Floating photovoltaics (FPV), or “floatovoltaics,” are spreading across water bodies worldwide. From California’s vineyards to China’s massive energy projects, these solar systems glide atop irrigation ponds, reservoirs, and wastewater treatment plants. 



They produce clean energy without consuming precious land, a seemingly perfect solution in a space-constrained world.



But the water beneath these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/floating-solar-panels-could-power-entire-countries/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">panels</a> isn’t empty. It teems with life. Birds drift, dive, nest, and hunt in these waters. As FPV systems expand, they introduce a new dynamic to these habitats - and nobody knows yet what the consequences might be.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-floating-solar-and-bird-habitats">Floating solar and bird habitats</h2>



A recent study from the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Davis</a>, published in the journal Nature Water, raises a vital question: Can renewable energy and wildlife coexist without collateral damage? The researchers, part of the UC Davis Wild Energy Center, are among the first to examine how waterbirds respond to FPV systems.



“That’s why it’s so important to understand how waterbirds are going to respond to floating solar and if there is the possibility for conservation concessions at new floating solar facilities,” said Elliott Steele, a postdoctoral scholar with the UC Davis Wild Energy Center within the Energy and Efficiency Institute.



Steele’s words are urgent. Bird populations are plummeting. Habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and avian influenza have combined into a perfect storm of threats. If floating solar disrupts waterbird behavior, it could exacerbate an already dire situation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-responses-to-floating-solar-systems">Bird responses to floating solar systems</h2>



Imagine a black-crowned night heron standing motionless on a solar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/floating-solar-panels-could-power-every-home-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">panel</a> before dawn. Below, cormorants dart through the water, jostling for a place to perch. A black phoebe builds a nest beneath the panels, sheltered but close to human-made structures.



These are not imagined scenes. During their fieldwork, the UC Davis researchers observed all these behaviors. Birds are not just interacting with FPV systems — they are adapting to them, sometimes in unexpected ways.



“Our team has been documenting such a diversity of bird <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/floridas-waterbirds-expert-divers-with-bold-hunting-techniques/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">behavior</a> with floating PV, so we immediately knew this was a very important interaction, especially given the precipitous decline in waterbird numbers globally,” said senior author and UC Davis Professor Rebecca R. Hernandez.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-and-risks-of-floating-solar">Benefits and risks of floating solar</h2>



Renewable energy projects have not always considered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saving-americas-birds-scientists-declare-a-full-on-emergency-in-the-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wildlife</a>. Now, as FPV systems expand, researchers are determined not to repeat past mistakes. The UC Davis team identified five areas demanding urgent study.



First, the researchers are exploring how waterbirds interact with FPV structures, questioning whether these birds use the solar panels as nesting sites, hunting perches, or safe resting places.



In addition, they are investigating the direct and indirect effects of FPV systems on waterbirds. While a panel may provide shelter to one species, it may simultaneously deter another.



The team is considering how conservation strategies can be tailored to specific sites, regions, and seasons, recognizing that bird populations vary significantly in their behaviors and needs.



Furthermore, they are examining how best to design monitoring systems at FPV sites. Should they rely on cameras, sensors, or traditional bird counts to collect data effectively?



The researchers are also assessing the potential for pollutants to be released from FPV systems. If such contamination occurs, they aim to determine what can be done to mitigate the risks to aquatic and avian life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-renewable-energy-design">Rethinking renewable energy design</h2>



Study co-author Emma Forester is a Ph.D. candidate with the UC Davis Land, Air and Water Resources department and the Wild Energy Center.



“There are some things we wished we’d known before other kinds of renewable energy were developed,” said Forester.



“While we’re at this critical threshold of renewable energy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-panels-are-1000-times-more-powerful-with-new-tech-breakthrough/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">development</a>, we want to put more thought into the design that can benefit birds and other wildlife as we go forward.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-balancing-act-energy-vs-ecology">The balancing act: Energy vs. ecology</h2>



Floating solar systems present a compelling case for water conservation. They can reduce evaporation by shading the water surface, an added benefit in drought-prone areas. But there’s a catch.



While some birds, like the black-crowned night heron, seem to thrive on the panels, others might not. Researchers observed birds using FPV systems in various ways - nesting, perching, feeding - but the long-term impacts remain unclear.



And then there’s pollution. Solar panels are not inert objects. As they age, they can degrade, releasing chemicals into the water. What happens to the fish, algae or the birds? These questions linger, unanswered.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-designing-for-wildlife">Designing for wildlife</h2>



To ensure that FPV systems are truly green, wildlife considerations must be integrated from the start. 



Hernandez and her team emphasize that waterbirds are ideal subjects for these studies. They occupy both the water and the air, making them sensitive indicators of environmental change.



But there’s a deeper challenge. Conservation strategies that work in California may fail in Florida. Solutions for herons may not suit cormorants. Customization is key.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-at-stake">What’s at stake</h2>



Floating solar may be new, but the questions it raises are not. When energy projects collide with nature, unintended consequences often follow. As renewable energy scales up, researchers must consider not just the panels but the ecosystems they disrupt.



Floating solar has enormous potential. But without rigorous, long-term studies, that potential could come at a steep ecological cost. For now, the researchers at UC Davis are watching the waterbirds - and hoping the world will pay attention.



The study, funded by the <a href="https://uckeepresearching.org/california-climate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Climate Action Seed Grant</a>, <a href="https://www.enelgreenpower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Enel Green Power</a>, and several U.S. government agencies, is a starting point. 



The research team includes scientists from UC Davis, the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Geological Survey</a>, the <a href="https://www.ucf.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Central Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lancaster University</a>, and <a href="https://www.enelgreenpower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Enel Green Power</a> in Italy.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-025-00429-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Water.</a>



Image Credit: Rebecca R. Hernandez, UC Davis.



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Floating solar panels affect bird habitats in unexpected ways

Floating photovoltaics (FPV), or “floatovoltaics,” are spreading across water bodies worldwide. From California’s vineyards to China’s massive energy projects, these solar systems glide atop irrigation ponds, reservoirs, and wastewater treatment plants. They produce clean energy without consuming precious land, a seemingly perfect solution in a space-constrained world. But the water beneath these panels isn’t empty. It teems with life. Birds drift, dive, nest, and hunt in these waters. As FPV systems expand, they introduce a new dynamic to these habitats - and nobody knows yet what the...

Career geologist Mario Wannier has identified tiny glass particles found in beach sands near Hiroshima, Japan as fallout debris from the atomic bomb that hit the city on August 6th, 1945. His study of the particles, published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/anthropocene">Anthropocene</a>, likens the particles to those left over from massive <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/meteor-explosion-bering-sea/">meteorite</a> strikes.

"I had seen hundreds of beach samples from Southeast Asia, and I can immediately distinguish mineral grains from the particles created by animals or plants, so that's very easy," he said. "But there was something else...it's so obvious when you look at the samples," Wannier said of the glassy particles found in the sands of Japan’s Motoujina Peninsula, located near Hiroshima. "You couldn't miss these extraneous particles.”

“They are generally aerodynamic, glassy, rounded — these particles immediately reminded me of some spherule (rounded) particles I had seen in sediment samples from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary,” Wannier continued, in reference to the mass-extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary is now referred to as the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary.

A meteorite impact, such as the one that occurred during the K-Pg boundary, causes liquified ground material to launch into the air, which are formed into glassy droplets during the explosion. However, Wannier noted that the particles found near Hiroshima were slightly different than those that were made during the K-Pg boundary. Some Hiroshima particles had a rubber-like composition, and others were coated in silica or glass.

[caption id="attachment_1872586" align="aligncenter" width="379"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/glass-particles.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872586 size-full" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/glass-particles.jpg" alt="" width="379" height="238" /></a> Particles collected from beach sands in Japan's Motoujima Peninsula. Image Credit: Anthropocene, Volume 25, March 2019[/caption]

Together with researchers from <a href="https://www.lbl.gov/">Berkeley Lab</a> and <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">The University of California, Berkeley</a>, Wannier was able to determine that these particles were created during the A-bomb hit, which leveled a 4-square mile area of land and destroyed and damaged about 90% of Hiroshima’s infrastructure.

"This was the worst manmade event ever, by far," Wannier said. "In the surprise of finding these particles, the big question for me was: You have a city, and a minute later you have no city. There was the question of: 'Where is the city — where is the material?' It is a trove to have discovered these particles. It is an incredible story."

The team first looked at the structures and compositions of the particles using an electron microscope. Some particles contained aluminum, silicon and calcium, chromium-rich iron, and microscopic branching of crystalline structures. Others contained mostly carbon and oxygen.

[caption id="attachment_1872587" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/map.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872587" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/map.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="397" /></a> Sites where beach sands were collected and the area that was devastated by the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Image Credit: Google Earth; Anthropocene, Volume 25, March 2019[/caption]

They then measured the particles using X-ray microdiffraction. Together, the findings told Wannier that the particles had formed in extreme conditions, at temperatures exceeding 3,300 degrees Fahrenheit. They were most likely formed within the atomic cloud.

"The ground material is volatized and moved into the cloud, where the high temperature changes the physical condition," Wannier explained. "There are a lot of interactions between particles. There are lots of little spheres that collide, and you get this agglomeration."

The team hopes to carry out studies to determine if these particles contain radioactive elements.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Glass particles in Hiroshima beach sand are fallout debris

Career geologist Mario Wannier has identified tiny glass particles found...

Policies aimed to “nudge” people toward a greener lifestyle, such as including energy use comparisons between neighbors on energy bills as an incentive to lower usage, and companies automatically enrolling employees in a 401K, often make people believe they are participating in a greater good. 

However, researchers from <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/">Carnegie Mellon</a>, <a href="https://www.fordham.edu/">Fordham</a>, and <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard</a> Universities have found that these policy nudges, though semi-effective and seemingly costless, actually have a problematic cost. According to the experts, these measures can decrease support for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/republicans-climate-change-action/">larger policies</a> with greater green impact.

"Although nudges can effectively change behavior, most have too small an impact to address societal problems on their own," said David Hagmann, a postdoctoral fellow at <a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/">Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.</a> "It appears that many people view them as substitutes for economic policies like a carbon tax or cap-and-trade scheme, instead of the complements they were always intended to be."

Six studies confirmed that, in the presence of a potential green energy nudge, support for carbon tax declines. Researchers found that when the carbon tax was on the only option on the table, 70% of participants supported it. However, when participants were given the option of enrolling in “green energy” plans by default, support for the carbon tax decreased to only 55%.

And when researchers opened up their experiments to alumni of a public policy school, the alumni not only replicated the researchers’ previous findings, but experts in public policy incorrectly believed that green energy nudges are more effective at curbing carbon emissions than a carbon tax.

"In an ideal world, we would have a place for both nudges and heavy-handed interventions to combat climate change," said George Loewenstein, the <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/simon/what-is-simon/herbert-a-simon.html">Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at CMU</a>. "However, our results indicate that an effort to deploy nudges can backfire by reducing the likelihood that the most effective policies will be supported and implemented."

Despite these upsetting findings, the researchers devised a way to remedy the situation. When participants were presented with information and evidence about the small effect of policy nudges in comparison to large effects of a carbon tax, participants were less likely to support the nudge.

"We should use all the tools at our disposal to combat the threat of climate change," said Emily Ho, a doctoral student in the <a href="https://www.fordham.edu/info/21603/psychology">Department of Psychology at Fordham</a>. "If we can set realistic expectations about the impact of nudges, we can deploy them without undermining the policies that are going to address climate change most effectively - whether it's a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system."

--

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>

‘Costless’ nudges toward green energy can impede larger policy changes

Policies aimed to “nudge” people toward a greener lifestyle, such...

It’s a rhetorical question.  Any United States citizen ‘owns’ part of public lands and at the same time, no one does.  Collective administration of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/national-parks-endangered-species/">National and State Parks</a>, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land is supposed to manage these lands in a way appropriate for all Americans.  

Other interests in land management – sustainable forestry, grazing, or wildlife conservation – are all parts of public land management, but in essence public lands are for the recreation of the American people.  Unfortunately, the management of public lands is a compromise of sorts between different groups of people with different backgrounds, goals, and ways of viewing ‘the land’. 

Recently, an opinion piece by Danielle Williams republished by <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/recreation-5-reasons-to-keep-geotagging">High Country News</a> and originally published on <a href="https://www.melaninbasecamp.com">Melanin Basecamp</a> defends the practice of ‘geotagging’.  Geotagging is the practice of ‘tagging’ selfies with the exact location of where they were taken.  The piece takes issue with the idea promoted by some outdoors people that this type of behavior brings in undesirables, people who haven’t ‘earned’ the right to be in a place.  The piece argues that this sort of ‘elitism’ excludes people of color, the disabled and other under privileged people disproportionately. 

This idea brings to mind a conversation I had a while back with Sophia Danenberg, the first African American woman to summit Mount Everest.  Danenberg told me that people of color often feel excluded from the outdoors, specifically the climbing community. Climbers she has voiced this concern to have argued that they treat everyone the same.  But this isn’t the point because Danenberg feels many in the climbing community are unwelcoming to everyone.  The problem is that this means that people of color feel more excluded because they may already be less confident than their white counterparts.  There is definitely some work that needs to be done on inclusiveness in the outdoors, especially in organizations dominated by the white and the wealthy.  

In her article, Williams correctly points out that the history of public lands is one of Native American lands stolen by white people.  Williams also points out that people of color are more likely to suffer from environmental degradation than their white counterparts. Exclusion is a clear problem in the outdoor and environmental communities.  But the discussion of geotagging and selfies in the outdoors misses two important issues. 

First, the outdoors isn’t all about a person or group of people’s experience, it’s also about the environment itself.  Some places restrict the number of people coming into the outdoors already (like the weighted lottery system needed for an individual permit to raft the Grand Canyon).  Many places don’t limit the number of visitors, but this doesn’t mean that more people doesn’t mean a negative impact on the environment. Not everything is destroyed by a large mineral extraction company.  

Secondly, I’ve spent a bit of time in the caving community.  In my experience, if you’re willing to put in the work to learn proper caving techniques for safety of the group and to protect the cave, cavers are happy to take you on trips.  No caver I know would willingly tell someone the location of a cave though, unless they knew that person very well and had been caving with them before. This might seem elitist, but there’s a very good reason for it.  

White Nose Syndrome is decimating bat populations in the eastern US and was potentially brought there on the shoe of a tourist to a European cave. Casual graffiti and the taking of cave formations as souvenirs has trashed some caves, leaving no surface untouched by vandalism and looting.  This is as surely destruction as a mine drilling into a cave. 

Caves are of course special, small environments but anyone who’s spent time outdoors has seen a wild animal dead along a park road, or broken glass littering a public campground or trees with carved hearts and initials.  

A two or three hour walk on any trail that’s popular at all will turn up at least on piece of trash.  <a href="https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2016/12/6/two-deer-killed-by-illegally-dumped-plastic-garbage">Plastic Pollution Coalition</a> reported in 2016 of deer in India dying from eating plastic in trash.  It’s a problem in the United States, too. On a backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon, I once saw a sign posted telling of deer that died from eating plastic baggies with food in them.  These are problems that occur when people come to view places as merely backdrops to their own experiences, something that social media seems to encourage. 

The other problem with geotagging is the quality of the experience.  For many, the outdoors is much more than a place for activities, it’s a deep sanctuary, a place to connect with something bigger, older, deeper than the individual or even humanity.  In his book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Abstract-Wild-Jack-Turner/dp/0816516995">The Abstract Wild</a>, Jack Turner discusses stumbling upon a remote petroglyph panel in Utah in his youth without expecting it.  Later, Turner returned to the panel and found himself feeling a mix of emotions, first expressing his happiness that the petroglyphs were preserved,

“I am pleased the Harvest Site is preserved in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park.  I am happier still that the pictographs remain difficult to visit. I am delighted they remain in such good condition.  I support the tough new backcountry management plan. I praise the rangers for their courage, their vision, and their devotion to a place I love.”

Then, Jack Turner changes his focus a little, addressing something harder to grasp, how things like saturation of media and easy access can in themselves change the nature of a thing or a place and his own feeling of loss: 

“But I wish we were wise enough to preserve something more.  I wish that children seven generations from now could wander into an unknown canyon and receive at dusk the energy captured by a now-forgotten but empowered people.  I wish these children could endure their gaze and, if only for a moment, bask in the aura of their gift.”

The point is that for better or worse, some experiences can’t be shared.  Solitude. Loneliness. Rather than encouraging people to snap the exact same selfie as a hundred Instagram crazed tourists before them, the focus should be on empowering as many people as we can to explore the world and live fully in its wildness.  Some rules are inherit in respect for a place. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Who owns public lands?

It’s a rhetorical question.  Any United States citizen ‘owns’ part...

Ancient forest in North Carolina holds the oldest trees in North America. Several bald cypress trees in North Carolina are the<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oldest-living-tree-europe/"> oldest trees</a> in eastern North America and the oldest known wetland tree species in the world, according to a new study. 

The recently documented trees were discovered in 2017 in a wetland preserve near Raleigh in North Carolina. The preserve stretches along the Black River, and the ancient ecosystem is home to trees that are over a thousand years old, with one tree dating back 2,624 years. 

David Stahle, a professor of geosciences at the <a href="https://www.uark.edu/">University of Arkansas</a>, dated the trees along with a team of colleagues using radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which is the study of tree rings. Ancient forest in North Carolina holds the oldest trees in North America 

Non-destructive core samples were collected from 110 trees in an area of the wetland forest that hadn’t been studied before.  

[caption id="attachment_1872550" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/bald-cypress.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872550" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/bald-cypress.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="910" /></a> Bald cypress. Image Credit: Dan Griffin[/caption]

Stahle published his findings in a new study in the journal Environmental Research Communications. 

The ancient trees can tell researchers a great deal about climate conditions long before recorded history and the oldest trees show what weather conditions were like 900 years before the earliest known paleoclimate records in the southeastern United States.

The tree rings show evidence of flooding and heat waves even during pre-colonial times

“It is exceedingly unusual to see an old-growth stand of trees along the whole length of a river like this,” said Stahle. “Bald cypress are valuable for timber, and they have been heavily logged. Way less than 1 percent of the original virgin bald cypress forests have survived.”

Thanks to Stahle’s long history of work and research in the area, the forest was designated as a preserve and is protected by the <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/">Nature Conservancy</a>. 

“The area of old growth bald cypress was 10 times larger than I realized,” said Stahle. “We think there are older trees out there still.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ancient forest in North Carolina holds the oldest trees in North America

Ancient forest in North Carolina holds the oldest trees in...

The warming temperatures in the far northeastern region of China are helping larch trees grow – for now. But in the long run, it could mean disaster for the hardy forests.

Researchers from <a href="http://en.syau.edu.cn/">Shenyang Agricultural University</a> looked at growth rings from Dahurian larch trees that grow in the permafrost of northeastern China. The trees, which also grow in Siberia and Mongolia, are Earth’s northernmost tree species and need the permafrost to thrive.

The researchers found evidence that over 10 years, from 2005 to 2014, the trees grew more than in the 40 years before that. For trees older than 400 years, it was even more drastic – they grew more in during those 10 years than in the 300 years before that.

But the heat is having a negative effect on the permafrost below the forest canopy. It’s beginning to degrade, threatening the species’ continued survival.

"The disappearance of larch would be a disaster to the forest ecosystem in this region," lead author and ecologist Dr. Xianliang Zhang said in a press release.

To reach their conclusions, Zhang and his team studied the rings of more than 400 larch trees in China’s old growth forests. They found that warmer soil temperature during the winters is probably fueling the growth spurts.

In other areas of the world, come permafrost is melting and even <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thawing-permafrost-global-warming/">becoming wetlands</a> and swamps. Zhang and his colleagues worry that if that happens in northeastern China, it could damage the larch trees’ roots and cause them to decay.

As the permafrost warms, it could release more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-permafrost-warming/">carbon into the atmosphere</a>, feeding the trend of warming air temperatures. Melting permafrost has also <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/melting-permafrost-is-causing-landslides-across-the-arctic/">caused landslides</a> in some areas of the world.

"If the larch forests retreat in this region in the future, it is also not a good sign for the whole boreal forest," Zhang said.

The study has been published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2018JG004882">Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Larch trees in far north feeling effects of climate change

The warming temperatures in the far northeastern region of China...

The way that climate change questions are worded affects public feedback. Climate change polls help provide insight into how a population thinks about human-caused <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>, and can be important indicators in gaging public support for reducing emissions and implementing mitigation strategies. 

If the majority of a population or group denies that human activities are increasing greenhouse gas emissions, warming up the planet, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-climate-change-denial/">causing irreversible climate change</a>, it makes implanting substantial climate change action next to impossible. 

A new study published in the journal Climate Change has found that how a question is phrased can make a big difference in how a person expresses their thoughts about anthropogenic climate change (ACC). 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/">Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania </a>surveyed 7,019 US adults about climate change to investigate how differently formatted questions influence results. 

The participants were presented with questions about ACC, and the researchers tested three variations in question formatting. 

One of the variations, the “Pew Style,” gave respondents an option to choose “don’t know” or even skip the question. Another format asked a question and provided accompanying explanations about greenhouse gases and climate change. The last format had participants choose from a multiple choice questionnaire and pick which answer most strongly coincided with their views. 

The survey results differed greatly depending on which format was used. The percent of people who agreed that climate change was human-caused ranged from 50 to 71 percent. 

With the Pew Style approach, 50 percent of the survey respondents said that climate change is human-caused, this included 29 percent who were Republican. 

The type of question that produced the highest acceptance of ACC was the van Boven et al. approach, which used a scale and explanatory text but did not allow the option of “don’t know.”

With the van Boven et al. approach, 71 percent of respondents agreed that climate change is human-caused, including 61 percent who were Republican.

“People’s beliefs about climate change play an important role in how they think about solutions to it,” said Matthew Motta, the lead author of the study. “If we can’t accurately measure those beliefs, we may be under- or overestimating their support for different solutions. If we want to understand why the public supports or opposes different policy solutions to climate change, we need to understand what their views are on the science.” The way that climate change questions are worded affects public feedback 

The results of the study show how slight changes in wording and format can influence opinions and answers in surveys, although the researchers caution that the sample was not nationally representative of the US population, so the study results are limited. 

“We hope that our research can help to broadly raise awareness of measurement issues in the study of climate change opinion and alert scholars to which specific design elements are most likely to impact opinion estimates,” the researchers said.

--

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>

The way that climate change questions are worded affects public feedback

The way that climate change questions are worded affects public...

There are very few <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plastic-straws-banned-small/">plastics</a> that can be recycled into reusable products due to various additives such as dyes and flame retardants. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most recyclable plastic, yet is only recycled at a rate of 20 to 30 percent. 

In a groundbreaking new study, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's <a href="https://www.lbl.gov/">Berkeley Lab</a> have designed a recyclable plastic that can be disassembled into its components at the molecular level. As a result, the plastic can be reconstructed into a different shape and color repeatedly, like a Lego set. The new material, polydiketoenamine (PDK), can be broken down and reassembled without the loss of performance or quality. 

“Most plastics were never made to be recycled,” said study lead author Peter Christensen. “But we have discovered a new way to assemble plastics that takes recycling into consideration from a molecular perspective.”

According to the researchers, the problem with many plastics is that the chemicals added to make them useful, such as the fillers that make plastic tough, are tightly bound to the monomers and stay in the plastic even after it has been processed at a recycling plant.

When plastics of different chemical compositions are mixed together during processing at plants, it is hard to predict what properties the recycled plastics will inherit. This prevents the new products from being “circular,” which is ideal because it means they can be reused and upcycled to make higher quality products.

[caption id="attachment_1872475" align="aligncenter" width="630"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/plastic-material.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872475 size-full" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/plastic-material.jpg" alt="" width="630" height="366" /></a> Image Credit: Peter Christensen/Berkeley Lab[/caption]

“Circular plastics and plastics upcycling are grand challenges,” said Berkeley scientist Brett Helms. “We've already seen the impact of plastic waste leaking into our aquatic ecosystems, and this trend is likely to be exacerbated by the increasing amounts of plastics being manufactured and the downstream pressure it places on our municipal recycling infrastructure.”

“With PDKs, the immutable bonds of conventional plastics are replaced with reversible bonds that allow the plastic to be recycled more effectively,” explained Helms.

Unlike conventional plastics, the monomers of PDK plastic can be freed up from any compounded additives by simply exposing the material to a highly acidic solution. The acid breaks the bonds between the monomers and separates them from the chemical additives.

“We're interested in the chemistry that redirects plastic lifecycles from linear to circular,” said Helms. “We see an opportunity to make a difference for where there are no recycling options.” 

The experts demonstrated that the recovered PDK monomers can be remade into polymers, and those recycled polymers can form new plastic materials which do not inherit the features of the original plastic. The researchers believe that PDKs will be a good alternative to many non-recyclable plastics used today.

“We're at a critical point where we need to think about the infrastructure needed to modernize recycling facilities for future waste sorting and processing,” said Helms. “If these facilities were designed to recycle or upcycle PDK and related plastics, then we would be able to more effectively divert plastic from landfills and the oceans. This is an exciting time to start thinking about how to design both materials and recycling facilities to enable circular plastics.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nchem/">Nature Chemistry</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New plastic material can be broken down and reused repeatedly

There are very few plastics that can be recycled into...

Madagascar’s forests are beautiful but embattled.  Humans arrived on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/rescue-madagascars-wildlife/">Madagascar</a>, the world’s fourth largest island, for the first time only about 2,000 years ago.  Since the arrival of humans the island, home to unique and strange wildlife, has changed radically. Giant flightless elephant birds went extinct, most likely due to hunting.

<a href="https://www.wildmadagascar.org/conservation/historic_deforestation.html">Wild Madagascar</a> reports that many wild animals that died off after human contact went extinct for a number of reasons, but many of them directly related to people.  Animals that are now extinct include 15 species of lemurs, giant tortoises and hippos. One of the contributing factors to the extinction of these animals is deforestation.  

Portrayals of the island in films like the cartoon <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls020739443/">Madagascar</a> often grossly misrepresent it as little more than a paradisiacal, wild jungle.  Instead, the island is a complex landscape comprised of various habitats, all threatened by humans and our desire to extract as much as possible from forests.  Madagascar has lost <a href="https://www.eoi.es/blogs/guidopreti/2014/02/04/deforestation-in-madagascar-a-threat-to-its-biodiversity/">80%</a> of its original forest.  

If you drive south from Antananarivo, the extent of the destruction is obvious.  Only after most of two days of riding on public transportation do you see a break in the wall of humanity and a glimpse of the wild forest for which the island is known.  Slash and burn agriculture locally known as ‘tavy’ is common in Madagascar. In some places you can stand on a hill top and watch a piece of forest burning somewhere below almost every night.

Madagascar’s forests are also incredibly stunning.  Little fragments are protected by being located in close proximity of tombs, which imbue the surrounding woods with their sanctity by local customs.  Other fragments of forest are protected by law as parks. Shade grown coffee plantations give imperfect but useful habitat to some species. <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2011/12/madagascar-tree-diversity-among-the-highest-worldwide/">Mongabay</a> reports that in the habitat that remains, there are at least 10,000 species of trees and shrubs, 90% of which are found nowhere else on earth besides Madagascar.

The trees and other plants that make up the forests of Madagascar also support impressive wildlife.  All of the world’s lemurs are native to Madagascar and more species of chameleon are found on the island than anywhere else.  It’s not surprising that some of the trees found in Madagascar, despite their place in the ecosystem, have a high value for lumber. 

Rosewood, a member of the Dalbergia family, is a slow growing tree found in Madagascar.  The wood is red and fragrant, used often to create high end furniture. The trees are also protected by international law from being collected in the wild in Madagascar where the harvest is unsustainable.  Unfortunately, like many parts of Madagascar, there is a shortage of jobs in many of the areas where rosewood grows. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (<a href="https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/8480-the-fate-of-madagascar-s-endangered-rosewoods">OCCRP</a>) reports that a former rosewood logger made between $2 and $3 felling two trees a day.  This number seems pitifully low, but $5 a day is often considered a fair wage in Madagascar.  

Most loggers paid low wages never meet those financing their operations who can sell rosewood for as much as $20,000 to $25,000 per ton.  It’s estimated that in 2013, $250 million to $300 million in illegal lumber, mainly rosewood, was exported from Madagascar. Although logging and exporting rosewood is illegal, government corruption and involvement of officials in the trade keeps enforcement of such laws low.  And it isn’t only in Madagascar that the illegal trade gets a pass either. 

Much of the rosewood poached in Madagascar is exported to China or other friendly locations where it is made into furniture to be sold for high prices.

<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/singapore-intercepts-massive-illegal-shipment-of-madagascar-rosewood/">Mongabay</a> reported in 2014 that Singapore authorities captured 29,000 illegal rosewood logs equally about 3,000 tons.  The logs were imported from Madagascar by a business man Wong Wee Keong and his Singapore-based company, Kong Hoo.  The logs were part of a stockpile created by a surge in illegal logging that took advantage of a 2009 coup in Madagascar.  Some of the logs showed signs of being previously seized by the Malagasy government, suggesting the involvement of government officials from Madagascar.  This was the largest bust in rosewood and perhaps the largest intercepted illegal shipment of a protected species to date. 

Wong Wee Keong’s trial took many turns.  In 2015, the court found there was a lack of evidence and acquitted the business man.  After other court hearings, Wong Wee Kong was fined S$500,000 and sentenced to three months jail time.  The company, Kong Hoo, was fined an additional S$500,000 and the logs were considered forfeit property, <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/managing-director-jailed-fined-illegally-importing-rosewood">Today</a> reported.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end to the trial.  

A higher court issued a ruling on April 8 of this year, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/04/singapore-acquits-trader-in-worlds-biggest-rosewood-bust-worth-50m/">Mongabay</a> reports, that reversed the earlier verdict and sentencing.  Wong Wee Keong and his company have been acquitted of all crimes and the logs have been ordered returned as soon as practicable.  It may take some time for the logs to be returned as the Singapore government will have to pay a hefty fee for their storage. There is a chance that the logs won’t be returned yet due to ongoing legal proceedings, but it’s unlikely.

The government of Madagascar filed a civil suit in addition to the criminal trial but it seems to be moving to slowly to be of any practical use.  In fact, the government of Madagascar is a big reason that this case, which should have been simple to prosecute, failed to punish obvious illegal trade in a protected species.  

Madagascar failed to prove in court that it was illegal for the logs to be exported from Madagascar.  Initially, a fake document was verified as a permit for exporting the logs and by the time a correction was made, the Singapore court was ignoring documents from Madagascar.  Instead, the ruling was based on whether it was legal to import the logs into Singapore rather than illegal to export them from Madagascar. 

The case brings up questions as to whether international agreements to protect species have any real strength.  The logs must still be exported for a profit to be turned on them but it’s likely that in small shipments to China, the logs will slowly be turned into furniture and money.  Meanwhile Madagascar’s forest goes away one tree at a time.

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

International agreements fail to protect Madagascar’s rosewood trees

Madagascar’s forests are beautiful but embattled.  Humans arrived on Madagascar,...

In the 33 years since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explosion, the exclusion zone that spans a little over 1,000 square miles has become a wildlife refuge home to bison, bears, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radioactive-chernobyl-wolves/">wolves</a> and dense vegetation. 

When the Chernobyl explosion occurred in 1986, the surrounding cities were immediately evacuated as clean up crews began their work. Chernobyl released more than 400 times more radiation than what was released during the Hiroshima atomic bomb drop, and over 350,000 people had to leave everything and evacuate. 

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exposure-radiation-astronaut-lives/">radiation</a> levels were so high after the explosion that forests near the plant died, as did most of the surrounding wildlife. Human fatalities were also high, but there are no exact figures of how many people were killed or injured in the aftermath. 

It was long thought that the exclusion zone would remain a desolate and barren wasteland given how long it takes for radiation to decompose and break down. 

However, this has been far from the case. A recent feature in <a href="https://theconversation.com/chernobyl-has-become-a-refuge-for-wildlife-33-years-after-the-nuclear-accident-116303">The Conversation</a> examines not only the transformation of the exclusion zone from wasteland to wildlife refuge but also how important the region is for research. 

Germán Orizaola, one of the many researchers currently studying Chernobyl wildlife, explains in his article that the Chernobyl exclusion zone is home to home horses, bears, bison, wolves and more than 200 species of birds. 

In March of this year, Orizaola along with 33 other Chernobyl wildlife researchers met in England to discuss and present their work which highlights the rich biodiversity found in the exclusion zone. 

The researchers have also found few long-lasting negative impacts from the explosion and subsequent radiation exposure. Some insects have shorter lifespans and show a higher susceptibility to parasites but for the most part, animal populations are stable, according to the researchers.

[caption id="attachment_1872438" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/chernobyl.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872438" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/chernobyl.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="345" /></a> Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Image Credit: Podorojniy/Shutterstock[/caption]

Orizaola personally studies the amphibians in the exclusion zone and has recorded large populations of frogs across the region, even in areas with higher amounts of radiation. 

“Furthermore, we have also found signs that could represent adaptive responses to life with radiation,” Orizaola writes. “For instance, frogs within the exclusion zone are darker than frogs living outside it, which is a possible defence against radiation.”

The lack of negative impacts indicates that wildlife may be more resistant to radiation or that animals in the area quickly adapted to their new environment. 

“Over the years, Chernobyl has also become an excellent natural laboratory for the study of evolutionary processes in extreme environments, something that could prove valuable given the rapid environmental changes experienced worldwide,” writes Orizaola. 

Orizaola also discusses the importance of preserving the wildlife refuge amidst growing interest in tourism and development in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chernobyl’s exclusion zone is now a wildlife refuge and biodiversity hotspot

In the 33 years since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant...

A new study has revealed that biodiversity hotspots emerge on the desolate Antarctic peninsula wherever penguins and seals poop. The nutrients in the excrement were found to enrich the soil as far as 1,000 meters away from the colonies. 

In the extreme <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-spiders-antarctica/">Antarctic</a> conditions, the researchers maneuvered through fields of animal waste to examine the soils and plants surrounding the seal and penguin colonies. 

Study co-author Stef Bokhorst is a researcher in the Department of Ecological Sciences at <a href="https://www.vu.nl/en">Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam</a>.

“What we see is that the poo produced by seals and penguins partly evaporates as ammonia,” said Bokhorst. “Then, the ammonia gets picked up by the wind and is blown inland, and this makes its way into the soil and provides the nitrogen that primary producers need in order to survive in this landscape.”

The team discovered that this process allows ammonia to enrich an area up to 240 times the size of the colony. As a result, a thriving community of mosses and lichens emerges and supports a large number of small invertebrates, including springtails and mites. 

“You can find millions of them per square meter here, but in grasslands in the US or Europe, there are only about 50,000 to 100,000 per square meter,” said Bokhorst. “It took months and months of sitting in the lab counting and IDing them under a microscope.”

The researchers were surprised to find that the extent of a colony's footprint was not largely affected by how cold or dry the region was. This footprint was much more strongly linked to the number of animals present. This insight allowed the team to map biodiversity hotspots across the peninsula, which can be easily updated using satellite images without the need for rigorous fieldwork in the future. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antarctic biodiversity thrives in areas where seals and penguins poop

A new study has revealed that biodiversity hotspots emerge on...

When houses, shopping malls, or parking lots are built, often the land must first be cleared of the vegetation living there.  This is most obvious in forested areas where trees must be cleared to make room for buildings, roads and other human structures.  

Less often do <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/desert-plants-extreme-heat/">deserts</a> come to mind when thinking of land clearing for development, but they offer a unique advantage. Often cacti and small bushes can be dug up and removed from the land alive to make way for development instead of killing them wholesale.  Obviously, even in arid environments, not all plants can be saved, and in forest environments it may be impossible to transplant adult trees but smaller plants might be rescued. 

Several organizations promote this type of rescue as a part of natural gardening or appreciation and conservation of native plants.  However, there are some limitations to the practice.

The <a href="http://nanps.org/plant-rescues/">North American Native Plant Society</a> (NANPS) sometimes schedules plant rescues, yet discourages people from thinking anything good comes from the development that such rescues are inevitably linked to. 

“Plant rescues are a last resort to salvage a few vestiges of what is about to be destroyed,” the organization says. “They are not a panacea for development. The inter-relationships between plant communities and wildlife are thousands of years in development and cannot be re-created in our backyards merely by transplanting a few species. A plant rescue is not a triumph…it is an admission of failure to protect these habitats.”

Because of this, NANPS encourages people to only engage in plant rescue after conservation efforts have failed.  

The first step is to talk to the developer.  

If the developer is uncooperative, it’s sometimes valuable to talk to your local government.  Some development agreements include provisions for native plants and this can allow you to rescue plants even if the developer is uncooperative.  

So after you’ve taken adequate care and dug up the plants, what are you to do with them?

It’s not wise to transplant the plants into undisturbed environments.  <a href="http://wildones.org">Wild Ones</a>, an organization promoting environmentally sound landscaping, suggests in their guidelines to native plant rescue, to use rescued plants in your own landscaping, 

“We… have the privilege of taking these wonderful plants home to add to the beauty of our own landscaping, to appreciate their earthly purpose and to shelter them for future generations…”

Wild Ones also suggest donating some of the plants to an organization dedicated to planting natives in the area.  Because of the cost of permits in Arizona for dealing with certain plants, the <a href="https://www.tucsoncactus.org/html/cactus_rescue.html">Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society</a> sells the cacti and other native plants they rescue to those who want to grow native plants on their own land.  The organization claims that since 1999, they’ve rescued 92,184 native plants in Arizona. Of course rescuing native plants is about more than just the plants themselves.

Native plants provide an important habitat for insects, birds and other small animals.  

Native plants may even help larger animals passing through urban environments.  Deer, moose and other large ungulates all move through neighborhoods depending on the region.  Coyotes, rabbits, frogs all are common urban and suburban animals. Native plants can help all of these animals and allow more migrations through developed areas more successful.  Saving plants and replanting them does recreate a flawed but still useful environment for some animals. 

Unfortunately, most landscaping in the United States involved non-native plants.

This is most evident from sprawling golf courses in the desert to European trees lining streets.  According to <a href="https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter">The Audubon Society</a>, lawns which are basically mono cultures lacking in much biodiversity cover more than 40 million acres of land in the US.  The Audubon Society also points out that native plants help combat climate change. 

For the arid west, another important factor is that native plants require less water.  

Xeriscaping is the practice of landscaping in a way that requires a minimum of water.  This can be done with native or non-native plants from similar dry environments. It’s very easy to do with native plants though because it takes a lot of the work out of it.  Native plants are adapted to the conditions of the local environment, normally the local precipitation is enough to keep native plants alive and you don’t have to wonder how your rain fall compares to that in Australia, for instance.  

According to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/xeriscaping/">National Geographic</a>, xeriscaping has become popular in the arid western US, with Denver Colorado being one of the first cities to encourage the practice.  The city of Novato, California offered residents incentives to take up xeriscaping and estimated that those who did saved an average of 120 gallons of water per day.  An added benefit to using native plants requiring no additional water is often less maintenance in general. 

Without adding water to a garden of cactus, agave, yucca or desert juniper, you can expect less weeds to pop up as well.  

Usually surrounding the plants with gravel or other nutrient lacking substrate is enough to stop most weeds from growing in hot and dry environments.  Along with no weeds is no mowing, no expanses of grass means you don’t need to constantly mow the lawn to keep things looking nice. The most important part of using native plants comes back to habitat.  

When native plants are cleared from land for development, they mostly die and are replaced with asphalt, concrete, buildings and grass.  Along with the native plants go the pollinators – bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, bats – that depend on them for food.  The caterpillars that ate from the plants before growing into butterflies go along with the destruction of plants. There aren’t seeds for birds and squirrels.  

By rescuing plants from development or buying native plants and putting them on your own land, you can create a small pocket of habitat for wildlife.  It’s even possible to have your tiny habitat certified as such. The <a href="https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/Certify">National Wildlife Federation</a> offers certifications for wildlife habitat in parks, yards and other places.  The application fee for the certification goes to planting trees. We can’t always save an entire landscape from destruction, but perhaps we can start inviting more plants and animals into our own personal landscapes.               

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

How native plants can be rescued from human development projects

When houses, shopping malls, or parking lots are built, often...

A necropsy of a dead gray whale that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday has revealed that the whale was likely struck by a ship. 

The beaching marks the ninth dead gray whale discovered in the area in just a matter of weeks. 

Usually, around five to ten gray whales wash ashore in San Francisco throughout the year, but this year has seen an alarming and frequent number of whales washing ashore since March.

The <a href="http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/">Marine Mammal Center</a> conducted the whale necropsy, a task made all the more challenging by the fact that the whale beached on its stomach. 

“Which is difficult for us, because normally when a whale floats in, it ends up on its back,” Dr. Padraig Duignan, the Marine Mammal Center’s chief pathologist, told<a href="https://abc7news.com/pets-animals/necropsy-ship-strike-may-have-caused-gray-whales-death-near-ocean-beach/5289152/"> ABC7</a>. “It gives us easy access to the abdominal cavity.” 

The injuries the whale sustained indicate that it was killed after being struck by a ship which is not uncommon for the area. Three previous whales that washed ashore in San Francisco this year were also struck by boats. 

Four of the nine whales died from malnutrition, and one’s cause of death has yet to be determined. 

The increase in malnourished whales washing ashore point to worrying climate change trends that are warming up marine habitats and impacting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-krill-numbers-food-web/">krill</a>, the whale’s primary food source. 

The necropsy was completed on Tuesday of this week, and the Marine Mammal Center will share the results with other marine research and government agencies as well as shipping companies. 

--

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>

An unusually high number of whales have washed ashore in San Francisco

A necropsy of a dead gray whale that washed ashore...

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 



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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

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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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



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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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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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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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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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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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