Around 201 million years ago, acidification turned Earth’s oceans from cradles of life into harbingers of extinction.



New research from the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of St Andrews</a> and the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;q=University+of+Birmingham&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oe=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Birmingham</a> has confirmed for the first time that a sharp and rapid drop in ocean pH directly contributed to a major extinction event. The cause? A massive surge in atmospheric carbon dioxide.



The study represents the first full reconstruction of ancient ocean pH using boron isotopes in fossil oysters. It shows that the acidification during the Triassic-Jurassic boundary was not only severe but prolonged.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-oceans-thrived-before-the-fall">Earth's oceans thrived before the fall</h2>



In the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-oceans-are-rapidly-changing-colors-matching-climate-predictions/">seas</a>, early modern corals, ichthyosaurs, ammonites, and bivalves thrived. Coral reefs flourished until the acidification triggered a "reef gap" - a period of reef absence that lasted hundreds of thousands of years. This collapse wasn’t subtle.



It reshaped marine ecosystems, reducing carbonate sedimentation and leaving many marine organisms unable to form shells or skeletons.



Using oysters from Lavernock Point, Wales, researchers detected a 0.29 unit or greater drop in ocean pH. It may have exceeded 0.41 units. This translates to more than a doubling of atmospheric CO₂, with levels climbing over 1300 ppm. For context, today’s CO₂ levels hover near 420 ppm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drastic-changes-fast-consequences">Drastic changes, fast consequences</h2>



The pH drop happened in tandem with a sharp decline in the carbon isotope ratio (δ¹³C), known as the "main carbon isotope excursion (CIE)."



This points to an enormous carbon release event. The study’s authors estimate that over 10,000 gigatons of carbon may have entered the system, mainly from Earth’s mantle. These emissions likely came from volcanic activity as the supercontinent Pangaea began breaking apart.



“The geological record tells us that major CO₂ release transforms the face of our planet, acidifying the ocean, and causing mass extinction. We have to act fast to avoid these outcomes in our future,” said study co-author Dr. James Rae.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volcanoes-linked-to-ocean-acidification">Volcanoes linked to ocean acidification</h2>



Using the cGENIE Earth system model, the researchers tested scenarios with different carbon sources. The model confirmed that the likely carbon input was mantle-derived. 



The size and speed of the event eliminated methane clathrates as the dominant cause, although they may have contributed. The data also ruled out biomass burning and indicated that volcanic CO₂ and contact metamorphism played the lead roles.



Carbonate saturation dropped drastically. Marine organisms used to high-saturation <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-ocean-animals-connect-countries-and-continents/">seas</a> struggled as saturation levels fell below safe thresholds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-initial-drop-hit-harder">Initial drop hit harder</h2>



Interestingly, the more catastrophic acidification may have happened earlier, during the “initial CIE”. Though no oyster samples span that exact interval, the data suggest that the initial event was faster and possibly two to three times more intense in terms of pH drop.



This would align with the wider collapse of carbonate sedimentation and widespread death of shell-building marine life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-oceans-slowly-bounce-back">Earth's oceans slowly bounce back</h2>



Despite the devastation, ocean pH eventually recovered. Around 201.28 million years ago, pH levels began to rise again. 



This rebound may have resulted from the emergence of silica-producing organisms. These organisms disrupted a process called reverse weathering.



This process had previously prolonged the high-CO₂, low-pH conditions by locking alkalinity away in clays. Its sudden stop helped restore ocean chemistry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-history-warns-of-a-repeat">History warns of a repeat</h2>



“The mass extinction event during the Triassic-Jurassic period was over a much longer timeframe, whereas modern ocean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidity-crosses-dangerous-threshold-threatening-marine-life/">acidification</a> is happening at a much quicker rate," said study co-author Dr. Sarah Greene. 



"This warning from the past should give us fresh cause to step up efforts to reduce human greenhouse gas emissions that could otherwise see acidification reach or exceed levels seen during these mass extinction events."



The data show this is not an isolated case. Ocean acidification has now been confirmed in at least three of Earth’s five mass extinctions. These include the Permian–Triassic, Toarcian, and now the Triassic–Jurassic. 



According to the study, the observed pH drops in these events are strikingly similar in size to worst-case predictions for 2100 under IPCC’s RCP8.5 scenario.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-acid-oceans-could-return-to-earth">Acid oceans could return to Earth</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-fossils-tell-us-about-life-after-mass-extinction/">Mass extinctions</a> don't just come from space rocks or ice ages. Earth can end its own chapters when the carbon cycle breaks down.



The Triassic–Jurassic event tells us that prolonged CO₂ release, even from natural sources, can tip the balance. It can turn oceans hostile and trigger a global loss of life.



Today, the same process is unfolding, only much faster. The past offers no comfort. It offers a clear call to action.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61344-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Earth's last ocean crisis wiped out coral reefs - will it happen again?

Around 201 million years ago, acidification turned Earth’s oceans from cradles of life into harbingers of extinction. New research from the University of St Andrews and the University of Birmingham has confirmed for the first time that a sharp and rapid drop in ocean pH directly contributed to a major extinction event. The cause? A massive surge in atmospheric carbon dioxide. The study represents the first full reconstruction of ancient ocean pH using boron isotopes in fossil oysters. It shows that the acidification during the Triassic-Jurassic boundary...

The Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland is growing again, reversing a 20-year pattern of melting, according to a new <a href="http://nasa.gov">NASA</a> study. 

The discovery was made as part of the <a href="https://omg.jpl.nasa.gov/portal/news">National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Oceans Melting Greenland</a> project, and the findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience. 

The Jakobshavn Glacier has been the largest source of ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet, and since 2012, the glacier started rapidly retreating about 1.8 miles and thinning 130 feet every year. 

Now, researchers have found that the glacier is growing back at around the same rate. Since 2016, the glacier has started thickening again due to a natural cooling and warming cycle of the North Atlantic called the North Atlantic Oscillation.

The waters around the glacier are around two degrees Celsius colder than they were when the glacier was melting at a rapid rate. 

While the study’s findings seem like good news overall, indicating that perhaps ocean warming and sea level rise from climate change is not as dire as previously thought, the researchers say that the exact opposite is true. 

The researchers warn this trend is only temporary, and Josh Willis, a co-author of the study and climate scientist, said that the results show that ocean temperatures are a major driving factor in glacial retreat. 

“The water is warming, too,” Willis told <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/03/one-part-of-greenland-ice-growing/">National Geographic</a>. “Oceans are doing a huge part of the work in terms of driving Greenland's ice melt.”

Willis also said that sea level projections would need to be reassessed given the study's findings. 

Even though temperatures have cooled slightly, the researchers say that conditions will take a turn for the warmer and this will increase melting in Greenland and the Arctic. 

The lead author, Ala Khazendar, compared the glacier’s current growth trend to an escalator, saying that ocean temperatures around the glacier are rising slowly, but the North Atlantic Oscillation allowed the glacier to jump down a few steps. 

Soon, the Oscillation will flip, and the glacier will shoot right back up to it’s usual melting patterns. 

“All this is an indicator of how sensitive glaciers are to ocean temperatures,” Khazendar told National Geographic. 

--

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>

Greenland glacier growing again, but experts warn it’s only temporary

The Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland is growing again, reversing a...

Rogue waves are becoming less frequent but more extreme. Although they’ve always existed, rogue waves have only recently begun to capture the attention of the scientific community. According to the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/roguewaves.html">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA), scientists have only accepted <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/south-africa-turbulent-waters/#.XJU5aShKhPZ">rogue waves</a> as a real phenomenon over the past few decades. 

Rogue waves or “extreme storm waves” are waves that are twice as tall as the surrounding waves or sea state. They’ve been described as walls of water, and some rogue waves have been recorded as high as nearly 100 feet. 

Because of their unpredictability and their tremendous heights, rogue waves are a menace to shipping vessels and have even fatally swept people out to sea. 

In the first study of its kind, researchers from the<a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/"> University of Southampton</a> reviewed over 20 years of data from 15 buoys placed along the US western seaboard to better understand rogue waves and what causes them. Rogue waves are becoming less frequent but more extreme 

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41099-z">Scientific Reports</a>, and the researchers say the findings could help shipping industries reduce the risk of rogue waves damaging vessels and endangering the lives of crew members by knowing when and where rogue waves are more likely to occur. 

“Our research can help inform these industries and suggests that if data on rogue waves is to prove useful - geographical, seasonal and year-on-year variations need to be taken into account, rather than just relying on a single value for an entire region, for all time,” said Eric Srokosz, the research supervisor. 

According to the analysis, rogue waves are incredibly unpredictable, and instances of the phenomenon vary greatly depending on location and time of the year. 

The data showed that in the past two decades, the frequency of rogue wave events declined, but when rogue waves did happen, the size of the wave was bigger compared to the decades prior. 

Rogue waves are more common in winter and more likely to occur in calmer seas, according to the researchers. 

“The occurrence of rogue waves is difficult to predict, but simply understanding when and how these rare events occur is extremely important for mariners, both in terms of ship safety and economics,” said Alex Cattrell, a lead researcher for the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rogue waves are becoming less frequent but more extreme

Rogue waves are becoming less frequent but more extreme. Although...

Coral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mass-coral-bleaching-common/#.XJUOKChKhPY">bleaching events</a> are becoming more common as ocean temperatures increase due to climate change. Despite efforts being made to recover reefs and studies that focus on the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on key coastal reef habitats, the outlook for corals seems grim. 

However, researchers from the <a href="https://www.fit.edu/">Florida Institute of Technology</a> and the<a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/"> University of California </a>have found that corals near the equator are less impacted by ocean warming compared to other reefs. 

The researchers detailed their findings in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. 

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from <a href="http://www.reefcheck.org/">Reef Check</a> which is a major citizen science initiative to survey the world’s corals, and the researchers reviewed 20 years of surveys from 3,500 coral study sites. The data revealed interesting insights into coral bleaching trends on a global scale. 

In regions where corals are exposed to higher temperatures, coral bleaching was more common, but in areas where temperatures varied from month to month, bleaching was far less likely. 

But the team found that corals near the equator experience less bleaching and that reefs along the equator are more resilient to ocean warming and acidification.

“We found that the reefs near the Equator were less affected by bleaching than elsewhere, despite similar thermal-stress levels at equatorial sites,” said Deron Burkepile, a co-author of the study.

One explanation could be that previous bleaching events wiped out corals that were more sensitive to temperature changes and the remaining corals have a stronger tolerance. 

“We are uncertain why equatorial reefs are more tolerant of recent temperature stress, but we do know that we must protect these equatorial reefs - and reefs everywhere - from other disturbances, lest we lose coral reefs that protect coastal inhabitants from storm waves and help feed millions of people worldwide,” said Rob van Woesik, a fellow co-author of the study.
--

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>

Coral reefs near the equator are less susceptible to bleaching

Coral bleaching events are becoming more common as ocean temperatures...

An international team of researchers has uncovered the effects of high-latitude dusts on low-level cloud glaciation — the process of converting water droplets to ice. 

Published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>, this new information helps scientists understand how land surface factors contribute to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/pollution-smoke-cloud-formation/">cloud formation</a>, as well as how clouds affect climate and perhaps even regulate climate on a global scale.

The ice crystals and water droplets within clouds maintain both the radiation balance of Earth’s atmosphere and Earth’s energy equilibrium. With the help of solids and minerals suspended in water droplets — called nucleation sites — water molecules begin to form ice crystals within clouds when cooled to 0-degrees Celsius. Dust particles act as ice nucleating particles (INPs) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which both help the ice and water droplet formation within the clouds.

Prior studies have often focused on dust that comes from arid and semi-arid regions in low-mid altitudes and its effect on cloud nucleation. But new information shows that dust can also originate from ice- and vegetation-free areas in high altitudes. Do these dust particles — say, those from regions of glacial outwash plains, or regions of sand and gravel deposits that were carried by glacial melt-off— have the same effect on cloud nucleation in comparison to dust from low-mid altitudes?

"We found that dusts derived from glacial outwash plains can serve as very efficient nuclei for ice nucleation, as compared with desert mineral dusts,” said corresponding author Yutaka Tobo, Ph.D. an assistant professor at the<a href="https://www.nipr.ac.jp/english/"> National Institute of Polar Research</a>. “This is because of the presence of small amounts of organic matter having very high ice nucleating ability.” 

“Our field experiments and model simulations further suggest that such glacially sourced dusts may contribute significantly to ice nucleation in Arctic low-level clouds, especially during summertime,” Dr. Tobo said.

Additional recent studies have shown that dust emissions can also occur in Greenland, North America, and Iceland, Dr. Tobo added. However, the team is not yet sure about the ice nucleating ability of dust from these high-latitude areas.

"In addition,” he added, “it is expected that the recent rapid and widespread retreat of glaciers may lead to more active dust emissions from high-latitudes in the future. Therefore, further comprehensive studies will be necessary to understand the possible impact of high-latitude dusts on current and future aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in the Arctic, which is more sensitive to climate change than any other region of the world.”

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Yutaka Tobo, Ph.D., the National Institute of Polar Research, Japan

Dust in high latitudes impacts glaciation in Arctic clouds

An international team of researchers has uncovered the effects of...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> has found that deep in the Earth's interior, hot rock is flowing much more dynamically than what was previously realized. The flow of rock in the lower mantle was thought to move very slowly compared to that of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earthquakes-tear-earths-mantle-tibet/">upper mantle</a>, but researchers have found that this is not the case.

The discovery may ultimately help scientists understand the evolution of our planet and others in the solar system.

“We often picture the Earth's mantle as a liquid that flows but it isn't - it's a solid that moves very slowly over time,” said study lead author Dr. Ana Ferreira. “Traditionally, it's been thought that the flow of rock in Earth's lower mantle is sluggish until you hit the planet's core, with most dynamic action happening in the upper mantle which only goes to a depth of 660 km. We've shown this isn't the case after all in large regions deep beneath the South Pacific Rim and South America.”

“Here, the same mechanism we see causing movement and deformation in the hot, pressurised rock in the upper mantle is also occurring in the lower mantle,” added Dr Manuele Faccenda. “If this increased activity is happening uniformly over the globe, Earth could be cooling more rapidly than we previously thought.”

The study provides evidence of dynamic movement in the Earth's lower mantle where ancient ocean floors plunge toward the planet's core, stretching from the upper mantle to the lower mantle up to 1,200 kilometers deep.

The investigation was focused on large data sets collected from seismic waves formed during earthquakes. The researchers used this data to analyze what takes place deep in the planet’s interior. This technique is comparable to how radiation is used in CAT scans to see what is happening inside the body.

“In a CAT scan, narrow beams of X-rays pass through the body to detectors opposite the source, building an image. Seismic waves pass through the Earth in much the same way and are detected by seismic stations on the opposite side of the planet to the earthquake epicentre, allowing us to build a picture of the structure of Earth's interior,” explained Dr. Sung-Joon Chang.

By combining 43 million seismic data measurements with computer simulations, the researchers generated images to map how the mantle flows at depths of 1,200 kilometers below the surface. The images showed increased mantle flow beneath the Western Pacific and South America, where ancient ocean floors have shifted toward the Earth's core over millions of years.

The researchers will also use this model to examine how material moves up from the Earth's core to the surface, which will give scientists even more insight into how our planet evolved into its present state.

“How mantle flows on Earth might control why there is life on our planet but not on other planets, such as Venus, which has a similar size and location in the solar system to Earth, but likely has a very different style of mantle flow. We can understand a lot about other planets from revealing the secrets of our own,” concluded Dr Ferreira.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Hot rocks in the Earth’s interior moving faster than previously thought

A new study led by University College London has found...

Earlier this year, the Trump administration-led Department of Energy announced a <a href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/02/f59/withdrawal-of-gsl-definition-nopr.pdf">Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</a> to rollback Obama-era efficiency standards set in place for lightbulbs. 

The controversial announcement has caught the attention of environmentalist groups concerned about what rollback would mean for energy use and climate change. 

In 2017, lightbulb efficiency standards were expanded, and a rule was put in place requiring that most common lightbulbs meet a set standard of energy efficiency with the rule going into effect by 2020. 

Now, the Department of Energy, under the direction of the current administration with a long tradition of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-eases-safety-offshore-drilling/#.XJjigyhKhPY">rolling back green Obama-era policies</a>, wants to amend the rule and loosen standards.  

The <a href="https://appliance-standards.org/document/rollback-light-bulb-standards-would-cost-consumers-billions-100-household-each-year">Appliance Standards Awareness Project</a> reports that the move would not only prove costly to the environment through increased pollution, but would also cost consumers billions of dollars each year in electricity savings. 

If the rule is amended, electricity use will increase by 80 billion kWh (kilowatt hour) per year, which in turn would increase emissions and energy demands. 

The <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> also found that rolling back lightbulb regulations would generate 25 coal-burning plant’s worth of extra electricity each year. 

“This is another senseless and illegal Trump administration rollback that will needlessly hike our energy bills and spew tons more pollution into the air, harming the health of our children and the environment,” said Noah Horowitz, director of NRDC’s Center for Energy Efficiency Standards. “Even with today’s highly efficient LED light bulbs on the market, Trump’s Department of Energy wants to keep 2.7 billion of our lighting sockets mired in a world of dinosaur, energy-guzzling lighting technology that basically hasn’t been updated for more than a hundred years.” 

--

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>

Changes to lightbulb efficiency standards will cost households, climate

Earlier this year, the Trump administration-led Department of Energy announced...

A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> has found that toxic chemicals in ocean algae may be causing neurodegeneration in dolphins. The toxic algal blooms contain a neurotoxin called BMAA, which has previously been linked to a protein involved in Alzheimer’s among nonhuman primates. 

Evidence of BMAA has also been found in the brains of deceased Alzheimer’s patients and in those who suffered from another neurodegenerative condition called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“The findings of protein-bound BMAA in brain tissues from patients with Alzheimer’s disease has advanced the hypothesis that BMAA may be linked to dementia. Since dolphins are apex predators and consume prey containing high amounts of BMAA, we examined necropsy specimens to determine if dietary and environmental exposures may result in the accumulation of BMAA in the brains of dolphins,” wrote the researchers. 

The investigation was focused on 14 <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/captive-dolphins-kept-healthy/">dolphins</a> that washed up in Florida and Massachusetts. Using two analytical methods of liquid chromatography, the experts found significant levels of BMAA in all but one of the dolphins. The animals also showed neurodegenerative changes that resembled those seen in patients with Alzheimer's.

The study revealed that the amount of BMAA found in the dolphins’ brains was 1.4 times greater than levels observed in the brains of human patients with Alzheimer’s and ALS. 

The experts noted that the findings do not confirm that BMAA is the direct cause of neurodegeneration in dolphins, but the research indicates that there is a correlation. 

Study lead author David Davis is a neuropathologist at the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Miller School of Medicine. “Not to be too political, but it goes to show the health of marine animals and water quality,” Davis told the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/">Miami Herald</a>. “Everything’s directly related.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Toxic algae may be linked to neurodegenerative disease in dolphins

A team of researchers led by the University of Miami...

The bodies of hundreds of people who died while climbing Mt. Everest have been preserved for years and even decades under the ice. But now, as the ice retreats due to global warming, the buried bodies are starting to emerge. 

“Because of global warming, the ice sheet and glaciers are fast melting and the dead bodies that remained buried all these years are now becoming exposed,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa, the former head of Nepal Mountaineering Association.

“We have brought down dead bodies of some mountaineers who died in recent years, but the old ones that remained buried are now coming out.”

Nearly 300 people are estimated to have lost their lives while trekking up the 29,000-foot mountain. In 2014 and 2015, avalanches became the deadliest events in the history of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/2015-quake-mount-everest-shorter/">Mt. Everest</a>, killing dozens of people.

“Hands and legs of dead bodies have appeared at the base camp as well in the last few years,” a non-government official told the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>. “We have noticed that the ice level at and around the base camp has been going down, and that is why the bodies are becoming exposed.”

On the Chinese side of Mt. Everest, some of the bodies are being removed. Beijing said that clean-up efforts would include the recovery of the bodies located more than 26,246 feet up the mountain. However, some people believe that the bodies should be left where they are buried.

“Most climbers like to be left on the mountains if they died,” Alan Arnette told BBC. “So it would be deemed disrespectful to just remove them unless they need to be moved from the climbing route or their families want them.”

According to the British Mountaineering Council, more than 4,000 people have climbed Mt. Everest. Earlier this year, China announced that the number of climbers allowed to enter the mountain from the north will be cut back by a third.

A 2015 study published in the journal <a href="https://www.the-cryosphere.net/">The Cryosphere</a> revealed that up to 99 percent of glaciers could vanish in the Everest region by the end of this century. The researchers found that, even with a significant drop in CO2 emissions, there will still be a 70 percent reduction in ice on Everest. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Melting ice on Mt. Everest is exposing the dead bodies of past climbers

The bodies of hundreds of people who died while climbing...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

According to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> and the <a href="https://nsidc.org/">National Snow and Ice Data Center</a>, the Arctic sea ice has reached its wintertime extent after building up over the fall and winter months. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the 2019 Arctic ice extent is tied with 2007’s as the 7th smallest extent of all time.

The 2019 maximum extent peaked at 5.71 million square miles — a measure 332,000 square miles below the 1981 to 2010 average maximum. Scientists note that the missing area of ice is an area a bit larger than the entire state of Texas.

The yearly extent of sea ice in the Arctic is usually measured between late February and early April. The final measurement is taken after the ice has spent the fall and winter months freezing, thickening, and expanding across the Arctic Ocean. This measurement has been dropping steadily over the past 40 years. Although 2019’s maximum sea ice extent isn’t as dismal as the near-record lows that we saw earlier in this decade, it’s not a sure sign that the Arctic is rebuilding.

"While this year wasn't a record low, the maximum extent still points to there being a sustained decline in winter sea ice," said Melinda Webster, a sea ice scientist at <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center</a>. "The temperatures in the Arctic were a bit higher than average and we saw a lot of ice loss in the Bering Sea, but nothing this winter was as extreme or dramatic compared to recent years and the record lows."

In 2018, Ron Kwok, a sea ice researcher with <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a>, found that the sea ice pack, the layers of older ice that have held up and remained frozen over the years, is now 70% seasonal ice, the ice that grows during the winter and melts completely in the summer.

"The large changes in ice coverage associated with the loss of the multiyear ice pack have already occurred," Kwok said. "The seasonal ice now represents a larger fraction of the Arctic sea ice cover. Because this young ice is thinner and grows faster in the winter, it is more responsive to weather and makes the sea ice cover respond differently than before. “

“It's not that we won't see new wintertime or summertime record lows in the next years — it's just that the variability is going to be higher,” Kwok concluded.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA/Joe MacGrego

2019’s Arctic sea ice extent is at its the seventh lowest ever

According to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data...

A recent <a href="https://www.airvisual.com/world-most-polluted-cities?continent=&amp;country=&amp;state=&amp;page=1&amp;perPage=50&amp;cities=">report</a> from <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/">Greenpeace</a> and <a href="https://www.airvisual.com/">IQ Air AirVisual</a> ranked the world’s most polluted cities, and the top 20 most polluted urban centers are all in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and China. 

The report is just one among many that highlight Asia’s struggles with heavy, prolonged air pollution and the significant health risks posed to citizens through repeated exposure. 

In many Asian cities, air pollution levels are well above recommended limits and officials are often criticized for not handling the pollution problem seriously or taking any real measures to limit fossil fuel emissions. 

92 percent of people in the Asia Pacific Region are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution, according to the <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization.</a>

Exposure to air pollution poses the biggest health risks to young children and infants, and pollutants decrease health and wellbeing as city residents in smog-ridden neighborhoods attempt to go about their day to day lives. 

From 2017 to 2018, PM 2.5 pollutant levels, which are small enough to enter the bloodstream and aggravate the lungs, stayed mostly the same in India. 

Some of the methods that countries are using to combat the smog include <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/china-south-korea-artificial-rain-pollution/#.XJT9rChKhPY">cloud seeding</a> and deploying helicopters and drones to spray water throughout the city as water sticks to pollutants and can helps draw the contaminants to the ground and out of the air. 

In China, cities are trying outdoor air purifiers and fans to help reduce pollution, but these measures are looked on by some as just a quick fix that won’t do anything to help limit emissions. 

Some residents are even going so far as to buy bottles of canned air. During the winter, when pollution is at its peak, many people escape to tourist destinations like New Zealand and Japan, returning when the pollution and smog has cleared. 

The problem is that not everyone has the luxury of leaving the country when pollution is unbearable, and as infrastructure and economies continue to grow in developing countries, the health risks of air pollution will also increase and cause more early deaths.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Asian countries are scrambling to combat persistent air pollution

A recent report from Greenpeace and IQ Air AirVisual ranked...

March 22nd is <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clean-water-goal/#.XJUPcChKhPY">World Water Day</a>. Over two billion people in the world still lack access to safe drinking water, and 4.5 billion don’t have access to proper sanitation, according to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/12-07-2017-2-1-billion-people-lack-safe-drinking-water-at-home-more-than-twice-as-many-lack-safe-sanitation">World Health Organization</a>. 

The <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a> (UN) is working to achieve it's Sustainable Development Goal 6, the goal of which is to ensure that everyone has access to clean water by 2030. 

Great strides have been made in improving access to clean drinking water and better sanitation management in developing nations. However, these successes have been overshadowed by increasing water shortages and projected water demands. 

Population growth coupled with climate change will have major impacts on water availability in the future. This is where the<a href="https://www.esa.int/"> European Space Union (ESA)</a> and other satellite monitoring programs come into play. 

Less than three percent of all water on Earth is freshwater, and of this, less than one percent is accessible for drinking and agriculture. Most of the world’s freshwater is frozen in glaciers and icecaps. 

With so little accessible freshwater and rising demands, it has never been more crucial to monitor the world’s freshwater sources.

ESA satellites like the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/SMOS">SMOS mission</a> and the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Overview4">Copernicus Sentinel satellites</a> are currently being used to track water availability and changes, bring attention to receding lakes and reservoirs, and even calculate soil moisture. 

Satellite monitoring will play an increasingly important role in conserving and managing our natural resources, especially as climate change and expanding infrastructure threaten to degrade many key coastal, woodland, and freshwater habitats. 

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites, as well as ESA’s CryoSat, are also being used to monitor changes in glaciers which is important for regions like the Himalayas where ice fields provide freshwater to nearly 20 percent of the world's population. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: ESA/Belspo – produced by VITO

Satellite monitoring plays a key role in managing water resources

March 22nd is World Water Day. Over two billion people...

The Himalayan balsam, which was introduced to the UK in 1839, is more frequently reported than some native plants, according to an annual survey of wild plants in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

The <a href="https://www.npms.org.uk/">National Plant Monitoring Scheme</a> is the UK’s biggest wild plant survey and hundreds of volunteers study local wildflower patches across 30 different habitats from woodlands to heathlands starting in March and ending in September.

Conservation charity <a href="https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/about-us/news/is-himalayan-balsam-now-more-common-in-british-woodlands-than-native-wild-flowers">Plantlife</a> is one of the many enterprises that help run the NPMS, and recently the organization raised the alarm after analyzing four years of past NPMS data about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-plants-change-environment/#.XJPyNihKhPY">invasive</a> Himalayan balsam. 

The plant has spread rapidly and is forcing out native wild plants in the process. Part of the reason it’s thriving is because of nitrogen emissions from diesel cars. The balsam absorbs these emissions and grows extremely fast. 

Himalayan balsam is more abundant in surveyed woodlands that bugle, woodruff, and wild garlic and it can grow as tall as ten feet. The plant also catapults its many seeds at distances up to 22 feet away from the parent plant. 

If Himalayan balsams are clustered together, surveys have recorded seed densities of 5,000 to 6,000 seeds per square meter. 

“It’s a very high nitrogen-demanding species, and it’s a great big thuggish thing, and it can flatten vegetation around it,” said Dr. Trevor Dines of Plantlife.

Nitrogen pollution isn’t just driving Himalayan balsam growth, as the NPMS data also showed that nettles, brambles, cleavers, hogweed, and cow parsley account for nearly half of all woodland plant sightings. 

Other favorite wildflowers are having a hard time competing and are declining. 

“These early data show a strong correlation between species frequency and soil fertility and are a stark reminder that more than 95% of the UK’s broadleaved woodlands are affected by excessive nitrogen deposition,” said Dines. “The biodiversity of our woodlands is at stake whilst this ‘invisible pollution’ singles out species unable to cope with excessive nitrogen deposition.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive Himalayan balsam feeds on air pollution, chokes native flowers

The Himalayan balsam, which was introduced to the UK in...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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