The thin line of gold behind every tap, swipe, and click on our electronic devices rarely enters daily conversation, yet the metal keeps digital life running, then eventually turn into landfills full of toxic e-waste. 



From the contacts in a phone jack to the chips inside a smartwatch, gold moves electrons smoothly and shrugs off corrosion. 



Mining more, however, blasts mountains, drains rivers, and spews carbon. With the global appetite for electronics still climbing, attention has turned to the growing junkyard of cast‑off gadgets.



E‑waste is now the quickest‑rising waste stream on the planet - roughly 63 million short tons in 2024 according to <a href="https://www.unep.org/ietc/what-we-do/e-waste-management" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">United Nations estimates</a> - and only a small share gets recycled in certified facilities. 



Most of our old electronics end up in landfills or backyard workshops, which then leak metals into the groundwater, creating toxic brews. A cleaner strategy is to reclaim precious metals safely before our devices make their way into the garbage heaps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cheese-e-waste-and-gold">Cheese, e-waste, and gold</h2>



A research team is now working to change that script. Professor Raffaele Mezzenga at <a href="https://ethz.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH Zurich</a> and senior scientist Mohammad Peydayesh assembled colleagues in search of a simpler tool than acid vats or cyanide baths. Their unlikely inspiration bubbles up in cheese factories.



Cheese makers separate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cottage-cheese-is-making-a-comeback-due-to-its-nutritional-benefits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">curds from whey</a>, leaving behind nearly nine pounds of watery by‑product for every pound of cheddar. Whey is rich in proteins that twist into hair‑thin amyloid fibrils when warmed in acid. 



The Zurich group realized those fibrils could be coaxed into a feather‑light sponge that prefers gold over the other metals lurking in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electronic-waste-is-growing-five-times-faster-than-recycling/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shredded phones and laptops</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-adding-a-cheesy-twist-to-golden-e-waste">Adding a cheesy twist to golden e-waste</h2>



The researchers stirred the fibrils into a gel, then dried it into an aerogel - think Styrofoam’s airiness on a nanoscale. Microscopic pores criss‑cross the material, offering miles of surface area inside a crumb‑sized cube. 



When a slice of this sponge meets a beaker filled with dissolved circuit boards, gold ions rush toward the proteins and cling tightly.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/electronic-devices_gold-extraction-process_schematic_credit-ETH-Zurich_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/electronic-devices_gold-extraction-process_schematic_credit-ETH-Zurich_1s.webp" alt="Schematic route followed to generate neat value via pure gold, extracted from food waste (whey) and e-waste as starting source materials. Credit: Advanced Materials" class="wp-image-1968796"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Schematic route followed to generate neat value via pure gold, extracted from food waste (whey) and e-waste as starting source materials. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Advanced Materials</figcaption></figure>



Early trials showed the aerogel collecting a far higher share of gold than plastic resins that recyclers often use. Better yet, the process skips noxious solvents. 



Water, moderate heat, and the natural chemistry of protein do the heavy lifting, which slashes both hazard and cost.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aerogel-and-a-protein-sponge">Aerogel and a protein sponge</h2>



For a head‑to‑head laboratory test, the team stripped metal parts from twenty <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/international-day-of-zero-waste-a-global-commitment-to-a-sustainable-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">discarded computer motherboards</a>, dissolved them in acid, and dropped in a fingernail‑sized piece of aerogel. 



Copper, nickel, and cobalt swirled in the brew, yet gold ions settled on the sponge far more efficiently. After a short soak, the solution cleared, signaling that most of the precious metal had left the liquid.



Numbers tell the story. The sponge drew out gold that was about 90.8 percent pure - close to 22‑karat jewelry - on its first pass. Competing adsorbents usually require extra purification steps to reach similar purity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-e-waste-ions-to-gold-nuggets">From e-waste ions to gold nuggets</h2>



Pulling ions from solution is useful; turning them back into solid metal is crucial. The Zurich group warmed the loaded sponge until the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fools-gold-may-be-a-valuable-source-of-lithium/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gold ions</a> shed their charge and merged into shimmering flakes. 



Heating continued until the flakes fused into a nugget weighing roughly 450 milligrams. Chemical analysis showed the lump was 91 percent gold and 9 percent copper, again hitting the mark for 22 carats.



This step also freed the protein skeleton. Burned away under controlled heat, the whey‑derived matrix leaves no synthetic residue, easing cleanup. Conventional resin beds cannot claim the same neat exit.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/electronic-devices_gold-extraction-process_gold-nuggets-recovered_Credit-ETH-Zurich_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/electronic-devices_gold-extraction-process_gold-nuggets-recovered_Credit-ETH-Zurich_1s.webp" alt="The gold nugget obtained from computer motherboards in three parts. The largest of these parts is around five millimeters wide. Credit: ETH Zurich/Alan Kovacevic" class="wp-image-1968794"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The gold nugget obtained from computer motherboards in three parts. The largest of these parts is around five millimeters wide. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ETH Zurich/Alan Kovacevic</figcaption></figure>



Recycling lives or dies on the balance sheet. Here the math looks encouraging. 



Procurement and energy costs for the entire operation are about fifty times lower than the market value of the gold retrieved. Even after accounting for labor and overhead, that margin hints at solid profit for commercial recyclers.



Lower operating costs open doors for smaller regional plants. Instead of shipping obsolete electronics overseas, communities could process them nearby, cutting transportation emissions and keeping revenue local.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-e-waste-has-more-than-just-gold">e-Waste has more than just gold</h2>



Gold steals headlines, yet the technique need not stop there. By tweaking pH or tailoring the protein structure, the same sort of sponge could sort copper, cobalt, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-captured-on-video-forming-out-of-thin-air-for-the-first-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">palladium</a> - metals vital for batteries and sensors. 



The team is already experimenting with pea‑protein waste from plant‑based milk production and collagen from fish scales. Success would guard against supply bottlenecks tied to a single dairy stream.



E‑waste is not the only target. Industrial rinse water from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-computer-defeats-a-supercomputer-in-crucial-annealing-optimization-task/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microchip fabrication</a> and gold‑plating shops also carries trace metals worth reclaiming. A modular protein sponge could slip into those lines, trimming costs and curbing runoff.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taking-the-next-steps">Taking the next steps</h2>



“The fact I love the most is that we’re using a food industry byproduct to obtain gold from electronic waste,” Mezzenga says. In a very real sense, the method transforms two waste products into gold. “You can’t get much more sustainable than that!”



If pilot projects scale as hoped, tomorrow’s recycling centers may sit beside creameries and food processors, quietly turning yesterday’s whey and last decade’s gadgets into tomorrow’s circuit traces. 



The approach will not halt mining overnight, but every recovered ounce delays a blast, a slurry pond, or a diesel haul truck. 



That shift, multiplied across millions of phones and laptops, offers a straightforward path toward lighter footprints and longer‑lived resources - no new mountains required.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202310642" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Advanced Materials</a>.



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Invention turns e-waste into 22-carat gold nuggets instead of toxic trash

The thin line of gold behind every tap, swipe, and click on our electronic devices rarely enters daily conversation, yet the metal keeps digital life running, then eventually turn into landfills full of toxic e-waste. From the contacts in a phone jack to the chips inside a smartwatch, gold moves electrons smoothly and shrugs off corrosion. Mining more, however, blasts mountains, drains rivers, and spews carbon. With the global appetite for electronics still climbing, attention has turned to the growing junkyard of cast‑off gadgets. E‑waste is now...

California's snowpack is still much lower than average, disappointing news for a state that may be looking at its sixth year of drought. But storms on the way could hold out some hope.

Each year, the <a href="http://www.water.ca.gov/">California Department of Water Resources</a> visits Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada mountains and surveys the snowpack. On January 3, Frank Gehrke – chief of the Cooperative Snow Surveys Program – and his team took measurements to determine the water content of the snow on the ground.

A huge pile of fluffy snow can contain much less water than it seems. Surveyors run tests to figure out exactly how much water the snowpack will produce for the state’s reservoirs once it melts.

At Phillips Station, the water content of the snow translated to about six inches of water. That's around 53 percent of the long-term average, Gehrke said. Statewide, snowpack content is about 7.2 inches, still far below average.

“While that seems perhaps a little gloomy, keep in mind that we had pretty much bare ground here about a week ago,” Gehrke said. “There was a few patches of snow, and most of the snow we measured today came down in the last couple of days and is continuing to come down.”

And it looks like it certainly will continue to come down, at least for the next few days.

A storm system brought rain and snow to parts of Northern California on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A “pineapple express” is headed into the state this weekend, and it could pack a wallop, too. The storm could drop five feet of snow on parts of the Sierras, meteorologists with the <a href="http://www.weather.gov/">National Weather Service</a> said. It could bring some rain to Southern California, too.

So there’s still a good chance for California's snowpack to catch up to its average water content levels.

And it’s definitely a hopeful change from 2015, when the ground was bare during the April 1 measurement.

“We still have three historically wet months ahead of us, so there’s still time for the snowpack to build and improve before it begins to melt, which usually starts happening around April 1,” State Climatologist Mike Anderson said.

In an average water year – which runs from October 1 to September 30 – California gets two-thirds of its rain and snow from December to March. The snow collects in the Sierras, where it later melts and fills the state’s reservoirs. Surveyors use measurements of California's snowpack taken from January to April 1, as well as rainfall totals, to determine the state’s water management policies for the year.

But this year, the rain started with a splash right at the beginning of the water year.

Total precipitation has been above average this rainy season, Anderson said. But warm temperatures meant it was falling as rain, not snow, in the Sierras until this month.

Gehrke, too, was quick to point out the unusual rainfall this water year.

“We had a great October,” Gehrke said. “Many of the stations set monthly records for precipitation in October, and that really set us up well for increases in reservoir storage.”

California's snowpack measures low, but storms on the way could change that

California's snowpack is still much lower than average, disappointing news...

Growing concern over the safety of chemicals used in pesticides has prompted Hawaiian residents to push for stricter pesticide regulation on the islands. Numerous reported cases of children and agricultural workers getting sick has led many to suspect the illnesses may be caused by exposure to pesticides sprayed by agricultural companies. 

A number of major agricultural companies, including Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Pioneer, and BASF Plant Science, test genetically engineered crops on the islands in an effort to produce new types of soybeans and corn. Because of Hawaii’s consistently warm climate, the companies are able to test a significantly larger volume of crops than they could in any other state.

Advocates for increased pesticide regulation are pushing several new bills that would require agricultural companies to disclose where and when they spray pesticides and to enforce buffer zones near hospitals and schools. An effort has also been made to ban the use of any spray containing glyphosate, a chemical that has been linked to several different types of cancer.

But a recent study concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that any of the pesticides used by the major agricultural companies have caused any adverse health effects. The study did, however, recommend that the state carefully monitor such environmental data. While the decision is ultimately up to the state, advocates for stricter regulation seem optimistic. 

"With really focused public pressure, we could really see something get through. The time is right," said Ashley Lukens, director of the <a href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/hawaii">Hawaii Center for Food Safety</a>.

Hawaii has begun a formal study on Kauai and Oahu to tests surface water for pesticides before and after storms to determine if chemicals are bleeding into the surrounding environment at unsafe levels. The state also intends on tripling the fee required to register pesticides. But many residents find these regulations insufficient, as they are not mandatory and companies still won’t have to report where the pesticide is sprayed. 

"Even though they're doing similar work, Syngenta, Monsanto Dow and Pioneer are all competitors, and they're trying to keep the millions of dollars that they've put in to research the genetics lines that they're developing as confidential business information," said Scott Enright, chairman of the state <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">Department of Agriculture</a>.

According to Rep. Chris Lee, "There's still zero transparency for the long-term cumulative impacts on various communities around the islands for what's being sprayed and any impact it may be having over the long term," Lee said. "And that's something that we have a clear obligation above anything else to dive into, because it is health and safety and people have a right to know."

Hawaii residents fight for tougher pesticide regulation

Growing concern over the safety of chemicals used in pesticides...

A new, three-dimensional map will let scientists track ocean ecosystems in stunning, unprecedented detail.

The international team of developers who created it hope it will be a powerful new tool for studying the ocean’s “biogeography” and deciding which areas are at the most risk. The map is intended for conservationists, biologists, government officials, and others who make decisions about ocean preservation.

The map sorts ocean regions worldwide into 37 categories. Regions with similar water temperature, oxygen levels, salinity (salt content), and nutrient levels are grouped together by category.

Maps already exist that attempt to describe ocean ecosystems, lead author Dr. Dawn Wright said.

“What’s often missing is all that’s between the surface of the ocean and the ocean bottom,” Wright told the journal Nature. “That’s what our project will hopefully bring to the table.”

Wright is the chief scientist for <a href="http://www.esri.com/">Esri</a>, the California-based geographic information-systems company helped build the map.

Unlike previous maps, the one created by Esri uses ecological marine units, or EMUs, to create a three-dimensional representation of the ocean.

EMUs describe the type of ecosystem from the surface down to the ocean’s floor. This means that the map can offer up information about why marine animals choose to live in a specific location. It can show the interaction between warm and cold waters, or oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor regions.

It can even show how the ocean changes with natural events like the El Niño warming cycle.

That information is vital for those who make the oceans their livelihood, from marine biologists to tuna fishing crews.

Projects like the <a href="http://www.sanbi.org/">South African National Biodiversity Institute</a> plan to use EMUs to update their data on their ocean habitats. That information will be used in the country’s next national biodiversity assessment.

EMUs is the second step that began with a project to map land-based ecosystems. The ocean map used data collected over five decades by dozens of agencies.

Wright presented the project at a December meeting of the <a href="https://sites.agu.org/">American Geophysical Union</a>.

New, 3D map is a powerful tool to track ocean ecosystems

A new, three-dimensional map will let scientists track ocean ecosystems...

In December 2014, a massive string of storms brought extreme rainfall to Northern California.

The pineapple express dumped three inches of water on the San Francisco Bay Area in just an hour on December 11, a day that also set records for rainfall in Sacramento. It triggered the first blizzard warning in six years in the Sierra Nevadas. It blew out power for 50,000 people.

The tempest was known as the “Storm of the Decade,” but it may soon be the new norm for California, according to researchers from the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a>. Why? Climate change could bring more atmospheric rivers, they said.
<h3>Extreme rainfall on the rise?</h3>
Atmospheric rivers are narrow flows of concentrated water in the lower atmosphere. They can carry anywhere from seven to 15 times the amount of water in the Mississippi River, and most of that reaches the ground as torrential downpours.

A pineapple express, like the one that caused the December 2014 storm, is a type of atmospheric river that forms near Hawaii. California sees a lot of them already.

But it may see a lot more in the future, if global temperatures continue to rise, the MIT team said. Warmer temperatures encourage atmospheric rivers to form, and warmer air can hold a lot more water, they said.

The scientists created a new model for predicting the frequency of extreme rainfall in specific locations. The technique looks for telltale patterns in atmospheric data, then connects those patterns to the location in question.

They created the new model because old ones were unable to accurately predict extreme weather events like the atmospheric rivers.

Current models use global data to predict local weather. That means local weather experts can predict that there may be rainfall, but are unable to accurately estimate how much water will fall.

“None of the [older] models are even close to the observations,” lead author Dr. Xiang Gao said in a <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2017/more-extreme-storms-ahead-california-0103">press release</a>. “And regardless of the combination of atmospheric variables we used, the new schemes were much closer to observations.”

[caption id="attachment_129998" align="aligncenter" width="550"]<img class="wp-image-129998" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Study-finds-more-extreme-storms-ahead-for-California.jpg" alt="New studies from scientists at MIT and UC Davis are predicting more torrential downpours in California's future." width="550" height="367" /> New studies from scientists at MIT and UC Davis are predicting more torrential downpours in California's future.[/caption]

California served as a test case for the new technique.

The scientists found that their rainfall predictions were much more accurate if, instead of trying to “zoom in” on a local spot using global data, they instead focused on large-scale atmospheric patterns.

“We’ve actually found there’s a connection between what climate models do really well, which is to simulate large-scale motions of the atmosphere, and local, heavy precipitation events,” study co-author Dr. Adam Schlosser said. “We can use this association to tell how frequently these events are occurring now, and how they will change locally, like in New England, or the West Coast.”

They also found that when they applied this technique to future weather, they saw a lot more atmospheric rivers on the horizon. If global temperatures rise by just 4 degrees Celsius by 2100, the model showed an average of three more extreme rainfall events each year in California.

Their findings were published in the <a href="http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0544.1">Journal of Climate</a>. The <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a>, the <a href="https://energy.gov/">U.S. Department of Energy</a>, and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> supported the research.
<h3>Study backed up by recent oyster research</h3>
The findings follow a similar study published last month.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a> and <a href="http://www.sfbaynerr.org/">San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve</a> studying a mass die-off of oysters found that atmospheric rivers had likely caused the event.

The Olympia oysters near <a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/chinacamp/">China Camp State Park</a>, at the northern edge of the bay, were among the densest populations in the world. An average 3,000 oysters per square meter lived at the site, the researchers said.

In the spring of 2011, nearly all of those oysters died. At least 100,000 oysters perished, and probably much more, the researchers said. The die-off was surprising, because the hardy native oysters are pretty resilient when it comes to changing water conditions.

“Species that undergo [mass mortality events] may require decades to recover, and in extreme cases, MMEs may trigger extinction,” the study authors, led by Dr. Brian Cheng, wrote.

This would be devastating in the case of oysters, which are a “foundation species,” they wrote. The study was published in the journal <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/283/1844/20161462">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

The researchers discovered large flows of freshwater into the bay that spring had caused its salt levels to drop drastically. Olympia oysters cannot survive in freshwater, and the bay’s salinity dropped below their threshold, killing them.

While the researchers have focused on restoring the oysters’ population and spreading them out so they can better withstand disaster, they also wanted to figure out what had caused the freshwater flows.

Studying weather conditions through field data and remote sensing equipment led them to the likely culprit: atmospheric rivers flowed into California in the weeks ahead of the die-off, delivering extreme rainfall.

That heavy rain flowed into the rivers and out to the bay – a massive freshwater injection the oysters couldn’t survive.

"Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of extreme events [such as atmospheric rivers], with theory predicting that extreme precipitation events should intensify because of increased evaporation and greater atmospheric water-holding capacity," the scientists wrote in their study.
<h3>Atmospheric rivers in California history</h3>
Atmospheric rivers are old news in California.

One pineapple express-fueled extreme rainfall event changed the state’s history. Beginning in December 1861 and stretching into the new year, more than 40 days of storms linked to atmospheric rivers turned the state’s massive Central Valley into an inland sea.

The Great Flood of 1862, which also dropped record rain in Oregon and Nevada, turned most of California’s massive Central Valley into a giant inland sea with some areas under 30 feet of water.

Floodwaters breached the levees around the capital of Sacramento. The levees then acted as a dam, leaving the city a western Venice even after floodwaters began to recede.

The Gold Rush town of Red Dog recorded more than 25 inches of rain in one month. About 11 of those inches fell on two days alone. The flooding also destroyed an Army fort near Klamath.

Dozens of towns were underwater and countless homes and businesses were destroyed. Thousands of people died and more than 800,000 cattle drowned. California declared bankruptcy, not even 12 years after achieving statehood.

Atmospheric rivers have caused other disasters in the state. In January 1952, a massive blizzard stranded a train in the Sierras. Storms in 1955 wreaked havoc on the Sacramento Valley. Another series of pineapple expresses flooded large swaths of the West Coast in 1997. And in 2005, an atmospheric river deluged the San Gabriel Mountains with 31 inches of rain in just four days.
<h3>What now?</h3>
Both the UC Davis and MIT studies found that atmospheric rivers are likely to increase in the coming decades. The MIT study figured out how to predict extreme rainfall events.

But what does that mean for California residents?

If global temperatures rise 4 degrees Celsius, it could mean more frequent intense storms, the MIT team said.

If worldwide climate change goals are met – and if they actually succeed in cutting global warming in half by 2100 as promised – California will still see extreme rainfall, but not nearly as much, they said.

And in either case, the ability to predict extreme rainfall events will leave Californians better prepared, the scientists said. That includes extra maintenance on important systems such as levees to prevent costly damage.

“That is actionable information,” Schlosser said.

The MIT team is now working on translating the technique from torrential downpours to heatwaves.

Scientists: extreme rainfall may be the new norm for California

In December 2014, a massive string of storms brought extreme...

Flight-disrupting ash clouds found to occur twice a century 

The 2010 eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull released an ash cloud so dense that it caused major disruptions in air travel across northwestern Europe. Over 10 million air passengers were left stranded, costing the European economy £4 billion.

The incident inspired a research team from the <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> to begin examining how frequently such flight-disrupting ash clouds can occur across Europe. Led by Dr. Liz Watson from the School of Geography, the team found that these types of ash clouds occur about every 44 years and have about a 20% chance of occurring in Europe over a decade. 

"Reliable estimates of the frequency of volcanic ash events could help airlines, insurance companies and the traveling public mitigate the economic losses and disruption caused by ash clouds in the future,” said Watson.

The team worked alongside colleagues from the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk">University of St. Andrews</a> and the <a href="http://www.usf.edu">University of South Florida</a> to compare records of volcanic ash in northern Europe over the last 1,000 years. By identifying tiny shards of volcanic ash called cryptotephra found in peat and lake sediment, the team was able to track the point at which ash clouds had spread across Europe. This data was then compared to historical records of volcanic eruptions in northern Europe.


The results showed that 84 ash clouds had occurred in the past 7,000 years, most of which from Icelandic volcanoes. 

"In 2010, when Eyjafjallajökull erupted, people were really shocked - it seemed to come completely out of the blue, but the eruption of Grímsvötn, the following year, was an extraordinary coincidence,” said co-author Dr. Graeme Swindles, Associate Professor at the University of Leeds. "Although it is possible that ash clouds can occur on an annual basis, the average return interval for the last 1,000 years is around 44 years.

"The last time volcanic ash clouds affected Northern Europe before the recent event was in 1947, 69 years ago - but aviation was much less intense at that time and it simply didn't have the same sort of impact.

"Our research shows that, over thousands of years, these sorts of incidents are not that rare - but people wondering how likely it is that the 2010 chaos will be repeated in the next few years can feel somewhat reassured."

Flight-disrupting ash clouds found to occur twice a century

Flight-disrupting ash clouds found to occur twice a century The 2010...

China issues punishments for factories violating anti-smog measures

China’s chronic smog problem has been especially brutal in recent weeks, and on Tuesday it was announced that several Chinese companies have violated anti-smog measures. 

According to the Chinese <a href="http://english.mep.gov.cn/">Ministry of Environmental Protection</a>, 10 different inspection teams found that an unspecified number of companies had resumed production in violation of a government ban on emissions. The environmental ministry found these companies to be in direct violation of anti-smog measures issued as air quality in major cities has continued to worsen.

As of this week, 24 different Chinese cities issued pollution “red alerts,” the worst warning level in their four-tiered system. Since last Friday, Beijing has been on an “orange alert” that was scheduled to end on Sunday, but has since been extended due to the smog.

Red alerts require a number of manufacturers to reduce production and ban the use of high-emission vehicles. Companies found to be in violation of these anti-smog measures received punishments from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. According to the <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/">Xinhua News Agency</a>, more than 500 construction sites and enterprises and over 10,000 vehicles had ignored the restrictions. The exact details of these punishments, however, are still unclear.
The extremity of the air pollution in China has been in large part due to the country’s reliance on factory production and coal energy. A large of number of older, high-emission cars have also exacerbated the problem. While the environmental ministry has issued anti-smog measures before, this latest case indicates that enforcing these restrictions continues to pose a challenge.

China issues punishments for factories violating anti-smog measures

China issues punishments for factories violating anti-smog measures China’s chronic...

One of winter’s greatest dangers: those icy sidewalks that send you slipping, sliding, and maybe falling.

A little salt makes them a lot less treacherous – but it may be harming the local environment, too. The <a href="https://www.soils.org/">Soil Science Society of America</a> posted a new warning on its blog <a href="https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/">Soils Matter</a> about overuse of the useful mineral.

“The most commonly used item for managing ice is road salt, or sodium chloride. While this salt does melt ice, when overused or mismanaged, it can become a serious environmental pollutant,” wrote blog contributor Mary Tiedeman, a doctoral student in soil microbiology.

The U.S. applies between 10 to 20 million tons of salt to roadways and sidewalks every winter, she noted, citing research by the <a href="http://www.caryinstitute.org/">Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies</a>. Salt is such a popular deicer because it’s cheap, available, and effective.

But salt meant for wintery roads and icy sidewalks can end up elsewhere, including in soil, Tiedeman said. It can bounce away during application, be washed away by melting snow and ice, or blow away during strong winds.

And that’s bad news for topsoil.

“Once deposited, components of salts, particularly sodium ions, can wreak havoc on soil systems. They do this by reducing soils’ ability to retain plant nutrients and water, and maintain soil structure,” Tiedeman wrote.

Sodium contamination and the breakdown of soil structure makes it harder for water to flow through soil. The top layer can also wash away through erosion more easily. Once salt is in the soil, it can take years to become diluted enough that it’s no longer causing harm.

Too much salt can also be toxic to most plant species.

The best way to avoid damaging the soil and staying safe this winter is to be proactive, Tiedeman wrote.

Shoveling quickly after snowfall means the snow has less time to become ice, she said. That means you can use less salt to deice. Wetting the salt slightly before application helps keep it where it’s supposed to be: on icy sidewalks, not bouncing or blowing into soil. Try to keep salt application only to areas where you expect foot traffic, if possible.

“Clay-based kitty litter and/or sand can also be used instead of, or in addition to salts, as they add traction to otherwise slippery surfaces,” she added.

Icy sidewalks add to 'salt of the Earth' and that's not a good thing

One of winter’s greatest dangers: those icy sidewalks that send...

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

March toward extinction continued for many species in 2016

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

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

Attribution science connects climate change to extreme weather events

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

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

Rolls-Royce sees electric planes leading the next aerospace revolution

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

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

Genetic mutations that cause illness may have once helped fight disease

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

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

Could air purification go mainstream in 2017? Blueair hopes so

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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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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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