View,Of,The,Device,Of,An,Oil,Drilling,Rig

Earth's surface bears the visible scars of human activities, from greenhouse gas emissions to deforestation. However, the impact of human intervention extends far beyond what meets the eye, reaching hundreds of meters to several kilometers beneath the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-model-reveals-the-evolution-of-the-earths-surface/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planet's surface</a> into Earth's deep subsurface. 



This hidden realm, often overlooked, is now the subject of disturbing research by hydrology experts. Jennifer McIntosh, a professor in the University of Arizona's <a href="https://has.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences</a>, and her colleagues have delved into the ways humans influence Earth's deep subsurface. 



"We looked at how the rates of fluid production with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oil-and-gas-production-linked-to-77-billion-in-annual-health-care-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oil and gas</a> compare to natural background circulation of water and showed how humans have made a big impact on the circulation of fluids in the subsurface," McIntosh explained.



In a paper published in the journal Earth's Future, they shed light on the significant impact of human activities on the circulation of fluids in this subterranean zone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Deciphering the hidden world in motion beneath our feet</h2>



The study, led by Grant Ferguson, also from the UArizona, compared the rates of fluid production from oil and gas extraction to the natural background circulation of water. 



The findings reveal that human-induced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-internal-jet-stream-core/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fluid fluxes</a> surpass the natural flow, and they are projected to increase further with proposed strategies for combating climate change.



These strategies include geologic carbon sequestration, geothermal energy production, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fools-gold-may-be-a-valuable-source-of-lithium/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lithium extraction</a> from underground mineral-rich brine. 



"Responsible management of the subsurface is central to any hope for a green transition, sustainable future and keeping warming below a few degrees," emphasizes Peter Reiners, a professor in the <a href="https://www.geo.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UArizona Department of Geosciences</a> and a co-author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-subsurface-fluid-fluxes">Earth's subsurface fluid fluxes</h2>



These fluxes transport water, gases, and other substances through the subsurface, influencing everything from groundwater resources to geothermal energy.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Types of subsurface fluid fluxes</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Groundwater flow</h4>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/groundwater-depletion-is-accelerating-but-it-is-not-inevitable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Groundwater flow</a> represents the movement of water through porous and fractured rock formations. This flow occurs due to pressure gradients and the force of gravity, allowing water to move from areas of high hydraulic head to areas of low hydraulic head. Groundwater flow plays a vital role in the hydrologic cycle, recharging aquifers and sustaining surface water bodies.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Hydrocarbon migration</h4>



Subsurface fluid fluxes also include the migration of hydrocarbons, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-orphaned-oil-and-gas-wells-litter-the-world-and-must-be-cleaned-up/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oil and natural gas</a>. These fluids originate from organic-rich source rocks and migrate through permeable rock layers until they encounter traps or seals. Understanding hydrocarbon migration is essential for oil and gas exploration and production.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Geothermal fluid circulation</h4>



In regions with high <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/underground-water-could-be-a-great-source-of-renewable-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">geothermal gradients</a>, subsurface fluids can circulate through fractures and permeable rock formations, absorbing heat from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-ancient-ocean-floor-surrounds-the-earths-core/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth's interior</a>. This heated fluid can then rise to the surface, creating hot springs, geysers, and fumaroles. Geothermal fluid circulation is a key factor in the development of geothermal energy resources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Importance of Earth's subsurface fluid fluxes</h2>



Subsurface fluid fluxes have far-reaching impacts on various aspects of our planet. They influence the availability and quality of groundwater resources, which are essential for human consumption, agriculture, and industrial activities. 



Additionally, these fluxes play a crucial role in the formation and distribution of mineral resources, such as ore deposits and petroleum accumulations.



Moreover, subsurface fluid fluxes contribute to the transport and cycling of chemical elements and compounds within the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unexpected-molten-rock-layer-discovered-under-earths-crust/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth's crust</a>. 



This process has implications for geochemical cycles, rock-water interactions, and the evolution of subsurface environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Human intervention in Earth's fluid dynamics</h2>



In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-chief-fossil-fuel-era-must-end-for-humanitys-survival/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oil and natural gas</a> production, saline water from the deep subsurface is extracted alongside the targeted resources. This ancient water, often millions of years old, acquires its salinity from the evaporation of ancient seawater or reactions with rocks and minerals. 



To maintain reservoir pressures and enhance oil recovery, near-surface water is added to the extracted saline water, and the blended mixture is reinjected into the subsurface, creating a continuous cycle of fluid production and reinjection.



Similar processes occur in lithium extraction, geothermal energy production, and geologic carbon sequestration, where leftover saline water is reinjected into the underground. 



"We show that the fluid injection rates or recharge rates from those oil and gas activities is greater than what naturally occurs," states McIntosh.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Rewriting Earth's history through subsurface geology</h2>



Using existing data from various sources, the research team found that current fluid movement rates induced by human activities surpass those that occurred before human intervention. 



As carbon capture, sequestration, and lithium extraction intensify, the researchers also predicted how these activities might be recorded in Earth's geological record.



Moreover, human activities have the potential to alter not only the <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/the-geysers-the-worlds-largest-geothermal-field/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deep subsurface fluids</a> but also the microbes that inhabit those depths. 



Fluid movements can modify <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-in-the-extreme-microbial-activity-discovered-in-old-faithful/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbial environments</a> through changes in water chemistry or by introducing new microbial communities from Earth's surface to the underground. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-fracking-surged/">Hydraulic fracturing</a>, for example, can trigger sudden blooms of microbial activity in previously dormant deep rock formations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Earth's subsurface is still mostly a mystery</h2>



Despite the significance of these findings, many unknowns remain about Earth's deep subsurface and the extent of human impact on this hidden realm. 



"We need to use the deep subsurface as part of the solution for the climate crisis," emphasizes McIntosh. "Yet, we know more about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-sediments-found-in-jezero-crater-hint-at-past-life-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surface of Mars</a> than we do about water, rocks and life deep beneath our feet."



Continued research and exploration of this enigmatic zone are crucial for understanding the full scope of human influence on our planet and developing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/international-day-of-zero-waste-a-global-commitment-to-a-sustainable-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sustainable strategies</a> for addressing the climate crisis. 



While we strive to mitigate the visible effects of human activities on Earth's surface, we must not overlook the hidden impact that extends deep into the subsurface.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-what-lies-beneath">Protecting what lies beneath</h2>



As we continue to explore and utilize Earth's deep subsurface in our efforts to combat climate change, we must remain mindful of the hidden impact our actions have on this enigmatic realm. 



By studying the fluid dynamics, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-increases-threat-antimicrobial-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbial communities</a>, and geological record beneath our feet, we can develop a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between human activities and the subterranean world. 



This knowledge will be crucial in guiding our strategies for a sustainable future, ensuring that our solutions do not create unforeseen consequences in the depths below. 



As we navigate the challenges of the climate crisis, we must approach the subsurface with a spirit of curiosity, responsibility, and respect, recognizing that the key to our success may lie in the mysteries that await us in Earth's hidden depths.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024EF004496" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth's Future</a>.



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Human activities also greatly harm Earth’s subsurface, not just the landmass

Earth's surface bears the visible scars of human activities, from greenhouse gas emissions to deforestation. However, the impact of human intervention extends far beyond what meets the eye, reaching hundreds of meters to several kilometers beneath the planet's surface into Earth's deep subsurface. This hidden realm, often overlooked, is now the subject of disturbing research by hydrology experts. Jennifer McIntosh, a professor in the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, and her colleagues have delved into the ways humans influence Earth's deep subsurface. "We...

US military emits more CO2 than some small industrialized countries. The United States Military has long voiced concerns about climate change, particularly when it comes to the threats that climate change poses to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/military-bases-climate-change/">military operations and bases</a>. 

However, as much as the military’s stance on climate change drastically differs from the current Administration, the US military also emits more CO2 than a number of countries, according to a new study. 

Researchers from<a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/"> Lancaster University</a> and <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/">Durham University</a> conducted an independent assessment of the military’s greenhouse gas emissions and examined the US military’s impact on climate change by focusing on fuel consumption and emissions. US military emits more CO2 than some small industrialized countries 

“The US Military has long understood it is not immune from the potential consequences of climate change...nor has it ignored its own contribution to the problem,” said Dr. Patrick Bigger, a co-author of the study. “Yet its climate policy is fundamentally contradictory - confronting the effects of climate change while remaining the largest single institutional consumer of hydrocarbons in the world.” 

The researchers calculated that based on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions if the military were a country, it would rank as the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, matching Peru and Portugal in terms of fuel purchasing. 

In 2017, the US military purchased 269,230 barrels of oil a day with the Navy and Air Force as the top purchasers and emitters within the military. 

As military spending continues to increase it will lay the groundwork for even more CO2 emissions in the future. 

If the military is seriously concerned about climate change, this report shows that US defense strategies must include stringent plans for reducing emissions and dependence on fossil fuels to ensure climate change doesn’t hinder military operations. 

“An important way to cool off the furnace of the climate emergency is to turn off vast sections of the military machine,” said Dr. Benjamin Neimark, a co-author of the study. “This will have not only the immediate effect of reducing emissions in the here-and-now, but create a disincentive in developing new hydrocarbon infrastructure integral to US military operations.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayandette@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/Zieusin

US military emits more CO2 than some small industrialized countries

US military emits more CO2 than some small industrialized countries....

Each year, billions of dollars worth of fish are caught in a different country from where the fish were spawned, according to a new study that highlights the interconnectivity of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-shrunk-global-fisheries/">world’s marine fisheries. </a>

Even though 90 percent of marine fish are caught within 200 miles of the shore, researchers from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkely,</a> the <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk/">London School of Economics</a> and the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a> discovered the majority of wild-caught fish are carried on ocean currents in their larval stage ending up far away from their spawning grounds. 

The study, published in the journal Science, provides a different perspective on marine fisheries as it’s the first of its kind to focus on the movements of fish larvae and eggs. 

If the majority of fish being caught in one region traveled to the area on ocean currents, it means that every country involved in the fishing trade is dependent on how well neighboring countries manage marine spawning grounds. 

In short, the study shows that the world’s marine fisheries belong to one mass network. 

“Now we have a map of how the world’s fisheries are interconnected, and where international cooperation is needed most urgently to conserve a natural resource that hundreds of millions of people rely on,” said Kimberly Oremus, a co-author of the study. 

The researchers used data from satellites, catch records, and field observations to create a particle tracking model to map the flow of eggs and larvae from 700 species of fish worldwide. 

“Data from a wide range of scientific fields needed to come together to make this study possible,” said Nandini Ramesh, the lead author of the study. “We needed to look at patterns of fish spawning, the life cycles of different species, ocean currents, and how these vary with the seasons in order to begin to understand this system.” 

The simulations identified hotspots in need of better management and international cooperation to ensure fish stocks are not depleted. 

Marine fisheries belong to a “small world network” and so trouble in one area could create a chain-event and impact food security across the world. 

“Our hope is that this study will be a stepping stone for policy makers to study their own regions more closely to determine their interdependencies,” said Ramesh. “This is an important first step. This is not something people have examined before at this scale.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Michail Patakos

The world’s marine fisheries belong to one vast network

Each year, billions of dollars worth of fish are caught...

The results of a national survey have revealed that beekeepers in the United States lost 40.7 percent of their honeybee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019. The winter losses alone reached 37.7 percent, which is the highest winter loss reported since the <a href="https://beeinformed.org/">Bee Informed Partnership</a> survey began 13 years ago.

In the United States, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-pollen-collection-varies/">honey bees</a> pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops each year, which makes them critical to our nation's food production. 

Dennis vanEngelsdorp is an associate professor of Entomology at the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> and president for the Bee Informed Partnership. 

"These results are very concerning, as high winter losses hit an industry already suffering from a decade of high winter losses," said Professor vanEngelsdorp.

This year's 40.7 percent loss of honeybee colonies is a slight increase from last year's annual loss of 38.7 percent.

"Just looking at the overall picture and the 10-year trends, it's disconcerting that we're still seeing elevated losses after over a decade of survey and quite intense work to try to understand and reduce colony loss," said Professor Geoffrey Williams of <a href="http://www.auburn.edu/">Auburn University</a>. "We don't seem to be making particularly great progress to reduce overall losses."

The 2019 survey involved nearly 4,700 commercial and backyard beekeepers managing 319,787 colonies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This total represents about 12 percent of the nation's estimated 2.69 million managed colonies.

The number one concern among beekeepers is varroa mites, which are deadly parasites that spread from colony to colony. These mites have been destroying colonies for years.

"We are increasingly concerned about varroa mites and the viruses they spread," said Professor  vanEngelsdorp. "Last year, many beekeepers reported poor treatment efficacy, and limited field tests showed that products that once removed 90% of mites or more are now removing far fewer. Since these products are no longer working as well, the mite problem seems to be getting worse."

"But mites are not the only problem. Land use changes have led to a lack of nutrition-rich pollen sources for bees, causing poor nutrition. Pesticide exposures, environmental factors, and beekeeping practices all play some role as well."

Karen Rennich is the executive director for the Bee Informed Partnership and senior faculty specialist at the University of Maryland.

"The tools that used to work for beekeepers seem to be failing, and that may be evident in this year's high losses. A persistent worry among beekeepers nationwide is that there are fewer and fewer favorable places for bees to land, and that is putting increased pressure on beekeepers who are already stretched to their limits to keep their bees alive," said Rennich. "We also think that extreme weather conditions we have seen this past year demand investigation, such as wildfires that ravage the landscape and remove already limited forage, and floods that destroy crops causing losses for the farmer, for the beekeeper, and for the public."

The nationwide survey is conducted each year by the Bee Informed Partnership with data collected and analyzed by the University of Maryland and Auburn University. 

--

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/Ivan Marjanovic

More than 40 percent of US honeybee colonies were lost in the past year

The results of a national survey have revealed that beekeepers...

Floating solar farms may reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. Scientists from Norway and Switzerland have conceptualized a new technique to drastically reduce the need for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-york-fossil-fuels/">fossil fuels</a> while offsetting harmful greenhouse gas emissions. The team suggests that a network of millions of floating solar farms could be used to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into renewable energy. 

"A massive reduction in CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning is required to limit the extent of global warming. However, carbon-based liquid fuels will in the foreseeable future continue to be important energy storage media," wrote the study authors. "We propose a combination of largely existing technologies to use solar energy to recycle atmospheric CO2 into a liquid fuel."

"Our concept is clusters of marine-based floating islands, on which photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electrical energy to produce H2 and to extract CO2 from seawater, where it is in equilibrium with the atmosphere. These gases are then reacted to form the energy carrier methanol, which is conveniently shipped to the end consumer."

According to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek</a>, study co-author Andreas Borgschultehat explained that one of the biggest challenges with renewable energy is making it competitive with fossil fuels on a large scale. 

Borgschultehat said the idea for the solar islands was conceived when the Norwegian researchers were assigned the task of pushing fish farms out to open sea that would require their own energy. "Energy 'producing' islands had been proposed some time ago," he told Newsweek. "What remained was to include energy storage."

The researchers determined that 70 of these artificial islands could make up a single facility that covers an area of about 0.4 square miles. The experts identified locations across the globe where conditions are suitable to properly manage the facilities. The coasts of South America, Australia, and Southeast Asia were found to be ideal sites for the solar farms.

"Humankind must cease CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning if dangerous climate change is to be avoided," wrote the study authors. "However, liquid carbon-based energy carriers are often without practical alternatives for vital mobility applications. The recycling of atmospheric CO2 into synthetic fuels, using renewable energy, offers an energy concept with no net CO2 emission."

The team is now working to build prototypes of the floating islands.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

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/Tom Wang

Floating solar farms may reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels

Floating solar farms may reduce the world’s dependence on fossil...

New online digital currency systems incentivize ocean plastic cleanup efforts. It’s no secret that the world’s oceans are full of trash, much of it <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/microplastic-pollution-remote-glaciers/">plastic</a>. I’ve seen trash such as plastic fishing nets and fluorescent bulbs wash up as far away as Alaskan islands and soggy plastic wrapped cigarette cartons wash ashore in West Africa. 

There’s plenty of trash lapping at the shores of virtually any major body of water in the world. The plastic trash you can easily see is only a part of the problem, as microplastics made of larger plastic pieces degraded into tiny chunks are more prevalent than ever in the oceans. According to <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150109-oceans-plastic-sea-trash-science-marine-debris/">National Geographic</a>, there were already 5.25 trillion pieces of trash in the oceans in 2015, that is an estimated 690,000 tons of garbage floating on the surface alone. That amount has only increased in recent years. 

Part of the problem is that so much plastic is used once and then thrown away and most of it isn’t recycled. Not every nation in the world is equally as guilty of the plastic problem. <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting-the-oceans-the-most/">Statista</a> reports that researchers found China and Indonesia as the top ocean polluters in the world. In 2010, 3.53 million metric tons of plastic trash from China entered the ocean. In the same year, 1.29 million metric tons of Indonesia’s plastic trashed ended up in the ocean. The US by comparison contributed only 0.11 million metric tons of plastic garbage to the ocean. The Philippines came in third in the world, putting 1.9 million metric tons of plastic trash into the ocean in 2010. 

Asia in general is the largest contributor to plastic ocean trash. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahleung/2018/04/21/five-asian-countries-dump-more-plastic-than-anyone-else-combined-how-you-can-help/#668f2f941234">Forbes</a> reported in 2018 that together China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam dump more plastic garbage into the world’s oceans than the rest of the world combined. But the problem isn’t so simple as one that can be easily blamed on Asia.

The <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-asia-plastic-waste-20190617-story.html">Los Angeles Times</a> reports that earlier this year, a cargo ship full of Canadian garbage in the Philippines was forced to return its unwanted cargo home. This is part of the pushback against a widespread habit of western countries including the United States to simply export their plastic trash to Asia rather than deal with it at home. The supposed purpose of exporting trash was to have it recycled, but often garbage including un-recyclable contaminants were included in what was billed as plastic scrap exported to Asian countries. 

About a year and a half ago, China, which had previously received the lion’s share of the so-called plastic scrap, banned almost all trash imports. Much of the trash bound for China was re-routed to other Asian countries without the ability to handle it. <a href="https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2019/3/6/157000-shipping-containers-of-us-plastic-waste-exported-to-countries-with-poor-waste-management-in-2018">Plastic Pollution Coalition</a> reports that in 2018, the US exported 157,000 shipping containers full of plastic trash to countries without proper facilities to process it. These countries are now also refusing trash imports. 

Still, years of these practices combined with Asia’s own plastic waste has left their rivers and oceans in terrible shape. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2018/05/indonesia-polluted-river-180502051143231.html">Al Jazeera</a> reports that the most polluted river in the world is the Citarum in Indonesia and much of the pollution is plastic as well as toxins from textile manufacturers. 

As bleak as the problem is, the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190613-a-simple-online-system-that-could-end-plastic-pollution">BBC</a> reports that there may now be a way to help clean up Indonesia’s waterways from plastic trash.New online digital currency systems incentivize ocean plastic cleanup efforts

On January 27, 2019, 5,000 volunteers joined together to clean up 45 tons of trash from a beach in Manila. This sounds like an incredibly difficult task to coordinate but it was pulled off thanks to modern technology and new innovations. Appropriately the coordination to cleanup the beach came from the United States, the source of much of the Philippines pollution as well. 

<a href="https://bounties.network">The Bounties Network</a> is a blockchain enterprise, utilizing digital currency as incentive for change. The basics are that anyone on the Bounties Network platform can give a ‘bounty’ in digital ‘crypto’ currency for virtually anything. In this case, Philippine fishermen and others were paid for the amount of trash they collected -- not in cash, but a digital currency instead. 

The interesting part of the system is that it supports a peer-to-peer economy, not relying on governments or corporations for payouts or backing, but instead relying on individual humans and technology. The <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190613-a-simple-online-system-that-could-end-plastic-pollution">BBC</a> reports that <a href="https://www.plasticbank.com/who-we-are/">Plastic Bank</a>, another organization, has also started a similar project in southern Luzon, the most populous island in the Philippines.  There, a permanent collection point pays out digital rewards for trash. Plastic Bank plans on opening more locations in the Philippines in the near future. 

Plastic Bank is planning not only in giving out digital currency for plastic trash but is also working to create an economy around it. The organization plans on creating opportunities for local people to create convenience stores which deal in plastic as their currency of payment or more precisely, digital currency which can be earned by turning in plastic. The way they can do this, is by recycling the plastic they collect and selling it branded as ‘social plastic’ at a higher price. As of now, Plastic Bank is still looking for manufacturing partners to work under their label using their raw plastic pellets to produce products.

<a href="https://www.plasticbank.com/go-plastic-neutral/#.XQllM8pOmhA">Plastic Bank</a> also offers the ability to go ‘plastic neutral’ by paying $44 per year to clean up 85 kg of plastic trash, the average amount created per person. With these payments, you are supplied with a certificate. 

For those unfamiliar with digital currency (such as myself), the idea is a bit hard to wrap the mind around. It’s easy to be skeptical that such systems based in computers will power the cleanup of oceans in the real world. To go along with the skepticism though, we should also remember the ways in which advances in computer technologies have changed our day to day realities radically in the last few decades. The amounts of trash collected so far in the Philippines is heartening and speaks for itself. Whether the project will continue to have so much success is something to see only in the future.    

--

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/Rich Carey

New online digital currency systems incentivize ocean plastic cleanup efforts

New online digital currency systems incentivize ocean plastic cleanup efforts....

Hundreds of small earthquakes have been detected across Southern California over the last three weeks, mainly in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The series of minor <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earthquakes-carbon-cycle-link/">earthquakes</a>, also known as an earthquake swarm, has some residents calling the event "swarmageddon" out of concern that a larger earthquake is developing. 

However, seismologist Lucy Jones told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/">Los Angeles Times</a> that the small quakes do not necessarily represent a higher risk for a major earthquake. She said that there is only a five percent chance that a small seismic event will be followed by a bigger one.

From May 27th to June 3rd, 432 quakes hit Southern California's Jurupa Valley in an area of a few square miles. At that time, <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a> seismologist Robert Graves reported that the quakes measured 0.8 to 3.2 in magnitude, and that only a few were strong enough to be felt.

Graves explained that since there are no major faults nearby, he believed the swarm was likely due to small cracks or a weakness in the Earth's crust."That zone is a place of weakness and that's what's causing these small earthquakes to occur," he said. "Large earthquakes occur on large faults."

[caption id="attachment_1874252" align="aligncenter" width="629"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/small-earthquakes.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1874252" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/small-earthquakes.jpg" alt="" width="629" height="447" /></a> Image Credit: USGS[/caption]

According to Graves, a magnitude 7 event would have a fault length of about 30 miles, while a magnitude 8 event would have a fault length of more than 250 miles. He pointed out that the recent activity occurred in a much smaller region of only a few square miles.

In the couple weeks that followed, the tremors continued in Jurupa Valley, which is about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Various media outlets are reporting that a total of more than 1,000 small earthquakes occurred in a matter of three weeks.

Across the region, more seismic sensors are being installed as part of the state's new early warning system. After years of development, the app ShakeAlertLA has been launched to relay important alerts based on data from the USGS. The app aims to send out information when a 5.0 or greater earthquake happens in Los Angeles County, even before the shaking can be felt. 

Many experts believe that small quakes felt  near major fault lines, such as the San Andreas fault, are more likely to be a precursor to a major earthquake.

"I would redefine normal as: You should still be prepared for a large earthquake," said USGS research geophysicist Andrea Llenos. “We do know a big earthquake is going to happen."

--

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/welcomia

Over 1,000 tremors detected in Southern California in just 3 weeks

Hundreds of small earthquakes have been detected across Southern California...

A new study has revealed that the collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in a substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-reduce-non-co2-emissions/">agricultural activities</a> and food production. 

The researchers found that from 1991 to 2011, net emissions were reduced by 7.61 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalents. The impact was comparable to eliminating 25 percent of the CO2 emissions associated with deforestation in Latin America during the same time period.

According to the experts, however, ongoing changes in food production across the former Soviet Union countries suggest that the emissions will ultimately rebound.

"The global food system contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so understanding the source of GHG emissions from the different components of food systems is important. A key aspect of this is assessing how changes in international trade patterns affect regional GHG emission balances," explained study lead author Dr. Florian Schierhorn from the <a href="http://www.iamo.de/en/">Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies</a>.

"When the former Soviet Union collapsed, the transition from a planned to a market economy had drastic consequences for the region's agricultural sector and food systems. Higher prices and lower purchasing power reduced the consumption of meat, particularly beef."

"This fall in demand, coupled with a reduction in state support for agriculture, led to a halving in pig and cattle numbers. This collapse in the livestock sector led to widespread agricultural abandonment."

The researchers set out to investigate the effect these factors had on GHG emissions. To quantify the emissions from agricultural production, the team used a database of land-use change and the associated changes in soil organic carbon stocks.

"The post-Soviet changes in GHG emissions from food production, food trade, and cropland extent led to a cumulative net reduction of 7.61 Gt CO2e from 1992 to 2011, compared to a scenario where emissions stayed at the late Soviet level," said Dr. Schierhorn.

"The most important reasons for this reduction were the decline in domestic livestock production, and soil organic carbon sequestration on abandoned cropland, particularly in Russia and Kazakhstan."

The study findings indicate that there is potential for abandoned cropland to continue to sequester carbon until the middle of this century, but an increase in agricultural development and beef imports could diminish these gains.

"Once economies in the former Soviet Union had stabilized in the late 1990s, domestic food demand in the region started to rebound. The consumption of beef, for example, increased by 15 percent between 2000 and 2008," explained Dr. Schierhorn. 

"However, beef production in the region had stagnated, and shows no signs of recovering. The demand meant it became the second largest importer of beef globally, with 80 percent coming from South America. This is significant, because South American beef exports embody high GHG emissions, due to deforestation and inefficient production systems."

"This relationship shows how negative emissions due to agricultural land abandonment can be compromised by increasing emissions from rising agricultural imports. This situation is likely similar in many industrialized and emerging regions where agricultural land use has been contracting in the recent past."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/erl">Environmental Research Letters</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

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Image Credit: Shutterstock/Sergey Dzyuba

The collapse of the Soviet Union led to much lower greenhouse gas emissions

A new study has revealed that the collapse of the...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a> has revealed that the cumulative stress caused by past <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hidden-earthquakes-southern-california/">earthquakes</a> could help to explain why they occur and predict where they may strike next. 

Identifying patterns for earthquakes has proven to be a very difficult challenge over the years, with some scientists arguing that seismic activity is largely unpredictable and random. 

The current study, however, suggests that the static stress present on a fault plane prior to rupture, known as Coulomb pre-stress, can help explain both historical and modern earthquakes.

Study lead author Dr. Zoë Mildon is a lecturer in Earth Sciences at the University of Plymouth, who conducted much of the research while earning her PhD at University College London (UCL). 

"Earthquakes are caused by rock sliding past each other along fault lines which causes the forces and stress in the surrounding rocks to change after a big earthquake. It is often assumed that the nearest fault to a particular earthquake will be the next to rupture," Dr. Mildon said at the 2019 General Assembly of the <a href="https://www.egu.eu/">European Geophysics Union</a>.

"However, our study shows this is never the case so typical approaches to modelling Coulomb stress transfer (CST) have limited potential to improve seismic hazard assessment."

"Our model adds the stresses of lots of earthquakes together and shows that in the majority of cases fault lines are positively stressed when they rupture. It is a step change in modelling CST and shows this is an ignored yet vital factor when trying to explain earthquake triggering."

The research was focused on the central Apennines region of Italy, where earthquakes have struck on a regular basis over the past 700 years. Records dating back to 1349 detail the damage and losses across individual towns and villages throughout this area.

By looking at the locations and comparing the amount of damage, scientists can understand more about where, when, and how large historical earthquakes occurred.

Using their new method for the current study, the researchers were able to demonstrate that 97 percent of earthquakes which struck the Italian region between 1703 and 2016 occurred on faults that were at least partially stressed.

"Earthquakes are hugely destructive to both people and property, and the Holy Grail of earthquake science would be to predict where they are going to happen and when," said Dr. Mildon. "We are a very long way from that, and indeed it may never be possible to accurately predict the location, time and size of future earthquakes. Our research, however, could be a starting point in helping us develop better forecasts of which fault lines might be more susceptible based on previous tremors."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</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

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Narongsak Nagadhana

Stress from earthquakes on faults helps scientists understand and predict them

A new study from the University of Plymouth has revealed...

City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch numbers. It might seem counterintuitive that cities would be the key to monarch conservation. But two new studies published in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and Evolution have found that urban landscapes, specifically how they are managed, could provide a lifeline for important pollinators. 

Monarch populations have declined 80 percent in the US over the last twenty years, with studies showing that habitat loss in overwintering locations and climate change have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/monarch-butterfly-populations-all-time-low/">contributed to those losses. </a>

Milkweed, a robust group of flowering plants native to the US, are not coveted garden flowers, but they are the only plant that Monarchs can lay their eggs on.City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch numbers

If milkweed plants continue to decline, it could lead to the extinction of Monarch butterflies all together. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> collected data from field observations and spatial images to map milkweed plant abundance across large urban areas.

[caption id="attachment_1874245" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/City-landscapes-can-actually-be-very-helpful-in-recovering-monarch-numbers.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874245" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/City-landscapes-can-actually-be-very-helpful-in-recovering-monarch-numbers.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Monarch butterflies in downtown Chicago. Image Credit: Abigail Derby Lewis, Field Museum[/caption]

By focusing on cities and milkweed, the researchers were able to identify areas where milkweed could be planted and highlight the critical role of cities in butterfly conservation. 

“Metropolitan areas actually matter for wildlife conservation, and that’s especially true for pollinators like the Monarch that can survive with very small patches of habitat,” says Abigail Derby Lewis, lead author of one of the studies. “There’s an assumption that cities are not important places for plants and animals, but that’s because no one had looked at these landscapes in a systematic way, or at the collective impact from many small-scale plantings across large urban geographies.”

The researchers found that residential areas like lawns provide a huge opportunity for space to plant milkweed. 

To recover and protect monarch populations, the researchers estimate that it would require planting 1.8 billion milkweed stems, enough to cover an area the size of Washington DC. 

“This approach to examining metropolitan landscapes allows us to ‘see’ cities in a way we haven’t been able to before, and this enables us to get a better estimate of how much potential space there is to create habitat,” said Mark Johnston, the lead author of the second paper. “We think that cities could support 15 to 30 percent of the milkweed that’s needed to save Monarchs.” 

In order to get city residents on board, it will require a shift in public perceptions of what plants are cosmetically acceptable.

 “I would encourage people to question the grassy lawns that dominate our urban landscape--could we plant something else that would provide habitat for Monarchs and other wildlife?” asked Johnston.

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Field Museum

City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch numbers

City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch...

Extreme weather events are becoming much more common as the climate changes, and record-breaking heat is no exception. In a recent study, a team of Australian meteorologists set out to investigate how much more often historical <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-heat-waves-kill-thousands/">heat</a> records may be broken over the rest of this century. 

"Changes in the intensity or frequency of extreme climate events can profoundly increase the disruption caused by climate change," wrote the researchers. "The more extreme these events, the greater the potential to push ecosystems and communities beyond their ability to cope."

"The rate at which existing high temperature records have been broken has increased in response to rising global greenhouse gas emissions...Here we examine future events that will be so extreme that they will not have been experienced previously."

The team used 22 climate models to predict rates of record setting heat by the end of the century. Based on the current extent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the study revealed that the monthly average high temperature will set a new record in approximately 58 percent of the world every year. With much lower greenhouse gas emissions, however, this figure drops to 14 percent.

"The benefits of reducing emissions, in terms of both reducing the pace at which high temperature records are set and restricting the magnitude by which records are broken, are very clear," wrote the researchers.

The experts found, for example, that many nations near the equator will see 24 monthly heat records surpassed every decade that emissions remain high. That number drops to less than three monthly heat records under the climate conditions that would result from lower GHG emissions. 

The researchers emphasized that, even under the best-case scenario, it could still take decades for the monthly temperature extremes to start dropping. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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Image Credit: Shutterstock/FocusStocker

Record heat will become increasingly common unless emissions are reduced

Extreme weather events are becoming much more common as the...

A new report from the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/">Associated Press</a> is describing the increasing threats faced by small shorebirds known as piping plovers. The birds' nests are at risk of getting washed away as rising water levels and coastal flooding persist in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tons-plastic-trash-great-lakes/">Great Lakes</a>. 

After late snowstorms and record-breaking spring rainfall, the Great Lakes are reaching some of their highest levels on record. As the beaches shrink or become totally submerged, the piping plovers are pushed completely out of their habitats into dangerous territory. 

"The high water levels really put them in danger more than most other species because their habitat has been greatly diminished,” said Vince Cavalieri, who is the piping plover coordinator for the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a>. He said that some nests on the Canadian side of the lakes have already been swept away.

Snowmelt and rainstorms have always caused natural fluctuations in the water levels across the Great Lakes. However, scientists predict that these fluctuations are intensifying due to climate change. 

U.S. Army Corps hydrologist Keith Kompoltowicz told the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/">Chicago Tribune</a> that Lake Michigan’s water levels are forecast to remain high all summer. “We’re seeing more instances of shoreline and coastal flooding, especially during storm events and high winds,” said Kompoltowicz.

In a recent article, University of Michigan hydrologist Drew Gronewold and climate scientist Richard Rood stated that “rapid transitions between extreme high and low water levels in the Great Lakes represent the ‘new normal.’”

This will make the situation much more dire for the already endangered piping plover. In 1990, the Great Lakes population of piping plovers reached a low of just 12 breeding pairs. However, recovery efforts have helped the population bounce back, with a total of 67 breeding pairs last year.

--

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/Ray Hennessy

Great Lakes flooding may cause small shorebirds to lose their homes

A new report from the Associated Press is describing the...

The Trump administration has thrown another wrench in the environmental plans of former president Barack Obama, and it's one of the biggest yet. 

On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> chief Andrew Wheeler signed a rule into effect that essentially defeats the purpose of the Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The new legislation will allow states leniency in improving the energy efficiency of existing <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/phasing-out-coal-gas/">coal plants</a>.

"We are gathered here today because the American public elected a president with a better approach," said Wheeler. "One of the President's first acts in office was to issue an executive order to promote energy independence. In it, he instructed EPA to rescind, replace or revise the Clean Power Plan."

"The CPP would have asked low- and middle-income Americans to bear the cost of the previous administration's climate plan, It also hurts the competitiveness of American businesses."

However, opponents of the replacement rule believe that it will stifle efforts to gradually shift the country's electrical grid away from coal-fired power plants and the harmful pollution associated with them.

Wheeler, who is a former coal lobbyist, argues that coal-fired power plants remain essential to the power grid. "Americans want reliable energy that they can afford,” he said in a statement. 

The legislation will become effective shortly after publication in the Federal Register, but not without resistance from environmental groups.

"The Trump administration’s outrageous Dirty Power Scam is a stunning giveaway to big polluters, giving dirty special interests the greenlight to choke our skies, poison our waters and worsen the climate crisis," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"The growing climate crisis is the existential threat of our time and President Trump’s shameful response was to put lobbyists and polluters in charge of protecting your health and safety."

Joseph Goffman served as an EPA official during Obama's presidency. He fears that the Trump administration is trying to legally guarantee that the Clean Air Act gives the federal government "next to no authority to do anything" about harmful emissions from coal-fired power plants. 

According to a report from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/">CNN</a>, the Clean Power Plan was set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 32 percent. An analysis by the EPA conducted under the Obama administration determined that the act would prevent 3,600 premature deaths, 1,700 heart attacks, and 90,000 asthma attacks in the United States each year.

--

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/Danicek

EPA reverses a rule intended to reduce coal-fired plant emissions

The Trump administration has thrown another wrench in the environmental...

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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

[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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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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



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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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://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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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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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

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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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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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