Long before modern climate records began, a very different Earth existed - one where the icy edges of the Arctic were free of permafrost. This wasn't a minor shift. It was a Northern Hemisphere without frozen ground, stretching all the way to the Arctic Ocean. That past could be a preview of our future.



A new study shows that when Earth’s average temperature was just 4.5˚C warmer than it is today, the Asian continent had no permafrost - not even in its far north. This extent of climate warming is within the range we could reach again in the near future if emissions remain unchecked. 



Researchers from <a href="https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/">Northumbria University</a>, the University of Oxford, Bern University, and the Geological Surveys of Israel and the U.S. worked together to trace the ancient climate shift. They found their evidence in an unlikely place: inside caves beneath the Siberian tundra.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frozen-clues-hidden-underground">Frozen clues hidden underground</h2>



The team focused on cave formations known as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-tipping-points-where-the-climate-changed-abruptly/">speleothems</a> - stalagmites and stalactites - which only grow when water can seep through the ground. In regions locked in permafrost, the soil stays frozen solid. That makes speleothem growth impossible. 



So, if these formations exist in caves beneath modern-day permafrost, it means the ground had to be thawed when they formed.



The researchers collected more than 60 mineral samples from caves in the Lena River delta, one of the coldest and most remote areas of northeastern Siberia. 



Using uranium-lead dating, a precise method for measuring tiny traces of radioactive decay, the team determined that the cave minerals had formed about 8.7 million years ago, during the late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-site-in-australia-indicates-abundant-life-during-the-miocene/">Miocene</a> period.



This means the ground in that region was thawed at the time. Existing global temperature records show that Earth was 4.5˚C warmer than it is today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-fate-of-arctic-permafrost">The fate of Arctic permafrost</h2>



If Earth warms by that same amount again, the findings suggest that all but the deepest or highest-altitude permafrost would melt.



“Our findings provide direct quantitative evidence that if our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/looking-to-earths-ancient-climate-to-predict-our-future/">climate</a> warms by 4.5˚C, the permafrost currently covering Canada, Siberia, Mongolia, America - in fact much of the Northern Hemisphere - would thaw. Only permafrost in high mountains and deep underground would survive," said Dr Sebastian Breitenbach of Northumbria University.



“This thaw would release billions of tonnes of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-sinks-are-losing-their-ability-to-absorb-co2/">carbon</a> from the ground into the atmosphere, enhancing further warming. This finding is a real warning to us all. It shows how sensitive our climate system is and where we might be headed if we don't act to limit our climate emissions now.”



What makes this especially concerning is the sheer volume of carbon at risk. Scientists estimate that up to 130 billion tonnes are locked in today's permafrost. If that carbon is released as the ground thaws, it won't just add to the warming - it will accelerate it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-the-arctic-was-permafrost-free">When the Arctic was permafrost-free </h2>



“After much searching, we were fortunate to find well-preserved datable cave deposits in the heart of today’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frozen-worm-comes-back-to-life-after-46000-years/">Siberian permafrost</a>,” said Dr Anton Vaks of the Geological Survey of Israel. 



“We can see that this present-day tundra region experienced a warmer climate, with mean annual global temperatures above 0°C and with permafrost-free conditions." 



According to Dr. Vaks, the evidence from the cave formations indicates that most of the Siberian landmass and likely similar regions in the Northern Hemisphere were permafrost-free when the deposits formed at Taba-Ba’astakh.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caves-as-climate-time-machines">Caves as climate time machines</h2>



Professor Gideon Henderson of the University of Oxford noted that caves are like time machines. 



“They capture a history of the climate and environment for millions of years of Earth history, which we can now read accurately using precise chemical analyses," said Henderson. 



"By doing so, we can predict the future, using past conditions as an analogue for the future to understand the impact of the warmer world we are heading into.



“This new study provides valuable new constraints on the magnitude of warming required to completely destroy permafrost in the northern hemisphere and remove one of the biggest continental stores of carbon.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60381-5">Nature Communications</a>.



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Arctic permafrost vanished in the past - will it happen again?

Long before modern climate records began, a very different Earth existed - one where the icy edges of the Arctic were free of permafrost. This wasn't a minor shift. It was a Northern Hemisphere without frozen ground, stretching all the way to the Arctic Ocean. That past could be a preview of our future. A new study shows that when Earth’s average temperature was just 4.5˚C warmer than it is today, the Asian continent had no permafrost - not even in its far north. This extent of...

Wintering waterbirds are being forced out of their feeding areas by <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bat-drones-pollinate-crops/">drones</a>, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bto.org/">British Trust for Ornithology</a> (BTO). The researchers found that ducks, geese, swans, and other waterbirds are easily startled away by drones, which reduces their feeding time and wastes energy.

Drone technology is rapidly becoming less expensive and more widespread. Drones are now being used for many different purposes, ranging from recreational photography to package delivery. 

The increasing amount of drone traffic in close proximity with wild birds is creating new challenges for their protection. Disturbances caused by drones may even affect rare and endangered species.

In the most extreme cases, birds may abandon a foraging spot altogether and shift to new areas where food is less available or where predators are more abundant. 

During the cold winter months, large numbers of waterbirds arrive in Britain from the Arctic. Drone disturbance could be particularly harmful during this time, which falls right before the breeding season. 

For their investigation, the BTO scientists flew a drone toward waterbird flocks in various coastal, farmland, and freshwater habitats. As one of the researchers navigated the drone at standard speed and height in the direction of the flock, another team member observed the flocks through a telescope. Any responses to the approaching drone - alarm calls, signs of heightened alert, and taking flight - were documented. 

The study revealed that larger flocks were more likely to take flight, and were also more likely to move farther away from the drone disturbance, compared to smaller flocks. This is likely due to the fact that it only took the response of one sensitive bird flying away from the drone for the rest of the flock to follow. 

The research also showed that the habitat itself had a strong influence on how birds responded to drones. For example, birds across inland areas where human activities are more common were very unlikely to respond to drone disturbances. On the other hand, waterbirds in  coastal habitats were highly likely to respond.

"While we expected that the drone would cause large flocks to flush, we were surprised that birds hardly seemed to respond to the drone at all at those inland lochs where there was already lots of human activity taking place," said study lead author David Jarrett. "Hopefully this research can be used to help inform guidance and regulations on drone use in proximity to wild birds."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/bird-study">Bird Study</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Drones are becoming a threat to waterbirds

Wintering waterbirds are being forced out of their feeding areas...

Crops could be made more resistant to flooding by manipulating the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/enzyme-plant-waste-products/">enzymes</a> that control their response to lower oxygen levels, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a>.

"Climate change is a major global issue, not least for its impact on food security. We hope these findings can help produce flood-tolerant crops to help mitigate the devastating social and economic impact of extreme weather events on food production," said study co-author Dr. Mark White.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of flooding events worldwide. As a result of rising sea levels and stronger tropical storms, floods in the United States that used to occur only once every 100 years could soon occur annually. 

Flooding can cause devastating crop losses and reduce food security. Staple crops such as rice, wheat, and barley have a built-in defense to survive temporary flooding, but prolonged periods of water inundation can fatally damage these plants.

In response to the low oxygen conditions in water, some plants can activate energy pathways that do not rely on air. These responses are controlled by oxygen-sensing enzymes -  plant cysteine oxidases (PCOs) - that use oxygen to regulate the stability of proteins that control gene activity.

The study authors explained that PCOs are a vital component of the plant oxygen signaling system, connecting environmental stimulus with cellular and physiological response.

The research, which was largely conducted at the University of Oxford, describes the molecular structures of PCOs for the first time. The experts have identified key structural features that are required for PCO activity.

"The results provide a platform for future efforts to manipulate the enzyme function in an attempt to create flood-resistant crops that can mitigate the impact of extreme weather events," said Dr. White.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Scientists are one step closer to engineering flood-resistant crops

Crops could be made more resistant to flooding by manipulating...

For the first time, experts have estimated the economic value of nature-based solutions for agricultural <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/notorious-grape-vine-pest-may-soon-be-a-problem-of-the-past/">pest</a> control. The <a href="https://www.cabi.org/">CABI</a> study has revealed that pesticide-free crop protection would deliver up to $20 billion in annual benefits across 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The research suggests that the economic gains of pesticide-free crop protection would exceed those attained through improved "Green Revolution" rice germplasm, which are estimated at $4.3 billion.

"The Green Revolution is credited with alleviating famine, mitigating poverty and driving aggregate economic growth since the 1960s - enabled through a tripling of rice output. Cornerstone of the Green Revolution were the 'packaged' seed x agro-chemical technologies and biological innovations such as high-yielding, disease-resistant cereal varieties," said study lead author Dr. Kris Wyckhuys.

"Our research is the first to gauge the financial benefit of using biological control to fight crop pests in the Asia-Pacific region and demonstrates how these ecologically-based approaches promoted rural growth and prosperity in marginal, poorly-endowed, non-rice environments."

"By thus placing agro-ecological innovations on equal footing with input-intensive measures, our work provides lessons for future efforts to mitigate invasive species, restore ecological resilience and sustainably raise output of global agri-food systems."

Biological control is a pesticide-free method of protecting crops from pests such as insects, weeds, and plant diseases using other organisms. The scientists demonstrated how 75 different biological control agents mitigated 43 pests over a 100-year range.

"Biological control delivered durable pest control in myriad Asia-Pacific agriculture sectors, permitting yield-loss recoveries up to 73%, 81% and 100% in cassava, banana and coconut crops respectively," said study co-author Dr. Michael Furlong.

"The ensuing economic dividends are substantial, as pest-induced losses up to US $6.8, $4.3 and $8.2 billion annually for the above crops were offset (at respective values of $5.4-6.8 billion, $1.4-2.2 billion and $3.8-5.5 billion/year, for a conservative to high impact scenario range). As many of the underlying programs were run on a shoestring, the rate of return on biological control science is extraordinary."

"Our work constitutes an empirical demonstration of how insect biological control helped solidify the agrarian foundation of several Asia-Pacific economies and - in doing so - places biological control on an equal footing with other biological innovations such as Green Revolution germplasm."

"Not only does it spotlight its transformative impacts - especially in light of increasing global reliance on chemical pesticides - but it also celebrates the century-long achievements of dedicated, yet often, unacclaimed insect explorers and biological control pioneers."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pesticide-free crop protection could deliver billions in benefits

For the first time, experts have estimated the economic value...

A study from <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University</a> is providing new details on how <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-how-plants-protect-themselves-from-pathogens/">pathogens</a> can make plants more susceptible to future infections. The researchers found that exposure to powdery mildew makes plants much more likely to develop a secondary infection.

"We found that early infection facilitated later infection," said study co-first author Professor Rachel Penczykowski. "And the order in which pathogen strains infect a plant matters. Some pathogen strains are especially likely to facilitate infection by later-arriving strains."

Professor Penczykowski teamed up with study senior author Anna-Liisa Laine to conduct a series of field experiments, which demonstrated how pathogen strains naturally accumulate on plants over a growing season. 

Powdery mildew is one of the most widespread plant fungal diseases, and the infection is caused by the pathogen Podosphaera plantaginis.

In their natural habitats, plants are exposed to and infected by multiple powdery mildew strains over the course of their lifetime. The researchers set out to investigate how prior exposure to one strain of powdery mildew may affect the plant's susceptibility to a second strain.

The experiments showed that out of four strains of powdery mildew, none protected the plants from a secondary infection. The researchers found that prior exposure to mildew actually made the plants more susceptible to a second powdery mildew infection.

"If you look at each strain individually, some of the strains were better than others at promoting later infection," explained Professor Penczykowski.

"Because crop plants may also be exposed to a diversity of pathogen strains during a given growing season, understanding the ways in which different pathogen strains impact each other is important for developing sustainable disease control strategies in agricultural systems."

The scientists placed healthy "sentinel plants" from greenhouses into field populations to measure the risk of pathogen infection. They moved potted sentinel plants into wild populations and waited for mildew spores to arrive.

The researchers found that sentinel plants that had been previously introduced to powdery mildew developed secondary infections more often than control plants that had never been exposed. 

"What we saw in both our common garden and our sentinel plant experiments was that previously inoculated plants were more susceptible to later infection," said study co-first author Fletcher Halliday.

"But could we detect the signature of pathogen strain facilitation in naturally infected wild plant populations? That would require an intensive survey of wild plant-pathogen dynamics."

Some strains of powdery mildew arrive earlier in the growing season, which means they were able to survive the winter and reproduce. 

Halliday analyzed genetic data from field surveys and found that strains detected early in the season facilitated subsequent infections, and strains that arrived later in the season reaped the benefits.

"The early-arriving strains are the ones that are driving the course of epidemics and also affecting the diversity of pathogen strains that assemble in plant populations," said Halliday.

"In other words, the strains that are ready to hit the ground running in spring may impact both the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant-pathogen interactions," said Professor Penczykowski.

The findings highlight the importance of understanding interactions among pathogens when developing strategies for maintaining healthy crop populations.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Early infection makes plants more vulnerable to later infection

A study from Washington University is providing new details on...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a> have pinpointed regions where marine heatwaves will accelerate at the greatest rate of speed. The study suggests that the world's strongest <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/giant-pumice-raft-transports-life-across-the-ocean/">ocean</a> currents, which have a powerful influence on ecosystems, will experience the most frequent abnormally high temperatures in the coming decades.

Over the next 30 years, the intensity of heatwave events is expected to rise along the following currents: the United States Gulf Stream, areas of Australia's Leeuwin current and East Australian Current, Japan's Kuroshio current, and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

However, while marine heatwaves across these regions are expected to become more intense, their duration may actually increase at a slower pace compared to the global average.

Study lead author Dr. Hakase Hayashida is a research associate at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. 

"We know marine heatwaves are on the rise globally, but policymakers, fisheries experts, aquaculture industries and ecologists need to know how this will play out at regional levels, especially in terms of where they will occur and how much hotter they will be," said Dr. Hayashida.

"Our detailed modeling is the first step in peeling back these layers, revealing the temperature variation that occurs across these currents and around them, indicating where the sharpest rises in marine heatwaves are likely to occur."

"For instance, we found intense marine heatwaves were more likely to form well off the coast of Tasmania, while along the Gulf Stream more intense marine heatwaves start to appear more frequently close to the shore along the stretch of coastline from the state of Virginia to New Brunswick. This will almost certainly change ecosystems in these regions."

The research was conducted using two high-resolution simulations of current and future periods developed by CSIRO Ocean Downscaling Strategic Project. This detailed approach clearly revealed distinct patterns of regional variability in ocean temperature extremes. 

To confirm the accuracy of the new model, the researchers simulated ocean temperatures from 1982 to 2018 and compared these outputs with documented observations. Then, they used the model to predict the evolution of marine heatwaves through 2050.

The simulations showed more intense marine heatwaves in every western boundary current that was examined, and for most regions these events will also occur more frequently.

However, on the edge of these currents, the conditions were very different. Eddies that spun off from the main current created areas where the intensity and duration of heatwaves declined.

"Like so many aspects of the climate system, the warming of the oceans isn't the same everywhere, which means the ecology will respond differently to global warming, depending on location," said study co-author Professor Peter Strutton.

"Detailed modeling like this is the first step in understanding which ecosystems will thrive or decline, how the productivity of the ocean will change, and those parts of the food chain most likely to be affected. This is exactly the kind of knowledge we need to adapt to the inevitable consequences of global warming."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Marine heatwaves will intensify in the strongest ocean currents

Researchers at the University of New South Wales have pinpointed...

In a recent study from <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">CU Boulder</a>, researchers have found that exposure to air <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/babies-exposed-to-air-pollution-have-impaired-breathing-by-childhood/">pollution</a> has a detrimental effect on gut bacteria. Changes to the gut microbiome can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

Trillions of cells, bacteria, viruses, and other material present in the digestive tract make up the human gut microbiome. A growing collection of studies shows that the contents of the gut microbiome have a powerful influence on the body's ability to defend itself against a range of illnesses. 

The current study is the first to link air pollution to changes in gut microbial communities. Ozone was found to cause the most profound effects. Young adults exposed to higher concentrations of ozone had less microbial diversity and elevated levels of microbes associated with obesity and disease.

Study senior author Tanya Alderete is an assistant professor of Integrative Physiology. She noted that previous studies have linked smog with Type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and inflammatory bowel diseases.

“We know from previous research that air pollutants can have a whole host of adverse health effects,” said Professor Alderete. “The takeaway from this paper is that some of those effects might be due to changes in the gut.”

Prior to this study, Professor Alderete determined that pollution can impair the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and raises the risk for obesity. 

To investigate the potential impacts of pollution in the gut, the researchers used advanced genetic testing techniques to analyze stool samples collected from 101 young adults in Southern California. The experts also used data from air-monitoring stations near the participants' homes to calculate their exposure to ozone, fine particle pollution, and nitrous oxide in the previous year.

The analysis revealed that ozone had the greatest effect on the gut microbiome. Ozone pollution accounted for 11 percent of the variation seen among the participants, which is larger than the impacts associated with gender, ethnicity, or even diet. 

Higher exposure to ozone pollution was linked to substantially less diverse gut bacterial communities. “This is important since lower diversity has been linked with obesity and Type 2 diabetes,” said Professor Alderete.

Individuals who had been exposed to higher levels of ozone in the past year were also found to have more of a bacterial species called Bacteroides caecimuris, which is known to promote obesity.

Overall, the researchers identified 128 bacterial species that are influenced by ozone pollution. Some of these species may affect insulin and inflammation levels, for example.

“Ozone is likely changing the environment of your gut to favor some bacteria over others, and that can have health consequences." Professor Alderete is currently expanding the research to include a larger group of participants in the Denver area. She hopes the findings will ultimately encourage policymakers to move parks, playgrounds, and housing developments away from busy roads and high pollution areas, and to invest in improving air quality.

“A lot of work still needs to be done, but this adds to a growing body of literature showing that human exposure to air pollution can have lasting, harmful effects on human health.”

The research also involved experts from UNC Charlotte, USC, and UC San Diego.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international">Environment International</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Air pollution linked to detrimental changes in gut bacteria

In a recent study from CU Boulder, researchers have found...

Secrets of past warming help protect future ecosystems. In a new study from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>, an international team of scientists has identified past global warming events similar to those anticipated in the coming decades. By analyzing the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-loss-in-smaller-habitats-is-underestimated/">biodiversity</a> impacts of climate warming in the past, experts can get a better understanding of what will happen in the future.

"Conservation biologists are taking full advantage of the long-term history of the planet as recorded in paleo-archives, such as those gathered by the team, to understand biological responses to abrupt climate changes of the past, quantify trends, and develop scenarios of future biodiversity loss from climate change," said study lead author Damien Fordham.

"Studying locations in regions such as the Arctic, Eurasia, the Amazon and New Zealand can yield knowledge of how climate has changed and how this has impacted plants and animals," said study co-author Professor Dorthe Dahl-Jensen.

"Using advanced new methods, including the use of DNA to map biodiversity and precise methods for dating climate change, we have taken advantage of opportunities to find precise causalities. The past climate changes are similar to those that we expect in coming decades."

The researchers mapped the prevalence of species based on fossil data archives. This analysis showed how individual plant and animal species, as well as entire ecosystems, responded to historical temperature increases.

"During large climate shifts of the past, such as the warming from the last ice age to our current interglacial period 11-18,000 years ago, Arctic temperatures have increased by more than 10 degrees Celsius. This is a warming of the same magnitude as the UN predicts can occur in the future, as is described in IPCC reports and forecasts," explained Professor Dahl-Jensen.

The study revealed that some species, such as antelope, were able to migrate northward in response to global warming. Species like the Arctic fox, however, were not able to reach suitable habitat and were wiped out.

The findings can be used to predict how plants and animals will respond to future climate warming, and which species will become most threatened with extinction.

The research also indicates that many ecosystems are able to adapt to sudden climate change, even when migration is not an option. It is important to acquire more knowledge and better promote healthy ecosystems in the future.

"We have gained access to completely new knowledge about how ecosystems, plants and animals have responded to temperature increases similar to those that we are confronted with today and will be in the future," said study co-author Professor Anders Svensson. 

"We can use this knowledge to be at the forefront of protecting and conserving biodiversity. It provides knowledge for us to protect the species that remain."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Secrets of past warming help protect future ecosystems

Secrets of past warming help protect future ecosystems. In a...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.umt.edu/">University of Montana</a> describes a previously unknown strategy used by tropical songbirds to adjust to the stress of climate change. The researchers have discovered that these birds reduce their reproductive activity during severe <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/latest-climate-models-show-more-intense-droughts-ahead/">droughts</a>, and this actually works to their advantage.

"We were extremely surprised to find that not only did reductions in breeding activity mitigate costs to survival, many long-lived species actually experienced higher survival rates during the drought year than during non-drought years," said study co-author Thomas Martin. "In contrast, shorter-lived species that kept breeding during droughts faced strong reductions in survival."

Over the course of his career, Martin has spent months at a time living in remote jungles to study birds. For the current investigation, he observed 38 different tropical bird species in Venezuela and Malaysia over multiple years. At each field site, there was one drought year during the study period.

The scientists modeled future population results for the birds using three different climate change scenarios. They monitored nests of each species to evaluate reproductive activity before and during the droughts. The researchers also marked birds with colored material to estimate survival rates. 

The analysis revealed that drought reduced reproduction by an average of 36 percent in the Malaysian species and by 52 percent in the Venezuelan species.

"The negative impacts of drought on survival are well documented," said  Martin. "We therefore also expected the droughts to reduce survival, but thought that the reduced breeding activity might limit the decrease in survival."

He said the population impacts of droughts were largely offset by the reproductive behavioral shifts in longer-lived species, but shorter-lived species did not benefit as much.

"Overall, our results have several major implications," said Martin. "First, we show that understanding behavioral responses to drought are critical for predicting population responses. Behavioral responses to environmental conditions can help buffer the most sensitive vital rates for a given species and mitigate the overall effect on fitness."

"Second, our results provide unique support to the idea that reproduction can negatively affect survival. This idea of a 'cost of reproduction' is central to life history theory but only rarely documented in wild populations."

The research suggests that many longer-lived tropical songbirds may actually be more resilient to droughts than previously expected.

"Ultimately, we hope our study can help motivate future studies into behavioral and demographic responses to shifting patterns of rainfall in more species so we can better anticipate the different impacts of climate change among species," said Martin.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate">Nature Climate Change</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Tropical songbirds reproduce less during severe droughts

A new study from the University of Montana describes a...

If the world fails to properly address <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/changes-in-climate-and-land-use-could-lead-to-catastrophic-levels-of-soil-erosion/">climate change</a> and limit global warming, the likelihood of hurricanes in the Caribbean will increase exponentially. On the other hand, achieving ambitious climate targets would cut the risk of Caribbean hurricanes by up to half, according to a study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>.

The researchers simulated future climate under three scenarios: present day conditions, global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or global warming of 2 degrees Celsius.

The analysis revealed that the Caribbean is shockingly vulnerable to climate change. The simulations showed that extreme hurricanes will become five times more likely as a result of global warming.

"Hurricane research has previously focused on the United States, so we wanted to look at the Caribbean region, which has fewer resources to recover. The findings are alarming and illustrate the urgent need to tackle global warming to reduce the likelihood of extreme rainfall events and their catastrophic consequences, particularly for poorer countries which take many years to recover," said study lead author Emily Vosper.

The climate scenarios used for the analysis are based on the targets of the Paris Agreement, a global framework to tackle climate change. The goal of the campaign is to limit future warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an optimal limit of 1.5°C.

The team designed a computer model that accounted for several important factors, including land features and large-scale winds, to produce realistic results.

The study revealed that extreme hurricanes, which currently strike the Caribbean about once every 100 years, will become more frequent under either of the Paris Agreement scenarios. For example, a 100-year storm affecting the Bahamas would be 4.5 times as likely under the 2°C Paris Agreement scenario compared to the present day. 

Compared to warming of 2°C,  warming of 1.5°C could reduce intense Caribbean hurricanes by as much as half in the Eastern regions.

"We expected extreme hurricanes to be more prevalent in the 2°C global warming scenario, but the scale of the projected increases was surprising and should serve as a stark warning to countries across the globe underscoring the importance of keeping climate change under control," said Vosper.

"Our findings show that the impacts of a 2°C warming above pre-industrial levels are set to disproportionately affect the Caribbean. By focusing efforts to stabilize global warming to the more ambitious 1.5°C goal, we could dramatically reduce the likelihood of extreme hurricane rainfall events in the area, particularly in the Eastern Caribbean region."

Even in the wealthiest Caribbean countries, it takes at least six years to rebuild after a major hurricane.

"Resources to mitigate damage are limited, so our findings could help highlight the hotspots in greatest danger and need. An integrated climate risk approach is needed to fully understand the threat of future hurricanes to Caribbean populations," said Vosper.

"Further studies could therefore incorporate factors that directly affect the health and well-being of local populations - such as storm surge, flood and landslide modelling - into the rainfall results to quantify such threats and feed into adaptation and resilience planning."

"Reducing the likelihood of extreme hurricanes should be the overriding priority. Our research clearly illustrates how vital it is to keep striving to meet the lower global warming temperature target, and the collective responsibility all countries, cities, communities, governments and individuals share to make that happen." 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326">Environmental Research Letters</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

The future of Caribbean hurricanes depends on the extent of global warming

If the world fails to properly address climate change and...

The results of a new study from <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University</a> indicate that Earth was always wet and did not need distant comets or <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/chicxulub-asteroid-struck-at-deadliest-possible-angle/">asteroids</a> to deliver the elements necessary for water to appear. The research suggests that water came from materials that were available in the solar system when our planet formed.

An international team of  researchers discovered that a type of meteorite called an enstatite chondrite contains enough hydrogen to deliver at least three times the amount of water held in Earth's oceans.

Enstatite chondrites are composed of material from the inner solar system, which is essentially the same material that Earth was formed from.

"Our discovery shows that the Earth's building blocks might have significantly contributed to the Earth's water," said study lead author Laurette Piani. "Hydrogen-bearing material was present in the inner solar system at the time of the rocky planet formation, even though the temperatures were too high for water to condense."

While it was too hot for water to condense when the building blocks of Earth came together, the meteorites indicate that water did not come from a distant source.

"The most interesting part of the discovery for me is that enstatite chondrites, which were believed to be almost 'dry,' contain an unexpectedly high abundance of water," said study co-author Lionel Vacher, who prepared some of the enstatite chondrites in this study for water analysis while completing his PhD at Universite de Lorraine. 

At Washington University, Vacher is working on understanding the composition of water in various types of meteorites. 

Enstatite chondrites are rare, but their isotopic similarity to Earth make them particularly interesting to scientists. These meteorites have similar oxygen, titanium, and calcium isotopes as Earth, and the current reveals that their hydrogen and nitrogen isotopes are also similar. 

"If enstatite chondrites were effectively the building blocks of our planet -- as strongly suggested by their similar isotopic compositions -- this result implies that these types of chondrites supplied enough water to Earth to explain the origin of Earth's water, which is amazing!" said Vacher.

"Only a few pristine enstatite chondrites exist: ones that were not altered on their asteroid nor on Earth," said Piani. "In our study we have carefully selected the enstatite chondrite meteorites and applied a special analytical procedure to avoid being biased by the input of terrestrial water."

"It was commonly assumed that these chondrites formed close to the sun. Enstatite chondrites were thus commonly considered 'dry,' and this frequently reasserted assumption has probably prevented any exhaustive analyses to be done for hydrogen."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</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

&nbsp;

Earth may have had water from the time it formed

The results of a new study from Washington University indicate...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> has revealed that the Arctic is warming at an even higher rate than expected. The researchers report that temperatures in the Arctic Ocean between Canada, Russia, and Europe are rising faster than <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/changes-in-climate-and-land-use-could-lead-to-catastrophic-levels-of-soil-erosion/">climate</a> models have predicted.

Average temperatures have increased by one degree per decade over the last 40 years, according to the study. In the Barents Sea and around Norway's Svalbard archipelago, temperatures have risen by 1.5 degrees per decade.

"Our analyses of Arctic Ocean conditions demonstrate that we have been clearly underestimating the rate of temperature increases in the atmosphere nearest to the sea level, which has ultimately caused sea ice to disappear faster than we had anticipated," explained study co-author Professor Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen.

The research team compared current Arctic warming with historical climate fluctuations, such as those which occurred in Greenland during the ice age between 120,000 and 11,000 years ago.

"The abrupt rise in temperature now being experienced in the Arctic has only been observed during the last ice age. During that time, analyses of ice cores revealed that temperatures over the Greenland Ice Sheet increased several times, between 10 to 12 degrees, over a 40 to 100-year period," said Professor Hesselbjerg Christensen.

He noted that the significance of the steep rise in temperature is yet to be fully appreciated, and that much more focus on Arctic warming and climate change mitigation is needed. 

Prior to this study, climate models have predicted that Arctic temperatures would rise in a slow and stable manner, but this fails to account for abrupt shifts. The current research indicates that abrupt changes must be considered.

"We have looked at the climate models analyzed and assessed by the UN Climate Panel. Only those models based on the worst-case scenario, with the highest carbon dioxide emissions, come close to what our temperature measurements show over the past 40 years, from 1979 to today," said Professor Christensen.

"Changes are occurring so rapidly during the summer months that sea ice is likely to disappear faster than most climate models have ever predicted. We must continue to closely monitor temperature changes and incorporate the right climate processes into these models."

"Thus, successfully implementing the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris Agreement is essential in order to ensure a sea-ice packed Arctic year-round."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate">Nature Climate Change</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Arctic warming has been greatly underestimated

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

Babies exposed to air <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/nutrient-pollution-makes-corals-more-susceptible-to-bleaching/">pollution</a> have poorer lung function as children and teenagers, according to new research from the <a href="https://www.europeanlung.org/">European Lung Foundation</a>. The study also suggests that breastfeeding for 12 weeks can help to mitigate the risk that babies will have impaired breathing in childhood.  

In a separate study, the researchers found that adults who are exposed to any level of air pollution over the course of decades are significantly more likely to develop asthma.

According to the experts, the findings indicate that more needs to be done to reduce levels of air pollution to protect children's developing lungs and prevent asthma in adults.

The first study was presented at the <a href="https://erscongress.org/">European Respiratory Society International Congress</a> by Dr. Qi Zhao from the <a href="https://www.iuf-duesseldorf.com/">IUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine</a>.

"Evidence is growing that exposure to air pollution is a threat to children's respiratory health. However, most studies have looked at the effects of recent exposure to pollution," said Dr. Zhao.

"Babies' lungs are especially vulnerable because they are growing and developing, so we wanted to see if there are longer-term impacts for babies who are exposed to air pollution as they grow up."

The investigation was focused on 915 children living in two regions of Germany, Munich and Wesel. The researchers compared data on air pollution in the communities where the children lived in their first year of life to breathing tests that were conducted at ages 6, 10 and 15.

Low scores on specific measurements of lung capacity - forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) - suggest that breathing is restricted and can be indicative of conditions such as asthma.

The study revealed that babies who were exposed to higher levels of air pollution had test scores that reflected poorer lung function as children and teenagers. Among children who developed asthma, the impacts on lung function were even greater.

On a positive note, the results of the analysis suggest that some of the damage linked to air pollution can be reduced in babies who are breastfed.

"Our results suggest that babies who grow up breathing polluted air, even at levels below EU regulations, have poorer breathing as they grow into children and adults. This is worrying because previous research suggests that damage to lungs in the first year of life can affect respiratory health throughout life," said Dr. Zhao.

The second study found that long-term exposure to air pollution was strongly linked to an asthma diagnosis. The risk of developing asthma directly corresponded with the concentration of two air pollutants - nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine (PM2.5).

The findings were presented at the ERC International Congress by Shuo Liu from University of Copenhagen.

"The fact that we found a link with asthma, even at relatively low levels of exposure, suggests that there is no safe threshold for air pollution," said Liu. "This is strong evidence that our regulations on air pollution need to be stricter if we want to prevent cases of asthma."

Thierry Troosters is a professor of Rehabilitation Sciences at KU Leuven and the president of the European Respiratory Society, who was not involved in the research. 

"These studies are concerning because they suggest the air we breathe is having a detrimental effect on adults and on babies' developing lungs. We all want to breathe clean air, and parents want to do all they can to help their children grow up to be healthy, but we have limited control over the quality of air where we live," said Professor Troosters.

"These findings suggest that current regulations, such as the EU limit values for air pollution, are not safe enough and we need to do more to protect children from the potential harms of air pollution. Previous research has shown that up to 67,000 cases of childhood asthma could be avoided every year in Europe if countries would meet the World Health Organization air quality limit values, which are lower than the EU's current standards, so it is essential that we reduce exposures."

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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

&nbsp;

Babies exposed to air pollution have impaired breathing by childhood

Babies exposed to air pollution have poorer lung function as...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

[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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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