A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. 



Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness.



People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fitness-focused-medicine-physical-activity-reduces-chronic-disease-risk/">physical health,</a> finances, and social support.



Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community identity. The pattern lines up with centuries-old settlement histories that still shape local norms today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-wellness-two-ways">Measuring wellness two ways</h2>



The team worked with data from the <a href="https://news.gallup.com/topic/well-being-index.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index</a> spanning 2009–2016 and grouped responses into two broader composites.



“Traditional” wellness bundles tangible aspects of life - physical and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-crisis-half-of-the-worlds-population-will-be-affected-by-age-75/">mental health</a>, financial security, and day-to-day social support. 



“Existential” wellness captures the less tangible side - purpose, personal growth, community belonging, and living in line with one’s values.



Separating the two helps explain why some places thrive on paper (jobs, hospitals, income) yet still report a thinner sense of meaning - or the reverse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-old-map-explains-modern-feelings"><a></a>An old map explains modern feelings</h2>



To test whether regional culture matters in wellness, the researchers turned to the American Nations Model. 



This framework divides the U.S. into historical “nations” based on who settled there first. Think Yankeedom, the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and others.



Each region inherited durable folkways about trust, autonomy, community, and authority. Even after accounting for education and income, these cultural footprints predicted distinctive wellness profiles where people live.



The headline split was clear. Northeastern and Midwestern regions, including Yankeedom, leaned higher on traditional wellness. 



Several Southern and frontier-legacy regions - such as the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and parts of the Far West - leaned higher on existential wellness.



In other words, the balance of “health and money” versus “purpose and belonging” shifts in systematic ways across the cultural map.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-differences-stand-out">Wellness differences stand out</h2>



Statistically, the contrasts weren’t subtle. In within-region comparisons, traditional wellness significantly exceeded existential wellness in Yankeedom.



Existential wellness was higher in the Deep South and especially Greater Appalachia - the largest reversal in the set.



Several other regions showed smaller or no gaps, demonstrating that not every place fits a single mold.



These effects held in mixed-effects models that controlled for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-education-matters-for-healthy-aging-and-longevity/">education</a> and income and accounted for clustering within metropolitan areas.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard" class="wp-image-1985865"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Click image to enlarge. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture-race-and-wellness">Culture, race, and wellness</h2>



The study also looked at Black and Hispanic residents across regions. Patterns generally echoed the broader map. 



Black and Hispanic respondents tended to show higher traditional wellness in Northeastern and Midwestern regions. They also reported higher existential wellness in Southern regions.



Notably, Black respondents showed consistently lower traditional wellness than white respondents across regions. In the Northeast and Midwest, they also fared worse on existential wellness. 



Together, these patterns suggest that material constraints and structural disparities remain powerful drivers.



At the same time, the relatively stronger existential scores in many Southern contexts may reflect the buffering role of community networks and cultural identity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-roots-of-wellness">Cultural roots of wellness</h2>



Culture shapes where institutions flourish (hospitals, schools, civic groups), how people relate to one another (trust, norms of reciprocity), and what counts as a good life (autonomy vs. solidarity, achievement vs. belonging).



Those long-running preferences influence migration, policy choices, and investments that, over time, help set the table for different “flavors” of well-being.



The authors found the pattern persisted even after adjusting for education and income, and they reported model checks to reduce issues like multicollinearity among predictors.



That suggests the American Nations framework isn’t just a clever historical story - it adds real explanatory power to why wellness feels different in different parts of the country.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-policy-must-fit-culture">Wellness policy must fit culture</h2>



If you want to boost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simply-looking-at-art-can-improve-your-well-being/">well-being</a>, focusing only on income or clinics may miss what makes people feel whole in a given place.



In regions that already score high on traditional metrics, investing in community identity, public spaces, and opportunities for contribution might move the needle on meaning and purpose.



In places rich in existential wellness but poorer on traditional metrics, policies that improve access to preventive care, stable work, and safety nets could pay outsized dividends.



Put simply, the study argues that wellness strategies work best when they respect the cultural ecologies where people live - strengthening what’s already strong while shoring up what’s thin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-and-a-next-step"><a></a>Limits - and a next step</h2>



This is an observational study using self-reported survey data; it can’t prove cause and effect. The American Nations borders blur in real life, people move, and city-level differences within regions can be large.



Still, with more than 325,000 respondents across 110 metro areas and eight years of data, the signal is hard to ignore. 



The authors call for digging into mechanisms: Which specific institutions or community practices best translate cultural inheritance into day-to-day well-being? 



And which levers - health infrastructure, schooling, neighborhood design, civic organizations - offer the highest return in each region?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-place-and-culture-shape-wellness">Place and culture shape wellness</h2>



Where you live doesn’t just shape your paycheck and your hospital bill. It also shapes how you experience a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/creativity-improves-life-satisfaction-and-overall-well-being/">good life</a> - whether that’s feeling financially secure and physically well, or feeling rooted in purpose and community.



The United States’ oldest settlement patterns still echo in those experiences today. 



They remind policymakers that the most effective pathways to human flourishing may look different from Boston to Birmingham to El Paso.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327972" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Wellness in America depends on culture and where you live

A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness. People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes physical health, finances, and social support. Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community...

New research published in the <a href="https://jech.bmj.com/">Journal of Epidemiology &amp; Community Health</a> suggests body size — consisting of height and weight — could have greater influence on women’s lifespan than men’s.

Previous studies looking into body size in relation to old age have combined sexes or focused predominantly on men. However, this new research proves that women’s hormones, genes, and/or lifestyle may impact <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/happy-marriage-extend-lifespan/">lifespan</a> more so than previously thought.

To come to this conclusion, researchers looked at data from the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS), in which more than 120,000 men and women aged between 55 and 69 participated when it began in 1986. Researchers analyzed the data for links between body size, leisure time, physical activity, and reaching 90 years of age. They also noted differences between men and women.

About 7807 participants (3646 men and 4161 women now aged between 68 and 70) shared detailed information about height, weight, and physical activity levels back in 1986 when they were 20 years old. These participants were monitored until age 90 or death, and researchers also noted influential factors like smoking and drinking habits, diet, and education level.

Researchers found that some 433 men (16.7%) and 944 women (34.4%) survived to the age of 90.

Women who reached age 90 were, on average, taller, had weighed less at the beginning of the study and had put on less weight since age 20 than those who were shorter and heavier. Furthermore, women who were taller than 5’9” were 31% more likely to reach age 90 than women who were shorter than 5’3”.

There was no correlation between height, weight, and old age in men. However, men who participated in over 90 minutes of physical activity each day were 39% more likely to reach 90 than men who did less than 30 minutes of daily physical activity. Every 30 extra minutes of daily physical activity increased men’s chances of living to 90 by 5%.

But women who engaged in 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity per day were only 21% more likely to reach 90 than those who who managed 30 minutes or less. Although, 60 minutes of physical activity seemed to be the magic number for those women who reached 90.

This study is purely observational, and therefore cause cannot be established. And the fact that information was volunteered and not measured could have affected the outcomes. However, because of the large scale of participants, researchers are still comfortable with their findings and do believe lifespan of women and men is reliant on different factors.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Height and weight may influence women’s lifespans more than men’s

New research published in the Journal of Epidemiology &amp; Community...

A study from the <a href="http://www.iiasa.ac.at/">International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis</a> (IIASA) has confirmed that there is a causal relationship between climate, conflict, and migration. While there has been plenty of speculation that such a link existed, the scientific evidence was lacking. 

In recent decades, environmental conditions have been blamed for creating political unrest and civil war, followed by waves of migration. One major example is the ongoing Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011. In addition, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/asylum-seekers-dont-burden-economies/">people seeking refuge</a> from conflict in Africa are moving into coastal Mediterranean countries in Europe.

The research team set out to investigate the association between climate change and migration. They found that under certain circumstances, climate conditions do lead to increased migration but that this happens indirectly - as a result of conflict.

“This research touches upon the topic widely covered in the media. We contribute to the debate on climate-induced migration by providing new scientific evidence,” said study co-author Raya Muttarak.

The researchers analyzed migration patterns associated with conflict by collecting data on asylum applications from 157 countries that had been submitted between 2006 and 2015. To examine the climate conditions in the countries the asylum seekers were leaving, the team used a standardized <a href="https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/standardized-precipitation-evapotranspiration-index-spei">index</a> that measures droughts and their intensity based on precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, and temperature. In addition, conflict was assessed through data on battle-related deaths from the <a href="http://ucdp.uu.se/">Uppsala Conflict Data Program</a> (UCDP).

All three datasets were applied to the team's modeling framework, along with additional information such as the distance between country of origin and destination, population size, and the political status of the countries.

The researchers determined that climate change played a substantial role in migration patterns, with more severe droughts worsening conflict.

“Climate change will not cause conflict and subsequent asylum-seeking flows everywhere. But in a context of poor governance and a medium level of democracy, severe climate conditions can create conflict over scarce resources,” said study co-author Crespo Cuaresma.

According to the researchers, concerns relating to climate change-induced conflict and the subsequent migration should be considered in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/global-environmental-change">Global Environmental Change</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Study reveals causal link between climate, conflict, and migration

A study from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> developed a new “brain training” mobile phone game that actually improves users’ concentration. This is good news for young people who have become more easily <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/digital-media-distract-drain/">distracted</a> due to pinging phones, poor sleep quality, and daily stressors.

“We've all experienced coming home from work feeling that we've been busy all day, but unsure what we actually did," said Professor Barbara Sahakian from Cambridge’s <a href="https://www.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/">Department of Psychiatry</a>. "Most of us spend our time answering emails, looking at text messages, searching social media, trying to multitask. But instead of getting a lot done, we sometimes struggle to complete even a single task and fail to achieve our goal for the day. Then we go home, and even there we find it difficult to 'switch off' and read a book or watch TV without picking up our smartphones. 

She explained, “For complex tasks we need to get in the 'flow' and stay focused." And that’s exactly what this new app is programmed to help users do.

A research team from Cambridge’s Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute developed a game called “Decoder.” Professor Sahakian and her colleagues have proven that playing Decoder on an iPad for eight hours over the course of a month will improve a user’s attention and concentration.

[caption id="attachment_1865803" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/New-app-helps-users-battle-distraction-and-improve-concentration1.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1865803" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/New-app-helps-users-battle-distraction-and-improve-concentration1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="700" /></a> Image Credit: Peak[/caption]

To come to this conclusion, Professor Sahakian and team studied 75 young adult participants, each divided and put into one of three groups. The first group was given Decoder, the second was given Bingo, and the third group received no game at all. Those given games were invited to play for one hour at eight different intervals throughout a single month.

All 75 participants were tested with the CANTAB Rapid Visual Information Processing test (RVP), commonly used to measure concentration and attention, both before and after the gaming period, as well as with the Trail Making Test, used to measure attention shifting. Researchers found that those who played Decoder exhibited better attention and concentration than those who played Bingo or no game at all, and their ability to shift attention was not compromised.

In fact, playing Decoder had the same effect on participants as taking a stimulant drug like Ritalin or nicotine. These results were published January 20th in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience">Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience</a>.

"Many people tell me that they have trouble focussing their attention,” Professor Sahakian said. “Decoder should help them improve their ability to do this. In addition to healthy people, we hope that the game will be beneficial for patients who have impairments in attention, including those with ADHD or traumatic brain injury. We plan to start a study with traumatic brain injury patients this year."

Under the app developer Peak, Decoder has become available to those with Apple technologies via the Peak Brain Training app.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Peak

New app helps users battle distraction and improve concentration

Researchers at the University of Cambridge developed a new “brain...

The world’s groundwater reserves, a crucial source of drinking water, are in danger of depletion, according to a new climate change study. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/">Cardiff University</a> say that future generations could be faced with an “environmental time bomb” as it could take 100 years or more to see the full impacts of climate change and drought on groundwater. 

Groundwater refers to a complex system of underground water stored in rocks, soil, and sand and billions of people rely on this large stock of freshwater for drinking water and crop irrigation. 

Rainfall replenishes groundwater resources, but as climate change causes increases in temperatures drought and weather extremes, precipitation could become scarce which could dry up groundwater stores. 

Unlike the visible signs of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-shortages-reservoir-levels/">receding water levels on the surface</a>, groundwater reserves are more difficult to analyze, and the impacts of climate change are not as immediate as they are for lakes, streams, and oceans. 

The researchers used modeling and hydrologic datasets to determine how long it would take for the world’s groundwater reserves to respond to climate change. 

The results were published in the journal Nature Climate Change, and the researchers found that groundwater in humid and wetter regions will react quickly to changes in precipitation. Groundwater in drier areas will take longer to respond to climate change. 

“Our research shows that groundwater systems take a lot longer to respond to climate change than surface water, with only half of the world’s groundwater flows responding fully within ‘human’ timescales of 100 years,” said Mark Cuthbert, a lead author of the research, in a <a href="http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/1421604-warning-for-worlds-groundwater-reserves">Cardiff University news release</a>.

Having a more accurate understanding of how the world’s groundwater reserves will respond to climate change is essential especially for the regions that may not see any impacts for years. 

“It is essential that the potential for these initially hidden impacts is recognized when developing water management policies, or climate change adaptation strategies for future generations,” said Cuthbert. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Groundwater reserves called an environmental “time bomb”

The world’s groundwater reserves, a crucial source of drinking water,...

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)">World Health Organization</a> (WHO). There are, of course, many genetic and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overweight-heart-disease-risk/">lifestyle factors</a> that increase the risk of heart disease including smoking, family history of cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and little physical activity. 

Luckily, many of these risk factors can be easily managed and prevented with healthy lifestyle choices. However, a new study has found that complications at birth can increase the risk of heart disease for offspring later in life.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">Cambridge University</a> conducted the study which indicates that prenatal care and the prenatal environment play an equally important role in determining heart disease risk and future heart health. The study was published in the journal PLOS Biology. 

The researchers found that pregnancies complicated by hypoxia, where the fetus is deprived of sufficient oxygen, produced offspring that had risk factors of heart disease like high blood pressure. Hypoxia is a common complication that can occur because of maternal smoking or gestational diabetes. 

The researchers tested the effectiveness of an antioxidant, vitamin C, in pregnant sheep who showed signs of pregnancy complications. The team wanted to see if an antioxidant treatment would help protect the offspring from developing heart disease later on in life. 

Unfortunately, the treatment was not all that effective because vitamin C doesn't possess very strong antioxidant properties. The researchers say further testing is needed to find alternative antioxidants that could do a better job of preventing heart disease risk. 

The experts also stress that prevention is key in reducing heart disease risks linked to birth complications. 

“Our discoveries emphasize that when considering strategies to reduce the overall burden of heart disease, much greater attention to prevention rather than treatment is required,” said Dino Giussani, the leader of the study. “Treatment should start as early as possible during the developmental trajectory, rather than waiting until adulthood when the disease process has become irreversible.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Complicated pregnancies can raise heart disease risk for offspring

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, according...

China has confirmed that the scientist who oversaw the birth of the world’s first <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/gene-edited-dna-twin-babies/">gene-edited babies</a> acted illegally, according to a report from state-run Xinhua news.

One of the biggest ethical concerns surrounding <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/gene-editing/">gene-editing and CRISPR-Cas9</a> technology is that these advancements could pave the way for “designer babies.”

Chinese authorities are now investigating He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist who shocked the world when he announced the successful births of two gene-edited twin girls, nicknamed Lulu and Nana, whose mother had undergone in-vitro fertilization and whose father had HIV. 

Jiankui explained that Lulu and Nana were perfectly healthy and that he had edited their genes so that they were resistant to HIV and would be unable to contract the disease. 

Gene surgery was performed when the twins were just a single cell to “close the door” to HIV, Jiankui explained in a video interview. 

While the idea that you could eradicate genetic diseases and risk of infection is a noble one, the risks of editing and snipping around the human genome cannot be taken lightly, and Jiankui’s unethical practices which had been shrouded in secrecy to avoid discovery broke every rule in the book.

While working at the <a href="http://www.sustc.edu.cn/en/">Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)</a>, it’s believed that Jiankui privately funded the research project, hired a team of experts to carry out the work, and forged ethical review papers to recruit eight couples. 

In each couple, the father was HIV-positive and the mother negative. So far Lulu and Nana are the only twins born from the experiments, but another couple is pregnant, according to the team investigating Jiankui and his research. 

The university that Jiankui worked at has publicly condemned his actions and announced that the researcher was fired from his position at the school, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6614607/China-says-doctor-gene-edited-babies-acted-own.html">Daily Mail.</a> Another report argued that Jiankui had only conducted the research for <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/local/2019-01/21/c_1124020517.htm">personal gain and notoriety. </a>

Currently, Jiankui is under house arrest as the investigation into his work continues. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

China: Scientist who oversaw first gene-edited babies acted illegally

China has confirmed that the scientist who oversaw the birth...

Most <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/environmentally-responsible-foods-class/">foods</a> that are accessible in the workplace are high in calories, refined grains, added sugars, and sodium. A new study from the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) has found that around 25 percent of adults employed in the United States obtain food at work at least once per week.

Based on data collected in 2012- 2013 from the Food Acquisition and Purchasing Survey (FoodAPS), CDC investigators determined that 23.4 percent of the 5,222 study participants ate food they acquired at work at least once a week. The average number of calories from workplace food was 1,292, and the products did not typically satisfy the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“Employers can offer appealing and healthy options in cafeterias, vending machines, and at meetings and social events,” said lead CDC investigator Dr. Stephen J. Onufrak. “One way to do this is by incorporating food service guidelines and healthy meeting policies into worksite wellness efforts.”

Improving the nutritional quality of foods available in the workplace could help to combat obesity and low dietary quality, which are important risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. These conditions represent seven of the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S., as well as 84 percent of healthcare costs. 

In 2010, nearly 30 percent of employed adults suffered from obesity. These adults also reported lower consumption of fruits and vegetables and less frequent physical activity compared to adults with healthier weight.

More than 150 million adults are employed in the United States, and worksite wellness efforts to prevent chronic disease can reach a large portion of them. These types of programs have been proven effective at changing health behaviors among employees, reducing work absence, and lowering healthcare costs.

“Incorporating food service guidelines into wellness programs can help employers offer appealing and healthy options that give employees a choice,” said Dr. Onufrak.

The study is published in the <a href="https://jandonline.org/">Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

More food is available in US workplaces, but is that a good thing?

Most foods that are accessible in the workplace are high...

A new study led by the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a> has found that general <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fetal-exposure-air-pollution/">cognitive ability</a> (GCA) in early adulthood is a much better predictor of future cognitive function compared to other factors, such as higher education or late-life intellectual activities.

General cognitive ability is a diverse set of thinking skills that are used for reasoning, memory, and perception. Prior research has linked activities such as reading, socializing, solving puzzles, and completing a higher level of education to a reduced risk of dementia, but the current study suggests that a measure of GCA provides a more accurate indication. 


An international team of scientists set out to investigate based on an evaluation of more than 1,000 men participating in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. The participants, who are now in their 50s and 60s, had their GCA measured when they were an average age of 20 years old. 

For the current study, the researchers analyzed the individuals using the same GCA measure. The team also explored seven different cognitive domains, including memory and abstract reasoning.

The study revealed that GCA at age 20 accounted for 40 percent of the variance in the same measure at age 62, and approximately 10 percent of the variance for each of the seven cognitive domains. 

Compared to the GCA score at age 20, other factors had little effect. For example, lifetime education and engagement in intellectual activities each accounted for less than one percent of cognitive variance at the average age of 62.

“The findings suggest that the impact of education, occupational complexity and engagement in cognitive activities on later life cognitive function likely reflects reverse causation,” said study first author Professor William S. Kremen. “In other words, they are largely downstream effects of young adult intellectual capacity.”

Professor Kremen said remaining mentally active in later life is beneficial, but that the “findings suggest we should look at this from a lifespan perspective. Enhancing cognitive reserve and reducing later life cognitive decline may really need to begin with more access to quality childhood and adolescent education.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mental ability in early adulthood can predict later cognitive decline

A new study led by the University of California San...

A team of scientists at <a href="https://liu.se/en">Linköping University</a> has analyzed how the nervous system responds to being touched by another person compared to self-touch. The study sheds new light on how the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brains-cerebellum-addictive-behavior/">brain</a> makes the distinction, demonstrating that the processing of sensory perception is reduced when we are touching our own skin.

The ability to distinguish between self and others is extremely important, and problems with the concept of self are common in some psychiatric disorders. For example, patients with schizophrenia can tickle themselves, while most people who are not capable of making themselves feel ticklish. This suggests that the brain of a schizophrenic individual interprets sensory perceptions from their own body differently.

Sensory receptors in the skin transmit information about touch, pressure, heat, and cold to the spinal cord and on to the brain, where the perception is processed in different brain regions.

For the study, the team recorded images of brain activity while participants either slowly stroked their own arm or were stroked on the arm by one of the researchers. This enabled the experts to examine how these types of touch were linked to activity in different parts of the brain.

“We saw a very clear difference between being touched by someone else and self-touch. In the latter case, activity in several parts of the brain was reduced. We can see evidence that this difference arises as early as in the spinal cord, before the perceptions are processed in the brain,” said study lead author Rebecca Böhme.

The findings are consistent with a theory that the brain attempts to predict the sensory consequences of everything we do. In other words, the brain does not highly prioritize sensory perceptions that are caused by our own bodies because this type of sensory information is expected. 

“Our results suggest that there is a difference as early as in the spinal cord in the processing of sensory perceptions from self-touch and those from touch by another person. This is extremely interesting,” said Böhme. “In the case of the visual system, research has shown that processing of visual impressions occurs as early as in the retina, and it would be interesting to look in more detail into how the brain modulates the processing of tactile perceptions at the level of the spinal cord."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Thor Balkhed/Linköping University

Why the brain does not respond as strongly to self-touch

A team of scientists at Linköping University has analyzed how...

Today’s always on, always on-the-go, and always plugged-in lifestyle can ramp up the body’s stress response into overdrive and make someone feel like they are constantly fighting an uphill battle. 

When the body’s <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/night-stress-response/">stress</a> response is turned on, your body releases a cocktail of hormones including adrenaline and cortisol which speed up your heart rate and cause many other physical side-effects related to stress. 

While these natural responses can be helpful in stressful situations, over time, they can negatively impact health and wellbeing. 

A recent study conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.uthscsa.edu/">University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio</a> found that stress, indicated by high levels of cortisol, can cause declines in cognition, impair memory, and shrink brain mass. 

The research was published in the journal <a href="http://n.neurology.org/content/91/21/e1961">Neurology</a>. 

“In our quest to understand cognitive aging, one of the factors attracting significant interest and concern is the increasing stress of modern life,” said Sudha Seshadri, the senior author of the study, in a <a href="https://news.uthscsa.edu/study-stress-can-impair-memory-reduce-brain-size-in-middle-age/">UT Health news release</a>. “In this study, higher morning cortisol levels in a large sample of people were associated with worse brain structure and cognition.”

The researchers analyzed data from 2,231 participants of the Framingham Heart Study. The average age for the participants was 48, and the researchers reviewed data on morning cortisol levels (measured after morning blood draws), cognitive functioning, and MRI scans that show brain volume. 

“Cortisol affects many different functions, so it is important to fully investigate how high levels of the hormone may affect the brain,” said Justin B. Echouffo-Tcheugui, a lead author of the study. “While other studies have examined cortisol and memory, we believe our large, community-based study is the first to explore, in middle-aged people, fasting blood cortisol levels and brain volume, as well as memory and thinking skills.”

The results showed that for middle-aged adults, high levels of cortisol correlated with cognitive declines, memory loss, and slight decreases in brain volume. 

The study emphasizes the importance of stress management as stress can have many adverse impacts later on in life. 

“The faster pace of life today probably means more stress, and when we are stressed, cortisol levels increase because that is our fight-or-flight response,” said Seshadri. “When we are afraid, when we are threatened in any way, our cortisol levels go up. This study adds to the prevailing wisdom that it’s never too early to be mindful of reducing stress.”
--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

High levels of stress can actually shrink your brain

Today’s always on, always on-the-go, and always plugged-in lifestyle can...

A new study has revealed that the growing popularity of Prosecco may come along with a high environmental cost. Researchers have found that the Veneto region of northeastern Italy is losing an enormous amount of soil across its steep hillside in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/winemakers-switch-grapes-climate/">vineyards</a> used for Prosecco production.  

The worldwide demand for Prosecco is growing at the fastest rate of any sparkling wine. For example, a 2016 assessment of global wine and spirits trends by <a href="https://www.theiwsr.com/">IWSR</a> predicted that Prosecco would grow by 36 percent through 2020, while Champagne would show only around one percent growth over the same time period. 

Currently, Northeast Italy is producing 400 million bottles of Prosecco per year, with 90 million bottles coming out of the historical Prosecco sector between the towns of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano. This area is defined as the Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin (DOCG), where the highest quality wine standards are enforced.

A team of experts led by the <a href="https://www.unipd.it/en/">University of Padova</a> set out to investigate the soil erosion rate among vineyards in the DOCG area. The goal of the study was to calculate a type of “soil footprint” for Prosecco production, identify the hardest hit areas, and to develop mitigation strategies. 

The investigation revealed that 400,000 tons of soil is lost every year in the vineyards. While wine production is not the only source of soil erosion in the DOCG area, the research suggests that vineyards are responsible for nearly 75 percent of the total loss.

Based on an annual production of 90 million bottles of Prosecco, the experts calculated that each bottle was associated with a loss of 4.4 kilograms of soil.

Caroline Mazzey, a plant scientist at Hadlow College, was shocked by the results of the study. Mazzey told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>: “I find myself in disbelief. It’s more soil than the physical volume of the bottle.”

Vineyards have very little vegetation, which makes the soil highly susceptible to being washed away by rainfall. The researchers suggested that erosion could be substantially reduced by allowing grass to grow between rows of vines. 

However, an association representing DOCG Prosecco producers told New Scientist that this is already a common management practice. The consortium also disputed the findings of the study, with a representative stating: “These soil erosion estimates are, in our view, inaccurate. Managing erosion is a primary interest of the winegrower.”

The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, is published online at <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/">bioRxiv.org</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Prosecco production is eroding the steep hillsides of Italy

A new study has revealed that the growing popularity of...

After researchers from Sweden’s <a href="https://www.uu.se/en">Uppsala University</a> studied fat distribution in 360,000 participants, they found that genetic factors greatly influence how our bodies store fat. The team, whose findings are published January 21st in <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>, also found that this genetic influence is more predominant in women than in men.

"We know that women and men tend to store fat differently - women have the ability to more easily store fat on the hips and legs, while men tend to accumulate fat around the abdomen to a higher extent," said lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala’s department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Mathias Rask-Andersen, Ph.D. "This has been attributed to the effects of sex hormones such as estrogen. But the molecular mechanisms that control this phenomenon are fairly unknown."

Using participant blood samples, the researchers were able to genotype and measure <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/physical-activity-reduces-belly-fat/">fat distribution</a> using impedance measurements, those being measurements of electrical resistance to an electrical current that is fed through the body. They then tested millions of genetic variants for connections to fat distribution in the arms, legs, and bottom. The team found hundreds of genes that affect bodily fat distribution and a high degree of heterogeneity between males and females.

"We were struck by the large number of genetic effects that were stronger, or only present, in females. Upon closer examination, several of the associated genes were found to encode proteins that actively shape the extracellular matrix, which makes up the supporting structure around cells," said Åsa Johansson, the group leader docent.

The study’s findings may help future researchers develop new methods of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Males with abdominal fat are usually at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, whereas women who store fat in their legs and hip and leg region are at lesser risk.

"The biological systems we highlight in our study have the potential to be used as points-of-intervention for new drugs that are aimed at improving the distribution of body fat and thereby reducing the risk of disease," Mathias Rask-Andersen concluded.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Genetics influence where fat is stored in our bodies

After researchers from Sweden’s Uppsala University studied fat distribution in...

<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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

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Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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