Plastic,Garbage,On,The,Mountain,River,Bank

The sight of plastic pollution in rivers is unfortunately all too familiar. Images of bottles bobbing along the surface or plastic bags snagged on branches are emblematic of a growing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-interlinked-crisis-of-plastic-pollution-and-global-warming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental crisis</a>. However, the problem runs much deeper -- literally. 



A significant portion of plastic pollution in our rivers is invisible to the naked eye, consisting of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-plastic-pollution-has-become-a-global-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microplastics and fragments</a> that sink beneath the surface. 



This hidden reality has significant implications for our understanding of the problem and our ability to address it effectively.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microplastics-and-nanoplastics-lurking-below">Microplastics and nanoplastics lurking below</h2>



While larger plastic items like bottles and bags are easily visible and recognizable as pollutants, the majority of plastic pollution consists of less conspicuous forms. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-discovered-in-every-human-placenta-tested-after-birth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microplastics</a>, tiny particles less than 5 millimeters in size, are a major contributor to this problem. 



These particles originate from various sources, including the degradation of larger plastic debris over time, microbeads intentionally added to personal care products, and fibers shed from synthetic clothing during laundry. 



Due to their small size, microplastics often evade detection and can be easily ingested by aquatic organisms, accumulating within the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/contamination-crisis-microplastics-found-in-88-of-protein-sources/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">food chain</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-larger-plastic-debris-sinks-to-river-bottoms">Larger plastic debris sinks to river bottoms</h2>



Larger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-production-increases-create-identical-plastic-pollution-increase/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plastic items</a> can also become submerged, posing a hidden threat to aquatic ecosystems. This occurs due to several factors. 



The density of the plastic material itself plays a role, with denser plastics sinking more readily. The shape of the object also influences its buoyancy, as irregular shapes can trap air and temporarily prevent sinking. 



Additionally, the presence of biofilms can significantly alter the fate of plastic debris. Biofilms are complex communities of microorganisms that can colonize plastic surfaces, increasing their weight and causing them to sink. 



Once submerged, these plastics can interact with the benthic environment, potentially impacting sediment composition, oxygen levels, and the organisms inhabiting the riverbed. 



Furthermore, submerged plastics can leach harmful chemicals into the water, further compromising water quality and ecological balance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-pollution-in-rivers">Plastic pollution in rivers</h2>



A study led by James Lofty, a Ph.D. researcher at Cardiff University's <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/engineering" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Engineering</a>, has shed new light on the behavior of sinking plastics in rivers. 



Lofty and his team conducted a series of experiments in which they released over 3,000 plastic items into large water channels designed to simulate real-world river conditions.



Using high-resolution cameras, they tracked the movement of these plastics, uncovering surprising findings. Contrary to previous assumptions, plastic fragments don't always sink in a uniform manner. 



Their orientation can change as they descend, significantly impacting their sinking speed and ultimately their distribution within the river.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
"In our study, we demonstrate how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-kills-ocean-embryos-during-development/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plastics</a> sink in different orientations. This significantly changes how fast a particle sinks. Previously it was thought that plastics always find a stable sinking orientation and therefore sink at a constant speed," explained Mr. Lofty.



"However, we've shown this is not the case for plastics which are fragmented and fractured. This is important, as the sinking rate of a plastic particle is essential for understanding its transport. This finding significantly changes our understanding of how plastics move in rivers," Lofty continued.
</blockquote>



This new understanding has far-reaching implications for how we quantify and manage plastic pollution in our waterways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-rivers-invisible-plastic-pollution">Tracking rivers invisible plastic pollution</h2>



The research team leveraged their experimental findings to advance their understanding of plastic pollution dynamics in rivers. 



They integrated their newly acquired knowledge about the varying sinking behaviors of different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-plastic-river-sources/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plastic types</a> into established physics-based equations that were initially designed for sediment transport prediction. 



This integration involved adapting the equations to account for the unique characteristics of plastic debris, such as its density, shape, and size distribution. 



By incorporating these plastic-specific parameters, the researchers developed a refined model that can quantify the transport and distribution of submerged plastic pollution in rivers with a high degree of accuracy. 



This model offers a valuable tool for assessing the extent of plastic pollution in aquatic environments and informing targeted mitigation strategies. "Our method can be used in any river on account of it using this very well-known equation also used for sediments," noted Mr. Lofty.



This innovative approach overcomes the limitations of previous methods, such as underwater cameras and sonar, which are impractical for widespread use in rivers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



The study's findings underscore the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to tackling plastic pollution. We can no longer focus solely on the visible debris floating on the surface. The invisible plastics lurking beneath demand our attention as well.



By understanding the full scope of the problem, we can develop more targeted and effective solutions. This includes not only cleaning up existing pollution but also preventing more plastic from entering our rivers in the first place. 



This will require a multi-pronged approach, encompassing everything from improved waste management practices to innovative materials and technologies that reduce our reliance on single-use plastics.



The research by Lofty and his team is a crucial step in this ongoing battle. By unveiling the hidden world of sinking plastics, they have empowered us with the knowledge and tools we need to protect our rivers and the delicate ecosystems they support.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135424002082?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Water Research</a>.



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Major plastic pollution lurks beneath the surface of rivers

The sight of plastic pollution in rivers is unfortunately all too familiar. Images of bottles bobbing along the surface or plastic bags snagged on branches are emblematic of a growing environmental crisis. However, the problem runs much deeper -- literally. A significant portion of plastic pollution in our rivers is invisible to the naked eye, consisting of microplastics and fragments that sink beneath the surface. This hidden reality has significant implications for our understanding of the problem and our ability to address it effectively. Microplastics and nanoplastics...

Ice core extraction near Concordia station

An international team of researchers is working to obtain Antarctic ice cores that hold a historical record of the climate over the past 1.5 million years. After searching for three years to find the ideal site, the scientists have selected “Little Dome C,” one of the coldest and most lifeless places on Earth.

The project, known as <a href="https://www.beyondepica.eu/">Beyond EPICA - Oldest Ice (BE-OI)</a>, is being led by Olaf Eisen from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.

Little Dome C is a three hour drive by snowmobile from the Concordia Antarctic station, which is a site where researchers previously drilled more than 3,000 meters deep. The analysis of the resulting ice cores produced a climate record that dates back  800,000 years. 

“During that time, there were alternating periods: long glacials and shorter interglacials, at an interval of roughly every hundred thousand years,” explained Eisen. 

Tiny bubbles trapped in the prehistoric ice contain air from the time when the ice formed, which means they can be used to measure concentrations of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/carbon-dioxide-levels-spike/">carbon dioxide</a> and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/global-atmospheric-methane-ozone/">methane</a>. The researchers found that when the Earth's climate was cold, there was considerably less carbon dioxide and methane in the air compared to warmer time periods.

The experts do not yet have any ice cores from the time period when the alternating  rhythm between cold and warmer intervals changed significantly. 

“More than 1.2 million years ago, the cycles were only roughly 40,000 years long, and were set off by regular changes in the angle of the Earth's axis,” explained Eisen. “This was followed by a transitional period of roughly 300,000 years, before the hundred-thousand-year rhythm began, roughly 900,000 years ago.”

Testing the air bubbles trapped in the ice is the only way for scientists to gather data on carbon dioxide and methane, as well as their impact on the climate. “Accordingly, after having gathered the 800,000-year-old EPICA samples, there are very good reasons for drilling into ice that's at least 1.5 million years old,” explained Eisen. 

This would give the scientists a better understanding of the environmental  conditions during the “mid-Pleistocene transition” and the 40,000-year rhythm that preceded it.

If the European Union approves the second phase of BE-OI, the drilling at Little Dome C will begin in November of 2021. The drilling will continue over three Antarctic summers until a depth of 2,730 meters is reached, where the ice should be at least 1.5 million years old.


The <a href="https://www.beyondepica.eu/">BE-OI</a> presented its findings at the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna.

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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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image © Thibaut Vergoz

The oldest ice on Earth could reveal key insight into climate change

An international team of researchers is working to obtain Antarctic...

Melting polar ice is one of the many significant consequences of climate change and our warming world – and it’s one that carries many of its own consequences as well. But while the melting of the polar ice caps is significant, ice loss isn’t only happening in the polar regions. A new study has found that glaciers around the world have lost over 9,000 gigatons (also known as nine trillion tons) of ice since 1961. This has resulted in a sea level rise of 27 mm. 

Led by the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> in Switzerland, an international team used classical geological field observations in tandem with satellite data to calculate how much ice has been gained or lost in 19 difference glacierized regions across the planet. Their study was published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, and states that glaciers lost 9625 gigatons of ice between 1961 and 2016. These losses occurred most heavily in Alaska, as well as glaciers on the edge of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/greenland-ice-sheet-melting/">Greenland ice sheet</a> and glaciers in the southern Andes. 

One of the interesting finds was that glaciers in southwest Asia actually gained 119 gigatons of ice, but southeast Asia lost 112 gigatons, effectively canceling out its neighbor’s gain. 

“Glacier outlines are needed to make precise calculations for the areas in question,” explains co-author Frank Paul. “To date, this information came largely from the US Landsat satellites, the data from which are delivered to European users under <a href="http://www.esa.int/ESA">ESA</a>’s [European Space Agency] Third Party mission agreement. In the future, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, in particular, will increasingly contribute to the precise monitoring of glacier change.”

The glaciological measurements the researchers made in the field allowed them to determine annual fluctuations in ice loss, while their satellite data provided the ability to determine ice loss over several years or decades. 

“While we can now offer clear information about how much ice each region with glaciers has lost, it is also important to note that the rate of loss has increased significantly over the last 30 years,” says research leader Michael Zemp. “We are currently losing a total of 335 billion tonnes of ice a year, corresponding to a rise in sea levels of almost 1 mm per year.”

Although warming ocean water is still the main contributor to sea-level rise, melting glacier ice is the second biggest driver behind our rising seas. “In other words, every single year we are losing about three times the volume of all ice stored in the European Alps, and this accounts for around 30% of the current rate of sea-level rise,” explains Zemp.

Along with sea level rise, melting glaciers also result in less water for the Earth’s population, less hydroelectric power and less water for crops. Glacial melt can also increase the risk of natural hazards such as glacier-lake outburst floods and related debris flows. 

“Bearing in mind the socio-economic consequences, the fate of glaciers in a future climate is something ESA views seriously,” says Mark Drinkwater, Senior Advisor on cryosphere and climate at ESA. “It is fundamental that we build upon existing monitoring capabilities using observations from the EC’s Copernicus Sentinel missions, and other ESA and Third Party Mission missions. Their data crucially allow us to build a robust climate perspective to reveal regional and year-to-year fluctuations of glaciers and other parts of the cryosphere such as snow cover, sea ice and ice sheets.”

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: NASA/USGS/University of Edinburgh/ETH Zurich/contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018)

9 trillion tons: The cost of glacial melt over the last 50 years

Melting polar ice is one of the many significant consequences...

Air pollution may shorten life expectancy of children by 20 months. A new global air pollution report emphasizes the negative health impacts of dangerous pollutants and the disproportionate burden of poor air quality in Asia and Africa. 

The <a href="http://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/soga_2019_report.pdf">2019 State of Global Air (SOGA) report</a> is a collaboration between the <a href="https://www.healtheffects.org/">Health Effects Institute</a> and the <a href="http://www.healthdata.org/gbd">Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's Global Burden of Disease</a>. 

The yearly report is meant to provide the public with a comprehensive overview of the most up to date information on air quality and health for the world’s nations.  2019’s report marks the first time that air pollution’s impact on life expectancy was factored into the findings. 

Understanding how air pollution impacts human health and wellbeing is vital especially as the <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a> recently found that 90 percent of the world’s population breathes highly polluted air. 

“The growing burden of disease from air pollution is among the major challenges facing national governments and public health officials, with far-reaching implications for national economies and human well-being,” the report said.

Research has shown that air pollution shortens <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-shortens-life-spans/">life expectancy</a> and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.Air pollution may shorten life expectancy of children by 20 months 

Children are the most susceptible to the life-threatening impacts of air pollution, and the report found that poor air quality can shorten their lifespan by 20 months. In South Asia, air pollution is shortening lifespans by 30 months. 

One of the most significant problems with air pollution is the high levels of PM 2.5 or particulate matter that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. 

“Major PM 2.5 sources in India include household burning of solid fuels; dust from construction, roads, and other activities; industrial and power plant burning of coal; brick production; transportation; and diesel-powered equipment,” the report said. 

In African countries, air pollution shortens average life expectancy by two years. 

Air pollution in some countries is such a widespread and toxic problem that governments are turning to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asian-countries-persistent-air-pollution/">extreme measures like cloud seeding</a> to make it rain or installing outdoor air purifiers. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Air pollution may shorten life expectancy of children by 20 months

Air pollution may shorten life expectancy of children by 20...

The world’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-health-threats/">ocean plastic pollution crisis</a> is only expected to get worse in the coming decades as more and more microplastics and non-degradable plastics enter the oceans. 

Tracking the sources of these plastics is challenging, and researchers are working to understand how plastics travel through watersheds worldwide and filter out into the ocean. 

Now, a new global initiative called the 100 Plastic Rivers Project led by the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a> aims to shed more light on how some plastic pollution enters the ocean from rivers and streams. 

Researchers from over 60 locations worldwide are part of the of the project and working to collect sediment and water samples from rivers and river mouths. If scientists can gain a better understanding of how microplastics and other plastic pollution is filtered through watersheds and accumulate in river sediments, it will be easier to tackle these problems at the source and reduce ocean plastic pollution. 

“Even if we all stopped using plastic right now, there would still be decades, if not centuries-worth of plastics being washed down rivers and into our seas,” said Stefan Krause, a professor at the University of Birmingham.

As sediment and water samples are collected, the researchers will analyze the primary microplastics like microbeads and secondary microplastics like fibers from clothing that have broken down over time in the samples. 

One crucial aspect of the project is to create a standard framework for sampling river sediments. A team from the University of Birmingham provided members of the 100 Plastic Rivers Project with a toolkit and detailed instructions to ensure that all samples are collected and analyzed with the same methodology.

In a pilot study conducted by the University of Birmingham that focused on rivers in the UK and France Channel Coast, researchers found that there was a larger variety of plastics than anticipated. 

The results of that initial study only further emphasize the extensive global problems with pollution and its sources. 

 “We're getting more and more aware of the problems this is causing in our oceans, but we are now only starting to look at where these plastics are coming from, and how they're accumulating in our river systems,” said Krause. “We need to understand this before we can really begin to understand the scale of the risk that we're facing.” 

The first results of the 100 Plastic Rivers Project will be presented later this month at the General Assembly of the <a href="https://www.egu.eu/">European Geosciences Union</a>. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Benedek Alpar/Shutterstock

Tracking ocean plastic to river sources can aid management efforts

The world’s ocean plastic pollution crisis is only expected to...

Earth has gone through five major mass extinction events, ranging from the “Great Dying” where nearly all marine life on Earth was wiped out 252 years ago, to the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary where all non-avian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-extinction-event-darkness/">dinosaurs went extinct</a>. 

But despite these past mass extinctions, life on Earth recovered and diversified, and now researchers have a better idea of the role evolution plays in this recovery. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> conducted a study examining the 10 million year lag in recovery after an extinction event. 

This speed limit for recovery has been identified by past studies and is a well-known factor in life recovery, but this recent research is the first to link evolution the long recovery time. 

The study was published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. 

The results are important because having a better understanding of how life recovered in the past will help future research on how climate change and human activities impact biodiversity, biomass, and species abundance. 

It was previously thought that environmental factors influenced recovery times. For this study, the researchers focused on Earth’s most recent mass extinction, the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs.

[caption id="attachment_1871011" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Why-full-recovery-from-a-mass-extinction-can-take-10-million-years.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1871011" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Why-full-recovery-from-a-mass-extinction-can-take-10-million-years.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="514" /></a> Artist's interpretation of the sea floor after the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. Image Credit: University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences/John Maisano[/caption]

The team analyzed foraminifera fossils, which are a type of plankton with calcified shells and that are abundantly found in the fossil record and ocean sediments. 

After comparing foraminifera species diversity to the physical complexity of the species, the researchers found that complexity recovered first before the species diversified. This means that the foraminifera had to recover lost evolutionary traits before the species could diversify and branch out. 

Ten million years after the extinction event, the fossil record revealed foraminifera diversity levels were back to pre-mass extinction event levels. 

Even though the Earth was able to support life and species diversification soon after the extinction event, the foraminifera still took much longer to recover. 

The results indicated that evolution, not environmental factors, are the biggest driver in species’ recovery periods.

“We see this in our study, but the implication should be that these same processes would be active in all other extinctions,” said Christopher Lowery. “I think this is the likely explanation for the speed limit of recovery for everything.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences/John Maisano

Why full recovery from a mass extinction can take 10 million years

Earth has gone through five major mass extinction events, ranging...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.uaf.edu/">University of Alaska Fairbanks</a> (UAF) International Arctic Research Center has revealed air temperature changes in the Arctic to be the “smoking gun” behind the rapidly changing climate conditions and severe weather across the globe.

After investigating all of the potential triggers for extreme climate change across the region, the study authors found that “increasing air temperatures and precipitation are drivers of major changes in various components of the Arctic system.”

According to John Walsh, who is the chief scientist for the UAF, climate indicators are key pieces of information that capture the essence of a system. For example, the extent of sea ice in September represents the effects of variables such as wind, ocean heat, and air temperature. 

This study is the first of its kind to combine observations of physical climate indicators, such as snow cover, with biological impacts.

“I didn't expect the tie-in with temperature to be as strong as it was,” said Walsh. “All the variables are connected with temperature. All components of the Arctic system are involved in this change. Never have so many Arctic indicators been brought together in a single paper.”

The investigation was based on historical observations from 1971 to 2017 of nine key indicators including air temperature, permafrost, hydroclimatology, snow cover, sea ice, land ice, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-burning-two-million-acres/">wildfires</a>, terrestrial ecosystems, and carbon cycling.

“The Arctic system is trending away from its 20th century state and into an unprecedented state, with implications not only within but beyond the Arctic,” said study lead author Jason Box of the <a href="https://eng.geus.dk/">Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland</a>.

“Because the Arctic atmosphere is warming faster than the rest of the world, weather patterns across Europe, North America and Asia are becoming more persistent, leading to extreme weather conditions. Another example is the disruption of the ocean circulation that can further destabilize climate: for example, cooling across northwestern Europe and strengthening of storms.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/erl">Environmental Research Letters</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Rising temps in the Arctic are driving extreme weather across the globe

A new study from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)...

As is often the case with major cultural movements, it’s clear in the environmental movement that the status quo cannot be maintained while the goals of the movement are met.  A new major goal of the environmental movement as a means to an end is the reshaping of global economies. 

Economics have to date fueled much environmental destruction and injustice.  In many ways, economics as they are now are merely a conduit of changing nature (and human labor) into money that is collected mainly by the already powerful.  

There isn’t a solid consensus on how economics fit in with the environment.  One side of the environmental movement sees economics as a solution to the environmental crisis while the other side feels that the economic apparatus must be completely destroyed.  Mainstream environmentalism primarily seems to have embraced ideas of economic reform on massive scales as we’ve seen in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-new-deal/">Green New Deal</a> which has been called socialist by its critics.  The criticism of environmentalism as being anti-capitalist or anti-economics is nothing new.  <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/reckoning-with-history-critics-of-the-green-new-deal-rail-against-socialism-weve-seen-this-before">High Country News</a> reports that The New Deal and National Forests were once dismissed by critics as socialism.  

The <a href="https://www.nlg.org/the-attack-on-climate-justice-movements/">National Lawyers Guild</a> points out that with the formation of the EPA and other environmental regulations, environmentalism has often squared off against corporate profit.  The point isn’t whether these programs are or are not socialist. The point is that on some level, capitalism is about selfishly consuming ‘resources’ including trees, animals, land.  The environmental movement is opposed to this selfish destruction and consumption and so is opposed to current capitalist economics.

Unfortunately, the government is very invested in economics, even within the realm of conservation.  National Forests, parks, and wildlife are all defined economically. This reductionism is a large part of what has lead to the confrontation between environmentalists, the government and other champions of the status quo.  Jack Turner describes the problem well in his book The Abstract Wild:

“Economists and scientists have conned us into speaking of trees as “resources,” wilderness as a “management unit,” and picas gathering grass for winter because of “incentives.” In accepting these descriptions, we allow a set of experts to define our concerns in economic terms and predetermine the range of possible responses.  Often we cannot even raise the issues important to us because the economic language of others excludes our issues from the discussion.” 

It’s easy to see why economics have come to define so much in our daily discussion.  Talks of the economy overshadow basic moral principles. Time and again, the discussion of allowing immigrants into the United States turns on economic cost versus benefit instead of the moral validity of seeking asylum from violence.  The same is true of much criticism of the environmental movement and even some ideas within the movement itself. Because of the opposing goals of environmentalists and the United States government, a conflict is inevitable.

Protests are on the rise.  According to <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/7/17209710/trump-protest-poll">Vox</a>, more people than ever have protested the current presidential administration on a number of issues.  The feeling is that many people are getting frustrated by only voting and letting elected officials decide what to do and are demanding action now.  The environmental movement is included in the frustration. In the face of little government action to really confront climate change, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/students-protest-climate-change-inaction/">students across the world</a> have joined in protesting.  As protests begin to ramp up, the government has started to respond.  

The <a href="https://www.nlg.org/the-attack-on-climate-justice-movements/">National Lawyers Guild</a> reported last month of a rise in laws aimed at attacking environmental activism.  Protests against fossil fuel interests are often attacked under the guise of protecting critical infrastructure.  The National Lawyers Guild reports that since 2017, bills to designate fossil fuels as critical infrastructure and allow greater latitude in prosecuting those who protest them have been introduced 18 times in 12 states.  There are currently 8 states considering such bills now. Lawsuits are also routinely brought against protestors by private companies with the goal of merely tying protestors up in long and expensive lawsuits. 

Meanwhile, law enforcement regularly labels activists as ecoterrorists or extremists.  These labels are used to justify militarized responses from law enforcement and private security firms as seen in the protests at Standing Rock.  This goes beyond the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-protesting/">crack down</a> I reported on recently on those groups protesting pipelines in the US.  It extends beyond one group and also applies to other countries as well. 

<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/01/polish-crackdown-ahead-climate-talks">Human Rights Watch</a> reported that Poland moved to limit the rights of environmental protestors before the climate talks there.  This essentially allowed the talks to proceed without any private citizens or environmental groups having a voice on issues that affect us all.  The Polish law forbid spontaneous protests in Katowice during the 2018 climate talks there. Laws like this one and others throughout the world show that although governments and corporations may talk about the threat of climate change and environmental responsibility, they aren’t willing to be held accountable.  Similar actions have been taken at other climate talks. 

During the climate talks in Paris, protestors were placed under house arrest where they reported to police three times a day, according to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-29/climate-protesters-banned-in-paris-security-crackdown/6983870">Australian Broadcasting Corporation</a>.  <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34401931/ns/us_news-environment/t/denmark-frees-nearly-climate-protesters/#.XKoslhplChA">NBC</a> reported that during climate talks in Copenhagen, 968 protestors were detained.        

Those with wealth and those already benefiting from global capitalism are doing their best to either keep the system as it is or rebuild it in a way that continues to disproportionately benefit them.  There is nothing new in those with power trying to maintain that power through actions of military and government. What is new is how much is at stake at this moment. We’re going through a period of unprecedented environmental destruction, not just from climate change but from habitat destruction and development.  Protests are acts of desperation from those who have no other recourse to be heard. Attacking protestors is an act of desperation from those at the top, afraid that change will mean nothing but loss for them. 

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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

As calls get louder, governments crack down on environmental protests

As is often the case with major cultural movements, it’s...

Heat waves, drought, and hotter summers are all becoming more frequent due to climate change, and sweltering summer heat waves are often exacerbated by the “<a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/urban-heat-island/">urban heat island</a>” effect in cities worldwide. 

The lack of vegetation and moisture in cities, coupled with heat-storing blacktop, concrete, and asphalt roof shingles increases city temperatures compared to surrounding rural areas. 

Dangerous heat waves can increase the risk of heat stroke and heat-related mortality, but the urban heat island effect makes cities even more hazardous during heat spikes. 

But there may be a surprisingly simple solution, according to a new modeling study conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford. </a>

Painting roofs so that the materials reflect rather than absorb heat could go a long way in mitigating the urban heat island effect and help keep cities cooler during heat waves. 

The results, published in the study Environment International, show that cool roofs in cities could reduce peak daytime temperatures by three degrees Celsius during a heat wave. 

For the study, the researchers used a regional weather model and assessed temperature changes across Birmingham and the West Midlands in the UK to investigate how the installation of cool-roofs influenced regional temperatures. 

During 2003 and 2006, when Birmingham experienced particularly hot summers, the model revealed that the urban heat island effect increased temperatures by nine degrees Celsius compared to surrounding rural areas. 

The researchers found that cool roofs could reduce peak daytime temperatures and that the cool roofs had the biggest impact during the hottest part of the day. 

If just half of all industrial and commercial buildings in the area switched to a cool roof, the model projected that temperatures would decrease as much as if all the high-intensity residential buildings in the region had cool roofs. 

Cool roofs could also reduce the risk of heat-related mortality during a heat wave by 25 percent. 

“Climate change and increasing urbanisation mean that future populations are likely to be at increased risk of overheating in cities, although building and city scale interventions have the potential to reduce this risk,” the researchers write in their abstract. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cool roofs can reduce overheating in cities and save lives

Heat waves, drought, and hotter summers are all becoming more...

A global study conducted by researchers at <a href="https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en">King Abdullah University of Science and Technology</a> (KAUST) shows that when foreign marine species are introduced to a new habitat, they can pose a threat to their new environment. 

The team set out to show just how complex the ecological impact of new species on an existing environment can be in an effort to quell the debate about whether or not exotic species even have an impact at all.

Lead author Andrea Anton and her colleagues at the KAUST <a href="https://rsrc.kaust.edu.sa/Pages/Home.aspx">Red Sea Research Center</a> extracted data from over 150 studies that covered 76 exotic species. Rather than categorizing the change in environment as “positive” or “negative,” the team used a metric that measured an increase or decrease in specific ecological variables.

[caption id="attachment_1870949" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/lionfish.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870949" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/lionfish.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="252" /></a> Lionfish occur naturally in Caribbean coral reefs, (left) but in seagrass areas, they are invasive species (right). Image Credit: Andrea Anton[/caption]

Generally, the team found that exotic species often disrupt marine ecosystems, although their impact is fairly low compared to other factors like global warming and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-history-conservation/">overfishing</a>. For example, exotics had negative effects on primary producers but less impact on species on other trophic levels. 

And the impact of exotics was also dependent on their origin and the environment in which they were introduced. The team saw that marine species almost always impacted their environment, whereas freshwater and terrestrial exotics did not. Overall, the team found that exotic species often reduced the abundance of native species, however they did not affect communities in terms of survival or diversity.

"Globally, exotic species are a threat: although we also found that only 10 percent of species introduced outside their natural area of distribution are actually destructive,” Anton said. “However, 90 percent of them are not. So both sides of the debate are partially correct."

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Exotic marine species pose a complex threat to their new environment

A global study conducted by researchers at King Abdullah University...

When a steady pattern of alternating freezing and warm periods abruptly changed on Earth a million years ago, ice ages became more intense with a longer duration. Many scientists attribute this shift to slower activity in a key <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/atlantic-ocean-circulation-conveyor-belt/">Atlantic Ocean</a> current system that is slowing down again today.

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) flows northward near the surface, moving warm water from the equator toward Greenland and northern Europe, where it mixes with colder water from the Arctic. As the water becomes denser and sinks down below, it takes large amounts of carbon absorbed from the atmosphere along with it. 

The deep ocean water then circles back south, where much of it re-emerges in the Southern Ocean and releases carbon back into the air. This full cycle takes decades or even centuries to complete. 

A 2014 study by geochemist Steven Goldstein and Leopoldo Pena of the <a href="http://www.earth.columbia.edu/">Earth Institute at Columbia University</a> showed that this current abruptly slowed around 950,000 years ago. In a new study involving the same co-authors, researchers have directly tied the slowdown of the AMOC to a huge buildup of carbon in the deep Atlantic, and to a corresponding decline of carbon in the air.

[caption id="attachment_1870938" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/AMOC.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870938" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/AMOC.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="487" /></a> The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, Image Credit: Francesco Muschitiello/Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory[/caption]

This phenomenon likely triggered a series of ice ages that began to take place every 100,000 years, as opposed to previous ones that occurred about every 40,000 years. While no one knows why the pattern continued, the study demonstrates that the carbon missing from the air ended up in the ocean and dramatically changed the climate.


“It's a one-to-one relationship. It was like flipping a switch,” said study lead author Jesse Farmer. “It shows us that there's an intimate relationship between the amount of carbon stored in the ocean, and what the climate is doing.”

Although the strength of the AMOC is thought to fluctuate naturally, it seems to have now weakened by 15 percent since the mid-20th century. Another recent Columbia study showed that a slowdown around 13,000 years ago was followed 400 years later by an intense cold period that lasted for centuries.

“We have to be careful about drawing parallels with that,” said Farmer, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University. “We see a similar weakening today, and one might say, ‘Great! Ocean circulation is going to save us from warming climate!’ But that's not correct, because of the way different parts of the climate system talk to each other.”

Farmer explained that if the weakening of the AMOC continues, it is likely that less carbon-filled water will sink in the north. At the same time, any carbon arriving deep in the Southern Ocean will likely keep bubbling up without any problem. This will result in carbon building in the air, and not in the ocean.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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Slowdown of Atlantic circulation system could have major impact on climate

When a steady pattern of alternating freezing and warm periods...

An international team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> has determined that renewable forms of energy such as solar panels and wind turbines provide a better approach for tackling climate change compared to proposed methods of carbon capture and storage (CCS). 

CCS technologies, which are designed to capture CO2 emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants, are used in the models that serve as the basis of international agreements to mitigate climate change.

But now, a new study has revealed that the resources dedicated to developing carbon capture technologies would be better invested in creating more solar panels and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/trump-wind-turbines/">wind turbines</a>. The researchers also suggest that energy storage options should be created to support renewable energy projects rather than for carbon capture. 

The team calculated the energy output for CCS technologies across a range of fossil fuel power stations, including coal and natural gas, while accounting for the energy needed to create and operate the system. When the experts compared these numbers to the energy invested in renewable systems, they discovered that the least efficient renewables are comparable to the most efficient methods of carbon capture.

“It is more valuable, energetically, to invest the available energy resources directly into building new renewable energy and storage capacity rather than building new fossil-fuel power stations with carbon capture,” said study co-author Dr. Denes Csala.

“The better net energy return of investing in renewable energy makes it more likely to meet emission targets without risking a reduction in energy availability, due to dwindling fossil fuel supplies and a climate-constrained emissions budget.”

“Given its net energy disadvantages, carbon capture and storage should be considered a niche and supplementary contributor to the energy system, rather than be seen as a critical technology option as current climate agreements view it.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nenergy/">Nature Energy</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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Renewable energy is a better investment than carbon capture, experts say

An international team of researchers led by Lancaster University has...

For thousands of years, reindeer have persisted across Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, despite the harsh <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-increase-droughts/">Arctic</a> conditions. But now, climate change is impacting the health of these reindeer as they struggle to access the grass and plants that they need for survival. 

In recent decades, global warming has increased the frequency of rain-on-snow (ROS) events, which cause ice to form on the ground. This ice covers the preferred food of the reindeer and they begin to starve.

A team of researchers led by Brage Bremset Hansen from the <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/">Norwegian University of Science and Technology</a> used computer models to investigate the fate of reindeer populations if icing becomes a normal event.

“In the past, some rare icing events have been shown to cause population crashes,” wrote the study authors. “An intuitive expectation would be to predict more population crashes and hence a greater extinction risk with continued warming.”

Based on reindeer data collected each year since 1994 and a biological model called an Integrated Population Model, the researchers created a detailed picture of the Svalbard reindeer population. They also analyzed historical ROS events, which allowed them to make projections of how the reindeer population would change under various scenarios.

The study revealed that under harsher conditions in the future, as ROS frequency increased, the reindeer population would respond in an unexpected way. 

“If ROS conditions remain the same as observed in the past, the probability that the population goes extinct is actually much higher than under the likely future scenario of very high ROS frequencies,” said study co-author Marlène Gamelon.

The researchers found that extremely harsh winters with ROS events could only cause a population crash if animal density was high, when there was the greatest competition for food.

The study also showed that winter icing in consecutive years caused no significant effect on the population. Under this scenario, the small population had not aged that much and was not at risk of starvation.

“The interactions between climate effects, density and age structure explain why our study population did not crash in recent icy winters,” said the researchers. “In other words, internal population restructuring modifies and buffers the effects from climate change.”


“One important message from our study, supported by past observations of this population, is that the impact of a harsh winter on the population is far less dramatic if it happens soon after a previous harsh winter.”

The research 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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Erik Ropstad

Extreme weather in the Arctic may affect animals in unexpected ways

For thousands of years, reindeer have persisted across Norway’s Svalbard...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

[sendtonews key="sFFhiK9OOn-1720418-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.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

[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

[sendtonews key="u0TYxxqfF7-2186404-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA’s...