Farming in ways that support nature can pay off - not just for the environment, but for crops too. That’s the takeaway from a new study that tested how different methods of agroecological farming perform on real working farms in England. 



The study showed that adding simple nature-friendly features like wildflower margins and organic matter improved biodiversity and led to stronger crop performance.



But there’s a catch: to make these methods financially viable on a large scale, many farmers may need more government support.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-real-farms-real-results">Real farms, real results</h2>



The research team, based at the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a> and Rothamsted Research, ran a four-year study across 17 commercial farms in southern England. This was the first time anyone tested both the ecological and financial impacts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sustainable-farming-is-good-for-farmers-well-being/">agroecological</a> practices at this scale in the UK.



The researchers didn’t just run lab trials. The researchers partnered directly with farmers to design and carry out real-world experiments, testing three types of farming systems side by side.



The first was a business-as-usual approach, using standard intensive methods without any nature-friendly additions. 



The second, called the enhanced ecological system, introduced wildflower field margins to support pollinators and other beneficial insects, along with overwinter cover crops to protect and enrich the soil. 



The third was the maximized ecological system, which built on the enhanced version by adding wildflower strips within the fields - essentially creating insect “runways” - and using farmyard <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beer-byproducts-and-manure-used-to-increase-crop-yields/">manure</a> to improve soil health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-bugs-better-soil-higher-yields">More bugs, better soil, higher yields</h2>



The results were clear. The farms that adopted enhanced or maximized ecological methods saw an increase in beneficial species. 



Earthworms, bees, hoverflies, ladybirds, spiders, and lacewings were all more abundant. These helped reduce crop pests like aphids and snails.



That’s not all. The flowering crops - like oilseed rape - produced more seeds thanks to better pollination. The soils held more carbon. And overall, the yields went up.



Even with a little land taken out of production to make room for habitats, the gains in crop health and pollination made a difference. The enhanced ecological system was just as profitable as conventional farming - but only because of current government subsidies.



The maximized system delivered even stronger environmental and yield benefits. But it was more expensive to implement. 



Without more support, most farms would not find it financially competitive. Some farms, especially mixed ones that already have manure on hand, might fare better. But others would struggle without extra help.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-profit-meets-sustainability">Profit meets sustainability</h2>



Dr. Ben Woodcock, one of the study’s lead scientists from the UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology, elaborated on the research.



“Without the introduction of new financial incentives, many farmers will be deterred from adopting agroecological farming practices and systems. This could leave them locked into high input, intensive farming systems and more exposed to the impacts of pesticide resistance, declining soil health and climate change."



According to Dr. Woodcock, while farmers run businesses that need to be profitable, there is an increasing awareness that more sustainable systems can help "future-proof" their farms in terms of soil health, less reliance on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pesticides-attack-bees-in-multiple-ways-throughout-the-body/">pesticides</a> and climate change.



“Agroecological methods are good for biodiversity, food security, and, in the long-term, provide more secure farm incomes but habitats can take several years to establish, so agri-environment subsidies are essential to helping farmers transition to these more sustainable systems.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-support-for-greener-farming">Support for greener farming</h2>



The researchers believe that showcasing these successful results could help convince more farmers to make the switch. It’s about breaking the cycle of intensive practices that keep farms dependent on chemical inputs and vulnerable to environmental changes.



Professor Jonathan Storkey, an ecologist at Rothamsted Research, said the study confirmed that managing land on farms for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farming-for-wildlife-how-traditional-practices-can-protect-nature/">wildlife</a> is not in direct conflict with food security but can support sustainable production by increasing yields and reducing pest pressure. 



"These ‘ecosystem services’ could potentially substitute for chemical fertilizers and pesticides which negatively impact the environment," said Professor Storkey. 



“However, our analysis has shown that realizing these benefits will require additional support for farm businesses that currently operate on very narrow profit margins. As input costs increase, however, these agroecological approaches may become more attractive.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-training-makes-a-difference">Training makes a difference</h2>



The quality of nature-friendly measures also depends on how well they’re implemented, and training helps.



Earlier research from the UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology showed that when farmers receive proper guidance on creating and managing wildlife habitats, those habitats do a much better job of supporting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-pollinators-boost-the-nutritional-value-of-crops/">pollinators</a> and pest-controlling insects.



Field margins and wildflower strips may seem like simple changes, but getting them right requires different thinking than managing crops. The better these habitats are planned and maintained, the more they deliver.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growing-green-nationwide">Growing green, nationwide</h2>



Nature-friendly farming isn’t just about doing good for the environment - it can also help farms thrive. But making the switch isn’t free, and for many farmers, the numbers have to work. 



That’s where targeted subsidies and support come in. The research shows what’s possible. Now, the question is how to make it doable for more farms across the country.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70079">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.



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Eco-friendly farms can succeed - but they need support

Farming in ways that support nature can pay off - not just for the environment, but for crops too. That’s the takeaway from a new study that tested how different methods of agroecological farming perform on real working farms in England. The study showed that adding simple nature-friendly features like wildflower margins and organic matter improved biodiversity and led to stronger crop performance. But there’s a catch: to make these methods financially viable on a large scale, many farmers may need more government support. Real farms, real...

Cleaner air contributed to about 20 percent of the increase in corn and soybean yield gains in the United States between 1999 and 2019, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford</a>. The experts report that the boost in yields associated with reductions in air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-million-premature-deaths-linked-to-air-pollution-in-2017/">pollution</a> was worth about $5 billion per year.

The researchers have identified four key air pollutants that are particularly damaging to crops. These pollutants accounted for an average loss of about five percent of corn and soybean production over the study period. 

"Air pollution impacts have been hard to measure in the past, because two farmers even just 10 miles apart can be facing very different air quality. By using satellites, we were able to measure very fine scale patterns and unpack the role of different pollutants," said study lead author David Lobell.

Scientists have been aware that high levels of air pollution are toxic to plants, but the overall impacts - as well as the main culprits- have remained unknown. 

The study was focused on nine states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. This region produces about two-thirds of the overall corn and soybean crops in the United States.

The researchers set out to measure the impact on crop yields of ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.

"This has been a tricky problem to untangle because historically our measurements of different types of air pollutants and our measurements of agricultural yields haven't really overlapped spatially at the necessary resolution," explained study co-author Professor Jennifer Burney.

"With the new high spatial resolution data, we could look at crop yields near both pollution monitors and known pollutant emissions sources. That revealed evidence of different magnitudes of negative impacts caused by different pollutants."

The study showed that total yield losses from the four pollutants averaged 5.8 percent for corn and 3.8 percent for soybean over the past two decades, and that these losses declined over time as the air grew cleaner. 

According to the researchers, the reduction in air pollution contributed to an estimated four percent growth in corn yields and three percent growth in soybean yields.

"We already know that the Clean Air Act resulted in trillions of dollars of benefits in terms of human health, so I think of these billions in agricultural benefits as icing on the cake," said Lobell. "But even if it's a small part of the benefits of clear air, it has been a pretty big part of our ability to continue pushing agricultural productivity higher."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326">Environmental Research Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cleaner air improves corn and soybean yields

Cleaner air contributed to about 20 percent of the increase...

There have been conflicting theories about what led to the extinction of mastodons and other elephants. One hypothesis is that prehistoric elephants and other mammalian megafauna were wiped out by the ravenous hunting of early humans as we spread across the globe. 

But now, a new study from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> supports an entirely different conclusion. In collaboration with paleontologists at the Universities of Alcalá and Helsinki, the team carried out the most complex analysis to date on the rise and decline of elephants. 

The research delved into the evolution of 185 species over 60 million years by studying museum collections all over the world. 

“Most proboscideans over this time were nondescript herbivores ranging from the size of a pug to that of a boar. A few species got as big as a hippo, yet these lineages were evolutionary dead-ends. They all bore little resemblance to elephants," explained study co-author Dr. Zhang Hanwen.

Roughly 20 million years ago, when the Asian and African continents collided, proboscidean (elephant) evolution took a turn, by allowing ancestral elephants new areas to explore in Eurasia. Once out of Africa, the elephants evolved 25 times faster than their slowly evolving African ancestors. This led to a boom in elephant and elephant-like species in Eurasia. 

However, this boom wasn’t to last. The rapidly changing climate demanded changes just as quick in the evolution of creatures that were to survive. 

By 2.4 million years ago, extinction of prehistoric elephants and their relatives had peaked in Africa. Eurasia and the Americas soon followed at 160,000 and 75,000 years ago, respectively. 

These extinction time periods might let our ancestors off the hook - they don’t correlate with human expansions. Instead, it looks like climate may be the culprit. This isn’t to say that humans played no role, they certainly still hunted mastodons and other prehistoric elephants, they just may not be the main cause of extinction.    

"We didn't foresee this result. It appears as if the broad global pattern of proboscidean extinctions in recent geological history could be reproduced without accounting for impacts of early human diasporas. Conservatively, our data refutes some recent claims regarding the role of archaic humans in wiping out prehistoric elephants, ever since big game hunting became a crucial part of our ancestors' subsistence strategy around 1.5 million years ago," said study co-author Dr. Zhang Hanwen.

"Although this isn't to say we conclusively disproved any human involvement. In our scenario, modern humans settled on each landmass after proboscidean extinction risk had already escalated. An ingenious, highly adaptable social predator like our species could be the perfect black swan occurrence to deliver the coup de grâce."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What killed off prehistoric elephants and their relatives?

There have been conflicting theories about what led to the...

The region north of Greenland and the islands of the Canadian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-nursery-discovered-in-the-arctic/">Arctic</a> archipelago has been termed the “Last Ice Area.” This region is potentially a last refuge for ice-dependent species in a world melting at an accelerated pace. 

A new study from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> shows that this area may also be vulnerable to the threat of climate change. The research was focused on an area north of Greenland known as the Wandel Sea during the month of August.

“Current thinking is that this area may be the last refuge for ice-dependent species. So if, as our study shows, it may be more vulnerable to climate change than people have been assuming, that's important," explained lead researcher Axel Schweiger of the UW Applied Physics Laboratory.

The ice and how much of it melts, is important for charismatic wildlife like polar bears, walruses and seals. Until recently, the Wandel Sea was covered with thick sea ice year-round, providing a summertime refuge. As nearly everywhere else, the ice in this area has been gradually melting away. 

In August of 2020, summer sea ice in the Wandel Sea reached a record level of thinness at 50% concentration. 

The researchers used a computer model and satellite images to look at the cause of this alarming level of sea ice loss. It was determined that it was partially caused by unusual winds but it was also part of an ongoing trend of multiple years of ice accumulation melting due to climate change. 

"During the winter and spring of 2020 you had patches of older, thicker ice that had drifted into there, but there was enough thinner, newer ice that melted to expose open ocean," said Schweiger. 

"That began a cycle of absorbing heat energy to melt more ice, in spite of the fact that there was some thick ice. So in years where you replenish the ice cover in this region with older and thicker ice, that doesn't seem to help as much as you might expect."

The study raises serious questions about the viability of the Last Ice Area but the scientists caution, the observations made here may not apply to the whole region. There are still a lot of questions left unanswered, possibly the most concerning is how melting in this area will impact the rare wildlife of the Arctic.     

"We know very little about marine mammals in the Last Ice Area," said co-author Kristin Laidre. "We have almost no historical or present-day data, and the reality is that there are a lot more questions than answers about the future of these populations."

The study is published in the July 1 issue of <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsenv/">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Last ice refuge of the Arctic may soon be gone

The region north of Greenland and the islands of the...

Researchers at the the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> set out to predict how reef fish diversity will respond to the increasing loss of corals. They found that future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oceans-are-already-too-warm-for-baby-sharks/">oceans</a> without corals would have only about half as many fish species.

It is critically important for experts to anticipate how marine communities will be impacted by coral loss, particularly considering that reef fishes provide protein to millions of people. The current study estimates that future coral loss could reduce fish diversity by more than 40 percent on a global scale. 

The research was conducted by an international team of marine biologists. The team started by mapping tropical fish and coral diversity across the world's oceans for every square degree latitude and longitude. 

After controlling for factors that drive diversity in general, the researchers found that areas with diverse corals still tended to have more types of fish. This suggests that coral diversity promotes reef fish diversity.

"This is not particularly surprising given that corals provide a unique food source for some species, as well as a three-dimensional habitat that many species use for shelter," said study lead author Giovanni Strona. "And the fish that depend on corals may be prey for fish that don't depend directly on corals."

The results of the study indicate that if all corals were to disappear, so would more than 40 percent of the world's tropical reef fish. This is a much greater loss than expected based on the species that are known to depend directly or even indirectly on coral, and suggests that large marine food webs will begin to unravel if corals go extinct. 

The impacts will be more severe in some regions than others. For example, the Central Pacific is projected to lose more than 60 percent of its reef fish, compared with only 10 percent in the Western Atlantic.

"For anyone who has enjoyed snorkeling on a coral reef, or for the millions of people that depend on reef fishes for food, this thought experiment should be concerning. But it also inspires greater efforts to conserve and restore coral reefs," explained study co-author Kevin Lafferty of the USGS. 

"The benefits of doing so would extend far beyond corals, to fish and other organisms that depend directly or indirectly on corals."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Oceans with no corals will have half as many types of fish

Researchers at the the University of Helsinki set out to...

In the first year of life, humans make a dramatic transition in their ability to communicate. Language development among <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-bonobos-adopt-infants-outside-of-their-social-group/">infants</a> shifts from preverbal cues, such as laughing or crying, to babbling phrases that become increasingly complex. 

A new study from the <a href="https://www.dpz.eu/en/home.html">German Primate Center</a> has revealed that monkeys learn to communicate much in the same way as humans. The research, which was focused on common marmosets, is providing new insights into the evolution of language.

The experts report that the infantile development of vocalizations in common marmosets also includes an extended flexible phase, without which language development in humans would not be possible. 

Several factors that are critical for language development in humans include maturation, learning, and early social interactions with parents. For decades, it has been assumed that in monkeys, language develops exclusively as a result of physical growth and maturation - independently of social interaction.

For example, previous studies demonstrated that deafness or social isolation due to the absence of parents had little or no effect on the vocal development of nonhuman primates, and that vocal development in most monkey species is completed within a few weeks after birth.

"One of the reasons for these findings is probably that previous work on voice development in non-human primates has mainly focused on the first weeks after birth and ignored possible changes associated with later growth in the following months until adulthood," said study first author Yasemin Gültekin.

The researchers studied the sound and language development of common marmosets from early infancy until sexual maturity at 15 months of age. During this period, nearly 150,000 vocalizations of six marmosets were recorded for analysis. 

"Our results show that, similar to the first months of human life, the vocalization behavior of marmosets changes through different developmental stages from the first weeks after birth to adulthood," said study co-author Kurt Hammerschmidt, who analyzed the data.

"While changes in acoustic structure could be explained mainly by physical growth or maturation, we found that the way these vocalizations are used flexibly during development points to experiential learning mechanisms, which are one of the key features in human language development," said study lead author Yasemin Gültekin.

"Our work provides an important building block to better understand the evolutionary foundations of early human language development. It sets the stage for future studies on how social interactions can influence speech development."

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

Monkeys depend on social interactions for language development

In the first year of life, humans make a dramatic...

A drastic rise in CO2 would reduce rainfall in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-drought-will-impact-large-parts-of-the-amazon/">Amazon</a> more than deforestation, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www5.usp.br/">University of Sao Paulo</a> and the National Space Research Institute.

The experts report that a 50-percent rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide could reduce rainfall in the Amazon as much as or even more than substitution of the entire forest by pasture. 

The research shows that a 50 percent increase in CO2 levels would lead to a 12 percent annual drop in the volume of Amazon rainfall by reducing the amount of water vapor emitted by the forest. By comparison, complete deforestation would reduce rainfall by nine percent.

Study co-author David Montenegro Lapola is a professor at UNICAMP’s Center for Meteorological and Climate Research Applied to Agriculture (CEPAGRI) and the principal investigator for a project funded via the FAPESP Research Program on Global Climate Change (RPGCC).

“CO2 is a basic input for photosynthesis, so when it increases in the atmosphere, plant physiology is affected and this can have a cascade effect on the transfer of moisture from trees to the atmosphere (transpiration), the formation of rain in the region, forest biomass, and several other processes,” said Lapola.

For the investigation, the researchers ran simulations on the supercomputer at INPE’s Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies (CPTEC) in Cachoeira Paulista, state of São Paulo. They used the projections to examine how each of the two scenarios would affect the physiology of the forest over a 100-year period.

“To our surprise, just the physiological effect on the leaves of the forest would generate an annual fall of 12 percent in the amount of rain, whereas total deforestation would lead to a fall of 9 percent. These numbers are far higher than the natural variation in precipitation between one year and the next, which is 5 percent,” said Lapola.

The decrease in Amazon rainfall projected by the computer simulations was caused by a reduction of about 20 percent in leaf transpiration. In each scenario, the reasons for the reduction in leaf transpiration are different.

With more CO2 in the air, the stomata in plant leaves would emit less water vapor, reducing cloud formation and rainfall. On the other hand, in the deforestation scenario, total leaf area would shrink by 66 percent.

“The forest canopy has a complex surface made up of the tops of tall trees, low trees, leaves and branches. This is called canopy surface roughness. The wind produces turbulence, with eddies and vortices that in turn produce the instability that gives rise to the convection responsible for heavy equatorial rainfall,” said Lapola. 

“Pasture has a smooth surface over which the wind always flows forward, and without forest doesn’t produce vortices. The wind intensifies as a result, bearing away most of the precipitation westward, while much of eastern and central Amazonia, the Brazilian part, has less rain.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.biogeosciences.net/">Biogeosciences</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rising CO2 could reduce Amazon rainfall more than deforestation

A drastic rise in CO2 would reduce rainfall in the...

We generally think that the extinction of the dinosaurs was sudden - a thriving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-hawaii-has-the-best-rainbows-on-the-planet/">planet</a> full of the archosaurs and a massive explosion caused by an asteroid quickly ending all of it. A new study from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> suggests that even before the final end, dinosaurs were already in a state of decline. 

The study was carried out by an international team of scientists, including paleontologists from Canada and France. The researchers looked at the six most abundant dinosaur families in the Cretaceous (the last geological period when dinosaurs were alive). 

Using 1,600 records of dinosaur occurrences, the scientists then analysed the data with computer modeling to account for any errors. The models were run millions of times each with different scenarios and it seems clear that dinosaur diversity was on the decline as far as ten million years before the dramatic close of the Cretaceous.

"We also looked at how these dinosaur ecosystems functioned, and it became clear that the plant-eating species tended to disappear first, and this made the latest dinosaur ecosystems unstable and liable to collapse if environmental conditions became damaging," said study co-author Guillaume Guinot.

The scientists point to a cooling climate as a major factor in the decline of dinosaurs. It seems that the change in climate had a larger initial impact on herbivores which showed greater decline but this in turn destabilized the entire ecosystem, meaning it also had a ripple effect on carnivorous dinosaurs. 

"I have been collecting dinosaurs in North America, Mongolia, China, and other areas for some time, and I have seen huge improvements in our knowledge of the ages of the dinosaur-bearing rock formations," said study co-author Phil Currie.

"This means that the data are getting better all the time. The decline in dinosaurs in their last ten million years makes sense, and indeed this is the best-sampled part of their fossil record as our study shows."

"In the analyses, we explored different kinds of possible causes of the dinosaur decline," said study co-author Professor Mike Benton.

"It became clear that there were two main factors, first that overall climates were becoming cooler, and this made life harder for the dinosaurs which likely relied on warm temperatures."

"Then, the loss of herbivores made the ecosystems unstable and prone to extinction cascade. We also found that the longer-lived dinosaur species were more liable to extinction, perhaps reflecting that they could not adapt to the new conditions on Earth."

In the end, the change in climate patterns was already favoring our furry mammalian forebears. The explosion just allowed a massive increase in our evolutionary success.  

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com/">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Dinosaurs were already in trouble before extinction

We generally think that the extinction of the dinosaurs was...

Set against the backdrop of record breaking <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/once-in-a-1000-year-heatwave-strikes-the-pacific-northwest/">heat</a> waves and an increase in wildfires, scientists from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> wanted to know how wildfire smoke impacts birds. 

Instead of directly observing what effect smoke has on birds, the researchers noticed that smoke makes some birds harder to observe. Interestingly enough, they also found that smoke makes some species easier to watch. 

The research team looked at the probability of observing 71 species of common birds during wildfire seasons as opposed to other times. 

The scientists found that larger amounts of wildfire smoke changed the probability of seeing 37 percent of the bird species, including 16 species that were harder to see when the air was smokey. Some of the birds that were harder to find were raptors, vultures, Canada geese and some gulls. 

There are several possible reasons birds may be harder, or easier, to observe because of smoke. It may be that wildfire smoke irritates or otherwise makes birds of prey relocate, which in turn allows other birds to be more active without the presence of predators. 

Another potential explanation is that smaller birds fly lower to avoid the smoke, making them more readily observable. Either way, the scientists hope that others follow up their research and look closer at how smoke affects wildlife, a topic lacking in research. 

The importance of this study is great for wildlife managers, who rely on observing animals to make decisions and carry out research. If smoke is changing how we observe animals, it may be important for wildlife managers and conservationists to take that into account.

"If we see or hear birds more or less frequently because of smoke, that also impacts bigger inferences we make in terms of how certain bird populations are doing," said study senior author Professor Beth Gardner. 

"We want to get that part right, so we first need to understand the effect of air pollution on how we're seeing birds in the wild."

The study is published in the June 19th issue of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/condor">Ornithological Applications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wildfire smoke makes it harder to observe birds

Set against the backdrop of record breaking heat waves and...

Human activities often have a detrimental impact on wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wasps-are-undervalued-as-predators-and-pollinators/">pollinators</a>, but a new study reveals that this is not always the case. The researchers have found that a native bee species in Fiji has been thriving since the very first land clearances by humans in the island nation. 

The experts report that the common bee, Homalictus fijiensis, has increased its spread on the main island Viti Levu alongside advancing land clearance and the introduction of new plants and weeds to the environment.

"Earlier research connected the relatively recent population expansion to warming climates, but our study reveals an interesting and positive response from an endemic species to human modifications to the landscape which commenced about 1000 BC," explained study lead James Dorey of <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a>.

"This species is a super-generalist pollinator (pollinates many plant species) and likes to nest in open, cleared ground, so one of the most important bee pollinators in Fiji actually appears to have benefited from human arrival and subsequent clearing of land in Fiji."

The researchers used phylogenetic analyses of DNA to examine changes in native bee populations in Fiji. They determined that bee populations have expanded enormously, beginning about 3,000 years ago. 

According to Dorey, there has been no corresponding change in bee population size on another major island, Kadavu, where human populations and agricultural activities have been historically very low.

"That is too recent to be explained by a warming climate since the last glacial maximum which ended about 18,000 thousand years ago," said study senior author Professor Michael Schwarz.

"Instead, we argue that the expansion of Fijian bee population better coincides with the early occupation of the Pacific islands by the somewhat-mysterious Lapita people, and this expansion accelerated with increasing presence of later Polynesians in Fiji who modified the landscape with their agricultural practices."

Professor Schwarz noted that high-resolution population genetic studies such as this are a good way to distinguish between older and "natural" events and those resulting from early human dispersal and colonization.

"A persistent question in studies of ecosystems over the last 60,000 years or so concerns the relative roles of climate change and human modifications of the environment. For example, there is a continuing debate about the extinction of megafauna in Australia - was it due to humans, climate change, or both?"

"Those kinds of questions can be addressed if there are very good fossil records, but what about ecosystems where fossil records are very poor."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1365294x">Molecular Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human modifications gave wild bees a boost in Fiji

Human activities often have a detrimental impact on wild pollinators,...

A mouse that was thought to have been extinct for 150 years in Australia has been found alive, thanks to a new genetic study. The experts report that Gould's mouse did, in fact, disappear from the mainland yet persists on islands in Western Australia.

In an effort to investigate the decline of native species since the arrival of Europeans in Australia, the researchers analyzed DNA samples from eight extinct Australian rodents and from more than 40 of their living relatives.

The study revealed that the Gould's mouse was indistinguishable from the Shark Bay mouse, which is still found on several small islands off the coast of Western Australia.

Study lead author Dr. Emily Roycroft is a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Science at <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/">Australian National University</a> (ANU). She described the discovery as both exciting and sobering.

"The resurrection of this species brings good news in the face of the disproportionally high rate of native rodent extinction, making up 41 percent of Australian mammal extinction since European colonization in 1788," said Dr. Roycroft.

"It is exciting that Gould's mouse is still around, but its disappearance from the mainland highlights how quickly this species went from being distributed across most of Australia, to only surviving on offshore islands in Western Australia.It's a huge population collapse."

The seven other extinct native species that were sampled were found to have all had high genetic diversity immediately before they were wiped out. These levels of genetic diversity indicate that the rodents had large, widespread populations prior to the arrival of Europeans, said the researchers.

"This shows genetic diversity does not provide guaranteed insurance against extinction," said Dr.Roycroft. "The extinction of these species happened very quickly."

"They were likely common, with large populations prior to the arrival of Europeans. But the introduction of feral cats, foxes, and other invasive species, agricultural land clearing and new diseases have absolutely decimated native species."

"We still have a lot of biodiversity to lose here in Australia and we're not doing enough to protect it."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Extinct mouse found alive and well in Western Australia

A mouse that was thought to have been extinct for...

Plant growth has been stunted by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-arabian-camels-survive-for-weeks-without-water/">water</a> constraints in a warming climate, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.iu.edu/index.html">Indiana University</a>. The researchers analyzed vegetation growth in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 30 years, and identified a troubling link between rising temperatures and plants becoming increasingly water-limited.

"Without water, living things struggle to survive, including plants," said study senior author Professor Lixin Wang. "Changes in vegetation response to water availability can result in significant shifts of climate-carbon interaction."

In collaboration with a multidisciplinary research team, experts in the School of Science at IUPUI set out to examine vegetation constraints on a global scale. Despite a growing need to predict plant growth trends in response to climate change, vegetation constraints have been largely unknown.

"Global temperature and the concentration of atmospheric CO2, or carbon dioxide, have been increasing," said Professor Wang. These changes will cause increased atmospheric water demand, more extreme hot days, and more frequent drought events, explained the researchers. 

While these factors suggest that vegetation growth suffers an increasing amount of water stress in a warming climate, Professor Wang noted that quantifying these changes at large spatial and temporal scales is challenging.

To overcome this challenge, the researchers used satellite remote sensing data and data from 1982 to 2015.

"We developed our own metrics to indicate water constraints and then examined the changes in the metrics," study first author Wenzhe Jiao. 

"The study is quite computationally extensive since we examined the relationship between vegetation growth and water deficit at each grid cell over the whole extratropical Northern Hemisphere - 604,800 data points each year - over more than 30 years."

The study produced strong evidence of a widespread, significant increase in water vegetation constraint in the Northern Hemisphere. Some regions, including the Great Plains in the United States, were comparatively worse than others.

"Increasing water constraints on vegetation productivity may drive a shift from a period of increasing land carbon sink strength to a period in which climate change is reducing land carbon sink strength," said Professor Wang.

"Our research shows that increasing water constraints will likely limit continuous vegetation growth, thus slowing down the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by plants," said Jiao.

"The results emphasize the need for actions that could slow down CO2 emissions," said Professor Wang. "Without that, water constraints impacting plant growth - and the weakening of vegetation's ability to removal of CO2 from the atmosphere -- are unlikely to slow."

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

Water constraints are stunting vegetation growth in the Northern Hemisphere

Plant growth has been stunted by water constraints in a...

Human activities have an influence on the timing of Earth's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-has-darkened-coastal-waters-off-belize/">water</a> cycle, delaying rainfall by four days, according to a new study led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.pnnl.gov/">Pacific Northwest National Laboratory</a>.

The experts have uncovered a trend from 1979 to 2019. During this time, increases in greenhouse gases and reductions in aerosols triggered a delay in the rainy season over tropical land and the Sahel. 

The postponement in rainfall could lead to many dire consequences, including delayed crop production, more intense heat waves, and more severe wildfires.

"The global warming we've seen has already been attributed to human activities with high confidence," said study co-author Ruby Leung. "But, historically, we have not been very successful in pinpointing the footprint of human activity in the hydrological cycle." 

"This study shows that, yes, the later onset of monsoon rainfall, paired with future warming projected by climate models, has already emerged."

The researchers explained that ironically, the rain delay is caused by an increasingly moist atmosphere. When heat-trapping greenhouse gases warm the surface of the Earth, more water vapor enters the atmosphere. 

"When there is more water vapor in the atmosphere, it becomes more ocean-like," said study first author Fengfei Song. "And we know the ocean takes longer to warm up than the atmosphere. More moisture means it will take longer for the atmosphere to absorb energy and produce rainfall."

Leung noted that if aerosol concentrations continue to decline and greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise, the delay will extend in the future. 

The researchers project that by the end of the century, the rainy season could be further delayed by more than five days over northern tropical land and more than eight days over the Sahel.

"For monsoon regions, like India, with an agrarian economy, a delayed onset of summer rainfall could devastate crop production and jeopardize the livelihood of large populations, unless farmers recognize and adapt to the long-term changes amidst the highly variable monsoon onset date," said Leung.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</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

Greenhouse gas emissions cause a major delay in rainfall

Human activities have an influence on the timing of Earth's...

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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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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