The Arctic, known for its icy landscapes and frozen permafrost, is rapidly transforming due to the intensifying effects of climate change. As temperatures rise, a silent but potent threat emerges: methane emissions. Unlike carbon dioxide, methane is not as widely discussed, yet its impact on global warming is profound. 



A new study published in the journal Nature highlights the growing concern over methane emissions in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-climate-will-permanently-change-by-2050-scientists-warn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arctic</a> and their role in creating a feedback loop that could accelerate climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-methane-traps-more-heat">Why methane traps more heat </h2>



Methane isn’t as abundant as carbon dioxide, but it’s far more potent. Over a century, it traps 30 times more heat. 



Xin (Lindsay) Lan, a climate scientist at <a href="https://www.colorado.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CU Boulder</a>’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), sees the urgency.



“Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas that we need to address urgently,” Lan said. “Our study suggests that a significant portion of the recent rise in atmospheric methane originates from natural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-may-fuel-the-spread-of-diseases-by-unleashing-frozen-viruses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sources</a> driven by climate change. Our emission reduction efforts need to be more aggressive.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arctic-methane-levels-climb-steadily">Arctic methane levels climb steadily</h2>



For years, Lan has tracked methane levels at NOAA’s <a href="https://gml.noaa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Monitoring Laboratory</a> in Boulder. Methane emissions have steadily climbed since 2007. 



Scientists had pointed fingers at fossil fuels, responsible for 30% of emissions. Yet, Lan’s research points elsewhere - to tiny, ancient microbes thriving in new, warmer habitats.



Archaea - microbes that have lived for millennia in wetlands, landfills, and the guts of livestock - produce methane. They may be small, but they’re mighty emitters. Microbial emissions now make up nearly half of all global methane output. Yet, pinpointing specific sources remains tricky.



Lan isn’t just watching long-term trends. Seasonal fluctuations in methane also reveal what’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-meltdown-is-accelerating-global-warming-already-changing-earth-in-unimaginable-ways/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">changing</a> underground.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-permafrost-fuels-methane-emissions">Permafrost fuels methane emissions</h2>



Lan’s team dove into decades of data. Methane’s seasonal amplitude - the swing from highest to lowest levels in a year - is shrinking in northern latitudes. 



Why? Wetlands in the Arctic are expanding. Thawing permafrost is unlocking ancient carbon stores, creating perfect conditions for archaea.



Computer models show the Arctic’s wetlands have grown by 25% in the warmer months, feeding the microbes with more decomposing organic matter. The result: more methane.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-feedback-loop-accelerates">The feedback loop accelerates</h2>



When permafrost melts, more carbon enters the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drastic-warming-will-transform-the-arctic-beyond-recognition/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">atmosphere</a>. As temperatures rise, more permafrost melts. A cycle begins. Lan’s research shows that since 2007, this loop has intensified. What was once a trickle of methane is becoming a flood.



“This study, along with a few previous studies, has provided indirect evidence on potential climate feedback on methane emissions, which would be beyond our ability to control directly,” Lan said.



In previous work, Lan's team analyzed connections between today’s methane surge and dramatic warming events that ended past ice ages.



As Arctic ice sheets melted, vast stores of methane escaped, causing rapid temperature increases. That was thousands of years ago. Now, it’s happening again - but faster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-underestimated-methane-removal">Underestimated methane removal</h2>



Methane doesn’t linger forever. Hydroxyl (OH) radicals act like atmospheric scrubbers, breaking down methane. Lan’s team discovered that since 1984, these radicals have increased by 10%.



Unfortunately, OH levels are hard to measure - they disappear within seconds - scientists had assumed they remained constant. But Lan’s study suggests that the atmosphere has been removing more methane than previously thought.



“Our result showed that we’ve been underestimating how much methane the atmosphere has been removing, which means that there’s actually more methane being emitted than we previously estimated,” Lan said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arctic-methane-feedback-loop">Arctic methane feedback loop</h2>



If the atmosphere is cleaning itself more efficiently, then methane emissions are higher than we realized. 



That’s a big problem. Emission reduction plans rely on accurate data. If those numbers are off, efforts to control methane may miss the mark.



Lan stresses that understanding methane’s sources is critical. Microbial emissions are surging, but fossil fuels still account for a major chunk of global output. 



And the Arctic’s permafrost holds double the carbon currently in the atmosphere. If warming continues, thawing permafrost could unleash catastrophic carbon releases.



“We need to aggressively cut all greenhouse gas emissions from the sources we can control,” Lan said. “We need to address the feedback loop before reaching that tipping point.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urgency-amid-uncertainty">Urgency amid uncertainty</h2>



Time is not on our side. Methane’s rise mirrors past warming events, but this time, human activities amplify the effect. 



Lan’s work highlights a critical truth: the Arctic is changing faster than expected, and methane is slipping through the cracks.



Now, the question is - how much longer before the feedback loop spirals beyond control?



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08900-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



-----



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Arctic warming fuels dangerous methane feedback loop

The Arctic, known for its icy landscapes and frozen permafrost, is rapidly transforming due to the intensifying effects of climate change. As temperatures rise, a silent but potent threat emerges: methane emissions. Unlike carbon dioxide, methane is not as widely discussed, yet its impact on global warming is profound. A new study published in the journal Nature highlights the growing concern over methane emissions in the Arctic and their role in creating a feedback loop that could accelerate climate change. Why methane traps more heat Methane isn’t...

<div>How do you make half the mass of two continents disappear? To answer the question you first need to discover that it's missing. That's what a trio of <a href="http://www-news.uchicago.edu/" target="_blank">University of Chicago</a> geoscientists and their collaborators did. Their explanation for where the mass went significantly changes prevailing ideas about what can happen when continents collide. It also has important implications for our understanding of when the continents grew to their present size and how the chemistry of the Earth's interior has evolved through time.</div>
<div>

The study, published online Sept. 19, 2016, in Nature Geoscience, examines the collision of Eurasia and India, which began about 60 million years ago, created the Himalayas, and is still in (slow) progress. The scientists computed with unprecedented precision the amount of landmass, or "continental crust," before and after the collision.

"What we found is that half of the mass that was there 60 million years ago is missing from the earth's surface today," said Miquela Ingalls, a geophysical sciences graduate student who led the project as part of her doctoral work.

The result was unexpectedly large. After considering all other ways the mass might be accounted for, the researchers were forced to conclude that so huge a mass discrepancy could only be explained if the missing chunk had gone back down into the Earth's mantle -- something geoscientists had considered more or less impossible on such a scale.

When two tectonic plates come together, something has to give. According to plate tectonic theory, the surface of the Earth comprises a mosaic of about a dozen rigid plates in relative motion. These plates move atop the upper mantle, and plates topped with thicker, more buoyant continental crust ride higher than those topped with thinner oceanic crust. Oceanic crust can dip and slide into the mantle where it eventually mixes together with the mantle material. But continental crust like that involved in the Eurasia-India collision is less dense and geologists have long believed that when it meets the mantle, it is pushed back up like a beach ball in water, never mixing back in.

Geology 101 miscreant

"We're taught in Geology 101 that continental crust is buoyant and can't descend into the mantle," Ingalls said. The new results throw that idea out the window.

"We really have significant amounts of crust that have disappeared from the crustal reservoir and the only place that it can go is into the mantle," said David Rowley, a professor in geophysical sciences at UChicago who is one of Ingalls' advisors and a collaborator on the project. "It used to be thought that the mantle and the crust interacted only in a relatively minor way. This work suggests that, at least in certain circumstances, that's not true."

The scientists' conclusion arose out of meticulous calculations of how much mass there was before and after the collision, and a careful accounting of all possible ways it could have been distributed after. Computing the amount of crust "before" is a contentious problem involving careful dating of the ages of strata and reconstructions of past plate positions, Ingalls said. Previous workers have done similar calculations but have often tried to force the "before" and "after" numbers to balance, "trying to make the system match up with what we think we already know about how tectonics works."

Ingalls and collaborators made no such assumptions. They used recently revised estimates about plate movements to figure out how large the two plates were at the onset of collision, and synthesized more than 20 years' worth of data on the geology of various regions of the Earth to calculate how thick the crust would have been.

"By looking at all of the relevant data sets, we've been able to say what the mass of the crust was at the beginning of collision," Rowley said.

Limited options

There were only a few places for the displaced crust to go after the collision: some was thrust upward, forming the Himalayas, some was eroded and deposited as enormous sedimentary deposits in the oceans, and some was squeezed out the sides of the colliding plates, forming Southeast Asia.

"But accounting for all of these different types of mass loss, we still find that half of the continental crust involved in this collision is missing today," Ingalls said. "If we've accounted for all possible solutions at the surface, it means the remaining mass must have been recycled wholesale into the mantle."

If large areas of continental crust are recycled back into the mantle, scientists can at last explain some previously puzzling geochemistry. Elements including lead and uranium are periodically erupted from the mantle through volcanic activity. Such elements are relatively abundant in continental crust, but scarce in the mantle. Yet the composition of some mantle-derived rocks indicates that they have been in contaminated by continental crust. So how did continental material mix back into the mantle?

"The implication of our work is that, if we're seeing the India-Asia collision system as an ongoing process over Earth's history, there has been a continuous mixing of the continental crustal elements back into the mantle," said Rowley. "And they can then be re-extracted and seen in some of those volcanic materials that come out of the mantle today."


</div>
<div></div>

Half of the mass of Earth's continents has disappeared

How do you make half the mass of two continents...

<div>In a comment in this week's science journal Nature, an international group of researchers from nine countries call for a grand challenges strategy to set global priorities for developing renewable energy.</div>
The authors argue that greenhouse gas emissions are not dropping fast enough to meet even the modest goals set out in last year's Paris Agreement on climate change. They call for a targeted, internationally coordinated effort to identify and solve the scientific, policy and economic challenges standing in the way of widespread adoption of renewable energy.

"Renewable energy ... is a difficult, urgent global problem that has been neglected in terms of public research and investment. It requires big thinking, multidisciplinary approaches and supportive policies to compete with existing systems. And it is tightly coupled to global challenges, such as food and water security, poverty and health," the authors write.

They suggest an approach modeled on the Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative to combat neglected diseases, launched in 2005 by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Foundation for the US National Institutes of Health. The initiative identified 14 priority areas, including developing a genetic strategy to incapacitate insects that spread diseases such as yellow fever and Zika virus.

The authors suggest that national governments, funding partners, philanthropic foundations and other private-sector actors come together and appoint an international science board of distinguished researchers, policymakers, industry leaders and engaged citizens from developed and developing countries. The board would create a detailed list of renewable energy challenges in areas including energy harvesting and storage, smart grids and transmission, policy levers and economic models.

"Such a shared purpose ... would accommodate the many disciplines needed across the natural and social sciences, and galvanize the best investigators - regardless of country - to work together to help solve one of the world's most pressing problems," the authors conclude.

A copy of the commentary is available upon request. A complete list of signatories follows.

The comment, "Renewables need a grand-challenge strategy," will be published Thursday, Oct. 6 in Nature.
###
About CIFAR

CIFAR creates knowledge that is transforming our world. Established in 1982, the Institute brings together interdisciplinary groups of extraordinary researchers from around the globe to address questions and challenges of importance to the world. Our networks help support the growth of research leaders and are catalysts for change in business, government and society. CIFAR is generously supported by the governments of Canada, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, Canadian and international partners, as well as individuals, foundations and corporations.

Contact:
Kurt Kleineer
Managing Editor
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
<a href="mailto:kurt.kleiner@cifar.ca">kurt.kleiner@cifar.ca</a>
416-971-4257

List of authors and co-signatories:

Main authors:

Alan Bernstein, CIFAR President and CEO, Toronto, Canada;

Edward H. Sargent, CIFAR Senior Fellow and Director of the Bio-Inspired Solar Energy Program; and Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada;

Alán Aspuru-Guzik, CIFAR Senior Fellow, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA;

Richard Cogdell, CIFAR Advisor, Hooker Professor of Botany, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK;

Graham R Fleming, Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bio-imaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA;

Rienk Van Grondelle, CIFAR Senior Fellow, Professor of Biophysics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;

Mario Molina, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego and President, Mario Molina Centre for Strategic Studies on Energy and the Environment, Mexico.

Co-signatories:

Curtis P. Berlinguette, CIFAR Senior Fellow, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical &amp; Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;

Fekadu Beyene, President, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;

Kanzunari Domen, Professor of Chemical Systems Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan;

Shaffiq Jaffer, VP Corporate Science and Technology Projects, TOTAL American Services, Inc. Boston, USA;

Can Li, Professor, State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Director, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian, China;

Gregory D. Scholes, CIFAR Senior Fellow, William S. Tod Professor of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, USA;

Vivian Wing-Wah YAM, Professor of Chemistry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Researchers call for global grand challenge to develop renewable energy

In a comment in this week's science journal Nature, an...

<div>New research from <a href="http://www.ncsu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina State University</a> finds that urban warming reduces growth and photosynthesis in city trees. The researchers found that insect pests are part of the problem, but that heat itself plays a more significant role.</div>
<div>

"Earlier studies have shown that urban warming increases pest abundance in street trees," says Emily Meineke, lead author of a paper describing the work. "We wanted to know how urban warming and pest abundance affect tree growth, since trees pull carbon out of the atmosphere and convert it into biomass. This is important, because we know that high levels of atmospheric carbon play a role in climate change." Meineke did the work while a Ph.D. student at NC State. She is now a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard.

To explore this issue, researchers went to 20 pairs of willow oak trees (Quercus phellos) across Raleigh, North Carolina. At each site, one tree was treated with an oil that kills insect pests, and the second tree was left untreated. The sites were located across a variety of different urban temperatures, and air temperature was monitored at each site over the course of the experiment.

The researchers tracked the growth of all 40 trees for two years. Growth was assessed in two ways: by measuring the circumference of each tree's trunk, and by measuring how much specific branches grew on each tree. The researchers also measured each tree's photosynthesis, which is how trees capture carbon from the atmosphere and is a key marker of tree health.

The researchers found that scale insects and spider mites - well known tree pests - were more abundant at hotter sites. Specifically, they found that spider mite populations more than doubled when a site's average temperature crossed a threshold of 16.4 degrees Celsius (61.5 degrees Fahrenheit). Scale insects, however, showed a linear relationship with temperature. In other words, the hotter it got, the more scale insects there were.

The researchers also found that warming negatively affected tree photosynthesis and growth, regardless of whether pests were present.

"Trees that didn't have pests had more branch growth than trees with pests," Meineke says. "But trees at warmer sites had less trunk growth, which accounts for more tree biomass, regardless of pests."

The researchers then plugged these results into a model to determine the extent to which urban warming impacted carbon storage for all of the willow oaks in Raleigh.

"We found that urban warming reduced carbon storage by all of Raleigh's willow oaks by 12 percent, or 27 metric tons per year," Meineke says.

"We think the findings are generalizable to other tree species and other cities, especially hotter cities like Atlanta, but additional work needs to be done to determine whether that's the case," Meineke says.
###
The paper, "Urban warming reduces aboveground carbon storage," is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The paper was co-authored by Elsa Youngsteadt, an entomology research associate at NC State; Rob Dunn, a professor of applied ecology at NC State; and Steve Frank, an associate professor of entomology and plant pathology at NC State. The work was supported by the Department of the Interior's Southeast Climate Science Center, under cooperative agreement numbers G11AC20471, G13AC00405 and G15AP00153; by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, under grant number 2013-02476; and by the National Science Foundation under grants 0953390 and 1136703.

</div>

Urban warming slows tree growth and photosynthesis

New research from North Carolina State University finds that urban...

<div>Over 1 million dams exist worldwide. These structures have numerous environmental effects, and there is no shortage of research on the various ecological consequences of dams. However, the bulk of the research effort has been narrowly focused on river ecosystems. Writing in <a href="http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/biw117" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BioScience</a>, Bridget R. Deemer of the School of the Environment at Washington State University Vancouver and an international team of researchers elucidate another major threat: the release of greenhouse gases from reservoirs.</div>
<div>

Researchers first raised the possibility that dam-created reservoirs might significantly contribute to climate change some 16 years ago, but since then, efforts to pinpoint the severity of the effect have been hampered by a lack of data and inconsistent measurement techniques. Deemer and her colleagues embarked on a systematic effort to synthesize reservoir data, with three goals in mind: "(1) to generate a global estimate of greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs, (2) to identify the best predictors of these emissions, and (3) to consider the effect of methodology on emission estimates."

Their results were striking. The authors estimate a yearly release of 0.8 gigaton of carbon dioxide equivalent from reservoirs. This amounts to 1.3% of total human-caused greenhouse gas releases--a quantity that Deemer and her colleagues argue should be included in global inventories of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the authors caution: "with the current boom in global dam construction, reservoirs will represent an even larger fraction of anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in the coming years."

Although it is unlikely that dam construction will soon abate, the authors point to possible ways to alleviate greenhouse gas releases. For instance, by siting dams upstream of large inputs of pollution, managers may be able to create reservoirs with lower emissions. According to the authors, such careful siting of new reservoirs, in combination with better management of existing ones, "may help balance the positive ecosystem services that reservoirs provide against the greenhouse gas emission costs."
###
BioScience, published monthly by Oxford Journals, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). BioScience is a forum for integrating the life sciences that publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles. The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is a meta-level organization for professional scientific societies and organizations that are involved with biology. It represents nearly 160 member societies and organizations. Follow BioScience on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/BioScienceAIBS">@BioScienceAIBS</a>.

Oxford Journals is a division of Oxford University Press. Oxford Journals publishes well over 300 academic and research journals covering a broad range of subject areas, two-thirds of which are published in collaboration with learned societies and other international organizations. The division been publishing journals for more than a century, and as part of the world's oldest and largest university press, has more than 500 years of publishing expertise behind it. Follow Oxford Journals on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/OxfordJournals">@OxfordJournals</a>.

</div>

Reservoirs are a major source of greenhouse gases

Over 1 million dams exist worldwide. These structures have numerous...

Experts are hoping to stop the world's favorite fruit, the banana, from disappearing from our shops.

Fungal disease and rising costs of production threaten the supply of the most important fruit crop in the world. More than five billion bananas are purchased in Britain each year, and the UK accounts for seven per cent of the global export market.

Biologists and economists will work together to develop solutions to save banana crops from disease and help retailers cope with the impact of increased costs.

Panama disease, which kills banana plants, is spreading around the world thanks to increased trade and transport links between nations. If it spreads to more banana-producing nations there is a risk of shortages for retailers and consumers, and devastation for the millions of plantation workers, small-scale producers and their families whose livelihoods depend on the global banana trade.

Only one variety of banana, Cavendish, is internationally traded. A previous variety grown for export, Gros Michel, was eliminated by Panama disease in the 1950s. Now a new strain of the disease is spreading from Asia and threatens the production of Cavendish. If it reaches Latin America and the Caribbean supply to the EU and US could collapse. There are no alternative varieties of banana available as yet for international trade.

Biologists and economists from the University of Exeter, University of Oxford, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the NGO BananaLink, and consultancy 3Keel will work to assess the risk of “bananageddon”. They will calculate the shortages of the fruit the public and retailers can expect, the impact of climate change and disease on banana yield and supply.

Members of the research team will also undertake work to examine how to help banana plants resist fungal disease. They will work with retailers to develop new economic models of pricing bananas and examine how consumers will respond to changes in price. They will also work with public health bodies to examine the impact on people’s diets if bananas were less readily available.

The three-year project, which begins this month, has been given £1.2m of funding by partners including the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBRSC).

Dr Dan Bebber, who is leading the study, said: “We want to estimate the impact of the various biological and economic shocks on the cards for banana production, and develop strategies to reduce the impact of diseases and climate change on production.

“We believe there would be public health implications if bananas became more expensive, as people might switch to less healthy snacks, along with serious economic impacts on producers in the developing world.”

Dr Adam Staines, from the BBSRC, said: “The threat of crop diseases and the potential for one disease to wipe out an entire crop supply chain is ever increasing with globalisation, changing climates, resistance to antimicrobial agents, and reliance on a more narrow diversity of crops; and as such addressing crop diseases are a key priority area for BBSRC and the other funding partners.

“Bananas are an excellent source of nutrition for the UK and globally, and an economically important crop in many countries. By using a truly multi-disciplinary approach, this research will provide an understanding of future disease threats, work on potential new anti-fungalagents to stop these diseases, and understand the socio-economic context of disease outbreaks.”

---

<a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Exeter</a>

Saving the planet from 'bananageddon'

Experts are hoping to stop the world's favorite fruit, the banana,...

Some of the most iconic giants of the animal kingdom, such as the imperious African elephant and the majestic lion, are most vulnerable to the detrimental impact of human expansion, new research has shown.

A team of scientists, led by Lewis Bartlett from the University of Exeter, have studied the alarming extent changes to the natural environment - through activities such as farming, expansion and climate change - have on the local ecosystem.

In particular, the team studied the influence that habitat loss and fragmentation – where once great swathes of land are broken into smaller, isolated patches - can have on native wildlife.

They discovered that larger animals, such as the elephant, are more vulnerable to changes to their natural surroundings – and so be most exposed to the threat of extinction.

The research team believe the pivotal new study, which is published in the highly respected journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, could help conservationists and scientists more accurately predict the effect that human activity will have on the natural world.

Lewis Bartlett, lead author of the paper from the Centre of Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, Cornwall said: “At a time when some of our biggest and most iconic animals are facing multiple routes to extinction, every new piece of information helps. By using computer simulations – with the help of Microsoft Research’s supercomputer cluster – we’ve shown that these biggest animals are the ones most threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation”.

The team of scientists use the world-leading ‘Madingley Model’ – which can simulate all life on Earth on land and oceans – to conduct their study, focusing on a large area of the broad Kenyan plains.

The team divided the area into a series of 100 small grid sections, and studied how the area and its wildlife reacted to localised changes to the vegetation levels – for example through effects like wildfire, human expansion or over grazing.

They discovered that habitat fragmentation , caused when small ‘patches’ of vegetation are removed rather than one, larger section, has an alarmingly detrimental effect on the ability of larger animals to survive.

Furthermore, the effects of fragmentation are magnified when experienced in conjunction with a greater intensity of land change use through human activity – which in turn leads to more changes to the ecosystem.

The research team suggest that studying ecosystems across a wide expansive area, rather than individually, enables scientists to better predict the expected outcomes of such vegetation changes.

Furthermore, they believe that analyses such as this can help scientists predict what will happen if humans pursue particular activities in localised areas – and also help identify the threshold at which ecosystems would not be able to recover.

Lewis added: “We hope that being able to forecast how to meet demands for more land and space, whilst minimising the impact to ecosystems, will help achieve the best outcomes for nature and people.”

---

<a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Exeter</a>

Large animals are most vulnerable to human expansion

Some of the most iconic giants of the animal kingdom,...

<div>A popular recreational and commercial fish - the native walleye - is at risk of disappearing as invasions of the competitive, predatory smallmouth bass move into Ontario lakes, a new study from York University has found.</div>
<div>

Walleye fish populations are diminishing as climate change warms the waters allowing smallmouth bass to move into more northern Ontario lakes, competing for similar food resources and adding walleye young to their menu choices. Smallmouth bass prefer warmer water and the colder northern lakes were historically a deterrent, but that's changing.

The findings by biology Professor Sapna Sharma in York U's Faculty of Science and Thomas Van Zuiden, a recent Master's degree graduate of Sharma's who is now a data manager and statistical analyst in her lab, have important implications. As climate change facilitates smallmouth bass invasions, fisheries in the Great Lakes region are at greater risk of collapse.

"Walleye play an important role in lake-ecosystem dynamics as top predators, and are also popular angling targets for commercial and recreational fisheries," said Van Zuiden. "Climate change poses a serious threat to their survival in Ontario lakes, and our study shows that the invasion of smallmouth bass is exacerbating the problem."

Analyzing data from 722 lakes in Ontario, Van Zuiden and Sharma found that smallmouth bass prefer different environmental conditions than walleye. However, when walleye and smallmouth bass are in the same lakes, there are three times fewer walleye. Under future scenarios of climate change, the researchers predict that the co-occurrence of the two fish species may increase as much as 332 per cent by the year 2070, increasing the vulnerability of walleye populations across the province.

"The future is looking dim for walleye in Ontario lakes under climate change because of both habitat loss and competition from invading smallmouth bass," says Sharma. "As climate change continues to facilitate smallmouth bass invasions into new lakes, Canada's native fisheries, such as walleye and lake trout, are at greater risk of collapse. Our study illustrates the importance of including multiple environmental stressors in statistical models when attempting to understand changes in biodiversity."
###
The study, "Examining the effects of climate change and species invasions on Ontario walleye populations: can walleye beat the heat," is published in the October print edition of the journal Diversity and Distributions.

York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world's most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university - our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni.

</div>

Climate change and species invasions are decimating walleye populations

A popular recreational and commercial fish - the native walleye...

Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they make a tiny contribution to our planet’s protective magnetic shield. Remarkably, ESA’s Swarm satellites have not only measured this extremely faint field, but have also led to new discoveries about the electrical nature of inner Earth.

The magnetic field shields us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that bombard Earth from the Sun. Without it, the atmosphere as we know it would not exist, rendering life virtually impossible.

Scientists need to learn more about our protective field to understand many natural processes, from those occurring deep inside the planet, to weather in space caused by solar activity. This information will then yield a better understanding of why Earth’s magnetic field is weakening.

Although we know that the magnetic field originates in different parts of Earth and that each source generates magnetism of different strengths, exactly how it is generated and why it changes is not fully understood.

This is why, in 2013, ESA launched its trio of Swarm satellites.

While the mission is already shedding new light on how the field is changing, this latest result focuses on the most elusive source of magnetism: ocean tides.

When salty ocean water flows through the magnetic field, an electric current is generated and this, in turn, induces a magnetic response in the deep region below Earth’s crust – the mantle. Because this response is such a small portion of the overall field, it was always going to be a challenge to measure it from space.

[caption id="attachment_88511" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-88511" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Magnetic_field_sources_1big_esa-150x150.jpg" alt="Sources of Earth's magnetic field" width="150" height="150" /> Sources of Earth's magnetic field[/caption]

Last year, scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, showed that if it could be measured from space – never done before – it should also tell us something about Earth’s interior. However, this all remained a theory – until now.

Thanks to Swarm’s precise measurements along with those from Champ – a mission that ended in 2010 after measuring Earth’s gravity and magnetic fields for more than 10 years – scientists have not only been able to find the magnetic field generated by ocean tides but, remarkably, they have used this new information to image the electrical nature of Earth’s upper mantle 250 km below the ocean floor.

Alexander Grayver, from ETH Zurich, said, “The Swarm and Champ satellites have allowed us to distinguish between the rigid ocean ‘lithosphere’ and the more pliable ‘asthenosphere’ underneath.”

The lithosphere is the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, while the asthenosphere lies just below the lithosphere and is hotter and more fluid than the lithosphere.

“Effectively, ‘geo-electric sounding from space’, this result is a first for space exploration,” he continues.

“These new results are important for understanding plate tectonics, the theory of which argues that Earth’s lithosphere consists of rigid plates that glide on the hotter and less rigid asthenosphere that serves as a lubricant, enabling plate motion.”

Roger Haagmans, ESA’s Swarm mission scientist, explained, “It’s astonishing that the team has been able to use just two years’ worth of measurements from Swarm to determine the magnetic tidal effect from the ocean and to see how conductivity changes in the lithosphere and upper mantle.

“Their work shows that down to about 350 km below the surface, the degree to which material conducts electric currents is related to composition.

“In addition, their analysis shows a clear dependence on the tectonic setting of the ocean plate. These new results also indicate that, in the future, we could get a full 3D view of conductivity below the ocean.”

Rune Floberghagen, ESA’s Swarm mission manager, added, “We have very few ways of probing deep into the structure of our planet, but Swarm is making extremely valuable contributions to understanding Earth’s interior, which then adds to our knowledge of how Earth works as a whole system.”

[ooyala code="Vsa3c5NjE6P8IXCishVgcFIatM-kRLH5" player_id="ce75157bc770441eaf5e849ae4d1d21f" auto="true" width="896" height="636"]

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<a href="http://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Space Agency</a>

Oceans contribute to Earth's magnetic shield

Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they...

Several 80-million-year-old fossils found in Alabama are from a species of sea turtle that is the oldest known member of the lineage that gave rise to all modern species of sea turtles, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology worked with two relatively complete turtle skeletons, along with several smaller pieces, that are housed at Birmingham’s McWane Science Center, to unearth the evolutionary clues tying the ancient turtles to modern sea turtles, and confirm the existence of that ancient species, previously known only from a few isolated fragments.

The McWane fossils help solve a long-standing debate as to whether this animal was a unique species. They also provide insights into the evolutionary history of living species of sea turtles, including the Kemp’s Ridley, Loggerhead and the endangered Green sea turtle.

According to research published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, the fossils belong to Ctenochelys (tee-no-key-lees) acris, a marine-adapted turtle that lived in the shallow, subtropical sea that once covered most of Alabama. By dating the rock formation from which these fossils were recovered, C. acris is presumed to have lived more than 80 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous, a period of time when sea turtle diversity was at an all-time high.

“Climatic warming during the mid-Cretaceous resulted in elevated sea levels and temperatures that, in turn, provided an abundance of new niches for marine turtles to invade,” said Drew Gentry, a UAB biology doctoral student and the lead researcher on the project. “Represented today by only seven living species, sea turtles were once one of the most diverse lineages of marine reptiles. Before the cataclysm that claimed the dinosaurs, there may have been dozens of specialized species of sea turtle living in different oceanic habitats around the world.”

[caption id="attachment_88493" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-88493" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/sea-turtle-Ctenochelys-acris-illustration_1big_UAB-150x150.jpg" alt="Silhouette of Ctenochelys acris" width="150" height="150" /> Silhouette of Ctenochelys acris[/caption]

Before this research, so little fossil evidence for C. acris had been documented that most paleontologists doubted the species was real. Not only do the newly discovered fossils prove C. acris existed, they may also be a critical piece in a much larger puzzle of sea turtle evolution.

“There is strong evidence which indicates freshwater turtles may have evolved to occupy marine environments at several points in the past,” Gentry said. “But most of those lineages went extinct, making the exact origins of living or ‘true’ sea turtles somewhat of a mystery.”

Evidence gathered from the fossils of C. acris suggests the earliest ancestors of modern sea turtles may have come from the Deep South. By comparing the skeleton of C. acris with those of both extinct and living species of turtles, Gentry discovered that C. acris possessed traits of both sea turtles and their closest living turtle relatives, snapping turtles.

“This animal was a bottom-dwelling sea turtle that fed primarily on mollusks and small invertebrates,” he said. “Unlike the ‘rudder-like’ hind-limbs of today’s sea turtles, C. acris had large, powerful hind-limbs to help push it through the water, a lot like a modern-day snapping turtle.

“Data from C. acris tell us not only that marine turtles are capable of occupying specialized oceanic niches, but also that many of the sea turtles we know today may have gotten their evolutionary start as something similar to an oversized snapping turtle in what eventually became the southeastern United States.”

Studying the diversity and evolutionary history of sea turtles during previous periods of climate change can provide meaningful insights into what effects climate and environmental changes might have on modern marine turtle populations.

“An important, yet often overlooked, aspect of sea turtle research is their evolutionary history,” Gentry said. “By analyzing the remains of fossil species, we can begin to understand the origins of these animals and how they’ve adapted to different environments over time.”

The fossils that led to this research were discovered in 1986 and contributed to what was then the Red Mountain Museum. The McWane Science Center was founded in 1998 by the merger of the Red Mountain Museum and a nearby children’s museum, Discovery Place.

The paleontological and archaeological collection at McWane is one of the largest in the southeastern U.S. and houses a number of significant finds from across Alabama, including the recently announced Eotrachodon, a type of duck-billed dinosaur.

“We are always making discoveries from the specimens housed at McWane that give us new respect for the individuals who contributed to this collection,” Gentry said.

---

<a href="http://www.uab.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UAB</a>

Sea turtles originated in the United States

Several 80-million-year-old fossils found in Alabama are from a species...

<div>Corals first appeared on earth nearly half a billion years ago during the Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle categorized corals as zoophyta, or "plant-animals", due to their plant-like appearance. Closer examination of corals revealed that they are not plants at all, but instead belong to a group of animals called cnidarians, which includes sea anemones and jelly fish. Corals are generally immobile and colonial; the plant-like structure of corals is actually a colony of multiple coral polyps. Each coral polyp is an individual animal with its own tentacles, digestive filaments and mouth.</div>
<div>

All animals begin their lives as fertilized eggs. From there, the egg divides and eventually forms a blastula, or hollow single-layered sphere of cells. Then, the embryo becomes multilayer of cells through the dynamic cell movement process called gastrulation. Each of embryonic layers are responsible for the formation of specific organs and tissues within an animal. Two layered animals, or diploblasts, contain an endoderm and an ectoderm from which all body structures are derived. Triploblasts, such as humans and insects, contain three layers. In triploblasts, the endoderm is comprised of the innermost internal organs such intestines and lungs, while skin and epithelial tissues form the ectoderm. The mesoderm includes bone, muscle, cardiac tissue and blood. Each layer is formed by interactive functions of various genes during early development.

Triploblasts diverged from diploblasts 600 million years ago. Very little research has been done to determine the evolutionary origin of the triploblastic mesoderm. Scientists had uncovered which genes are expressed in both diploblasts and the mesoderm of triploblasts, but a comparison of the functions of those genes in each type of animal had not yet been performed.

Researchers from the Marine Genomics Unit at the <a href="http://www.oist.jp/" target="_blank">Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)</a> are the first group to successfully manipulate the coral genes for comparison. A researcher from the Unit, Dr. Yuuri Yasuoka, developed a new technology to investigate the role of the mesodermal gene brachyury in coral development. The results of this study provide insight into the evolutionary development of the mesoderm and are published in Current Biology.

The research team at OIST focused on brachyury, a gene that plays a crucial role in mesoderm formation during vertebrate development. To distinguish the mesoderm from other layers, brachyury activates mesodermal genes while repressing ectodermal and endodermal genes. Brachyury is also important for the development of mesodermal tissues from pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells. This gene exists in all animals but its function in diploblasts is poorly understood. Researchers from the Marine Genomics Unit, Dr. Yasuoka and Dr. Chuya Shinzato, performed a series of experiments using coral embryos and uncovered a piece of the evolutionary puzzle.

Because corals are one of the most primitive and successful cnidarian group, they are useful for understanding animal evolution. The OIST team studied the function of the brachyury gene in Acropora digitifera, the most common coral in Okinawa. "This study was achieved on the basis of the availability of corals in Okinawa, careful planning of experiments, and the amazing DNA sequencing facilities at OIST. Because the annual spawning day of corals is unpredictable and the quality of eggs is different each year, it took five years to obtain the results through trial and error." Dr. Yuuri Yasuoka explains. Researchers at OIST have previously decoded the Acropora genome, making it suitable for these studies. However, because Acropora eggs float on sea water, it is difficult to manipulate them. To overcome this problem, the Dr. Yasuoka developed a method to retain the eggs between glass materials by surface tension (Figure 1). This allowed the scientists to then use microinjection to insert a material that inhibits the brachyury gene into Acropora eggs and examine the results of this inhibition in coral embryos.

The brachyury gene is expressed in the ectoderm around the blastopore, which is the boundary between ectoderm and endoderm. Corals have a bag-like digestive organ with a hole, derived from the blastopore, that functions as both a mouth and an anus. When the brachyury gene was inhibited using the microinjection method, coral larvae lost their mouth structures (Figure 2). This result suggests that brachyury is necessary for mouth formation in corals. In vertebrates, the mouth opens on the opposite side from the blastopore, which becomes the anus. Brachyury inhibition in vertebrates produces a similar appearance to that seen in corals. Mice with only one copy of the brachyury gene, rather than the usual two, are born tail-less.

Furthermore, comprehensive gene expression profiles of coral embryos were surveyed using a next generation sequencer at OIST. The result demonstrated that, in corals, brachyury activates ectodermal genes while it represses endodermal genes. The comparison of brachyury functions in corals and vertebrates suggests that ectoderm expressing brachyury in corals corresponds to mesoderm in vertebrates. In terms of gene functions, cells around the mouth in corals share common origins with mesodermal cells in vertebrates that produce bone and muscle. In other words, the origin of mesoderm for vertebrates is likely to be ectoderm of their diploblastic ancestor. This is a plausible answer to a long unsolved question.

Dr. Noriyuki Satoh, leader of the Marine Genomics Unit, further explained: "One of our unit's research topics is to explain evolutionary processes of animal body plans at molecular levels. The finding that brachyury plays a role for blastopore formation during coral development has very high impact because corals lack a mesoderm and brachyury functions to form the mesoderm in vertebrates. We will continue to investigate brachyury functions in various animals".

Further studies using corals are warranted to answer more scientific questions. Corals play a vital role in the marine ecosystem, making them an important animal to study. "Coral reefs are crucial to supporting the biodiversity of the earth and also possess economic values for fishery and tourism. While the whole genome sequence of a coral species was decoded previously, the molecular basis of the coral ecosystem remains unknown. To find real roles of coral genes, we have waited for coral spawning every night. This study marks a huge progress in the study of corals and hopefully contributes to preservation of corals in future", revealed Dr. Chuya Shinzato.


</div>
<div></div>

Uncovering the secrets of coral evolution

Corals first appeared on earth nearly half a billion years...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">The ocean circulation that is responsible for England's mild climate appears to be slowing down. The shift is not sudden or dramatic, as in the 2004 sci-fi movie "The Day After Tomorrow," but it is a real effect that has consequences for the climates of eastern North America and Western Europe.</div>
Also unlike in that movie, and in theories of long-term climate change, these recent trends are not connected with the melting of the Arctic sea ice and buildup of freshwater near the North Pole. Instead, they seem to be connected to shifts at the southern end of the planet, according to a recent <a href="http://www.washington.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Washington</a> study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

"It doesn't work like in the movie, of course," said Kathryn Kelly, an oceanographer at the UW's Applied Physics Laboratory. "The slowdown is actually happening very gradually, but it seems to be happening like predicted: It does seem to be spinning down."

The study looked at data from satellites and ocean sensors off Miami that have tracked what's known as the Atlantic overturning circulation for more than a decade. Together they show a definite slowdown since 2004, confirming a trend suspected before then from spottier data.

Looking at other observations to determine the cause, the researchers ruled out what had been the prime suspect until now: that massive melting and freshening in the North Atlantic could stop water from sinking and put the brakes on the overturning circulation, which moves warmer water north along the ocean's surface and sends cold water southward at depths.

"It appears that this 10-year slowdown is not related to salinity," Kelly said. In fact, despite more ice melt, surface water in the Arctic is getting saltier and therefore denser, she said, because of less precipitation. "That means the slowdown could not possibly be due to salinity -- it's just backwards. The North Atlantic has actually been getting saltier."

Instead, the authors saw a surprising connection with a current around the southern tip of South Africa. In what's known as the Agulhas Current, warm Indian Ocean water flows south along the African coast and around the continent's tip toward the Atlantic, but then makes a sharp turn back to join the stormy southern circumpolar current. Warm water that escapes into the Atlantic around the cape of South Africa is known as the Agulhas Leakage. The new research shows the amount of leakage changes with the quantity of heat transported northward by the overturning circulation.

"We've found that the two are connected, but I don't think we've found that one causes the other," Kelly said. "It's more likely that whatever changed the Agulhas changed the whole system."

She believes atmospheric changes may be affecting both currents simultaneously.

"Most people have thought this current should be driven by a salinity change, but maybe it's the [Southern Ocean] winds," Kelly said.

The finding could have implications for northern European and eastern U.S. climates, and for understanding how the world's oceans carry heat from the tropics toward the poles.

"I think it changes how we think about the whole Atlantic overturning circulation, of which the Gulf Stream is a part," said co-author LuAnne Thompson, a UW professor of oceanography. "It brings back the role of the atmosphere into what's controlling the climate in the high latitudes, that it's not all driven by what's happening in the oceans."

And while a slowdown of the Gulf Stream and broader overturning circulation, for whatever reason, would bring less warm water to eastern North America and Western Europe, any effects are overwhelmed by the overall warming due to global climate change.

"So that whole concept in the movie of New York harbor freezing doesn't make any sense," Kelly said. "If the Gulf Stream doesn't carry as much heat from the tropics, it just means that the North Atlantic is not going to warm up as fast as the rest of the ocean -- it's not going to cool down."
###
The study was funded by NASA and the U.K.'s Natural Environment Research Council. Other co-authors are Kyla Drushka at the UW Applied Physics Laboratory, Dewi Le Bars at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and Elaine McDonagh at the U.K.'s University of Southampton.

&nbsp;

</div>
<div></div>

Ocean circulation in the Atlantic is slowing down

The ocean circulation that is responsible for England's mild climate...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Vertical wind shear has the ability to tear a tropical cyclone apart, but recently formed Tropical Storm Nicole in the western Atlantic Ocean is holding fast to its strength despite being battered by wind shear. The wind shear is being caused by the outflow of Hurricane Matthew that moved over western Haiti on Oct. 4 and was moving toward the Bahamas on Oct. 5.</div>
Nicole formed at 11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 4 and westerly vertical wind shear was already battering the storm at 1 p.m. EDT (17:00 UTC) when NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the western Atlantic Ocean. The visible-light image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard Aqua saw the bulk of Nicole's clouds were being pushed to the east of the center.

On Oct. 5, Forecaster Cangialosi of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted "Nicole continues to hold its strength despite strong wind shear. Satellite images show a rather robust circulation, with a small area of deep convection near the center and a larger band to the east of the center."

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Nicole was located near 24.3 degrees north latitude and 61.8 degrees west longitude. That's about 490 miles (790 km) north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was moving to the west-northwest near 6 mph (9 kph). A turn toward the northwest is expected later today, followed by a turn toward the north by late Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) east of the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 millibars.

The NHC forecast noted that Nicole is expected to remain in strong wind shear conditions caused by the outflow of Hurricane Matthew during the next few days, which should prevent the storm from strengthening. After that time, Nicole is expected to interact with a mid- to upper-level low pressure area and could acquire some subtropical cyclone characteristics over the weekend of Oct. 8 and 9.

--

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a>


</div>
<div></div>

Tropical Storm Nicole seen holding fast in the Atlantic

Vertical wind shear has the ability to tear a tropical...

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



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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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.

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 



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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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



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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



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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



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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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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



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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



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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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