The world’s seas have long acted as a planetary safety net, soaking up excess heat and roughly a quarter of all human-generated carbon dioxide. 



Yet this crucial buffer is anything but uniform. Some waters capture carbon, others release it, and the balance can swing in a matter of days.



Until now, most global maps blurred those variations into month-long snapshots at coarse, 100-kilometer grids. 



A new satellite-driven product called <a href="https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/13/777/2021/">OceanSODA-ETHZ</a> changes that picture, offering eight-day updates at 25-kilometer resolution and revealing the ocean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-carbon-sinks-are-being-pushed-to-their-limits/">carbon sink</a> in unprecedented detail.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-satellites-fill-ocean-carbon-gaps">Satellites fill ocean carbon gaps</h2>



Direct readings of surface-water CO2 come from ships and buoys, leaving vast gaps in space and time.



“Increasing the resolution of these global datasets is challenging because the number of direct measurements of carbon dioxide at the ocean’s surface is rather sparse across all regions and times,” explained project co-leader Nicolas Gruber of ETH Zurich.



To fill those gaps, Gruber’s team paired the in situ data with a suite of Earth-observation satellites that sense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-are-substantially-changing-the-seasons-of-the-ocean/">sea-surface temperature</a>, color, wind, and more - variables tightly linked to how much CO2 water can hold.



Feeding that information into a cascade of machine-learning algorithms produced a fine-grained, eight-day global mosaic.



“This new version maps the parameters of the ocean carbon system every eight days at a resolution of about 25 by 25 kilometers, more than 30 times finer than previous products,” Gruber said.



“A critical part of the approach is the use of satellite data, which provides detailed information to interpolate the measurements in time and space.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-satellites-track-ocean-carbon-changes">Satellites track ocean carbon changes</h2>



Presented this week at <a href="https://lps25.esa.int/">ESA’s Living Planet Symposium</a>, the dataset already highlights dramatic short-term swings. 



An animation released by the team tracks the 2017 Atlantic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-hurricanes-help-oceans-fight-climate-change/">hurricane</a> season, when storms such as Maria and Irma churned deep, carbon-rich waters to the surface.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/cEUvoY8krHM?si=cX1giVtLnycyFKqr
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Animation generated using the new OceanSODA-ETHZv2 product by Luke Gregor, Jamie Shutler and Nicolas Gruber</figcaption></figure>



In the visualization, red plumes - areas where the sea outgasses CO2 - flare beneath the swirling wind arrows, then fade as cooler, oxygen-laden surface layers return.



Jamie Shutler from the University of Exeter, while not involved in developing the product, is already using it for storm studies.



“Thanks to its fine detail, the dataset can help us separate and understand the influence of events like hurricanes - where deep water, often high in carbon, can be forced to rise to the surface - which can cause sudden spikes or changes in surface ocean carbon dioxide levels,” said Shutler.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-view-of-ocean-acidification">A new view of ocean acidification</h2>



Every molecule of CO2 that the ocean absorbs reacts with seawater, lowering pH and shifting carbonate chemistry in ways that erode coral skeletons, thin oyster shells, and alter plankton communities.



Until now, researchers tracking this “other CO2 problem” relied on sparse records or coarse climatologies. 



OceanSODA-ETHZ delivers near-real-time fields of surface pH and carbonate ions, letting scientists watch <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidification-is-spreading-into-deeper-waters/">acidification</a> pulses unfold as upwelling, rainfall, or melting sea ice change local chemistry.



Because the product also extends back to 1985, analysts can mine four decades of fine-scale variability to see where buffers are weakening and hotspots are emerging. 



Those insights can feed into fisheries management, coastal planning, and global carbon-budget assessments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-esa-powers-new-ocean-maps">ESA powers new ocean maps</h2>



The dataset is the latest deliverable from <a href="https://eo4society.esa.int/">ESA’s FutureEO “Science for Society” program</a>, which funds innovative uses of satellite records.



“The fact that we can use this method to gain new insights into the exchange of carbon dioxide between the ocean and atmosphere - and on the ocean acidification altogether - is a great step forward in ocean science,” said Roberto Sabia, an ocean scientist at <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth">ESA Earth-Observation</a>. 



Gruber and colleagues emphasize that OceanSODA-ETHZ is not a static atlas but a living product that can assimilate new ship measurements and leverage upcoming satellite missions.



Higher-resolution sensors such as <a href="https://pace.gsfc.nasa.gov/">NASA’s PACE</a> and <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Copernicus_Sentinel_Expansion_missions">ESA’s Copernicus Expansion</a> promise even clearer views of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plankton-help-predict-ocean-biodiversity-losses/">plankton</a> blooms, sea-surface roughness, and dissolved organic matter - all factors that modulate carbon exchange.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forecasts-of-regional-carbon-uptake">Forecasts of regional carbon uptake</h2>



Ultimately, the goal is to couple these detailed maps with ocean-atmosphere models, yielding short-term forecasts of regional carbon uptake akin to daily weather predictions.



Such tools could alert coastal managers when acidification thresholds are likely to be breached or help negotiators refine national emissions budgets by tracking natural carbon sinks more precisely.



For now, the new product already reshapes our understanding of the ocean’s role in moderating climate. 



Where earlier charts smoothed over crucial dynamics, OceanSODA-ETHZ reveals a living, breathing carbon landscape - one where swirling eddies, roaring storms, and shifting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-ocean-currents-play-a-huge-role-in-earths-climate/">currents</a> all leave their stamp on the planet’s most important carbon reservoir.



Image Credit: ESA



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Satellites reveal how oceans absorb carbon in unprecedented detail

The world’s seas have long acted as a planetary safety net, soaking up excess heat and roughly a quarter of all human-generated carbon dioxide. Yet this crucial buffer is anything but uniform. Some waters capture carbon, others release it, and the balance can swing in a matter of days. Until now, most global maps blurred those variations into month-long snapshots at coarse, 100-kilometer grids. A new satellite-driven product called OceanSODA-ETHZ changes that picture, offering eight-day updates at 25-kilometer resolution and revealing the ocean carbon sink in unprecedented...

International Criminal Court prosecutors published a policy paper Thursday that outlines their priorities in selecting cases and which highlights a new focus on illegal destruction or exploitation of the environment.
The 18-page paper said the Office of the Prosecutor will "give particular consideration" to prosecuting crimes under the court's founding document, the Rome Statute, involving "the destruction of the environment, the illegal exploitation of natural resources or the illegal dispossession of land."
Global Witness, a non-government organization that aims to expose crimes arising from the demand for natural resources, welcomed the policy paper as a landmark shift for the 14-year-old court that has largely focused on atrocities committed during armed conflict.
Prosecutors also will pay close attention to crimes against children, rape and other sexual crimes, attacks on religious and cultural sites, and crimes targeting peacekeepers, the policy paper said.
The paper "will assist the Office in the often difficult assessment of how to allocate its finite resources to the ever burgeoning demand arising from situations of mass atrocity," Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said.
The court, which aims to prosecute the most senior suspects accused of the world's most serious crimes, has so far completed just four trials, with three convictions and one acquittal. A Malian Islamic radical also has pleaded guilty to destroying historic mausoleums in Timbuktu. Judges are due to issue their verdict in his trial later this month.
Gillian Caldwell, executive director at Global Witness, hailed the policy as sending "a powerful message that the terrible impacts of land grabbing and environmental destruction have been acknowledged at the highest level of criminal justice."
Global Witness has long pushed for the ICC to investigate crimes linked to illegal land seizures and exploitation of natural resources, alleging that millions of people have been evicted from their land in developing nations that lack properly functioning legal systems.
"Today's decision by the ICC shows that the age of impunity is coming to an end," Caldwell said in a statement. "Company bosses and politicians complicit in violently seizing land, razing tropical forests or poisoning water sources could soon find themselves standing trial in The Hague alongside war criminals and dictators."
While no environmental cases have yet been heard at the court, prosecutors are considering whether to open a preliminary probe into claims by rights groups that allegations of land grabbing by Cambodia's rulers amounts to a crime against humanity.
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

International Criminal Court will now focus on environmental crimes

International Criminal Court prosecutors published a policy paper Thursday that...

The European Union has admitted Indonesia to a special licensing system it hopes will prevent the illegally felled tropical timber that makes up a substantial part of the country's wood production from being shipped to the 28-nation bloc.
The EU said Thursday that Indonesia is the first country to qualify for the licenses. It will mean that traders of goods such as wooden furniture, plywood and paper that earn the certification will find it easier to do business with Europe.
But some environmental and civil society groups are already concerned the licensing system could become a conduit for illegal timber from a country where tropical forests are being cut down at an epic rate.
The EU has been trying to implement its timber system internationally for over a decade and over the same time Indonesia has developed its own legal wood verification scheme that has become a key part of its admission to the EU's program.
"We do believe the system is credible," said Charles-Michel Geurts, deputy head of the EU mission to Indonesia, who emphasized the lengthy process to establish it reflected substantial effort in countering deep-seated problems in Indonesia's forestry industry. "But today is the start date, not the finish."
Indonesia has struggled for years to combat illegal logging that destroys the tropical forest habitat of unique animal species and deprives the government of significant revenue that could be used to improve basic services for a largely poor population of more than 250 million.
A study by the country's anti-corruption commission estimated that the commercial value of undeclared logging amounted to $60.7 billion to $81.4 billion between 2003 and 2014. The study released in October last year said official statistics on timber production capture less than a quarter of what is cut down.
Fires deliberately set by agricultural conglomerates and small-time farmers to clear forests and peatland for plantations also contribute to deforestation and are responsible for the unhealthy haze that chokes a swathe of Indonesia and neighboring countries each year.
Under the EU system, Indonesia will be able to issue the special licenses to producers using timber that it believes complies with environmental, social and economic laws. Third party certifiers issue the licenses and the overall process will be monitored by environmental groups. Indonesia will be able to issue the licenses from Nov. 15, the EU announced Thursday.
Christopher Barr, executive director of Woods &amp; Wayside International, said a "critical weakness" of Indonesia's timber verification system is that it largely focuses on administrative compliance and falls short in the area of field checks, including surprise inspections, to ensure logs are harvested from fully legal areas.
The system was designed to audit timber from selective forestry concessions but in the past decade increased volumes of wood have been produced through the clearing of forests for palm oil and pulpwood plantations and other uses, he said.
<img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-87168" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/deforestation-tropical-rainforest_1big_stock-150x150.jpg" alt="deforestation-tropical-rainforest_1big_stock" width="150" height="150" />Lafcadio Cortesi, Asia director of the Rainforest Action Network, said it may be premature for the EU to create a "green lane" that expedites the export of Indonesian timber and timber products.
Deforestation in Indonesia often goes hand in hand with human rights violations such as companies grabbing the traditional lands of communities, he said.
The scale of illegal and unreported logging in Indonesia could be beyond the scope of civil society groups and others to effectively monitor and when violations are identified, the process for dealing with them is cumbersome and lengthy, he said.
"There is not adequate capacity in the system," said Cortesi. "The government has had to contract out auditing."
Earlier this month, a palm oil company held captive seven officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry who had visited its plantation as part of an investigation into forest fires.
Mardi Minangsari from the Independent Forest Monitoring Network, which is involved in checking companies' compliance with legal timber requirements, said the system is not perfect but can be refined and improved.
The environment and forestry ministry has demonstrated its commitment to reform with more than a decade of effort to tackle the illegal timber crisis, she said.
A potential loophole stems from the wood furniture industry in Java, which comprises many small-scale producers who use wood from private forests that can be as small as a hectare or two, and get less scrutiny. Larger companies could abuse that by representing products as coming from small producers, Minangsari said.
"Implementation is the biggest challenge," she said. "If the government is not really hands on, they can blame the third party certifiers" for any failures.
Europe is already an important market for Indonesian wood, buying about a third of its tropical timber shipments and more than a tenth of its paper and other timber products.
A study in the journal Nature Climate Change estimated that by 2012, Indonesia was clearing 840,000 hectares of forests a year, more than any other country.
In 2014, it renewed a moratorium on new licenses for logging in virgin forests but deforestation has continued largely unabated.
---
Follow Stephen Wright: www.twitter.com/<a href="https://twitter.com/stephenwrightAP">stephenwrightAP</a>
<a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wright">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wright</a>
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

European Union works to save tropical timber in Indonesia

The European Union has admitted Indonesia to a special licensing...

The world’s population is expected to soar by 2.5 billion people by 2050, bringing a host of global challenges – including how to feed so many hungry mouths.

If projections hold, the global demand for animal protein will double over the next four decades, rising along with pressure to find ecologically sustainable food production practices.

Could farmed fish save the day? Just maybe, says UC Santa Barbara’s Steve Gaines. He and his team looked at wild-caught fish, farmed fish and land-based farming to assess the most viable long-term options.

The surprise: Fish farming floated above the rest for ecologic and economic reasons.

But there’s one big catch: Aquaculture has gotten a bad rap with American consumers.

“I meet people all the time who say, ‘I will only eat wild fish because aquaculture is bad,’” said Gaines, dean of the Bren School of Environmental Science &amp; Management at UC Santa Barbara.

Gaines has been working to change minds about aquaculture, speaking at conferences around the country like this week’s Monterey Bay Aquarium Sustainable Foods Institute.

While some forms of aquaculture can harm the environment, others have a much lower impact, especially when compared to raising livestock – and in some cases even compare favorably to an entirely vegetarian diet, he said.

“The analysis shocked us. It completely changed my perspective,” Gaines said. “There are some really bad ways to do aquaculture, but if you look at best practices, they are dramatically better than any production on land. In many cases, it’s 50 to 100 times higher environmental impact to produce on land than in the ocean.”

Limits of wild fish

As part of UC’s Global Food Initiative, Gaines and his team analyzed global fish stocks. They found that increasing the productivity of wild-caught fish would only meet 5 to 10 percent of global demand.

They compared land-based options such as goats and sheep and were floored to find that feeding the 2050 world population would require converting the equivalent of 75 percent of South America into new food production. When they penciled the numbers, aquaculture surprisingly surfaced to the top.

The life-cycle assessment took into account such things as the area used for food production and the cost of feed and fuel and how they impact greenhouse gases.

The lowest environmental impact came from unfed aquaculture such as clams, mussels, oysters and seaweed, which can grow without being fed fish meal.

Farmed salmon, trout and other fish that require feeding have a higher environmental impact, Gaines said, but that impact will likely be reduced in coming years as researchers find better ways to feed fish, including developing food from bacteria and yeast.

“We should be encouraging the best sustainable practices in aquaculture,” Gaines said.

Aquaculture rising

Currently, meat is the largest source of animal protein consumed globally, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total. Fish consumption has increased since 1980, and the mix of farmed versus wild-caught fish also has changed. Aquaculture now accounts for nearly half of all seafood, up from just 10 percent in 1980. By 2030, aquaculture is projected to provide close to two-thirds of global fish consumption, with Asia accounting for the bulk of that. The fastest growing types of farmed fish are expected to be tilapia, carp and catfish.

“There’s not enough wild fish to feed us all,” said Ryan Bigelow, program engagement manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, which helps consumers and businesses choose seafood that’s caught or farmed sustainably. “There’s no scenario where aquaculture is not part of our food future. If we’re going to do it, we should do it well. There are good options out there.”

Scaling up solutions

To prepare for the shift, UC Santa Barbara’s Sustainable Aquaculture Research Center is helping to develop environmentally sound solutions for fish farming around the world, and looking at the policy shifts that could support it.

In California, the center is working with fish farmers and legislators to advance offshore and onshore marine aquaculture, with the goal of identifying best practices and minimizing environmental impacts.

In Mexico, the center is collaborating with others to assess the feasibility of enhancing populations of the totoaba (large sea bass) and Catarina scallop through aquaculture.

The center also is working with UC San Diego researchers to compare the ecological and human health effects of different aquaculture habitats (offshore, coastal, land-based) and what this might mean for the development and regulation of aquaculture in California and globally.

Meanwhile, Gaines and his colleagues aren’t ignoring wild fisheries. Indeed, UC Santa Barbara is partnering with others to preserve the sustainable health of fisheries from Maine to Mozambique.

A UC Santa Barbara-Columbia University study found that factoring in climate variability may enable fishery managers to protect New England cod stocks from future collapse.

In another example, UC Santa Barbara is partnering with the Environmental Defense Fund and Rare on Fish Forever, which is empowering small-scale fishers in coastal communities of Belize, Brazil, Indonesia, Mozambique and the Philippines to sustainably manage their fisheries.

“Find out what works and scale that,” Gaines said. “If you fix fisheries, you catch more fish and you make more money.”

---

<a href="http://universityofcalifornia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California</a>

Can farmed fish solve the world's food problem?

The world’s population is expected to soar by 2.5 billion...

President Barack Obama said Thursday that creating the Atlantic Ocean's first marine national monument was a needed response to dangerous climate change, ocean dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices.
The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. It's the 27th time that Obama has created or enlarged a national monument.
"If we're going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then we're going to have to act and we're going to have to act boldly," Obama said at a State Department conference. More than 20 countries represented at the meeting were also announcing the creation of their own marine protected areas.
Monument designations come with restrictions on certain activities. The White House said the designation will lead to a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a seven-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. Recreational fishing will be allowed within the monument.
Supporters of the new monument say protecting large swaths of ocean from human stresses can sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change. Fishermen worry it will become harder for them to earn a living as a result of Obama's move.
"We've been fishing out there for 35 years. It's a big blow to us," said Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
White House officials said the administration listened to industry's concerns, and noted the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies like Williams'.
Williams said his company will survive, but the changes designed to address some of his concerns don't sway him about the merits of the monument.
"I think the entire New England fishery is upside down over this," Williams said.
Obama said the world was asking too much of its oceans. He said the investments the U.S. and other nations were taking with new marine protected areas were vital for their economy and national security, but "also vital to our spirit."
"We cannot truly protect our planet without protecting our oceans," Obama said.
In all, the Atlantic Ocean monument will include three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains. It is home to such protected species as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and Kemp's ridley turtles. Expeditions also have found species of coral found nowhere else on earth.
Environmental groups pushed the effort to designate the new monument and sought to make the case it was as important to be good stewards of the ocean as it was the land and air.
"Just as wild lands around the globe are beleaguered by human development and climate change, our oceans are under duress today more than ever before," said Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society.
---
On Twitter, reach Kevin Freking at <a href="https://twitter.com/APkfreking">https://twitter.com/APkfreking</a>
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Obama: Oceans are key to protecting Earth from climate change

President Barack Obama said Thursday that creating the Atlantic Ocean's...

Most Americans are willing to pay a little more each month to fight global warming - but only a tiny bit, according to a new poll. Still, environmental policy experts hail that as a hopeful sign.
Seventy-one percent want the federal government to do something about global warming, including 6 percent who think the government should act even though they are not sure that climate change is happening, according to a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
And those polled said they'd be willing to foot a little of that cost in higher electric bills.
If the cost of fighting climate change is only an additional $1 a month, 57 percent of Americans said they would support that. But as that fee goes up, support for it plummets. At $10 a month, 39 percent were in favor and 61 percent opposed. At $20 a month, the public is more than 2-to-1 against it. And only 1-in-5 would support $50 a month.
"I feel we need to make small sacrifices - and money is a small sacrifice - to make life better for future generations, " said Sarah Griffin, a 63-year-old retired teacher in central Pennsylvania. "Surely I have enough money to spend on something that's worthwhile."
Greg Davis, a 27-year-old post-graduate student in Columbus, Ohio, agreed: "It's far more important to protect the environment than to save money. I think that's true for businesses as well as individuals."
That a majority is willing to pay more is a new phenomenon, said Tom Dietz, professor of sociology and environmental science and policy at Michigan State University.
"While the amounts may seem small, the willingness to take action, even if there are some out-of-pocket costs, is encouraging," Dietz said in an email.
Dana Fisher, director of the Program for Society and the Environment at the University of Maryland, said it's noteworthy that a majority was "willing to pay at all," and added that the levels of support for $10 a month and $20 a month are significant.
But so was the opposition to higher costs.
James Osadzinski, 52 of Rockford, Illinois, said simply: "I have a set budget. I don't have the money," while for 26-year-old nurse Marina Shertzer of Pensacola, Florida, it doesn't make sense because she doesn't see climate change as a threat, but something cyclical and normal.
Of those polled, 77 percent said climate change is happening, 13 percent weren't sure, and only 10 percent said it wasn't happening.
There remains a partisan divide in how Americans view climate change. While 84 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents view global warming as a fact and a problem that the government needs to address, only 43 percent for Republicans agree. And 18 percent of Republicans said they think climate change is happening but don't think the government should address the issue.
Slightly more than half of Americans - 54 percent - said they approved of Obama administration rules to cut pollution from coal power plants, the biggest emitter of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. When the question also mentions that thousands of jobs may be eliminated while reducing coal use by one-third, only 45 percent favor the policy; 29 percent are opposed.
Last December, 190 nations in the world signed an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds of those polled were at least moderately confident that the United States could meet its obligations. But about the same number of Americans weren't that sure that China - the No. 1 polluter - and India could meet their goals.
Davis, the Ohio student, wasn't very optimistic about the future
"I think as the younger generation starts displacing the older people, I think we'll get somewhere," he said. "But I'm afraid that may be too late."
The AP-NORC poll of 1,096 adults was conducted Aug. 11-14 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
The survey was paid for by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.
---
AP Polling Editor Emily Swanson contributed to this report.
---
Online:
AP-NORC Center: <a href="http://www.apnorc.org/">http://www.apnorc.org/</a>
---
Follow Seth Borenstein at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a> and his work can be found at<a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein</a>
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Poll: Americans will tolerate higher bills to fight global warming

Most Americans are willing to pay a little more each...

Polar bears are among the animals most affected by the seasonal and year-to-year decline in Arctic sea ice extent, because they rely on sea ice for essential activities such as hunting, traveling and breeding.

A new study by University of Washington researchers, funded by NASA and using satellite data from NASA and other agencies, found a trend toward earlier sea ice melt in the spring and later ice growth in the fall across all 19 polar bear subpopulations, which can negatively impact the feeding and breeding capabilities of the bears. The paper, published on Sept. 14 in the journal The Cryosphere, is the first to quantify the sea ice changes in each polar bear subpopulation across the entire Arctic region using metrics that are specifically relevant to polar bear biology.

"This study shows declining sea ice for all subpopulations of polar bears," said co-author Harry Stern, a researcher with the University of Washington's Polar Science Center in Seattle.

The analysis shows that the critical timing of the sea ice break-up and sea ice freeze-up is changing in all areas in a direction that is harmful for polar bears.

“Other researchers have used the satellite-derived sea ice data to look at how the sea ice extent in a particular place is changing in a particular month. But for us the important thing was the timing of the retreat of sea ice in the spring and its advance in the fall, for all 19 polar bear subpopulations,” Stern said.

Nineteen separate polar bear subpopulations live throughout the Arctic, spending their winters and springs roaming on sea ice and hunting. The bears have evolved mainly to eat seals, which provide necessary fats and nutrients in the harsh Arctic environment. Polar bears can't outswim their prey, so instead they perch on the ice as a platform and ambush seals at breathing holes or break through the ice to access their dens.

"Sea ice really is their platform for life," said co-author Kristin Laidre, a researcher at the UW's Polar Science Center. "They are capable of existing on land for part of the year, but the sea ice is where they obtain their main prey."

[caption id="attachment_87150" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-87150" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/sea-ice-melt-polar-bears_1big_nasa-150x150.jpg" alt="Three adult polar bears travel across sea ice in southeast Greenland." width="150" height="150" /> Three adult polar bears travel across sea ice in southeast Greenland.[/caption]

The new study draws upon 35 years of satellite data showing sea ice concentration each day in the Arctic. NASA scientists process the data, stored at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

The center also reports each fall the yearly minimum low for Arctic sea ice. This August saw the fourth lowest in the satellite record and the September minimum extent is likely headed to its second lowest level in the record.

In 17 of the 19 polar bear subpopulations, the researchers found that the total number of ice-covered days declined at the rate of seven to 19 days per decade between 1979 and 2014. The decline was even greater in the Barents Sea and the Arctic basin. Sea ice concentration during the summer months — an important measure because summertime is when some subpopulations are forced to fast on land — also declined in all regions, by 1 percent to 9 percent per decade.

The most striking result, researchers said, is the consistent trend across all polar bear regions for an earlier spring ice melt and a later fall freeze-up. Arctic sea ice retreats in the springtime as daylight reappears and temperatures warm. In the fall months the ice sheets build again as temperatures drop.

"These spring and fall transitions bound the period when there is good ice habitat available for bears to feed," Laidre said. "Those periods are also tied to the breeding season when bears find mates, and when females come out of their maternity dens with very small cubs and haven't eaten for months."

The researchers found that on average, spring melting was three to nine days earlier per decade, and fall freeze-up was three to nine days later per decade. Over the 35 years of Arctic sea ice satellite data. that corresponds to a roughly 3-and-a-half-week shift at either end — and seven weeks of total loss of good sea ice habitat for polar bears.

"We expect that if the trends continue, compared with today, polar bears will experience another six to seven weeks of ice-free periods by mid-century," Stern said.

The trend appears to be linear and isn't accelerating or leveling off, Stern added.

The study's results currently are used by the Polar Bear Specialist Group, part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission. . The Polar Bear Specialist Group used the sea ice metric as a measure of polar bear habitat in the IUCN Red List assessment of polar bears, which assesses the conservation status of polar bears. The researchers plan to update their findings each year as new ice coverage data are available.

"It's nice to see this work being used in high-level conservation goals," Laidre said.

“This NASA-funded work is an excellent example of the use satellite imagery to understand the distribution and abundance of an Arctic keystone species, with the added benefit of providing vital information to those charged with managing polar bear populations globally,” said Woody Turner, the Program Scientist for Biological Diversity and Program Manager for Ecological Forecasting in the NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The study was funded by NASA and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources.

---

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a>

Polar bears are facing shorter sea ice season

Polar bears are among the animals most affected by the...

A NASA airborne mission designed to transform our understanding of Earth's valuable and ecologically sensitive coral reefs has set up shop in Australia for a two-month investigation of the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest reef ecosystem.

At a media briefing today at Cairns Airport in North Queensland, Australia, scientists from NASA's COral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) mission and their Australian collaborators discussed the mission's objectives and the new insights they expect to glean into the present condition of the Great Barrier Reef and the function of reef systems worldwide.

"CORAL offers the clearest, most extensive picture to date of the condition of a large portion of the world's coral reefs," said CORAL Principal Investigator Eric Hochberg of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), Ferry Reach, St. George's, Bermuda, prior to the briefing. "This new understanding of reef condition and function will allow scientists to better predict the future of this global ecosystem and provide policymakers with better information for decisions regarding resource management."

CORAL's three-year mission combines aerial surveys using state-of-the-art airborne imaging spectrometer technology developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, with in-water validation activities. The mission will provide critical data and new models for analyzing reef ecosystems from a new perspective. CORAL will generate a uniform data set for a large sample of reefs across the Pacific Ocean. Scientists can use these data to search for trends between coral reef condition and the natural and human-produced biological and environmental factors that affect reefs.

Over the next year, CORAL will survey portions of the Great Barrier Reef, along with reef systems in the main Hawaiian Islands, the Mariana Islands and Palau.

In Australia, CORAL mission will survey six discrete sections across the length of the Great Barrier Reef, from the Capricorn-Bunker Group in the south to Torres Strait in the north. Two locations on the reef -- one north (Lizard Island Research Station) and one south (Heron Island Research Station) -- will serve as bases for in-water validation activities. Scientists from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the University of Queensland in Brisbane are collaborating with NASA and BIOS to conduct additional complementary in-water validation activities.

The Great Barrier Reef: Australia's National Treasure

Located in the Coral Sea off Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef encompasses more than 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands. It is more than 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) long and covers an area of about 133,000 square miles (344,400 square kilometers). The largest single structure made by living organisms on Earth, the reef teems with biodiversity, including about 400 species of coral. It attracts about 2 million visitors a year; in turn, tourism and fishing generate billions annually and employ tens of thousands of people. However, the reef faces environmental pressures from various human and climate change impacts.

"The Great Barrier Reef is Australia's national treasure, so having a broader understanding of its condition and what's threatening it will help us better understand how we can protect it," said Tim Malthus, research leader of CSIRO's Coastal Monitoring, Modeling and Informatics Group in Canberra, Australia. "Along with surveying several large sections of the reef, CORAL will also survey the health of corals in the Torres Strait, a complex high-tide area that has been historically less studied. It is also opportunistic for us to see if the reef is recovering after the recent bleaching event."

Stuart Phinn, professor of geography at the University of Queensland (UQ), said CORAL will provide Australian coral reef science and management with unique new maps and mapping approaches. These will expand ongoing efforts to map and understand Great Barrier Reef dynamics. "Being able to support and collaborate on NASA's CORAL project will enable groups like ours to advance our capabilities and transfer them to Australian science and management agencies," Phinn said. "Part of this includes building a process for mapping the entire reef. UQ and CORAL will exchange field data, knowledge and experience to cross-validate mapping and monitoring approaches."

An Urgent Need for Better Data

Around the world, concerns among scientists, resource managers and the public that coral reef ecosystems are degrading at alarming rates due to human-induced factors and global change have motivated increased assessment and monitoring efforts. The urgency of the problem has forced estimates of global reef status to be synthesized from a variety of local surveys with disparate aims, methods and quality.

The problem with current assessments of reef degradation, said Hochberg, is that the data supporting these predictions are not uniform and surprisingly sparse. "Virtually all reef assessments to date rely on in-water survey techniques that are laborious, expensive and limited in spatial scope," he said. "Very little of Earth's reef area has been directly surveyed. More importantly, there are no existing models that quantitatively relate reef conditions to the full range of biological and environmental factors that affect them -- models that can help scientists better understand how coral reefs will respond to expected environmental changes. CORAL addresses an urgent need in the face of ongoing worldwide reef degradation, and also serves as a pathfinder for a future satellite mission to globally survey the world's reefs."

Natural, balanced coral reefs comprise mosaics of coral, algae and sand on the seafloor that, together, drive the structure and function of reef ecosystems. When corals die, algae rapidly take over their skeletons. A non-stressed, healthy reef will usually increase coral coverage as it recovers from disturbance. But when a stressed reef is disturbed, the carbonate structure of its coral erodes, and the reef ultimately becomes a flat-bottom community dominated by algae, shifting rubble and sand, with little to no coral recovery. Such ecosystem phase shifts, as they are called, represent a radical change in a reef's character, marked by a decline in the diversity of reef flora and fauna.

CORAL will generate scientific data products describing coral reef condition, measuring three key components of reef health for which we currently have limited data: composition, primary productivity and calcification. Primary productivity is a measure of how much energy is available to drive biological activity in a reef system. Calcification measures the net gain in carbonates, which determine a reef's long-term growth.

PRISM: Shining New Light on Coral Reef Condition

To accomplish its science objectives, CORAL will use JPL's Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM). PRISM will literally peer through the ocean's surface to generate high-resolution images of reflected light in the specific regions of the electromagnetic spectrum important to coral reef scientists. Mounted in the belly of a modified Tempus Solutions Gulfstream IV aircraft, PRISM will survey reefs from an altitude of 28,000 feet (8,500 meters) to generate calibrated scientific data products.

"PRISM builds on an extensive legacy of JPL spectrometers that have successfully operated for NASA and non-NASA missions," said Michelle Gierach, NASA CORAL project scientist at JPL. "It provides the coral reef science community with high-quality oceanographic imagery at the accuracy, range, resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, sensitivity and uniformity needed to answer key questions about coral reef condition. PRISM data will be analyzed against data for 10 key biological and environmental factors affecting coral reef ecosystems, acquired from pre-existing data sources."

NASA collects data from space, air, land and sea to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities, visit:

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/earth">http://www.nasa.gov/earth</a>

NASA's CORAL mission begins study of the Great Barrier Reef

A NASA airborne mission designed to transform our understanding of...

<div>A new desert city in the United Arab Emirates without light switches or water taps has much to teach people around the world about saving energy and precious resources.</div>
<div>

With its low-rise and energy efficient buildings, smart metering, excellent public transport and extensive use of renewable energy, the 2,000 citizens of Masdar City, in Abu Dhabi, are living in a place which is a 'green' example to city planners around the globe.

There are no light switches or water taps in Masdar City. Movement sensors control lighting and water in order to cut electricity and water consumption by 51% and 55% respectively.

Masdar is the world's first city designed to be 'zero carbon' and 'zero waste', but its environmental experts can learn much from the historic, post-industrial British city of Birmingham, as it too aims to become a low-carbon metropolis.

Sustainability experts at the University of Birmingham conducted a detailed study comparing energy supply and use in the two cities. They have identified a set of five core 'lessons' as part of their research, which is published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Review.

Lead researcher Susan Lee, from the University's School of Civil Engineering, said: "We compared two very different cities - both aspiring to be 'low-carbon'. Masdar has started well by building low-rise, energy-efficient buildings with smart metering.

"Data from such buildings can help to change people's behaviour and help develop more energy-efficient new and retrofitted UK buildings. The UAE is a hot and arid place; experience gained in Masdar will help us plan here in the UK for projected hotter summers, with more frequent heatwaves, particularly in cities, as the climate changes.

"As an established city, Birmingham has been flexible in adapting to new energy requirements and has much to teach Masdar. For example, the University of Birmingham's research into cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells could help the UAE city's desalination plants to develop a valuable energy source."

The Birmingham research team's 'lessons learned' cover the following key areas:

1. Innovation and experimentation. Innovation requires talented people and, often but not always, money. Masdar City benefits from attracting talented citizens, students and businesses and from access to generous national funding. Birmingham has limited means to experiment with alternative energy opportunities, thus impeding its practical progress.

2. Lock-in. Energy supply and demand are part of a complex system-of-systems when linked with other resources such as water, food and other city systems. Masdar City benefits from starting from a blank slate, whereas Birmingham has existing processes, procedures and an ageing infrastructure to negotiate.

3. Balance. Economic, societal and environmental aspects of sustainability are all critical. Unduly emphasising one can lead to negative consequences for the others. There is evidence that Masdar City is concentrating on economic goals at the expense of social cohesion. During the 20th Century, Birmingham did the same, focussing on the car industry.

4. Resilience. Despite increasingly-sophisticated predictions of the future, none are reliable. Masdar City and Birmingham must both make efforts to future-proof the decisions they take today so that they continue to deliver what was intended, into the future.

5. Governance. Both cities have vision statements that include aims to be as sustainable and resource secure as possible. To be successful, these aims must run through all city policies and sit at the heart of its vision.

The team analysed each city's energy flows within the context of their respective country's energy systems. They worked within the framework of the 'Urban Metabolism' theory whereby each city is viewed as a living organism which is constantly restructuring and developing.


</div>
<div></div>

Masdar is the first 'zero carbon' city in the world

A new desert city in the United Arab Emirates without...

August 2016 was the warmest August in 136 years of modern record-keeping, according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.
Although the seasonal temperature cycle typically peaks in July, August 2016 wound up tied with July 2016 for the warmest month ever recorded. August 2016's temperature was 0.16 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous warmest August in 2014. Last month also was 0.98 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean August temperature from 1951-1980.
"Monthly rankings, which vary by only a few hundredths of a degree, are inherently fragile," said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. "We stress that the long-term trends are the most important for understanding the ongoing changes that are affecting our planet."
The record warm August continued a streak of 11 consecutive months dating back to October 2015 that have set new monthly high-temperature records. The monthly analysis by the GISS team is assembled from publicly available data acquired by about 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations. The modern global temperature record begins around 1880 because previous observations didn't cover enough of the planet.
--

<h4>Related Links</h4>
For more information on NASA GISS's monthly temperature analysis, visit: <a href="http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/">data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp</a>.

For more information about NASA GISS, visit: <a href="http://www.giss.nasa.gov/">www.giss.nasa.gov</a>.

August 2016 was the warmest August in 136 years

August 2016 was the warmest August in 136 years of...

The Brazilian government on Monday ratified its participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change, a significant step by Latin America's largest emitter of greenhouse gases that could spur other countries to move forward.
With a landmass a little bit larger than the continental United States, Brazil emits about 2.5 percent of the world's carbon dioxide and other polluting gases, according to United Nations data.
"Our government is concerned about the future," said President Michel Temer during a signing ceremony in Brasilia. "Everything we do today is not aimed at tomorrow, but rather at a future that preserves the living conditions of Brazilians."
Temer said Brazil's ratification would be presented formally to the U.N. later this month.
The Paris Agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have formally joined it. Climate experts say that could happen later this year.
Countries set their own targets for reducing emissions. The targets are not legally binding, but nations must update them every five years.
Using 2005 levels as the baseline, Brazil committed to cutting emissions 37 percent by 2025 and an "intended reduction" of 43 percent by 2030.
In the last decade, Brazil has achieved significant emissions cuts thanks to efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon and increase in the use of energy from hydropower and other renewable sources including wind, solar and biomass.
The Paris accord got a boost earlier this month when U.S. President Barack Obama and China's President Xi Jinping sealed their nations' participation.
"Brazil is now the next major country to move forward. It will add even greater momentum," said David Waskow, director of the International Climate Initiative at the Washington, D.C.,-based think tank the World Resources Institute.
---
Peter Prengaman on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/peterprengaman">www.twitter.com/peterprengaman</a>
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Brazil ratifies Paris agreement on climate change

The Brazilian government on Monday ratified its participation in the...

Vast coral reefs surrounding this island are considered by many experts to be the healthiest and best-protected in the Caribbean, and that makes Bonaire an ideal spot to test whether 3D printing technology can help preserve these vital marine habitats around the world.
A partnership that includes the foundation of ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau will be using the rapidly developing layered printing technology to design structures that are virtually identical to the ornate natural coral formations that have long made the southern Caribbean island a top diving destination. They hope their artificial creations will foster natural growth of the reef faster than other methods.
"Essentially we will be able to print rock in quotations," Cousteau said.
The artificial coral will be made of sandstone and limestone and will be deployed just offshore from the Harbour Village Beach Club, a Bonaire resort that is active in conservation efforts and is a partner with Cousteau's Ocean Learning Center in the project.
Reef-building coral is a tiny polyp-like animal that builds a calcium-carbonate shell around itself and survives in a symbiotic relationship with certain types of algae. Its reefs serve as vital spawning and feeding grounds for numerous marine creatures. It comes in some 1,500 known species, ranging from soft, undulating fans to those with hard skeletons that form reef bases.
The partners will monitor the progress of the artificial structures with underwater cameras already in place, capturing images of the vibrant reefs that are a feature of the Bonaire National Marine Park.
The Bonaire park is already host to experiments in re-growing coral in nurseries and extensive research. The island, about 50 miles north of Venezuela, is one of the bright spots for reefs in the Caribbean, where the iconic reefs have been devastated by the effects of pollution, development and climate change.
"There are many places in the world now where reefs when I was a teenager were a fireworks display of life and now they are basically a desert, overgrown with algae and devoid of animals," said Cousteau, a grandson of renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. "It's a sad statement because about 70 percent of the biodiversity in the ocean depends on coral reefs."
Park spokeswoman Anouschka van de Ven said the park has issued a permit for the cameras but not yet for the 3D-project, which is scheduled to start this fall.
"The technique of 3D printing coral-like structures is very new and therefore similar projects haven't been done on Bonaire," van de Ven said.
The technique has been tried off Bahrain in conjunction with other forms of artificial reef in the Persian Gulf. The 3D printer allows for more natural looking and complex structures than using concrete and traditional molding methods. Cousteau and others hope the technology will lead to more natural formations and greater biodiversity.
"Coral reefs are an essential part of the underwater web of life," he said. "They are the rainforest if you will of water, of life under water, including about 70 percent of species which live and thrive or depend on coral reefs at some point within the life cycle."
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Scientists are testing 3D printing to save coral reefs

Vast coral reefs surrounding this island are considered by many...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">One of Japan's most active volcanoes could be close to a major eruption, threatening the safety of hundreds and thousands of residents of a nearby city, a new study has shown.</div>
A team of experts, including Dr James Hickey from the University of Exeter, developed pioneering techniques to map the natural 'plumbing system' of Sakurajima volcano, on the south-west tip of the East Asian country, to discover a substantial growing magma reserve.

The magma build-up could see the volcano repeat its deadly eruption of 1914, which killed 58 people and caused widespread flooding in the nearby city of Kagoshima - now dubbed the 'Naples of the Eastern World'.

The team believe the ground-breaking study could help improve eruption forecasting and hazard assessment at volcanoes across the world, providing an enhanced early-warning system for potential eruptions.

The pivotal study is published in respected scientific journal, Scientific Reports, on Tuesday, 13 September 2016.

Dr James Hickey, lead author of the study and who is now at the Camborne School of Mines, at Exeter's Penryn Campus said: "What we have discovered is not just how the magma flows into the reservoir, but just how great the reservoir is becoming.

"We believe that this new approach could help to improve eruption forecasting and hazard assessment at volcanoes not just in this area, but worldwide. We know that being forewarned means we are forearmed and providing essential information for local authorities can potentially help save lives if an eruption was imminent."

The international team of scientists focused their study around Aira caldera - a large, submerged crater caused by the violent explosion and subsequent collapse of a voluminous magma reservoir.

[caption id="attachment_87033" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-87033" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cff2.earth-com-temp.comuploads20160913053035media.eurekalert.orgmultimedia_prodpubweb123730_web-0c44f5f1fc2636191112f6c97da0aaaef8905d33-45bffa3ae6d7effaea301cae6f980acabf024718-150x150.jpg" alt="Sakurajima volcano" width="150" height="150" /> Sakurajima volcano[/caption]

This vast crater acts as a magma storage zone that feeds the nearby Sakurajima volcano, one of the island's most active volcanoes with small, localized eruptions occurring nearly every day.

The team, which included experts from the University of Bristol and the Sakurajima Volcano Research Centre in Japan, studied surface deformation in and around the caldera and volcano.

By combining recent GPS deformation measurements with other geophysical data and advanced 3D computer models, the team were able to reconstruct the magma plumbing system beneath the caldera.

The study showed that the volcano is being supplied with around 14 million cubic metres of magma each year - which equates to roughly three-and-a-half times the volume of Wembley Stadium.

Crucially, the research also indicates magma is being supplied to the system at a faster rate than it can be released through regular, small eruptions from Sakurajima volcano.

The team believe that this excessive build-up of magma may indicate there is growing potential for a larger eruption.

Dr Hickey, who carried out the research while at the University of Bristol, added: "The 1914 eruption measured about 1.5 kilometres cubed in volume - a massive event. From our data we think it would take around 130 years for the volcano to store the same amount of magma for another eruption of a similar size - meaning we are around 25 years away."

"By identifying a timeframe over which we may see an increase in the level of activity at the volcano our colleagues at the Sakurajima volcano research centre can plan accordingly. The numerical constraints we were able to put on the magma supply conditions can also be used to assist with probabilistic and quantitative eruption forecasting."

Co-author Dr Joachim Gottsmann, from the University of Bristol added: "A thorough understanding of the rate and volume of magma supply and accumulation, and their thermomechanical controls, is essential for continued monitoring and eruption forecasting at Sakurajima volcano, and volcanoes worldwide."

Dr Haruhisa Nakamichi, Associate Professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, and co-author, said: "It is already passed by 100 years since the 1914 eruption, less than 30 years is left until a next expected big eruption, Kagoshima city office has prepared new evacuation plan from Sakurajima, after experiences of evacuation of the recent crisis in August 2015."
###
This study was funded by the European Commission VUELCO project, the University of Bristol International Strategic Fund, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan.

'Thermomechanical controls on magma supply and volcanic deformation: Application to Aira caldera, Japan' by J. Hickey, J. Gottsmann, H. Nakamichi, and M. Iguchi, in Scientific Reports

</div>

Sakurajima volcano may be close to a major eruption

One of Japan's most active volcanoes could be close to...

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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="sFFhiK9OOn-1720418-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

[sendtonews key="sFFhiK9OOn-1720418-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EPdZexVR30-1731237-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

[sendtonews key="EPdZexVR30-1731237-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JrMLDXHmjl-1911953-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="JrMLDXHmjl-1911953-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

News coming your way