A recent study provides compelling evidence that conservation efforts are both effective and essential for reversing the concerning trend of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-solutions-for-the-climate-and-biodiversity-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity loss</a>. 



Published on April 25 in the scientific journal Science, this pivotal research analyzed data from 186 studies involving 665 trials worldwide, marking a significant milestone in conservation science.



The research is particularly crucial as it addresses the survival of over 44,000 species currently at risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/non-native-species-extinctions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extinction</a>. Moreover, these species are integral to ecosystems that stabilize the climate and provide essential resources to billions of people globally.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conservation-actions-to-deliver-biodiversity-results">Conservation actions to deliver biodiversity results</h2>



Led by Penny Langhammer, Executive Vice President of <a href="https://www.rewild.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Re:wild</a>, the study showcases that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conservation-goals-protect-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conservation actions</a> are indeed making a difference. 



"If you look only at the trend of species declines, it would be easy to think that we’re failing to protect biodiversity, but you would not be looking at the full picture," Langhammer explained. She emphasized the success of these efforts and the need for enhanced global support and resources to continue these positive trends.



The meta-analysis examined a range of conservation interventions, including the management of protected areas and the control of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-species-could-cause-dramatic-biodiversity-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">invasive species</a>. It found significant positive outcomes in 66% of the cases studied, indicating that these actions have either improved or slowed the decline of biodiversity. 



For instance, effective management on Florida’s barrier islands markedly increased the nesting success of loggerhead turtles and least terns. Similarly, in the Congo Basin, areas under managed logging experienced a 74% reduction in deforestation rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-from-failures-is-key">Learning from failures is key</h2>



"Our study shows that when conservation actions work, they really work," highlighted Jake Bicknell, a co-author and conservation scientist. Additionally, the study presents numerous instances where conservation measures led to substantial improvements in species population sizes.



Despite these successes, the study also acknowledges instances where conservation efforts did not yield the desired biodiversity results. In India, for instance, the physical removal of invasive algae inadvertently led to its spread. Such outcomes have provided valuable lessons, prompting the refinement of conservation strategies.



The analysis showed a positive correlation between recent conservation efforts and successful outcomes, likely due to increased funding and targeted interventions. Interestingly, even when targeted biodiversity didn't directly benefit, other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urban-forests-benefit-from-diverse-native-tree-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">native species</a> often did, highlighting the complex nature of ecological interventions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conservation-biodiversity-trends-and-economic-benefits">Conservation, biodiversity trends and economic benefits</h2>



The financial implications of biodiversity conservation are staggering. With more than half of the world's GDP, nearly $44 trillion, dependent on nature, the study underscores the economic rationality of investing in conservation. 



Comparatively, the annual investment required for effective global conservation is minuscule against the backdrop of global expenditures, such as the $7 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies noted in 2022.



"Conservation action works—this is what the science clearly shows us," explained Claude Gascon, co-author and director at the Global Environment Facility. He stressed the need for continued investment to maintain the positive outcomes of conservation efforts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-advancing-conservation-research-for-a-sustainable-future">Advancing conservation research for a sustainable future</h2>



As the global community sets ambitious biodiversity targets, the study calls for more comprehensive and rigorous research into various <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pronghorn-lessons-conservation-crucial-preventing-species-extinctions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conservation interventions</a> across more geographic locations. 



"This paper has analyzed conservation outcomes at a level as rigorous as in applied disciplines like medicine and engineering—showing genuine impact and thus guiding the transformative change needed to safeguard nature at scale around the world," stated Grethel Aguilar, <a href="https://www.iucn.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IUCN</a> Director General.



This study not only confirms the efficacy of current conservation strategies but also emphasizes the need for well-resourced and effectively managed protected areas. 



As the evidence mounts, it is clear that nature conservation must be prioritized, adequately funded, and vigorously pursued to ensure a sustainable future for our planet.



The full study is published in the journal Science.



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Effective conservation efforts are key to saving biodiversity

A recent study provides compelling evidence that conservation efforts are both effective and essential for reversing the concerning trend of biodiversity loss. Published on April 25 in the scientific journal Science, this pivotal research analyzed data from 186 studies involving 665 trials worldwide, marking a significant milestone in conservation science. The research is particularly crucial as it addresses the survival of over 44,000 species currently at risk of extinction. Moreover, these species are integral to ecosystems that stabilize the climate and provide essential resources to billions of...

For some species, conservation efforts began paying off in 2016. For others, they weren’t enough. Endangered species around the world continued their march toward extinction in 2016, and a few disappeared forever.

The giraffe is one example. Habitat loss and isolation has landed the world’s tallest mammals on the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">Red List</a>. The database of vulnerable, endangered, and extinct species is maintained by the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a>.

Elephants have seen a decline, too. Africa lost about a third of its elephants in just seven years. Poaching has long been the main culprit behind the deaths, spurring several countries including China and the U.S. to enact or strengthen ivory bans.

Madagascar’s ring-tailed lemur also saw a huge drop in numbers. The two main factors were habitat loss and hunting, the IUCN reported. Lemurs are also popular on the illegal pet market, it said.

Illegal fishing has driven both the totoaba fish – the main target – and the vaquita porpoise – collateral damage – one step away from extinction off the coast of Mexico. IUCN lists both as “critically endangered." Though the totoaba’s numbers are unknown, the IUCN believes no more than 60 vaquitas are left in the wild.

Other endangered animals that continued to bleed numbers in 2016 include African rhinos, the Ploughshare tortoise, orangutans, leopards, and red wolves.

Meanwhile, Toughie the frog died, triggering the complete extinction of the Rabbs’ tree frog. Toughie had been the last of his kind for some time.

The Bramble Cay melomys, a unique rodent species that lived only on the tiny island off the coast of Queensland, Australia, also went extinct. High tides and storm surges brought by rising oceans has wiped out the reef island’s vegetation, and flooded it repeatedly.

Other extinctions in 2016: the Laysan honeycreeper, Pagan reed warbler, Raiatea starling, Tatum Cave beeting, Stephan’s riffle beetle, and others.

The Addax antelope, with just three members left in the wild, may follow in the next few years.

Though conservationists are taking steps to slow the march toward extinction, in some cases human industry has taken precedence. In Aceh, Indonesia, the government ruled against conservationists fighting to protect the last intact forest in the world that houses orangutans, tigers, rhinos, and elephants. Plans for the forest: tearing it down to replace it with palm oil plantations.

Still, the news isn’t all bad. New tech solutions are emerging to combat illegal fishing worldwide. Nepal had its second year in a row without rhino poaching. Thailand shuttered its infamous Tiger Temple, and an international agreement to ban the endangered pangolin trade is moving ahead.

March toward extinction continued for many species in 2016

For some species, conservation efforts began paying off in 2016....

Global warming is connected to the rising frequency of extreme weather events like heavy rainfall and drought, according to at least one researcher in the field of attribution science.

In the past five years, scientists at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and elsewhere have studied tornado outbreaks in the U.S., flooding in Paris, a heatwave in the Arctic, and drought in southern Africa. Their goal was to see if these and other events are connected to climate change.

The connection is there, said Dr. Friederike Otto, deputy director of Oxford’s <a href="http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/">Environmental Change Institute</a>.

Thanks to the growing field of attribution science, researchers aren’t just able to predict future environmental changes, Otto said. Now, they can find the causes of changing local climates and extreme weather, and quickly.

“We aim to provide scientific evidence to answer that question within the news time frame – so within two weeks of the event occurring,” Otto told <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/yes-some-extreme-weather-can-be-blamed-on-climate-change/">Scientific American in an interview</a>.

Scientists in the field look at specific extreme weather events to find how they connect to a region’s climate, and then global climate. They also look at weather patterns and how they’re changing as global surface temperatures rise, Otto said.

She offered the example of her most recent study. It focused on a heatwave in the Arctic, which the team connected to a wider pattern of warming temperatures worldwide.

Otto compared attribution science to rolling a loaded die.

“It's kind of like when you roll a die and you roll 10 sixes in a row. You become suspicious that something's wrong with that die, but from these 10 rolls, you can’t determine that it’s a loaded die,” she said.

But imagine you keep rolling the die over and over, recording each roll and the conditions that affected it. Then you use that data run statistics studies and simulations. You can prove what you already suspected: the die is loaded.

Attribution science works similarly. A few extreme weather events are likely natural. But when certain types of events begin appearing over and over in a pattern, climate scientists become suspicious.

Intensive study, data collection, statistical and climate models, simulations, and more can determine the cause of the pattern. After that, scientists can easily link that cause or rule it out for future events as part of the pattern.

The models and formulas the scientists use account for natural patterns like El Niño, Otto said.

The field is still new, though, she warned. The computer technology needed to run simulations on the scale needed has only become available in the past five years. Scientists are adding new data to the models every day.

The new field can mean major breakthroughs for predicting and perhaps eventually preventing major climate disasters, Otto said.

“When we know a drought is becoming more likely by a factor of 10 because of climate change, then we know we need to focus our adaptation efforts on that” she said.

Attribution science connects climate change to extreme weather events

Global warming is connected to the rising frequency of extreme weather...

Aerospace company Rolls-Royce has foundered in recent years, but in the new year, it wants to soar above that reputation. The engineering company is looking to lead the next aviation revolution: electric planes.

The company’s CEO, Warren East, is hoping cutting edge electric and hybrid engines could help turn <a href="http://www.rolls-royce.com/">Rolls-Royce</a>’s fortunes around.

Electric planes have seemed like an improbable idea for years. Existing designs are simply not able to carry large planes long distances the way jet engines are.

Rolls-Royce is taking that as a challenge rather than a limitation in 2017.

“There’s a lot of chatter about hybrid electric flight, not just little aeroplanes but regional aeroplanes. I’m convinced we will see these things happen sooner rather than later,” East told <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/12/31/warren-eastrolls-big-company-lot-inertia-good/">The Telegraph</a>, a British daily. “There is a race on.”

To that end, Rolls-Royce has created a series of electric fan-powered engines. The company’s engineers are also looking into hybrid solutions.

If successful, the company believes the new engines will reduce carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions – two greenhouse gases scientists link to climate change. The air travel industry is a major producer of carbon emissions.

Electric planes could also cut down on noise pollution, the company said.

Rolls-Royce engineers hope to have a demonstration engine ready before 2020, and have the engines ready for commercial release by 2030 or soon after.

Rolls-Royce has struggled in recent years. In February 2014, after shareholders learned the company expected profits to stay stable rather than grow that year, Rolls-Royce stock lost half its value. In 2015, the company stayed profitable but those profits shrunk, triggering a shake-up in leadership.

One of East’s first moves after being hired on as CEO in late 2015 was to scrap a layer of management. He announced a restructuring of the company and scrapped two divisions. Rolls-Royce leadership cut another 200 managers in September.

In 2016, downturns in gas and oil led to 800 layoffs in the company’s marine sector.

Rolls-Royce sees electric planes leading the next aerospace revolution

Aerospace company Rolls-Royce has foundered in recent years, but in...

Genetic mutations have often been attributed to making an individual more predisposed to certain illnesses and diseases. But as it turns out, context is everything, and that some of the genetic mutations that put us at risk for illness can actually have a positive impact in a different environment.

A team of researchers from <a href="https://shesc.asu.edu/">Arizona State University’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change</a>, led by Assistant Professor Ben Trumble, set out to explore how certain genetic mutations may have impacted cognitive function in a different way for humans living prior to industrialization. The team reported their findings in a paper published in <a href="http://www.fasebj.org/">The FASEB Journal</a>. 

Trumble and team focused in specifically on the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene. ApoE historically contributes to cholesterol metabolism and the transportation of fatty acids to the brain. But in industrialized populations, those who carry the ApoE4 variant mutation face a high risk for cardiovascular disease and are four times more likely to develop Alzheimer's.

The team of researchers studied how the ApoE4 mutation (or allele) may not have had such harmful effects on humans living in much different conditions thousands of years ago. 

According to Trumble, "For 99 percent of human evolution, we lived as hunter gatherers in small bands and the last 5,000-10,000 years – with plant and animal domestication and sedentary urban industrial life – is completely novel. I can drive to a fast-food restaurant to 'hunt and gather' 20,000 calories in a few minutes or go to the hospital if I'm sick, but this was not the case throughout most of human evolution."

As a point of comparison, the researchers studied a group of Amazonian forager-horticulturalists known as the Tsimane. The Tsimane have no access to sanitation, electricity, or running water and as a result, experience high exposure to pathogens and parasites that damage cognitive function. Because the ApoE4 allele has such harmful effects on urban industrialized populations, it would be reasonable to assume the mutation would be especially devastating for the Tsimane population.

But according to data from the <a href="https://www.unm.edu/~tsimane/">Tsimane Health and Life History Project</a>, Tsimane individuals carrying both ApoE4 and high parasitic levels experienced steady if not improved cognitive function compared to non-carriers with similar parasitic levels. The results suggest that the allele may have helped maintain cognitive function despite environmental pathogens. 

"It seems that some of the very genetic mutations that help us succeed in more hazardous time periods and environments may actually become mismatched in our relatively safe and sterile post-industrial lifestyles," Trumble said.

Genetic mutations that cause illness may have once helped fight disease

Genetic mutations have often been attributed to making an individual...

One air purification company sees a boom in its future. After all, 2016 was a big year for rising awareness about air pollution, Blueair founder Bengt Rittri reasons. It makes sense that a search for solutions will follow.

"(The year) 2016 has seen many new scientific studies showing the cost to human health and society caused by toxic air," Rittri said.

Several new studies have linked air pollution to illnesses from asthma to coronary artery disease. It has also been linked to regional climate issues, the <a href="https://www.blueair.com/">Blueair</a> founder said.

In the beginning of 2016, the UK's <a href="https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/">Royal College of Physicians</a> and the <a href="http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/">Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health</a> released a joint study that found harm from air pollution lasts throughout an individual's lifespan.

A few months later, the World Health Organisation reported that as much as 92 percent of the world's urban population now live in cities suffering bad air quality.

The <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/">World Bank</a> has linked health effects of air pollution to hundreds of billions of dollars in lost work.

Around the world, people are becoming more aware of the dirty air they’re breathing.

In Delhi, residents once scoffed at the idea that air pollution could cause health problems. Now, they’re seeking solutions such as air purifiers and special pollution masks. Companies including <a href="http://smartairfilters.com/en/">SmartAir</a> and <a href="https://www.vogmask.com/">Vogmask</a> reported sales booms.

Parisian residents have been donning masks like those worn in Beijing, too. The city has scrambled to enact new regulations and restrictions aimed at cutting air pollution.

And <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/canned-clean-air/">canned air</a>, created as a joke, has taken off.

Blueair is banking on 2017 being the year that more people look for real solutions.

"Today we are already seeing new solutions being sparked in cities globally, including Paris, Mexico City, Athens and Madrid whose mayors in December pledged to ban diesel engines within a decade," Rittri said.

Dozens of cities around the world are taking new steps to clean up their air, he said.

Blueair has created a selection of air purifiers and quality monitors, and a smartphone app to connect them. The company’s goal is to provide seamless integration of air purification tech into customer’s lives.

"Blueair's vision for the future is about being at the forefront of innovating bold air cleaning technologies and helping them go mainstream," Rittri said.

Could air purification go mainstream in 2017? Blueair hopes so

One air purification company sees a boom in its future....

Who are America’s super-polluters? According to the Center for Public Integrity, just 22 companies produce far more than their share of both greenhouse gases and air pollution.

Enormous, coal-fueled plants are among the worst on the list, according to CPI.

Over the past year, the <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/">Center for Public Integrity</a> has worked with the <a href="https://weather.com/">Weather Channel</a> and USA Today to gather and analyze data about carbon emissions and air pollution from American power plants and industrial sites.

They started with a list of 20,000 power plants and factories that reported their air pollution levels to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> in 2014. Of those plants, a mere 100 produced a third of all industrial air pollution. About 7,000 facilities reported their greenhouse gas emissions, and again, about 100 produced a third of the total.

Twenty-two companies were on both lists. Using their scores, CPI calculated a ranked list of America’s super-polluters. At the top: Duke Energy Corp.’s Gibson power plant in Owensville, Indiana. Facilities in Rockport, Indiana, Cumberland City, Tennessee, Drakesboro, Kentucky, and Crystal River, Florida also made the top five.

“Across the country, the top 100 facilities releasing greenhouse gases — almost all of them coal plants — collectively added more than a billion metric tons to the atmosphere in 2014,” CPI <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/09/29/20248/america-s-super-polluters">wrote in its report</a>.

Since 2014, eight of the super-polluters have closed their doors, but the rest continue to operate. All of the top five are still open.

Each year, the <a href="https://www.peri.umass.edu/">Political Economy Research Institute</a> based at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, also lists major polluters in its <a href="https://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic-100-air-polluters-index-2016-report-based-on-2014-data">Toxic 100</a>.

Unlike the CPI listing, PERI takes each company into account as a whole rather than rating individual sites. They also consider global corporations, not just American companies. It bases its ratings on toxicity, emissions, and population exposure.

PERI’s worst five for 2016, based on 2014 data, were Alcoa, DuPont, Bayer, General Electric, and Exxon Mobil.

Scientists have linked carbon emissions, particularly the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, to climate change. Researchers also link air pollution to higher rates of diseases from asthma to heart conditions.

The nine-month investigation found that a lot of the worst producers are located in low-income communities.

The Center for Public Integrity has been under fire in recent years after critics questioned some of the group’s ethical decisions. In 2011, <a href="http://www.politico.com/">Politico</a> accused the center of working with <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/">Greenpeace</a> on a report regarding <a href="http://www.kochind.com/">Koch Industries</a>.

In 2008, the center published a report on tobacco funded by advocacy group <a href="http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/">Tobacco Free Kids</a>, and in 2010, CPI admitted to illegally accessing an intergovernmental database for a story about tuna. They’ve also been accused of working with groups seeking to limit campaign financing.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative journalism organization.

PERI promotes original research into ecological issues at the University of Massachusetts.

Center for Public Integrity calls out 22 U.S. 'super-polluters'

Who are America’s super-polluters? According to the Center for Public...

At midnight on December 31, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pushed the button that made New Year's Eve's glittering ball descend toward Times Square. It was his last act as the leader of the United Nations, after 10 years as the spokesman and director of the international organization.

Ban called his decade at the U.N.’s helm an “unceasing test,” pointing to ongoing conflicts in Syria, Central African Republic, and South Sudan, among others. He also decried global poverty.

But he counted a few accomplishments among his legacy. Among them are the steps the U.N. has taken to protect the environment, primarily the landmark <a href="http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php">Paris Agreement</a>. The Secretary-General guides the United Nations, Ban noted, but only the member states can create new policies and agreements. Still, he kept his environmental goals in front of world leaders in hopes of encouraging them.

During his first five-year term, Ban pushed climate change to the top of the agenda for the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a>, but the agreement he would point to as his legacy didn’t come until the end of his second term.

In December 2015, U.N. member nations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the Paris Agreement. The voluntary pledge calls on each ratifying country to lower its total greenhouse gas emissions.

A total of 194 parties signed the agreement in April 2016. It entered into force in October, after countries accounting for 55 percent of the world’s carbon emissions ratified it.

“This is our chance to set us on course towards a safer, more sustainable and more just future for all on a healthy planet,” Ban said at the time.

Ban didn’t wait on the Paris Agreement, though. From the beginning of his leadership, he was also at the forefront of sustainable development initiatives. His goals were to help countries and non-governmental organizations craft development projects that would limit damage to the environment and boost the world’s poor.

He made a point of visiting melting glaciers, as well as the island nations being drowned by rising seas.

“I’m not a climatologist. I’m not a scientist. I’m not an economist,” he told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/06/u-n-chief-from-day-one-i-made-climate-change-the-top-priority/">Washington Post</a> in May 2016. “But I know that what I have seen is true.”

Ban put environmental issues first because he believed that the drought, floods, and extreme weather that many scientists link to rising global temperatures fuel conflict around the world. Solving environmental problems might help solve political conflicts, he said.

During his tenure, Ban Ki-moon also created U.N. Women to address gender inequality. He set 17 new U.N. goals with the unanimous support of the organization’s member nations, aimed at reducing poverty and gender disparity, protecting the environment, and ensuring better governance.

Ban Ki-moon grew up in South Korea during the Korean War. As an adult, he helped guide negotiations between North and South Korea on nuclear weapons. He hoped to visit North Korea’s leaders in Pyongyang as Secretary-General; it was a goal he did not achieve.

Antonio Guterres of Portugal took the mantle of leadership on January 1. He has made peace his priority, calling on the world to put aside the violence that has stained the past few years.

Outgoing U.N. head Ban Ki-moon proud of his climate change legacy

At midnight on December 31, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pushed...

After weeks of seismic activity and eruptions, a remote Alaskan volcano seems to be settling down, geologists said.

Agasagook Island, also known as Bogoslof Island, is a tiny sliver of land in the Bering Sea. It’s also the tip of an active volcano that has been rising from the ocean floor.

That's not unusual off the coast of Alaska. Agasagook is one of dozens of islands that make up the Aleutian Island chain. They share a staggering 57 volcanoes among them, and there are more on the mainland.

Alaska is on the edge of a subduction zone where the Pacific Ocean tectonic plate is slowly sliding beneath the North American plate. That slow movement causes plenty of earthquakes and volcanic activity. More than 50 of Alaska’s volcanoes, including several in the Aleutians, have been active over the past 300 years.

In mid-December, Agasagook Island joined them once again. Bogoslof Volcano woke up for the first time since 1992.

On December 16, the first of a series of at least eight eruptions was recorded by scientists. Though the area is often overcast, satellites have been able to track some of the volcano’s ash cloud.

At one point, the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/">Federal Aviation Administration</a> had to reroute flights around the plume of smoke and ash spewed by the remote Alaskan volcano.

After a final eruption on December 30 that shot ash 20,000 feet into the air, the island appears to have settled, according to scientists with the <a href="https://www.avo.alaska.edu/">Alaskan Volcano Observatory</a>.

But that brief period of activity may have drastically changed Agasagook Island, the scientists said. The new volcanic vent is slightly off of the island’s coast rather than on the island, they said. More study will be needed once the researchers are sure the seismic activity has settled, but at first glance the explosive eruptions seem to have destroyed part of the island, but also to have created a new sliver of land just off its coast.

Agasagook Island is part of the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Alaska_Maritime/">Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge</a>. The refuge stretches 3.4 million acres and includes several of the Aleutian chain’s volcanic islands. It provides habitat for marine mammals such as otters, sea lions, and seals, along with seabirds and migratory birds.

No information is available about how the series of eruptions affected animals living on Agasagook Island. The island is a favorite of northern fur seals in the region.

Remote Alaskan volcano may be calming down after eruptions

After weeks of seismic activity and eruptions, a remote Alaskan...

A tide of dead fish has washed ashore on Nova Scotia over the past six weeks, but there’s no need for concern yet, according to one Canadian scientist.

Since late November, thousands of dead herring have turned up on more than 60 miles of the peninsula’s southwestern coastline. That would be weird enough on its own, but scores of lobsters, clams, starfish, and other marine creatures have joined them in the weeks since.

A week ago, a decaying humpback whale carcass washed up on the shore.

Even so, tests of the area’s waters have shown no cause for alarm, Dr. Kent Smedbol, the <a href="http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/index-eng.htm">Department of Fisheries and Oceans</a> manager of population ecology.

Scientists tested conditions in the Bay of Fundy and found nothing out of the ordinary, Smedbol said. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen tests all came back normal. A camera took a look at the seafloor and found plenty of live lobsters.

Examination of the dead fish showed no signs of disease, parasites, or toxins, Smedbol said. Even so, the <a href="http://www.inspection.gc.ca/">Canadian Food Inspection Agency</a> and the DFO have warned residents not to pick up or eat any of the fish washed ashore, in case of contamination.

An environmental cause likely would have caused a larger die-off, and animals on the ocean floor would likely have died in larger numbers, he said.

One working theory is that some of the deaths may have been caused by a holiday storm system. One storm over the holidays caused a sudden temperature drop and rough surf in shallow waters near Digby, which may have killed some of the fish, Smedbol said.

Still, it will take more investigating to solve this mystery, he said.

Scientists will continue to examine the dead creatures to try and determine a cause, officials said. They will also examine the humpback whale to see if it is connected to the die-off. It appears to be very decomposed, Smedbol noted.

DFO scientists have also contacted the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> and environmental officials in the United Kingdom. Recent fish kills off the coast of Long Island in New York and on the coast of Cornwall in the UK are probably not connected to the Nova Scotia event, officials said, but working together might help all three groups figure out the puzzle.

The most common cause of fish kills is a lack of oxygen in the water, which can be caused by massive algae blooms, major temperature changes, drought, and overpopulation. Toxins and disease can also lead to fish die-offs.

Scientists stumped as thousands of dead fish wash up on Nova Scotia

A tide of dead fish has washed ashore on Nova...

If your New Year’s Resolution is to travel more, you might be looking at resorts and world-class cities. How about adding a few natural wonders to your list?

It seems like the world moves at a faster pace every year. As cities grow and technology surges, it’s easy to become removed from nature. Unplug, take a break, and connect with our planet at these five wild places.
<h3>1. See breathtaking glaciers and volcanic landscapes in Iceland.</h3>
Iceland likes to describe itself as “a place where fire and ice coexist.” It doesn’t matter if you go during the darkness of winter – sometimes lit by the stunning Aurora Borealis – or the long, bright summer months.

The incredible glaciers, volcanoes oozing lava, and luxurious geothermal spas make Iceland an adventure year-round. The rugged landscape throughout the country offers hiking, snorkeling, and whitewater rafting in the warm months, or snowboarding and skiing in the winter.

The <a href="http://inspired.visiticeland.com/academy/">Iceland Academy</a> at Visit Iceland offers a chance to learn about everything the country has to offer – and to win a spectacular trip for two.
<h3>2. Visit the world’s tallest waterfall in Venezuela.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128152" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128152" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Venezuela.jpg" alt="Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall on Earth." width="750" height="500" /> Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall on Earth.[/caption]

In English, it’s <a href="http://salto-angel.com/">Angel Falls</a>. In Spanish, it’s Salto Angel, and in the local Pemon language, it’s Kerepakupai Meru or Parakupá Vená. No matter what it’s called, Angel Falls is the world’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall.

Located deep in the jungle, a visit to the falls requires a stay at Canaima, the camp where all of the river trips begin. Most of the trips are led by Pemon guides and run from June to December, when the most water is available. Surrounding Canaima National Park is more than 7.4 million acres of wild land, the second largest protected area in Venezuela.

The camp on the shores of Canaima Lagoon offers stunning views of several waterfalls and amazing tepui mesas. Adventures last anywhere from a helicopter ride over the falls to a week-long canoe trip through the park’s natural wonders. Who needs a city?
<h3>3. Spend time with the giraffes in Namibia.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128155" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128155" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Namibia.jpg" alt="Giraffes and elephants share a watering hole at Namibia's Etosha National Park." width="750" height="421" /> Giraffes and elephants share a watering hole at Namibia's Etosha National Park.[/caption]

While giraffe populations have fallen in recent decades, landing them on the endangered species list in 2016, their numbers have been going up in southern Africa. Conservation efforts by the country of Namibia are part of the reason.

<a href="http://www.etoshanationalpark.org/">Etosha National Park</a> is one of the best places to spot the long-necked mammals, and visitors can spot elephants, lions, and cheetahs, too. Giraffes also live in the barren, windswept Skeleton Coast National Park. Known for its beaches dotted with shipwrecks, Skeleton Coast was recently trending after a segment of <a href="http://www.bbcchannels.com/earth/planetearth2">Planet Earth II</a> where a lion stalked a giraffe in the park.

Namibia is home to plenty of other national parks, some of which have hot springs, rock paintings, and other attractions. Beyond the safaris, check out catamaran tours, dolphin cruises, hiking, camping, stargazing, and other natural wonders.
<h3>4. Explore caves, coral reefs, and wildlife sanctuaries in the Philippines.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128156" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128156" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Philippines.jpg" alt="Visitors prepare to head underground at Puerta Princesa Subterranean River in the Philippines." width="750" height="496" /> Visitors prepare to head underground at Puerta Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan.[/caption]

The island of Palawan is known as the Philippines’ “last frontier,” and it’s packed with stunning natural beauty.

For just under five miles, the <a href="http://www.visitpalawan.info/index.php/features/underground-river">Puerta Princesa Subterranean River</a> winds through caves underneath the island of Palawan in the Philippines. While most of the cave system is closed to the public, visitors can – with a permit – explore just under a mile of the underground river. The caves are home to bats and marine creatures, as well as beautiful rock formations.

<a href="http://www.visitpalawan.info/index.php/features/calauit-wildlife-sanctuary">Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary</a> is home to animals native to southeast Asia, as well as visitors from Africa such as giraffes. Scuba divers will want to visit the coral formations and tropical fish in Tubbataha Reef. Kayangan Lake is the stunning reward to a beautiful hike, a clear, blue lake set amid the mountains. <a href="http://www.visitpalawan.info/index.php/features/el-nido">El Nido Marine Reserve</a> is home to six lagoons full of life.

And the Tabon Cave Complex offers caves for nature lovers to explore and a museum where history fans can learn about some the Philippines’ earliest residents from the artifacts they left in the caverns.
<h3>5. Trek through sweeping canyons in Utah.</h3>
[caption id="attachment_128154" align="aligncenter" width="750"]<img class="wp-image-128154" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Making-travel-plans-for-2017-Check-out-these-5-natural-wonders-Utah.jpg" alt="The contrast between red cliffs and green vegetation make Utah's Zion Canyon breathtakingly beautiful." width="750" height="500" /> The contrast between red cliffs and green vegetation make Utah's Zion Canyon breathtakingly beautiful.[/caption]

The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm">Grand Canyon</a> gets all the attention. It may be one of the largest canyon systems in the world, but it’s best known for its stunning vistas. The layered appearance of the canyon’s walls, caused by millennia of sedimentation, paint an incredible picture.

But the Grand Canyon is also a tourist draw, and it’s hard to plan a visit where you’ll be the only humans in sight.

<a href="https://www.nps.gov/zion/">Zion National Park</a> in nearby Utah may be a better choice if you’re looking for solitude in the wild. With steep, red cliffs, the 229-square-mile park offers as many photo opportunities as its cousin to the south. Pine and juniper trees offer contrast to the red dirt, and spires rise out of the ground in the canyon, making it one of the most striking natural wonders in the U.S.

It's also a place to see plenty of wildlife. Hundreds of animal species, from mountain lions to tree frogs to rattlesnakes, call the canyon home.

Making travel plans for 2017? Check out these 5 natural wonders

If your New Year’s Resolution is to travel more, you...

Giant pandas have moved off the endangered list and the tiger population has grown for the first time in a century – proof that conservation efforts can make a difference, advocates said. 

Even so, there is much more work to be done to prevent more animal species from going extinct, according to conservation groups like the <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a>.

The panda made its move in September, when the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> switched it from “endangered” to "vulnerable" on its <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/">Red List</a> – one step further away from extinction. The list keeps track of animal populations, highlighting those at risk of disappearing forever.

The rebound in panda population came after years of work by China’s government and conservation groups to preserve giant panda habitat. The groups worked with local communities and created wildlife corridors to connect isolated panda communities with their neighbors.

“The recovery of the panda shows that when science, political will and engagement of local communities come together, we can save wildlife and also improve biodiversity,” WWF Director General Marco Lambertini said in a <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/giant-panda-no-longer-endangered">press release</a> at the time.

Similarly, there are about 600 more tigers now than there were in 2010, bringing the total tiger population to about 3,890 worldwide. It’s the first time tiger numbers have gone up in more than 100 years.

Advocates credit conservation efforts for the uptick in tigers, too. The WWF cited its work with local communities, other conservation organizations, and the governments of four countries in the tiger boom.

Poaching and habitat loss could undo the gains made by these two species, advocates warn. According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/29/more-tigers-poached-india-so-far-this-year-than-2015">The Guardian</a>, more tigers were poached in India in the first four months of 2016 than in all of 2015. Habitat loss remains a huge threat, too.

And while some endangered animals got a boost, others are still struggling, the WWF said.

For example, Nepal has racked up its second year straight with no evidence of rhino poaching, the group said, but African rhinos still face threats from illegal poachers.

In September, the same month the good news about pandas was announced, eastern gorillas were shifted to “critically endangered.” The primates have seen a 70 percent collapse in their numbers in just 20 years, mainly due to illegal hunting, according to IUCN. The gorillas are now just one short step from complete extinction, along with the western gorilla and Bornean and Sumatran orangutans.

Giraffes made it onto the Red List, too, after their numbers plummeted more than 40 percent in just three decades. The main problem they face is habitat loss, advocates said.

Still, the WWF, <a href="http://www.defenders.org/">Defenders of Wildlife</a>, and other groups that work to save endangered species celebrated 2016 as a year of positive milestones.

Among them:
<ul>
 	<li>An agreement to ban all trade of the pangolin, an endangered mammal similar in appearance to an aardvark. The scales of the pangolin are used in Chinese medicine, and its meat is considered a delicacy in several countries.</li>
 	<li>China has released a plan to shut down its legal ivory trade and crack down on the ivory black market in the country. These new conservation efforts are good news for African elephants.</li>
 	<li>Florida panthers are expanding northward; for years, they’ve lived only in the southernmost part of the state. Additionally, a new ocelot den was found in Texas, and a pair of jaguars seem to have moved to Arizona.</li>
 	<li>The black-footed ferret, once believed to be extinct, has been making itself at home in national parks and on public lands thanks to a captive breeding program. The ferrets have been reintroduced at 28 sites throughout the western U.S., Mexico and Canada, and scientists have been using innovative methods to vaccinate them in the wild.</li>
 	<li>New regulations and new technology helped to combat illegal hunting, fishing, poaching, and trade of wild animals.</li>
</ul>

Conservation efforts paid off for endangered species in 2016

Giant pandas have moved off the endangered list and the...

Language barriers are causing critical scientific findings to go unnoticed, and that's not a good thing, according to a new study.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> have determined that more than a third of scientific studies and papers are published in a language other than English.

English is a sort of "lingua franca" among the scientific community, and many of the major scientific journals publish in English. But because theirs is the dominant language, native English speakers often overlook the fact that some scientific findings are published in other languages, said Dr. Tatsuya Amano, the study's lead author and a zoologist at Cambridge.

That means the international community may be missing out on key scientific findings.

"Language barriers continue to impede the global compilation and application of scientific knowledge," Amano said in a <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/languages-still-a-major-barrier-to-global-science-new-research-finds">press release</a>.

The researchers studied how language barriers affect conservation science in two ways: they reviewed the languages used in available papers and studies, and they surveyed conservationists in charge of managing protected habitats in Spain.

The survey of papers and studies focused on Google Scholar, a web platform that indexes academic papers across all fields of study. A search was conducted in English for all biodiversity conservation publications from 2014 in a total of 16 languages.

More than 75,000 documents were produced, and a full 35.6 percent were not in English. The majority of non-English papers and studies were published in Spanish, Chinese, French, and Portuguese. The researchers also found publications in German, Japanese, Italian, Korean, and Swedish.

Random sampling showed that approximately 13,000 papers on conservation science published in 2014 were unsearchable using English keywords. Only about half of the total non-English papers offered English translations of their titles or abstracts.

This can lead to scientists missing vital data when conducting systematic reviews of existing research, in which they gather and examine most or all of the existing studies on a narrow topic to spot patterns or holes in research methods. It can also lead to over-representation of results from studies published in English, which may not match up with studies conducted in non-English-speaking countries.

Amano and his colleagues also surveyed conservationists in Spain, and found that more than half of those surveyed found language to be an obstacle when it came to keeping on top of the latest information about habitat management.

In other words, not only are English-speaking scientists missing out on vital research in other languages, those who don't speak English struggle to keep up with the English-speaking majority of the scientific community.

"I believe the scientific community needs to start seriously tackling this issue," Amano said.

The study authors are urging scientists and journal publishers to be sure to include speakers of the most common languages other than English – Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and French at least, they said – when developing databases of scientific knowledge of conducting reviews of literature.

"Journals, funders, authors and institutions should be encouraged to supply translations of a summary of a scientific publication – regardless of the language it is originally published in," Amano said.

To that end, Amano and his colleagues at Cambridge have developed the website <a href="http://conservationevidence.com/">Conservation Evidence</a>. The site serves as a repository of advances in conservation science. An international panel has been formed to begin extracting the best and most important non-English papers to be translated, at least partially, into English.

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2000933">PLOS Biology</a>.

Language barriers are holding back global scientific research, study finds

Language barriers are causing critical scientific findings to go unnoticed,...

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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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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Aerial,Photo,Of,River,In,Amazon,Rainforest,Jungle,In,Peru

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a> describes how scientists are using autonomous sound sensors to monitor deforestation in the Amazon. By recording soundscapes, the experts can determine which animals are present through their distinct sounds.&nbsp;



Using this method, sounds can be used as scientific measurements to analyze the effects of deforestation. The researchers will gain a better understanding of how the acoustics of a forest can be used to measure its health.&nbsp;



"From space, parts of the Amazon rainforest that have previously been logged or burned may look lush and green, like a place buzzing with activity and full of sounds. But inside the rainforest, the animal life may tell a different story, of a harsh environment and a quieter soundscape," says NASA.



Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center&nbsp;



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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 deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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