Long before modern climate records began, a very different Earth existed - one where the icy edges of the Arctic were free of permafrost. This wasn't a minor shift. It was a Northern Hemisphere without frozen ground, stretching all the way to the Arctic Ocean. That past could be a preview of our future.



A new study shows that when Earth’s average temperature was just 4.5˚C warmer than it is today, the Asian continent had no permafrost - not even in its far north. This extent of climate warming is within the range we could reach again in the near future if emissions remain unchecked. 



Researchers from <a href="https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/">Northumbria University</a>, the University of Oxford, Bern University, and the Geological Surveys of Israel and the U.S. worked together to trace the ancient climate shift. They found their evidence in an unlikely place: inside caves beneath the Siberian tundra.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frozen-clues-hidden-underground">Frozen clues hidden underground</h2>



The team focused on cave formations known as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-tipping-points-where-the-climate-changed-abruptly/">speleothems</a> - stalagmites and stalactites - which only grow when water can seep through the ground. In regions locked in permafrost, the soil stays frozen solid. That makes speleothem growth impossible. 



So, if these formations exist in caves beneath modern-day permafrost, it means the ground had to be thawed when they formed.



The researchers collected more than 60 mineral samples from caves in the Lena River delta, one of the coldest and most remote areas of northeastern Siberia. 



Using uranium-lead dating, a precise method for measuring tiny traces of radioactive decay, the team determined that the cave minerals had formed about 8.7 million years ago, during the late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-site-in-australia-indicates-abundant-life-during-the-miocene/">Miocene</a> period.



This means the ground in that region was thawed at the time. Existing global temperature records show that Earth was 4.5˚C warmer than it is today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-fate-of-arctic-permafrost">The fate of Arctic permafrost</h2>



If Earth warms by that same amount again, the findings suggest that all but the deepest or highest-altitude permafrost would melt.



“Our findings provide direct quantitative evidence that if our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/looking-to-earths-ancient-climate-to-predict-our-future/">climate</a> warms by 4.5˚C, the permafrost currently covering Canada, Siberia, Mongolia, America - in fact much of the Northern Hemisphere - would thaw. Only permafrost in high mountains and deep underground would survive," said Dr Sebastian Breitenbach of Northumbria University.



“This thaw would release billions of tonnes of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-sinks-are-losing-their-ability-to-absorb-co2/">carbon</a> from the ground into the atmosphere, enhancing further warming. This finding is a real warning to us all. It shows how sensitive our climate system is and where we might be headed if we don't act to limit our climate emissions now.”



What makes this especially concerning is the sheer volume of carbon at risk. Scientists estimate that up to 130 billion tonnes are locked in today's permafrost. If that carbon is released as the ground thaws, it won't just add to the warming - it will accelerate it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-the-arctic-was-permafrost-free">When the Arctic was permafrost-free </h2>



“After much searching, we were fortunate to find well-preserved datable cave deposits in the heart of today’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frozen-worm-comes-back-to-life-after-46000-years/">Siberian permafrost</a>,” said Dr Anton Vaks of the Geological Survey of Israel. 



“We can see that this present-day tundra region experienced a warmer climate, with mean annual global temperatures above 0°C and with permafrost-free conditions." 



According to Dr. Vaks, the evidence from the cave formations indicates that most of the Siberian landmass and likely similar regions in the Northern Hemisphere were permafrost-free when the deposits formed at Taba-Ba’astakh.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caves-as-climate-time-machines">Caves as climate time machines</h2>



Professor Gideon Henderson of the University of Oxford noted that caves are like time machines. 



“They capture a history of the climate and environment for millions of years of Earth history, which we can now read accurately using precise chemical analyses," said Henderson. 



"By doing so, we can predict the future, using past conditions as an analogue for the future to understand the impact of the warmer world we are heading into.



“This new study provides valuable new constraints on the magnitude of warming required to completely destroy permafrost in the northern hemisphere and remove one of the biggest continental stores of carbon.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60381-5">Nature Communications</a>.



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Arctic permafrost vanished in the past - will it happen again?

Long before modern climate records began, a very different Earth existed - one where the icy edges of the Arctic were free of permafrost. This wasn't a minor shift. It was a Northern Hemisphere without frozen ground, stretching all the way to the Arctic Ocean. That past could be a preview of our future. A new study shows that when Earth’s average temperature was just 4.5˚C warmer than it is today, the Asian continent had no permafrost - not even in its far north. This extent of...

New research from the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> has found that pilots are directly influenced by carbon dioxide levels on the flight deck. The study revealed that commercial airline pilots executed maneuvers much more smoothly in a flight simulator when carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the cockpit were 700 parts per million (ppm) and 1,500 ppm compared to when they were elevated to 2,500 ppm.

Joseph Allen is an assistant professor of Exposure Assessment Science and the study's lead author.

“Flying is safe, no question,” said Professor Allen. “The entire flight experience is designed around a culture of 'safety first.’ Optimizing air quality on the flight deck must continue to be a part of that safety equation.”

The team had found in previous research that CO2 concentrations above 1,000 ppm negatively impacted the performance of employees due to an interference with cognitive function. In the current study, the researchers set out to determine if higher CO2 levels on the flight deck may affect the ability of pilots to respond in emergency situations or to perform advanced maneuvers.

The study was focused on 30 male commercial airline pilots as they performed three 3-hour-long flight simulations. The tests consisted of 21 maneuvers of varying degrees of difficulty, and the pilots did not have the option of using autopilot. 

The pilots were split into two teams and took a 90-minute turn as the flying pilot during each simulation. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-respond-rising-co2-levels/">CO2 levels</a> were randomly adjusted to either 700, 1,500, or 2,500 ppm, and the pilots all flew under each of these conditions at some point in the study.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Designated Pilot Examiner monitored and evaluated all of the flight simulations. Just like the pilots, the examiner was not aware of the CO2 levels during the trials.

The pilots were found to be 69 percent more likely to receive a passing grade on a maneuver when CO2 levels were at 700 ppm compared to when they were at 2,500 ppm. When CO2 levels were adjusted to 1,500 ppm, the pilots were 52 percent more likely to successfully perform a maneuver than when CO2 levels were at 2,500 ppm. 

There was not a significant difference across performance when CO2 levels were at 700 ppm or 1,500 ppm, but the pilots were more likely to perform well on the most difficult maneuvers when CO2 levels were at their lowest.

The experts also found that the negative effects on flight performance increased alongside the time the pilots were exposed to the CO2.

“Using a flight simulator gave us a unique opportunity to test the impact of extreme, but rare, events in airplanes,” said study co-author Piers MacNaughton. “Our results suggest that we need to know more about how air quality on the flight deck can be used to enhance pilot performance.”

The research is published in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/jes">Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Airplane carbon dioxide levels found to impact pilot performance

New research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public...

Climate scientists have determined that just one-half a degree of global warming could have much more devastating impacts, including extreme weather events such as flooding and landslides, all around the world.

The experts believe that many “extreme precipitation events” could be avoided if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, instead of allowing the temperatures to increase by two degrees Celsius.

Extreme rainfall can overwhelm rivers, dams, and other infrastructure, potentially leading to deadly flash flooding and landslides.

Lead author Tianjun Zhou, who specializes in statistical models, is a professor from the Institute Of Atmospheric Physics at the <a href="http://english.ucas.ac.cn/">University of Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>.

The study has revealed that catastrophic precipitation events which are normally seen only once in 10 or 20 years could increase in frequency by as much as 40 percent if the world does not meet the more ambitious target of limiting warming to 1. 5 degrees Celsius.

“As the climate warms, both the mean state and the variability of extreme precipitation are projected to increase, inducing more intense and dangerous extreme events,” said Professor Zhou.

“Limiting global warming to 1.5°C, compared to 2°C, would reduce areal and population exposures to once-in-10-year or once-in-20-year extreme precipitation events by approximately 20 to 40 percent.”

The investigation into future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-forests-methane/">climate change</a> was predominantly focused on regions of the world that experience monsoons. The experts used comprehensive climate models to predict the impacts that will come along with global warming.

The world's monsoon region not only spans north and south of the Equator, but also effects nearly two-thirds of the world's population.

“Realizing the 1.5°C low warming target proposed by the Paris Agreement could robustly benefit the populous global monsoon region, in terms of lower exposure to precipitation extremes,” said Professor Zhou.

“Our results are robust across climate models, different definitions of dangerous events, future greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, and population scenarios.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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Just one-half of a degree of warming can trigger extreme flooding

Climate scientists have determined that just one-half a degree of...

Antidepressants found in sewage treatment systems are affecting the mating habits of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-starlings-aerial-ballet/">starlings</a> in the UK, according to a new study. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> tested worms, insects, and the birds that feed on them for antidepressants to see if  low dose quantities of Prozac and other medications that make their way into wastewater are impacting wildlife.

Sewage treatment plants are a hotbed for contaminants, but they are also a popular feeding spot for birds.

As medications pass through people, traces of them can still be found in sewage, and anything that feeds on the sewage passes the chemicals up the food chain. 

The researchers found that starling birds ingest medications like Prozac after filling up on contaminated worms and insects at the treatment plants. 

To test this in a lab setting, the researchers captured 24 wild Eurasian starlings who are known to feed on contaminated bugs. 

The researchers split the female starlings into two groups. One group was fed worms that had been drugged with Prozac and the other group had un-contaminated worms. 

Then, the researchers introduced the males of the 24 starlings to the females to see if the Prozac had any impact on mating calls. 

Starling males sing to potential mates and the females are able to recognize the most desirable traits for breeding from these songs. 

The researchers noticed that male starlings had little interest in mating with the contaminated female starlings. 

“Males sang more than twice as often and as long to untreated females compared to females that had been receiving low doses of Prozac,” Sophia Whitlock, a co-author of the study, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6032077/Antidepressants-water-supply-causing-mating-problems-male-starlings.html">told the Daily Mail. </a>

The study emphasizes the importance of properly treating and filtering sewage and water systems as low concentrations of chemicals, contaminants, and medications ingested by wildlife near sewage treatment plants can be toxic or interfere with reproductive success. 

“Here is the first evidence that low concentrations of an antidepressant can disrupt the courtship of songbirds,” Kathryn Arnold, the leader of the study, told Daily Mail. “This is important because animals that are slow to find a mate often won't get to breed. With many wildlife populations in decline, we have to ask whether more could be done to remove chemical contaminants like pharmaceuticals from our sewage.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antidepressants in waterways are hindering mating time for birds

Antidepressants found in sewage treatment systems are affecting the mating...

The Paris Agreement – which the United States<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-decision-paris-climate-agreement/"> infamously backed out of</a> under President Trump – has the goal of keeping global warming near 2°C above pre=industrial levels. Previously, scientists have believed this goal to be attainable, although likely still a long shot. However, new research published in <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)</a> has found that keeping global warming to within 1.5-2°C could be far more difficult than we once thought. 

An international team of scientists has found that even if the carbon emission reductions outlined in the Paris Agreement are met, there is a chance that our planet could enter what they call “Hothouse Earth” conditions. The Hothouse Earth climate will see increased global temperatures at an average of 4 to 5°C higher than pre-industrial temperatures, resulting in a sea level 10 to 60 meters higher than it is today.

“Human emissions of greenhouse gas are not the sole determinant of temperature on Earth. Our study suggests that human-induced global warming of 2°C may trigger other Earth system processes, often called ‘feedbacks,’ that can drive further warming – even if we stop emitting greenhouse gases,” explains lead author Will Steffen from the <a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/">Australian National University</a> and <a href="http://www.stockholmresilience.org/">Stockholm Resilience Centre</a>. “Avoiding this scenario requires a redirection of human actions from exploitation to stewardship of the Earth system.”

There are a number of feedback processes the authors of the study assess, some of which are “tipping elements” that result in a significant effect if their critical threshold is crossed. These feedbacks include permafrost thaw, reduction of northern hemisphere snow cover, loss of Arctic summer sea ice, reduction of Antarctic sea ice and polar ice sheets, weakening land and ocean carbon sinks, Amazon rainforest dieback, boreal forest dieback, loss of methane hydrates from the ocean floor, and increasing bacterial respiration from the oceans.

“These tipping elements can potentially act like a row of dominoes. Once one is pushed over, it pushes Earth towards another,” says co-author Johan Rockström, Executive Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. “It may be very difficult or impossible to stop the whole row of dominoes from tumbling over. Places on Earth will become uninhabitable if ‘Hothouse Earth’ becomes the reality.”

Ultimately, the researchers are unsure as to whether global warming can actually stop at just 2°C above pre-industrial levels. It’s possible that once we push our climate to this point, these feedbacks become uncontrollable and only further exacerbate the planet’s warming. The researchers suggest that we not only focus on reduction of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, but also seek to enhance and create new biological carbon stores.

“Climate and other global changes show us that we humans are impacting the Earth system at the global level,” says co-author Katherine Richardson from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>. “This means that we as a global community can also manage our relationship with the system to influence future planetary conditions. This study identifies some of the levers that can be used to do so.”

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists warn we may be headed for “hothouse Earth” conditions

The Paris Agreement – which the United States infamously backed...

A series of devastating photos recently taken by French photographer Fabrice Guerin are just another in a long string of evidence showcasing how bad the world’s marine plastic crisis has gotten. 

The pictures show an Arctic polar bear chewing on a black plastic garbage bag in a futile effort to find food.

[caption id="attachment_1217213" align="aligncenter" width="518"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/polar-bear-plastic2.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-1217213" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/polar-bear-plastic2.png" alt="" width="518" height="624" /></a> Image Credit: Fabrice Guerin/Caters News Agency[/caption]

Guerin took the photos while visiting the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard in Norway, and once again showcase how plastic is quite literally everywhere.

Earlier in the year, photos of sea life in the nature preserve of the Galapagos Islands had many experts scrambling to target the source of the plastic and clean up the critical habitat. Plastic waste has even been found at the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mariana-trench-plastic-trash/">depths of the Mariana Trench</a>. 

According to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">Daily Mail</a>, there is an estimated nine million tons of plastic dumped into the ocean each year with little signs of slowing down. 

The plastic poses a direct threat to marine wildlife and animals that live and hunt near the water like polar bears and seabirds. 

“We were surprised to see this magnificent animal had a plastic bag in his mouth. Fortunately, he didn't swallow it whole,” Guerin said. “I never thought to see some plastic in this area but I do know there is no frontier for plastic waste. The global production of plastic rises every year and we discover  bottles and plastic bags mostly everywhere.” 

The photos also illustrate the importance of ocean conservation and clean up efforts like the massive initiative to clean up the <a href="https://www.theoceancleanup.com/milestones/road-to-the-cleanup/">Great Pacific Garbage Patch</a>, which is slated to launch in September of 2018. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Fabrice Guerin/Caters News Agency

Arctic polar bear photographed chewing on plastic garbage bag

A series of devastating photos recently taken by French photographer...

California firefighters are working around the clock to combat some of the most intense fires in the state’s history as there are now <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carr-fire-california/">16 huge wildfires</a> that need to be contained. 

Now, two fires in Northern California, the Ranch Fire and River Fire, have combined and are now being considered one event called the Mendocino Complex Fire. 

The Mendocino Complex blazes have burned through 283,800 acres, officially making it the largest wildfire in California's history. 

Over the last three days, the Mendocino fire nearly doubled in size and is only 30 percent contained according, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/08/06/mendocino-complex-fire-california-history/920994002/">USA Today</a>. 

The Mendocino blazes are burning through remote areas, but evacuations have been ordered as there are over 10,000 buildings potentially in the two fires’ path. 

Climate change is being cited as the major driver of what many experts are calling the “new norm” for wildfire season in the pacific northwest and the southwestern United States. 

Hot temperatures, windy conditions, and dry vegetation increase the risk of wildfires and make it easier for the fires to spread. 

Not only that, but the hot summer weather is making it difficult for the over 14,000 firefighters working to combat the blazes. 

Another contributor to the recent devastating fires in California and the pacific northwest is that urban areas are expanding into previously undeveloped areas so more homes and businesses are at risk than in previous years. 

The fires in California are also creating a hazardous haze of smoke that has prompted health officials to warn residents to avoid being outdoors in some parts of the state.

Windy conditions are also making combating the fires difficult but according to the President in a tweet on Sunday, the problem lies in “bad environmental laws.” 

As Trump sees it, water in the state that could be used to fight the fires is being diverted instead to the Pacific Ocean. 

It was an incredibly misleading statement that <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/08/06/trump-wrong-california-wildfires-water-mendocino-complex-carr-cranston-fires/920707002/">many were quick to correct</a> and firmly illustrates the President’s unwillingness to address the real culprit: climate change. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Kent Porter/PD

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Mendocino Complex Fire is now the largest in California history

California firefighters are working around the clock to combat some...

New research led by the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that converting large areas of land to be used for bioenergy power stations would release too much carbon dioxide (CO2) to be an effective solution. According to the study, protecting and replenishing forests is a much better option.

Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) power stations are built to generate energy, capture the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2), and store it underground in bedrock.


“The vast majority of current IPCC scenarios for how we can limit global warming to less than 2°C include BECCS,” said study lead author Dr. Anna Harper. “But the land required to grow biomass in these scenarios would be twice the size of India.”


The team set out to investigate the consequences of such a major shift in land use. An advanced, worldwide model of vegetation and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-temperatures-soil-expelling-co2/">soil</a> enabled the experts to run various land-use change scenarios, which were consistent with stabilizing the climate at less than two degrees Celsius of warming.

The study revealed that the implementation of BECCS on a large scale could lead to a net increase of carbon in the atmosphere, particularly where crops would replace existing forests.

“In some places BECCS will be effective, but we've found that in many places protecting or regenerating forests is much more sensible,” explained study co-author Dr. Tom Powell.


The efficiency of BECCS depends on factors such as the choice of biomass, the fate of existing biomass, and the fossil-fuel emissions that are offset by the system. While BECCS may not be the best solution now, future improvements could make it a better option.

“Our paper illustrates that the manipulation of land can help offset carbon dioxide emissions, but only if applied for certain quite specific locations,” said study co-author Professor Chris Huntingford.

Dr. Harper concluded: “To meet the climate change targets from the Paris agreement, we need to both drastically reduce emissions and employ a mix of technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. There is no single get-out-of-jail-free card.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Replenishing forests will be crucial to combating global warming

New research led by the University of Exeter has found...

I remember standing at the top of a hillside in a field biology camp in Madagascar.  At night from a high vantage point, it seemed like you could always see a fire burning somewhere.  The little far off eruptions of flames in the dark, tropical night were eerie and haunting. Knowing what the fires meant is what made them tragic.  

Today roughly 90% of Madagascar’s spectacularly unique forests have been destroyed, and much of the destruction has come from slash and burn agriculture, or as the fires are called locally. tavy.  The problem with tavy is that in the end, the land is left bereft of the nutrients that supported vegetation such as forest or the later rice paddies.  When the land is eventually abandoned after its usefulness, erosion often occurs and it’s extremely hard for forests to reclaim the land in the short-term.  It’s said that from space, Madagascar looks like it’s bleeding from the run-off of red soil in the oceans surrounding the island nation. 

People have been living on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/toxic-toad-species-madagascar/">Madagascar</a> for only about 2,000 years, a very short time when considering how long people have lived in Africa, Asia or even North America and Australia.  People arrived on Madagascar probably by boat from both Africa and Asia and brought agriculture with them. Rice paddies dominate much of the land in Madagascar, hills are terraced extensively to grow rice, I even saw a large rice paddy bordering directly on a trash landfill.  Cattle are also common, with the Zebu breed of cow, which looks similar to Brahmas being popular. Men herding cows down roads on foot is a common thing to see in Madagascar. I’ve ridden in public transportation past men bedded down by highways with their cows at night cooking over small campfires.  

The problem with the agricultural methods of Madagascar is that they were largely brought to the country from places with more land.  Asia and Africa are both much larger than Madagascar and rice and cattle agriculture has developed in each respectively over long periods.  The total land in Madagascar is only 224,632 sq. miles compared to mainland Africa at 11.73 million sq. miles and Asia at 17.21 million sq. miles.

It’s not only clearing land for more agriculture that’s burning up Madagascar’s forest.  It’s also charcoal. Even mangrove forests and marshes are burned to create charcoal. 

Charcoal production and agriculture are both driven by a basic desire to survive.  Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest nations and people do what they must just to get by.  I saw kids less than ten years old dressed in taters, filling potholes in public roads in the hopes that drivers would give them a few coins for their labor.  It was common when eating at a restaurant to see people standing outside a window by your table, watching you eat and hoping you’d be generous enough to give a piece of bread from your meal.  A reforestation effort I was working on paid locals five dollars a day to plant trees and for that price, dozens of people always lined up, eager to work. Some non-profit organizations pay Malagasy people (locals) in rice instead of money for their labors but the situation is so desperate that they still have no problem finding workers.  Funerals for people in their twenties and thirties were depressingly commonplace and I attended or was invited (as a volunteer) to at least a dozen funerals in the small community I stayed at in five months. I wasn’t in one of the poorer parts of Madagascar either. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/01/madagascar-the-country-thats-poor-but-not-poor-enough-for-aid">The Guardian</a> reported in 2015 that almost 1.9 million people in Southern Madagascar don’t have secure food supplies.  According to the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/countries/madagascar_en">European Commission</a>, 92% of Madagascar’s population lives on less than $2 per day.         

Over the years I’ve heard many people express a variety of opinions on what must be done to save the forests of Madagascar.  It’s no wonder people want to save Madagascar, the rainforests, spiny forests, desert, even the reefs surrounding Madagascar are home to spectacular wildlife.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/06/madagascar-biodiversity-600-species-discovered">The Guardian</a> reported in 2011 that in the previous decade, 600 new species had been discovered in Madagascar.  It’s all the more striking that so many species have been found in a place that’s been intensely researched, explored and inhabited for the last 2,000 years.  

There are cities, roads, villages, farms throughout Madagascar, and nothing is as remote as the far reaches of the Amazon, Arctic or Congo.  Madagascar is the only wild home to lemurs, made famous for their cartoon counterparts in the 2005 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)">Madagascar</a> that danced and sang, ‘I like to move it move it’.  There are 105 living species of the strange, primordial primate.  It’s thought lemurs may be similar to ancient primates, including our very distant ancestors but they’ve erupted in biodiversity being adapted to numerous niches from nocturnal pollinators to diurnal leaf eaters.  

Madagascar is also home to two-thirds of the world’s chameleon species, strange creatures varying in size from barely more than the head of a match stick to the Parson’s chameleon which measures roughly 27 inches long.  Strange geckoes camouflage themselves looking like little more than lichen on trees and pale blind <a href="https://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/the-cave-fishes-of-madagascar/">fishes</a> live in the caves of Madagascar.  According to <a href="http://www.wildmadagascar.org/flora/">wildmadagascar.org</a>, 70 to 80% of Madagascar’s 12,000 plant species are found nowhere else on Earth.

Part of the problem is we really have little grasp on how to ‘save’ Madagascar despite the quickness of well-intentioned people to espouse opinions.  At least those who are in charge of large NGOs and aid groups seem to be helping Madagascar very little. The organization I volunteered for oversaw the planting of many trees, the majority of which were non-native with no clear idea of the impact of the non-native trees on the ecosystem.  

Aid to local governments was also slow in coming, basic safety measures like running water, street lights and good hospitals were hard to find.  <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/madagascar">USAID</a> has been working in Madagascar for 33 years, and according to the organization,  the US gave Madagascar $91 million in aid in 2016. The EU has also historically given aid to Madagascar, there are impressive bridges spanning rivers with plaques saying they were built by EU aid.  The EU has pledged to give €518 million in aid from 2014 to 2020 to Madagascar, aimed at rural development, infrastructure support and governance assistance. 

In a country that has previously had foreign aid account for <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-restores-aid-to-madagascar/">40% of its budget</a>, it’s hard to understand why we can’t support people without burning down the forest and destroying the nation’s most precious resource: soil.  

The US as one of the main sources of aid to Madagascar benefits as well from trade agreements with the country.  Non-profit organizations routinely cash in on short-term volunteers naively feeling they’ll make a difference in saving biodiversity or alleviating poverty.  The organization I once volunteered to plant trees with for free now charges $210 to reserve a volunteer spot, $650 for accommodation fees for three months and $70 to $90 to get a visa for your stay.  It’s hard to feel you’re making as much of an impact through work as you are through paying to work in a country where $5/day is a living wage. 

Most organizations seem instead of engaging locals to focus on bringing volunteers to places they have no deep connection to and turning a profit.  As Madagascar continues to burn, the root problem continues to grow as well: exploitation of a land and a people too powerless to stop the relentless march of exploitative capitalism.        

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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://Earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Exploitation and deforestation as Madagascar continues to burn

I remember standing at the top of a hillside in...

Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures. A new study has revealed that corals are adapting to climate change at an impressive and unexpected pace. The rate of rising ocean temperatures, however, is accelerating even faster.

When <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-bleaching-temperature-changes/">bleaching</a> occurs, corals lose their symbiotic algae, which provide a significant food source as well as color to their host. If the corals do not recover this food source quickly, they will not survive.

In the 1970s, a series of studies was the first to simulate elevated temperature stress in corals. Those investigations foreshadowed the effects of high-temperature events that have now become increasingly frequent, widespread, and intense in coral habitats over the last 35 years. Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures

In 2017, one of the experiments from the 1970s was replicated and involved one of the original researchers, Dr. Steve Coles.

This assessment would give scientists a unique opportunity to see how much the resilience of corals may have changed over the past 50 years. Corals were exposed to ambient and elevated temperatures for a one-month period, which was followed by 28 days of recovery.

“To better understand coral acclimatization and adaptation, most studies compare corals from different reef locations, whereas this is the first study to compare the same coral species from the same location over time,” said Dr. Keisha Bahr. 

“Re-running a 48-year old experiment using the same coral species, same experimental setup, and same observer allows us to directly test changes in coral temperature tolerance over the last half century.”

The current study revealed a drastic increase in temperature tolerance among the corals. In the three species of Hawaiian corals retested, bleaching occurred later, and with higher survivorship and growth rates than corals in 1970. In addition, the survival rate of 2017 was 60-92 percent, which was dramatically higher than the 1970 survival rate of  zero to 40 percent.

“Although these results are encouraging in their indication that acclimatization and adaptation of corals and their symbionts can occur at an unexpectedly rapid rate, increased bleaching tolerance may not be enough for widespread coral survival,” said Dr. Ku’ulei Rodgers.

“A possible influence on the results may be the substantially higher water quality in the Kāne’ohe Bay in 2017 as compared to 1970 due to nearby secondary treated sewage release at the time,” added Dr. Coles. 

“Elevated levels of dissolved nitrogen have been implicated in stimulating coral bleaching. When verified, this will support the importance of reducing land-based source nutrients to assist management in limiting coral bleaching and mortality.”


The research is published in journal <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Ji Hoon Justin Han

Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures

Corals are becoming more tolerant of rising ocean temperatures. A...

A new study from the <a href="https://carnegiescience.edu/">Carnegie Institution for Science</a> has revealed that ocean warming in the northern Pacific may have a larger influence on the climate of the Arctic than what was previously realized.

The Arctic is responding more intensely to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thawing-permafrost-global-warming/">global warming</a> than any other region, which can be seen in the rate of sea ice decline. This effect, known as Arctic amplification, has been linked to many positive feedback mechanisms. The impact of oceanic heat flow from outside of the Arctic, however, has not been fully understood.

Paleoclimate records have shown that climate change in the Arctic has been both abrupt and drastic in the past. During the last deglaciation, there were two episodes of accelerated warming in the Arctic. Both of these events were accompanied by rapid warming in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans at mid-latitudes.

The current study was led by Summer Praetorius, who was a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie at the time of the research and is now with the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Since there appeared to be coupling between abrupt Arctic temperature changes and sea surface temperature changes in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific in the past, we thought it was important to untangle how each region may affect the Arctic differently in order to provide insight into recent and future Arctic changes,” explained Praetorius.

The researchers modeled a series of ocean-to-atmosphere heat flow scenarios for the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. They also used the <a href="https://ncar.ucar.edu/">National Center for Atmospheric Research</a>'s Community Earth System Model (CESM) to analyze potential impacts to the surface temperatures and the climate in the Arctic.

The team found a strong correlation between both cooling and warming irregularities in the North Pacific and Arctic surface air temperature anomalies. The effect of activity in the North Atlantic, however, was not as strong.

The study authors pointed out, in particular, that accelerated warming across the Arctic in recent years has corresponded with unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Northeast Pacific. According to the experts, this suggests that the connection between these two regions has been underestimated.

“While this is a highly idealized study, our results suggest that changes in the Pacific Ocean may have a larger influence on the climate system than generally recognized,” said study co-author Ken Caldeira.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA

Pacific Ocean warming influences Arctic climate change

A new study from the Carnegie Institution for Science has...

Colonies of invasive Tegu lizards, originally brought to the United States as pets, could soon wreak havoc across local ecosystems from Florida to Texas. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University </a>conducted a study on the potential invasive range of Tegu lizards, now isolated to two large colonies in Florida. 

The results, published online through the journal Nature, show that because Tegus can thrive in a range of habitats and eat everything from insects to alligator eggs, the species could expand as far as central Texas which could disrupt local food chains and endanger other animals. 

“They are voracious, omnivorous predatory lizards that can live in a variety of habitats, but we can't know what is going to happen or how intense this invasion is going to become until the effects are upon us,” Lee Fitzgerald, a professor at Texas A&amp;M University, told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6022955/Invasion-big-voracious-lizards-threatens-U-S-South-study.html">Daily Mail</a> in an interview. 

The researchers aren’t sure exactly how far Tegu lizards will spread or when the species will invade new habitats because there’s no way to tell how many Tegus will be abandoned by their owners or escape in the coming years. 

So far, wild Tegu populations have been reported in several areas in Florida, according to the <a href="http://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</a>. 

The best way to prevent Tegu lizards from spreading as an invasive species is to ensure that lizards stay put in their homes. 

This is not the first exotic animal that has found its way into Florida’s ecosystem because of its   prized status as a pet. 

For example, the Burmese Python is now no longer able to be sold as a pet in the state of Florida because of the rash of pythons now living in Florida’s Everglades. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission even runs an <a href="http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/amnesty-program/">Exotic Pet Amnesty Program</a> to help stop the spread of non-native species in the wild by offering to take exotic pets away from the owners who don’t want them or can’t care for them. 

As intriguing and unique as a Burmese Python snake or colorful parrot might be to have as a pet, many times pet owners find themselves <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/concerns-reptiles-amphibians-pets/">ill-equipped to adequately care the animal</a> as it grows into adulthood. 

Tegu Lizards can grow up to four feet in length and can be temperamental and difficult at times. 

The quickest solution, then for an overwhelmed pet owner, is to release the animal into the wild, but this has only created a number of problems for Florida’s ecosystems. 

“The most important thing that the public can do to stop the spread of non-native species like tegus is to NEVER release non-native animals into the wild,” commission specialist Jamie Rager told the Daily Mail. “Don't let it loose.” 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive Tegu lizards pose a big problem in the southern US

Colonies of invasive Tegu lizards, originally brought to the United...

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, much of the focus has been placed on carbon dioxide and its role in driving climate change.

However, methane emissions from farming, energy production, and landfills are far <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-measured-reported/">more potent than CO2</a> in terms of trapping heat. 

A new study has found that increases in precipitation due to climate change is creating a dangerous feedback loop and preventing forests from acting as efficient methane sinks, and it’s something that climate projections have continually overlooked. 

As forests lose their ability to store methane, more methane enters the atmosphere and further drives climate change extremes. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.caryinstitute.org/">Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies</a> conducted the study which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

The results show that forests have been overestimated as effective methane sinks by 50 percent worldwide. 

“We were interested in how methane uptake by forest soils was influenced by environmental change,” said Peter Groffman, a co-author of the study. “Do things like soil temperature, nitrogen, or rainfall impact forest soil's ability to act as a methane sink? And how does this play out over time?”

The researchers used methane monitoring data collected over a long period of time at two different sites, the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study in Maryland. 

At the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, soil methane uptake measurements were taken from 2002 to 2015.

Methane uptake measuring took place at the Baltimore Ecosystem Site from 1998 through 2016

The researchers analyzed this monitoring data and reviewed 317 journal articles on soil methane uptake published between 1987 and 2015. 

This allowed the researchers to compare methane uptake across forests in 30-degree latitude bands across the globe and estimate how much climate change had inhibited methane uptake worldwide 

The researchers found that in the sites in Maryland, methane uptake declined by 54 percent. At the Hubbard Brook Farm, methane uptake declined by as much as 89 percent. 

Declines in methane uptake were also recorded around the globe, dropping as much as 77 percent. 

An increase in precipitation due to climate change was cited as the cause for the drastic changes in methane storing for forests because the bacteria that typically eat methane in the soil can’t access the chemical compound when the soil is waterlogged. 

The researchers say that climate change will only cause wetter and wetter conditions which will prevent forests from storing methane, and unless these changes are factored into future climate projections, atmospheric greenhouse gas emission estimates will be inaccurate. 

“These findings suggest that global budgets for atmospheric methane - which are used to inform policy around methane-producing activities - are overestimating the role that forest soils play in trapping gas,” said Groffman. “Declining methane uptake by forest soils should be factored into these models to avoid exacerbating climate warming, as methane in the atmosphere may rise more quickly and reach higher levels than current models predict.”

The researchers also note that targeting methane emissions is just as crucial if not more so than reducing and capping carbon emissions. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Claire Nemes

Paid for by <a href="http://Earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Climate change is inhibiting forests from storing methane

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, much of the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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