Tiny fragments known as microplastics are finding their way into the Gulf of Mexico, a region teeming with marine life and critical to global seafood supplies. 



New research shows just how much these particles are concentrating in waters where sea turtles, red snapper, and dolphins live.



Scientists used computer models to track the movement of microplastics in the northern Gulf of Mexico over a three-year period. The results not only reveal where these pollutants end up but also explain which sources matter most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rivers-drive-the-plastic-crisis">Rivers drive the plastic crisis</h2>



The study challenges a long-standing assumption about where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-are-escaping-from-water-treatment-plants/">microplastics</a> come from. Wastewater treatment plants have often been blamed as major culprits. Instead, the modeling shows rivers are the main pathway carrying plastic particles into the Gulf.



“The Gulf of Mexico, especially its northern part near the southern U.S., is increasingly polluted by tiny plastic particles called microplastics,” noted study co-author Annalisa Bracco, CMCC scientist.



“We used computer models to study how these plastics move over short periods (about a month) across three years. We looked at different sizes and types of plastics and found that most pollution comes from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alarming-levels-of-microplastics-found-in-every-major-european-river/">rivers</a> and not from wastewater treatment plants.”



The team found that different plastics behave differently once they enter the water. Heavier ones sink and settle on the seafloor. Lighter particles float and resist the pull of waves, traveling longer distances. 



The research also identified a hotspot of microplastic buildup west of the Mississippi River Delta - an area that happens to be vital for many marine species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microplastics-in-critical-habitats">Microplastics in critical habitats</h2>



The study didn’t stop at mapping plastic movements. It overlaid pollution patterns with detailed data on where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastic-pollution-found-in-every-aquatic-species-tested/">marine animals</a> live. This step created a clear picture of how microplastics overlap with critical habitats.



Bracco calls this the most important outcome of the work. The overlap highlights risks not only for wildlife but also for people. 



“The fact that plastic impacts regions of intense fishery (which means we’re ingesting some) is often the best way to activate a policy response or gain public interest,” she said.



This connection between pollution and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seafood-is-underestimated-source-of-pfas-exposure-in-humans/">seafood</a> matters. The Gulf of Mexico supports major commercial fisheries. If fish and shellfish in these waters carry microplastics, those particles could reach dinner plates around the world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-roadmap-for-action">A roadmap for action</h2>



The research involved not just seasoned scientists but also an undergraduate student from <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Tech</a> who contributed species distribution data. Their combined efforts go beyond documenting the problem. 



By identifying specific pollution sources, the study offers tools for targeting cleanup and prevention.



“It is important to show how state-of-the-art modeling tools can be used to address coastal problems that interest the general public,” said Bracco. 



“It is somewhat easier to raise awareness of the risks associated with plastic pollution (just one of the many anthropogenic threats) when linking it to fish, turtles, and dolphins instead of simply delivering the likely plastic distribution maps.”



In practical terms, this means policymakers can act on evidence of where microplastics enter the Gulf and where they accumulate. Addressing these hotspots could reduce long-term impacts on both ecosystems and the seafood industry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-the-gulf">Looking beyond the Gulf</h2>



The modeling framework created for this project has value far beyond the United States. Other coastal regions face similar pollution problems, and the approach could be adapted worldwide. CMCC’s Global Coastal Ocean division is already positioned to take this next step.



“This project is setting a framework for, hopefully, more similar efforts to come,” Bracco said. 



“In other words, it is important to look for ways to make our research relevant to everyday life (in this case the fish we consume) to help put in motion the change that is needed.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microplastics-and-their-hidden-costs">Microplastics and their hidden costs</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastic-pollution-is-everywhere-even-in-newborns-and-getting-worse/">Microplastic pollution</a> is often described as invisible, but its consequences are anything but. These particles threaten species we depend on and disrupt ecosystems we barely understand. 



By showing how plastics move and where they accumulate, the Gulf of Mexico study makes the issue visible in a new way.



It also gives people a reason to care. When pollution is tied to food security, health, and jobs, the problem is no longer abstract. It’s a challenge that affects everyone who relies on the ocean - which is, in one way or another, all of us.



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Microplastics threaten marine life in the Gulf of Mexico

Tiny fragments known as microplastics are finding their way into the Gulf of Mexico, a region teeming with marine life and critical to global seafood supplies. New research shows just how much these particles are concentrating in waters where sea turtles, red snapper, and dolphins live. Scientists used computer models to track the movement of microplastics in the northern Gulf of Mexico over a three-year period. The results not only reveal where these pollutants end up but also explain which sources matter most. Rivers drive the plastic...

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-nearly-collapsed/">magnetic north pole</a> has been shifting so quickly that the <a href="https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/WMM/DoDWMM.shtml">World Magnetic Model</a> (WMM), which maps the current position of the magnetic field every five years, had to be updated by NOAA scientists almost a year early. The new model shows that the magnetic north pole is moving away from the Canadian Arctic toward Siberia at a rate of around 34 miles per year.

While the geographic north pole is in a fixed location, the Earth's magnetic field is constantly shifting. This can cause problems for many consumer devices that have built-in digital compasses such as smartphones and digital cameras. According to the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA), the WMM is now pre-installed in Android and iOS devices, which means it is used in more than a billion devices around the world.

NOAA geophysicist Arnaud Chulliat, the lead author of the newly-issued WMM, pointed out that airplanes and boats rely on magnetic north, usually for backup navigation. The WMM is also used by the military, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Forest Service.


Since the magnetic north pole was first measured in 1831, it has moved about 1,400 miles across the Canadian Arctic. The rate of its movement increased from about 9 miles per year in 2000 to 34 miles per year by 2019.

The dynamics of the magnetic field are caused by changes of the fluid flow in the Earth's outer core. Daniel Lathrop, a geophysicist at the University of Maryland, explained to <a href="http://time.com/">Time Magazine</a> that there is a hot liquid ocean of iron and nickel in the planet’s core where the motion generates an electric field. “It has changes akin to weather,” said Lathrop. “We might just call it magnetic weather.”

As Earth’s magnetic field gets weaker, experts predict that it will eventually flip, with the north and south pole changing polarity. “It’s not a question of if it’s going to reverse, the question is when it’s going to reverse,” Lathrop told Time.

This transition would not be instant, but would happen gradually over thousands of years. The magnetic poles have reversed many times in Earth's history, but this has not happened in 780,000 years. The main concern of scientists, however, is that the magnetic field may continue to weaken, which could potentially expose the planet to dangerous radiation.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Earth’s magnetic North Pole is rapidly shifting toward Siberia

The magnetic north pole has been shifting so quickly that...

2018 was the fourth hottest year on record behind 2016, 2017 and 2015, according to two new independent reports by the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">National Aeronautics and Space Administration</a> (NASA) and the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA.).

According to researchers from <a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/">NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies</a>, the past five years were collectively the warmest years in modern recorded history. 

“The five warmest years have, in fact, been the last five years,” Gavin A. Schmidt, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/06/climate/fourth-hottest-year.html">New York Times</a>. “We’re no longer talking about a situation where global warming is something in the future. It’s here. It’s now.”

For the report, the researchers analyzed temperature data from 6,300 weather stations, buoys, and Antarctic research stations. Next, they used an algorithm to calculate global averages.

Typically, NASA and the NOAA would have released their annual climate and temperature reports earlier, but the government shutdown delayed publication. 

The new report shows that overall <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warmer-winter/">global temperatures are rising</a> and rising fast in direct correlation with increases in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. 

In fact, the weather extremes experienced across the world including record lows in the midwestern United States and record highs in Australia, severe storms, retreating glaciers, record low sea ice coverage, and long-lasting droughts can all be attributed to climate change in some respect or another. 

The reality is climate change and global warming are here to stay, and in many respects, it’s too late to hold back the tide of rising sea levels. 

A drastic decrease in emissions, though, could help prevent catastrophic warming.  

“The impacts of long-term global warming are already being felt — in coastal flooding, heat waves, intense precipitation, and ecosystem change,” Schmidt said in a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/2018-fourth-warmest-year-in-continued-warming-trend-according-to-nasa-noaa">NASA release</a>. 

The global surface temperature has risen by around two degrees Fahrenheit since the 1880s, and the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change </a>recently released a report stating that a rise of 1.5 degrees would result in disaster. 
--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

2018 was officially the fourth hottest year on record

2018 was the fourth hottest year on record behind 2016,...

By the year 2100, severity of weather will be greater due to melting ice sheets off Greenland and Antarctica. 

A new study, published February 6th in <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, simulates the effects of this extreme melting on ocean and air temperatures and weather circulation patterns under our current climate policies.

“Under current global government policies, we are heading towards 3 or 4 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels, causing a significant amount of melt water from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets to enter Earth's oceans,” said Associate Professor Nick Golledge from <a href="https://www.victoria.ac.nz/antarctic">Victoria University of Wellington's Antarctic Research Centre</a> in New Zealand. “According to our models, this melt water will cause significant disruptions to ocean currents and change levels of warming around the world.”

Professor Golledge and an international team of researchers were able to better predict the future of climate change using detailed simulations of the melting paired with satellite observations of recent ice sheet changes. 

Professor Natalya Gomez, from the <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/eps/">Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at McGill University</a>, modelled projected changes in water levels around the world as the ice sheets continue to melt. She predicts that the fastest water level rise will happen between 2065 and 2075.

"Water levels would not simply rise like a bathtub," said Professor Gomez. "Some areas in the world, such as the island nations in the Pacific, would experience a large rise in sea level, while close to the ice sheets the sea level would actually fall."

However, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ice-rising-sea-levels/">sea level changes</a> are not the only outcome of the melting ice sheets. As warmer melt water enters into the ocean, major currents like the Gulf Stream will weaken. This will lead to warmer air in the Arctic, Eastern Canada, and Central America, and warmer temperatures in Northwestern Europe.

“Sea level rise from ice sheet melt is already happening and has been accelerating in recent years. Our new experiments show that this will continue to some extent even if Earth's climate is stabilized. But they also show that if we drastically reduce emissions, we can limit future impacts," Golledge explained.

The study shows that current climate change policies put in place by the Paris Agreement must be altered to prepare for the future ahead.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Natalya Gomez, McGill University

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Melting ice sheets could prompt “climate chaos” within this century

By the year 2100, severity of weather will be greater...

The midwestern United States can’t catch a break. 

After the polar vortex brought record-breaking lows, temperatures so cold that thousands in the Twin Cities Metro area <a href="https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2019/01/29/xcel-thousands-in-twin-cities-without-power-during-dangerous-cold-snap/">lost power</a> on one of the coldest nights of the year, the Midwest is now contending with freezing rain, snow storms, and ice-covered roads making for a treacherous commute. 

Despite the freezing temperatures and wintery weather, the numbers shows that it’s actually been a warmer than usual winter. January is expected to end up as a “near normal” month for the land of 10,000 lakes. 

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the globe, the polar vortex drove temperatures in Australia to record highs. On January 18th, Australia had its hottest night in recorded history, and during the month, thousands of people in Sydney lost power due to the sweltering heat wave. 

The heat is so bad that roads are melting, millions of dead fish are washing up on river banks, bats are dying off, and fruit is being cooked on the vine, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/18/australia/australia-heat-wave-peak-intl/index.html">CNN</a>. 

New South Wales broke 14 heat records in January, and from January 12th to the 17th, Australia experienced the ten hottest days on record, as reported by the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/">Bureau of Meteorology</a>. Bushfires in Tasmania are also posing a major threat. 

Even though temperatures dipped well below zero for the Midwest, there were far more highs than lows across the United States. 

An <a href="https://grist.org/article/despite-the-u-s-cold-snap-january-was-hot-hot-hot/">article</a> by Eric Holthaus, published as part of the collaborative journalism project, <a href="https://www.climatedesk.org/">Climate Desk</a>, explains that there were 651 recorded daily highs in January in the US and 321 recorded lows. 

On a global scale, that ratio was 20 highs to 1 low, and record-breaking highs were reported in Namibia, Chile, and Reunion Island. 

“To put it bluntly, events like this can’t happen in a normal climate,” Holthaus wrote. “The harsh truth is we are not only losing the weather of the past, but there’s no hope of it stabilizing any time soon.” 

We have now passed the point of no return and a dangerous feedback loop years in the making will continue to drive up temperatures and sea level rise even if CO2 emissions are drastically reduced. 

Greenhouse gasses are building up in the atmosphere and the oceans causing temperatures to rise, glaciers to melt, and sea ice to reach all-time lows in the Arctic and Antarctic. A warmer ocean increases the risk of coral bleaching and mass coral bleaching events are becoming increasingly common. 

In the Arctic, retreating glaciers has revealed mossy vegetation that had spent the last <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-reveals-moss-covered/">40,000 years covered in ice</a>. 

Even with stark warnings recently issued by the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2030-limit-climate-change-warming/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>, there is a very real possibility that the true extent of climate change’s impact has been underreported and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/economic-impact-climate-change/#">underestimated</a>. 

The longer we ignore these hard truths, the harder it will be to limit catastrophic warming in future years. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Even amidst the polar vortex, it’s been a warmer than usual winter

The midwestern United States can’t catch a break. After the...

Researchers at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> are reporting on the progress of a federal strategy to protect older forests in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/drought-wildfires-pacific-northwest/">Pacific Northwest</a>. Twenty-five years into the 100-year plan, forest losses to wildfire have increased and declines in bird populations have not been reversed, according to the experts. 

The team said their findings highlight the importance of making it a priority to protect older forests. The researchers also pointed out that when the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) was initially adopted in 1994, the project was not expected to show significant positive impacts on biodiversity for 50 years.

“Trees in the northwestern United States are some of the longest-lived and largest in the world,” said study co-author Professor Matt Betts. “Douglas-fir can live to be more than 800 years old and grow to be more than 100 meters tall, so it shouldn't be surprising that it is hard to 'restore' this forest type, and that any plan to do so will take a long time.”

“The plan has been one of the most impressive forest conservation strategies in the world, and there is no doubt that it has had a strong positive impact on the conservation of old-growth forests, but our results show that even with these strong conservation measures, bird species living in this system still aren't doing too well.”

The NWFP is a series of federal policies passed under President Bill Clinton to safeguard 10 million hectares of land, including national forests and national parks. Professor Betts teamed up with OSU research associate Ben Phalan to investigate how the NWFP has affected biodiversity so far. 

The team used region-wide bird surveys, forest data, and land ownership maps. They also examined population trends for 24 widespread Pacific Northwest bird species that are associated with either older forests, diverse early-seral ecosystems, or both.

The study revealed that bird populations associated with older forests, such as the varied thrush, golden-crowned kinglet, and the Pacific-slope flycatcher, are continuing to struggle on both federal and private land. On federal land, the populations have been threatened by drought and fires, while the populations have struggled on industrial land due to timber harvesting.

“All forests in the region evolved with fires to some degree, but now, at a time when old-growth forests are so depleted, stand-replacing fires have become an important cause of declines in bird populations in older forests,” said Professor Betts. “Evidence suggests that some of the increase in fires is climate related.”

The researchers also found that young forest areas known as “diverse early-seral ecosystems” are not declining as much as was expected. In fact, the presence of preforest vegetation has increased in some regions.

“Again, that seems to be because new fires are creating quite a bit of early seral,” said Phalan. “There are proposals that more of this vegetation type be promoted via forest management, but our results show that birds in older forests are more likely to be in decline than those in early-seral ecosystems, so we need to be very careful not to reduce our options for recovery of older forests - especially dense, moist forests.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pacific Northwest forests show wildfire loss, declining bird numbers

Researchers at Oregon State University are reporting on the progress...

New research from an international study, published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>, shows that warm and cool water temperatures spanning a coastline can cause new species of marine fish to evolve. What’s more is that these <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-species-remipede/">newly evolved species</a> do not have to be isolated from similar nearby fish, as previously thought.

Researchers also believe that currents with different temperatures, which help distribute marine species, may also encourage the evolution of new species.

Professor Peter Teske from South Africa’s <a href="https://www.uj.ac.za/">University of Johannesburg</a> and Professor Luciano Beheregaray from Australia’s <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> led an international team that used DNA from regional goby fish to test how species may be influenced by currents of different temperatures.

The team found that although similar, goby genes impacted by water temperature differ from population to population within the South African coastline, which has four separate temperature regions: cool-temperate, warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical.

“Each regional goby population is already adapted to its preferred thermal habitat, and migrants that disperse into nearby regions that are too warm or too cold will not do as well as the locals," said Professor Teske.

However, genes that are not temperature-dependent showed no difference from population to population.

[caption id="attachment_1867180" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/marine-currents-south-africa.png"><img class="wp-image-1867180" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/marine-currents-south-africa.png" alt="" width="700" height="597" /></a> Image Credit: Marine Research Institute, University of Cape Town[/caption]

“Over time, the remainder of the genome will "catch up" with the temperature-selected genes, and even later, the new species will also change morphologically,” Teske explained. “Only then will they be recognisable without the help of genetic methods."

The findings are crucial for managing globally threatened coastal species and fish stocks.

“When several very young species that already cannot live in each others' habitats are all treated as a single species, this can result in the overfishing of locally adapted stocks, or the extinction of a rare species that has been mistaken for its more abundant neighbour,” said Professor Beheregaray.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Differences in coastal water temperatures can create new species

New research from an international study, published in Proceedings of...

An island in the South Pacific that emerged after a volcanic eruption in 2015 is now home to hundreds of tropical birds known as sooty terns. The island is also covered in flowering plants whose seeds were likely scattered around in bird droppings.

The island is the result of an <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/underwater-volcanoes-tasmania/">underwater volcano eruption</a> that spewed ash and lava into the sea for weeks. When the ash mixed with warm ocean water, it solidified into rocks that ultimately formed the island.

The volcanic rocks accumulated in between two existing islands in the Kingdom of Tonga. While it has not been officially named, locals call the new island Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai after the two small islands that it joins.


<a href="http://nasa.gov">NASA</a> wants to study the island before it is potentially washed away into the sea. Dan Slayback, a research scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center, recently visited Hunga Tonga with other experts and students. He told <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/earthexpeditions/2019/01/30/land-ho-visiting-a-young-island/">NASA Earth Expeditions</a>: “We were all like giddy school children. Most of it is this black gravel, I won’t call it sand - pea sized gravel - and we’re mostly wearing sandals so it’s pretty painful because it gets under your foot.”

“Immediately I kind of noticed it wasn’t quite as flat as it seems from satellite. It’s pretty flat, but there’s still some gradients and the gravels have formed some cool patterns from the wave action.”

[caption id="attachment_1867207" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/island-life.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1867207" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/island-life.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="412" /></a> Credit: Dan Slayback[/caption]

The team took pictures, collected rock samples, and used a drone to obtain an aerial survey of Hunga Tonga. According to the researchers, data obtained during the trip may shed new light on rare volcanic islands. 

“The island is eroding by rainfall much more quickly than I’d imagined,” said Slayback. “We were focused on the erosion on the south coast where the waves are crashing down, which is going on. It’s just that the whole island is going down, too. It’s another aspect that’s made very clear when you’re standing in front of these huge erosion gullies. Okay, this wasn’t here three years ago, and now it’s two meters deep.”

However, there is no way to know how long the island will last, and further research is needed to explore the possibility that hydrothermal processes may be ongoing that could make the land resistant to erosion for decades to come. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@gmail.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Sea Education Association / SEA Semester/ <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/earthexpeditions/2019/01/30/land-ho-visiting-a-young-island/">NASA</a>

Brand new Pacific island already covered in vegetation and life

An island in the South Pacific that emerged after a...

A team of scientists at <a href="https://www.hw.ac.uk/">Heriot-Watt University</a> has discovered that adhesive substances secreted by bacteria in the ocean are essentially gluing plastic particles together to form large agglomerates. The experts found that when the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-plastic-pollution-bacteria/">plastic particles</a> are engulfed by the biopolymers, they begin to clump together within minutes. 

“This is a first step towards understanding how nanoplastics interact with natural biopolymers throughout the world’s oceans,” said study co-author Stephen Summers. “This is important, as it is at this small scale that much of the world’s biogeochemistry occurs.”

The researchers conducted experiments in water collected from the Faroe-Shetland Channel and the Firth of Forth, an estuary of several Scottish rivers. The scientists were surprised to find that large plastic clusters are formed by biopolymers, and they warn that these complex masses could be easily mistaken for food in the ocean. 

“The nanoplastics, which are 100 to 200 times smaller than a bacterial cell, were actually incorporated into the agglomerates, which became visible to the naked eye in our lab experiments,” said Summers. “The fact that these agglomerates become large enough to see raises concern, as they are likely to be seen as a food source by small marine animals.”

[caption id="attachment_1867188" align="aligncenter" width="527"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ocean-plastic.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1867188" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ocean-plastic.jpg" alt="" width="527" height="334" /></a> Image Credit: Heriot-Watt University[/caption]

Study lead author and microbial ecologist Dr. Tony Gutierrez explained how the plastic agglomerates threaten to disrupt the flow of food from the ocean's surface to the seafloor.

“The agglomerates form in something similar to marine snow, the shower of organic detritus that carries carbon and nutrients from the surface to the ocean floor and feeds deep-sea ecosystems,” said Dr. Gutierrez. “Heavier plastics could drive marine snow to fall at a faster rate to the sea floor, while the opposite could happen with lighter forms of plastics in making it more buoyant and to fall more slowly.”

Dr. Gutierrez said that in this case, animals in the deep sea could become starved of food. Before the researchers can fully assess this threat, they need to investigate how abundant these invisible plastics are in the ocean.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/marine-pollution-bulletin">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a>. 
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Plastic particles are being bound together by biopolymers in the ocean

A team of scientists at Heriot-Watt University has discovered that...

Research has shown that the Earth’s poles are the most vulnerable to climate change and that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ice-rising-sea-levels/">Arctic</a> and Antarctic are experiencing faster rates of melting compared to anywhere else on the globe. 

But while many studies look to the North and South Pole as proof that anthropogenic emissions are driving glacial retreat, sea ice melt, and sea level rise, an often overlooked corner of the world could lose two-thirds of its glaciers by the end of the century, according to a new report. 

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), sometimes called the Earth’s “Third Pole,” is a large mountainous ecosystem rich in resources and biodiversity. 

The HKH is the origin of ten major river basins and many important river systems like the Ganges and Indus rivers are fed from HKH glaciers. 

240 million people depend on the natural resources of the HKH and billions more who call the river basins home benefit from the region’s precious resources. 

A new report called the <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1">Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment</a> calls for action to help prevent the region's glaciers from melting, set up better monitoring, and provide early warning to communities in flood-prone areas. 

Over 350 researchers across 185 organizations along with 210 authors were part of the project, which took five years to complete. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (<a href="http://lib.icimod.org/collection/ICIMOD%20Publications?ln=en">ICIMOD</a>) published the report. 

Not only is climate change speeding up melting in the HKH, but the assessment also shows that even if the goals of the Paris Accord are met and warming limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, one-third of the glaciers will still disappear in the future. 

If and when that happens, the report explains that it would threaten food production, increase pollution, cause more weather extremes and floods. 

“Global warming is on track to transform the frigid, glacier-covered mountain peaks... cutting across eight countries to bare rocks in a little less than a century,” said Philippus Wester of ICIMOD in a statement. “This is the climate crisis you haven't heard of.”

While many of the world’s nations agree that cutting emissions is key, the current administration leading the United States remains unconvinced. 

The new HKH report also found that temperatures will rise regardless in the region, but efforts to limit emissions and mitigate climate change could spell the difference between a rise of 2.1 degrees and 5 degrees if emissions are left unchecked. 

--

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>

Climate change set to melt a massive part of Earth’s “third pole”

Research has shown that the Earth’s poles are the most...

According to the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> (ESA), twin satellites from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission have imaged previously unknown burn scars in sub-Saharan Africa, revealing that fires have been more prevalent across this region than previously thought.

Satellites are a very important tool for monitoring <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/pge-charges-deadly-wildfires/">wildfires</a> to detect where they are located and how they are spreading. Satellite imaging is also useful for mapping burn scars, particularly in remote areas. 

The ESA reports that wildfires are responsible for up to 35 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions each year. For this reason, satellite data is needed to help scientists predict the effect of wildfires on climate change. 

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission launched a pair of satellites with high-resolution imaging capabilities to monitor the health of the world's vegetation and to map changes across land surfaces. The mission has now produced the first detailed map of burn scars left behind by wildfires.

A recent study was focused on Copernicus Sentinel-2 observations of sub-Saharan Africa, a region that accounts for around 70 percent of all burned area across the entire globe. 

The scientists discovered that a total of 4.9 million square kilometers of land burned in 2016, which is 80 percent more than what had been documented by satellites with lower resolutions. The new burn areas were mainly caused by smaller fires that are typically associated with land use changes, especially when land is being cleared for agricultural purposes.

[caption id="attachment_1867117" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/burn-scars.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1867117" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/burn-scars.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a> Burn scars near Cape Town, Image Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data, European Space Agency (ESA)[/caption]

“This increase the amount of burned area and the fact that it is made up of small areas came as no surprise as Copernicus Sentinel-2 has a resolution of 20 m, more than ten times the zoom of other satellite instruments,” explained study lead author Ekhi Roteta from the <a href="https://www.ehu.eus/en">University of the Basque Country</a>.

“The additional impact of these small fires may be underrepresented which suggests an increase in the contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. It would therefore be useful to include these data in existing climate models.”

“The next step would be create a global map of burned areas at 20 m resolution to reveal the evidence of more small fires, which in turn could lead to greater clarity on greenhouse gas emissions, land-cover change and land management.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/remote-sensing-of-environment">Remote Sensing of the Environment</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites reveal more widespread burn scars across Africa

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), twin satellites from...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/index.html">University of Tokyo</a> have found that heat waves may make people more susceptible to the flu. A study in mice showed that their immune response to the influenza virus was weakened by exposure to extreme heat.

While it is known that rising temperatures will contribute to poor nutrition in regions where crop yields will suffer, this is the first time that experts have investigated how <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/heat-waves-male-fertility/">heat waves</a> may impact flu immunity.

“Flu is a winter-season disease. I think this is why no one else has studied how high temperatures affect flu,” explained study co-author Professor Takeshi Ichinohe.

For the study, the researchers exposed healthy, young adult female mice to either refrigerator-cold temperatures around 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit, room temperatures at about 71.6 degrees, or heat wave temperatures at around 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit.


The study revealed that the immune systems of mice in hot rooms did not respond effectively when they were infected with the flu. The heat inhibited a critical step taken by the immune system when it recognizes the influenza virus and mounts a specific response.


Beyond this effect, however, the heat-exposed mice showed no other significant changes to their immune system. They demonstrated normal reactions to flu vaccines and their gut bacteria remained normal, despite the heat.

“Does the immune system not respond to influenza virus maybe because the heat changes gene expression? Or maybe because the mice don't have enough nutrients? We need to do more experiments to understand these details,” said study co-author and doctoral student Miyu Moriyama.

The study findings may help to explain why individuals often become sick while recovering from a different illness.

“People often lose their appetite when they feel sick. If someone stops eating long enough to develop a nutritional deficit, that may weaken the immune system and increase the likelihood of getting sick again,” said Professor Ichinohe.

“Perhaps vaccines and nutritional supplements could be given simultaneously to communities in food-insecure areas. Clinical management of emerging infectious diseases, including influenza, Zika, and Ebola, may require nutritional supplements in addition to standard antiviral therapies.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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>

Extreme heat waves can weaken the body’s resistance to flu

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have found that heat...

While the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unstable-polar-vortex-brutal-winter/">polar vortex</a> was yesterday’s news, for much of the United States, the dead of winter means more snow, snow, ice, and more snow.

Many residents are stocking up on salt for their sidewalks, and cities keeping roads safe by sending out plows and salting the streets to prevent the snow and ice from freezing over.

Unlike the salt you would use on your sidewalk, the city trucks you see down the highways spraying the road with a salty solution are treating roads to prevent freezing rather than trying melt the ice after the fact.

It all boils down to the chemical properties of salt and how it reacts with water at its freezing point.

Julie Pollock, an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the <a href="https://www.richmond.edu/">University of Richmond</a>, explained the chemistry of road salting in a recent piece for <a href="https://theconversation.com/salt-doesnt-melt-ice-heres-how-it-actually-makes-winter-streets-safe-110870">The Conversation</a>. 

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is salt no matter which way you shake it, but the salt on the road is less pure and gets its brownish color from mineral contamination.

Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and if the ground temperature is freezing or below freezing, ice and snow will form, but salt lowers the freezing point. Salt solutions lower the freezing point to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

But this rule will only apply if the road is pre-treated with a salt-water solution. Salt that’s dumped on the road after a blizzard won’t melt the ice unless subjected to heat from the sun and cars.

“Subjecting the environment to this salt via runoff can have some unintended consequences including negative effects on plants, aquatic animals and wetlands,” Pollock wrote. “But it’s a cheap and effective way to protect roads from ice due to a simple scientific principle: freezing point depression of solutions.”

Sand is also used to help provide friction for road traffic in colder climates where this scientific principle won’t work.

Road salt can seep into wetlands, rivers, streams, and lakes and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/freshwater-streams-polluted-salt/">pollute ecosystems</a>. Sidewalk salt can also be harmful to pets, and there are some pet-friendly options for sidewalk salt that concerned pet owners can use for their walkways.

However, some eco-friendly alternatives are being explored to replace road salt solutions, and these still use the freezing point depression principle, according to Pollock.

Some of the alternatives include brines and beet wastewater from sugar beet processing. Like salt, the sugar lowers the melting point of ice when sprayed onto the road and beet wastewater has less of a negative environmental impact. What’s more, brines, beet wastewater and even molasses additives could be effective in lower temperature climates.

These are also not without their potential consequences though, which is why some researchers are looking to replace road asphalt with solar panels in the hopes of making self-clearing roads, according to another report from <a href="https://theconversation.com/road-salt-makes-winter-driving-safer-but-what-does-it-do-to-the-environment-87860">The Conversation</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How salt trucks keep roads safe… and some eco-friendly alternatives

While the polar vortex was yesterday’s news, for much of...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic pollution.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invisible-threat-in-urban-air">Invisible threat in urban air</h2>



City dwellers face an unseen danger with every breath. New findings from Emory University researchers suggest that fine particulate matter from <a href="http://earth.com/news/traffic-related-air-pollution-might-increase-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vehicle emissions may significantly elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease</a>. The study examined brain tissue samples from 224 individuals who had confirmed diagnoses and volunteered their brains for scientific research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disturbing-connections-emerge">Disturbing connections emerge</h2>



Scientists analyzed neuritic plaques — protein clusters that characterize Alzheimer's — while mapping each participant's exposure to PM2.5 particles based on residential location and surrounding traffic density. The correlation proved more alarming than anticipated. Individuals experiencing higher pollution exposure showed nearly double the likelihood of elevated plaque accumulation in brain tissue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timing-matters">Timing matters</h2>



The research team discovered that pollution exposure during the final year before death demonstrated the strongest association with brain changes. This timeline suggests relatively rapid impacts from environmental toxins on neural health. The connection remained robust even after accounting for various demographic and health factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-vulnerability-patterns">Genetic vulnerability patterns</h2>



Perhaps most concerning, people lacking the APOE gene—which naturally predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's — exhibited more than twice the susceptibility to pollution-related brain damage. Study author Dr. Anke Huels noted this indicates environmental elements like air contamination could trigger the disease in cases where hereditary factors don't explain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-health-implications">Public health implications</h2>



These findings, published in <a href="https://www.neurology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neurology</a>, underscore the critical importance of air quality regulations in urban planning. The research suggests that implementing stricter emission controls and promoting alternative transportation could serve as powerful tools in Alzheimer's prevention.



As cities worldwide grapple with growing traffic congestion and aging populations, this study highlights an urgent need for comprehensive approaches to environmental health that protect both our lungs and our minds.



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Traffic fumes may trigger Alzheimer's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-earth-became-a-frozen-wasteland">When Earth became a frozen wasteland</h2>



Imagine Earth as a giant snowball, frozen solid from the North Pole to the equator. This wasn't the plot of a science fiction movie – it was our planet's reality 700 million years ago during an extreme ice age that has puzzled scientists for decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-discovery">The discovery</h2>



Australian researchers from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a> have finally cracked one of geology's greatest mysteries: what caused the Sturtian glaciation and why it persisted for an unprecedented 57 million years. This period occurred long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, when no complex plants or multicellular animals existed.



Dr. Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study's lead author, describes a world completely unlike today's climate. "Imagine the Earth almost completely frozen over," she explained. "The planet was blanketed in ice from poles to equator, and temperatures plunged."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-combination-of-climate-factors">The combination of climate factors</h2>



The research team discovered that this massive freeze resulted from a "double whammy" of geological events. First, plate tectonic activity reduced volcanic carbon dioxide emissions to historically low levels. Volcanic activity typically releases CO2 into the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that keeps Earth warm.



Simultaneously, weathering of volcanic rocks in what is now Canada actively absorbed atmospheric CO2, further reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. When atmospheric carbon dioxide levels dropped below 200 parts per million – less than half of today's levels – glaciation engulfed the entire planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-climate-implications">Modern climate implications</h2>



Published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geology</a>, this research provides crucial insights into Earth's climate system. While geological climate changes occur over millions of years, the study emphasizes that human-induced climate change is happening at a pace ten times faster than previously observed natural changes, highlighting the urgent need to understand our planet's delicate climate balance.



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What caused the planet's longest ice age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY 57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists....

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-monitoring-networks">Scientific monitoring networks</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-global-food-security">Implications for global food security</h2>



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

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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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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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