about DHA deficiencies. 

However, China, Japa, and most countries in Africa could lose ample access to domestic fish production and DHA. 

“According to our model, global warming could result in a 10 to 58% loss of globally-available DHA in the next 80 years,” the researchers said. “A decrease in levels will have the greatest effect on vulnerable populations and periods of human development, such as foetuses and infants, and may also affect predatory mammals, especially those in Polar Regions.”

The researchers published their findings in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-019-01234-6">Ambio</a>.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com </a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Michail Patakos

Rising temperatures could lead to a shortage in omega-3 fatty acids

Rising temperatures could lead to a shortage in omega-3 fatty...

Machine learning will produce fast and reliable maps of Arctic sea ice. A new report from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) describes how experts will soon be using artificial intelligence to chart sea-ice conditions. The technology will provide fast and accurate <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arctic-sea-ice-extent-seventh-lowest/">sea-ice</a> information to improve the efficiency and safety of marine operations in the Arctic.

As the Arctic warms at a rate that is double the global average, the ongoing changes in the region's sea ice are extreme and often unpredictable. It is crucial that maps of sea-ice conditions and forecasts are accurate for safe navigation and improved planning, particularly in the Arctic.

For years, experts have charted sea-ice conditions manually by using satellite data, but the large expanse of the Arctic makes this a tedious and time-consuming job. Scientists have identified an urgent need for automated ice observations that can be integrated into ice forecast models.

In an effort to keep Arctic sea-ice data current and relevant, the <a href="http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icecover.uk.php">Danish Meteorological Institute</a> (DMI) and Technical University of Denmark have initiated the Automated Sea Ice Products (ASIP) project.

Funded by Innovation Fund Denmark, the goal of the study is to create an automatic sea-ice service that can provide detailed information in a more timely manner. 

ASIP will combine Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery with other satellite data to resolve any uncertainties that may emerge in SAR imagery under various ocean conditions,  such as strong winds. 

According to the ESA report, ASIP uses a "convolutional neural network system" that has been trained with large datasets of ice charts to automatically generate ice maps.

"ASIP will be a great opportunity for users to have an up-to-date map of sea-ice products. We are currently working hard to get this in production and validate it with both the ice experts and the users,” said David Malmgren-Hansen, who is a machine learning expert at <a href="https://www.compute.dtu.dk/">DTU Compute</a>.

The research was presented by Malmgren-Hansen at this year’s Φ-week event, which was focused on Earth observation and FutureEO. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: ESA

Machine learning will produce fast and reliable maps of Arctic sea ice

Machine learning will produce fast and reliable maps of Arctic...

As a federal land management agency, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/index.htm">National Park Service</a> (NPS) is often charged with rather conflicting goals. In the case of the NPS, there are the goals to preserve the land as well as facilitate recreation on it. 

In some cases, the NPS also manages non-recreational use of land, such is the case with Point Reyes National Seashore. Point Reyes is one of only two national parks that allow ranching inside their borders. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/cuva/learn/historyculture/farming-in-a-national-park.htm">Cuyahoga Valley National Park</a> in Ohio for its part is encouraging farming within its borders to preserve historic farming in the area. Point Reyes National Seashore is unique that it was created under a partnership between local ranchers and the National Park Service in an effort to forestall the possibility of large scale development in the area.      

Point Reyes is relatively new as far as land managed by the NPS goes, having been established on September 13, 1962. Since the park was created so recently, many of the cattle and dairy ranches that graze on Point Reyes were in business long before the park was officially recognized. 

According to the <a href="http://www.prsranchersassociation.com">Point Reyes Seashore Ranchers Association</a>, many of their members have operated in the area since the 1800s. Ranchers now lease land on short term agreements from the NPS that they once owned. In acknowledgement of the hardships of obtaining loans when operating on a five year lease, the park service has considered 20 year leases. At the time, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar ordered environmental impact statements and consideration of the longer term leases in 2012. 

The <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/09/point-reyes-national-seashore-proposes-20-year-ranch-leases-culling-tule-elk/">Mercury News</a> reported earlier this month that the NPS has released a formal plan to extend leases to 20 years for ranchers at Point Reyes as well as Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Ranchers would also be allowed consideration of diversifying their livestock on a case by case basis. This would mean extending ranch leases on 26,000 acres of federal land. 

The NPS plan also calls for limiting the size of the Drake’s Beach tule elk herd from its current estimated population of 124 to 120 individual elk. This is the option preferred by the NPS as opposed to alternatives put forward such as killing all the elk and removing all ranchers. The plans are now open for <a href="https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=97154">public comments</a> until September 23. 

The different plans highlight the inherent conflict between ranching and elk populations at Point Reyes National Seashore. Tule elk are a subspecies found only in California. The elk population was once as large as 500,000 individuals but decimated to a low point of <a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-elk-20141229-story.html">just two</a> tule elk in the 1870s. Luckily, the two remaining elk were a male and a female which allowed the elk population to rebound. 

Today, there are <a href="https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Elk">approximately</a> 5,700 elk living in 22 largely isolated herds throughout the state of California. Besides the elk own resilience the population rebound is the result of hard work and money on the part of captive breeding and reintroduction programs by the state of California. Tule elk were reintroduced to Point Reyes National Seashore in 1978 as part of the statewide recovery. There is still more habitat available for the elk to inhabit but their population growth has run into a roadblock of human intolerance. 

The growing population of tule elk on state land has not been looked upon kindly by ranchers in California.  The <a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-elk-20141229-story.html">Las Angeles Times</a> reports that ranchers have also called on the NPS to limit elk populations on the ranch land they lease at Point Reyes National Seashore. Ranchers complain that the elk compete with cattle for grass as well as damaged fences. 

The state management agencies have quietly moved ‘excess’ elk to other herds in an effort to minimize conflict. The <a href="https://www.wildlandsconservancy.org/preserve_windwolves.html">Wind Wolves Preserve</a>, managed by the non-profit The Wildlands Conservancy, has taken many of the elk. Despite these effortsl the west is a place of contradictory ideas two of the most cherished being wilderness and the cowboy. 

With growing human populations and less land available, ranching and wildlife are as much at odds as ever. The western landscape as we know it was created over the conflict between wild animals like bison, wolves, bears and the domestic cow. 

Many environmentalists are as unhappy with the presence of the ranchers on federal land as the ranchers are unhappy about the elk. In a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/park-service-floats-plan-shoot-native-elk-point-reyes-national-seashore-2019-08-08/">press release</a>, The Center for Biological Diversity said that the NPS plan would enshrine cattle grazing as the primary use of a large part of the seashore. 

Senior conservation advocate for the center, Jeff Miller added:

“This is a shockingly anti-wildlife plan, and killing these elk will do nothing to fix or reduce the environmental damage caused by cattle ranching…What is the Park Service thinking? Allowing expansion of commercial agricultural activities would inevitably lead to further conflicts with other native wildlife. After the elk shooting starts, get ready for ranchers to call for the slaughter of the park’s bobcats, foxes and birds.”

Conservationists point out that the plan would allow longer leases for cattle and more livestock. The cost of this expanded ranching and farming is paid by NPS employees shooting elk to control the only population of tule elk on national park land, made up of only two herds. 

Conflict between ranchers and wildlife is nothing new. Conflicts have flared up between ranchers and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/washington-state-wolf-killings/">wolves in Washington</a>, with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-wild-bison-slaughter/">bison near Yellowstone</a>, and have pushed historic predator eradication efforts across the United States. In other countries, livestock have created conflicts with lions and other top predators. 

The main question is whether there is enough room for the western mythology of a rugged, self sufficient rancher next to the reality of an overdue rewilding of the American west? Now is the time to speak up, as the NPS is <a href="https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=97154">accepting comments</a> on its plans until September 23.     

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Tory Kallman

Tule elk of Point Reyes National Seashore are in conflict with ranchers

As a federal land management agency, the National Park Service...

Satellites help monitor Amazon fires and air quality from space. A new report from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) describes how the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/amazon-fires-devastating-impacts/">wildfires across the Amazon</a> are causing devastation beyond forest and biodiversity losses. The fires are also sabotaging air quality and could potentially impact the global climate. 

At this point, when we are already facing a climate crisis, losing large portions of a rainforest like the Amazon could turn into an environmental disaster. Trees act as carbon sinks that absorb and store carbon dioxide. As the forests burn, this carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

According to ESA, however, there are also a number of other pollutants that enter the air during wildfires. In 2017, scientists launched the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission to closely monitor these types of changes in air quality.

The Earth observation satellite is equipped with the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (Tropomi), which can map gases in the atmosphere such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, and aerosols.

[caption id="attachment_1877640" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/carbon-monoxide.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1877640" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/carbon-monoxide.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="256" /></a> Carbon monoxide from Amazon fires, Image Credit: ESA/Copernicus data[/caption]

For example, data from Copernicus Sentinel-5P was used to observe changes in atmospheric carbon monoxide from July to August and to examine how much formaldehyde was released from fires this year compared to 2018.

ESA noted that satellites play a key role in monitoring the various components of the atmosphere so that authorities have access to accurate information as they respond to incidents such as the fires in the Amazon. Ultimately, the information is also used to create new environmental policies.

[caption id="attachment_1877641" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Formaldehyde.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1877641" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Formaldehyde.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="827" /></a> Formaldehyde in the atmosphere, Image Credit: ESA/Copernicus data[/caption]

"Over the last months, we have observed more and more vegetation fires on our planet, in Brazil, Siberia, Greenland, Africa, Spain, Greece and many other places. Our Earth observation satellites keep a close eye on them in order to inform people and politicians with undisputed facts about our changing planet," said Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation programs.

Data from Copernicus Sentinel-3, which is used to detect the fires themselves, revealed that there were 79,000 fires around the world in August of 2019 compared to 16,632 in August of 2018.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/OSORIOartist

Satellites help monitor Amazon fires and air quality from space

Satellites help monitor Amazon fires and air quality from space....

Eleutherodactylus nortoni

Haiti may not be the first place you think of when nature reserves come to mind.  Much of Haiti has been ravaged by hurricanes, and the primary source of energy for use in homes in Haiti is charcoal, which is created by local people from local trees.  Mainly, the image of Haiti has been a stark one; the country has been called the most deforested country in this hemisphere.  

A photo in a 1987 <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com">National Geographic</a> centerfold showed a barren Haitian landscape next to a lush, green Dominican Republic. Studies have said that Haiti has only 2% forest remaining but this number is hotly contested.  Due to lack of clear data and long term studies, deforestation in Haiti is poorly understood. 

Despite warnings that wood for fuel and charcoal production would run out by the year 2000, prompting an environmental apocalypse, satellite photographs reveal that currently roughly one third of Haiti covered in trees.  Earlier studies were built on extrapolations from flights over the most deforested parts of Haiti. Because of the poor studies, the story of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dramatic-increase-brazilian-deforestation/">deforestation</a> in Haiti is one of <a href="http://www.envirosociety.org/2016/05/haiti-is-covered-with-trees/">exaggeration</a>.  

Despite the confusion and contradictions, Haiti is severely deforested. Much of the areas covered with trees in Haiti are fragmented and original old growth forest is a rarity.  According to <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/02/haitis-first-private-nature-reserve-seeks-to-protect-rare-plants-and-animals/">Mongabay</a>, recent research has found that as little as 1% of original forest in Haiti remains.  Deforestation in Haiti has a long history, starting in the modern era with large colonial production plantations.  There was actually a small forest resurgence after Haiti gained independence and large plantations were put out of production.  Still, trends today point toward a loss of forest in Haiti not a gain. Even with a third of the country covered with trees, very little virgin forest remains.      

The forest that is still untouched in Haiti is truly amazing.  According to a report from <a href="http://www.usaidgems.org/Documents/FAA&amp;Regs/FAA118119LAC/Haiti_FAA_118-119_Dec_2010%20(1).pdf">USAID</a>, the Caribbean is a hotspot of biodiversity with a large portion of species found nowhere else on Earth.  Even within the Caribbean, Haiti is special. Roughly one third of plants found in Haiti are found only there. Deforestation and the resulting erosion, flooding and destruction of aquatic habitat remain the biggest threat to the biodiversity of Haiti.  Officially, as much as 6% of Haiti’s land is protected by the government but effective protection is estimated to cover only about 0.5%.

One of these officially protected areas is <a href="https://www.haititrust.org/grand-bois">Grand Bois</a>, a place of great importance in terms of Haitian biodiversity. According to Haiti National Trust, Grand Bois is an isolated, bowl-shaped mountain in Southwest Haiti covered in rare rainforest.  The highest summit of the mountain is 1,262 meters (roughly 4,140 ft.) about half of which above the elevation of 1000 meters is still covered in forest.  

Grand Bois is home to 68 vertebrate species, including 2 threatened birds and three recently discovered frog species and a critically endangered frog.  Overall, 19 frog species are found in Grand Bois and nowhere else on Earth, which is more frog species than anywhere else in the Caribbean. One frog the Tiburon Stream Frog (Eleutherodactylus semipalmatus) was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered on Grand Bois after four decades without being seen, according to <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/our-work/regions/caribbean/haitis-first-private-nature-reserve/">Global Wildlife Conservation</a>.  The rare Ekman’s Magnolia (Magnolia ekmanii) was also re-discovered after not being seen by scientists for decades.    

In 2015, Grand Bois National Park was created to protect this special part of Haiti and its rare species.  Unfortunately, studies by Blair Hedges, director of the Center for Biodiversity at Temple University in the US, and his colleagues show the official protection wasn’t enough.  Forest is still being lost inside national parks in Haiti.  

A rule in Haiti allows a national park to be entirely on private land, so Hedges started buying up lands near Bois National Park.  Partnering with <a href="https://www.globalwildlife.org/">Global Wildlife Conservation</a>, Haiti National Trust, (a non-profit founded by Hedges) and Société Audubon Haiti, a private nature reserve was founded bordering Grand Bois National Park.  This is Haiti’s first private nature reserve.  

The idea of a private nature reserve in a nation like Haiti raises lots of questions. According to the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview">World Bank</a>, Haiti is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters with 90% of the population susceptible to harm from natural disasters.  In 2016, Hurricane Matthew caused the equivalent of 32% of Haiti’s GDP in damages and parts of the country are still rebuilding.  About 59% of Haitians live below the poverty line of US $2.41 per day and 24% lie below the extreme poverty line of US $1.23 per day.  Small economic growth was shown last year due to agriculture in Haiti, but a drop in financing from Venezuela is causing greater problems within Haiti’s government.  

Faced with these stark realities in one of the poorest countries in the Americas, the question become, ‘why care about a nature reserve at all?’ Is the creation of a nature reserve financed by wealthy Haitians and non-profits managed by outsiders just a form of colonialism or is it in the best interest of Haitians?

To answer that question, it must be realized that natural resources such as soil, water and clean air are more important than the money which is based on not only real resources but collective trust of those who use it.  As US President Franklin D. Roosevelt <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/us_8may_drought.pdf">said</a>, “A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself.”  Besides trees, soil started to improve after the colonial period in Haiti.  Forest health and soil health go hand in hand. Soil health allows agriculture.  Healthy land also contributes to the health of marine habitats surrounding a nation, especially an island nation like Haiti.  Healthy oceans mean fish to eat.  

“With less than one percent of Haiti’s original forest left, the country is on the verge of a potential ecological collapse,” said Wes Sechrest, GWC chief scientist and CEO. “We knew that we needed to take action to protect the country’s staggering diversity of unique and threatened species, many of which are found only in Haiti. Global Wildlife Conservation has partnered with Haiti National Trust to directly protect, manage and restore this high-priority conservation site in an effort to begin to turn the tide of centuries of unregulated environmental destruction.”             

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Robin Moore, Global Wildlife Conservation

Haiti gets its first private nature reserve to protect forests and species

Haiti may not be the first place you think of...

The Philippines may be the next nation to grant rights to nature In the West, non-human animals, plants and inanimate things such as mountains and rivers have long been seen as intrinsically different from humans. This is partially due to religious tradition. The Bible seems pretty clear that humans are superior to animals and everything else on Earth in Genesis 1:26:

“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.””

Again in verse 28, God tells the new humans he created to “fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Many Christians interpret these passages and others in the Bible as blanket permission to treat animals in whatever way they feel like. The idea of humanity’s superiority was also influenced by Aristotle who felt humans but not animals had immortal souls. 

Later thinkers like French philosopher René Descartes believed that animals were unfeeling machines merely responding to their environment with the illusion of feeling pain or other cognitive features. Descartes even dissected a live, conscious dog and interpreted his yelps of pain as nothing more than an automated response. 

Other Christians have interpreted the Bible as instructing humans to take good care of non-human animals and other life, each deserving respect as fellow creations. In most of mainstream America, it seems that the prevalent thinking is to assume non-humans as lesser beings with fewer rights to a life of dignity. Although we have some <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/canada-protect-whales-dolphins-captivity/">anti-cruelty laws</a>, they don’t apply in many cases such as animals raised for food. 

In general, animals have relatively few rights. Other countries have started to forge a different way ahead, influenced by different thinking, to grant animals and nature rights not afforded in the US as we slowly move forward as well. 

The first anti-cruelty animal laws date back to Ashoka, a Buddhist emperor of India who ruled from circa 268 to 232 BCE, but that was more of a historical anomaly than a trend. Slowly, concerns for nature and non-human life have been revived in recent centuries and gained some support. During the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress held in Hawaii, members from over <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/natures-right-to-exist-gets-a-boost-from-key-organizations/">170 countries supported</a> the idea that nature has an inherent right to exist.

Individual countries have taken more substantial steps forward. In 2018, an <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/05/animals-accorded-rights-humans-indian-national-park/">Indian court ruled</a> that animals have rights like humans in the Indian state of Haryana. Previously, courts in India have declared rivers to have rights as well, a decision that was overturned. Rulings in 2014 and 2015 also gave animals in India constitutional rights as well as affirmed the right of birds to fly.

South American countries have also pioneered the idea of granting non-human animals rights. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/sandra-the-orangutan-inside-argentina-zoo-granted-human-rights-in-landmark-ruling-9940202.html#r3z-addoor">In Argentina</a>, animal rights activists filed a habeas corpus petition, a document used to free people held in prison without good reason. The petition in this case was filed for a captive orangutan named Sandra who was held at the Buenos Aires zoo. In a 2014 court ruling, the judge found Sandra to be not a thing but instead a “non-human person” thus granting her basic rights. The decision allowed Sandra to be transferred from the zoo where she is said to have been treated poorly to an animal sanctuary. 

This was followed by a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/argentina-judge-says-chimpanzee-poor-conditions-has-rights-and-should-be-freed-from-zoo-a7402606.html">similar court ruling</a> in Argentina that forced the release of a chimpanzee from a zoo where she was held alone to a wildlife sanctuary. A similar trial in the US ended with a captive chimpanzee being <a href="https://gizmodo.com/new-york-court-says-chimps-aren-t-people-but-it-s-not-h-1825886329">denied person status</a> under the law but the judge acknowledged the inadequacy of the law as well. Germany and New Zealand have meanwhile advanced their own legal recognition of non-human rights. 

Germany was the first country in the EU to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jun/22/germany.animalwelfare">change its constitution</a> in 2002 to give non-human animals the right to have their dignity protected under law. 

New Zealand went even further. The Māori tribe of Whanganui traditionally consider the Whanganui River an ancestor and thus worthy of consideration as a person. In 2017, the status of the river as a person was legally recognized in New Zealand. The new law allows humans to act as legal guardians of the river and opens the door for legal redress previously not available to the body of water. The trend of allowing non-human animals and even physical features or ecosystems legal standing seems to have caught hold worldwide.

The Philippines may be the next country to grant some sort of legal standing to the non-human world. A coalition in the Philippines including a local arm of the Catholic Church is pushing for a new <a href="http://www.pmpi.org.ph/news-statements/environment/417-press-statement-pmpi-and-nassa-caritas-philippines-spearhead-filing-a-rights-of-nature-bill">“right of nature” bill</a>. 

If passed, the bill would be similar to other bills in that humans could act as guardians of non-humans and seek legal redress in courts based on rights given to non-humans. Catholic Church leaders have spoken up in support of the new bill, calling for people to live in communion with nature. The bill is still being drafted and hasn’t been submitted to Congress yet but it’s already creating a discussion about the place of nature in law. 

The Philippines bill drew inspiration from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/natures-right-to-exist-gets-a-boost-from-key-organizations/">Ecuador and Bolivia</a>. In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to allow nature the constitutional right to thrive. In 2010 Bolivia passed the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth which granted Earth itself a legal personhood. 

Despite these laws, non-human nature is still not always treated with deep amounts of respect in Latin America or other parts of the world where it has legal standing. Pollution still occurs as does animal abuse and poaching. It could be that changing the law is a first step towards changing daily reality.                         

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Parmna

The Philippines may be the next nation to grant rights to nature

The Philippines may be the next nation to grant rights...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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



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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

[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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Aerial,Photo,Of,River,In,Amazon,Rainforest,Jungle,In,Peru

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a> describes how scientists are using autonomous sound sensors to monitor deforestation in the Amazon. By recording soundscapes, the experts can determine which animals are present through their distinct sounds.&nbsp;



Using this method, sounds can be used as scientific measurements to analyze the effects of deforestation. The researchers will gain a better understanding of how the acoustics of a forest can be used to measure its health.&nbsp;



"From space, parts of the Amazon rainforest that have previously been logged or burned may look lush and green, like a place buzzing with activity and full of sounds. But inside the rainforest, the animal life may tell a different story, of a harsh environment and a quieter soundscape," says NASA.



Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center&nbsp;



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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