When glaciers melt, they release water that carries sulfate-rich minerals previously trapped in the ice. This sulfate flows into streams and wetlands, increasing its concentration in watersheds.



As sulfate accumulates, it creates conditions that can trigger the production of toxic methylmercury, posing risks to ecosystems and wildlife.



Methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin, forms in waterlogged, sulfate-rich wetlands and enters water systems. It accumulates in fish, moves up the food chain to birds, and eventually reaches people who consume contaminated wildlife.



"Very little research has looked at methylmercury production in high-elevation wetlands," said Hannah Miller, a PhD student at <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CU Boulder</a> and lead author of a recent study.



"This leaves important knowledge gaps regarding how much is being produced in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/glacier-melting-threatens-global-water-supplies-and-coastal-communities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mountain</a> wetlands and how this may change with ongoing climate change."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-mercury-turns-toxic-in-wetlands">How mercury turns toxic in wetlands</h2>



Methylmercury production from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-are-reshaping-landscapes-and-national-borders-around-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glacier</a> melt sulfate only occurs within a specific range in wetland soils. If glacier-derived sulfate levels are too low, the conversion process doesn’t start; too high, and it stalls.



The ideal range - 0.60 to 1.4 milligrams per gram of dry soil - creates optimal conditions for mercury to transform into its toxic methylated form.



Miller’s team pinpointed this “Goldilocks zone” after testing soil from peatlands, alpine meadows, and riparian zones. Above the treeline, methylmercury levels barely budged. Below the treeline, peatlands pulsed with microbial activity, converting mercury to its toxic form.



"We also found in our experiment that moderate sulfate additions to the subalpine peatlands resulted in the greatest production of methylmercury within the soils," Miller said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peatlands-as-mercury-hotspots">Peatlands as mercury hotspots</h2>



In the lab, Miller pumped different sulfate concentrations into soil samples. The response? Peatlands with moderate sulfate additions churned out the most methylmercury.



But there’s a catch. Wetlands above the treeline don’t have much vegetation. Fewer plants mean less carbon-rich material to feed the microbes that convert sulfate to methylmercury. But in the subalpine peatlands, dense vegetation and waterlogged soils create the perfect storm.



Sulfate-reducing bacteria thrive in these oxygen-starved <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-could-run-out-of-water-if-glaciers-continue-to-melt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environments</a>. They grab onto sulfate, munch through carbon, and churn out methylmercury as a byproduct. And as glaciers keep melting, more sulfate keeps coming.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-glaciers-spread-sulfate">Melting glaciers spread sulfate </h2>



Sulfate doesn’t stay put. It migrates downstream, riding currents and seeping into soils. In the past 30 years, sulfate levels in Boulder’s watershed have shot up by 200%. That spike mirrors a global pattern.



Glacier-fed streams in the Andes, Alps, and Himalayas show similar trends - up to a 2000% increase in sulfate concentrations. As these minerals flow, so does the risk of methylmercury contamination.



"It's a really interesting climate-driven signal that is starting to get more attention," Miller said. "And while increasing sulfate concentrations have direct implications for ecosystems, they can also have indirect impacts, including changing how mercury is transformed within wetlands."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mercury-moves-through-food-chains">Mercury moves through food chains</h2>



Methylmercury doesn’t just stay in the soil. It slips into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-threaten-global-water-security/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water</a>, where fish absorb it through their gills. Small fish pass it to bigger fish. Birds swoop down, eat the fish, and the toxin moves up the food chain.



"In semi-arid mountain ecosystems, poorly developed soils and limited water bodies make it easy to think there is a lower risk for mercury contamination," noted Miller.



"But our findings show there is a risk, particularly in subalpine peatlands, and raise important questions about how this toxin may impact the communities and wildlife that rely on that water source now and in the future."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sulfate-isn-t-the-only-player">Sulfate isn’t the only player</h2>



Sulfate takes the spotlight, but it’s not alone. Iron, carbon, and water levels also play crucial roles in the methylmercury cycle.



In Boulder’s watershed, dry conditions could limit the spread of peatlands, reducing the areas where methylmercury thrives. But increased precipitation could do the opposite - more wetlands, more methylmercury.



Miller’s study also hints at the role of iron. Sulfate additions alone triggered methylmercury production, but iron concentrations could magnify or mitigate that effect.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-glaciers-rising-mercury-levels">Melting glaciers, rising mercury levels</h2>



Glaciers worldwide are melting, releasing sulfate-rich minerals into nearby streams and wetlands. This surge in sulfate is not limited to Boulder but is occurring in mountain watersheds globally. 



As sulfate levels rise, so does the risk of toxic methylmercury formation, impacting ecosystems far beyond Colorado.



Glacial melt in Peru’s Andes has turned once-pristine wetlands into mercury-contaminated hotspots. The European Alps and the Himalayas face similar risks as warming temperatures increase sulfate runoff. 



As glaciers recede, more sulfate spills into wetlands, driving methylmercury production and threatening ecosystems globally.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-mercury-in-wetlands">Controlling mercury in wetlands</h2>



Monitoring sulfate is one thing. Mitigating its impact is another. Restoring wetlands, managing runoff, and regulating upstream mining could reduce sulfate flow. But Miller and her team aren’t stopping there.



"This research is timely, given the confluence of global changes, including climate warming, changes in the supply of reactive elements, and the occurrence of wildfires that are threatening sensitive high-elevation ecosystems," said Eve-Lyn Hinckley, co-author and CIRES Fellow.



Glaciers keep melting, releasing more sulfate into streams and wetlands. This ongoing process fuels methylmercury production, posing increasing risks to ecosystems. 



The outcome hinges on monitoring efforts and proactive intervention to manage these toxic threats.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add8a5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Research Letters</a>.



-----



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Mountain wetlands are turning into mercury hotspots

When glaciers melt, they release water that carries sulfate-rich minerals previously trapped in the ice. This sulfate flows into streams and wetlands, increasing its concentration in watersheds. As sulfate accumulates, it creates conditions that can trigger the production of toxic methylmercury, posing risks to ecosystems and wildlife. Methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin, forms in waterlogged, sulfate-rich wetlands and enters water systems. It accumulates in fish, moves up the food chain to birds, and eventually reaches people who consume contaminated wildlife. "Very little research has looked at methylmercury production...

Researchers at <a href="https://engineering.columbia.edu/">Columbia Engineering</a> have found that storm runoff extremes and flash flooding have been dramatically increasing in response to both human-induced and natural <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>. 

The world's most recent devastating storms - Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael, and Super Typhoon Mangkhut -  demonstrated the widespread damage that can be caused by weather extremes. Flash flooding has caused more deaths and higher economic losses than any other severe weather-related hazard. 

Losses from flooding have been steadily rising over the past five decades, and those losses exceeded $30 billion per year in the last ten years. Nearly one billion people now live in floodplains, a fact that highlights the urgency to better understand and anticipate river flooding from extreme weather events.

The findings of the new study show a large increase in both precipitation and runoff extremes driven by both human activity and climate change. 

The experts also found that storm runoff has a stronger response to human-induced changes than precipitation, which suggests that storm runoff extremes are going to increase dramatically.  

Study lead author Pierre Gentine is an associate professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia.

“Our work helps explain the underlying physical mechanisms related to the intensification of precipitation and runoff extremes,” said Professor Gentine. “This will help improve flood forecasting and early-warning alerts. Our findings can help provide scientific guidance for infrastructure and ecosystem resilience planning, and could help formulate strategies for tackling climate change.”

Study co-author Jiabo Yin is a visiting student from Wuhan University that is working on Professor Gentine's team.

“We were trying to find the physical mechanisms behind why precipitation and runoff extremes are increasing all over the globe,” said Yin. “We know that precipitation and runoff extremes will significantly intensify in the future, and we need to modify our infrastructures accordingly. Our study establishes a framework for investigating the runoff response.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Human activity is intensifying deadly flooding, study shows

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have found that storm runoff extremes...

Carrot extract could be the key to creating environmentally friendly cement, according to a new study by British researchers.

The team at <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> used a surprisingly low-tech method to test their theory that carrot extract could make cement stronger while cutting carbon dioxide emissions: a common household blender.

The scientists blended nano platelets extracted from carrots and ordinary cement to create a crack-resistant material up to 80 percent stronger than traditional cement.

“The composites are not only superior to current cement products in terms of mechanical and microstructure properties, but also use smaller amounts of cement,” Dr. Mohamed Saai told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">Daily Mail</a>. “This significantly reduces both the energy consumption and [carbon dioxide] emissions associated with cement manufacturing.”

The key is in the cellulose.

The fibrous material is what makes carrots so rigid and crunchy, even though the root vegetables are mostly water, Christian Kemp-Griffin, CEO of Scotland-based CelluComp, the company that provided the carrot extract.

“Those fibers have strength characteristics in them. It’s the building blocks of the strength of a vegetable,” he told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/">Reuters</a>.

It can be extracted from other plant material, but vegetables are easiest, Kemp-Griffin said. 

Adding the carrot extract saved about 88 pounds of cement per cubic square meter of concrete, and about the same amount in carbon dioxide emissions, the Lancaster researchers discovered during proof-of-concept studies.

“Our preliminary results show that adding about half a kilogram of carrot nanomaterial will reduce about 10 kilograms of cement per one cubic meter of concrete,” Saafi told the Mail.

The news could be big for the construction industry, not just because the resulting material seems stronger and less likely to crack. According to the <a href="https://www.iea.org/">International Energy Agency</a>, cement produces about seven percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Carrot extract isn’t the only solution, either. The British researchers are also experimenting with cellulose extracted from sugar beets.

Carrot extract could make cement stronger, more eco-friendly

Carrot extract could be the key to creating environmentally friendly...

The Pacific blob is back, and that could spell bad news for the west coasts of the United States and Canada.

That’s because in the past, the blob of warm ocean water has brought with it poor feeding for salmon. It’s been connected to whale deaths and warmer temperatures in western North America. 

It’s also been connected to a phenomenon California meteorologists dubbed the <a href="https://weatherwest.com/archives/tag/ridiculously-resilient-ridge">Ridiculously Resilient Ridge</a>, believed to have played a large role in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/california-drought-changing-landscape/">drought that plagued the state</a> from 2011 to 2016.

Now, Alaska and northwestern Canada are seeing the “son of the Pacific blob,” Armel Castellan of <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change.html">Environment and Climate Change Canada</a> said. 

"To see a blob sort of establish itself at this time of year is sort of surprising," Castellan told <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news">CBC News</a>. "It's a symptom of the enduring or stagnant weather we've been having over the last four years."

Alaska is already seeing unseasonably warm temperatures, and northern British Columbia is still experiencing summer-like weather. Alaska just ended one of its warmest Septembers in 94 years, according to the <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/alaska's-2018-early-fall-extremes">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>. Parts of southern Italy are experiencing a drought.

The Pacific blob of warm water creates a high-pressure period, which changes the direction of the Pacific Jet Stream. That causes warmer weather, and in the case of California’s Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, prevented normal winter storms from making landfall where they’re most needed.

Right now, if the Pacific blob fails to dissipate, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Montana, northern Wyoming and western North Dakota could see warmer-than-usual temperatures into the winter. 

A side effect of the Pacific blob seems to be colder and wetter than usual weather in the U.S. Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic states.

Phenomena like the Pacific blob are becoming more common, meteorologists say.

"It's definitely something we're starting to see with these resilient ridges," Castellan said. "It just begs the question of how much of this is linked to climate change."

—

Image credit: Rick Thoman, based on OISST data from <a href="https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/">NOAA Earth System Research Lab</a>.

Pacific blob returns, bringing warm days and fear of drought

The Pacific blob is back, and that could spell bad...

While last <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/2018-record-cold-temperatures/">winter</a> was especially brutal in many parts of United States, this winter looks to be more mild thanks a relatively weak El Niño.

The <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center has released its Winter Outlook report looking at temperature, precipitation, and drought for the upcoming months. 

December 2018 through February 2019 will likely be wetter and warmer than normal for much of the United States, and no part of the country is expected to have colder than average temperatures. 

Three-quarters of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, are expected have above average temperatures.

[caption id="attachment_1861103" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NOAA.png"><img class="wp-image-1861103" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NOAA-1024x673.png" alt="" width="700" height="460" /></a> Image Credit: NOAAClimate.gov[/caption]

Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, explained that just because colder than average temperatures are not expected, there is still a chance of <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/videos/noaas-mike-halpert-explains-2018-19-us-winter-outlook">below, average, and above normal temperature</a> and precipitation levels. 

“Even on a warming planet,” Halpert told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6291537/Wet-mild-Warm-winter-predicted-US.html">Daily Mail</a>. “it doesn't mean winter goes away and it's never cold again.”

There is a 70 to 75 percent chance that El Nino will develop in the Pacific and drive these above average temperatures. 

“We expect El Niño to be in place in late fall to early winter,” said Halpert in an NOAA <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/winter-outlook-favors-warmer-temperatures-for-much-of-us">press release</a>. “Although a weak El Niño is expected, it may still influence the winter season by bringing wetter conditions across the southern United States, and warmer, drier conditions to parts of the North.”

For precipitation, the Winter Outlook predicts that the from the Southern US to the Mid Atlantic, the season will be wetter than normal. 

Drought conditions, on the other hand, will continue across the Southwest with some improvements in the coastal Pacific Northwest. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.climate.gov/">NOAAClimate.gov</a>

Experts predict this winter will be warmer and wetter

While last winter was especially brutal in many parts of...

Researchers have discovered that a Royal Navy vessel which sank to the seafloor during the 18th century is now covered in marine pollution, including <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/polar-bear-cubs-plastic-pollution/">plastic bottles</a>, aluminum cans, and fishing wire. 

The scene at the HMS Invincible in Portsmouth Harbor came as a shock to a team of deep sea divers from the <a href="http://www.thisismast.org/">Marine Archaeology Sea Trust</a> (MAST). The experts reported that the ship has been filled up with “everything imaginable” since it was last explored in the 1980s.

MAST archaeologist Kevin Stratford said that such shipwrecks sites act as “accumulation points” for garbage. According to Stratford, the waste could potentially affect the aquatic wildlife colonizing wrecks.

In 1758, the 74-gun HMS Invincible capsized between Langstone Harbour and the Isle of Wight after its rudder jammed. Some of the garbage found on the site of the shipwreck is decades old.

[caption id="attachment_1861101" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Screen-Shot-2018-10-19-at-8.44.19-AM.png"><img class="wp-image-1861101" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Screen-Shot-2018-10-19-at-8.44.19-AM-1024x587.png" alt="" width="700" height="401" /></a> Image Credit: Bournemouth University[/caption]

“The material slowly breaks down in the wrecks and likely pollutes much of the marine life inhabiting them,” said Stratford. “The diving community has long been involved in cleaning up our oceans as we are the people who get to see the high level of pollutants first hand.”

Stratford has observed similar accumulations of waste on other wreck sites, and explained that the extent of pollution depends on their position on the seafloor.

“Shipwrecks themselves are a form of pollution - they aren't meant to be there, but they do act as a haven for fish and wildlife. Because they stand up on the seabed, they stop material being buried and become an accumulation point for everything nasty in the water.”

MAST divers have spent 47 days exploring the HMS Invincible wreckage this year. Stratford plans to expand upon the findings by comparing plastic pollution on shipwreck sites that have been covered up since the 1980s with sites that have been left exposed.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://www1.bournemouth.ac.uk/">Bournemouth University</a>

Shipwreck site from the 1800s is now covered in marine pollution

Researchers have discovered that a Royal Navy vessel which sank...

A new study has revealed that tornadoes are shifting east across the United States from the Great Plains to the Midwest and the Southeast. While the experts say that the trend is clearly a sign of climate change, the underlying cause of the new pattern remains a mystery.

Over the past four decades, the researchers found a significant decrease in the frequency of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tornado-season-retreating-sea-ice/">tornadoes</a> across portions of Texas, Oklahoma, and northeast Colorado. This region, which is known as Tornado Alley, still experiences the most tornadic activity in the country, but the experts determined that several states in the lower Mississippi Valley are starting to catch up.

A rising number of tornado reports and tornado environments were found in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Study lead author Victor Gensini is a professor at <a href="https://www.niu.edu/">Northern Illinois University</a> in the Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences.

“Regions in the Southeast and Midwest are closing the gap when it comes to the number of tornado reports,” said Professor Gensini. “It’s not that Texas and Oklahoma do not get tornadoes. They’re still the number one location in terms of tornado frequency, but the trend in many locations is down over the past 40 years.”


According to Professor Gensini, the study used two separate approaches to investigate the tornado frequency trends in the United States.

First, the researchers examined the number of tornado reports from 1979 to 2017. In addition, the experts used an index known as the Significant Tornado Parameter (STP) to look into the frequency of environmental conditions that were favorable for producing tornadoes. The results of both study methods  highlighted the eastward progression of tornadoes.

“One could argue that because a region’s population has increased, more tornadoes are sighted and reported,” said Professor Gensini. “But we also identified this eastward trend when using the STP index, which looks at the frequency of tornado environments and has nothing to do with people. This increases our confidence in the reporting trend that we’re seeing.”

It is important for researchers to understand this trend as well as its potential for future damage and casualties.

“We’ve shown the tornado frequency trend is increasing in the Midwest and Southeast,” said Professor Gensini. “While tornadoes can happen in all 50 states, if more tornadoes are happening in your area, you’re more susceptible to one of these disasters.

“This could be taken into consideration when adopting building codes, identifying potentially impacted community assets, creating awareness and making emergency preparations.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/npjclimatsci">Climate and Atmospheric Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>. <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tornado activity is shifting eastward in the United States

A new study has revealed that tornadoes are shifting east...

A new study from the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/joint-research-centre_en">Joint Research Centre</a> (JRC) is reporting that a combination of climate change and population growth will elevate competition among countries for limited <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/colorado-river-drought/">water</a> resources. The researchers have identified five global hotspots where water scarcity may cause major conflict in the not-so-distant future.

Scarce water resources can cause or worsen political tensions, regional instability, and social unrest. The goal of this research is to implement strategies that may promote cooperation among countries.

Water conflicts are more likely to become an issue in areas that are already experiencing water stress, such as regions along the Nile, Ganges-Brahmaputra, Indus, Tigris-Euphrates, and Colorado rivers. The experts referred to these five regions as “water hotspots” where “hydro-political interactions” are most likely to occur.

Using a new machine-learning approach, the JRC scientists analyzed the conditions and factors that will most likely to lead to water management issues.

“The scope of our study is two-fold. First, we wanted to highlight the factors which lead to either political cooperation or tensions in transboundary river basins. And second, we wanted to map and monitor the likelihood of these kinds of interactions over space and time and under changing socio-economic conditions,” explained JRC study lead author Fabio Farinosi.

The study revealed that the main factors that drive either political cooperation or tensions in transboundary river basins are: scarcity of water, high population density, power imbalances, and climatic stressors.

The combined effect of climate change and population growth will increase the likelihood of water-related conflict surrounding shared river basins by between 74.9 and 95 percent. Furthermore, increased pressure will be placed on water resources worldwide.


“This does not mean that each case will result in a conflict,” said Farinosi. “It depends on how well prepared and equipped the countries are to cooperate. This is where we hope our research can help, by raising awareness of the risks so that solutions can be sought early on.”

Based on the results of the study, the experts have created a model and an index that can be used to help identify areas at risk of water conflicts across the globe. The tools may influence policymakers to implement strategies that encourage cooperation between countries before conflicts arise.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/global-environmental-change">Global Environmental Change</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Top five areas where water scarcity will likely trigger conflict

A new study from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is...

A new study has found that making farmland and vineyards more diverse is not only better for the environment and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/protecting-biodiversity-political-action/">biodiversity</a>, but it also helps boost working land productivity.

Take, for example, the big brown bat which has to eat thousands of bugs to sustain itself and could help with pest control for farmers.

However, the common practice of monoculture, dedicating large areas of land to just one type of crop, is inhospitable for bats and other species that need a diverse landscape to nest and feed.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> recently reviewed the positive impact of diversification, the opposite of monoculture, in a new paper published in the journal Science. 

The threats to biodiversity and food security are becoming more and more severe due to climate change, and finding new methods for protecting ecosystems while still ensuring agricultural yields is going to be crucial in the coming years. 

Researchers from Berkeley show that diversifying working lands, even through simple, small steps such as planting trees or hedgerows along the edges of a field could go a long way in preserving biodiversity. 

“Protected areas are extremely important, but we can't rely on those on their own to prevent the pending sixth mass extinction,” said Adina Merenlender, a co-author of the study. “This is even more true in the face of climate change, because species will need to move around to adapt to shifts in temperature and climate.”

The researchers say that transforming large areas of land for a single crop can be detrimental to certain species that are unable to adapt to significant environmental changes like big brown bats and acorn woodpeckers. 

When woodlands and shrublands are cleared away, these species begin to decline.

“If you can leave shrubs, trees, and flowering plants, the habitat suitability -- not just for sensitive birds but also for other vertebrates - goes way up,” said Merenlender. “This is true not only in California's vineyards, but on working lands around the world.”

The researchers suggest incorporating a combination of patchwork fields, orchards, and flowers into working lands to enhance biodiversity and reduce the need for pesticides and man-made fertilizer.

Livestock integration provides natural fertilizer, flowers attract bees which can help with pollination, and birds and bats feed on insects. 

“It is possible for these working landscapes to support biodiversity but also be productive and profitable,” said Claire Kremen, the first author of the study. “And ultimately, this is where we have to go. We just can't keep mining our soils for their fertility and polluting our streams - in the end, this will diminish our capacity to continue producing the food that we need. Instead, we must pay attention to the species, from microbes to mammals, that supply us with critical services, like pollination, pest control, and nutrient cycling.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Corey Luthringer

Diversifying farmland, vineyards boosts conservation, pest control

A new study has found that making farmland and vineyards...

In the United States, species that need protection are supported under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, the list of threatened and endangered species is growing faster than the availability of funding for conservation efforts. This leaves agencies with the dilemma of where to focus strategies for the best results.

While the ESA has managed to save species from the brink of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/human-activity-mammal-extinction/">extinction</a>, many of these groups cannot be fully rehabilitated to the point of independence due to a lack of funding. As a result, important progress by the ESA may appear ineffective.

Professor Leah Gerber of <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> is the founding director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes. 


“The ESA requires that responsible agencies restore listed species to a point where they are secure, self-sustaining components of their ecosystem,” explained Gerber. “This is arguably an impossible goal given the significant human impact on species and their habitat, and a budget that is a fraction (roughly 20 percent) of what is needed to recover listed species.”

Gerber is is also part of a team of researchers who developed a tool to guide conservation scientists on how to utilize limited funds to conserve the greatest number of species. The resource was developed in collaboration with scientists at the U.S. Fish &amp; Wildlife Service in a project supported by the <a href="https://www.sesync.org/">National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center</a>. 

The Recovery Explorer was designed to help conservationists evaluate the potential outcomes of resource allocation strategies.

“The tool is meant to be exploratory, not prescriptive, allowing decision makers to examine alternative approaches to resource allocation by making the important components of the decision process transparent,” explained Gerber.

“In my view, one of the most promising possibilities of the tool is that it can be used to estimate what outcomes will be gained for a given investment. For example, if a private donor is willing to give $3 million toward biodiversity conservation, we can provide a list of possible actions that align with the specified objectives.”

Gerber teamed up with Michael Runge, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pwrc">Patuxent Wildlife Research Center</a>, to lead a global team of conservation scientists in developing the Recovery Explorer.

“We designed the recovery explorer tool to allow managers to compare the consequences of different allocation approaches,” said Runge. “We also include options for managers to include objectives related to taxonomic, regional inclusion or other societal values.”

Countries such as Australia and New Zealand have reported success using frameworks that are similar to the methods used by Recovery Explorer, which are referred to as optimal resource allocations. According to Gerber, fully-funded recovery plans tend to be more successful than partially-funded recovery plans.

“Resource allocation is not about saving some species and letting others go extinct,” said the researchers. “It is about finding a way to better order the work so that as many species as possible are recovered given the limited resources available at any moment in time.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New tool guides conservation progress on limited funding

In the United States, species that need protection are supported...

The nation of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-air-pollution-years/">China</a> isn’t exactly known for being environmentally friendly, and its capital of Beijing has routinely been one of the most polluted cities in the world. But in the last 15 years or so, the Chinese government has invested billions of dollars to clean up the air pollution that is estimated to result in more than a million deaths per year. 

Specifically, leaders are focusing on reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal-burning power plants – one of the major sources of the particulate air pollution that claims so many lives. While their efforts have been successful in reducing these emission, there are still extreme pollution events that mainly occur in the winter. A new study from Harvard University, published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007">Geophysical Research Letters</a>, may have found the reason why.

The study ultimately found that the key to reducing extreme wintertime air pollution is likely in reducing formaldehyde emissions – not just sulfur dioxide. 

“We show that policies aimed at reducing formaldehyde emissions may be much more effective at reducing extreme wintertime haze than policies aimed at reducing only sulfur dioxide,” says Jonathan M. Moch, a graduate student at the <a href="https://www.seas.harvard.edu/">Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences</a> (SEAS) and first author of the paper. “Our research points towards ways that can more quickly clean up air pollution. It could help save millions of lives and guide billions of dollars of investment in air pollution reductions.”

Measurements in Beijing on days with particularly high particulate air pollution (PM2.5) have shown a large enhancement in sulfur compounds. These measurements are what led the Chinese government to reduce SO2. However, despite the decrease in sulfur dioxide over eastern China, there hasn’t been a similar reduction in particulate air pollution.

It was determined that instruments used to analyze haze particles can easily misinterpret sulfur compounds as sulfate when it’s actually a molecule called hydroxymethane sulfonate (HMS). HMS is formed by the reaction of sulfur dioxide with formaldehyde in clouds or fog droplets.

“By including this overlooked chemistry in air quality models, we can explain why the number of wintertime extremely polluted days in Beijing did not improve between 2013 and January 2017 despite major success in reducing sulfur dioxide,” says Moch. “The sulfur-formaldehyde mechanism can also explain why polices seemed to suddenly reduce extreme pollution last winter. During that winter, significant restrictions on SO2 emissions brought concentrations below levels of formaldehyde for the first time, and made SO2 the limiting factor for HMS production.”

Formaldehyde emissions primarily come from vehicles and the major industrial facilities – such as chemical and oil refineries – in eastern China. It comes as no surprise that the researchers are recommending policymakers direct their efforts towards reducing emissions from these sources in order to improve the public health of their nation.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Jonathan M. Moch/Harvard SEAS

Reducing overlooked emissions could improve Chinese air quality

The nation of China isn’t exactly known for being environmentally...

The role of the government is often seen as a regulator of business.  One of the major ways the government regulates business is by keeping the environmental practices of business within reasonable bounds.  

Sometimes there is a struggle between government regulators and those who are unwilling or even unable to comply with environmental regulations.  Sometimes poverty coerces people to act in their best interest against law. In western culture, the embodiment of the poor taking the law into their own hands is Robin Hood.  The reality of the nature of struggle between government and poor is often much messier and less clear cut than stories like Robin Hood’s would have us believe. Nigeria has such an example.

Many oil companies work operate in Nigeria.  A quick Google search shows that you’re likely to have used one of the oil companies that works in Nigeria.  Examples include Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell (most often known simply as Shell). Nigeria is also part of <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/167.htm">OPEC</a> which lists their crude oil production at 82,000 barrels per day.  The value of Nigerian petroleum exports for 2017 was $38,607,000,000.  

By the 1980s, Nigeria’s economy had become almost completely dependent on oil production, with as much as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_in_the_Niger_Delta">25% of the nation’s GDP</a> being made up of petroleum extraction, the percentage has only risen with petroleum extraction making up 60% of Nigeria’s GDP in 2008. The wealth brought by oil has created economic disparity in Nigeria, though.  <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/even-it-nigeria/nigeria-extreme-inequality-numbers">Oxfam International</a> reports that Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, yet wealth disparity is extreme.  Oxfam reports:

“The combined wealth of Nigeria’s five richest men - $29.9 billion - could end extreme poverty at a national level yet 5 million face hunger. More than 112 million people are living in poverty in Nigeria, yet the country’s richest man would have to spend $1 million a day for 42 years to exhaust his fortune.”

In the Niger Delta, inequity has historically been part of life.  The government and oil companies have in the recent past forced ethnic minorities from their land to seize control of petroleum revenues without compensation to land owners.  The government has even massacred some groups, like those living in Ogoniland, and denied fair trials for others who were hanged by the government. A 2001 report by <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/">Greenpeace</a> found that Shell had given money to the Nigerian military as bribes for their violent acts.    

Organized resistance formed by minority groups has at times violently taken control of oil produced in the Niger Delta.  Today, there are hundreds of small militia groups and a couple of larger ones operating in the Niger Delta. Oil pipelines are tapped and the oil drained off to be loaded onto waiting boats by these militia groups.  Government amnesty programs slowed the violent resistance movements but actions have flared up again in 2016 when a few different oil operations were bombed by different militant groups.

The crude oil stolen by militant groups is often processed in clandestine refineries in the Niger Delta, Africa’s largest wetland.  The processing is often done with few health or environmental protections and leaks are common. When government forces seize these illegal refineries, oil is often dumped on the ground, spilled rather than used by the Nigerian forces.  All of this together has a huge impact on the environment. 

The Nigerian Delta is a place of incredible biodiversity, as well as a place of poverty and unique cultural groups.  Located in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria is not only tropical but equatorial. This means that Nigeria and the Niger Delta in particular stands in a unique place in the world.  

The Niger Delta is made up of coastal barrier islands, mangrove swamp forests, freshwater swamps and lowland tropical rainforests.  The area is also home to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_the_Niger_Delta">20 million</a> people of 40 different ethnic groups.  Oil spills in the area aren’t always recorded with any sort of accuracy and estimates of the number of oil spills vary, the Department of Petroleum Resources estimates there were 4,835 oil spills between 1976 and 1996 totaling 2.4 million barrels of oil spilled.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell">The Guardian</a> reports that one source estimated 1.5m tons of oil spilled in 2006, noting this number to be 50 times the pollution released in the famous Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.  

According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell">Shell</a>, 98% of its spills are due to vandalism.  This stops short at explaining the motivation behind such vandalism though.  Many oil companies including Shell have been accused of human rights violations in Nigeria.  According to <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/shell-oil-settlement-ogoniland/">Greenpeace</a>, cleanup of the oil spills in Ogoniland will take 25 to 30 years.  As of 2015, Shell has agreed to pay only $83 million for cleanup and restoration of the area. 

Greenpeace also reports that a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) concluded a study of the area in 2011 concluding that drinking water was contaminated in at least ten communities.  The report also found oil floating on ground water and seeping into soil. This comes on top of the alleged complicity of Shell with human rights violations, arrests and executions of resistance members and forced removal of people from their land.  News such as this fuels continued violence in Nigeria as inequity continues despite the new government’s commitment to stop corruption. 

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jul/18/shameful-nigeria-doesnt-care-about-inequality-corruption">The Guardian</a> reported in 2017 that 86 million people still live in extreme poverty in Nigeria.  Between 2004 to 2010, the number in extreme poverty increased from 69 to 112 million, despite economic growth of 7% and an increase in the number of millionaires in Nigeria of 44%.  Corruption is rampant in the country as well, money lost in the government is commonplace. 

Political and economic power coincide in Nigeria, a country with little ethical or legal oversight.  Now as Nigeria’s economic growth has slowed, there is even less discussion in the country about economic inequality.  The poor are left living in the waste left by the rich and those struggling for justice by any means available. There is little way to know the full extent of the problem as oil companies and the Nigerian government keep full records of oil spills and connected problems secret from the public.                                      

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Illegal oil refineries in Nigeria have led to conflict, spills

The role of the government is often seen as a...

The world’s largest living organism, located in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest, might not look like anything much but a large stretch of aspen trees. But if you were to look beneath the surface, you would find a vast and complex root system responsible for this behemoth organism. 

The Pando aspen clone is connected by the same route system and is considered the largest and oldest living organism in the world.

The name clone comes from the fact that each of its above-ground stems, of which there are more than 47,000, is a direct copy of an underground parent clone. 

Researchers from <a href="http://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a> have conducted a thorough assessment of the Pando aspen clone and found that a majority of the clone is deteriorating even though restoration efforts have worked to recover portions of the grove.

The study represents the first comprehensive analysis of the forest ever conducted and was published in the journal PLOS ONE. 

The researchers examined the success of restoration efforts, such as fencing to keep out mule deer. At first, these protective strategies showed potential, but the researchers found that these measures are now largely failing. 

“After significant investment in protecting the iconic Pando clone, we were disappointed in this result. In particular, mule deer appear to be finding ways to enter through weak points in the fence or by jumping over the eight-foot barrier,” said Paul Rogers, a lead author of the study. “While Pando has likely existed for thousands of years--we have no method of firmly fixing its' age--it is now collapsing on our watch. One clear lesson emerges here: we cannot independently manage wildlife and forests.” 

The clone has thinned over time due to deforestation and development, and researchers worry that the Pando clone won’t survive much longer. 

The aspen trees that are part of the Pando clone are iconic for <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/fall-colors-arrive-in-northern-utah/">Utah</a> and much of the American West. If the clone collapses, it would mean a significant loss for Utah’s National Forests and cause untold damage to local food webs and habitats. 

“In addition to ecological values, Pando serves as a symbol of nature-human connectedness and a harbinger of broader species losses,” said Rogers.  “Here, regionally, and indeed internationally, aspen forests support great biodiversity. This work further argues for ‘mega-conservation’ as a departure from traditional individual species-habitat approaches. It would be a shame to witness the significant reduction of this iconic forest when reversing this decline is realizable, should we demonstrate the will to do so.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Paul C. Rogers

The world’s largest living organism is collapsing in Utah

The world’s largest living organism, located in Utah’s Fishlake National...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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

[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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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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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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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