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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

British researchers have spotted an unsettling trend: Spring temperatures are on the rise in the United Kingdom.

The <a href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/">Met Office</a> looked at weather data from 1961 to 2016, and found that the average temperature from March to May had gone up about 1 degree Celsius – 2 degrees Fahrenheit – in that time. The average temperature for those months was 44 degrees Fahrenheit from 1961 to 1990; by 2016, the average was 46 degrees.

The warmer spring days are bringing fewer frosts, too. In the 1960s, the UK saw an average of 37 frosts each spring, according to the Met Office. In the past decade, that number dropped to 33.

The warmer weather isn’t limited to the UK. The first day of spring brought record high temperatures to several U.S. states, according to the <a href="http://www.weather.gov/">U.S. National Weather Service</a>. Parts of Oklahoma and Texas topped 90 degrees on March 21, breaking records set more than a century ago. 

And this past winter was the second warmest ever recorded, after the 2015-16 winter, according to data independently collected by agencies including the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> and the <a href="http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html">Japan Meteorological Agency</a>.

The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since the year 2000, according to NASA. Although individual places on the planet have had hotter years in the past, the space agency uses global average temperatures to determine its ranking.

In warmer locales, even a two-degree boost in temperatures can bring worries of drought, heat waves, and other natural disasters. In cold regions, melting glaciers and tundra becomes an issue.

In the UK, though, rising spring temperatures bring extra gardening days. Warm spring days often mean gardeners can plant earlier and enjoy greenery a few days longer each year.

The Met Office warned gardening aficionados against overconfidence, however. Even though the British Isles are seeing fewer frosts, a late cold spell could still do plenty of damage, especially in the north, officials said. 

Gardeners should be ready to cover plants or bring them indoors if temperatures suddenly drop, they said.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Spring temperatures are heating up in the UK

British researchers have spotted an unsettling trend: Spring temperatures are...

New research has found that while many tropical forests may appear structurally undisturbed, hunting can exert significant pressure on wildlife and result in large population declines.

The review covered 176 studies, which spanned from South America to Asia and Africa, encompassing 97 bird and 254 <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/chewing-early-mammals-survive/">mammal</a> species. Hunted and unhunted sites were analyzed for mammal and bird abundance and the data was used to estimate the overall reduction in these populations.

They concluded that both bird and mammal populations were significantly reduced in hunted areas – 53% and 82% respectively. Furthermore, the study found a direct relationship between population reduction and distance from hunters’ access points, urban trading markets, and protected areas. So even though mammal populations were higher inside protected areas compared to non-protected areas, nearby hunting still had a negative impact on mammal abundance within the protected areas.

It was also found that smaller mammals were almost always more abundant in places with higher hunting pressure than larger species, which the researchers say is due to smaller species experiencing a decrease in predation pressure as a result of humans hunting the more desirable medium and large-sized animals. So it goes without saying that these smaller mammals are big fans of the current hunting practices.

The authors believe a possible solution to these problems would be to increase strategies that sustainably manage wildlife hunting in both protected and unprotected tropical regions, as current strategies aren’t doing the job.

While protecting certain regions of tropical forests may help sustain some of the wildlife in that specific area, it’s important to understand the impact of hunting practices in nearby forests. Since most non-human species have a tough time reading sign postings, they’re likely to unknowingly cross between protected and non-protected areas. Studies like this are important for giving us a reality check on whether or not our protection efforts are helping.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>

Hunting significantly reduces bird and mammal populations

New research has found that while many tropical forests may...

Solar radiation management projects, collectively known as solar geoengineering, are techniques for reducing global temperatures by reflecting the sun’s rays. Researchers from <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> are preparing to test the feasibility of solar geoengineering using aerosol sprays. The experiment, which is set to begin as early as next year, is the first of its kind to surge radiation-blocking materials into the atmosphere. Some scientists warn that this type of attempt to control <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decade-climate-change-goals/">climate change</a> may have a devastating outcome.

The team from <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard</a> will begin their experiment emitting only water vapor. Next, they will continue to test a variety of materials that may be used in large quantities in the future. For the project, the researchers will not release more than 2.2 lbs of any material. 

Frank Keutsch is one of the lead scientists for the study. “The idea that you can even think about adjusting the temperature of the planet is terrifying,” said Keutsch. “But the consequences of climate change are also quite terrifying.” 

This aerosol method has become a heavily-debated subject. Many scientists believe that any positive consequences of this type of chemical engineering would be outweighed by a catastrophic aftermath. For example, one concern is the possibility of the Earth being suddenly exposed to the sun’s rays after being blocked from solar radiation for decades.

The <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard</a> researchers believe that calcium carbonate in the form of aerosol can be used to achieve cooler global temperatures without damaging the ozone layer. This is based on the fact that limestone, one of the most common types of rock found on Earth’s surface, is formed mostly of carbon carbonate. 

The limestone-forming mineral calcite is now being tested for the upcoming <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard</a> experiment. Calcite has acid-neutralizing properties that may counteract emission-based acids while reflecting sunlight.

“Essentially we ended up with an antacid for the stratosphere,” said Keutsch.

Despite the likelihood that calcite is capable of temporarily cooling the climate, researchers caution that this and other chemical engineering is not a permanent solution to climate change.

“Geoengineering is like taking painkillers,” said Keutsch. “When things are really bad, painkillers can help but they don't address the cause of a disease and they may cause more harm than good. We really don't know the effects of geoengineering but that is why we're doing this research.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a>

Can “antacids” for the atmosphere help slow global warming?

Solar radiation management projects, collectively known as solar geoengineering, are...

What if I told you that in the future, we’ll be able to pull water from thin air using only the power of sunlight? That sounds super futuristic and exciting, right? Well, what if I told you that we don’t have to wait…

A team of scientists and engineers from <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> and <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) have collaborated to build a water harvester that uses only ambient sunlight to pull water from the air. The machine can even produce liters of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/less-fresh-water/">water</a> per day in conditions as low as 20 percent humidity, which is a common humidity level in arid regions.

This solar-powered water harvester was constructed at <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">MIT</a> using a special material produced at <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">Cal Berkeley</a>. The special material is a metal-organic framework known as MOF, which was invented by Omar Yaghi, the founding director of the <a href="http://globalscience.berkeley.edu/">Berkeley Global Science Institute</a> and one of the two senior authors on the paper.

Yaghi invented these metal-organic frameworks more than 20 years ago by combining metals like magnesium or aluminum with organic molecules to create rigid, porous structures ideal for storing gases and liquids. Since his original design, more than 20,000 different MOFs have been created by scientists all over the world.

In 2014, Yaghi and his team at <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a> designed a MOF that binds water vapor. Sensing its potential usefulness, he contacted Evelyn Wang, a mechanical engineer at <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">MIT</a>, and suggested they team up to turn the MOF into a water-collecting system.

“One vision for the future is to have water off-grid, where you have a device at home running on ambient solar for delivering water that satisfies the needs of a household,” says Yaghi. “To me, that will be made possible because of this experiment. I call it personalized water.”

Wang and her students designed a system that allowed ambient air to diffuse through the porous MOF, causing water molecules to attach to the interior surface. Sunlight entering through a window then heats up the MOF and moves the water toward the condenser, where the vapor condenses as liquid water and drops into a collector.

“This work offers a new way to harvest water from air that does not require high relative humidity conditions and is much more energy efficient than other existing technologies,” Wang explains.

The current MOF can only absorb 20 percent of its weight in water, but it’s possible other MOF materials could absorb 40 percent or more. Yaghi believes this material has plenty of room for improvement and could easily become more effective at higher or lower humidity levels.

“It’s not just that we made a passive device that sits there collecting water; we have now laid both the experimental and theoretical foundations so that we can screen other MOFs, thousands of which could be made, to find even better materials,” says Yaghi. “There is a lot of potential for scaling up the amount of water that is being harvested. It is just a matter of further engineering now.”

For the time being, Yaghi and his team are hard at work improving on their MOFs, while Wang and her team are improving the harvesting system. It seems at this point that the sky is the limit for this solar-powered water harvesting system.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California – Berkeley</a>

This new solar-powered device can pull water from dry air

What if I told you that in the future, we’ll...

Hydrogen fuel cell cars could one day be a technology hero that helps replace climate-damaging fossil fuel vehicles – but not if drivers can’t find hydrogen fueling stations. Currently there’s a grand total of 34 public hydrogen fueling stations in the entire nation, according to the <a href="https://energy.gov/">U.S. Department of Energy</a>, and most of those are located in California.

It’s not much of a problem now since there are only a few hundred of the hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road, all of them on lease from Honda, Toyota and Hyundai, and all in California. But that number’s going to escalate to about 1,000 leased cars this year – and the industry certainly hopes the numbers continue to climb.

Just like electric cars, the hydrogen-powered vehicles are emission-free and of no danger to the environment. But they carry an added advantage over their electric siblings – they fuel as quickly as a gas stop. That’s in contrast to the eight or nine hours it might take to fully recharge an electric battery.

On the other hand, you’ve got to contrast those 34 lonely hydrogen refueling stations to the 15,703 public electric charging stations in operation today. Also, the electric charge cost is much smaller than for hydrogen. And, obviously, most drivers can plug in at home for a battery recharge. Not so much with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/portable-hydrogen-energy/">hydrogen</a>.

It costs up to about $80 to refill the five kilogram tank of a Clarity, the Honda hydrogen fuel cell model. But drivers get about 366 miles of hydrogen-powered driving before the need to refill the tanks.

In the near future, automakers might partner with governments and energy companies to develop more hydrogen fueling stations, as they’ve done in California. Earlier this year, Shell, BMW and nearly a dozen other companies in the transportation and energy industries formed a council to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen as a transportation fuel.

If automotive industry wants to grow this driving option into more than a California boutique industry, those hydrogen fuel cell stations must eventually start to pop up all across the country.

[caption id="attachment_259466" align="aligncenter" width="512"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/6-hydrogenfuel.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-259466" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/6-hydrogenfuel.jpg" alt="" width="512" height="341" /></a> The hydrogen fuel cell Genesis GV80 concept SUV. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew[/caption]

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FUEL_CELL_FUTURE?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2017-04-13-19-03-15"> Associated Press</a>

The one big problem with hydrogen fuel cell cars...

Hydrogen fuel cell cars could one day be a technology...

Oceanic researchers from <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a> in the Netherlands found evidence of microbial life an astounding six miles beneath the ocean’s floor at the bottom of the infamous Mariana Trench. That’s according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Considering the known temperature limit for life, 122 °C, and the subduction zone forearc geotherm where such mud volcanoes are located, we estimate that life could exist as deep as ∼10,000 m below the seafloor,” the study authors wrote. “This is considerably deeper than other active serpentinizing regions such as midocean ridges and could have provided sheltered ecosystems for life to survive the more violent phases of Earth’s history.”

The Mariana Trench is a long pit gouged out of the already very deep ocean depths. Located in the Western Pacific Ocean near China, Japan and the Philippines, the Trench is more than 1,500 miles long and no wider than 43 miles. At its deepest point, it goes down nearly seven miles below the ocean’s floor.

Life there is inhospitable, to say the least. The temperatures are near freezing and the pressure is about 1,000 times greater than on the surface of the Earth. And it’s so far from sunlight that it’s in perpetual and total darkness. That means no photosynthesis, so no traditional food sources. However, earlier scientific findings have included the presence of methane gas and hydrogen in the depths of the Mariana Trench, an available food source for very primitive life.

These current researchers said that what they found in serpentine scooped up from a mud volcano six miles under the ocean floor was organic material of the sort we’ve seen in less daunting environments.  Serpentine is a deep-ocean rock substance.

“Although we cannot pinpoint the exact origin of the organic matter, chemical analysis of the constituents resembles molecular signatures that could be produced by microbial life deep within or below the mud volcano,” the researchers wrote.

The research team’s findings don’t conclusively prove life exists that far below the ocean’s surface since there are other ways for the organic matter to have found its way to the serpentine, but it does provide tantalizing clues.

--

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/04/04/1612147114.full"> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>

Traces of life found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench

Oceanic researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands found evidence...

Water, water everywhere – but not nearly as much as we thought existed. That’s the conclusion reached by researchers led by David Seekell, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at Sweden’s <a href="http://www.umu.se/english">Umea University</a>. His team estimated that the world’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/road-salt-runoff-killing-twin-city-lakes/">lakes</a> contain about 30 percent less fresh water than had been originally believed.

Measuring the surface area of lakes is relatively simple through the use of GPS and satellite imagery, even though the planet is home to tens of millions of lakes. Much more difficult is measuring depths. That’s been traditionally done by circumnavigating the body of water in a boat and periodically taking depth measurements. Obviously, that would be a bit laborious for such a wide-scale audit.

“We decided to use a theory-driven approach,” said Seekell. “We assumed that the surface of the Earth is self-affine. This basically means that if you zoomed in and out of a cross-section of the Earth's surface, the statistical characteristics of the vertical topography are predictable based upon a stretching factor. We were able to use the model to estimate the mean volume of lakes at each given lake surface area, but also for variations in volume of lakes with the same surface area.”

His team’s findings can negatively impact the climate change challenge in that shallower bodies of water release more methane into the atmosphere. This could mean that the planet’s lakes are bigger contributors of greenhouse gases than previously anticipated. It could also have ramifications on dwindling water sources in some regions of the world.

In short, the “less water” finding is less positive than if researchers had found there to be a larger global inventory of fresh water than expected.

The study results appear in the current issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-8007/"> Geophysical Research Letters</a>

There is significantly less fresh water on Earth than we thought

Water, water everywhere – but not nearly as much as...

If <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/carbon-dioxide-atmosphere/">carbon dioxide</a> is the main culprit in climate change, then our two options are to cut emissions or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Following the goals set at the 2015 Paris Agreement, the next 10 years will be prove incredibly crucial in finding out if all countries involved will be able to deliver on their promises. 

Most of the nations of the planet agreed to take steps to reduce greenhouse gases so that the global temperature rise would be less than 2 degrees Celsius more than during the pre-industrial age, and hopefully more like a 1.5 degrees Celsius rise by 2100. That was the easy part. Now the trouble is figuring out how to get there, as researchers from the <a href="http://www.iiasa.ac.at/">International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis</a> (IIASA) learned when taking deeper dive for an article that will appear in the journal Nature Communications.

“The study shows that the combined energy and land-use system should deliver zero net anthropogenic emissions well before 2040 in order to assure the attainability of a 1.5°C target by 2100,” said coauthor and IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management Program Director Michael Obersteiner.

To get there, the IIASA report showed that fossil fuel usage rates would have to drop dramatically, to less than 25 percent of global energy supply by the end of the century. Currently, fossil fuels provide 95 percent of that total. Deforestation would have to be radically curtailed too, since trees and vegetation traps CO2 from release into the atmosphere.

If the current rate of conversion to renewable sources – about 2.6 percent annually – continues, CO2 emissions wouldn’t peak until the end of the century and global temperatures would be at a 3.5C increase, far off the target, by 2100.

The study concluded that it will take a mix of changes in human behavior, a stronger commitment to adapting renewable energy sources faster, and adapting better land-use strategies to reach the climate change goals.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/"> Nature Communications</a>

Next decade will be crucial in achieving climate change goals

If carbon dioxide is the main culprit in climate change,...

Ambient fine particle exposure is the cause of 3.7 million <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-snow-toxic/">deaths</a> worldwide each year. Many of these losses are due to short-term particulate matter exposure that causes damage to the cardiovascular system. A new study suggests that a simple vitamin B supplement may reverse the effects of potentially deadly health issues caused by particulate matter pollution.

The study was led by Jia Zhong, PhD., a postdoctoral research officer for <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia’s </a>Mailman School. "Ambient PM2.5 pollution is one of the most common air pollutants and has a negative effect on cardiac function and the immune system," says Zhong. "For the first time, our trial provides evidence that B-vitamin supplementation might attenuate the acute effects of PM2.5 on cardiac dysfunction and inflammatory markers."

Researchers at<a href="https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/"> Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health</a> set out to discover if B vitamins can reduce, or even possibly reverse, the harmful effects of air pollution. Between July 2013 and February 2014, ten volunteers who were healthy non-smokers were given a placebo for four weeks prior to a two-hour exposure to ambient PM2.5. Next, they were given Vitamin B supplements for four weeks before another two-hour exposure to the concentrated ambient PM2.5. The results were then compared to a particle-free  two-hour exposure.

"Our results showed that a two-hour exposure to concentrated ambient PM2.5 had substantial physiologic impacts on heart rate, heart rate variability, and white blood counts. Further, we demonstrated that these effects are nearly reversed with four-week B-vitamin supplementation," says Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, PhD., who worked closely with Leon Hess, a professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School.

The research shows that the Vitamin B supplements reversed the effects of air pollution on the heart rate by 150 percent, lymphocyte count by 106 percent, and the white blood cell count by 139 percent. According to the researchers, they studied healthy adults from a lightly-polluted area, and advise that the findings are not applicable to every case of air pollution-induced cardiovascular disease.

The study, published in the online journal Scientific Reports,is the first of its kind to determine if Vitamin B can alter biological responses to ambient air pollution. Dr. Baccarelli stresses that, despite the efforts of studies like this, there is still an urgent need for pollution regulation. 

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:: <a href="https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/">Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health</a>

How Vitamin B Could Save Your Life

Ambient fine particle exposure is the cause of 3.7 million...

The level of atmospheric <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/co2-turned-methanol/">carbon dioxide</a> is at an all-time high. This is responsible for major changes in the climate and also in our landscape. Recently, a team of researchers at the <a href="http://www.unh.edu/">University of New Hampshire</a> launched a study to determine the effects this rising concentration of carbon dioxide has on our ecosystems. The scientists turned their attention to mushrooms, an unlikely source that proved to contain a wealth of information.

The researchers first narrowed their study to focus on American lawns due to the fact that grass is such a critical component of the global carbon cycle. During photosynthesis, grass pulls carbon dioxide from the air using light energy to produce chemical energy. Aging grass, however, is not easily obtainable. The researchers set out to illustrate the changes in growth and competition of grass by viewing an alternative specimen.

Erik Hobble is a professor of terrestrial ecology at <a href="http://www.unh.edu/">the University of New Hampshire</a> and the first named author of the study. Hobble explains,"We thought that mushrooms could be a valuable indicator of responses of lawns to carbon dioxide levels in ecosystems because they feed on the dead grass and debris, or carbon, that law other plants put into the ground.” Hobble adds that mushrooms are “widely available  through previous collected specimens in labs and museums.”

For the study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences and also featured as an article in the magazine Eos, Hobble and his team scrutinized samples of the mushroom Amanita thiersii. These samples were collected between 1982 and 2009 from the southeastern and southcentral regions of the United States.The team combined their findings with data about the temperature, precipitation levels, and carbon dioxide concentration during the same time frame to look into the presence of  two main types of grass, C3 grasses and C4 grasses. C3 grasses, such as wheat and oats, thrive in cooler weather while C4 grasses, such as corn and sugarcane, develop better in warmer temperatures.

The mushrooms, or Amanita thiersii, displayed the various changes in growth and competition between the C3 and C4 grasses as the carbon dioxide levels increased. C3 grasses were impacted the most by climate change. The presence of C3 grasses in the carbon decreased by 12% with every single degree increase in temperature. The relative proportion of C3 grasses, however, increased by 18.5% as a result of the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations.. The study proves that the presence of more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere undoubtedly affects plant competition, and that plants such as mushrooms can be utilized to project more information about the future of our landscape. 

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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

Source: <a href="http://www.unh.edu/">The University of New Hampshire</a>

Mushrooms show how rising CO2 levels are reshaping our land

The level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is at an all-time...

How would you use a warning of a few seconds – or possibly as much as a minute – before an earthquake struck? It’s not much time, but maybe you could get out of a building or at least stay out of that elevator whose doors have just opened. If you live on the U.S. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unusual-blob-ocean-water/">west coast</a>, you might start giving it some thought because you soon might get that early earthquake warning safeguard.

According to the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a>, Oregon and Washington State are about to join California in the launch of ShakeAlert, an earthquake warning system under development by the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Society</a> (USGS) and university partners.

Officials with <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a>, the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> and others held a news conference Monday in Seattle to announce the system's rollout across the west coast. California has been testing the production prototype since early last year.

The <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/">Seattle Times</a> reported that RH2 Engineering, a Washington state firm, signed on as a pilot user. The firm develops municipal water and sewage tank plants and hopes the alert system can help prevent spills in the event of a quake.

“The advantage of earthquake early warning is that it gives us forewarning that the shaking will occur, and we can be sure the valve is fully closed by the time the shaking starts,” RH2’s Dan Ervin told the newspaper.

The company is developing software and hardware to process the warning signals and automatically close valves.

The warning system works through a network of ground motion sensors. The amount of warning time depends on distance from an earthquake's epicenter. It might provide little or no warning to locations close to the epicenter, but spots farther away could get seconds or minutes depending on distance.

The <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a> says it will cost $38.3 million in capital investment to complete the ShakeAlert system to the point where it can begin issuing alerts and about $16.1 million per year to operate and maintain.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.apnews.com/be7d5ed5a3904d3cba5dc013fd1ec38d/Early-quake-warning-system-expands-to-Oregon,-Washington"> Associated Press</a>

Could this new earthquake warning system save lives?

How would you use a warning of a few seconds...

Imagine an earthquake this powerful: “The ground would be moving up and down and sideways like a ship in a strong storm.” You’d certainly get tossed around, but there’d be no building damage whatsoever. That’s because there would have been no buildings. In describing this particular quake, Norm Sleep, a professor of geophysics at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a>, is setting the scene 65 million years ago. The place is present-day Trinidad Lakes State Park in Colorado and he’s describing a visible fault line that his team feels was created by the impact of a horribly lethal asteroid in present-day Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

In the theory laid out by Sleep and his colleagues, the impact was powerful enough to generated massive seismic waves that triggered a Magnitude 6 earthquake as far away as Colorado, in the center of a tectonic plate where no previous fault had existed. That quake, in turn, contributed to the end of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-species-similarities-humans/">dinosaur</a> reign on Earth.

Sleep and his colleagues found evidence for the fault in two areas in Colorado's Trinidad Lakes State Park, where a layer of iridium generated by the asteroid impact clearly marks the boundary between Cretaceous and Tertiary-age rocks, at the time of the dinosaurs' extinction about 65 million years ago.

At the two roadcuts, said Sleep, “there is a fault that slipped about a meter at the time of the impact. It offset the material below the impact layer but not above, but it's not something that would be obvious to the casual observer.”

The team feels that it would have taken such a massive jolt as the asteroid strike to trigger an earthquake in the middle of a tectonic plate with no previous faults.

<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/what-happened-day-dinosaurs-died-chicxulub-drilling-asteroid-science/">National Geographic paints an apocalyptic picture</a> of the event itself. The magazine says that the killer asteroid might have been the size of a mountain and slammed home with the force of 100 million tons of TNT. Depending on distance from impact, death would have come by vaporization, thermal radiation, tsunami winds, floods, earthquakes or starvation through years of lost sunlight from grit and soil thrown into the atmosphere.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-04/ssoa-cac041117.php"> Seismological Society of America</a>,<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/what-happened-day-dinosaurs-died-chicxulub-drilling-asteroid-science/"> National Geographic</a>

Is Colorado fault line evidence of dino extinction asteroid hit?

Imagine an earthquake this powerful: “The ground would be moving...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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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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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



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Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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

[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NTU...

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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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