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 Colorado River is a major source of water in the arid western United States. To support higher populations of people and development on such a finite resource, the Colorado River has been dammed and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-reservoirs-generate-much-higher-emissions-than-expected/">reservoirs</a> have been created. One of the more famous reservoirs, Lake Mead, created by the Hoover Dam, is drying out. The reservoir is now only 35 percent full, the lowest it's been since it was first filled in the 30’s.

This low point for the reservoir is part of a long-standing drought that is now in its 22nd year. Similar dry conditions may be the norm with climate change in the foreseeable future. Growing human populations and wasteful water practices have only thrown gasoline on the fire. 

While water shortages in the American West are a surprise to no one, the drop in Lake Mead has caught the region unprepared and triggered water allotment cuts, causing ten state governors to ask President Biden to declare an emergency. Such a declaration would allow some farmers and ranchers access to federal assistance. 

Arizona will have its access to the Colorado River water reduced by 18 percent and Nevada will be reduced by 7 percent. Water released into Mexico under a treaty signed in 1944 will be reduced by 5 percent. 

Recently, small surges of Colorado River water have been able to reach the Gulf of California and wild habitats that have been under severe stress due to damming and water usage upstream. With water levels slated to drop even further in the coming years, it seems likely that these estuaries will suffer even more. 

Humans will also be forced to deal with the realities of this catastrophe of their own making. The first tier water cuts, set to impact Arizona, Nevada and Mexico, will possibly become more restrictive in the next phase, with more restrictions expected as soon as 2023.

It seems that in the West we may be coming to terms with a long legacy of water misuse and the new threat of a changing climate.         

---

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Running dry: water shortages in the Colorado River

The Colorado River is a major source of water in...

The reality of global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clouds-have-an-amplifying-effect-on-global-warming/">warming</a> can no longer be denied, and the potential consequences for Arctic ecosystems are not yet clearly understood. 

As the Arctic Ocean, North Pole, and the surrounding land warm up rapidly, shrinking sea ice allows increasingly more light to reach the surface of the ocean. Some scholars claim that this will lead to the proliferation of surface plankton, a crucial food source for aquatic animals.

However, researchers from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> and the Max Plank Institute for Chemistry propose that this argument is erroneous. The growth of plankton is strongly tied to the presence of nitrogen, a vital nutrient which - in the context of accelerated global warming - will become increasingly scarce.

As ice melts, photosynthesizing plankton should theoretically benefit from the greater amount of light hitting the ocean waters. “But there’s a catch,” said Professor Julie Granger from the University of Connecticut. “These plankton also need nutrients to grow, and nutrients are only abundant deeper in the Arctic Ocean, just beyond the reach of the plankton.” 

And whether the plankton can access these nutrients relies on the level of stratification of the upper ocean. 

“When the upper ocean is strongly stratified, with very light water floating on top of dense deep water, the supply of nutrients to the sunlit surface is slow,” explained study lead author Jesse Farmer.

The researchers analyzed fossilized plankton in an effort to map the history of Arctic Ocean stratification since the last ice age. They discovered that when the ice age ended 11,500 years ago, the Arctic Ocean became strongly stratified, reaching a peak between 10,000 and 6,000 years ago, a warm period called the “<a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/global-warming/mid-holocene-warm-period">Holocene Thermal Maximum</a>.” 

Since then, with temperatures gradually falling, the Arctic stratification has weakened, allowing sufficient amounts of nitrogen to rise to the surface and sustain the plankton.

Today, this trend is reversing yet again. Global warming is quickly bringing the climate of Arctic ecosystems back to that of the Holocene Thermal Maximum, causing a strong stratification of the upper ocean, and thus preventing surface plankton from receiving a sufficient amount of nitrogen. 

With plankton diminishing, life in the Arctic Ocean becomes increasingly precarious, proving once more the imminent dangers caused by global warming. 

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00789-y">Nature Geoscience</a>.

---

By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Arctic ecosystems are endangered by global warming

The reality of global warming can no longer be denied,...

A recent publication from <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.642226/full?&amp;utm_source=Email_to_authors_&amp;utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&amp;utm_campaign=Email_publication&amp;field=&amp;journalName=Frontiers_in_Marine_Science&amp;id=642226">Frontiers in Marine Science</a> brings some worrisome news to wildlife conservationists and animal lovers at large: fewer than 500 Indian Ocean humpback dolphins (Sousa plumbea) are currently left in South African waters. This makes the humpback dolphin the first endangered marine mammal species in the South African aquatic environment. 

What brought the humpback dolphin to the brink of extinction? According to the <a href="https://iucn-csg.org/collaboration-on-humpback-dolphin-sousa-plumbea-research-and-conservation-in-south-and-east-africa/">SouSA Consortium</a>, a newly established network of South African scientists and conservationists studying and attempting to save this species, there are multiple causes for the dolphins’ dire predicament. 

“Although environmental factors almost certainly play a role in the declining numbers of the species in our waters, individual threats and solutions are challenging to identify as the South African marine environment is undergoing significant changes, often as a result of human activities, such as coastal construction and pollution. There are also major changes in the distribution and availability of prey species,” explained study lead author Professor Stephanie Plön from <a href="http://www.sun.ac.za/english">Stellenbosch University</a>.

“We concluded that no single cause for their rapid decline could be identified and that the cumulative effects of multiple stressors, which are difficult to pinpoint and mitigate, are impacting population numbers.”

The experts agree that regardless of the multiplicity of causes, the major culprit behind this decline in the humpback dolphin population remains easy to identify: it is none other than the human predator, whose greed seems to be unequalled in the animal kingdom. 

Operation Phakisa, an initiative aiming to stimulate economic growth in the South African marine environment, is an example of damaging human activity. The government program negatively impacts the well-being of marine flora and fauna by increasing noise levels in the oceans, introducing additional pollutants, and often leading to unintentional habitat fragmentation. 

So what is to be done to reverse such destructive trends and save the humpback dolphin? As members of the SouSA Consortium bitterly claim, science alone is not enough anymore. Much more engagement with stakeholders (including the public, the government, legislators, parastatal organizations, or educators) through increased outreach and education is urgently and desperately needed in order to save this species, as well as others that might soon become endangered too. 

“The complex factors impacting this species in South African waters are very challenging, and in order to find realistic and effective solutions going forward, we need all hands on deck!” said Professor Plön. 

---

By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

All hands on deck to save South Africa’s humpback dolphin

A recent publication from Frontiers in Marine Science brings some...

An international team of researchers has developed a new model to predict the economic costs of pushing climate systems past their tipping points. This refers to a critical threshold beyond which the impacts are accelerated and irreversible. The study shows that exceeding climate tipping points will dramatically worsen the economic costs of climate change. 

More specifically, the experts found that surpassing tipping points will increase the cost of damages associated with climate change by at least 25 percent. However, this could be a conservative estimate, as tipping points increase the risks of much greater damages, emphasized the study authors.

The results show that there is a 10 percent chance that tipping points will double the cost of damages related to climate change, and a five percent chance the costs will be tripled.

Study co-author Simon Dietz is an expert at the <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/">Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment</a>, and a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

“Climate scientists have long emphasized the importance of climate tipping points like thawing permafrost, ice sheet disintegration, and changes in atmospheric circulation," said Professor Dietz.

"Yet, save for a few fragmented studies, climate economics has either ignored them, or represented them in highly stylized ways. We provide unified estimates of the economic impacts of all eight climate tipping points covered in the economic literature so far.”

The researchers considered eight tipping points that have been recently analyzed by scientists, including thawing permafrost, which releases carbon dioxide and methane emissions. This climate system is an example of a reinforcing feedback loop in which thawing permafrost accelerates warming, and warming causes more permafrost to thaw.

The experts also looked at the disintegration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is contributing to sea-level rise, and carbon dioxide released from dying trees in the Amazon. 

According to the results of the study, pushing these climate systems past their thresholds will increase economic losses almost everywhere in the world. 

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

Exceeding tipping points could triple the costs of climate change

An international team of researchers has developed a new model...

A study from the <a href="https://www5.usp.br/">University of São Paulo</a> has found that the evolutionary stability of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/raccoon-dogs-may-be-a-growing-threat-to-waterbirds-in-finland/">bird</a> species depends on its role in seed dispersal networks. The experts report that the stability of each species increases with the more types of seeds that it disperses.

More than 70 percent of all flowering plants depend on birds to disperse their seeds. The research suggests that birds which feed on fruit from a wide variety of plants have better evolutionary chances.

“The bird species that occupy more central positions in a network, that have more connections, tend to be more stable in macroevolutionary terms,” said study first author Gustavo Burin.

According to Burin, establishing this correlation between species interactions and their evolutionary dynamics was a huge challenge because it required an analysis of two processes – seed dispersal and evolution – that occur on entirely different time scales. While evolution plays out over millions of years, seed dispersal is an annual process.

“We worked on this for four years, integrating data on 468 bird species belonging to 29 seed dispersal networks,” said Burin. “We demonstrated that the more links a bird species establishes with plant species, the greater its evolutionary chances."

“More precisely, the greater the evolutionary stability of a bird species, the more chances we have of observing its relative importance in a seed dispersal network, measured by the number and pattern of interactions established by the bird species."

Burin explained that bird species which occupy central positions in a seed dispersal network have two important traits - "either they live longer or they belong to groups that accumulate many species in a relatively short time, so that if a species disappears it’s replaced by many other similar ones.”

In Brazil, examples of long-lived species include the Rufous-bellied thrush and the Sayaca tanager.

“Here we’re emphasizing the importance of interaction with plants to the evolutionary success of bird species, but the reverse may also be true in the sense that plants that can rely on more bird species to disperse their seeds are more likely to propagate and survive. When a dispersing vertebrate exists, the seeds can be carried dozens of miles away from the plant,” said Burin.

The effects are the strongest in tropical areas that are warm and wet with less seasonal variability. This helps to explain why biodiversity hotspots persist in Colombia’s Amazon region and in Southeast Asia, explained the researchers.

The study was funded by São Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP,  and is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds involved in more seed dispersal have evolutionary stability

A study from the University of São Paulo has found...

Fine particle pollution from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-could-cause-a-surge-in-coronavirus-cases/">wildfire</a> smoke may have been responsible for excess COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>. 

The researchers found a potential link between wildfire-related PM2.5 levels and thousands of COVID-19 cases that occurred between March and December of 2020in California, Oregon, and Washington. 

The study is the first of its kind to investigate the extent to which higher levels of PM2.5 pollution during 2020 wildfires contributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The year 2020 brought unimaginable challenges in public health, with the convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires across the western United States," said senior author Professor Francesca Dominici.

"In this study we are providing evidence that climate change  which increases the frequency and the intensity of wildfires  and the pandemic are a disastrous combination.”

Wildfires produce high levels of fine particle pollution, which has been linked to many adverse health conditions, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), and other respiratory illnesses. 

In 2020, massive wildfires struck the western United States, and the researchers looked at the subsequent PM2.5 air concentrations from monitoring data. The team developed a statistical model that also accounted for the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in 92 counties that represented 95 percent of the population across California, Oregon, and Washington.

&nbsp;

 

The study revealed that when fire activity was the highest - from August 15 to October 15, 2020 - daily levels of PM2.5 were an average of five times higher compared to days without wildfire activity. There were some instances when PM2.5 levels were extraordinarily high, reaching levels that are classified as “hazardous” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the research, the effects of PM2.5 on COVID-19 cases were amplified for up to four weeks after individuals were exposed to the poor air quality.  

Ultimately, across all counties, a daily increase of 10 µg/m3 in PM2.5 each day for 28 subsequent days was associated with an 11.7 percent increase in COVID-19 cases, and an 8.4 percent increase in COVID-19 deaths. 

Some counties were hit much harder than others. In Whitman, Washington, higher PM2.5 levels were associated with a 71.6 percent increase in COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, San Bernardino, California had a 65.9 percent increase in fatal COVID-19 cases that were attributable to poor air quality from wildfire smoke. 

The experts report that across the three states studied, daily increases in PM2.5 from wildfires were linked to a total of 19,700 COVID-19 cases, and to an additional 750 fatal cases. 

“Climate change will likely bring warmer and drier conditions to the west, providing more fuel for fires to consume and further enhancing fire activity," said Dominici.

"This study provides policymakers with key information regarding how the effects of one global crisis - climate change - can have cascading effects on concurrent global crises - in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Thousands of COVID-19 cases linked to wildfires

Fine particle pollution from wildfire smoke may have been responsible...

More than half of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-ducks-balance-water-pressure-while-diving/">duck</a> species in Finland are endangered to varying degrees, and the results of a new study suggest that raccoon dogs and other invasive species are to blame. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> used wildlife cameras to investigate the causes of declining waterbird species. 

In collaboration with researchers at several universities, the Helsinki team conducted field experiments over the course of three years. The experts set up wildlife cameras which captured images of invasive species preying on artificial nests. 

Researchers in Finland and Denmark had previously built more than 400 artificial nests in natural duck nesting environments. About 290 of the nests, which contained farmed mallard eggs, were located throughout southern Finland. 

While raccoon dogs were found to be the most common nest predators in Finland, red foxes were the predominant predators in Denmark.

“The raccoon dog was the most common mammalian predator in all of the environments studied in Finland. As expected, raccoon dogs destroyed nests on shorelines, but surprisingly often also in forests close to wetlands,” said study co-author Sari Holopainen, a postdoctoral researcher at the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus.

The cameras revealed that many nests were visited by more than one predator, and that corvids were often the first to find a nest. If a corvid broke an egg in the nest, this attracted mammalian predators such as raccoon dogs and American minks.

“Our research shows that predators cohabiting the same area can benefit from one another. Eggs broken by corvids offer a clue to mammalian predators, which, in turn, are a threat to both eggs and female ducks. In other words, the effect of a diverse predator community can exceed the sum of its species,” said Holopainen.

The raccoon dog is a species that is native to Southeast Asia that was introduced to Europe as a fur animal beginning in the 1920s. The first raccoon dogs arrived in Finland in the 1930s. Today, they are the second or third most common prey animal.

The experts found that raccoon dogs have an advantage over native species because they are more versatile in terms of utilizing their environment. Native mammal predators are restricted by habitat type, but raccoon dogs were commonly observed on shorelines and in forests, as well as in agricultural and urban landscapes. 

“The decline of many waterbird nesting populations, especially in eutrophic lakes, matches temporally the increasing abundance of raccoon dogs and American minks. This came out as we studied long-term changes in aquatic birdlife between the periods 1951–1970 and 1996–2015 using datasets collected in the Häme region by Pentti Linkola, the late fisherman,” explained study co-author Hannu Pöysä, a principal scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland.

According to the researchers, the artificial nest experiments cannot directly prove that the raccoon dog has an effect on duck populations. 

“What the results do show, however, is that the raccoon dog is a more common nest predator than native mammalian species, and that it is abundant in a range of duck nesting environments,” concluded Holopainen.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10530">Biological Invasions</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Raccoon dogs are a growing threat to waterbirds in Finland

More than half of the duck species in Finland are...

July of 2021 was the hottest month in recorded history, according to the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA). The experts have determined that July was hotter than any month that has been documented in the last 142 years. 

The scientists found that the combined land and ocean-surface temperature this July was 1.67 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average. This beat out the previous record (a three-way tie in July 2016, July 2019 and July 2020) by 0.02 degrees. The experts noted that 2021 will also rank as one of Earth's hottest years.

In a statement, NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said that in this case, first place is the worst place to be. “This new record adds to the disturbing and disruptive path that climate change has set for the globe.”

A separate analysis from NASA, which was based on monthly surface temperatures, confirmed that the global average temperature for July was about 1.66 degrees above the 1951-1980 average.

According to NOAA, the land surface temperature in the Northern Hemisphere was 2.77 degrees above average in July. This is the biggest deviation that has ever been documented in July, when at least five heat domes plagued various regions of the Northern Hemisphere at one time. 

July's scorching temperatures included an extreme heatwave in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia that claimed the lives of hundreds of people and more than a billion sea creatures. Areas in Canada, Washington and Oregon - where the weather is typically mild - experienced record-breaking heat that persisted for days in late June and early July. 

The "once in 10,000 years" event was caused by a heat dome, and scientists warn that these types of intense heatwaves are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change. 

The NOAA data showed that Asia experienced its hottest July on record in 2021, while Europe experienced its second hottest July. 

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

July was the hottest month in Earth's recorded history

July of 2021 was the hottest month in recorded history,...

Global warming has increased temperatures in some of the world’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lakes-are-losing-oxygen-much-faster-than-oceans/">oceans</a>, which is threatening the survival of corals. Heat stress disrupts the relationship between corals and the symbiotic algae that live within their tissues. Since these algae provide vital nutrients, heat exposure can result in bleaching and subsequent death.  

It is not only tiny algae that live inside corals and help them survive. Their microbiome includes viruses, fungi, archaea and bacteria, which are all considered to be beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMC). 

In a recent study by scientists from the <a href="https://www.kaust.edu.sa/">King Abdullah University of Science and Technology</a> (KAUST), researchers hypothesised that coral-associated bacterial communities may enhance the recovery of corals after heating events. 

To test this, the researchers identified six beneficial bacterial strains and extracted them from the coral Mussismilia hispida. This probiotic mixture was cultured and used to inoculate M. hispida grown under experimental conditions. 

The corals were then exposed to heat stress treatment by increasing the water temperature to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) over 10 days, whereafter the water temperature was returned to 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit).

The researchers recorded the health of the corals and measured the microbial diversity in their tissues. The results were compared with corals that had not been inoculated or exposed to heat stress. 

Initially, it appeared that inoculation with beneficial bacteria made no difference – specimens with and without probiotics reacted similarly at the peak temperature and both bleached. 

“At that point of the experiment, I thought, well, okay, we’re seeing similar responses between the treatments,” said study lead author Erika Santoro, who is now a postdoc at KAUST. “But then after we dropped the temperature, we observed a plot twist from the group that we treated with probiotic BMC. That was a really nice surprise.”

Corals that had been treated with probiotic bacteria had a 100 percent recovery and survival rate, whereas only 60 percent of untreated corals recovered. The researchers interpreted this as the beneficial bacteria helping to mitigate the effects of heat stress on the coral and its associated microorganisms.

The experts also found that, during the recovery period, BMC-treated corals expressed fewer genes related to cell death and more genes related to thermal stress protection. The probiotic treatment altered the coral-associated microorganism communities, specifically by incorporating some of the beneficial bacteria in the tissues of the corals.  

“Using a probiotic is an effective tool to help corals deal with the heat stress, but we also have to consider other interventions,” said Santoro, such as “protection and conservation, everyone being more aware and, most importantly, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and trying to change our resource use..”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bacteria help corals survive when they get into hot water

Global warming has increased temperatures in some of the world’s...

Scientists have discovered a new species of marmoset hidden away in the forests of the Brazilian Amazon, and the monkeys are already highly threatened by habitat loss, according to a study from the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a>. 

The small monkey, which is now known as Schneider’s marmoset, has been found in the "arc of deforestation." This is a region along the southern edge of the Amazon that is rapidly being deforested and converted for agriculture. The experts report that this particular area accounts for half of the global land use change in the past 30 years.

The discovery of Schneider’s marmoset was made by a team of researchers led by Rodrigo Costa Araújo, who is currently a researcher at Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. 

The marmoset has been named after Professor Horacio Schneider, a pioneer and major contributor to the research of diversity and evolution of monkeys.

The Amazon marmosets - which belong to the genus Mico - are among the more diverse groups of monkeys. This group is found only in the threatened forests of the arc of deforestation. 

There is currently no conservation response to address the habitat losses that threaten the future of Mico monkeys, mainly because they are poorly studied, and the total number of Amazon marmoset species remains unknown. 

According to the experts, further research is needed to assess the conservation status of M. schneideri and to investigate the southern portion of its geographical distribution. The first step toward protecting the endangered monkeys of the Amazon is a better understanding of exactly how many species exist. 

"There are 146 primate species and subspecies in Amazonia, representing 20 percent of the global primate diversity and comprising the most diverse primate fauna in the world," wrote the study authors.

"Nonetheless, primate diversity remains understudied in Amazonia, as manifested by regular discoveries of new species. This incomplete taxonomic knowledge and the scarcity of basic ecological and distributional data for even well-known species is a major impediment to the design and implementation of effective conservation actions."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</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

Highly threatened species of marmoset discovered in the Amazon

Scientists have discovered a new species of marmoset hidden away...

Climate change will alter the way that volcanic eruptions interact with the atmosphere, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>. These changes will compromise the cooling effects of most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-are-volcanoes-in-indonesia-so-dangerous/">volcanoes</a>.

“Due to more frequent and more intense wildfires, as well as other extreme events, the composition of the upper atmosphere is changing in front of our eyes, and so is our understanding of the consequences of these changes,” said study co-author Dr. Anja Schmidt.

“As we continue to emit greenhouse gases, the way that volcanic emissions interact with the atmosphere will continue to change and it is important to quantify these interactions in order to fully understand climate variability.”

The experts report that the cooling effects of large-magnitude eruptions will be enhanced by global warming. On the other hand, the cooling effects of small- and medium-sized eruptions will decrease by up to 75 percent. 

Considering that smaller eruptions are much more common, it is especially important to understand their overall influence on the climate. 

In a warming atmosphere, plumes of ash and gas ejected by large volcanic eruptions will rise increasingly higher. In addition, the transport of volcanic sulfate aerosols will be accelerated.

When it comes to large eruptions, these aerosols will block more sunlight from reaching Earth’s surface, which will ultimately amplify the temporary cooling effect.

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines, and the effects were felt worldwide. The plume from the eruption was ejected more than 30 kilometres into the sky. The resulting layer of haze moved across the planet, causing temperatures to drop by as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius in 1992.

Human activities have warmed global temperatures by over one degree Celsius since 1850. The major difference is that volcanic aerosols only persist for one or two years, but greenhouse gases influence the climate for centuries.

“Beyond the data we have from recent eruptions like Pinatubo, we can also see the cooling effect of volcanoes going back two thousand years from the information contained in tree rings,” said study first author Dr. Thomas Aubry.

“However, we wanted to look at the question from the opposite angle: how could a warming climate affect the cooling from volcanic eruptions?”

To investigate, the researchers looked at how high in the atmosphere volcanic plumes can rise and be transported under different warming scenarios.

The study showed that for large eruptions like Mount Pinatubo, climate change will cause the plumes to rise higher and the aerosols to spread faster across the globe, amplifying the overall cooling effects by 15 percent.

For moderate-sized eruptions, however, the cooling effect will be reduced by about 75 percent under a high warming scenario. This is because the height of the tropopause is predicted to increase, making it harder for volcanic plumes to reach the stratosphere. 

When aerosols are confined to the troposphere, they are washed out by precipitation in a matter of weeks. The subsequent climatic impacts are relatively minor and much more localized, according to the researchers.

“Climate change isn’t something that’s coming - it’s already here, as clearly demonstrated by this week’s IPCC report,” said Dr. Schmidt. 

“The effects of climate change and some of the feedback loops it can cause are becoming more obvious now. But the climate system is complex: getting a grasp of all these feedback loops is critical to understanding our planet and making accurate climate projections.”

“The new feedback loops between climate and volcanic eruptions that we highlight in this work are currently unaccounted for by IPCC,” said Dr. Aubry. “It could shed new light on the evolution of future volcanic influences on climate. Even if volcanoes have a limited influence on climate compared to human greenhouse gas emissions, they are an important part of the system.”

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

Volcanic eruptions will lose their cooling effects on a warmer planet

Climate change will alter the way that volcanic eruptions interact...

Politics has for years obfuscated the debate over climate change, with deniers claiming time and time again that any increase in carbon dioxide content or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-temperatures-alter-photosynthesis-and-plant-growth/">temperature</a> is due simple natural changes and variations. A new study from scientists at <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> can put that claim to rest. The experts report that there is a less than a one percent probability that Earth's energy imbalance has occurred naturally. 

Satellite data has consistently shown that the Earth is undergoing a warming trend. The authors state in the new paper that the satellite record provides clear evidence of a human-influenced climate system. 

"Knowing that human activity is responsible for the acceleration of planetary heat uptake implies the need for significant policy and societal action to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to curb further increases in Earth’s energy imbalance.”

The energy imbalance the authors are referring to essentially means we are retaining more of the sun’s radiation then we are putting out. While the normal greenhouse effect plays a significant role, the retention of more infrared heat from the sun is also influenced by other factors. 

“We always think, ‘Increasing greenhouse gases means trapping more infrared heat’ - the classic greenhouse effect becomes larger. This is correct, but the flip side is that the resulting warmer planet now also radiates more infrared heat away to space, so the greenhouse gas heating impact is canceled," explained study lead author Shiv Priyam Raghuraman.

"Instead, much of the imbalance increase comes from the fact that we are receiving the same amount of sunlight but reflecting back less, because increased greenhouse gases cause cloud cover changes, less aerosols in the air to reflect sunlight - that is, cleaner air over the U.S. and Europe - and sea-ice decreases.”

The only explanation is “anthropogenic forcing” - humans adding more energy into the Earth’s natural systems. “Our study shows that even with the given observational record, it is almost impossible to have such a large increase in the imbalance just by Earth doing its own oscillations and variations.” 

While science is an ever-ongoing process that operates on falsification, this is yet another nail in the denialists coffin. 

“It is exceptionally unlikely - less than 1% probability - that this trend can be explained by natural variations in the climate system,” said Raghuraman.

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://rugerpaleo@gmail.com">Alex Ruger</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Less than 1% chance that Earth's energy imbalance has occurred naturally

Politics has for years obfuscated the debate over climate change,...

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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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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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