View,Of,The,Device,Of,An,Oil,Drilling,Rig

Earth's surface bears the visible scars of human activities, from greenhouse gas emissions to deforestation. However, the impact of human intervention extends far beyond what meets the eye, reaching hundreds of meters to several kilometers beneath the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-model-reveals-the-evolution-of-the-earths-surface/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planet's surface</a> into Earth's deep subsurface. 



This hidden realm, often overlooked, is now the subject of disturbing research by hydrology experts. Jennifer McIntosh, a professor in the University of Arizona's <a href="https://has.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences</a>, and her colleagues have delved into the ways humans influence Earth's deep subsurface. 



"We looked at how the rates of fluid production with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oil-and-gas-production-linked-to-77-billion-in-annual-health-care-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oil and gas</a> compare to natural background circulation of water and showed how humans have made a big impact on the circulation of fluids in the subsurface," McIntosh explained.



In a paper published in the journal Earth's Future, they shed light on the significant impact of human activities on the circulation of fluids in this subterranean zone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Deciphering the hidden world in motion beneath our feet</h2>



The study, led by Grant Ferguson, also from the UArizona, compared the rates of fluid production from oil and gas extraction to the natural background circulation of water. 



The findings reveal that human-induced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-internal-jet-stream-core/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fluid fluxes</a> surpass the natural flow, and they are projected to increase further with proposed strategies for combating climate change.



These strategies include geologic carbon sequestration, geothermal energy production, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fools-gold-may-be-a-valuable-source-of-lithium/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lithium extraction</a> from underground mineral-rich brine. 



"Responsible management of the subsurface is central to any hope for a green transition, sustainable future and keeping warming below a few degrees," emphasizes Peter Reiners, a professor in the <a href="https://www.geo.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UArizona Department of Geosciences</a> and a co-author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-subsurface-fluid-fluxes">Earth's subsurface fluid fluxes</h2>



These fluxes transport water, gases, and other substances through the subsurface, influencing everything from groundwater resources to geothermal energy.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Types of subsurface fluid fluxes</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Groundwater flow</h4>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/groundwater-depletion-is-accelerating-but-it-is-not-inevitable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Groundwater flow</a> represents the movement of water through porous and fractured rock formations. This flow occurs due to pressure gradients and the force of gravity, allowing water to move from areas of high hydraulic head to areas of low hydraulic head. Groundwater flow plays a vital role in the hydrologic cycle, recharging aquifers and sustaining surface water bodies.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Hydrocarbon migration</h4>



Subsurface fluid fluxes also include the migration of hydrocarbons, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-orphaned-oil-and-gas-wells-litter-the-world-and-must-be-cleaned-up/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oil and natural gas</a>. These fluids originate from organic-rich source rocks and migrate through permeable rock layers until they encounter traps or seals. Understanding hydrocarbon migration is essential for oil and gas exploration and production.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Geothermal fluid circulation</h4>



In regions with high <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/underground-water-could-be-a-great-source-of-renewable-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">geothermal gradients</a>, subsurface fluids can circulate through fractures and permeable rock formations, absorbing heat from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-ancient-ocean-floor-surrounds-the-earths-core/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth's interior</a>. This heated fluid can then rise to the surface, creating hot springs, geysers, and fumaroles. Geothermal fluid circulation is a key factor in the development of geothermal energy resources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Importance of Earth's subsurface fluid fluxes</h2>



Subsurface fluid fluxes have far-reaching impacts on various aspects of our planet. They influence the availability and quality of groundwater resources, which are essential for human consumption, agriculture, and industrial activities. 



Additionally, these fluxes play a crucial role in the formation and distribution of mineral resources, such as ore deposits and petroleum accumulations.



Moreover, subsurface fluid fluxes contribute to the transport and cycling of chemical elements and compounds within the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unexpected-molten-rock-layer-discovered-under-earths-crust/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth's crust</a>. 



This process has implications for geochemical cycles, rock-water interactions, and the evolution of subsurface environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Human intervention in Earth's fluid dynamics</h2>



In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-chief-fossil-fuel-era-must-end-for-humanitys-survival/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oil and natural gas</a> production, saline water from the deep subsurface is extracted alongside the targeted resources. This ancient water, often millions of years old, acquires its salinity from the evaporation of ancient seawater or reactions with rocks and minerals. 



To maintain reservoir pressures and enhance oil recovery, near-surface water is added to the extracted saline water, and the blended mixture is reinjected into the subsurface, creating a continuous cycle of fluid production and reinjection.



Similar processes occur in lithium extraction, geothermal energy production, and geologic carbon sequestration, where leftover saline water is reinjected into the underground. 



"We show that the fluid injection rates or recharge rates from those oil and gas activities is greater than what naturally occurs," states McIntosh.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Rewriting Earth's history through subsurface geology</h2>



Using existing data from various sources, the research team found that current fluid movement rates induced by human activities surpass those that occurred before human intervention. 



As carbon capture, sequestration, and lithium extraction intensify, the researchers also predicted how these activities might be recorded in Earth's geological record.



Moreover, human activities have the potential to alter not only the <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/the-geysers-the-worlds-largest-geothermal-field/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deep subsurface fluids</a> but also the microbes that inhabit those depths. 



Fluid movements can modify <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-in-the-extreme-microbial-activity-discovered-in-old-faithful/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbial environments</a> through changes in water chemistry or by introducing new microbial communities from Earth's surface to the underground. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-fracking-surged/">Hydraulic fracturing</a>, for example, can trigger sudden blooms of microbial activity in previously dormant deep rock formations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Earth's subsurface is still mostly a mystery</h2>



Despite the significance of these findings, many unknowns remain about Earth's deep subsurface and the extent of human impact on this hidden realm. 



"We need to use the deep subsurface as part of the solution for the climate crisis," emphasizes McIntosh. "Yet, we know more about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-sediments-found-in-jezero-crater-hint-at-past-life-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surface of Mars</a> than we do about water, rocks and life deep beneath our feet."



Continued research and exploration of this enigmatic zone are crucial for understanding the full scope of human influence on our planet and developing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/international-day-of-zero-waste-a-global-commitment-to-a-sustainable-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sustainable strategies</a> for addressing the climate crisis. 



While we strive to mitigate the visible effects of human activities on Earth's surface, we must not overlook the hidden impact that extends deep into the subsurface.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-what-lies-beneath">Protecting what lies beneath</h2>



As we continue to explore and utilize Earth's deep subsurface in our efforts to combat climate change, we must remain mindful of the hidden impact our actions have on this enigmatic realm. 



By studying the fluid dynamics, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-increases-threat-antimicrobial-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbial communities</a>, and geological record beneath our feet, we can develop a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between human activities and the subterranean world. 



This knowledge will be crucial in guiding our strategies for a sustainable future, ensuring that our solutions do not create unforeseen consequences in the depths below. 



As we navigate the challenges of the climate crisis, we must approach the subsurface with a spirit of curiosity, responsibility, and respect, recognizing that the key to our success may lie in the mysteries that await us in Earth's hidden depths.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024EF004496" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth's Future</a>.



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Human activities also greatly harm Earth’s subsurface, not just the landmass

Earth's surface bears the visible scars of human activities, from greenhouse gas emissions to deforestation. However, the impact of human intervention extends far beyond what meets the eye, reaching hundreds of meters to several kilometers beneath the planet's surface into Earth's deep subsurface. This hidden realm, often overlooked, is now the subject of disturbing research by hydrology experts. Jennifer McIntosh, a professor in the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, and her colleagues have delved into the ways humans influence Earth's deep subsurface. "We...

New research led by the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that converting large areas of land to be used for bioenergy power stations would release too much carbon dioxide (CO2) to be an effective solution. According to the study, protecting and replenishing forests is a much better option.

Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) power stations are built to generate energy, capture the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2), and store it underground in bedrock.


“The vast majority of current IPCC scenarios for how we can limit global warming to less than 2°C include BECCS,” said study lead author Dr. Anna Harper. “But the land required to grow biomass in these scenarios would be twice the size of India.”


The team set out to investigate the consequences of such a major shift in land use. An advanced, worldwide model of vegetation and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-temperatures-soil-expelling-co2/">soil</a> enabled the experts to run various land-use change scenarios, which were consistent with stabilizing the climate at less than two degrees Celsius of warming.

The study revealed that the implementation of BECCS on a large scale could lead to a net increase of carbon in the atmosphere, particularly where crops would replace existing forests.

“In some places BECCS will be effective, but we've found that in many places protecting or regenerating forests is much more sensible,” explained study co-author Dr. Tom Powell.


The efficiency of BECCS depends on factors such as the choice of biomass, the fate of existing biomass, and the fossil-fuel emissions that are offset by the system. While BECCS may not be the best solution now, future improvements could make it a better option.

“Our paper illustrates that the manipulation of land can help offset carbon dioxide emissions, but only if applied for certain quite specific locations,” said study co-author Professor Chris Huntingford.

Dr. Harper concluded: “To meet the climate change targets from the Paris agreement, we need to both drastically reduce emissions and employ a mix of technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. There is no single get-out-of-jail-free card.”

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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Replenishing forests will be crucial to combating global warming

New research led by the University of Exeter has found...

I remember standing at the top of a hillside in a field biology camp in Madagascar.  At night from a high vantage point, it seemed like you could always see a fire burning somewhere.  The little far off eruptions of flames in the dark, tropical night were eerie and haunting. Knowing what the fires meant is what made them tragic.  

Today roughly 90% of Madagascar’s spectacularly unique forests have been destroyed, and much of the destruction has come from slash and burn agriculture, or as the fires are called locally. tavy.  The problem with tavy is that in the end, the land is left bereft of the nutrients that supported vegetation such as forest or the later rice paddies.  When the land is eventually abandoned after its usefulness, erosion often occurs and it’s extremely hard for forests to reclaim the land in the short-term.  It’s said that from space, Madagascar looks like it’s bleeding from the run-off of red soil in the oceans surrounding the island nation. 

People have been living on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/toxic-toad-species-madagascar/">Madagascar</a> for only about 2,000 years, a very short time when considering how long people have lived in Africa, Asia or even North America and Australia.  People arrived on Madagascar probably by boat from both Africa and Asia and brought agriculture with them. Rice paddies dominate much of the land in Madagascar, hills are terraced extensively to grow rice, I even saw a large rice paddy bordering directly on a trash landfill.  Cattle are also common, with the Zebu breed of cow, which looks similar to Brahmas being popular. Men herding cows down roads on foot is a common thing to see in Madagascar. I’ve ridden in public transportation past men bedded down by highways with their cows at night cooking over small campfires.  

The problem with the agricultural methods of Madagascar is that they were largely brought to the country from places with more land.  Asia and Africa are both much larger than Madagascar and rice and cattle agriculture has developed in each respectively over long periods.  The total land in Madagascar is only 224,632 sq. miles compared to mainland Africa at 11.73 million sq. miles and Asia at 17.21 million sq. miles.

It’s not only clearing land for more agriculture that’s burning up Madagascar’s forest.  It’s also charcoal. Even mangrove forests and marshes are burned to create charcoal. 

Charcoal production and agriculture are both driven by a basic desire to survive.  Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest nations and people do what they must just to get by.  I saw kids less than ten years old dressed in taters, filling potholes in public roads in the hopes that drivers would give them a few coins for their labor.  It was common when eating at a restaurant to see people standing outside a window by your table, watching you eat and hoping you’d be generous enough to give a piece of bread from your meal.  A reforestation effort I was working on paid locals five dollars a day to plant trees and for that price, dozens of people always lined up, eager to work. Some non-profit organizations pay Malagasy people (locals) in rice instead of money for their labors but the situation is so desperate that they still have no problem finding workers.  Funerals for people in their twenties and thirties were depressingly commonplace and I attended or was invited (as a volunteer) to at least a dozen funerals in the small community I stayed at in five months. I wasn’t in one of the poorer parts of Madagascar either. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/01/madagascar-the-country-thats-poor-but-not-poor-enough-for-aid">The Guardian</a> reported in 2015 that almost 1.9 million people in Southern Madagascar don’t have secure food supplies.  According to the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/countries/madagascar_en">European Commission</a>, 92% of Madagascar’s population lives on less than $2 per day.         

Over the years I’ve heard many people express a variety of opinions on what must be done to save the forests of Madagascar.  It’s no wonder people want to save Madagascar, the rainforests, spiny forests, desert, even the reefs surrounding Madagascar are home to spectacular wildlife.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/06/madagascar-biodiversity-600-species-discovered">The Guardian</a> reported in 2011 that in the previous decade, 600 new species had been discovered in Madagascar.  It’s all the more striking that so many species have been found in a place that’s been intensely researched, explored and inhabited for the last 2,000 years.  

There are cities, roads, villages, farms throughout Madagascar, and nothing is as remote as the far reaches of the Amazon, Arctic or Congo.  Madagascar is the only wild home to lemurs, made famous for their cartoon counterparts in the 2005 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)">Madagascar</a> that danced and sang, ‘I like to move it move it’.  There are 105 living species of the strange, primordial primate.  It’s thought lemurs may be similar to ancient primates, including our very distant ancestors but they’ve erupted in biodiversity being adapted to numerous niches from nocturnal pollinators to diurnal leaf eaters.  

Madagascar is also home to two-thirds of the world’s chameleon species, strange creatures varying in size from barely more than the head of a match stick to the Parson’s chameleon which measures roughly 27 inches long.  Strange geckoes camouflage themselves looking like little more than lichen on trees and pale blind <a href="https://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/the-cave-fishes-of-madagascar/">fishes</a> live in the caves of Madagascar.  According to <a href="http://www.wildmadagascar.org/flora/">wildmadagascar.org</a>, 70 to 80% of Madagascar’s 12,000 plant species are found nowhere else on Earth.

Part of the problem is we really have little grasp on how to ‘save’ Madagascar despite the quickness of well-intentioned people to espouse opinions.  At least those who are in charge of large NGOs and aid groups seem to be helping Madagascar very little. The organization I volunteered for oversaw the planting of many trees, the majority of which were non-native with no clear idea of the impact of the non-native trees on the ecosystem.  

Aid to local governments was also slow in coming, basic safety measures like running water, street lights and good hospitals were hard to find.  <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/madagascar">USAID</a> has been working in Madagascar for 33 years, and according to the organization,  the US gave Madagascar $91 million in aid in 2016. The EU has also historically given aid to Madagascar, there are impressive bridges spanning rivers with plaques saying they were built by EU aid.  The EU has pledged to give €518 million in aid from 2014 to 2020 to Madagascar, aimed at rural development, infrastructure support and governance assistance. 

In a country that has previously had foreign aid account for <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-restores-aid-to-madagascar/">40% of its budget</a>, it’s hard to understand why we can’t support people without burning down the forest and destroying the nation’s most precious resource: soil.  

The US as one of the main sources of aid to Madagascar benefits as well from trade agreements with the country.  Non-profit organizations routinely cash in on short-term volunteers naively feeling they’ll make a difference in saving biodiversity or alleviating poverty.  The organization I once volunteered to plant trees with for free now charges $210 to reserve a volunteer spot, $650 for accommodation fees for three months and $70 to $90 to get a visa for your stay.  It’s hard to feel you’re making as much of an impact through work as you are through paying to work in a country where $5/day is a living wage. 

Most organizations seem instead of engaging locals to focus on bringing volunteers to places they have no deep connection to and turning a profit.  As Madagascar continues to burn, the root problem continues to grow as well: exploitation of a land and a people too powerless to stop the relentless march of exploitative capitalism.        

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://Earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Exploitation and deforestation as Madagascar continues to burn

I remember standing at the top of a hillside in...

Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures. A new study has revealed that corals are adapting to climate change at an impressive and unexpected pace. The rate of rising ocean temperatures, however, is accelerating even faster.

When <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-bleaching-temperature-changes/">bleaching</a> occurs, corals lose their symbiotic algae, which provide a significant food source as well as color to their host. If the corals do not recover this food source quickly, they will not survive.

In the 1970s, a series of studies was the first to simulate elevated temperature stress in corals. Those investigations foreshadowed the effects of high-temperature events that have now become increasingly frequent, widespread, and intense in coral habitats over the last 35 years. Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures

In 2017, one of the experiments from the 1970s was replicated and involved one of the original researchers, Dr. Steve Coles.

This assessment would give scientists a unique opportunity to see how much the resilience of corals may have changed over the past 50 years. Corals were exposed to ambient and elevated temperatures for a one-month period, which was followed by 28 days of recovery.

“To better understand coral acclimatization and adaptation, most studies compare corals from different reef locations, whereas this is the first study to compare the same coral species from the same location over time,” said Dr. Keisha Bahr. 

“Re-running a 48-year old experiment using the same coral species, same experimental setup, and same observer allows us to directly test changes in coral temperature tolerance over the last half century.”

The current study revealed a drastic increase in temperature tolerance among the corals. In the three species of Hawaiian corals retested, bleaching occurred later, and with higher survivorship and growth rates than corals in 1970. In addition, the survival rate of 2017 was 60-92 percent, which was dramatically higher than the 1970 survival rate of  zero to 40 percent.

“Although these results are encouraging in their indication that acclimatization and adaptation of corals and their symbionts can occur at an unexpectedly rapid rate, increased bleaching tolerance may not be enough for widespread coral survival,” said Dr. Ku’ulei Rodgers.

“A possible influence on the results may be the substantially higher water quality in the Kāne’ohe Bay in 2017 as compared to 1970 due to nearby secondary treated sewage release at the time,” added Dr. Coles. 

“Elevated levels of dissolved nitrogen have been implicated in stimulating coral bleaching. When verified, this will support the importance of reducing land-based source nutrients to assist management in limiting coral bleaching and mortality.”


The research is published in journal <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Ji Hoon Justin Han

Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures

Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures. A...

A new study from the <a href="https://carnegiescience.edu/">Carnegie Institution for Science</a> has revealed that ocean warming in the northern Pacific may have a larger influence on the climate of the Arctic than what was previously realized.

The Arctic is responding more intensely to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thawing-permafrost-global-warming/">global warming</a> than any other region, which can be seen in the rate of sea ice decline. This effect, known as Arctic amplification, has been linked to many positive feedback mechanisms. The impact of oceanic heat flow from outside of the Arctic, however, has not been fully understood.

Paleoclimate records have shown that climate change in the Arctic has been both abrupt and drastic in the past. During the last deglaciation, there were two episodes of accelerated warming in the Arctic. Both of these events were accompanied by rapid warming in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans at mid-latitudes.

The current study was led by Summer Praetorius, who was a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie at the time of the research and is now with the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Since there appeared to be coupling between abrupt Arctic temperature changes and sea surface temperature changes in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific in the past, we thought it was important to untangle how each region may affect the Arctic differently in order to provide insight into recent and future Arctic changes,” explained Praetorius.

The researchers modeled a series of ocean-to-atmosphere heat flow scenarios for the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. They also used the <a href="https://ncar.ucar.edu/">National Center for Atmospheric Research</a>'s Community Earth System Model (CESM) to analyze potential impacts to the surface temperatures and the climate in the Arctic.

The team found a strong correlation between both cooling and warming irregularities in the North Pacific and Arctic surface air temperature anomalies. The effect of activity in the North Atlantic, however, was not as strong.

The study authors pointed out, in particular, that accelerated warming across the Arctic in recent years has corresponded with unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Northeast Pacific. According to the experts, this suggests that the connection between these two regions has been underestimated.

“While this is a highly idealized study, our results suggest that changes in the Pacific Ocean may have a larger influence on the climate system than generally recognized,” said study co-author Ken Caldeira.

The research 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

Image Credit: NASA

Pacific Ocean warming influences Arctic climate change

A new study from the Carnegie Institution for Science has...

Colonies of invasive Tegu lizards, originally brought to the United States as pets, could soon wreak havoc across local ecosystems from Florida to Texas. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University </a>conducted a study on the potential invasive range of Tegu lizards, now isolated to two large colonies in Florida. 

The results, published online through the journal Nature, show that because Tegus can thrive in a range of habitats and eat everything from insects to alligator eggs, the species could expand as far as central Texas which could disrupt local food chains and endanger other animals. 

“They are voracious, omnivorous predatory lizards that can live in a variety of habitats, but we can't know what is going to happen or how intense this invasion is going to become until the effects are upon us,” Lee Fitzgerald, a professor at Texas A&amp;M University, told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6022955/Invasion-big-voracious-lizards-threatens-U-S-South-study.html">Daily Mail</a> in an interview. 

The researchers aren’t sure exactly how far Tegu lizards will spread or when the species will invade new habitats because there’s no way to tell how many Tegus will be abandoned by their owners or escape in the coming years. 

So far, wild Tegu populations have been reported in several areas in Florida, according to the <a href="http://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</a>. 

The best way to prevent Tegu lizards from spreading as an invasive species is to ensure that lizards stay put in their homes. 

This is not the first exotic animal that has found its way into Florida’s ecosystem because of its   prized status as a pet. 

For example, the Burmese Python is now no longer able to be sold as a pet in the state of Florida because of the rash of pythons now living in Florida’s Everglades. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission even runs an <a href="http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/amnesty-program/">Exotic Pet Amnesty Program</a> to help stop the spread of non-native species in the wild by offering to take exotic pets away from the owners who don’t want them or can’t care for them. 

As intriguing and unique as a Burmese Python snake or colorful parrot might be to have as a pet, many times pet owners find themselves <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/concerns-reptiles-amphibians-pets/">ill-equipped to adequately care the animal</a> as it grows into adulthood. 

Tegu Lizards can grow up to four feet in length and can be temperamental and difficult at times. 

The quickest solution, then for an overwhelmed pet owner, is to release the animal into the wild, but this has only created a number of problems for Florida’s ecosystems. 

“The most important thing that the public can do to stop the spread of non-native species like tegus is to NEVER release non-native animals into the wild,” commission specialist Jamie Rager told the Daily Mail. “Don't let it loose.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive Tegu lizards pose a big problem in the southern US

Colonies of invasive Tegu lizards, originally brought to the United...

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, much of the focus has been placed on carbon dioxide and its role in driving climate change.

However, methane emissions from farming, energy production, and landfills are far <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-measured-reported/">more potent than CO2</a> in terms of trapping heat. 

A new study has found that increases in precipitation due to climate change is creating a dangerous feedback loop and preventing forests from acting as efficient methane sinks, and it’s something that climate projections have continually overlooked. 

As forests lose their ability to store methane, more methane enters the atmosphere and further drives climate change extremes. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.caryinstitute.org/">Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies</a> conducted the study which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

The results show that forests have been overestimated as effective methane sinks by 50 percent worldwide. 

“We were interested in how methane uptake by forest soils was influenced by environmental change,” said Peter Groffman, a co-author of the study. “Do things like soil temperature, nitrogen, or rainfall impact forest soil's ability to act as a methane sink? And how does this play out over time?”

The researchers used methane monitoring data collected over a long period of time at two different sites, the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study in Maryland. 

At the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, soil methane uptake measurements were taken from 2002 to 2015.

Methane uptake measuring took place at the Baltimore Ecosystem Site from 1998 through 2016

The researchers analyzed this monitoring data and reviewed 317 journal articles on soil methane uptake published between 1987 and 2015. 

This allowed the researchers to compare methane uptake across forests in 30-degree latitude bands across the globe and estimate how much climate change had inhibited methane uptake worldwide 

The researchers found that in the sites in Maryland, methane uptake declined by 54 percent. At the Hubbard Brook Farm, methane uptake declined by as much as 89 percent. 

Declines in methane uptake were also recorded around the globe, dropping as much as 77 percent. 

An increase in precipitation due to climate change was cited as the cause for the drastic changes in methane storing for forests because the bacteria that typically eat methane in the soil can’t access the chemical compound when the soil is waterlogged. 

The researchers say that climate change will only cause wetter and wetter conditions which will prevent forests from storing methane, and unless these changes are factored into future climate projections, atmospheric greenhouse gas emission estimates will be inaccurate. 

“These findings suggest that global budgets for atmospheric methane - which are used to inform policy around methane-producing activities - are overestimating the role that forest soils play in trapping gas,” said Groffman. “Declining methane uptake by forest soils should be factored into these models to avoid exacerbating climate warming, as methane in the atmosphere may rise more quickly and reach higher levels than current models predict.”

The researchers also note that targeting methane emissions is just as crucial if not more so than reducing and capping carbon emissions. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Claire Nemes

Paid for by <a href="http://Earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Climate change is inhibiting forests from storing methane

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, much of the...

Sweden’s tallest peak, a glacier on Kebnekaise mountain, has melted due to extremely high summer temperatures. 

The southern peak of Kebnekaise mountain has been a popular destination for climbers and adventurous tourists. 

According to <a href="http://time.com/5357175/sweden-highest-peak-melts/">Time Magazine</a>, one month ago the southern peak stood 2,101 meters or 6,893 feet above sea level. 

But last week, researchers discovered that that glacier had melted to 2,097 meters and through the week melted to the point that it was no longer the highest peak. 

That honor now goes to Kebnekaise’s northern peak, which is a cause for concern for Arctic guides and mountain rescue workers who say that climbers will want to reach the top of the northern peak even though it’s a much more treacherous climb. 

“It could have that effect, yes,” said Stefan Kallstrom, head of the Swedish Mountain Rescue Service, told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/world/europe/sweden-kebnekaise-heat-wave.html">New York Times</a> in an interview. “From a safety aspect, the north peak is much harder to climb than the south. It has a different topography.”

Sweden, like much of northern Europe, has been experiencing record heat waves, droughts, and even devastating wildfires. 

The latest measurements of the Kebnekaise glacier proves that the impacts of these climate extremes are reaching farther and farther than ever before. 

A peninsula in Norway, Banak, which is 300 miles into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-warming-arctic-will-cost-trillions-of-dollars-in-damages/">Arctic Circle</a> saw temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In Karbole, Sweden, a wildfire in the Arctic Circle promoted evacuations. 

While higher summer temps in the summer in northern reaches of Sweden are not unusual, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/europe/heat-wave-sweden-fires.html">New York Times,</a> the current string of fires in the area are some of the most severe the country has seen in a decade. 

“It started on Thursday with lightning storms,” fire chief Lars Nyman told the New York Times. “The situation is very hard pressed. We are in the midst of a heat wave. The temperature is around 30 degrees (Celsius), and that is very unusual up here. We need several days of rain to dampen the earth now. It won’t be enough with a light shower.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Amidst record heat wave, Sweden loses highest glacial peak

Sweden’s tallest peak, a glacier on Kebnekaise mountain, has melted...

According to new research led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a>, climate change will make rain-on-snow flooding events much more common in some regions. The study revealed that, across parts of the western United States and Canada, intense flooding that results from rain falling on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/western-snowpacks-shrank-century/">snowpack</a> could more than double by the end of this century.

The greatest increases are projected for the Sierra Nevada, the Colorado River headwaters and the Canadian Rocky Mountains. On the other hand, the lower-elevation coastal regions of California, Oregon, Washington, and maritime British Columbia are predicted to see decreases in rain-on-snow flood risk.

Rain-on-snow events often cause costly and damaging flooding. When rapid snowmelt mixes with heavy rainfall, downstream rivers and reservoirs can quickly become overwhelmed. In 2017, California's Oroville Dam came dangerously close to catastrophic failure as a result of such flooding. The event caused the evacuation of 188,000 people and $1 billion in infrastructure damages.

“Rain-on-snow events can be intense and dangerous in mountainous areas, but they are still relatively poorly understood,” said study lead author Keith Musselman. “We can infer a little bit from streamflow, but we want to get better measurements and model more of the variables involved.”

To investigate the future potential for rain-on-snow events, the experts teamed up with scientists at the <a href="https://ncar.ucar.edu/">National Center for Atmospheric Research</a> (NCAR), where a state-of-the-art weather modeling dataset known as CONUS 1 had been developed.

CONUS 1 has unprecedented resolution and detail, and contains weather simulations based on the current climate and on a warmer future climate across the continental United States.


“This high-res dataset allows us to resolve mountains in granular fashion and examine the factors that combine to melt the snowpack when a warm storm comes in and hits cold mountains like the Sierra,” said Musselman.

The analysis revealed that, at higher elevations where winter snow will accumulate despite warming temperatures, rain-on-snow events will become more frequent due to increased rainfall that may have once fallen as snow. The study also projected that these events will become more intense.

For a majority of western North American river basins, the corresponding flood risk will increase by as much as 200 percent, and could put a serious strain on existing flood control infrastructure.

“We were surprised at how big some of the projected changes were,” said Musselman. “We didn't expect to see huge percentage increases in places that already have rain-on-snow flooding.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="http://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

Rain-on-snow flooding will become more intense in the western US

According to new research led by the University of Colorado...

The sparkling white sand of Florida’s southwestern beaches aren’t dotted with sunbathers this week. Instead, they’re strewn with the corpses of dead marine creatures, victims of a red tide.

While the toxic algae blooms known as “red tides” are common off the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the <a href="https://floridadep.gov/">Florida Department of Environmental Protection</a> is calling the current event the worst in a decade. The state’s governor has declared a state of emergency.

At least 400 sea turtles have died, Newsweek is reporting. Several news outlets reported that a dead manatee was also recovered off the Florida coast, and at least one biologist found evidence the red tide may have killed a whale shark. Tissue taken from the whale shark’s organs and muscles tested positive for brevetoxin, a neurotoxin created by the algae.

“This whale shark was definitely exposed to the bloom, and we know brevetoxins (are deadly),” spokeswoman Kelly Richmond of the <a href="http://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission</a> told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>.

While biologists are still working to determine the cause of death, if the algae bloom did play a role, it would be the first known incident in which a whale shark has been killed by a bloom.

About 100 miles of the Florida shore have been affected, and the red tide looks like a persistent one. The algae bloom – which gets its name because the microscopic algae often turn water red – has already lasted since November of last year, and could stretch into 2019, some scientists are saying.

“Many people will tell you that this is the worst they have ever seen,” Jacylin Bevis, a reporter with the NBC affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida, told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/">NBC News</a>. “It’s our entire south Florida coastline with the red tide and then with the blue-green algae on the rivers and canals."

Most algae blooms are beneficial to the ocean, providing a source of food for marine creatures. Red tides, on the other hand, produce toxins that can harm or kill sea life.

Usually, cold spells break up or kill off some of the algae, but not this time. The red tide is going strong – and has been joined by toxic blue-green algae invading Lake Okeechobee, and several of the state’s rivers and canals, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek</a> said.

More than a dozen people have gone to the emergency room after exposure to the blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Red tide kills hundreds of fish, turtles in southwest Florida

The sparkling white sand of Florida’s southwestern beaches aren’t dotted...

After a severe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/next-san-andreas-fault-earthquake/">earthquake</a>, the biggest fears are typically aftershocks and tsunamis near the initial epicenter of the quake. 

However, new research shows that there’s actually a higher risk of greater magnitude earthquakes following a big quake and these can occur on the very opposite end of the Earth. 

Researchers from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> discovered that there is a three-day window following a big quake with an increased risk of a large earthquake occurring. 

In order to examine the impacts of earthquakes beyond aftershocks, the researchers reviewed and analyzed seismic data from 1973 through 2016, focusing on earthquakes with a magnitude 6.5 or larger. 

After these kinds of earthquakes, the researchers studied global seismic data for a period of three days immediately following the quake. 

The researchers injected a three-day window in test cases for the larger quakes during the 44-year period and had a control group without quake injection periods. 

The team found that higher magnitude earthquakes were more likely to occur after a large quake, and these quakes happened outside of the zone of the first quake, with an increased risk of seismic activity on the opposite part of the world. 

Seismologists now need to be aware that beyond aftershocks, there is an increased risk of large quakes 5.0 or higher following an initial earthquake. 

“The test cases showed a clearly detectable increase over background rates,” said Robert O’Malley, a corresponding author of the study. “The understanding of the mechanics of how one earthquake could initiate another while being widely separated in distance and time is still largely speculative. But irrespective of the specific mechanics involved, evidence shows that triggering does take place, followed by a period of quiescence and recharge.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Big earthquakes can set off tremors on the opposite side of Earth

After a severe earthquake, the biggest fears are typically aftershocks...

For years, Americans were in love with plastic, unaware of its harmful effects on our environment and oceans. Today, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/starbucks-plastic-straws/">plastic straws</a> are rapidly being rejected by companies, people are opting out of single-use plastics, and microplastic is becoming a household word of concern. Microfibers have largely been left out of this conversation, despite the fact that we are shedding them into our waterways every time we wash our clothes.

According to the<a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/"> Marine Debris Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>, microfibers are “also a type of microplastic. They include small fibers that enter the water from washing clothing made of synthetic materials, like polyester or nylon.”

These tiny fibers can become dislodged from clothing while in the washing machine. Their small size often allows them the make it through filters at sewage treatment plants where they can enter our waterways. Unfortunately, spandex did not die in the 80s, and many clothing items available today are made with synthetic materials.

A<a href="https://brenmicroplastics.weebly.com/project-findings.html"> study</a> by a research team at the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California Santa Barbara</a> Bren School of Environmental Science &amp; Management found that when a synthetic jacket is washed, an average of 1,174 milligrams of microfibers are released from the washing machine.

Since washing clothing is such a common occurrence throughout many homes, the potential damage are huge.<a href="http://www.adventurescientists.org/microplastics.html"> The Microplastics Initiative of Adventure Scientists</a> conducted what is believed to be the most extensive documentation of microplastic pollution in the world. They found that “across studies, microfibers, as opposed to other types of microplastics, were dominant: microfibers composed 91% of marine particles, 92% of freshwater particles, and 80% of Gallatin particles.”

Once in our oceans, marine animals can accidentally ingest the microfibers where they can cause starvation and reproductive issues.

A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X12005668">study</a> published in Marine Pollution Bulletin examining microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract of fish from the English Channel found rayon was the most common material with 57.8% of the plastic pieces found being rayon.

After being ingested, microfibers can travel up the food chain. Humans and predator species are at risk of ingesting microfibers through eating affected animals. The effects of microfibers on humans is still unknown.

Microfibers are clearly a pressing issue but the solution is less clear. While people can invest in biodegradable clothing materials such as cotton and wool, synthetic fibers are hard to avoid completely.

People can take small steps such as washing synthetic fabrics less often and using a colder wash setting.

Industry and non-profit groups are working towards researching potential solutions. In 2017, Ocean Conservancy and the Bren School of Environmental Science &amp; Management held a microfiber summit which featured stakeholders in the apparel, outdoor recreation, scientific and government sectors.

Outdoor apparel company Patagonia is currently investigating ways to minimize fiber shedding from their clothes and is supporting scientific research on the ecological and public health impacts of microfibers.

While a solution may not be on the horizon, public education and awareness can help shed some light on this issue.

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Microfibers shed from your clothing are polluting our oceans

For years, Americans were in love with plastic, unaware of...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/">British Heart Foundation</a> (BHF) has revealed that exposure to low levels of air pollution can cause major structural changes to the heart that are similar to those associated with the early stages of heart failure.

A team of scientists at <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> analyzed data from around 4,000 individuals in the UK Biobank study. For this research, participants had reported on their lifestyles, health, and where they lived. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure the size, weight, and function of the participants' hearts at fixed times.

Furthermore, the researchers eliminated all participants who had moved during the study or had underlying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-the-weather-gets-colder-heart-attacks-get-more-lethal/">heart problems</a>.


The experts found a clear association between individuals who were exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the development of larger right and left ventricles in the heart. Although the participants were healthy and showed no symptoms, the same restructuring of the heart is seen in the early stages of heart failure.

In addition, exposure to higher levels of the pollutants was linked to more extreme changes in the heart. For example, the heart was found to be enlarged by an additional one percent for every 1 extra μg per cubic meter of PM2.5 and for every 10 extra μg per cubic meter of NO2.

“Although our study was observational and hasn't yet shown a causal link, we saw significant changes in the heart, even at relatively low levels of air pollution exposure,” said study lead author Dr. Nay Aung.

Air pollution has become the biggest environmental risk factor linked to deaths across England. In addition, coronary heart disease and stroke account for 58 percent of deaths related to outdoor air pollution globally.

Professor Jeremy Pearson is an associate medical director at the BHF.


“We can't expect people to move home to avoid air pollution - Governments and public bodies must be acting right now to make all areas safe and protect the population from these harms.”

“What is particularly worrying is that the levels of air pollution, particularly PM2.5, at which this study saw people with heart remodelling are not even deemed particularly high by the UK Government - this is why we are calling for the WHO guidelines to be adopted. They are less than half of UK legal limits and while we know there are no safe limits for some forms of air pollution, we believe this is a crucial step in protecting the nation's heart health.”


Dr. Aung said: “Our future studies will include data from those living in inner cities like Central Manchester and London, using more in-depth measurements of heart function, and we would expect the findings to be even more pronounced and clinically important.”

"Air pollution should be seen as a modifiable risk factor. Doctors and the general public all need to be aware of the their exposure when they think about their heart health, just like they think about their blood pressure, their cholesterol and their weight."


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/circ">Circulation</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Air pollution causes major changes in the heart’s structure

A new study from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has...

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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

[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"

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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

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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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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



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

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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