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...

Mount Tambora eruption led to the ‘year without summer’ in 1816. For the first time, researchers have estimated how the eruption of Mount Tambora influenced the European "year without a summer" in 1816. The study revealed that the summer's unusually cold conditions would have been nearly impossible without the eruption, which also increased the likelihood of precipitation.

"Mount Tambora played a dominant role in causing the observed cold conditions, and probably also contributed to the anomalously wet conditions. Without volcanic forcing, it is less likely to have been as wet and highly unlikely to have been as cold," explained study lead author Dr. Andrew Schurer from the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a>.

Across the globe, exceptionally low temperatures were recorded in 1816. This weather pattern was particularly pronounced in central and western Europe, where unseasonable weather led to widespread agricultural failures and famines.

As early as 1913, experts theorized that the extreme climate change was linked to the 1815 eruption of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/indonesian-volcano-defeat-napoleon/">Mount Tambora</a>. Using historical data and advanced modeling techniques, Dr. Schurer's team has estimated the widespread impact of the eruption.

"The eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815 was among the most explosive of the last millennium. It had an enormous impact locally, devastating the island of Sumbawa. The eruption injected a huge amount of sulphur dioxide (SO2) into the stratosphere, which would have quickly spread across the world, oxidising to form sulphate aerosols," explained Dr. Schurer.

"These volcanic aerosols reduce net shortwave radiation causing widespread, long lasting surface cooling. They also lead to a reduction in global rainfall, while wettening some dry regions, and causing dynamic changes in the large-scale circulation of both ocean and atmosphere."

The research team used early instrumental data and modern climate simulations from two different models to conduct an event attribution analysis. The goal was to determine if, and how much, the volcanic forcing affected the probability of cold and wet conditions in 1816.

The findings show that the circulation state of the ocean and atmosphere could have been responsible for the high levels of precipitation without external forcing, but only explain about a quarter of the cold conditions.

"Including volcanic forcing in climate models can account for the cooling, and we estimate it increases the likelihood of the extremely cold temperatures by up to 100 times," said Dr. Schurer.

"Although the observed sea-level pressure pattern can account for much of the observed anomalously wet conditions, even without volcanic forcing, there is strong evidence in the model simulations that the volcanic eruption increases the chance of such a wet summer over Central Europe, by about 1.5 to three times."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326">Environmental Research Letters</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a>

Mount Tambora eruption led to the ‘year without summer’ in 1816

Mount Tambora eruption led to the ‘year without summer’ in...

Sustainable agriculture will be critical to preventing global food shortages. The world has a unique opportunity to stem the tides of climate change, ensure future food security, protect biodiversity, and make healthier diets widely accessible, according to a new global report. 

With the global population expected to increase by two billion in the next 26 years, food insecurity is a growing threat. Rising temperatures, droughts, severe floods, and wildfires linked to climate change pose a major risk to crop yields and agriculture land. 

A new report conducted by the <a href="https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/">Food and Land Use Coalition</a> calls for the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unsustainable-land-use-food-supply/">transformation</a> of food and land-use systems over the next ten years to help buffer against climate change and protect food security for the world’s population. 

According to the report, the economic, environmental, and health gains would far outweigh the heavy costs associated with changing policies and making food production sustainable. 

Transforming food and land use systems could generate new business opportunities worth $4.5 trillion a year by 2030 and a return worth 15 times more than the cost of the initial investment. 

Diversifying food production, making healthy diets more accessible, eliminating deforestation and making agriculture more sustainable would go a long way in protecting the world’s vulnerable food supply. 

“A small disruption in supply really can do a lot of damage and leads to huge price increases,” Per Pharo of the Food and Land Use Coalition told <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5N2633EX">Reuters</a>. “That creates suffering and social unrest. And it will highly likely also lead to hunger and instability.” 

The report is the first of its kind to examine how transforming food and land use systems would benefit food security and the environment. 

<a href="https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/FOLU-GrowingBetter-GlobalReport.pdf">Growing Better: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food and Land Use</a> proposes a new agenda with ten transitions to ensure food security by 2050. 

“What we’re saying is realistic if the reform agenda is implemented,” Pharo told Reuters. “The excuse that we cannot prioritize environment at the same time because we’ve got to focus on development, on human welfare, is simply false. We can deliver both.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Creative Freeke

Sustainable agriculture will be critical to preventing global food shortages

Sustainable agriculture will be critical to preventing global food shortages....

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/">British Ecological Society</a>, researchers have analyzed the four most recent environmental series that were narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The experts found that while these nature documentaries often describe the human- induced threats to our planet, they rarely give viewers a candid look at them. 

For the investigation, a team of researchers from Bangor University, the University of Kent, Newcastle University, and the University of Oxford coded the scripts from each of the docuseries. 

The study revealed that the Netflix series <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/our-planet-ominous-warning/">Our Planet</a> dedicates 15 percent of its script to environmental threats and conservation, but this type of content is not nearly as prevalent in the BBC series Planet Earth II and Dynasties.

According to the researchers, Our Planet is also unique in that it incorporates the topic of human environmental impacts into each episode. By contrast, the subject is only addressed in the series Blue Planet II in the final episode.

The team noted that Our Planet shares visual similarities with the other series. Despite making much more mention of human-induced threats, Our Planet contains few visual depictions of these threats and largely shows the natural world as being untouched and separate from humans, which is something nature documentaries have been criticized for in the past.

"One could argue that by using camera angles to avoid showing any sign of people, nature filmmakers are being disingenuous, and even actively misleading audiences. The viewer may be led to believe that things cannot be that bad for biodiversity as what they are seeing on the screen shows nature, for the most part, doing fine," said study lead author Professor Julia Jones.

"The inextricable link between threats to the natural world and the high consumption of western lifestyles would be more difficult to ignore if the presence, or even dominance, of commercial agriculture, mining and transport infrastructure were more visible in the landscapes, reducing the space for the awe-inspiring wild spectacles shown."

While nature documentaries have the potential to spark behavioral changes and raise awareness about important environmental issues, the extent of this effect is not well understood. 

"Previous studies have shown that documentaries can increase willingness amongst viewers to make personal lifestyle changes, increase support for conservation organizations, and generate positivity towards an issue, making policy change more likely," said Laura Thomas-Walters. 

"However, we still don't understand the mechanisms by which these changes take place. Considerable research is needed to investigate how viewing nature, portrayed as threatened or pristine, in a documentary affects people in ways which might, ultimately, contribute to saving it."

According to the study authors, collaboration between filmmakers and researchers could help to pinpoint the impacts of these documentaries. 

"There is limited evidence on the causal relationships between viewing a documentary and subsequent behaviour change," said Dr. Diogo Vesrissimo. "Nature documentary producers should work with researchers to better understand these positive and negative impacts." 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/25758314">People and Nature</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>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/FloridaStock

Nature documentaries have the potential to move the needle on climate action

In a new study from the British Ecological Society, researchers...

Specific dietary changes needed to protect human health, the environment. Food production and consumption are key drivers of undernutrition, obesity, and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/communities-preparing-climate-change/">climate change</a>. In a new study, researchers have analyzed the potential for addressing these issues simultaneously by accounting for the role of food production in climate change.

The experts found that achieving adequate diets in most low- and middle-income countries will require significant increases in greenhouse gas emissions and water usage for food production.

"Our research indicates there's no one-size-fits-all diet to address the climate and nutrition crises. Context is everything, and the food production policies for each country must reflect that," explained study senior author Dr. Keeve Nachman, who is the director of the Food Production and Public Health program at the <a href="https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/index.html">Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future</a>.

The researchers developed a model that assessed how dietary changes across 140 countries would impact greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater use. The investigation was focused on plant-forward diets that ranged from no red meat to lacto-ovo vegetarian, which involves the consumption of some animal products like eggs and dairy.

According to the study, a diet that includes animal protein primarily sourced from low food chain animals, such as small fish and mollusks, has nearly as low of an environmental impact as a vegan diet. The researchers also found that reducing animal food consumption by two-thirds, or a "two-thirds vegan" diet, has a lower climate and water footprint than the more popular lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.

The findings suggest that high-income countries must accelerate the adoption of plant-forward diets in an effort to counter climate impacts and to address diet-related mortality.

The study authors emphasized that dietary recommendations or behavioral changes based on this kind of research could help strike a balance between health and nutritional needs and planetary boundaries.

"Our data indicate that it is actually dairy product consumption that explains much of the differences in greenhouse gas footprints across diets," said study co-author Dr. Martin Bloem. "Yet, at the same time, nutritionists recognize the important role dairy products can have in stunting prevention, which is a component of the World Bank Human Capital Index."

"The study findings highlight the difficulty in prescribing broad dietary recommendations to meet the needs of individual countries."

The study revealed that a food's country of origin can have vastly different environmental consequences. For example, one pound of beef produced in Paraguay contributes nearly 17 times more harmful emissions compared to one pound of beef produced in Denmark. This type of discrepancy is often due to the conversion of forests into grazing land. 

"Where you get your food from matters," said Dr. Nachman. "Trade patterns have an important influence on countries' diet-related climate and fresh water impacts."

"It would be satisfying to have a silver bullet to address carbon footprints and the impact of food production; however, with problems as complex and global as nutrition, climate change, freshwater depletion, and economic development, that's not possible," said Dr. Bloem. 

"There will always be tradeoffs. Environmental impact alone cannot be a guide for what people eat; countries need to consider the totality of the nutritional needs, access, and cultural preferences of their residents. The good news is this research can be a part of the solution, as it now gives policymakers a tool to develop nationally appropriate strategies, including dietary guidelines, that help meet multiple goals."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/global-environmental-change">Global Environmental Change</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>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Sea Wave

Specific dietary changes needed to protect human health, the environment

Specific dietary changes needed to protect human health, the environment....

Warming in the Indian Ocean may benefit Atlantic Ocean currents. A new study has found that a key system of currents in the world’s oceans could receive a helpful boost from the Indian Ocean as climate change continues to drive up temperatures. 

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is one of the largest water circulation systems in the world. 

In the past 15 years, research has shown that the<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/atlantic-ocean-circulation-conveyor-belt/"> AMOC is slowing down</a>, but whether or not this change is linked to human-driven global warming or a natural anomaly is widely debated.

One thing researchers do agree on is that the rippling consequences of the AMOC slowing down would be felt heavily in Europe and along the Atlantic rim. 

“There is no consensus yet,” said Alexey Fedorov, an author of the new study. “We know that the last time AMOC weakened substantially was 15,000 to 17,000 years ago, and it had global impacts. We would be talking about harsh winters in Europe, with more storms or a drier Sahel in Africa due to the downward shift of the tropical rain belt, for example.”

Federov, a researcher from <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a>, collaborated with Shineng Hu of the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego</a> to model different AMOC scenarios. 

The researchers wanted to investigate the impacts of rising global temperatures on critical climate systems like the AMOC. 

The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that the AMOC may get a helpful boost from an unlikely source, the Indian Ocean. 

The AMOC transports warm water to the North Atlantic and sends cold water at deeper levels further south.  

For this study, the researchers combined observational data and computer modeling to map the impacts of rising temperatures in the Indian Ocean on the AMOC.  

“The Indian Ocean is one of the fingerprints of global warming,” said Hu, the first author of the study. “Warming of the Indian Ocean is considered one of the most robust aspects of global warming.”

From their modeling, the researchers found that as the Indian Ocean warms up, precipitation would decrease over the Atlantic Ocean.

Decreases in rainfall over the Atlantic would lead to higher ocean salinity and the water would sink faster and cool quicker as it travels along the AMOC. 

“This would act as a jump-start for AMOC, intensifying the circulation,” said Fedorov. “On the other hand, we don’t know how long this enhanced Indian Ocean warming will continue. If other tropical oceans’ warming, especially the Pacific, catches up with the Indian Ocean, the advantage for AMOC will stop.”

The study identifies a climate variable that could have a profound impact on ocean currents and weather patterns as temperatures increase and climate change intensifies. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Lukassek

Warming in the Indian Ocean may benefit Atlantic Ocean currents

Warming in the Indian Ocean may benefit Atlantic Ocean currents....

According to a team of environmental law scholars, major statutory reform may not be entirely necessary to address the global <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/communities-preparing-climate-change/">climate change</a> crisis. Existing laws may have enough untapped potential to address environmental change.

In order to combat the effects of climate change, adaptation — both of ecosystems and social-ecological systems — needs to occur, the researchers said. Currently, some global government systems, like those of the U.S. and European Union, are considering overhauling their legislature in order to fight back against climate change. However, some government officials are unlikely to engage in such an overhaul, and will therefore halt adaptation and transformation efforts. 

Knowing this, the team of scholars offer solutions to lack of legislative reform by drawing attention to strategies that use existing statutes, which various government agencies could implement to aid the battle against the climate crisis. They also identified existing laws that could allow for new standards as climate conditions change.

For example, the U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act currently allows fishery management to adjust catch allowances. However, this law also has a transformative capacity due to the flexibility of its terms and procedural discretion. 

When legal capacities are used to their maximum advantage, multiple levels of government can respond to environmental changes while staying within a legislative framework.

"First, there is often flexibility within the statute itself — i.e., the statute provides room for new implementation strategies to cope with new realities, such as through productive exercises of federal agency discretion,” said scholar Robin Craig of the <a href="https://law.utah.edu/">University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law</a>. 

“Second, much of the existing environmental and natural resources statutory regime provides the authority to open up space for social-ecological systems to better utilize their own adaptive and transformative capacities,” Craig continued. “For example, rather than mandate that a particular protected area remain in an increasingly forced historical state of being, agency management rule changes can allow the area to adapt and evolve to changing conditions while still protecting the new productive system that emerges.”

Managers and stakeholders can use the examples provided by the scholars, published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1906247116">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, to explore what they can do in their communities to adapt to environmental change.

"The goal is to avoid system collapse — to ensure that we guide adaptation and transformation so that the evolved social-ecological systems are productive, support biodiversity, and continue to contribute to human well-being, even if they are different systems from what we've been used to in the past," Craig said.

"For Americans, I think that the most important message is that we don't have to wait for Congress to act to more comprehensively engage in adaptation and transformation to cope with the Anthropocene,” she continued. “While the system of federal statutes that we currently have isn't optimal in many cases, it doesn't severely hamstring us, either, if agencies and stakeholders are willing to be creative and try new approaches within existing agency discretion and flexibility."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/rangizzz

Are current environmental laws enough to cope with rapid changes?

According to a team of environmental law scholars, major statutory...

Parents want the best for their children, and a new study has found that the same can be said for corals who equip their offspring with the tools they need to help adapt to warming waters.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a>, the <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/">Australian Institute of Marine Sciences</a> and <a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/">James Cook University</a> discovered for the first time that coral parents pass along upgraded algae symbionts to their offspring. 

Nearly half of the world’s coral has disappeared due to rising ocean temperatures. Researchers are now working to understand the extent of reef resilience and if corals can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/protect-coral-reefs-climate-change/">adapt to climate change</a>. 

Coral bleaching events have contributed significantly to coral declines. Corals get their color from algae colonies that live inside the coral’s cells but independent of the coral’s DNA. It’s an unusual but crucial symbiotic relationship. 

For the algae, corals provide safety and ample opportunity for photosynthesis. For the coral, algae produce oxygen and supply the energy necessary to build reefs. 

When under stress due to warming water and increased ocean acidification, the algae leave and the coral starve. 

Not all corals lose their symbiotic algae tenants under these conditions as some corals can shuffle the algae colonies and keep the most beneficial communities within their cells. 

The researchers found that corals can pass on their upgraded and specially selected symbionts to their offspring.  

“What we’re finding is that corals can pass their shuffled complement of algal partners, or symbionts, to their offspring to bestow a potential survival advantage, and that’s a new discovery,” said Carly Kenkel, a co-author of the study. “We care about this because coral reefs do so much for us. A reef provides breakwater for storms, fish protein people need and biodiversity we love and find beautiful.”

For the study, the researchers observed Montipora digitata coral along the Great Barrier Reef during two spawning seasons back to back in 2015 and 2016. 

The spawning season in 2015 was healthy, but in 2016 there was a mass coral bleaching event. The researchers used DNA sequencing to identify which corals had the potential to shuffle their symbionts. Algae cell numbers and types differed drastically between the two spawning seasons. 

Montipora digitata corals carefully pass on their algae communities to their offspring, and the researchers found that in 2016 the corals packaged shuffled algae in their eggs which gives their offspring a fighting chance to adapt to environmental stresses. 

The study shows that coral offspring can inherit resistance and adaptability from their parents, but at the fast rate of climate change, it still may not be enough to help corals survive in the future.

“Corals have more mechanisms than we thought to deal with climate change, but they’re fighting with a tiny sword against a foe that’s like a tank,” said Kenkel. “Their adaptability may not be enough. They need time so they can adapt.”

The researchers published their findings in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-50045-y">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: USC Photo/Gus Ruelas

Coral parents pass their algae on to their offspring

Parents want the best for their children, and a new...

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill site may be attracting deep-sea crabs and shrimp, according to a new study. 

Crustaceans are meeting at the site to mate, but exposure to the oil is negatively impacting the arthropods. Shells are turning black, the crabs and shrimp have become vulnerable to some parasites, and there are even reports of mutations and lost limbs. 

Researchers from <a href="https://lumcon.edu/">Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium</a> led the study. 

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, which started in April 2010 and went on for 87 days, was the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. Around four million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico a result. 

For this study, the researchers investigated the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deepwater-horizon-spill-today/">impacts of the Deep Water Horizon</a> spill seven years later, comparing biodiversity and species abundance for large benthic (the lowest level of the ocean) organisms at sites immediately after the spill and in 2017. 

Remote operated were vehicles were used to record video footage of marine life 1,600 feet around the spill site, and these videos were compared to footage taken a few months after the spill. 

The researchers discovered an increase in arthropod abundance near the spill site. There were nearly eight times more crab and shrimp near the well in 2017 compared to other sites. 

Red deep-sea crab, red shrimp, and white shrimp were all abundant at the spill site, and the researchers say that the degrading hydrocarbons at the site are chemically attracting the arthropods. 

Exposure to the oil at the site is negatively impacting the crabs and shrimp. 

“Crabs showed clearly visible physical abnormalities and sluggish behavior compared to the healthy crabs we had observed elsewhere,” Craig McClain, the lead author of the study, told CNN. “Once these crustaceans reach the site, they may become too unhealthy to leave.”

Crabs and shrimp may be confusing the chemical signals from the oil spill for a sex hormone. 

As predators eat the shrimp and crabs the toxins from the site are making their way up the food chain. 

More research and monitoring is needed to fully understand the impacts of the spill and the slow rate of recovery of the deep-sea habitats near the well site. 

“Human impacts on the environment never really go away. Loss of biodiversity can mean one species or thousands of individuals,” Clifton Nunnally, a co-author of the study told CNN. “We can’t allow this heavily impacted disaster site to slip from our collective memory, and further study is needed to shed light on the long-term impacts that oil spills have on fragile deep-sea ecosystems.” 

The researchers published their findings in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.191164">Royal Society Open Science</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Breck P. Kent

Crabs are meeting to mate at the Deepwater Horizon spill site

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill site may be attracting deep-sea...

River profiles are influenced by weather patterns across different climates. In a new study from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, researchers have discovered a clear pattern which shows the influence of the climate on the formation of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/pumping-groundwater-river-stream-flows/">rivers</a>. The new evidence challenges existing theories on the climatic signature associated with river profiles. 

Rivers have an elevational profile, or long profile, which represents how the river loses height with increasing distance towards its mouth. This profile may have a concave up shape, similar to the inside of a bowl, or a straight long profile that descends evenly in elevation.

The research team, which was led by Shiuan-An Chen, found that river profiles tend to be concave up in humid regions and become progressively straighter in drier regions.

"The long profile is formed gradually over tens of thousands to millions of years, so it tells a bigger story about the climate history of the region," said Chen. "We would expect climate to affect the river long profile because it controls how much water flows in rivers and the associated force of water to move sediment along the riverbed."

For the investigation, the researchers produced a global database of river long profiles using data that was originally collected by NASA's space shuttle. Study co-author Dr. Stuart Grieve at Queen Mary University of London developed specialist software to organize the information, which included the long profiles of 330,000 rivers across the planet.

"Combining satellite data with high performance computing is revolutionizing our discipline; allowing us to understand how our planet is changing at unprecedented scales," said Dr. Grieve. "Our analysis of these data only scratches the surface of the potential that this fusion of data, computer power and geoscientific insight can offer us to understand our planet, as well as others in the solar system."

The study is the first of its kind to show that there are distinct differences in river long profile shapes across climate zones on a global scale, and that these differences are driven by the expression of aridity in streamflow.

[caption id="attachment_1877880" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/river-contrast.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1877880" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/river-contrast.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="363" /></a> Image Credit: S A Chen[/caption]

In humid regions, rivers tend to flow all year round. This continual movement steadily shifts sediment and erodes the river profile into a concave up shape. As the climate becomes drier, rivers only flow a few times per year when it rains.

Using a numerical model which simulated the evolution of river profiles over time in response to streamflow characteristics, the study authors demonstrated the links between climate, streamflow, and long profile shape.

"Traditional theory included in textbooks for decades describes that river long profiles evolve to be concave up. Existing theories are biased towards observations made in humid rivers, which are far better studied and more represented in published research than dryland rivers," explained Dr. Katerina Michaelides.

"Our study shows that many river profiles around the world are not concave up and that straighter profiles tend to be more common in arid environments."

"I think dryland rivers have been understudied and under-appreciated, especially given that drylands cover ~40% of the global land surface. Their streamflow expression gives unique insights into the climatic influence on land surface topography."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/Atosan

River profiles are influenced by weather patterns across different climates

River profiles are influenced by weather patterns across different climates....

A new investigation from the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> (AAAS) has found that many communities across the United States are addressing their own unique challenges associated with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/population-climate-change-crops/">climate change</a>. Some communities are also working to reduce their contribution to harmful emissions and global warming. 

The AAAS report "How We Respond" describes projects in 18 communities that are applying science-based solutions to minimize the impacts of climate change. The initiatives by local governments, nonprofits, and businesses represent a range of climate responses that could be adapted for other communities as well.

The local efforts involve various approaches, including: the use of wetlands to limit flooding and emissions; the modification of water, food, and waste systems; and the deployment of sea level sensors and monitoring.

In Dane County, Wisconsin, the goal is to capture methane and develop cleaner energy. Meanwhile, residents of Sheridan County, Kansas are working to improve water use and efficiency in farming. In Alaska, two communities are relocating buildings to protect them from shoreline erosion.

The report also summarizes the science on climate change, and reveals the impacts that are currently being experienced in different American communities. 

The researchers explain how scientific information can be used in multiple stages of community response, from understanding the risks and analyzing options to implementing a plan and monitoring progress. For example, many communities in the United States are working with scientists to conduct vulnerability assessments, which evaluate local climate risks and pinpoint changes to help mitigate these risks.

"We want to shine a light on how communities are taking action on climate change," said Emily Therese Cloyd, director of the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology. "We hope How We Respond gives communities ideas for how they can respond to climate change locally and ways that scientists and community members can work together to build stronger, more resilient communities."

For more information, the full report can be accessed <a href="http://howwerespond.aaas.org">here</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>

Image Credit: Impact Media Lab / AAAS

How American communities are preparing for the impacts of climate change

A new investigation from the American Association for the Advancement...

As antibiotic use has become widespread around the world over the past few decades, antibiotic-resistant diseases have begun to emerge.

Now, a new study has found that it’s not just humans facing the unintended side effect of antibiotic use. Dolphins, too, are beginning to fall prey to drug-resistant strains of previously treatable illnesses – possibly due to discarded human medications washing into coastal waters.

"In 2009, we reported a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance in wild dolphins, which was unexpected," lead author Adam M. Schaefer of <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a> said in a press release. "Since then, we have been tracking changes over time and have found a significant increase in antibiotic resistance in isolates from these animals. This trend mirrors reports from human health care settings.”

Until recently, antibiotic-resistant diseases were found mainly in health care settings, the researchers said. However, in recent years they’ve spread beyond hospitals and care facilities. Many of the drug-resistant strains thrive in marine environments, according to the researchers.

The team – from FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, <a href="https://www.colostate.edu/">Colorado State University</a>, the <a href="https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/">Georgia Aquarium</a> and the <a href="https://web.musc.edu/">Medical University of South Carolina</a> – conducted the study from 2003 to 2015 in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, where bottlenose dolphins live. Nearby human residents have a major influence on the lagoon’s ecosystem.

The researchers found more than 730 pathogen isolates in samples from 171 individual dolphins. A full 88.2% of the pathogens showed resistance to at least one antibiotic, particularly erythromycin (91.6%), ampicillin (77.3%) and cephalothin (61.7%).

“Based on our findings, it is likely that these isolates from dolphins originated from a source where antibiotics are regularly used, potentially entering the marine environment through human activities or discharges from terrestrial sources," Schaefer said.

The study shows that humans are in danger from antibiotic-resistant diseases in the water, not just dolphins and other marine animals, the researchers said. 

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/">Aquatic Mammals</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Paid for by Earth.com

Like humans, dolphins are at risk from antibiotic-resistant diseases

As antibiotic use has become widespread around the world over...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-turns-50/">Arctic National Wildlife Refuge</a> in Alaska could soon be home to pipelines along with polar bears, eagles and caribou. On Thursday, the federal government released <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=dispatchToPatternPage&amp;currentPageId=152110">final plans</a> to open the wilderness to oil drilling.

The plan would open the coastal plain – about 1.5 million acres out of the refuge’s 19 million acres – to oil companies. 

The controversial decision comes after Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski added an amendment to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The House of Representatives voted Thursday to prevent the move, but the Senate would have to vote to approve a companion bill, which is unlikely, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/461079-house-votes-to-block-drilling-in-arctic-refuge">The Hill</a>.

Supporters of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have argued that drilling could inject new funds into the Alaskan economy. The plan could also generate about $900 million for the federal government, according to an analysis by the <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/">Congressional Budget Office</a> – though that’s about half the amount originally predicted by federal sources.

“Forty years after Congress selected the Arctic Coastal Plain for potential energy development, the Trump Administration is making good on that decades old potential,” Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a press release.

Environmental groups, however, argue that drilling in the wild lands could permanently damage the ecology of the region. 

“Unfortunately, this sham environmental impact statement ignores the overwhelming scientific evidence that demonstrates the unprecedented risks to wildlife that would result from drilling in the Coastal Plain,” Collin O’Mara, president of the <a href="https://www.nwf.org/">National Wildlife Federation</a>, told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/">Los Angeles Times</a>. “Alaskans, tribes and conservationists all agree that this is the wrong approach.”

Oil exploration could cause devastating damage to the wild lands, Lois Epstein of the <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/">Wilderness Society</a> told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>.

“By opening the entire coastal plain to oil drilling, the Trump administration has ignored data showing likely impacts on wildlife including the Porcupine Caribou Herd and polar bears,” she said.

Officials say that they will take care to do as little damage as possible to the species that call the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge home.

A team of interested parties including tribal members, state officials and scientific experts has been working with the <a href="https://www.blm.gov/">Bureau of Land Management</a> to address issues in the environmental report and mitigate potential problems caused by drilling, Margaret Everson of the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> said in a statement. 

"The team's work forms the scientific and conservation foundation that will protect high-value wildlife habitats and important uses in this area, while advancing the President's agenda on energy independence,” she said.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Paid for by Earth.com.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could soon be opened to oil drilling

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska could soon be...

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

[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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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