New research led by the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA) and the <a href="https://www.pml.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth Marine Laboratory</a> (PML) has revealed that the Southern Ocean absorbs significantly more carbon dioxide (CO2) than previously estimated. 



The study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn5781" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>, used direct measurements of CO2 exchange between the air and sea, uncovering that the ocean around Antarctica takes in 25% more CO2 than earlier indirect estimates suggested.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-southern-ocean-co2-absorption-nbsp">Southern Ocean CO2 absorption&nbsp;</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-southern-ocean-has-the-cleanest-air-on-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southern Ocean</a> plays a critical role in absorbing CO2 produced by human activities, a vital process for regulating Earth's climate. However, previous estimates of this CO2 absorption have been plagued by uncertainty, largely because they relied on indirect measurements from research ships, sail drones, profiling floats, and global ocean biogeochemistry models. These methods produced widely varying results.



To address this issue, the new study employed a technique called eddy covariance, which involves mounting flux systems on ships’ foremasts to directly measure air-sea CO2 fluxes. This method was applied during seven research cruises in the region, providing more accurate data.&nbsp;



The results indicate that the Southern Ocean is likely a stronger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/good-news-plants-are-absorbing-more-human-produced-co2-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CO2</a> sink than previously thought, especially during the summer.



“This is the first time a large number of direct air-sea CO2 flux observations have been used to assess existing flux products in the Southern Ocean. Our findings provide direct observational evidence that this ocean may take up more CO2 than previously recognized,” explained lead author Yuanxu Dong, a scientist at the <a href="https://www.geomar.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-underestimated-co2-uptake-in-southern-ocean-nbsp">Underestimated CO2 uptake in Southern Ocean&nbsp;</h2>



Accurate measurement of the Southern Ocean’s CO2 absorption is crucial for assessing Earth's climate. The study suggests that previous models underestimated the CO2 uptake due to factors like temperature variations in the upper ocean and insufficient resolution in data sampling.&nbsp;



Dong emphasizes the need for future estimates to include temperature adjustments and higher resolution reconstruction and modeling.



The research team, which included scientists from the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alfred Wegener</a> and <a href="https://www.mpg.de/institutes?category=environment-and-climate&amp;tab=institutes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institutes</a> in Germany, the <a href="https://www.vliz.be/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flanders Marine Institute</a> in Belgium, and the <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Hawai'i</a> in the US, tackled inconsistencies in existing CO2 flux estimates. 



The experts utilized the eddy covariance technique to assess these datasets, covering approximately 3300 hours of measurements during the Antarctic summer of 2019 and 2020. These measurements, taken hourly, provided a much clearer picture compared to the less frequent data from floats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-the-study">Significance of the study</h2>



Dr. Mingxi Yang, a co-author and Chemical Oceanographer at PML, highlighted the significance of these findings. “The Southern Ocean is a key sink of CO2, but the magnitudes and the locations of this ocean uptake are uncertain. PML's autonomous and high-frequency eddy covariance system has significantly increased the number of direct air-sea CO2 flux measurements in this region.”



The study’s comparison between direct CO2 flux measurements and estimates from coarse data products and global models is a first on such a large spatial and temporal scale. It has helped validate these estimates and highlighted ways to improve them.



However, the study also points out a significant gap in winter data, which is challenging to collect due to the harsh conditions in the region. The authors suggest that expanding measurements to more ships and deploying additional buoys and sail drones, particularly during winter, could help fill this gap.&nbsp;



Professor Tom Bell, a co-author and PML Ocean-Atmosphere Biogeochemist, noted the importance of continued high-quality observations.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forecasting-future-climate-changes-nbsp">Forecasting future climate changes&nbsp;</h2>



“We have recently moved our flux system onto the new ice breaker, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, and collected the first set of flux measurements during a research cruise in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-is-sea-ice-loss-affecting-biodiversity-in-the-weddell-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Weddell Sea</a> earlier this year. We aim to continue this valuable work over the coming years, which is essential for monitoring the current climate and forecasting future changes.”



The researchers also raised concerns about the decline in shipboard surface ocean CO2 measurements in recent years, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced funding.&nbsp;



Dr. Dorothee Bakker, of UEA’s COAS and chair of SOCAT, stressed the need for sustained and expanded funding for these measurements to better understand and constrain Southern Ocean CO2 uptake and support global climate monitoring initiatives.



This groundbreaking research underscores the importance of the Southern Ocean in absorbing CO2 and the need for improved and continuous measurements to refine our understanding of its role in the global carbon cycle and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-surprising-role-of-low-relief-mountain-ranges-in-climate-regulation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate regulation</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-">-----</h3>



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Southern Ocean absorbs more CO2 than previously thought

New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) has revealed that the Southern Ocean absorbs significantly more carbon dioxide (CO2) than previously estimated.  The study, published in the journal Science Advances, used direct measurements of CO2 exchange between the air and sea, uncovering that the ocean around Antarctica takes in 25% more CO2 than earlier indirect estimates suggested. Southern Ocean CO2 absorption&nbsp; The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in absorbing CO2 produced by human activities, a vital process...

California is in the midst of a water crisis. Climate scientists say that California's water system faces decades of drought.
A new U.S law is likely to ignite new tensions over where California's water goes and how it is used -- how much goes to humans, how much goes to fish, and how much goes to farms?
On Friday, President Barack Obama signed a massive infrastructure bill designed to control floods, fund dams and deliver more water to farmers in California's Central Valley. The bill dictates that the federal portion of California's heavily engineered water systems gives agricultural districts and other human users the biggest possible share of the most fought-over resource in a state with a six-year drought.
Water experts and conservationists expect that new mandate to conflict with state and federal laws and court orders meant to ensure enough water stays in Northern California's Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and delta for endangered native fish.
Dueling interpretations over what the new law means for California's water deliveries could foster tensions between the state and the incoming Trump administration and worsen the water wars among farmers, fishing industries and conservation interests.
"There's going to be fighting, and it is going to commence almost immediately," said Peter Moyle, a professor emeritus of biology at the <a href="http://www.ucdavis.edu">University of California, Davis</a>.
Moyle has spent much of his career tracing the decline of the minute fish called the Delta smelt and dozens of other native species since operations at California's giant state and federal water projects started more than a half-century ago.
Paul Wenger, president of the <a href="http://www.cfbf.com/">California Farm Bureau Federation</a>, is one of many, including farming groups and agricultural water districts with considerable political strength, that welcome the water bill.
As heavy winter rains ease the drought, "this bill is going to help us catch some of this water and move it down south," Wenger said.
And if the state's fishing groups and conservationists try to stop that, "shame on the environmentalists," he said. "Lawsuits haven't helped the fish."
The law includes new directions on how hard to run giant water pumps during the winter storms that bring much of California's rain for the year.
Typically, the storms trigger recommendations from wildlife officials to ease up on pumping. That is meant to help keep the nearly extinct Delta smelt and waning native salmon on course as the fish take advantage of the storms to move up or downstream.
When Donald Trump visited California's Central Valley during the presidential campaign, he cited complaints from water districts and farmers that easing pumping after heavy rains wastes storm water that could be captured for the heavily agricultural region.
Environmental groups say allowing winter rains to flow to the Pacific Ocean is essential to the health of the West Coast's largest estuary, the San Francisco Bay.
Among other changes, the new law is expected to require biologists to show more hard data on endangered fish in real time when they ask for a reduction in pumping. Moyle, the Delta smelt expert, believes that's possible because of "smelt cams" and other monitoring systems already in place.
Jay Lund, longtime expert of California's water policy at the University of California, Davis, expects the law to provide up to an additional half-million acre-feet of water for human users.
That's roughly equal to enough water to supply a half-million homes for a year and would be worth several hundreds of millions of dollars to agricultural interests in drought years. Both fish and farms received less water during the worst of California's drought.
Fish advocates were expected to go to court if the law takes away water from native species under the state and federal Endangered Species Acts and related court orders, said Doug Obegi with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Some agricultural interests hope to challenge the U.S. Endangered Species Act itself, loosening or doing away with its restrictions on pumping in California.
More pumping for farms and less water in the two rivers would be bad news not just for smelt but for other California fish listed as endangered, from salmon to sturgeon to steelhead, Moyle said.
All of that could bring the Trump administration and its supporters in Congress into conflict with California over the state's protections for threatened wildlife.
"Dueling legislation between Congress and the state Legislature, and parallel legal battles in state and federal courts, and everyone's paying attention to that instead of paying attention to making the system run better - that's my worry," Lund said.
--
Credit: Earth.com Staff/AP

California's water systems enter new era of environmental regulation

California is in the midst of a water crisis. Climate...

The Iberian lynx is the world's most endangered feline species. The global conservation effort undertaken to prevent the Iberian Lynx’s extinction has paid out, and from a shrinking population of less than 100 individuals in 2002, now 404 cats live in the Mediterranean forests of the Iberian Peninsula.

Recently, a group of Spanish scientists have sequenced the genome of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), currently one of the world's most endangered felines. They have confirmed the "extreme erosion" suffered by its DNA. The Iberian lynx has one of the least genetically-diverse genomes. It is even less diverse than other endangered mammals, such as the cheetah or Tasmanian devil, or birds, like the crested ibis or osprey.

The study, being published today in the scientific journal Genome Biology, has been coordinated by scientists from the Doñana Biological Station (CSIC). The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) contributed to this research project from the very beginning including several groups and facilities. In particular, the laboratories of Roderic Guigó, Cedric Notredame, and Toni Gabaldón at the Bioinformatics and Genomics Programme as well as the CRG Bioinformatics unit. This is the first mammal genome of reference generated entirely in Spain.

The project, financed by Banco Santander and managed by the Fundación General CSIC, has integrated the efforts of 50 scientists from research groups of 12 institutions, two of them from outside Spain, that cover a broad range of disciplines, including bioinformatics, genomics, oncology, evolution and conservation.

The scientists have managed to read and organize 2.4 billion letters of DNA from Candiles, a male lynx born in the Sierra Morena lynx population, who now forms part of a program for breeding in captivity. To do so, they have used new sequencing techniques and developed innovative procedures to generate a high-quality draft genome on a limited budget.

A total of 21,257 genes were identified, a number similar to that of human beings and other mammals, and they have been compared to those of cats, tigers, cheetahs and dogs. Specifically, Toni Gabaldón's group at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona has compared the Iberian lynx genome with those of other species, attempting to identify genes that have lost their function because they have remained isolated and the existence of a small population of specimens of this species. Researchers have found evidence of modifications in genes related with the senses of hearing, sight and smell to facilitate the adaptation of the lynx to its environment, which have enabled them to become exceptional hunters specialized in rabbits as prey.

History and diversity of the Iberian lynx

With the aim of studying the history and genetic diversity of the species, analysis was conducted on the genomes of another ten Iberian lynxes from Doñana and Sierra Morena, the only two surviving populations on the Iberian Peninsula, which have been isolated from each other for decades. Researchers have also completed a comparative analysis with a European lynx, to discover the bonds between the two lynxes that inhabit Eurasia.

The Iberian lynx began to diverge from its sister species, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) some 300,000 years ago, and the two species became completely separated some 2,500 years ago. Throughout that period, they continued to cross-breed and exchange genes, probably in the periods between glaciations, when the climatology allowed the species to spread and encounter each other on the Iberian Peninsula and in southern Europe.

The demographic history of the Iberian lynx has been marked by three historic declines, the last of which took place some 300 years ago, decimating its population. In addition to this, there was a drastic drop in the number of specimens in the 20th century due to its persecution, the destruction of its habitat, and two major viral epidemics suffered by the rabbit, its main food source.

Scientists have interpreted these demographic drops as the cause of the low levels of diversity observed, and warn that this could impair the lynx's capacity to adapt to changes in its environment (climate, disease, etc.). Furthermore, existence of multiple potentially harmful genetic variants has been confirmed, which could be contributing to the reduced survival and reproduction rates of the species.

This genetic deterioration is especially marked in the Doñana population-smaller, and isolated for a longer period-which has half the genetic diversity of the Sierra Morena group. Nevertheless, the study reflects the situation before the exchange between the two relict populations and their inter-breeding in captivity were begun. These measures, taken within the Iberian lynx conservation program, have led to improvement of the species' genetic situation in recent years.

The use of new genomic resources, within the framework of the project, will contribute to optimizing management aimed at preserving the greatest genetic diversity, in addition to diminishing these populations' genetic defects as much as possible.

--

Credit: Earth.com Staff/<a href="http://www.crg.es/">CRGenomica</a>

Scientists sequence the genome of the endangered Iberian lynx

The Iberian lynx is the world's most endangered feline species. The...

Horses and humans have a special bond. Scientific studies have shown that both the horse and the human become attuned to each other’s physical and mental ways, thus developing the state of co-being.

Taking this one step further, researchers at Kobe University Kobe University Graduate School of Intercultural Studies have proved that when horses face unsolvable problems they use visual and tactile signals to get human attention and ask for help. The study also suggests that horses alter their communicative behavior based on humans' knowledge of the situation. These findings were published in the online version of Animal Cognition on November 24.

Communicating with other individuals in order to get information about foraging sites and predators is a valuable survival skill. Chimpanzees, who are evolutionarily close to humans, are especially skilled at understanding others. Studies suggest that chimpanzees distinguish the attentional states of other individuals (seeing or not seeing), and they are also able to understand others' knowledge states (knowing or not knowing). Some domestic animals are also very good at communicating with humans - recent studies of dogs have revealed that they are excellent at understanding various human gestures and expressions. It is thought that these abilities were influenced by the domestication process.

Since they were domesticated 6000 years ago, horses have contributed to human society in various shapes and forms, from transport to companionship. Horse-riding has recently drawn attention for its positive effects on our physical and mental health. The high social cognitive skills of horses towards humans might partially explain why humans and horses have a collaborative relationship today. However, the scientific evidence for this ability is still scarce.

In this study, scientists investigated horses' social cognitive skills with humans in a problem-solving situation where food was hidden in a place accessible only to humans. The experiment was carried out in a paddock belonging to the equestrian club at Kobe University, where eight horses from the club participated with the cooperation of their student caretakers.

For the first experiment, an assistant experimenter hid food (carrots) in a bucket which the horse could not reach. The researchers observed whether and how the animal sent signals to the caretaker when the caretaker (unaware of the situation) arrived. The horse stayed near the caretaker and looked at, touched and pushed the caretaker. These behaviors occurred over a significantly longer period compared to cases when they carried out the experiment without hiding the food. The results showed that when horses cannot solve problems by themselves they send signals to humans both visually (looking) and physically (touching and pushing).

Building on these results, for the second experiment they tested whether the horses' behavior changed based on the caretakers' knowledge of the hidden food. If the caretaker hadn't watched the food being hidden, the horses gave more signals, demonstrating that horses can change their behavior in response to the knowledge levels of humans.

These two experiments revealed some behaviors used by horses to communicate demands to humans. They also suggest that horses possess high cognitive skills that enable them to flexibly alter their behavior towards humans according to humans' knowledge state. This high social cognitive ability may have been acquired during the domestication process. In order to identify the characteristic that enables horses to form close bonds with humans, in future research the team aims to compare communication between horses, as well as looking more closely at the social cognitive ability of horses in their communication with humans.

By deepening our understanding of the cognitive abilities held by species who have close relationships with humans, and making comparisons with the cognitive abilities of species such as primates who are evolutionarily close to humans, we can investigate the development of unique communication traits in domesticated animals. This is connected to the influence of domestication on the cognitive ability of animals, and can potentially provide valuable information for realizing stronger bonds between humans and animals.

--

Credit: Earth.com Staff/<a href="http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kobe University Graduate School of Intercultural Studies</a>

Horses ask humans for help when they're in trouble

Horses and humans have a special bond. Scientific studies have...

There is an overwhelming consensus in the scientific community that human-caused climate change is changing the planet. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main heat-trapping gas largely responsible for most of the average warming over the past several decades. When humans burn coal, oil and gas (fossil fuels) to generate electricity or drive our cars, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, where it traps heat. But how does this directly impact humanity?

Human-caused climate change very likely increased the severity of heat waves that plagued India, Pakistan, Europe, East Africa, East Asia, and Australia in 2015 and helped make it the warmest year on record, according to new research published today in a special edition of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

The fifth edition of <a href="https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/publications/bulletin-of-the-american-meteorological-society-bams/explaining-extreme-events-from-a-climate-perspective/">Explaining Extreme Events from a Climate Perspective</a> offsite link presents 25 peer-reviewed research papers that examine episodes of extreme weather of 2015 over five continents and two oceans. It features the research of 116 scientists from 18 countries analyzing both historical observations and changing trends along with model results to determine whether and how climate change may have influenced the event.

The strongest evidence for a human influence was found for temperature-related events --- the increased intensity of numerous heat waves, diminished snowpack in the Cascades, record-low Arctic sea ice extent in March and the extraordinary extent and duration of Alaska wildfires.

“After five years of the BAMS Explaining Extreme Events report, we’re seeing mounting evidence that climate change is making heat waves more extreme in many regions around the world,” said lead editor Stephanie C. Herring, a scientist with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. "As we get better at distinguishing the influence of climate change from natural variability, the local significance and impacts of this global phenomenon are becoming clearer."

Evidence of human-caused-climate-change in 2015 flooding, fires – and sunshine

Numerous other events of 2015 were made more extreme by climate change, the report found. The probability of “sunny day” tidal flooding events in the Miami area, like the one that inundated coastal areas that September, has risen 500 percent since 1994, according to one study. Human-induced climate change likely contributed to the record high intensity of west North Pacific typhoons and the record amount of winter sunshine in the United Kingdom.

But researchers found no evidence of an overall climate change signal in the delayed onset of the Nigerian spring rainy season or in the extreme daily rainfall totals that inundated Chennai, India in December. There was likewise no evidence that the extreme cold winter conditions over the northeast United States in 2015 were made more likely by human-induced climate change.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-124773" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2015-extreme-weather-NOAA.jpg" alt="2015-extreme-weather-noaa" width="700" height="495" />

Lessons learned over the past five years

More than 100 papers examining extreme events have been accepted for publication in this special report since its inaugural issue in 2012. These studies take a place-based and event-specific approach to identifying the role of human-caused-climate-change, and answer the question of how much a particular recent event’s likelihood of recurrence or intensity has changed relative to the past.

While there’s mounting evidence in the role of human-caused-climate-change in amplifying the severity of heat waves, evidence of a climate change signal has not been found in a majority of extreme precipitation studies published in this special edition, Herring said.

However, she cautioned that the lack of clear evidence of a climate signal did not necessarily mean climate change played no role in an event. A “null” result could mean the event fell within the bounds of natural variability. It could also mean that the framing of the research question or the method of analysis chosen requires further refinement and development.

Identifying analytical methods that work better than others

Contributing authors choose the event they wish to study, so the new studies are neither a random sample nor a comprehensive survey of extreme weather events. They do illustrate how various methods can be applied to extreme event analysis, she said, and in cases where multiple groups look at the same event, the relative skill of different approaches can be compared.

“With this report, we continue to document scientists’ growing ability to identify how climate change influences today’s weather,” said Jeff Rosenfeld, editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, which independently conducts the peer reviews for studies included in this special report. “These accessible and brief papers show the scientific community and the public that once seemingly impossible insights about climate impacts are now within the capability of timely, rigorous science.”

Five NOAA scientists served as editors of Explaining Extreme Events of 2015 from a Climate Perspective: Herring, James Kossin, and Carl Schreck III of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information along with Martin P. Hoerling and Andrew Hoell with NOAA’s Earth Systems Research Laboratory. Peter A. Stott with the UK Met Office Hadley Centre also served as an editor.
<table style="font-weight: 300; height: 414px;" width="817">
<thead style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">
<tr style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">
<td style="font-style: inherit;">
Evidence for human-caused-climate-change was identified for:

<ul style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Ten extreme heat events, including heat waves in Europe, India, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Japan, and Australia</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">The record average global temperature in 2015</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Record-low Arctic sea ice in March</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Alaska's intense wildfire season</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Extreme drought in southwestern Canada</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Extreme May rainfall in southeast China</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Florida's “sunny day” flood in September</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Record winter sunshine in the United Kingdom</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">
<tr style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">
<td style="font-style: inherit;">
No climate change signal was found for:

<ul style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">Outbreaks of extreme cold in the eastern US and Canada</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">The late onset of Nigeria’s spring rainy season</li>
 	<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">Heavy daily precipitation in December over Chennai, India</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
---

Credit: Earth.com Staff/<a href="http://www.noaa.gov">NOAA</a>

Human-caused climate change is to blame for 24 extreme weather events in 2015

There is an overwhelming consensus in the scientific community that...

Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is the hard pearly iridescent substance forming the inner layer of a mollusk shell. This beautiful biomineral has been shown to accurately record ancient ocean temperatures.

A team of researchers led by University of Wisconsin-Madison physics Professor Pupa Gilbert studied the physical attributes of nacre in modern and fossil shells and discovered that the biomineral provides an accurate record of ancient ocean temperatures as the material is formed, layer upon layer, in a mollusk.

"We can very accurately correlate nacre tablet thickness with temperature," says Gilbert, explaining that mother-of-pearl is formed as mollusks lay down microscopic polygonal tablets of the mineral aragonite like brickwork to build layers of the shiny biomineral.

The work is important because it provides scientists with a new and potentially more accurate method of measuring ancient ocean temperatures, improving on methods now used with other biominerals to tease out the record of the environmental conditions at which the materials formed in the distant past.

"Everyone else measures temperatures in the ancient world using chemical proxies," says Gilbert, referencing methods that, for example, use ratios of isotopic oxygen locked into tiny fossil shells made by marine microorganisms known as Foraminifera to get a snapshot of ocean temperatures in the distant past.

[caption id="attachment_124770" align="alignleft"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-124770" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/nacre-mother-of-pearl-UWisc-150x150.jpg" alt="Nacre, mother-of-pearl" width="150" height="150" /> Nacre, mother-of-pearl[/caption]

The method devised by Gilbert and her collaborators is extraordinarily simple: using just a scanning electron microscope and a cross section of shell, it is possible to measure the thickness of the layered microscopic tablets that compose nacre in a shell. The thickness of the tablets, explains Gilbert, correlates with ancient ocean temperatures as measured in modern shells when ocean temperatures were known at the time the shells were formed.

The new work by the researchers from Wisconsin, Harvard, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory provides a novel physical approach to measuring past climate, says Gilbert, an expert in biomineral formation.

"If what you are measuring is a physical structure, you see it directly," says Gilbert. "You just measure nacre tablet thickness, the spacing of the lines, and it corresponds to temperature. When the temperature is warmer, the layers get thicker."

The new study looked at fossil samples of nacre as old as 200 million years from a mollusk in the family Pinnidae, large, fast-growing saltwater clams that live in shallow ocean environments. Today, as in the distant past, the bivalves are widespread in tropical and temperate coastal and shallow continental shelf environments.

The new method is potentially more accurate, Gilbert notes, because the chemistry of fossil shells can be altered by diagenesis. Diagenesis occurs over geologic time, during or after sediments rain down on ocean beds to form sedimentary rock. Fossil shells may partially dissolve and re-precipitate as calcite, which fills cracks in aragonite nacre, thus skewing the chemical analysis of a sample, if analyzed as a bulk sample.

"If the chemistry changes after the death of a fossil, the formation chemistry isn't necessarily preserved," says Gilbert. On the other hand, "if the physical structure is altered by diagenesis, you will notice immediately that nacre is no longer layered, and so you will know that it's not worth analyzing that area. If just a few nacre tablets are preserved, their thickness can easily be measured" meaning the new technique can augment current geochemical methods used to assess past temperatures, and thus help reconstruct ancient climates, especially the shallow marine environments that preserve most of the world's invertebrate fossil record.

The family of mollusks in the new study has lived in the world's oceans for more than 400 million years, potentially leaving a clear record of ocean temperatures into the distant past. For purposes of assessing climate, the record is valuable because not only does it say something about past climate, but the data can also help modelers forecast future climate and environmental change.

"The only thing you can do to understand climate in the future is to look at climate in the past," Gilbert notes.

--

Credit: Earth.com Staff/<a href="http://www.wisc.edu" target="_blank">University of Wisconsin</a>

Mother-of-pearl shown to accurately record ancient ocean temperatures

Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is the hard pearly iridescent substance forming...

In the final weeks of his presidency, President Barack Obama is working to finalize as many environmental protections as possible before Donald Trump takes office.
Republicans have pledge to reverse or block most of these pending actions. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on promises to reverse course on some of Obama's environmental initiatives, including a moratorium on new federal coal sales. However, Trump has recently showed signs of easing his stance as a climate change denier.
Here are some of Obama's recent environmental protections.
November 18: Arctic drilling leases shelved
What happened? The Interior Department finalized a five-year offshore drilling plan that blocks the sale of new oil and gas leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska.
How durable is it? A Donald Trump administration could re-write the blueprint for drilling, which Alaska's congressional delegation and industry groups have blasted as an impediment to the energy industry. For faster action, Congress would have to pass a law forcing the <a href="https://www.doi.gov/">Department of Interior</a> to hold lease sales.
November 15: Methane greenhouse emissions restrictions
What happened? The administration adopted a rule that would require oil and gas companies to control their releases of methane, a greenhouse gas considered many times more potent than carbon dioxide.
How lasting is it? State officials from Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota and industry groups including the Western Energy Alliance have challenged the restrictions in federal court. A Trump administration could re-open the rule-making process to undo the rule, or federal lawmakers could challenge it under the Congressional Review Act.
January 15: Moratorium on new coal lease sales on public lands.
What happened? The administration halted pending sales of 1.4 billion tons of coal from publicly-owned reserves, citing in part the potential that burning the fuel would make climate change worse. The move followed decades of complaints from Democrats in Congress and government investigations that found taxpayers were not getting a fair return from companies.
How lasting is it? Trump campaigned on a promise to rescind the moratorium. Experts say he could simply direct the Interior Department to halt its three-year review of the federal coal program.
November 21: Mining claims blocked near Yellowstone National Park
What happened? The Departments of Agriculture and Interior barred for two years new mining claims on 30,000 acres outside Yellowstone National Park, where two companies plan to explore for gold. Similar actions were taken previously on mining claims in portions of Oregon and Washington state.
How lasting is it? Mining industry representatives say Trump Interior secretary nominee Rep. Ryan Zinke could terminate the mining lease withdrawal process without any notice or public comment. Zinke, of Montana, has said the area deserves protection but also wants to hear more from the community.
September 1: Endangered species protections prioritized
What happened? U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prioritized consideration of more than 300 potentially imperiled species for protection, including the Pacific walrus and North American wolverine.
How lasting is it? The incoming administration could direct wildlife officials to rewrite the plan. Congress could block funding for status reviews that are needed to put species on the protected list or write laws to remove species that currently are protected, such as gray wolves in Wyoming and the western Great Lakes.
---
Credit: Earth.com staff/AP

Republicans vow to block Obama's recent environmental protections

In the final weeks of his presidency, President Barack Obama...

Energy efficiency of computers has largely been ignored by US regulators.  Desktop computers use anywhere from 65 to 250 watts of energy. Over the course of a year, a computer will cost an average of $650 to operate.
The state of California agreed on Wednesday to institute new energy efficiency standards for computers and monitors in an effort to reduce power costs. Officials claim this will save taxpayers $373 million in utility bills by 2027.
A 5-0 vote Wednesday by the California Energy Commission makes the state the first in the nation to adopt such rules, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported (<a href="http://bit.ly/2hJO7iY">http://bit.ly/2hJO7iY</a> ).
The regulations promise to reduce energy consumed by computers by about one-third.
"Such efficiency improvements are good for consumers, good for the electric system, good for the environment and frankly good for the green credentials of the manufacturers," said Andrew McAllister, a CEC commissioner who helped guide the new rules through a four-year process of consultations with industry.
Computers and monitors in the state use an estimated 5,610 gigawatts-hours of electricity - representing up to three percent of residential electricity use and seven percent of commercial use, according to the newspaper.
Rollout of the new standards will start Jan. 1, 2018, to be completed in stages by July 1, 2021.
Under the new rules, desktop computers - which use four times as much electricity as a typical laptop - must reduce their power-draw by about 30 percent when idle by the beginning of 2019 and nearly 50 percent by mid-2021.
Most computer monitors will also be affected, with the new rules establishing thresholds for the amount of power a monitor or display can consume, even when they are in sleep mode.
The standards also apply to laptops but it's estimated about 73 percent of notebook computers on the market already meet the rules' requirements.
By 2021, the CEC estimates the new rules make the cost of each desktop about $14 more expensive but said consumers will save more than $55 over five years in reduced energy bills.
The Consumer Federation of America praised the regulations and said the percentages in cost savings more than make up for the increase in prices.
Computer maker HP Inc. called the energy limits "ambitious but achievable."
--
Credit: Earth.com Staff/AP

California enacts energy efficiency rules for computers

Energy efficiency of computers has largely been ignored by US regulators....

This week, the U.N. weather agency confirmed the tallest wave in recorded history occurred in the North Atlantic on February 4, 2013. The monster wave measured in at 62.3 feet, taller than a six-story building. 

The data comes courtesy of an extensive automated buoy system operated by the <a href="http://www.wmo.int/">World Meteorological Organization</a> (WMO) that records information on wave swells, sea currents, and water temperatures. On February 4, 2013 at 0600 GMT, the system recorded the massive wave rising in the Atlantic between Iceland and Britain.

“This is the first time we have ever measured a wave of 19 meters,” WMO deputy chief Wenjian Zhang said. “It is a remarkable record.” 

The title had previously held by another North Atlantic wave that occurred in December 2007 and measured in at 60 feet.

The exact height of a wave is measured from the crest of a wave to the trough of the following wave.

The cause of the new record-setting wave is thought to be a strong cold front that pushed through the area, generating violent winds over 50 miles per hour. 

The North Atlantic is especially susceptible to giant waves during the winter due to intense wind circulation and atmospheric pressure. The result can be brutal storms that the WMO calls “bombs.”

2013 monster wave crowned the tallest wave in history, says U.N.

This week, the U.N. weather agency confirmed the tallest wave...

Each year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releases its <a href="http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card">Arctic Report Card</a>, and this year’s is showing some new high scores – but not in a good way.

The grades are in, and the Arctic broke several high temperature records, along with record low amounts of sea ice and rapidly shrinking glaciers.

The record-setting extremes show a disturbing trend of long-term Arctic warming, according to Dr. Jeremy Mathis, the head of Arctic research for <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">NOAA</a>. The warm weather is even intruding on normally cold months, when ice is usually building back up in the region, he said.

The Arctic seems to be warming faster than the rest of the world, he added, pointing to <a href="https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/Arctictemp_map_graph_2015-16_1240.jpg">data</a> gathered by the researchers.

Among the extremes logged by NOAA researchers in 2016’s peer-reviewed Arctic Report Card:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">October 2015 through September 2016 had the highest average temperatures observed in the region since 1900, when records began.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Water temperatures off the coast of Greenland were 9 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 30-year average.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">From mid-October through November, sea ice was the lowest on record for that time of year, though it did not set minimum records the rest of the year.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Snow cover reached a record low for North America during the spring, for the first time since satellites first began recording that data in 1967.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Greenland’s ice sheet began to shrink on April 10, the earliest start of the melt season on record.</li>
</ul>
It’s not just the NOAA scientists who are concerned by weather extremes in the Arctic. The Arctic Report Card has other polar researchers worried. 

Dr. Mark Serreze of the <a href="https://nsidc.org/">National Snow and Ice Data Center</a> called it the most extreme year in the Arctic he’d ever seen.

Though climate change is partially to blame, an extreme El Niño in 2015 and 2016 may have added to the warming, the NOAA researchers said.

Extremes in the Arctic can mean extremes elsewhere, said Dr. Brendan Kelly, who studies the Arctic at the <a href="https://www.alaska.edu/">University of Alaska, Fairbanks</a> and was a co-author of the NOAA report.

As sea ice melts, more cold air from the Polar Vortex can escape, causing extreme weather events further south, he said.

Arctic Report Card showings warming in overdrive at the North Pole

Each year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releases its...

Cold War spy images shed light on Himalayan glacial melt

Cold War-era spy satellite images have provided a point of comparison to demonstrate just how much the Himalayas have been affected by climate change. 

During the 1970s and 1980s, a United States spy program known as Hexagon launched 20 large reconnaissance satellites to survey particular areas of interest surrounding the Soviet Union. The photographs were declassified in 2011 and given to the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a> for review. 

Historical data for the Himalayan region is difficult to come by, due to the rough conditions and remoteness of the area. But the spy satellite photos can be compared to more recent images taken by <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> to show how much glacial melt has occurred over time. 

“This imagery will be getting used more and more,” said Josh Maurer of <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>. “What we are trying to do is to quantify by exactly how much are the glaciers retreating, how much ice are they losing and at what rate. So we’ve used the images to extract 3D models of the terrain back in the 1970s.”

“We can see the height of the glacier ice in 1973, and we take those elevation models, and can take the difference between those and the modern day elevation models, and we can work out how the ice volume is changing over time,” he added.

The evidence indicates a rather significant loss of Himalayan glacial ice over the past several decades.

“At every point on the glacier surface across the whole of the Himalayas a quarter of a meter of water is being lost each year, and populations downstream, where they depend on these water resources, are going to be affected,” Maurer said. “As the glaciers shrink and retreat, the amount of runoff they provide to these streams will increase in the short term as they melt, but over the next 100 years it will decrease more and more, and that’s going to have a negative impact on water resources.”

Cold War spy images shed light on Himalayan glacial melt

Cold War spy images shed light on Himalayan glacial melt...

Winter has hit the Northern Hemisphere, and a lot of us are bundled up indoors instead of out in our wild world. What’s a nature lover to do when you want to be enjoying the green, but snow, rain, and mud have taken over?

Turn on the TV, of course. Here’s a list of 10 fantastic movies, TV shows, and documentaries that showcase the natural beauty of our wild world. Pop some popcorn, mull some cider, and give one a try next time a snow storm has you stuck indoors.
<ol>
 	<li><a href="http://movies.disney.com/the-jungle-book-2016">The Jungle Book</a> (2016, PG)</li>
</ol>
This live-action Disney film is based on Rudyard Kipling’s tales of India’s jungles. The human Mowgli, raised by wolves, must take on the brutal tiger Shere Khan and find his place among the panthers, wolves, bears, and apes that live in the jungle. 
<ol start="2">
 	<li><a href="http://www.bbcchannels.com/earth/planetearth2">Planet Earth II</a> (2016, unrated)</li>
</ol>
A sequel to the beloved BBC series <a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/planet-earth">Planet Earth</a> (2006), this nature documentary show takes viewers to islands, deserts, mountains, and other wild habitats – even cities. Narrated by David Attenborough, the series gets up close and personal with wildlife.
<ol start="3">
 	<li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4982356/">The Forest</a> (2016, unrated)</li>
</ol>
A Buddhist monk-turned-teacher is sent to a remote village, where he tries to connect with a bullied mute girl who retreats into a fantasy world full of horror. Shot in remote northeastern Thailand, the film features sweeping, gorgeous wild landscapes.
<ol start="4">
 	<li><a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/marchofthepenguins/">March of the Penguins</a> (2005, G)</li>
</ol>
Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this classic documentary about the lives of penguins in Antarctica was a surprise hit at the box office. It follows a group of penguins through a year in their lives, including dangers from predators, egg incubation, and migration.
<ol start="5">
 	<li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3553976/">Captain Fantastic</a> (2016, R)</li>
</ol>
Starring Viggo Mortensen, this dramedy focuses on a couple who decides to raise their family in the wilds of Washington state, and the trials they go through trying to maintain that philosophy after events force them back into modern society. 
<ol start="6">
 	<li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/">Wild</a> (2014, R)</li>
</ol>
Grieving her mother’s death and her failed marriage, recovering from years of self-destructive behavior Cheryl Strayed decided to take off on a backpacking trip. Wild is based on the true story of Strayed’s 1,100-mile solo hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.
<ol start="7">
 	<li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5490720/">Pandora</a> (2016, unrated)</li>
</ol>
This South Korean film may have been inspired by the earthquake-fueled Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. When an earthquake causes a radiation leak at a nuclear power plant, the disaster is made worse through human error, politics, and bureaucracy.
<ol start="8">
 	<li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3020666/">Unbranded</a> (2015, PG-13)</li>
</ol>
This documentary tracks four men right out of college as they ride 16 mustangs from Mexico to Canada, straight through the wildest parts of the West. Along with gorgeous film of wild lands and horses, the four touch on the politics of mustang preservation.
<ol start="9">
 	<li><a href="http://nature.disney.com/oceans">Oceans</a> (2010, G)</li>
</ol>
Pierce Brosnan and the team at Disney take viewers on a journey deep into the oceans. The documentary meets up with whales, sharks, seals, and dolphins while sharing information about different ocean environments, in the spirit of Disney’s <a href="http://nature.disney.com/earth">Earth</a> (2009).
<ol start="10">
 	<li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/">Into the Wild</a> (2007, R)</li>
</ol>
After graduating from college, Christopher McCandless abandoned his life and went to live in the wild world of the Alaskan wilderness. This movie is based on McCandless’ life in the wild until his death in 1992.

10 must-see movies and TV shows that showcase our wild world

Winter has hit the Northern Hemisphere, and a lot of...

As carbon dioxide increases in Earth’s atmosphere, more and more of the greenhouse gas is absorbed by the ocean, slowing rising surface temperatures. That’s great for us – but bad news for one tiny phytoplankton.

Emiliana huxleyi is a single-celled, photosynthetic plankton covered in small calcite disks called coccoliths. 

Photosynthetic phytoplankton lie on or near the surface of the ocean, and convert light into energy. Along with other types of plankton, they form a valuable food source for larger ocean creatures. 

For example, tiny phytoplankton like E. huxleyi are eaten by zooplankton, which become food for jellyfish, which are eaten by sea turtles, which become prey for sharks. Phytoplankton are at the center of nearly every marine food web.
<ol>
 	<li> huxleyi is facing a new threat from the ocean, though. Ocean acidification has made it a lot more difficult for the tiny phytoplankton to form its calcite disks, according to scientists from <a href="http://www.geomar.de/en/">GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel</a>.</li>
</ol>
Calcium carbonate is the building block for E. huxleyi’s coccoliths. The added carbon dioxide in the ocean causes a series of chemical reactions that deplete calcium carbonate in the oceans. This affects E. huxleyi and other ocean creatures with shells.

The GEOMAR scientists conducted a series of lab experiments to see just how E. huxleyi is affected by ocean acidification. In laboratory conditions, the tiny phytoplankton’s growth and calcification rates of its coccolith were reduced. The short-lived organism was unable to fully adapt to more acidic waters even after 2,000 generations, the scientists said.

The lab tests didn’t tell them whether E. huxleyi would still be able to compete in its native waters in acidic conditions, though, so the scientists took to the seas.

There, the amount of energy the phytoplankton spent forming their calcite shells left them unable to form a bloom, the scientists said. They used the experimental KOSMOS (Kiel Off-Shore Mesocosms for Ocean Simulations) platform to study the phytoplankton populations off Norway’s west coast.

By analyzing the E. huxleyi populations in that region, they discovered it was in decline before the typical bloom period, instead of growing. When it came time to bloom, there weren’t enough of the phytoplankton to do so.

While E. huxleyi is just one of several types of phytoplankton, its struggles in more acidic waters could signal larger problems, the GEOMAR team said. 

When the little organisms die, their calcite shells help pull them down to the bottom of the ocean quickly, the researchers said. If their remains stay close to the surface, they decompose there, attracting bacteria and slowing the ocean’s ability to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they said.

E. huxleyi is also believed to release dimethylsulfide into the atmosphere, a cooling gas. Concentrations of the gas were high over the organism’s blooms, the scientists said, but very reduced in areas where blooms failed to form.

Ocean acidification causes huge problems for tiny phytoplankton

As carbon dioxide increases in Earth’s atmosphere, more and more...

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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



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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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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