It is no secret that some lifestyles demand more resources than others. But recent climate findings highlight how individuals with vast wealth have exerted a larger influence on global warming and temperature shifts than previously realized.



In a 2025 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02325-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a>, the world’s wealthiest 10% are reported to have caused two-thirds of observed global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astonishing-global-heat-in-january-2025-defied-climate-expectations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warming</a> since 1990. 



This work was led by lead author Sarah Schöngart, an alumna of the 2024 Young Scientists Summer Program, who is currently associated with <a href="https://ethz.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH Zurich</a>, and published by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (<a href="https://iiasa.ac.at" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IIASA</a>).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wealthy-emitters-drive-climate-warming">Wealthy emitters drive climate warming</h2>



Scientists indicate that the top 1% of high-income earners contributed 26 times the global average to monthly 1-in-100-year heat extremes worldwide, and 17 times more to intense drought <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-our-power-our-planet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">events</a> in the Amazon region.&nbsp;



“We found that wealthy emitters play a major role in driving climate extremes, which provides strong support for climate policies that target the reduction of their emissions,” explained Schöngart at the end of her remarks.



Researchers also noticed that emissions from the richest 10% in major economies, such as the United States and China, caused a two- to threefold increase in dangerous heat conditions across vulnerable tropical areas. 



These hotspots include Southeast Asia, southern Africa, and other regions with limited resources to handle amplified environmental stress.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-consequences-for-vulnerable-regions">Consequences for vulnerable regions</h2>



“Addressing this imbalance is crucial for fair and effective climate action,” says coauthor <a href="https://iiasa.ac.at/staff/carl-schleussner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carl-Friedrich Schleussner</a>, who leads the Integrated Climate Impacts Research Group at IIASA. 



Communities in zones already prone to high temperatures and scarce rainfall are dealing with more frequent hazards linked to wealth-driven pollution.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Experts</a> have underscored how nations or groups with historically low <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-innovation-takes-the-lead-in-environmental-action/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emissions</a> often face disproportionate impacts. Scientists note that these areas experience higher chances of weather disasters, yet have fewer means to respond or rebuild.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finances-fuel-climate-warming">Finances fuel climate warming</h2>



Several analysts believe that climate discussions should not only focus on personal consumption but also on the massive financial investments of wealthy individuals. 



When these investments support high-emission ventures, the world sees greater rises in heat extremes and drought occurrences.



Groups like the <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">United Nations Environment Programme</a> have called for policy measures that redirect funds to cleaner solutions. 



Advocates argue that this could help reduce future harm while encouraging fair contributions from top earners who have the greatest capacity to shift investments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rebalancing-climate-responsibility">Rebalancing climate responsibility</h2>



Income-based emission studies raise questions about how to share the costs of adaptation and recovery. 



Observers suggest that policies aimed at rebalancing responsibility might also improve public acceptance of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-now-impacting-earths-rotation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate</a> strategies, since people often want to see genuine efforts toward equity in carbon reduction.



“If everyone had emitted like the bottom 50% of the global population, the world would have seen minimal additional warming since 1990,” says Schleussner. 



This observation hints that tailored policies targeting disproportionate emissions could produce meaningful changes.



Scientists stress that tackling climate threats involves more than quick technical fixes. 



Those with higher incomes often have greater capacity to choose low-carbon lifestyles or to fund transformational climate solutions, making their role especially crucial in reducing warming trends.



Researchers emphasize that individuals in affluent groups have a unique chance to spark large-scale shifts. 



That could entail demanding cleaner supply chains, backing renewable energy, or encouraging sustainable investment portfolios, all of which can shape future climate outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-warming-inequality">Global warming inequality</h2>



The study estimates that the top 10% of earners contributed 6.5 times more to global warming than the average person, while the top 1% contributed 20 times more. 



For the top 0.1%, the figure skyrockets to 76 times the global average - an eye-opening statistic that illustrates how a small share of the population has driven a large share of climate disruption.



If everyone had emitted like the top 10%, global temperatures would have risen nearly 3°F (1.6°C) more since 1990. But if everyone had lived like the bottom 50%, there would have been almost no additional warming at all. 



That contrast highlights how the burden of global warming cannot be pinned on “humanity” in general - it’s coming from a concentrated source.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



Climate experts believe that ongoing conversations about carbon taxes and financial regulations might incorporate these findings for more equitable action. 



Some advocate for measures that hold top emitters accountable and support the communities that are most affected by intensifying weather events.



Others propose progressive policy instruments that reflect actual emissions contributions. 



Policymakers are increasingly exploring how to ensure elite pollution is addressed, while resources for adaptation and recovery become more accessible in low-income nations.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02325-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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Wealthy elite responsible for vast majority of global climate warming

It is no secret that some lifestyles demand more resources than others. But recent climate findings highlight how individuals with vast wealth have exerted a larger influence on global warming and temperature shifts than previously realized. In a 2025 analysis, the world’s wealthiest 10% are reported to have caused two-thirds of observed global warming since 1990. This work was led by lead author Sarah Schöngart, an alumna of the 2024 Young Scientists Summer Program, who is currently associated with ETH Zurich, and published by the International Institute...

In the last two weeks, at least 225 tornadoes have been confirmed in states across the U.S., and many people are questioning whether <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> is the driving force behind this powerful cluster of storms.

According to James Elsner, an atmospheric scientist and professor at <a href="https://www.fsu.edu/">Florida State University</a>, we are not currently seeing an increase in the number of annual tornado outbreaks. Instead, the number of tornadoes associated with each individual outbreak is on the rise.  

"The overall trend is not upwards, but what was surprising and sharply up is the fact that when conditions become favorable for tornadoes, we’re seeing more tornadoes per outbreak," said Professor Elsner.

Victor Gensini is a climatologist at <a href="https://www.niu.edu/">Northern Illinois University</a> and one of the leading tornado experts in the world. 

"We’re not 100 percent sure what’s causing that,” said Professor Gensini. "There are theories that for any given outbreak, there’s more instability or fuel available for storms, but it’s really difficult to know."

The <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> reports that there have already been 935 tornadoes across the country so far this year. According to Professor Gensini, this is more than the yearly average from 2005 to 2015 of 743 tornadoes.

Detailed records of tornadoes only date back to the 1950s, which limits the ability of scientists to investigate the role that climate change may have in tornadic activity. 

"The analogy I like to use is with baseball’s steroid era," said Professor Gensini. "It’s a very difficult question to answer if this one home run was caused by steroids, but when you look at the batting average or the number of home runs over that time period, it’s easy to say that, yes, statistically a lot of those home runs were likely caused by steroids."

Professor Gensini suggests that, while climate change does not directly cause extreme weather events such as the tornado outbreak this month, it does alter the probability that the environmental conditions will be right.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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Image Credit: Shutterstock/Jennifer Princ

Is climate change to blame for this month’s tornado outbreak?

In the last two weeks, at least 225 tornadoes have...

Why the centralized approach to limit global warming is not working. In 2015, representatives from nearly 200 nations pledged to take the necessary action to lower harmful greenhouse gas emissions in an unprecedented worldwide effort to address climate change. The primary goal was to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

The targets would help to avoid the acceleration of climate change and its potentially catastrophic effects, such as sea-level rise, more extreme weather events, and the loss of sea ice. The climate will inevitably continue to change, but to what extent depends mainly on whether the global community can reduce the heat-trapping gases that are being released into the atmosphere. 

But now, five years after the historic <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/trump-decision-paris-climate-agreement/">Paris Climate Agreement</a>, the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases are still on the rise. At the current rate of emissions, the 2°C limit will be exceeded over the next three decades. 

Experts at the <a href="https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en">Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies</a> (IASS) are reporting that, since the centralized approach to addressing global warming has failed, only greater democratic engagement can reanimate global climate politics.

"Temperatures are continuing to rise, CO2 levels are setting new records every year, and it is becoming increasingly unlikely that we will succeed in even meeting the 2°C goal," said study co-author Professor Mark Lawrence. 

According to the researchers, states have clung for too long to unrealistic scenarios for achieving the global targets. For example, too much emphasis has been placed on techniques for Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), which is also referred to as negative emissions. 

"The development of CDR is not expected to reach a point where these techniques could remove CO2 from the atmosphere on a climate-relevant scale until the middle of this century," explained Professor Lawrence, "However, in order to keep temperature rise below two degrees, we need to reduce climate-harming emissions to zero already by 2050." 

The study authors identify "a problematic reliance on future technologies" that are not yet proven to work. They argue that the centralized system has failed to provide an adequate basis for the development and implementation of measures that can effectively halt global temperature rise. As a result, the IASS team warns that humanity must now prepare itself for a future in which global temperature rise will most likely exceed the 2°C target.

The researchers believe that the system of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) offers a more promising approach to addressing global warming because it opens new opportunities for democratic engagement. 

"The democratic character of the Paris Agreement acknowledges the diversity of local contexts, and provides a means to reanimate global climate politics and advance transformation processes at more local levels," said study co-author Stefan Schäfer. "A more democratic politics will also enable us to cope better in a world in which global warming eventually does exceed the 2°C target."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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Image Credit: Shutterstock/Olga Gordeeva

Why the centralized approach to limit global warming is not working

Why the centralized approach to limit global warming is not...

The United States and Brazil are leading an alarming global trend of stripping away and rolling back environmental policies in protected areas to bolster mining and industry. 

Some more notable examples of rollbacks of protected areas (PAs) in the US include President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce the Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grand-staircase-escalante-bee-diversity/">Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument</a> by 51 percent.

Reducing the protected areas has now opened the landscape up to mining and energy development. 

Currently, PAs cover 15 percent of the Earth’s land, and these areas are hotspots for biodiversity. Protected areas help ensure the world’s natural resources, culturally and environmentally significant landmarks, and biodiversity are protected and sustainably managed. 

In one of the largest comprehensive reviews to date, researchers from the <a href="https://www2.gmu.edu/">George Mason University</a> led a grand-scale analysis of protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) events. 

PADD covers the legal processes and changes made to alter, reduce, and remove protected status from an area. 

While PADD events are made to honor indigenous claims, many PADD events are implemented to benefit mining or expansion. 

For the study, the researchers reviewed PADD events going back more than 200 years, specifically focusing on developments in the US and Amazonia.

Since 1982, nearly two million square kilometers of PAs worldwide were stripped entirely of their legal PA status, downgraded, or reduced. 

78 percent of these global PADD events took place after the year 2000, and the majority of the decisions were in favor of industrial development. 

The researchers worry that taking a cue from the US and Brazil, other countries may decide to reduce local PAs, and so understanding how these trends are spreading on a global basis is essential for conservation and management. 

The comprehensive report was published in the journal Science. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

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Image Credit: Shutterstock/Kris Wiktor

Protected areas are at serious risk in the US and Brazil

The United States and Brazil are leading an alarming global...

A new study led by Timothy Jones of the <a href="https://depts.washington.edu/coasst/what/vision.html">University of Washington’s citizen science program COASST</a> and Lauren Divine from the <a href="https://www.kucb.org/term/aleut-community-st-paul-island-s-ecosystem-conservation-office-eco#stream/0">Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Ecosystem Conservation Office</a> reports that climate change is most likely partially responsible for a mass starvation-based die-off of puffins in the Bering Sea.

Rising ocean temperatures have caused massive shifts in sea ecosystems, and thus damaged the natural predator-prey cycle within the Bering Sea. 

For four months, Jones, Divine, and their colleagues tracked the die-off of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/puffins-migrate-struggle-breeding/">puffins</a> as well as the Crested auklet on St. Paul Island.

In October 2016, community and tribal members of St. Paul Island collected 350 emaciated carcasses, most which were in the stressful process of molting. 

A lack of food resources due to rising ocean temperatures — which affect the amount of plankton and therefore fish for puffins to eat — before the molting process may have led to the birds’ demise.

The team estimated that between 3,150 and 8,500 birds could have died during the event.

"This paper is a successful application of citizen science in the real world,” Divine said in the paper, published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0216532">PLOS One</a>. “Island residents collected high quality data in real time and provided COASST with a detailed context for their analysis. Without the positive and mutually beneficial relationship built over years of collaboration, this massive die-off of Tufted Puffins would have gone unreported in the scientific community."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Nick Pecker/Shutterstock

Climate change may be to blame for mass die-off of puffins in the Bering Sea

A new study led by Timothy Jones of the University...

A new study led by scientists at the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> suggests that CO2 is a better hydraulic fracturing fluid than water. The findings may ultimately lead to a more environmentally friendly form of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fracking-seismic-ripple-effect/">fracking</a> that could also serve as a way to store atmospheric CO2.

Fracking is a method of injecting water mixed with sand and chemicals into solid rock to extract the resources from within. After the extraction is complete, 30 to 50 percent of the fracking fluid remains in the rock formation. Hydraulic fracturing has been very controversial due to its high water consumption and environmental risks.

"Non-aqueous fracturing could be a potential solution to circumvent these issues," said study co-author Nannan Sun. "We chose CO2 fracturing from a range of options because the process includes multiple benefits. However, we were still lacking a fundamental understanding of the technology, which is greatly important for its further development and deployment."

To investigate whether CO2 may be a more effective alternative to water as a fracking fluid, the researchers collected shale outcrops from China and fractured them with both fluids. The study revealed that CO2 outperformed water, creating complex networks of fractures with significantly higher stimulated volumes.

"We demonstrated that CO2 has higher mobility than water, and, therefore, the injection pressure can be better delivered into the natural porosity of the formation," said Sun. "This changes the mechanism by which the fractures are created, generating more complex fracture networks that result in more efficient shale gas production."

[caption id="attachment_1873301" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/shale-sample-.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1873301" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/shale-sample-.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="971" /></a> A shale sample ready for fracturing with CO2. Image Credit: Xuehang Song[/caption]

Using CO2 for fracturing would eliminate an excessive amount of water waste, reduce the risk of damage to reservoirs, and would provide an underground repository for captured CO2. However, CO2 from emissions sources is currently too expensive to use as an industry-wide replacement for water. 

Next, the researchers plan to test the limits of CO2 fracturing technology to gain a better understanding of how it can be used. 

"Further investigations are needed to identify the effects of type of reservoirs, geomechanical properties and conditions, CO2 sensitivity of the formation, and so forth," said Sun. "Additionally, cooperation with industries will be carried out to push forward the practical deployment of the technology."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/home">Joule</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock

CO2 may provide an eco-friendly alternative to water for fracking

A new study led by scientists at the Chinese Academy...

The myth of an 'unpeopled' jungle. When Europeans colonized new lands, they often did so by ignoring the rights of the people already living there. Ideas of manifest destiny, and the notion that Europeans had not only the right but were destined to inhabit foreign lands, were used to promote colonization of the Americas.  Along with the explicit idea of manifest destiny was the implicit idea that much of the land in the Americas went unused. 

This idea is still widely accepted and even promoted by national parks and other institutions promoting wilderness preservation as divorced from human use.  This concept only holds up if prior to European occupation, the wild places of the Americas were mostly uninhabited and unused. An alternative notion is that these places were used in ways that left less scars obvious to European colonists by peoples with longer and deeper histories with American landscapes.  The method of denying the second possibility is usually simply to ignore it. 

It was easy for European conquistadors and colonists to ignore the Native American population densities because they often never encountered them.  Despite the violent conflicts between Europeans and Native peoples, the majority of Native Americans were killed indirectly by European disease rather than by bullets or knives.  

<a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/12/111205-native-americans-europeans-population-dna-genetics-science/">National Geographic</a> reported in 2011 on genetic research that shows Native American populations at their all time lows only a few years after the arrival of Columbus.  Toribio de Benavente, a Franciscan missionary to Mexico, reported that smallpox killed over half the Native American population in most areas. After instances like these, the Americas were relatively uninhabited, because most of the original inhabitants were killed, leaving the land open to be stolen by colonists.  Many of the later colonists seemed to believe the lie of an uninhabited land, thinking little of the mark left behind by the Native Americans. 

The Amazon basin of South America is a place that’s hard to imagine inhabited by large human populations, but that’s what conquistador Francisco de Orellana saw when he was the first European to descend the Amazon River.  Yale’s <a href="https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use/history-amazon-settlement">Global Forest Atlas</a> reports that Orellana claimed to see numerous advanced tribes along the banks of the river, already in decline from European diseases.  

Orellana’s reports were for a long time thought to be fantasy.  This might have been partly because Orellana also reported being attacked by (female) Amazon warriors with elaborate hairstyles.  Mainly though, it seems that Europeans were incapable of imagining groups of people colonizing in large densities land that Europeans themselves found inhospitable. Ideas of ‘green hell’ and ‘green paradise’ come from the paradox of tropical forests – places where the ignorant can easily starve but where the well-versed find an abundance.

Despite skepticism from many quarters, mainly those of anthropologists, Orellana’s claims only fueled the search for an El Dorado, a mythical, wealthy, and lost city in the jungle.  The Spanish conquistadors wanted to find such a city and raid it for gold and other resources, enslaving the inhabitants, much like they did throughout what is now Latin America. 

Others that followed, like <a href="https://www.history.com/news/explorer-percy-fawcett-disappears-in-the-amazon">Colonel Percy Fawcett</a>, were more interested in proving pet anthropology theories and a desire for discovery.  Fawcett himself was experienced in exploration of the Amazon region, spending years surveying for maps in South America, and well versed with encountering Native peoples.  Fawcett was known for bravery in the face of hostility by Natives, never returning it with attacks of his own. It was these experiences that lead Fawcett to the belief that a city could be supported and probably was hidden somewhere in the vast Amazon region.  Eventually, Fawcett disappeared in the jungle in 1925 before making good on his discovery and his final fate is unknown to this day. Despite Fawcett’s disappearance and the lack of Orellana’s credibility, it turns out both men were right about one thing – far from being inhospitable, the Amazon rainforest once supported humans in higher densities than most would find credible.

Research from the early 2000s showed that there was more obvious signs of large scale development in the Amazon region visible from the air than had ever been previously reported.  A <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f84a/be8e9f3b7e00fb1ce4467871807f2e72bd24.pdf">paper</a> from the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a> describes the remains of elaborate weirs used for large scale fish farming.  A 2017 report in <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/amazon-rainforest-was-shaped-by-an-ancient-hunger-for-fruits-and-nuts-1.21576">Nature</a> shows that in the Amazon region, domesticated trees and palms are five times more likely to be over represented than wild trees.  

In the end, the research showed that this distribution of useful plants was caused by a mix of factors.  20% of the domesticated tree distribution seems to be directly from human influence. In the southwestern region of the Amazon, an area with larger pre columbian populations, 30% of the domesticated trees were due to human activity.  These two things together show that humans played a dynamic and active role in the Amazon region.

As <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/millions-lived-in-amazon-uninhabited/">we reported</a> in March 2018, archaeologists found 81 ancient settlements in the Amazon.  The discovery was first made not by an archaeologist wielding a machete through dense jungle, but by a retired financial planner browsing free online satellite images.  The images were confirmed by scientists on the ground to be large earthworks, the remains of what appear to be part of extensive agricultural communities. This discovery suggests that as many as a million people may have occupied the Amazon region before 1500 and the arrival of European disease.

This all fits nicely with new research <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-human-settlements-amazonia/">we reported</a> on last month that shows signs of people living in southwestern Amazon long before the development of complex societies.  Hunter gatherers were living in the region and making fires the remains of which are dated to 10,000-4,000 years old. It appears that far from being a green wasteland, the Amazon region has long supported people and even the development of complex societies.  

With the staggering beauty and biodiversity left behind after the collapse of societies in the Amazon, many questions are raised.  As we rush against our own destructive tendencies to create sustainable cities to live in, perhaps the answer has been hiding in the green maze of the Amazon this whole time.                                      

--

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>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Gustavo Frazao

The myth of an 'unpeopled' jungle

The myth of an 'unpeopled' jungle. When Europeans colonized new...

The population of seabirds on a British island has made an impressive recovery after a project was launched to eradicate thousands of rats that were eating all the bird eggs. 

In less than two decades, the number of puffins on Lundy Island has bounced back from less than 20 to 375 birds. The project has also boosted the population of Manx shearwaters from hundreds to thousands. 

According to the <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/">Royal Society for the Protection of Birds</a> (RSPB), the total number of seabirds on Lundy has tripled to 21,000 in the 15 years after the rats were removed. The RSPB, which is a wildlife charity in the UK, said the initiative has been a great success. 

"This study clearly shows how quickly and positively seabirds respond to the removal of non-native predators," said Helen Booker, who is RSPB's senior conservation officer. "Of course, we had anticipated major population increases when the project was launched, but the scale of this recovery has far exceeded our expectations."

In 2003, efforts were launched to get rid of the rats on Lundy Island in a collaboration among the RSPB, Natural England, the Landmark Trust, and the National Trust. Ever since the island was declared free of rats, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/balloons-biggest-threat-seabirds/">seabird populations</a> have been steadily increasing. 

"It is exciting to see this level of recovery in Manx shearwaters, one of our most important seabirds," said Dean Jones, who is the warden on Lundy Island. "In spring the island comes alive at night with the sound of these amazing birds."

"The increases in puffins, guillemots and razorbills is also very encouraging for the future of seabirds on Lundy and we are maintaining our vigilance to ensure rats cannot return to the island."

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Johnny Giese

Seabirds have recovered on British island after predatory rats were removed

The population of seabirds on a British island has made...

A new study from an international team assembled at the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a> theorizes that ancient humans may have been able to migrate through the mountains and deserts of Central and Northern Asia under wetter conditions. 

This new research is published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0216433">PLOS One</a>.

Archaeologists and paleontologists have previously focused their attention on a “southern” route, surmising that our Homo sapien ancestors may have traveled around the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fish-unintentionally-caught-indian-ocean/">Indian Ocean</a> to migrate into Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene era about 125,000 to 12,000 years ago. 

However, scientists from the Max Planck Institute and researchers from the <a href="http://english.ivpp.cas.cn/">Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology</a> believe that climate change could have actually made Northern and Central Asia a prime migration route and region for hominin dispersal, interaction, and adaptation.

"Archaeological discussions of the migration routes of Pleistocene Homo sapiens have often focused on a 'coastal' route from Africa to Australia, skirting around India and Southeast Asia," said co-author Professor Michael Petraglia of the Max Planck Institute. "In the context of northern Asia, a route into Siberia has been preferred, avoiding deserts such as the Gobi." 

New evidence has shown that currently-uninhabitable regions like the Gobi were most likely habitable during the Pleistocene era. 

"Our previous work in Saudi Arabia, and work in the Thar Desert of India, has been key in highlighting that survey work in previously neglected regions can yield new insights into human routes and adaptations,” Petraglia continued.

[caption id="attachment_1873264" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dispersal-routes.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1873264" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dispersal-routes.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="375" /></a> Illustrated dispersal routes from the results of the Least Cost Path analysis, Image Credit: Nils Vanwezer and Hans Sell[/caption]

The main issue has been dating these previous bits of evidence to see if they potentially line up with the Homo sapien migration into Asia. So, the team wanted to finally nail down the dates.

"We factored in climate records and geographical features into GIS models for glacials (periods during which the polar ice caps were at their greatest extent) and interstadials (periods during the retreat of these ice caps) to test whether the direction of past human movement would vary, based on the presence of these environmental barriers," said joint lead-author Nils Vanwezer, PhD student at the Max Planck Institute. “We found that while during 'glacial' conditions humans would indeed likely have been forced to travel via a northern arc through southern Siberia, during wetter conditions a number of alternative pathways would have been possible, including across a 'green' Gobi Desert.”

Thus, migration across the treacherous Northern and Central areas of Asia would have been possible.

"We should emphasize that these routes are not 'real', definite pathways of Pleistocene human movement. However, they do suggest that we should look for human presence, migration, and interaction with other hominins in new parts of Asia that have been neglected as static voids of archaeology," said co-author Dr. Patrick Roberts also of the Max Planck Institute. "Given what we are increasingly discovering about the flexibility of our species, it would be of no surprise if we were to find early Homo sapiens in the middle of modern deserts or mountainous glacial sheets."

"These models will stimulate new survey and fieldwork in previously forgotten regions of northern and Central Asia," said co-author Professor Nicole Boivin, Director of the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute. "Our next task is to undertake this work, which we will be doing in the next few years with an aim to test these new potential models of human arrival in these parts of Asia."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: Nils Vanwezer

Wetter climate may have allowed ancient humans to reach eastern Asia

A new study from an international team assembled at the...

According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/">Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health</a>, the Clean Air Taxi legislation that was passed in 2006 in New York City has been successful in reducing <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/boys-air-pollution-poorer-thinking-skills/">air pollution</a>. The fuel efficiency of 13,500 yellow taxis nearly doubled between 2009 and 2015 as a result of the new regulations. 

"The past decade has seen steady improvements in the quality of air in New York City, and clean-air taxis appear to be one contributing factor," said study co-author Dustin Fry, MPH. "This is good news for New Yorkers' health since we know air pollution raises the risks of low birth weight and asthma in children."

The Clean Air Taxi laws made it a requirement to set aside at least nine percent of the city's new medallions for hybrid vehicles or for those that use compressed natural gas. The legislation also gave cab companies some incentive to buy low-emission taxis by extending the amount of time these models are allowed to be used. 

The researchers mapped the intensity of taxi traffic across the city and estimated cab-related exhaust emissions of nitric oxide and particulate matter using inspection and trip data. The team also looked at New York City Community Air Survey data from more than 100 monitoring sites across the city to calculate the changes in air quality. 

The study revealed that the fuel efficiency of the medallion taxi fleet climbed from 15.7 to 33.1 MPG, while nitrous oxide emissions declined by 82 percent and particulate exhaust declined by 49 percent. The greatest benefits were found in Manhattan neighborhoods with a high density of yellow taxis.

"This study provides evidence that air pollution legislation can have real impact," said study co-author Dr. Frederica Perera. "Even though overall, yellow taxis account for a small proportion of vehicular miles traveled on New York City's streets, in midtown they account for almost half. Similar regulations targeting other vehicles could make an even bigger difference."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/jes">Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology</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: Shutterstock

NYC Clean Air Taxi legislation has reduced air pollution over the last decade

According to a new study led by the Columbia University...

A closer look at the harmful effects of air pollution exposure. Many studies have linked air pollution to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-shortens-life-spans/">early death</a>, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, and an increased risk of cancer. 

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/">University of Buffalo </a>takes these investigations even further by revealing what happens at the metabolite level when a person is exposed to different levels of air pollution. 

The research, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is based on data from a 2008 air pollution study where 201 adults were monitored before, during, and after the Beijing Olympics in China. 

At that time, air quality drastically improved during the games due to temporary controls that were put in place for the games, but air pollution soon returned to dangerously unhealthy levels after the Olympics were over. 

Metabolites are small molecules that are the end result of certain systems and processes. 

“Think of our body as a society. These metabolites fulfill different positions, such as teacher, farmer, worker, soldier. We need each one functioning properly in order to maintain a healthy system,” said Lina Mu, the leader of the study. 

The researchers recorded changes in 69 metabolites after air pollution levels changed, and two metabolic signatures were identified.A closer look at the harmful effects of air pollution exposure 

“Our study found that the human body had systemic changes at the metabolite level before, during and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when ambient air pollution changed drastically,” said Zhongzheng Niu, a fellow co-author of the study. 

Many of the metabolites that were affected by air pollution play a role in stress and inflammation and are involved in the nervous system. 

The researchers measured all detectable metabolites using a platform called “omics” which can filter through groups of metabolites simultaneously rather than individually examining metabolites on a molecule by molecule basis. 

“We found that these metabolites together depicted a relatively comprehensive picture of human body responses to air pollution,” said Rachael Hageman Blair, a co-author of the study. 

Having a better way to measure and monitor how the body responds to air pollution could help future studies target the pathways that air pollution uses to enter the body to create a more detailed picture of the relationship between human health and air pollution. 

The study could also help pave the way for new methods to treat pollution-related health problems and limit exposure. 

“Capturing these molecules tells us what is going on when people are exposed to air pollution,” said Mu.

--

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

A closer look at the harmful effects of air pollution exposure

A closer look at the harmful effects of air pollution...

Crowdsourcing has become an incredibly popular tool. Books, movies, medical procedures have all been paid for by people donating small amounts online combined into a ‘crowd’ of people donating a large amount. It isn’t just direct monetary donations either, as data is harvested by millions of people worldwide to benefit businesses and political campaigns. Increasingly, little bits of money, data or time from large groups of people are being funneled through the internet to create real world results. This is now true even in conservation biology. 

<a href="https://www.zooniverse.org">Zooniverse</a> is a research platform that utilizes volunteers on the internet to collect data for scientific projects. The types of projects vary and are created by a number of different researchers. For instance, <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/sandiegozooglobal/wildwatch-burrowing-owl/about/research">Wildwatch Burrowing Owl</a> asks on its homepage, ‘Will you help us save burrowing owls?’ The question refers to the iconic burrowing owl that takes over <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prairie-dogs-true-underdog/">prairie dog</a> and other burrowing mammal dens as its home, an increasingly rare icon of the western deserts and prairie. It’s estimated that there are only 10,000 breeding pairs of the special owl left, according to <a href="https://defenders.org/burrowing-owl/basic-facts">Defenders of Wildlife</a>. 

Western burrowing owls (Athene cunciularia hypugaea) in California are especially in decline. To stop this decline, <a href="https://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/">San Diego Zoo Global</a> has set up artificial dens for the owls as well as reintroduction of ground squirrels. The ground squirrels dig their own burrows that are eventually taken over by burrowing owls.

The burrowing owl project has motion cameras set up at the borrows to monitor who is coming and going from the burrows. Cameras like these collect hundreds if not thousands of photos in a short amount of time. Many photos from cameras like these inevitably aren’t even of the animals being studied, and sometimes a camera takes a shot of another animal, a person or even grass moving in the wind. Because of the amount of photos to sort through, the platform on Zooniverse allows untrained volunteers working at home on their computer to donate whatever time they’d like to sorting through the owl photos. The goal is to note how many owls are in each photo, allowing researchers to sort through the data faster than if they did the work themselves. 

Other projects on zooniverse include similar projects with large mammals in <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/pangorilla/wild-gabon">Gabon</a>, Africa, <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/penguintom79/penguin-watch/about/research">penguins</a> in Antarctica and even <a href="https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/lawildlife/wildlife-of-los-angeles/about/research">urban wildlife</a> in Los Angeles. The penguin project once was even gave away a free trip to Antarctica to a lucky volunteer. Some of these projects like Wildwatch Burrowing Owl are directly related to conservation, others less so, but they all potentially contribute data that can be used by wildlife managers. Zooniverse isn’t the only way you can contribute to science or conservation from home, though.

Of course if you have specific skill sets, you can be more valuable to organizations or causes as a volunteer, and this is as true with volunteering time online as it is volunteering in person. If you have knowledge of law, computer programming or writing skills for example, you may be able to contribute real assistance to non-profits without ever leaving home. 

Like Zooniverse, <a href="https://taprootfoundation.org/nonprofits/?utm_source=&amp;utm_medium=&amp;utm_campaign=&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=">Taproot Foundation</a> is an online platform allowing non-profit organizations to seek volunteers. Unlike Zooniverse, most of these organizations are seeking one or two skilled volunteers to help on a limited time project. The focus is also much broader than Zooniverse and virtually any sort of non-profit can be involved in Taproot. You can do work such as consulting, writing, web design or even phone work for a non-profit from home.

Because of the nature of the volunteer positions listed on Taproot, projects you can become involved with are always changing. A nice feature is that you can sign up for an account with Taproot, listing your skills and interests and when a project that seems like a good match comes up, you get emailed a link to see if you’re interested. Of course, if you’re interested in a serious internship in conservation to build your skills or want to be involved in a long term project, most of these shorter projects might be less satisfying. 

Occasionally, online jobs in wildlife biology or conservation come along that actually pay. For example, <a href="https://wfscjobs.tamu.edu/jobs/acoustic-recording-bird-song-identifier-various-locations/">some academic institutions</a> seek out a person with exceptional birding skills to identify birds by the sound of their calls from home for a short contract period. Others may be lucky enough to find longer term employment in the same vein. There are also plenty of nature and science publications that might take you on as a writer or intern if you have writing abilities and a story to tell. Other online volunteer positions are to help people access natural history interpretive material.

The <a href="https://www.amnh.org/">American Museum of Natural History</a> is taking on volunteers for <a href="https://projectdescribe.amnh.org/#/">Project Describe</a>. The project involves describing items in the museum’s collection of images on their website so that these images are more accessible to those with disabilities. The Smithsonian Institute also takes <a href="https://transcription.si.edu">online volunteers</a> for many of its museums. The work for the Smithsonian involves transcribing photos of labels in an attempt to make more material available online. For those interested in biodiversity, volunteer positions are available in entomology, invertebrate zoology, botany at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (which includes a famous research station in Panama). 

Projects that still need assistance can be found in the <a href="https://transcription.si.edu/browse?filter=collection%3A2&amp;sort=">Biodiverse Planet</a> category. Helping museum work may or may not contribute directly to the environment, but it least is helping to educate the public about the environments we live in and the wildlife we share them with. 

In the end, volunteering online can help you learn a bit about animals or science and help organization or researchers out, but it can also feel a bit isolating. For some experiences, there’s no substitute for getting outside into the actual environment and interacting with it. After all, there is no wildlife living online, there are no outdoor places in your computer. Often there is no mystery or surprise in sorting through images or labels on a home computer. Much like reading a book, volunteering online can be a part of learning about the world... but it shouldn’t be the only part.           

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Mauricio S Ferreira

Conservation projects you can participate in from home

Crowdsourcing has become an incredibly popular tool. Books, movies, medical...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) have determined that atmospheric levels of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/converting-methane-co2-profitable/">methane</a> continued on an upward trend last year. From 2013 to 2018, methane emissions increased by 50 percent compared with the previous five years, yet the cause remains a mystery. 

"The fact that growth rates in the atmospheric concentrations of methane are approaching the levels we saw in the 1980s, after a period of relatively slow growth, is deeply concerning. The fact that we don’t understand the reasons for this surge deepens that concern," Professor Keith Shine of Reading University told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>.

The methane produced by both human and natural sources has been on the rise since 2007, but the rate of this increase has significantly accelerated in the last four years. Provisional data from NOAA shows that methane levels increased by 10.77 parts per billion in 2018, which is the second largest annual spike in 20 years. 

While methane does not persist in the atmosphere for as long as carbon dioxide, it is far more potent. Methane traps up to 100 times more heat in the atmosphere in a five-year period compared to carbon dioxide.

NOAA chemist Ed Dlugokencky explained that the spike in atmospheric methane was "so unexpected that it was not considered in pathway models preparatory to the Paris Agreement." At the current rate of methane emissions, the global warming targets established in Paris will be very difficult to achieve. 

"We still do not know whether the growth is primarily an increase in ‘natural’ emissions, such as from warmer or wetter wetlands, or increased anthropogenic emissions such as rice agriculture or fossil fuels," Dr. Rebecca Fisher told New Scientist. She added that the jump in methane concentrations likely has a combination of causes. 

--

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/Leonid Ikan

Mysterious spike in atmospheric methane levels continued in 2018

Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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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