As the global population grows, pressure on farm systems and biodiversity intensifies. How we grow food shapes the planet’s health. From wheat fields in the Midwest to rice paddies in Southeast Asia, farmland is expanding and changing rapidly. But at what cost?



For decades, environmentalists and policymakers have debated two main strategies to boost food production. One is expansion - clearing more land for farms. The other is intensification - increasing the yield on existing farmland through high-input practices like pesticides, fertilizers, and irrigation.



The common belief is that intensification is less damaging to biodiversity. But a new study by researchers at University College London (<a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UCL</a>) reveals that this assumption may not always hold.



The findings challenge long-held views and call for a more informed, flexible strategy in agricultural policy and conservation. The study invites us to question how food security and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental protection</a> can truly coexist.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farm-expansion-and-intensification">Farm expansion and intensification </h2>



At first glance, farmland intensification seems ideal. It promises more food from the same land, sparing natural ecosystems from conversion. Yet the study led by Dr. Silvia Ceaușu at the UCL Center for Biodiversity &amp; Environment Research suggests a deeper problem.



“Feeding the global human population comes at an increasing cost for our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-are-the-biggest-drivers-of-biodiversity-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planet</a>'s biodiversity. Our new research highlights that it's actually more complicated than that,” noted Dr. Ceaușu.



Using a large global dataset, the researchers analyzed biodiversity patterns around farms producing maize, wheat, rice, and soybean - crops that make up over half of the world’s calorie intake.



The experts focused on areas where some natural vegetation remained, excluding untouched wildlands. They then assessed biodiversity in terms of species richness, total abundance, and how widespread species were.



The results revealed that both expansion and intensification damage biodiversity, but the extent varies by region, crop type, and existing vegetation. In some areas, intensification harmed local <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saving-biodiversity-scientists-discover-hidden-pattern-guiding-species-distributions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ecosystems</a> more than converting new land.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-farm-yields-can-harm-biodiversity">Boosting farm yields can harm biodiversity</h2>



Much of modern agricultural planning encourages “closing yield gaps,” meaning increasing production in areas where crop yields lag behind their potential. The logic is to reduce the need for land expansion. But this new study shows that doing so may come with serious ecological consequences.



“We show that farmland expansion is indeed drastically changing local biodiversity. However, once agriculture is established, intensifying agricultural practices can further degrade local biodiversity, sometimes more so than by further removing natural vegetation from the area,” noted Dr. Silvia Ceaușu.



This challenges the narrative of intensification as a safe compromise. It also suggests that even well-meaning conservation policies might backfire if they overly favor intensification without context.



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-pressure-is-changing-biodiversity-faster-than-we-realize/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">implications</a> stretch far. International trade agreements often restrict imports from newly converted farmland but welcome goods from intensified farms. That distinction might be too simplistic, especially when intensified farms are located in biodiversity hotspots.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complexity-over-simplicity-in-agricultural-policy">Complexity over simplicity in agricultural policy</h2>



One of the most striking conclusions of the study is that there is no universal rule. Every landscape is different. What works in temperate monocultures may fail in tropical mosaics. This variation makes broad policies difficult to apply effectively.



“Simple suggestions like favoring farmland intensification over expansion are not always effective - there’s no one-size-fits all solution for sustainable agriculture,” noted Professor Tim Newbold at UCL.



Instead of relying on single-solution strategies, policymakers must consider specific ecological, social, and agricultural data. This includes understanding which species are at risk, how ecosystems function locally, and what kind of vegetation remains around farms.



It’s not just about where and how we farm - but also about what lives nearby, and what might disappear as farming intensifies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farm-practices-reshape-biodiversity-over-time">Farm practices reshape biodiversity over time</h2>



Beyond ecological damage, the study touches on evolutionary consequences. As intensified agriculture becomes more common, it reshapes entire ecosystems. 



Only species that can adapt to altered environments survive. Over time, this selects for generalist traits - those that thrive in simplified, human-managed landscapes.



This process, described in the study as a shift in "evolutionary filters," could gradually lead to less diverse and more homogenized wildlife communities. 



Specialists, who depend on complex, intact ecosystems, are the first to vanish. This affects not only biodiversity statistics but also ecosystem function and resilience.



In intensified landscapes, nature becomes simpler. And while simple might seem efficient for farming, it rarely is for ecology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-farmland-use">Rethinking farmland use </h2>



While the researchers don’t endorse farmland expansion into untouched habitats, they do caution against assuming that intensification is always benign. In certain contexts, expansion into already degraded or marginal lands could do less harm than squeezing more output from heavily farmed areas



“There is likely a balance that can be struck between intensification and expansion… informed by local and crop-specific data,” noted co-author David Leclère of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (<a href="https://iiasa.ac.at" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IIASA</a>), Austria.



The goal isn’t to choose one path but to design farming systems that work for both people and the planet.



“We would not suggest expanding farmland into intact natural areas as it is vital for the planet that such unmodified landscapes are preserved,” said Dr. Newbold.



In other words, any new expansion must avoid primary forests, wetlands, and biodiversity-rich habitats. The challenge lies in identifying and managing lower-risk landscapes while avoiding additional intensification that might push ecosystems past recovery.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-consumers">The role of consumers </h2>



For consumers, the picture remains complex. It’s difficult to track how sustainable any specific food product is, especially when impacts vary so widely across regions and crops. However, individuals still hold some power.



The researchers recommend reducing food waste and cutting back on meat consumption. Both actions lower agricultural demand and reduce pressure on biodiversity. 



These changes, while small at the individual level, can aggregate into meaningful shifts when adopted widely.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-balancing-farming-and-biodiversity">Balancing farming and biodiversity </h2>



As the climate crisis unfolds and food insecurity grows, the global community must confront difficult questions. How do we produce enough food without sacrificing biodiversity? Can we make space for nature and still nourish billions?



This new study makes one thing clear: the answers will not come from easy slogans or blanket policies. They will come from detailed data, local context, and a willingness to embrace complexity.



Feeding the world is not just a technical challenge - it is a deeply ecological one. And how we respond will determine the kind of world future generations inherit.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02691-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



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Feeding the world without harming nature: The complex balance of farming

As the global population grows, pressure on farm systems and biodiversity intensifies. How we grow food shapes the planet’s health. From wheat fields in the Midwest to rice paddies in Southeast Asia, farmland is expanding and changing rapidly. But at what cost? For decades, environmentalists and policymakers have debated two main strategies to boost food production. One is expansion - clearing more land for farms. The other is intensification - increasing the yield on existing farmland through high-input practices like pesticides, fertilizers, and irrigation. The common belief...

In early 2020, south Florida experienced its coldest <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/scientists-report-an-unprecedented-rise-in-ocean-temperatures/">temperature</a> in 10 years at just under 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists at <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University in St. Louis </a> seized the opportunity to investigate how tropical lizards are affected by extreme climates. 

When temperatures exceed a certain threshold, sleeping lizards can actually lose their grip and fall out of trees. The experts previously established that various types of lizards in Miami can tolerate low temperatures ranging from about 46 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit before they are shocked by cold.

The researchers examined lizards that had survived the record cold night in Miami, and were surprised to find that all of the species could tolerate cold temperatures down to about 42 degrees - regardless of their previous threshold.

"Prior to this, and for a different study, we had measured the lowest temperatures that six lizard species in south Florida could tolerate," said study co-author James Stroud. "We realized after the 2020 cold event that these data were now extremely valuable - we had the opportunity to re-measure the same lizard populations to observe if their physiological limits had changed; in other words, could these species now tolerate lower temperatures?"

To investigate further, the team collected as many different types of lizards as possible in the local region, including lizards that are nocturnal. Next, the experts set out to analyze how various specimens responded to cold.

"A major unexpected result of this study was that all species converged on the same new, lower level of thermal tolerance," said Stroud. "While there was great variation in temperature tolerance before the cold event - some, like the large-bodied brown basilisk, were very intolerant of low temperatures, while others like the Puerto Rican crested anole were more robust - we observed that all species could now tolerate, on average, the same lowest temperature."

Stroud said that given the differences in the body size, ecology, and physiology of the lizards, the results were unexpected. The researchers noted that only one of the species examined for the study was native to the area, while the rest have been introduced to Florida over the past century.

"The shifts to tolerate significantly lower temperatures that we observed were so large that we found it unclear whether natural selection was responsible," said Stroud. "And so in our paper we discuss other alternative processes which may also have led to this pattern."

The findings provide brand new evidence that tropical, cold-blooded creatures, which are typically not thought to be able to adapt to rapidly changing climates, can sometimes endure conditions that exceed their established limits. 

"The results of this study are surprising and unexpected. Who would have thought that tropical lizards from places like Puerto Rico and Central America could withstand temperatures near freezing?" said study co-author Professor Jonathan Losos.

"What we now need to find out is how this was accomplished. Is this evidence of natural selection, with those lizards that just happened to have a lower cold tolerance surviving and others freezing to death, or was it an example of physiological adjustment - termed 'acclimation'- in which exposure to lower temperatures changes a lizard's physiology so that it is capable of withstanding lower temperatures?"

Regardless, the study provides critically important insight for understanding the impacts of climate change.

"It is widely thought that tropical and subtropical species are going to be especially vulnerable to changes in temperature -- particularly extreme spikes of heat or cold -- as tropical areas do not typically have strong seasons," said Stroud. "Unlike temperate species, which are adapted to summer highs and winter lows, tropical species have typically evolved in very thermally stable environments.

"While there is no doubt that climate change represents a major threat to species and ecosystems around the world, and deserves as much research attention as possible, this study provides fascinating insight and a glimpse of hope. Perhaps tropical and subtropical species can withstand more extreme climatic conditions."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tropical lizards are surprisingly adaptable to climate extremes

In early 2020, south Florida experienced its coldest temperature in...

Climate instability drove early humans to become more adaptable. Early humans in the East African Rift Valley drastically changed their lifestyle to adjust to climate instability 320,000 years ago, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian</a>. The findings suggest that when faced with uncertainty, humans became more adaptable.

Study lead author Richard Potts is the director of the Human Origins Program at the National Museum of Natural History.

"The history of human evolution has been one of increasing adaptability," said Potts. "We come from a family tree that's diverse, but all of those other ways of being human are now extinct. There's only one of us left, and we may well be the most adaptable species that may have ever existed on the face of the Earth."

The research was focused on the analysis of a new sedimentary drill core, which produced a million-year record of the environmental history of the East African Rift Valley. The scientists discovered that humans had fairly predictable climate conditions and resources for hundreds of thousands of years. 

However, when unpredictable conditions emerged around 400,000 years ago, there was a major behavioral and cultural shift in human evolution. At this time, fluctuations in vegetation and water supply made resources less reliable. Early humans responded by replacing old tools with new technology and expanding their trade networks. 

The analysis of artifacts recovered at an archaeological site known as Olorgesailie showed that early humans in this region relied on the same tools - stone hand axes - for 700,000 years. The evidence suggests that life was remarkably stable during this time period.

Around 320,000 years ago, humans of the East African Rift Valley entered into the Middle Stone Age, when they began to design smaller and more sophisticated weapons, including projectiles. They also began to communicate and trade with distant groups. 

According to Potts, all these changes were a significant departure from their previous lifestyle, likely helping early humans cope with their newly variable landscape.

The team set out to understand the major evolutionary transition discovered at Olorgesailie by extracting and analyzing  a 139-meter sediment core, which has now produced the most precisely dated African environmental record of the past one million years. 

The study revealed that after hundreds of thousands of years of stability, the landscape in this region of Africa was fragmented by tectonic activity about 400,000 years ago. As a result, the vegetation in the region began shifting between grassy plains and wooded areas. Large grazing herbivores were gradually replaced by smaller mammals with more diverse diets.

"There was a massive change in the animal fauna during the time period when we see early human behavior changing," explained Potts. "The animals also influenced the landscape through the kinds of plants that they ate. Then with humans in the mix, and some of their innovations like projectile weapons, they also may have affected the fauna. It's a whole ecosystem changing, with humans as part of it."

Potts concluded that while adaptability is a hallmark of human evolution, that does not mean the species is necessarily equipped to endure the unprecedented change Earth is now experiencing due to man-made climate change and Anthropogenic biodiversity loss. 

"We have an astonishing capacity to adapt, biologically in our genes as well as culturally and socially. The question is, are we now creating through our own activities new sources of environmental disruption that will continue to challenge human adaptability?"

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

Climate instability drove early humans to become more adaptable

Climate instability drove early humans to become more adaptable. Early...

The impacts of climate change are becoming more pronounced in the Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than almost any other ocean region on the planet. In a new study from the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a>, researchers have found that five species of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/shellfish-are-moving-away-from-safety-as-the-ocean-warms/">shellfish</a> have been on a steady decline for the last two decades across the rocky shores of the gulf.

As rising temperatures and ocean acidification change the composition of seawater, shellfish have a difficult time building and maintaining their shells, which makes them more vulnerable to predators.  

Peter Petraitis is a retired professor of Biology in Penn's School of Arts &amp; Sciences. In collaboration with Professor Steve Dudgeon of California State University, Petraitis analyzed 20 years of data collected on Swan Island in the Gulf of Maine. The results show dwindling numbers of five species of shellfish, including mussels, barnacles, and snails. 

"These species are often overlooked because of how common they are," said Petraitis. "They're just everywhere across the rocky shores. People don't think anything is going to happen to them. If they decline by about 3% a year that's a relatively small change so you might not notice it for a while. But one year, people are going to suddenly look around and say, 'Where are all the snails, mussels and barnacles?'"

Professor Dudgeon said these species form the core of an iconic food web in the Gulf of Maine. "Concurrent declines of five species, including both native and non-native, is proportionally large, and may cause profound changes in the ecology of coastal oceans in the region."

The researchers initiated a long term research project in 1997 to study the ecological principles of multiple stable states on Swan's Island. One particular focus of the study is also the subject of Petraitis'  2013 book, "Multiple Stable States in Natural Ecosystems," which proposed that an ecosystem can rapidly shift between entirely different compositions of organisms given the right environmental disturbances.

On Swan's Island, powerful winter storms periodically result in sea ice that removes the shellfish from the rocks they are attached to on the shore. This means the shellfish are forced to rebuild their communities the following year.

In 1996, the scientists simulated a massive ice scouring event by scraping the rocks, and observed as the shore recolonized. Since this experiment, the researchers have made an annual trip to 60 study sites on Swan's Island, surveying the organisms living in the scraped areas as well as in undisturbed areas.

Based on the data collected from 1997 to 2018, the current investigation was focused on five common shellfish species: the tortoiseshell limpet, the common periwinkle, the dogwhelk, the blue mussel, and the barnacle.

"We didn't expect to see much change in the control plots, but we were surprised to see these populations declining," said Petraitis.

The researchers found that very young mussels had experienced the most rapid decline, dropping by nearly 16 percent each year. The other four species were declining by 3 to 5 percent each year. 

Over two decades, limpets, periwinkles, and dogwhelks declined by 50 percent. 

The study revealed that the downward trajectory of mussels and common periwinkles corresponded with increasing summer ocean temperatures. Meanwhile, populations of limpets and dogwhelks correlated with increases in the aragonite saturation state, a measurement that tracks with ocean pH. 

The fluctuations in barnacle populations did not appear to be influenced by changes in ocean temperature or pH, which indicates that there are unknown factors causing their decline.

All five species play critical ecological roles in the Gulf of Maine. Petraitis explained that, as filter feeders, mussels and barnacles remove phytoplankton from the water column - "digesting them, pooping them out, and fertilizing the shore." Limpets and periwinkles feed on algae and seaweed, which helps to prevent harmful algal blooms. The shellfish also serve as prey for a variety of animals, and the consequences of their disappearance will be felt up the food chain. 

"Without animal consumption transferring organic matter up the food web," said Professor Dudgeon, "production in coastal oceans will be increasingly shunted directly through pathways of decomposition by microbial organisms, rather than to support populations of species that humans fish and on which coastal economies depend."

While presenting the findings at conferences in the last couple of years, Petraitis noted that other scientists have documented similar disappearances of mussels across other parts of the North Atlantic, which suggests that the impacts are far-reaching and not unique to the Gulf of Maine.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsbio">Communications Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Shellfish are vanishing from the Gulf of Maine

The impacts of climate change are becoming more pronounced in...

A team of environmental scientists from the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/">University of Geneva</a> (UNIGE) set out to investigate the effects of non-native trees planted in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-the-impacts-of-bushfires-on-urban-microclimates/">urban</a> spaces. The study has revealed that the benefits of introducing trees can far outweigh the costs, regardless of their origin. 

In Geneva, 90 percent of tree species are non-native. The study shows that native and non-native trees make similar contributions to regional biodiversity and ecosystem services. 

Trees can drastically improve the quality of urban environments by reducing noise pollution, improving air quality, providing new habitats for various species, and mitigating the impact of heat islands. However, non-native trees can also create issues, such as threats to native biodiversity.

Study first author Dr. Martin Schlaepfer is a researcher in UNIGE's Institute of Environmental Sciences.

"There's an ongoing philosophical debate concerning this problem at the moment," said Dr. Schlaepfer. "Should we promote native trees and ban - or at least put limits on - introduced species? Of all the species introduced into urban areas, only 5% are potentially problematic, such as the Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) located in the old town of Geneva. But what should we do with the remaining 95% of non-native tree species, and how should we value them?"

In collaboration with the City of Geneva, the UNIGE team analyzed data on all tree species found in urban regions across the entire state of Geneva.

After four years of detailed work, the researchers had recorded 911 different species and found that 90 percent of the tree species in Geneva are non-native. For each species, the environmental benefits and drawbacks were examined. The introduced tree species were found to be mainly beneficial, with just a few exceptions.

"Three invasive species were identified, and they are indeed potentially problematic when located in semi-natural sites outside the city. But in urban settings there is a low risk of propagation, and we document how they contribute to our well-being," explained Dr. Schlaepfer. "Some non-native trees have been growing in the parks for several centuries, such as cedars and plane trees imported from North Africa and Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries for their aesthetic value, resistance to disease and perennial foliage. They are now part of our cultural heritage. 

"In addition, they have the ability to survive in an urban environment, meaning they can help attenuate urban heat-islands and reduce air-borne pollution. Caution must be employed when planting such non-native species, but they can have a clear beneficial role in certain contexts."

The study is the first of its kind to compare the ecosystem services of both native and non-native species. The findings demonstrate that non-native tree species provide enormous value.

"Introduced trees are generally listed in the databases of other countries as potential threats, but when it comes to measuring the state of a nation's biodiversity, they are generally dismissed or omitted," said Dr. Schlaepfer.

"The climate is undergoing profound change, with predictions for our latitudes indicating that within 50 to 100 years - i.e., the life-span of a large tree - the climate in Geneva will be like that in southern Italy. That means we must be open to the idea of introducing species today that are able to persist both now and under future climatic conditions."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/urban-forestry-and-urban-greening">Urban Forestry and Urban Greening</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Non-native trees have enormous value in urban areas

A team of environmental scientists from the University of Geneva...

In the late spring and summer, mature Chinook <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/why-are-alaskas-wild-salmon-getting-smaller/">salmon</a> return from the sea to the Columbia River and make their treacherous journey upstream to spawn. A new study from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> has revealed that when the salmon venture back to the river too early in the season, there are hungry California sea lions waiting for them. 

In collaboration with experts at NOAA Fisheries, the researchers found that sea lions have the largest negative effect on Chinook salmon that arrive early in the lower Columbia River. The sea lions have discovered that by swimming as far as 145 miles upstream, they can feast on migrating salmon.

Study lead author Mark Sorel is a doctoral student at the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.

"We investigated whether mortality rates varied depending on the specific threatened Chinook salmon population, determined by when they arrive in the river," said Sorel. "We found that, based on their individual return timing and the abundance of sea lions in the river when they return, individual populations experience different levels of sea lion-associated mortality."

The researchers determined that the rate of mortality among the earliest arriving populations of Chinook salmon was 20 percent higher compared to previous years. In addition, the rate of mortality among later arriving populations increased by ten percent. 

The higher mortality rates were associated with increased sea lion abundance in the period of 2013 to 2015, compared to the period of 2010 to 2012.

At the mouth of the Columbia River, the largest abundance of California sea lions can be found in early spring, before they leave the region to head for their breeding grounds in southern California. 

The study also revealed that the earliest arriving salmon migrate through the lower part of the Columbia River more slowly than those arriving later in the season, which increases the threat of exposure to predators.

"This information on how different populations are affected by sea-lion associated mortality is key because recovery of endangered Chinook salmon requires multiple of the individual populations to be healthy," said Sorel.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 protected California sea lions from being killed, captured, or harassed. As a result, their numbers are quickly rebounding along the West Coast. The salmon populations that are hunted by the sea lions in the Columbia River are endangered, and experts warn that urgent action is needed. The hunting behaviors of sea lions are learned, which means the problem could continue to grow exponentially.

The National Marine Fisheries Service recently granted approval for Washington, Idaho, Oregon and several Pacific Northwest tribes to capture and euthanize problematic sea lions within a larger area of the lower Columbia and Willamette Rivers. This decision was made after non-lethal methods, such relocation, were not successful. 

"This is often a challenging management problem as both sea lions and salmon are of strong interest to the public, and both are protected under federal statutes," said Sorel. "Management must consider multiple social values and operate within existing legal frameworks."

The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sea lions have mastered the timing to prey on Chinook salmon

In the late spring and summer, mature Chinook salmon return...

Mammals and birds became warm-blooded after surviving a mass extinction. Around 252 million years ago, a series of massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia triggered a mass <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/early-humans-were-likely-driven-to-extinction-by-climate-change/">extinction</a> event that wiped out 95 percent of all life. According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, the Permian extinction also changed the surviving animals forever. Professor Mike Benton has found evidence that the ancestors of both mammals and birds became warm-blooded 250 million years ago, just as Earth was recovering from the catastrophic event.

Ancestors of mammals and birds, as well as tetrapods like synapsids and archosaurs, were some of the only groups that survived the Permian extinction. Even then, the animals faced life-threatening conditions such as repeated global warming and ocean acidification disasters.

Paleontologists have previously noticed signs of warm-bloodedness in animals that descended from the Permian period into the Triassic era, including evidence of a diaphragm and possible whiskers in the synapsids.

Warm-blooded, or endothermic, animals have fur, feathers, or hair for insulation. The early origin of feathers in dinosaur and bird ancestors has been established, and it has been long suspected that mammals had hair at the beginning of the Triassic. The current study has produced a brand new theory that archosaurs had feathers from 250 million years ago.

In 2009, the Bristol scientists began to suspect that warm-bloodedness originated in both synapsids and archosaurs at exactly the time after the Permian extinction. They have now determined that birds and mammals transformed at this time as well. 

Looking at hundreds of fossilized paths, the researchers discovered that tetrapods, mammals, and birds all shifted from sprawling to erect posture during the Permian-Triassic boundary. The experts were surprised to see that this posture shift happened instantly, not over tens of millions of years, as had been suggested.

"Modern amphibians and reptiles are sprawlers, holding their limbs partly sideways," said Professor Benton. "Birds and mammals have erect postures, with the limbs immediately below their bodies. This allows them to run faster, and especially further."

"There are great advantages in erect posture and warm-bloodedness, but the cost is that endotherms have to eat much more than cold-blooded animals just to fuel their inner temperature control."

Warm-blooded animals can live all over the planet, even in cold areas, and they remain active at night. The adaptations gave birds and mammals a new advantage over amphibians and reptiles that allowed them to dominate in more parts of the world. 

"The Triassic was a remarkable time in the history of life on Earth. You see birds and mammals everywhere on land today, whereas amphibians and reptiles are often quite hidden," said Professor Benton.

"This revolution in ecosystems was triggered by the independent origins of endothermy in birds and mammals, but until recently we didn't realise that these two events might have been coordinated."

"That happened because only a tiny number of species survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction - who survived depended on intense competition in a tough world. Because a few of the survivors were already endothermic in a primitive way, all the others had to become endothermic to survive in the new fast-paced world."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/gondwana-research">Gondwana Research</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mammals and birds became warm-blooded after surviving a mass extinction

Mammals and birds became warm-blooded after surviving a mass extinction....

In places where air pollution has a significant impact on mortality, COVID-19 lockdowns saved an incredible number of lives this year. A new study from the <a href="https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a> reveals that improvements in air quality prevented tens of thousands of premature <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bacteriophages-could-reduce-covid-19-deaths/">deaths</a> in China and Europe alone.

The experts report that during lockdowns, particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution dropped by about 30 percent in China, and by 17 percent in parts of Europe.

"We look on these lockdowns as the first global experiment of forced low-emission scenarios," said study co-author Professor Paola Crippa. "This unique, real-world experiment shows us that strong improvements in severely polluted areas are achievable even in the short term, if strong measures are implemented."

For their investigation, the researchers combined computer simulations with measurements of particulate matter concentrations in more than 2,500 sites in Europe and China between January of 2016 and June of 2020.

Pollution-related deaths were estimated under four different economic recovery scenarios: immediately resuming normal activity and emissions, gradually resuming with a three-month proportional increase of emissions, a second wave of COVID-19 between October and December, and a permanent lockdown for the remainder of 2020.

"The most surprising part of this work is related to the impact on human health of the air quality improvements," said Professor Crippa. "It was somewhat unexpected to see that the number of averted fatalities in the long term due to air quality improvements is similar to the COVID-19 related fatalities, at least in China where a small number of COVID-19 casualties were reported. These results underline the severity of air quality issues in some areas of the world and the need for immediate action."

From February to March, an estimated 24,200 premature deaths from PM2.5 exposure were prevented in China - compared to 3,309 reported COVID-19 fatalities.

While COVID-19 related deaths were far higher in Europe compared to what was reported in China, an estimated 2,190 pollution related deaths were still avoided during the lockdown period when compared to averages between 2016 and 2019. 

The premature deaths avoided during lockdowns jump to as many as 287,000 in China and 29,500 in Europe when considering the long-term effects, which will depend on the pathway of economic recovery.

Professor Crippa said the study serves as an example of the need for control policies to be developed to achieve effective air quality improvements. She said the findings also highlight the issue of risk perception between the current immediate crisis of the coronavirus pandemic versus the ongoing crisis of hazardous pollution.

"In China, we saw that lockdowns implied very significant reductions in PM2.5 concentrations, which means that policies targeting industrial and traffic emissions might be very effective in the future," said Professor Crippa. "In Europe those reductions were somewhat smaller but there was still a significant effect, suggesting that other factors might be considered to shape an effective mitigation strategy."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/home">Lancet Planetary Health</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

Improved air quality during lockdowns saved tens of thousands of lives

In places where air pollution has a significant impact on...

An international team of scientists has discovered how volcanoes experience stress, and the experts report that stressed volcanoes are more likely to collapse and erupt. The research may ultimately lead to better prediction and <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/floodbot-uses-social-media-to-issue-flash-flood-warnings/">warning</a> systems to protect people from future volcanoes.

When it comes to these natural disasters, the worst case scenario is volcanic collapse, which can trigger destructive and devastating landslides, tsunamis, or pyroclastic flows. 

Study lead author Dr. Sam Thiele is a recent PhD graduate from the <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University</a> School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment. 

Dr. Thiele explained that volcanic collapses are very difficult to predict because we often do not know what is going on inside active volcanoes, or what forces may drive stress and instability. "Research on volcano growth helps us to understand these internal processes and the associated forces that could trigger a deadly collapse or eruption."

For the investigation, the researchers used drones to create a cm-resolution map of the internal structure of a previously active volcano in the Canary Islands that is now dormant. 

The team measured the width of hundreds of thousands of cracks where magma poured through during past eruptions. The measurements helped the experts estimate the forces acting within the volcano. They found that these forces slowly build up over time, and the volcano gradually becomes more and more stressed and potentially unstable.

The width of cracks where the magma had flowed provided clues about the driving forces of volcanic collapse, which will help with future predictions. The geological forces identified and mapped by the researchers involved molten intrusions called dykes. These intrusions solidify to form a framework inside a comparatively weak structure that is mainly composed of layers of lava and ash.

"This is one of the first studies to look at the long-term effects of magma movement within a volcano," said study co-author Professor Sandy Cruden."We found that volcanoes gradually become 'stressed' by repeated movement of this magma, potentially destabilising the whole volcano, influencing future collapses and eruptions."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep">Scientific Reports</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Volcanoes erupt and collapse when they are stressed out

An international team of scientists has discovered how volcanoes experience...

Changes in ocean circulation linked to drastic rise in CO2 levels. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> have used the fossilized remains of ancient deep-sea <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-great-barrier-reef-has-lost-half-its-corals-in-two-decades/">corals</a> to get a glimpse into the past relationship between changing ocean conditions and CO2 levels. The experts found evidence to suggest that the mysterious rise in CO2 that ended the last ice age was linked to abrupt changes in ocean circulation around Antarctica.

"The corals act as a time machine, allowing us to see changes in ocean circulation that happened thousands of years ago," explained study co-author Dr. James Rae. "They show that the ocean around Antarctica can suddenly switch its circulation to deliver burps of CO2 to the atmosphere."

For the investigation, the team collected fossilized corals that once lived thousands of meters beneath the ocean's surface. The researchers analyzed the radioactive decay of tiny amounts of uranium found in the skeletons, which allowed them to identify corals that grew at the end of the ice age around 15,000 years ago.

By further analyzing the chemical and isotopic patterns on the fossils, the team was able to reconstruct changes in ocean circulation and compare them to changes in global climate.

"The data show that deep ocean circulation can change surprisingly rapidly, and that this can rapidly release CO2 to the atmosphere," said study co-author Professor Laura Robinson.

The findings provide new evidence to support the theory that the Southern Ocean played an important role in ending the last ice age.

"There is no doubt that Southern Ocean processes must have played a critical role in these rapid climate shifts and the fossil corals provide the only possible way to examine Southern Ocean processes on these timescales," said study lead author Dr. Tao Li. 

In a separate study published in Nature Geoscience this week, the same team of researchers ruled out the possibility that a global increase in CO2 at the end of the ice age was linked to the release of geological carbon from deep sea sediments.

"There have been some suggestions that reservoirs of carbon deep in marine mud might bubble up and add CO2 to the ocean and the atmosphere, but we found no evidence of this in our coral samples," said study co-author Andrea Burke.

Dr. James Rae noted that even though the rise in CO2 at the end of the ice age was dramatic in geological terms, the ongoing rise in CO2 related to human activity is much bigger and happening much faster. "What the climate system will do in response is pretty scary."

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

Changes in ocean circulation linked to drastic rise in CO2 levels

Changes in ocean circulation linked to drastic rise in CO2...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, scientists have solved a long-standing mystery of how rainfall shapes <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-hotspots-are-shrinking-in-the-andes-mountains/">mountains</a>. While it was not a question that rainfall has a powerful effect on the evolution of mountains, no one has been able to describe exactly how this phenomenon takes place. 

The researchers focused their study on the Himalayan mountain range to show how peaks and valleys have developed over millions of years. The pioneering new approach developed by the experts may ultimately be used to predict how climate change will alter landscapes.

 "It may seem intuitive that more rain can shape mountains by making rivers cut down into rocks faster. But scientists have also believed rain can erode a landscape quickly enough to essentially 'suck' the rocks out of the Earth, effectively pulling mountains up very quickly," said study lead author Dr. Byron Adams.

"Both these theories have been debated for decades because the measurements required to prove them are so painstakingly complicated. That's what makes this discovery such an exciting breakthrough, as it strongly supports the notion that atmospheric and solid earth processes are intimately connected."

There are an abundance of scientific models that are designed to explain how the Earth works, but it can be difficult to obtain enough quality observations to determine which are the most accurate. The region that includes central and eastern Himalaya of Bhutan and Nepal is one of the most sampled landscapes for erosion rate studies. Using these samples, the scientists analyzed cosmic clocks within sand grains to measure the speed at which rivers erode the rocks beneath them.

"When a cosmic particle from outer space reaches Earth, it is likely to hit sand grains on hillslopes as they are transported toward rivers," said Dr. Adams. "When this happens, some atoms within each grain of sand can transform into a rare element. By counting how many atoms of this element are present in a bag of sand, we can calculate how long the sand has been there, and therefore how quickly the landscape has been eroding."

"Once we have erosion rates from all over the mountain range, we can compare them with variations in river steepness and rainfall. However, such a comparison is hugely problematic because each data point is very difficult to produce and the statistical interpretation of all the data together is complicated."

The team addressed this challenge by combining regression techniques with numerical models that represent how rivers erode.

"We tested a wide variety of numerical models to reproduce the observed erosion rate pattern across Bhutan and Nepal. Ultimately only one model was able to accurately predict the measured erosion rates," said Dr. Adams. "This model allows us for the first time to quantify how rainfall affects erosion rates in rugged terrain."

"Our findings show how critical it is to account for rainfall when assessing patterns of tectonic activity using topography, and also provide an essential step forward in addressing how much the slip rate on tectonic faults may be controlled by climate-driven erosion at the surface," said study co-author Professor Kelin Whipple.

The findings could also be used to inform land use management and infrastructure maintenance based on projected hazards in the Himalaya. Here, there is an ongoing risk that high erosion rates will dramatically increase sedimentation behind dams and jeopardize hydropower projects. 

In addition, the results of the study indicate that higher rates of rainfall will increase the threat of landslides or debris flows that are large enough to cause lake outburst floods in the Himalayas.

"Our data and analysis provides an effective tool for estimating patterns of erosion in mountainous landscapes such as the Himalaya, and thus, can provide invaluable insight into the hazards that influence the hundreds of millions of people who live within and at the foot of these mountains," said Dr. Adams.

The research was funded by the Royal Society, the UK Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Building on this work, Dr. Adams is currently exploring how landscapes respond to large volcanic eruptions.

"This new frontier of landscape evolution modeling is also shedding new light on volcanic processes. With our cutting-edge techniques to measure erosion rates and rock properties, we will be able to better understand how rivers and volcanoes have influenced each other in the past," said Dr. Adams.

"This will help us to more accurately anticipate what is likely to happen after future volcanic eruptions and how to manage the consequences for communities living nearby."

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

Scientists describe how rainfall can literally move mountains

In a new study from the University of Bristol, scientists...

Giant animals vanished from Madagascar after humans arrived. About 500 to 1,500 years ago, Madagascar lost nearly all of its <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/marine-megafauna-extinctions-will-compromise-critical-ecosystem-services/">megafauna</a>, including giant tortoises, Dodo birds, lemurs the size of gorillas, and 10-foot-tall elephant birds that weighed half a ton. While the exact cause of these extinctions remains a mystery, a new  study from the <a href="https://www.uibk.ac.at/index.html.en">University of Innsbruck</a> reports that human activities likely compounded the impacts of climate change when Madagascar's giant animals simultaneously disappeared.

Previous theories suggest that populations of the oversized wildlife collapsed under the strain of overhunting by humans or crashed when the climate abruptly changed. 

The Mascarene islands east of Madagascar are of particular interest to scientists because they are among the last islands on earth to be colonized by humans. The islands' megafauna crashed in just a couple of centuries following human settlement. 

In the current study, the international team of experts led by Innsbruck determined that the extinction event was caused by a "double whammy" of heightened human activities combined with an intense period of dry spells and megadroughts. The researchers ruled out climate change as being the sole cause of the collapse of the giant creatures, and found that the impact of human colonization was a crucial contributor.

Study lead author Hanying Li of Xi'an Jiaotong University and colleagues reconstructed a detailed record of the region's climate fluctuations. The new paleoclimate record was preserved in stalagmites that were collected from a cave on the tiny Mascarene island of Rodrigues - approximately 1,600 kilometers east of Madagascar. According to Professor Gayatri Kathayat, the island of Rodrigues is so remote and small that it cannot be found on most schoolbook atlases. 

"Variations in the geochemical signatures provided the information needed to reconstruct the region's rainfall patterns over the last 8,000 years. To analyze the stalagmites we used the stable isotope method in our lab at Innsbruck," explained Professor Christoph Spötl.

Study senior author Hai Cheng noted that despite the distance between the two islands, the summer rainfall at Rodrigues and Madagascar is influenced by the same global-wide tropical rain belt that oscillates north and south with the seasons. "And when this belt falters and stays further north of Rodrigues, droughts can strike the whole region from Madagascar to Rodrigues," said Cheng.

The study revealed that the region experienced a series of drying trends throughout the last 8,000 years, which were characterized by frequent megadroughts that lasted for decades. The most recent of these extreme spells struck the islands about 1,500 years ago, just as human presence increased throughout the region. 

The research sheds new light on the decimation of wildlife on Mauritius and Rodrigues. "Both islands were rapidly stripped of endemic species of vertebrates within two centuries of the initial human colonization, including the well-known flightless 'Dodo' bird from Mauritius and the saddle-backed 'Rodrigues giant tortoise' endemic to Rodrigues," explained study co-author Aurele Anquetil André.

"While we cannot say with 100 percent certainty whether human activity, such as overhunting or habitat destruction, was the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back, our paleoclimate records make a strong case that the megafauna had survived through all the previous episodes of even greater aridity," said study co-author Ashish Sinha. "This resilience to past climate swings suggests that an additional stressor contributed to the elimination of the region's megafauna."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</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

Giant animals vanished from Madagascar after humans arrived

Giant animals vanished from Madagascar after humans arrived. About 500...

As the Arctic is transformed by climate change, scientists have been working to understand the potential for CO2 and methane emissions to be released from thawing permafrost. This process accelerates global warming in what is known as a reinforcing feedback loop. 

A new study from <a href="https://www.su.se/english/">Stockholm University</a> is unraveling this mystery by analyzing sea floor sediment to estimate permafrost thawing that occurred during climate warming events of the past. The researchers found that only a few degrees of Arctic warming could trigger massive permafrost thawing, coastal erosion, and the widespread release of CO2 and methane.

There is more carbon stored in Arctic permafrost than all of that which is lingering in the atmosphere. To predict future greenhouse gas emissions from permafrost, the Stockholm team turned to the past to see how climate warming at the end of the last ice age affected permafrost.

"Our new study shows for the first time the full history of how warming at the end of the last ice age triggered permafrost thawing in Siberia. This also suggests the release of large quantities of greenhouse gases," said study lead author Jannik Martens.

"It appears likely that past permafrost thawing at times of climate warming, about 14,700 and 11,700 years ago, was in part also related to the increase in CO2 concentrations that is seen in Antarctic ice cores for these times. It seems that Arctic warming by only a few degrees Celsius is sufficient to disturb large areas covered by permafrost and potentially affect the climate system."

During a 2014 expedition onboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden, scientists recovered an eight-meter sediment core from more than 1,000 meters below the surface of the Arctic Ocean. For the current study, the experts used radiocarbon (14C) dating and molecular analysis to trace organic remains that were released from thawing permafrost, washed into the Arctic Ocean, and were ultimately preserved in the sediment core.

"From this core we also learned that erosion of permafrost coastlines was an important driving force for permafrost destruction at the end of the last ice age. Coastal erosion continues to the present day, though ten times slower than during these earlier rapid warming period. With the recent warming trends, however, we see again an acceleration of coastal erosion in some parts of the Arctic, which is expected to release greenhouse gases by degradation of the released organic matter," explained study co-author Professor Örjan Gustafsson. 

"Any release from thawing permafrost mean that there is even less room for anthropogenic greenhouse gas release in the earth-climate system budget before dangerous thresholds are reached. The only way to limit permafrost-related greenhouse gas releases is to mitigate climate warming by lowering anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions."

The research team is currently working in the Arctic Ocean again as part of the International Siberian Shelf Study (ISSS-2020) onboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Keldysh. 

The expedition is seeking more answers to how climate change may trigger the release of greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost in the Arctic.

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

A few degrees of Arctic warming could trigger massive permafrost thawing

As the Arctic is transformed by climate change, scientists have...

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



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.

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



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

[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 



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

[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



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

[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



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

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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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

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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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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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