For decades, oceanographers assumed the surface waters circling Antarctica were becoming progressively fresher - a shift that helped lock deep heat away and nurture expansive winter sea ice.



However, new observations show the opposite is now happening. An international team led by the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a> reported a sudden rise in surface <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salinity-is-rising-in-coastal-areas-and-hurting-farmlands/">salinity</a> south of 50° latitude. This shift coincided with the steepest drop in Antarctic sea-ice extent ever recorded.



The analysis combines European satellite data with readings from autonomous floats that profile the water column. The result reveals an unanticipated pivot in the Southern Ocean’s salt balance sometime after 2015.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-excessive-salt-melts-sea-ice">Excessive salt melts sea ice</h2>



Cold, fresh surface water normally overlies warmer, saltier layers at depth, creating strong density “stratification” that traps heat below. When the surface grows saltier, that barrier weakens. Heat then mixes upward, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarcticas-melting-ice-shelves-threaten-global-sea-levels/">melting sea ice</a> from beneath and preventing extensive winter growth.



“Saltier surface water allows deep ocean heat to rise more easily, melting sea ice from below," said lead author Alessandro Silvano, an oceanographer at the University of Southampton. "It's a dangerous feedback loop: less ice leads to more heat, which leads to even less ice.” 



Since 2015, the continent has shed sea ice equivalent to the area of Greenland. Researchers call it the largest environmental shift detected anywhere on Earth in recent decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-ice-hole-returns-after-decades">Sea ice hole returns after decades</h2>



One striking symptom is the re-opening of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-hole-polynya-the-size-of-switzerland-appeared-in-the-antarctica-sea-ice/">Maud Rise polynya</a> - a yawning hole in the Weddell Sea ice cover. It spans nearly four times the size of Wales and last appeared in the late 1970s.



“The return of the Maud Rise polynya signals just how unusual the current conditions are,” Silvano said. “If this salty, low-ice state continues, it could permanently reshape the Southern Ocean - and with it, the planet.”



Reduced Antarctic ice darkens the ocean, absorbing more sunlight and already feeding back into the global climate system. This, as Silvano put it, will give rise to “stronger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rapid-antarctic-sea-ice-loss-is-causing-severe-storms-around-the-world/">storms</a>, warmer oceans, and shrinking habitats for Antarctic wildlife.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-predictions-fall-short">Old predictions fall short</h2>



Climate models had projected eventual Antarctic sea-ice loss under greenhouse forcing. However, many scientists believed that enhanced snowfall and increased melt from continental ice sheets would keep surface waters fresh for decades, delaying large declines. The new evidence challenges that assumption.



“While scientists expected that human-driven climate change would eventually lead to Antarctic sea ice decline, the timing and nature of this shift remained uncertain,” said co-author Aditya Narayanan, a physical oceanographer at the University of Southampton.



“Previous projections emphasized enhanced surface freshening and stronger ocean stratification, which could have supported sustained sea ice cover. Instead, a rapid reduction in sea ice - an important reflector of solar radiation - has occurred, potentially accelerating global warming.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eyes-on-the-southern-ocean">Eyes on the Southern Ocean</h2>



Because this turnaround was detected only after <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/satellites-reveal-a-sudden-drop-in-global-freshwater-levels/">satellites</a> began tracking sea-surface salinity in detail, researchers worry that other rapid transitions might be missed without constant observation.



“The new findings suggest that our current understanding may be insufficient to accurately predict future changes,” said senior author Alberto Naveira Garabato, a professor of physical oceanography at the University of Southampton.



“It makes the need for continuous satellite and in-situ monitoring all the more pressing, so we can better understand the drivers of recent and future shifts in the ice-ocean system.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-ice-loss-changes-the-planet">Sea ice loss changes the planet</h2>



Antarctic sea ice acts as a reflective shield, bouncing sunlight back to space and modulating heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere.



Its precipitous decline could amplify warming worldwide, disturb wind patterns, and alter the formation of the deep water masses that power global ocean circulation.



Saltier surface layers may also influence how much carbon the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-storage-mystery-emerges-in-the-southern-ocean/">Southern Ocean</a> can absorb, potentially weakening one of Earth’s most important climate buffers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heat-and-salt-reinforce-sea-ice-loss">Heat and salt reinforce sea ice loss</h2>



The study leaves open questions about what triggered the sudden salinity jump. Possibilities include shifts in wind patterns, changes in precipitation, or increased intrusion of warm Circumpolar Deep Water onto the continental shelf.



Whatever the cause, the new feedback between salt and sea ice could lock the region into a self-reinforcing cycle of warming and ice loss.



Scientists stress that only sustained measurements - combining satellites, autonomous floats, and ship-based surveys - will reveal whether the Southern Ocean snaps back to its former fresher state or continues toward an unfamiliar, saltier future.



For now, the message is clear: Antarctica’s floating fringe, once thought relatively resistant to near-term change, is undergoing a rapid transformation that matters far beyond the frozen continent.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500440122">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Antarctic sea ice collapse linked to a sudden surge in ocean salt

For decades, oceanographers assumed the surface waters circling Antarctica were becoming progressively fresher - a shift that helped lock deep heat away and nurture expansive winter sea ice. However, new observations show the opposite is now happening. An international team led by the University of Southampton reported a sudden rise in surface salinity south of 50° latitude. This shift coincided with the steepest drop in Antarctic sea-ice extent ever recorded. The analysis combines European satellite data with readings from autonomous floats that profile the water column. The...

The sounds of nature, particularly the sounds of bird song, give people a sense of connection to the natural environment and are part of our perception of healthy and functional natural surroundings. Bird song helps us connect to and experience <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nature-improved-mental-health-of-children-during-lockdown/">nature</a>, a process that is vitally important for mental health and for our sense of well-being.&nbsp;



But with declining bird populations and species diversity across the globe, it is possible that bird song choruses (soundscapes) are also becoming depauperate. In a major new study, a team of international researchers&nbsp;led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA)&nbsp;has developed a method of comparing historical soundscapes over the past 25 years to determine how they have changed.



“The benefits of nature contact are widespread, from improved physical health and psychological well-being to increased likelihood of participating in pro-environmental behavior," said study lead author Dr Simon Butler from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences.



“Bird song plays an important role in defining the quality of nature experiences, but widespread declines in bird populations, and shifts in species’ distributions in response to climate change, mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes are likely to be changing. However, historical sound recordings don’t exist for most places so we needed to develop a new approach to examine this.”&nbsp;



The researchers used annual systematic bird count data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (NA-BBS) and the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) sites. These data on bird occurrence and abundance were largely collected by citizen scientists over the past 25 years. Given this information, the researchers were then able to use an online database of bird calls (<a href="http://www.xeno-109canto.org">www.xeno-109canto.org</a>) to reconstruct the historical soundscapes from 200,000 locations across the two continents.&nbsp;



The separate, five-minute soundscapes constructed in this way for every site in every year were then analyzed using four indices that characterized song diversity, heterogeneity, evenness and amplitude.



The results showed that natural soundscapes across both continents have become more homogeneous and quieter since the 1990s, suggesting reduced soundscape quality. This finding parallels the significant decline, both in species richness and number of individuals, recorded in NA-BBS surveys, as well as in total number of individuals counted during PECBMS surveys over the past 25 years. “We found a widespread decline in the acoustic diversity and intensity of natural soundscapes, driven by changes in the composition of bird communities," said Dr. Butler.



“These results suggest that the soundtrack of spring is getting quieter and less varied and that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being."



“Given that people predominantly hear, rather than see, birds, reductions in the quality of natural soundscapes are likely to be the mechanism through which the impact of ongoing population declines is most keenly felt by the general public."



Dr. Catriona Morrison, a post-doctoral researcher in UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, conducted the analyses.&nbsp;



“In general, we found that sites that have experienced greater declines in either total abundance and/or species richness also show greater declines in acoustic diversity and intensity," said Dr. Morrison.&nbsp;



“However, initial community structure and how the call and song characteristics of species complement each other, also play important roles in determining how soundscapes change."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“For example, the loss of species such as&nbsp;skylark or nightingale, which sing rich and intricate songs, is likely to have a greater impact on the complexity of the soundscape than the loss of a raucous corvid or gull species. Critically however, this will also depend on how many occurred on the site, and which other species are present.”&nbsp;



“Unfortunately, we are living through a global environmental crisis, and we now know that the diminishing connection between people and nature may be contributing to this."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“As we collectively become less aware of our natural surroundings, we also start to notice or care less about their deterioration. Studies like ours aim to heighten awareness of these losses in a tangible, relatable way and demonstrate their potential impact on human wellbeing.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.



---



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

The bird songs of spring are getting quieter

The sounds of nature, particularly the sounds of bird song,...

Scientists estimate that five to ten <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanoes-stabilize-temperatures-at-earths-surface/">volcanoes</a> worldwide are capable of producing super-eruptions that would catastrophically affect the global climate. One of these volcanoes lies beneath the waters of Lake Toba in Sumatra and has already caused two super-eruptions in the last one million years.&nbsp;



By analyzing the levels of uranium and lead in zircon from the Toba volcano, an international team of geologists led by the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/">University of Geneva</a> (UNIGE) and <a href="https://english.pku.edu.cn/">Peking University</a> estimated a super-eruption could take place in about 600,000 years.



The Toba volcano caused two of the largest eruptions on Earth: the first 840,000 and the second 75,000 years ago, both measuring about 2,800 km3&nbsp;- enough to cover the whole of Switzerland with 7cm of ash. The researchers estimated these dates by measuring the amount of uranium and lead in zircon – a mineral found in the products of explosive volcanic eruptions: the youngest zircons provided information about the date of the eruption and the older ones about the history of magma accumulation preceding the super-eruption.



The scientists found that the time of magma accumulation between the two super-eruptions was halved due to the progressive increase of the temperature of the continental crust in which Toba’s magma reservoir was assembled.&nbsp;



“This is a ‘vicious circle’ of eruptions: the more the magma heats the crust, the slower the magma cools and the faster the rate of magma accumulation becomes,” explained study lead author Ping-Ping Liu, a professor of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University. Thus, super-eruptions could become more frequent over time.



&nbsp;“Today, we estimate that about 320 km3 of magma could be ready to erupt within the reservoir of Toba volcano," added study co-author Luca Caricchi, a professor of Earth Sciences at UNIGE. &nbsp;“The next super-eruption of the size of the last two would therefore take place in about 600,000 years.”



The innovative methods used in this study could be applied to any other volcano on the globe and serve to identify those close to a super-eruption. Moreover, the study shows that no extreme events occur before a super-eruption.&nbsp;



“This suggests that signs of an impending super-eruption such as a significant increase in earthquakes or rapid ground uplift, might not be as obvious as pictured in disaster movies by the film industry. At Toba volcano, everything is happening silently underground, and the analysis of the zircons now gives us an idea of what is to come," concluded Caricchi.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/45/e2101695118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Volcanic super-eruptions can build up silently

Scientists estimate that five to ten volcanoes worldwide are capable...

A study led by <a href="https://www.syracuse.edu/">Syracuse University</a> is revealing new clues about Earth’s earliest major mass extinction. The Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME), was the first of the “big five" extinction events, during which about 85 percent of all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-species-vanishing/">marine species</a> were wiped out.&nbsp;



Today, many scientists believe that we are already in the midst of our planet's sixth mass extinction event as a result of human-induced climate change. It is critically important for scientists to understand the causes of previous die-offs in order to help prevent the same level of catastrophe in the future.&nbsp;



To investigate, an international team of researchers looked at the ocean environment before, during, and after the LOME. Professor Seth Finnegan, an expert in mass extinction at UC Berkeley, said the seas were full of biodiversity during the Ordovician Period. There were early reefs, but they lacked an abundance of vertebrates.



“If you had gone snorkeling in an Ordovician sea you would have seen some familiar groups like clams and snails and sponges, but also many other groups that are now very reduced in diversity or entirely extinct like trilobites, brachiopods and crinoids,” said Professor Finnegan.



He explained that unlike rapid mass extinctions, such as when dinosaurs and other species were suddenly wiped out around 65.5 million years ago, the LOME played out over a substantial period of time, with estimates between less than half a million to almost two million years.



One prevailing theory is that LOME was triggered by a lack of oxygen in the shallow ocean. The experts combined geochemical testing and computer modeling to test this theory.&nbsp;



Professor Zunli Lu led a team of students who measured iodine concentrations in carbonate rocks from the Ordovician Period. By studying concentrations of the element iodine in rocks, researchers can look for changes in oceanic oxygen levels at various ocean depths throughout Earth's history.



The results of the analysis produced no evidence that a lack of oxygen, or anoxia, caused the mass die-off. According to the researchers, it is much more likely that climate cooling during the Late Ordovician period was a major contributor to the LOME.



While there was no significant lack of oxygen in the shallow depths where animals dwelled, the team did find evidence that anoxia expanded at deep ocean depths. This is a mystery that cannot be explained by the classic model of ocean oxygen, explained study lead author Alexandre Pohl of UC Riverside.



“Upper-ocean oxygenation in response to cooling was anticipated, because atmospheric oxygen preferentially dissolves in cold waters,” said Pohl. “However, we were surprised to see expanded anoxia in the lower ocean since anoxia in Earth’s history is generally associated with volcanism-induced global warming.”



According to Lu, recognizing that climate cooling can also lead to lower oxygen levels in some parts of the ocean is a key takeaway from their study.



“For decades, the prevailing school of thoughts in our field is that global warming causes the oceans to lose oxygen and thus impact marine habitability, potentially destabilizing the entire ecosystem. In recent years, mounting evidence point to several episodes in Earth’s history when oxygen levels also dropped in cooling climates.”



The study does not fully explain the causes of Late Ordovician extinction, but the researchers have ruled out changes in oxygenation as the primary cause of the event. The research suggests that changes in temperature helped to set the stage for the Late Ordovician mass extinction, and the experts will continue to seek out additional factors that may have been involved.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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

New clues about Earth’s earliest major mass extinction

A study led by Syracuse University is revealing new clues...

New research led by the <a href="https://www.calpoly.edu/">California Polytechnic State University</a> (Cal Poly) has found that the loss of seagrass caused a dramatic shift in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-fish-ingest-plastic-the-impacts-are-complicated/">fish</a> species in Morro Bay, California. The period following the decline of seagrass habitats was characterized by increases in flatfish and staghorn sculpin, and decreases in previous populations of bay pipefish and shiner perch.



Seagrass meadows were very common throughout the Morro Bay estuary and represented one of the most biologically productive biomes on Earth, providing shelter, food, and nurseries to a large variety of fish and invertebrate organisms. Following their significant decay in recent decades, they have been largely replaced currently with a less dynamic, muddy seafloor habitat.



"Seagrass, like the eelgrass in Morro Bay, is important because it supports a range of marine life," said study lead author Jennifer O'Leary, who is now the Western Indian Ocean coordinator for the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a>. "It's like the trees in a forest - these underwater plants provide food, structure, and shelter to many of the marine animals that live in the bay."



Morro Bay, one of the 28 estuaries that the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">U.S. Environment Protection Agency</a> deemed critical for the environmental and economic health of the country, has witnessed a dramatic transformation.&nbsp; Seagrass declined by more than 95 percent, dropping from covering 344 acres in 2007 to only 15 acres in 2017.



Instead of resulting in fewer fish, seagrass loss has led to changes in the fish species that are present. The once common pipefish, a species perfectly adapted to hide among seagrass, has been replaced by flatfishes such as the speckled sanddab (Citharichthys stigmaeus) and the staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus), which are more adapted to live among muddy seafloors.



"The relatively sudden and near complete collapse of eelgrass in Morro Bay has not only changed fish populations, but it has also resulted in substantial changes to estuary physics and geomorphology," added study co-author Ryan Walter, a professor of Physics at Cal Poly. The loss of seagrass in Morro Bay has led to widespread erosion, or loss of sediment, throughout the estuary.



According to the scientists, a multifaceted approach to protect the remaining seagrass is essential, including local planting initiatives and transplantation efforts.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12237-021-00917-2">Estuaries and Coasts</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

Seagrass loss leads to changes in fish populations

New research led by the California Polytechnic State University (Cal...

Up until recently, high blood pressure and diabetes have been known as the two main causes of kidney disease. However, new research from the <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University</a> Planetary Health Department has revealed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/temperatures-are-rising-unexpectedly-fast-on-the-tibetan-plateau/">temperature</a> change is also a massive contributor to kidney disease, presenting yet another indirect consequence of rising global temperatures.



The study, which was led by Professor Yuming Guo and Dr. Shanshan Li, quantified the risk and attributable burden of ambient temperature for hospitalizations of renal diseases. The researchers focused on data gathered from 1,816 Brazilian cities, and found that 7.4 percent of all kidney disease hospitalizations could be attributed to temperature increases.



The data was gathered between 2000 and 2015. Overall, the analysis showed that a total of 202,000 kidney disease cases were linked to temperature change. The results were presented at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, representing an example of the detrimental indirect effects that climate change is having on the world.



The research followed up on the findings of a landmark research article written in 2017 for The Lancet, which suggested that 2.6 million deaths were attributable to impaired kidney function. This was an increase of 26.6 percent compared to the previous decade, indicating a correlation with rising global temperatures.



According to Professor Guo, every 1°C increase in daily mean temperatures directly correlates with around one percent increase in kidney disease. This statistic was calculated based on a total of 2,726,886 renal disease hospitalizations, and showed that women, the 80+ age group, and children under the age of four were affected the most.



While associations between renal disease and temperature were highest on days of extreme heat, the effects remained for up to two days post-exposure. The experts noted that the research “provides robust evidence that more policies should be developed to prevent heat-related hospitalizations and mitigate climate change.”



As a result of the findings, the study authors are advising governments to urgently incorporate interventions into their policies on climate change. They are also emphasizing that interventions should be focused on targeting particularly vulnerable individuals such as females, children, and the elderly.



“Moreover, attention should be paid to low- and middle-income countries like Brazil, where reliable heat warning systems and preventive measures are still in need,” added Professor Guo.



The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/regional-health">The Lancet Regional Health</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Heat linked to 200,000 cases of kidney disease in Brazil

Up until recently, high blood pressure and diabetes have been...

New research published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-021-03094-1">Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology</a> has found that ground squirrels living off the coast of Africa keep watch together to defend against <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-new-study-led-by-the-memorial-university-of-newfoundland-in-canada-has-found-that-snowshoe-hares-are-starting-to-lose-their-camouflage-abilities-due-to-climate-change/">predators</a>. This strategy, called “synchronous vigilance," is different from that of other animals such as meerkats who take individual turns standing watch.



An international research team led by Dr. Annemarie van der Marel, a postdoctoral researcher at the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a>, spent three winters studying the behavior of Barbary ground squirrels, an invasive species that was introduced to the Canary Islands from Morocco. These bushy-tailed rodents live in colonies and take shelter underground in a complex network of burrows.&nbsp;



“They’re pretty cute. People had them as pets and that’s how they were introduced to the Canary Islands in 1965,” said Dr. van der Marel. “I looked at whether and why they were social. I began studying the strategies for how they evade predation and increase survival. That’s how I got to the question of the synchronous vigilance of the species.”



Unusual for ground squirrels, the Canary Island populations seem to be as comfortable in trees as on the ground and prefer high vantage points from which to scan their surroundings. They face daily threats from predators such as buzzards, common kestrels, or even domestic cats.



“When they forage, they’re most vulnerable,” explained Dr. van der Marel. “So the squirrels have to balance the time spent foraging and being vigilant. Their main defense mechanism is being watchful and alerting other group members to escape predation.”



Throughout the day, these squirrels regularly stop their foraging activities in order to scan the environment together, often from a high vantage point. All squirrels stand watch each day, and although one-third of the time they do this alone, about 40 percent of the time they have company. When a predator is observed, even more squirrels stop to stand watch together.



The scientists found that squirrels’ extended vigilance does not affect their survival rates and gives them sufficient time to forage for food in order to remain in good physical condition.



“There are plentiful resources and less predation pressure, so they don’t have to forage as much,” Dr. van der Marel concluded.



&nbsp;---



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

Barbary ground squirrels find safety in numbers

New research published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology...

It should come as no surprise that a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rapid-arctic-warming-sets-the-stage-for-dangerous-algae-blooms/">warming</a> world begets more melting sea ice. Now, a new paper published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a> takes stock of just how much ice is melting in Greenland - and how much is at risk. 



The study, conducted by researchers at the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>, used data from the European Space Agency's CryoSat-2 satellite to estimate just how much ice-sheet runoff has occurred over the past decade of climatic change.



“As we’ve seen with other parts of the world, Greenland is also vulnerable to an increase in extreme weather events," said study lead author Dr. Thomas Slater.



"As our climate warms, it’s reasonable to expect that the instances of extreme melting in Greenland will happen more often – observations such as these are an important step in helping us to improve climate models and better predict what will happen this century.”



The study found that the amount of ice-sheet runoff has increased by 21 percent since 2011 - that means an estimated 357 billion tons of ice are melting every year.&nbsp;



Dr. Slater remains hopeful that &nbsp;“meaningful targets to cut emissions could reduce ice losses from Greenland by a factor of three, and there is still time to achieve this.”&nbsp;



“Model estimates suggest that the Greenland ice sheet will contribute between about 3 and 23 cm to global sea level rise by 2100. This prediction has a wide range, in part because of uncertainties associated with simulating complex ice melt processes, including those associated with extreme weather," said study co-author Dr. Amber Leeson.



"These new spaceborne estimates of runoff will help us to understand these complex ice melt processes better, improve our ability to model them, and thus enable us to refine our estimates of future sea level rise.”



By combining the real-time satellite observations with complex climate models, researchers like Dr. Leeson and Dr. Slater hope that our predictions can be refined and will help us to anticipate and prevent environmental disasters.



---



By <a href="http://mailto:rugerpaleo@gmail.com">Alex Ruger</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Greenland is now losing 357 billion tons of ice each year

It should come as no surprise that a warming world...

When people hear the words "global warming," they often think of the polar ice caps melting, and the polar bears that suffer as a result. This raises questions about how rising <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-temperatures-are-revealed-by-the-size-of-animals/">temperatures</a> and sea ice loss are affecting the diets of polar bears, and how this information can be used to help protect them.



New research from York University has been exploring these exact questions, monitoring the eating habits and foraging locations of polar bears across the Arctic territory of Nunavut. The study has found that this data can be highly valuable as an indicator of environmental shifts, whilst also highlighting how diet changes can negatively affect prey populations and ecosystems in the Arctic.



Lead researchers Melissa Galicia and Professor Gregory Thiemann found that polar bears are actually flexible eaters, preying on whatever is readily available as opposed to the initial assumption that they mainly eat ringed and bearded seals. This flexibility makes them excellent candidates for monitoring environmental changes across the Arctic.



“Polar bears need the sea ice to hunt. When there is a reduction in the sea ice, they’re hunting less or they’re potentially hunting different prey species,” explained Galicia. “Prey species, like whales and seals, also need certain habitat conditions and because of environmental changes in the Arctic, some marine mammals, such as prey species of bears, are redistributing. You’re getting an increase in more sub-Arctic species, like killer whales for instance.”



The research was focused on harvest samples of polar bears that were provided by subsistence hunters over eight years. “I’m getting a large geographic representation of bears, especially in areas that tend to be less studied,” said Galicia, who was in charge of analyzing the fatty acids such as omega 3s and omega 6s that are found in the fat tissues of polar bears.



“Each bear will have a specific fatty acid signature, a kind of fingerprint for individual bears and because of that you can see what that particular individual is eating and what percentage of their diet that represents.”



Bowhead whale carcasses were identified commonly in the polar bears’ diets, which suggests that the whales are venturing further north for longer periods of time as a result of global warming. Habitat changes like this are likely to increase in frequency due, particularly within the Arctic ecosystem which is experiencing changes up to three times faster than other regions.



“As temperatures across the Arctic warm and sea ice loss increases, there will be profound cascading ecological consequences. What’s not known is how that will affect species, such as seals and whales, but by monitoring the seasonal prey consumption of polar bears, scientists can better keep track of where marine mammal prey species are showing up and their seasonal distribution,” explained Thiemann.



The research is published in the journal&nbsp; <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/ecological-indicators">Ecological Indicators</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Polar bear diets reflect environmental changes

When people hear the words "global warming," they often think...

Cactus,Flower,,Atacama,Desert.

A new study has identified genes that enable plants to live in one of the harshest environments on Earth - the Atacama Desert in Chile. This discovery could open pathways to breed <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/beneficial-bacteria-could-protect-crops-from-heat-stress/">crops</a> that can thrive in increasingly drier climates and are thus more resilient to climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Although the Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth, dozens of species of plants grow there, including grasses, annuals, and perennial shrubs. These plants must cope with limited water, high altitudes, low availability of nutrients, and extremely high ultraviolet radiation.



Over a ten-year period, a team of botanists, microbiologists, ecologists, and genomic scientists collected and analyzed plant and soil samples at 22 sites in different vegetational areas and elevations. The experts set out to identify the genes that enable the Atacama plants to adapt and flourish in extreme desert conditions.



“The goal was to use this evolutionary tree based on genome sequences to identify the changes in amino acid sequences encoded in the genes that support the evolution of the Atacama plant adaptation to desert conditions,” said co-author Gloria Coruzzi, a molecular biologist at <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/">New York University</a> (NYU).&nbsp;



“This computationally intense genomic analysis involved comparing 1,686,950 protein sequences across more than 70 species. We used the resulting super-matrix of 8,599,764 amino acids for phylogenomic reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the Atacama species,” said Gil Eshel, who conducted this analysis using the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2020/november/GreeneSupercomputer.html">High Performance Computing Cluster</a>&nbsp;at NYU.



The study identified 265 genes that underlie plant adaption to desert conditions, including genes regulating responses to light and photosynthesis that could enable plants to adapt to extreme ultraviolet radiation, as well as genes involved in the regulation of stress responses, salt, metal ions levels, and detoxification.



These discoveries may help scientists engineer resilient crops that could thrive in extremely dry conditions and thus be resilient to climate change. “In an era of accelerated climate change, it is critical to uncover the genetic basis to improve crop production and resilience under dry and nutrient-poor conditions,”&nbsp;explained Coruzzi.



“Most of the plant species we characterized in this research have not been studied before,” said co-author Rodrigo Gutiérrez, a biologist at <a href="https://www.uc.cl/">Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile</a>. “As some Atacama plants are closely related to staple crops, including grains, legumes, and potatoes, the candidate genes we identified represent a genetic goldmine to engineer more resilient crops, a necessity given the increased desertification of our planet.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101177118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Scientists unearth "genetic goldmine" for heat resistant crops

A new study has identified genes that enable plants to...

According to a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a>, the deepest earthquake ever detected struck 467 miles under Japan in 2015, close to the remote Bonin Islands. This ultradeep quake, with a magnitude of 7.9, struck beneath the Earth’s surface in the layer of our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-dissolved-in-rivers-is-damaging-our-planet/">planet</a> known as the lower mantle, a place where scientists have long thought earthquakes highly unlikely to occur.&nbsp;



Most of the earthquakes that struck the Earth are shallow. According to the <a href="https://www.globalcmt.org/">Global Centroid Moment Tensor</a> (CMT) database, of the 56,832 moderate to large quakes occurring between 1976 and 2020, only 18 percent were deeper than 43 miles, and four percent struck below 186 miles – the depth considered a cut-off to identify “deep earthquakes.”



After the English astronomer and seismologists Herbert Hall Turner identified the first deep earthquake in 1922, researchers have puzzled how such events can occur at all. Earthquakes are usually caused when two tectonic plates in the Earth’s crust and upper mantle that are sliding in opposite directions stick and then slip apart suddenly. Deep in the lower mantle though, high pressures generally prevent similar jolts.



The transformation of the sparkly green mineral olivine which suffuses the Earth’s upper mantle into the minerals wadsleyite or rinwoodite around 255 miles down could possibly create weak points in the rock where it can quickly deform, generating deep earthquakes. Further below though, around 410 miles under the Earth’s surface, the rocks become much denser, the earthen-hued mineral bridgmanite starts to predominate, and the earthquake-generating transformations of olivine can no longer occur.



However, the transformation of a different mineral, enstatite, could explain the emergence of deeper earthquakes, together with another mechanism. Since the small aftershocks following the 2015 earthquake occurred near the base of a torn slab of subducted Pacific seafloor that pierced the top of the lower mantle, the scientists believe that the large earthquake could have caused part of the mangled slab to settle very slightly, which in turn may have concentrated stresses at the base of the slab as it plunged into the lower mantle.&nbsp;



Further analysis and modeling of the sinking slab’s structure and position could help decipher the mechanism of this even and other deep earthquakes. “Maybe they cannot be explained by one single mechanism,” concluded Haijang Zhang, a seismologist at the <a href="https://en.ustc.edu.cn/">University of Science and Technology of China</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL093111">Geophysical Research Letters</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

Deepest earthquake ever detected struck Japan in 2015

According to a team of scientists led by the University...

Brucellosis is an infectious bacterial disease that causes female bison, elk, and cattle to abort their calves. In the Yellowstone region, both wild animals and livestock can contract this highly contagious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-infectious-disease-discovered-in-japan/">disease</a> by coming into contact with the fetal remains, which can stay infectious for weeks or even months.&nbsp;



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock">Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center</a> has found that scavengers such as coyotes, foxes, eagles, or vultures are unwittingly helping both wildlife and cattle by rapidly consuming abortion materials and thus keeping brucellosis epidemics at bay.&nbsp;



“Terrestrial and avian scavengers provide an important yet understudied ecosystem function by removing carcasses from the landscape,” wrote the study authors. “In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem scavengers are likely to reduce the transmission and subsequent spread of brucellosis within and between livestock and elk by consuming infectious abortion materials, thereby removing the infectious agent from the landscape.”



The researchers used remote cameras to monitor the time to removal of simulated abortion materials by scavengers at 264 sites in the Yellowstone region from February to June in 2017 and 2018. The scientists have found that there was a 90 percent probability that abortion materials will be removed within 16 days across all sites by scavengers such as coyotes, red foxes, golden and bald eagles, and turkey vultures.



The findings also suggested that the time to removal of fetal materials decreased in grassland habitats in contrast to sagebrush or forest habitats, and that there was an 88 percent probability that time to removal of abortion materials was slower at sites where scavengers were actively reduced compared to sites with no scavenger reduction.



This study shows the importance of scavengers in the mitigation of infectious diseases and points towards the need for increased conservation efforts to protect them from extinction. “Actions to maintain the breadth and diversity of scavengers on the landscape are potential management options that could reduce disease transmission risk to livestock in a system where the wildlife reservoir is difficult to address,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3783">Ecosphere</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

Scavengers protect livestock from infectious disease

Brucellosis is an infectious bacterial disease that causes female bison,...

The US is the largest producer of corn in the world. More than 35 percent of the global production of this important cereal grain comes from the Corn Belt, an agricultural area in the Midwest that stretches from Indiana to Nebraska.&nbsp;



In the light of changing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-technology-is-urgently-needed-to-save-the-climate/">climate</a> conditions, researchers at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State University</a> have conducted a new study on the importance of soil moisture and air humidity for influencing rainfall patterns in this area.



“We were curious about the effect soil moisture has on convective precipitation in the Corn Belt under different atmospheric conditions, such as dry or humid,” said study lead author Connor Chapman. “Plenty of research of this nature has been done for the Great Plains region, but the neighboring Corn Belt – which has a different climate type – has received much less attention.”



According to the Global Climate Observing System, soil moisture is an essential climate variable because it determines the amount of evaporation and cooling of the air near the Earth’s surface. With decreases in soil moisture anticipated as a result of climate change, the consequent reduction in evaporation could have the effect of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/collecting-dna-from-rivers-uncovers-biodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amplifying warming even further</a>. 



“This study is important also because Corn Belt agriculture is mainly rainfed, rather than irrigated,” said study co-author Professor Andrew Carleton. “So the Corn Belt is much more susceptible to year-on-year climate variations, like droughts and wet periods, and to the impacts from climate change, which are likely to increase this variability and lead to even greater extremes.”



For the Corn Belt, continued warming is likely to shift crop types northward and with a longer growing season, which could increase climatic and market economic uncertainties going forward, Carleton said.



For this study, Chapman analyzed nine consecutive years of growing-season data in relation to soil moisture, near-surface humidity and low altitude wind velocity. 



He also created three sub-seasonal groups: early, middle and late to see how the results might vary because as the growing season progresses in the Corn Belt, the land cover changes from bare to short and then to tall crops with a far greater potential for evapotranspiration. 



“We found that during the early season, when croplands are bare, convective precipitation is more likely to occur with drier soil, high humidity, and strong, humid, low-altitude winds,” said Chapman. “Although soil moisture and wind vary across the growing season, we found that high near-surface humidity consistently was most important for convective precipitation or rain.”



“The most challenging aspect of our study is the low amount of long-term soil data available for the Corn Belt. Compared with the Great Plains region, the Corn Belt does not have as much available, in situ soil data, and only a limited number of soil data stations met the criteria for our study.”



Chapman was surprised by the results, which illustrate how adjacent regions with different land cover experience different climate conditions.



The results are published in the <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/apme-overview.xml">Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology</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

Air humidity has a big influence on rainfall in the Corn Belt

The US is the largest producer of corn in the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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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



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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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.

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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