The simple act of water freezing holds more complexity than initially meets the eye. While we often take the formation of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/control-ice-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ice</a> for granted, there are surprising aspects to this transformation, from supercooled states to the captivating phenomenon of dendritic crystal growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-supercooled-water-and-ice-nucleation">Supercooled water and ice nucleation</h2>



Water has the expected behavior of freezing at its standard freezing point of 32°F/0°C. However, under specific conditions, you can cool pure water below this temperature and it will remain in a liquid state. We term this unstable condition "supercooled" water.



For water to transition from a supercooled liquid to <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/ice-earths-atmosphere/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ice</a>, a process called nucleation must occur. Nucleation is essentially the formation of a tiny ice crystal that serves as a "seed" around which other water molecules can align and freeze, resulting in the familiar solid state of ice. Even the smallest disturbance, such as a speck of dust or a vibration, can provide the impetus for nucleation to begin, leading to rapid freezing.



While the overall concept of supercooling and nucleation is understood, scientists still grapple with the exact processes that trigger nucleation events at a molecular level. Understanding these intricacies promises to offer better control over ice formation and its prevention when necessary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-accidental-discovery-of-ice-formation">Accidental discovery of ice formation</h2>



The phenomenon of supercooled water, where it remains liquid even below its usual freezing point, has long fascinated scientists. It recently gained renewed public attention thanks to the curiosity of an individual named All George. 



His quest to create crystal-clear ice cubes led to an accidental rediscovery of dendritic crystal growth – a stunning process where ice forms in intricate, branching patterns. First observed centuries ago, this process continues to captivate researchers today.



The diverse ways in which water freezes still hold an element of surprise for scientists. Understanding the conditions and intricate patterns of ice formation offers valuable insights into the fundamental forces of physics and chemistry.



Ice research has deep relevance for various scientific fields. In meteorology, it aids in the prediction of weather patterns. In cell biology, it plays a crucial role in techniques like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biobanking-historic-initiative-aims-to-genetically-rescue-endangered-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cryopreservation</a>. 



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0JFSVUv19E-3606556-12187" type="single"]</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dendritic-growth-in-ice-formation">Dendritic growth in ice formation</h2>



When supercooled water contains even the slightest impurities, it can undergo a fascinating transformation as it begins to freeze. These impurities serve as nucleation points where ice crystals can start to form. 



As the freezing process initiates, it gives rise to delicate, branching structures called dendrites. These dendritic crystals are highly intricate and grow in fractal-like patterns that can extend in many directions, mimicking the shape of tree branches.



This dendritic growth is responsible for the cloudy or spiky appearance often observed in ice cubes. In pure water, freezing would typically result in a clear ice block because there are fewer sites for ice crystals to nucleate and grow in an unrestricted fashion. 



However, the presence of impurities disrupts this process, leading to the formation of multiple nucleation points. As a result, the crystals grow in numerous directions, colliding and intertwining with each other, which scatters light in various directions, thereby giving the ice its cloudy or textured appearance. 



This visual phenomenon not only highlights the intricate beauty of natural processes but also illustrates how minute changes in environmental conditions can drastically alter the physical structure of water as it freezes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenge-of-clear-ice">Challenge of clear ice</h2>



Creating pristine, clear ice cubes presents a significant challenge due to the natural occurrence of dendritic growth during the freezing process. Typically, when water freezes, it contains various impurities that act as nucleation points where ice crystals begin to form. 



As the water solidifies from all sides simultaneously, these dendritic ice crystals develop, spreading in complex, branch-like patterns. This scattered growth leads to the formation of cloudy and uneven ice, rather than the clear, smooth cubes desired for aesthetic presentations.



To achieve the crystal-clear ice often used in high-end restaurants, bars, and luxury events, specialized techniques must be employed that carefully control both the presence of impurities and the direction in which the ice freezes.



To remove impurities, the water used for these clear ice cubes often undergoes a process of filtration or distillation. This step is crucial because it eliminates the minerals and particulates that serve as nucleation points for dendritic growth. With fewer impurities, the water is less prone to forming the cloudy structures associated with regular ice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-directional-freezing">Directional freezing</h2>



In addition to purifying the water, controlling the freezing direction plays a pivotal role in achieving clarity. By using a method called directional freezing, the water is frozen slowly from one direction, typically from the top down. 



This controlled approach allows air and remaining impurities to be pushed downwards and out of the ice, rather than being trapped within, forming the unwanted cloudy appearance. The technique mimics the natural formation of lake ice, which is typically clear due to the slow freezing process under insulated conditions.



These specialized methods, while more time-consuming and requiring more precise equipment than typical ice-making, result in stunningly clear ice cubes that not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of drinks but also melt more slowly due to their density, providing a functional benefit in cocktail presentation and enjoyment.



George's accidental discovery highlights the fact that even commonplace phenomena can harbor hidden depths. The study of ice continues to provide valuable insights into physics, chemistry, and the natural world. 



As we better understand the complexities of ice formation, we expand our knowledge with applications in a wide array of fields.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society



-----



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-----

Unexpected beauty revealed in ice formation

The simple act of water freezing holds more complexity than initially meets the eye. While we often take the formation of ice for granted, there are surprising aspects to this transformation, from supercooled states to the captivating phenomenon of dendritic crystal growth. Supercooled water and ice nucleation Water has the expected behavior of freezing at its standard freezing point of 32°F/0°C. However, under specific conditions, you can cool pure water below this temperature and it will remain in a liquid state. We term this unstable condition "supercooled"...

Global Warming: Scientists Are Scared, But Most People Don't Care. Americans are hot but not too bothered by global warming.
Most Americans know the climate is changing, but they say they are just not that worried about it, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. And that is keeping the American public from demanding and getting the changes that are necessary to prevent global warming from reaching a crisis, according to climate and social scientists.
As top-level international negotiations to try to limit greenhouse gas emissions start later this month in Paris, the AP-NORC poll taken in mid-October shows about two out of three Americans accept global warming and the vast majority of those say human activities are at least part of the cause.
However, fewer than one in four Americans are extremely or very worried about it, according the poll of 1,058 people. About one out of three Americans are moderately worried and the highest percentage of those polled - 38 percent - were not too worried or not at all worried.
Despite high profile preaching by Pope Francis, only 36 percent of Americans see global warming as a moral issue and only a quarter of those asked see it as a fairness issue, according to the poll which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
"The big deal is that climate has not been a voting issue of the American population," said Dana Fisher, director of the Program for Society and the Environment at the University of Maryland. "If the American population were left to lead on the issue of climate, it's just not going to happen."
Linda Gebel, a 64-year-old retired bookkeeper who lives north of Minneapolis, has read up on global warming.
"Everybody's life would be totally disrupted," Gebel said. "It will cause famines and wars, huge problems. I don't know why people wouldn't be worried about it."
And yet because she lives in the middle of the country - joking that she'll be "the last one who will be submerged" - Gebel added she doesn't "feel worried personally. I'm not sure this is going to happen in my lifetime, but I worry about my children. I worry about my grandchildren."
The "lukewarm" feeling and lack of worry has been consistent in polling over the years, even as temperatures have risen, said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-favors-some-arctic-insects-over-others/">Climate Change</a> Communication.
"The issue hasn't quite boiled up enough so that people have put it on the top of things they want to focus on," Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said.
One issue is how big, yet distant the problem seems and how abstract it can be, Fisher said. It can cause people to put off worrying about it.
Renata Schram, a 43-year-old customer service representative in Sturgis, Michigan, says she believes global warming is real and is mostly caused by people, but she is only moderately worried.
"On my list of things that worry me today, global warming is kind of low," she said. The world's violence is a far more pressing issue, she says.
"Usually when we hear about global warming everything seems so distant," she said. "The sea levels are going to rise but I find it difficult to find a prediction that tells you how many years exactly."
White House science adviser John Holdren said climate contrarians emphasize how large the problem is, essentially telling people "the result (of warming) is too scary, so let's not believe it." He said these groups have been "incredibly effective in sowing doubt" about global warming.
For his part, Myron Ebell, a policy expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the elites on the coast may be concerned about global warming but people in the heartland who dig stuff up, grow stuff or make stuff are used to the vagaries of extreme weather. "They don't see it as much of a problem" because it isn't, he said. Americans are hot but not too bothered by global warming.
Not so, said scientists.
"We are all vulnerable to the impacts," climate scientist Chris Field of the Carnegie Institution said. "If you are a farmer in Illinois or if you work on a railroad in Alabama or are a miner in West Virginia, there are impacts that are going to affect your life, your health and what you're going to pay for things in the grocery store."
Scientists, however, aren't communicating their worries well, figuring that issuing more reports and data will convince people, said climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe of Texas Tech, who reaches out to the evangelical Christian community. Success lies in finding common ground in humanity, she said.
"More facts are not going to fix the problem," Hayhoe told a meeting of top climate scientists last week in Washington. "Nearly every human on the planet has the values they need to care about climate change. We just need to connect the dots."
---
News Survey Specialist Emily Swanson contributed to this report.
---
Online:
Poll results: <a href="http://surveys.ap.org/">http://surveys.ap.org/</a>
--
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
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Global Warming: Scientists Are Scared, But Most People Don't Care

Global Warming: Scientists Are Scared, But Most People Don't Care....

Study: Global Climate Change Is Moving Mountains. UC research points to strong interaction between climate shifts and increased internal movement in the North American St. Elias Mountain Range

For millions of years global climate change has altered the structure and internal movement of mountain ranges, but the resulting glacial development and<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/oahu-could-lose-40-percent-of-its-beaches-to-coastal-erosion/"> erosion</a> can in turn change a mountain's local climate. The degree of this cause-and-effect relationship has never been clearly observed, until now.

Based on research led by University of Cincinnati geologist Eva Enkelmann in the St. Elias Mountain Range - located along the Pacific coastal region of North America - the way a mountain range moves and behaves topographically can also change and create its local climate by redirecting wind and precipitation. The repercussions of these changes can in turn, accelerate the erosion and tectonic seismic activity of that mountain range.

Based on her findings, Enkelmann shows clear evidence for a strong relationship between global and local climate change and a mountain's internal tectonic plate shifts and topographic changes.

Enkelmann, an assistant professor in the University of Cincinnati Department of Geology, was among several UC researchers and thousands of geoscientists from around the globe presenting their findings at the 2015 Annual Geological Society of America Meeting, Nov.1-4, in Baltimore.

This research also was published in July in the journal Geophysical Research Letters titled, "Cooperation among tectonic and surface processes in the St. Elias Range, Earth's highest coastal mountains."

MOVING MOUNTAINS

"To understanding how mountain structures evolve through geologic time is no quick task because we are talking millions of years," says Enkelmann. "There are two primary processes that result in the building and eroding of mountains and those processes are interacting."

Looking at the St. Elias Mountains in particular, Enkelmann notes how dry it is in the northern part of the mountain range. But the precipitation is very high in the southern area, resulting in more erosion and material coming off the southern flanks. So as the climate change influences the erosion, that can produce a shift in the tectonics. This has been suggested in earlier studies based on numerical and analytical models, however, it had not yet been shown to have occurred over geologic times in the real world.

Enkelmann synthesized several different data sets to show how a rapid exhumation occurred in the central part of the mountain range over four to two million years ago. This feedback process between erosion and internal tectonic shifting resulted in a mass of material moving up toward the surface very rapidly.

Enkelmann's model suggests that global climate shifts triggered a change in the rheology -- the way material behaves.

While the Earth was much warmer millions of years ago, glaciers still existed in the high altitudes. However, 2.6 million years ago the Earth experienced a shift to a colder climate and glaciation intensified. Existing glaciers grew larger, froze solid, covered the area and did not move.

Enkelmann says the glaciers today are wet-based and are moving, very aggressively eroding material around and out, and in the case of her observation, into the Gulf of Alaska. The tectonic forces (internal plates moving toward one another) continue to move toward Alaska, get pushed underneath and the sediment on top is piling up above the Yakutat plate.

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL

Adding to the already complex effects of climate change, these processes essentially work against each other.

The movement of glaciers can compete with the internal buildup and develop a feedback process that is very rapid and ferocious. Scientists have suggested that the Himalayas, European Alps and mountains in Taiwan were caused by the same competing reactions as those Enkelmann has observed in southeastern Alaska.

In Enkelmann's observation, the climate-driven erosion can influence the tectonics and change the motion of the rocks in that area. This makes studying the St. Elias Mountain Range particularly ideal because this area is very active tectonically, with strong glacial erosion. As an example, she cites the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 -- the world's second largest earthquake recorded to date -- that also resulted in a tsunami.

"In 1899, there were two big earthquakes in a row, an 8.1 and an 8.2 magnitude, says Enkelmann pointing to a photo of the resulting shoreline lift that still stands today. "These earthquakes resulted in up to 14 meters of co-seismic uplift on the shore, so the shoreline basically popped up 14 meters (45 feet) and it happened immediately.

"Our biggest concern today is the continued potential for earthquakes that can also result in tsunamis," says Enkelmann.

Enkelmann appreciates the challenge of collecting samples here because this range has the highest peaks of any coastal mountain range and is only 20 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean, but she points out that it is a tough area to study because of the big ice sheets.

"So as geologists, we go to the area and take samples and do measurements in the field on the mountain ranges that stick out," says Enkelmann. "One approach is to sample the material that comes out of the glaciers that has transported the eroded sediment and analyze that sediment.

"By going to all of these individual glaciers, we can get a much better understanding of what has happened and what was moved on the entire mountain range."

---

<a href="http://www.uc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Cincinnati </a>

Study: Global Climate Change Is Moving Mountains

Study: Global Climate Change Is Moving Mountains. UC research points...

Ground-Level Ozone Harms Corn And Soybean Crops. Despite government regulations, ground-level ozone -- an odorless gas that forms as polluting nitrogen oxides drift in sunlight across the countryside -- continues to threaten crop quality and yield. In a new study, researchers quantify this loss from historical yield data for the first time. They show that over the last 30 years, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ozone-layer-collapse-caused-a-mass-extinction-event/">ozone</a> emissions have reduced soybean and corn yields by 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

The findings are reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Justin McGrath led the study as a postdoctoral fellow with the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois with plant biology and crop sciences professor Stephen Long and USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist Elizabeth Ainsworth.

Emissions regulations have had a positive effect on reducing ozone-related damage to crop plants, the researchers found, but may need to be upgraded to reduce crop damage and ease the resulting financial burden on growers, Long said.

"We had suspected for some time that surface ozone pollution, which can be surprisingly high in rural areas, was affecting crop yields, but until now there had not been a means to quantify this from actual yield data," Long said.

Ozone damage occurs when the gas enters a plant's leaves and dissolves in water within the leaves, producing toxic byproducts. Water availability increases a plant's vulnerability to ozone damage. The higher the concentration of ground-level ozone, the greater the likelihood of damage.

The researchers analyzed historical crop yields and climate and ozone data from 1980 to 2011 across the continental United States, focusing on corn and soybean. They found that past and current levels of ground-level ozone were reducing yields of both crops.

"Laboratory studies had suggested that soybean was vulnerable to ozone, but the 10 percent yield loss in corn is a surprise and very significant," Ainsworth said. Even when water was not readily available during a period of drought, ozone damage was still extensive, she said.

The researchers calculated an annual loss of just over $9 billion nationwide between the two crops due to ozone damage. One way to ease this financial burden is to increase air-quality control regulations, McGrath said. Such regulations already appear to have reduced the amount of ozone-related crop damage, he said.

There is, however, some better news. Ainsworth is LINK: leading projects to identify genes in corn and soybean that decrease the crops' vulnerability to ozone. These may provide another means to decrease these losses, the researchers said.

---

<a href="http://www.illinois.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Illinois</a>

Ground-Level Ozone Harms Corn And Soybean Crops

Ground-Level Ozone Harms Corn And Soybean Crops. Despite government regulations,...

Global Survey: Majority Support Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions. A survey across 40 countries around the world found most people see global warming as a serious problem, and most of them want their governments to limit greenhouse gas emissions as part of a global agreement being negotiated in Paris in a month.
Respondents in the United States and <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/historic-flooding-has-killed-hundreds-across-china/">China</a> - the two biggest emitters of the gases that heat the planet - were least likely to be worried about climate change, according to the study by the Washington-based Pew Research Center released Thursday.
Those in Latin American and African countries - places severely affected by rising seas and encroaching deserts linked to climate change - were most concerned. Global Survey: Majority Support Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A majority of respondents across regions said they would support cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by their governments as part of a global accord being negotiated at U.N. talks in Paris Nov. 30-Dec. 11.
Most people in all countries surveyed said they believe they will have to make changes in their lifestyles to adapt to climate change. Pew also found majority support for the idea that rich countries should make a greater effort than poor ones to reduce emissions to slow global warming. That rich-poor divide will be a key tension point at the Paris talks.
Amid a rise in extreme weather around the world in recent years, drought is by far the largest climate-related concern among those surveyed, followed by severe events such as floods and intense storms.
Overall, the survey found that concern about global warming has stayed relatively stable in recent years overall.
Other findings:
-Women are more concerned than men and more likely to expect their own lifestyles to change as a result of global warming.
-Younger generations are more worried than their parents and grandparents.
-Catholics and people with no religious affiliation are generally more concerned than Protestants about climate change, especially in the United States.
The survey found partisan differences between conservative and left-wing views of climate change in several countries - and the starkest differences in the United States.
The poll was conducted in person and by telephone with 45,435 people from March through May. The margin of error is 2-8-4.3 percent.
The results of the polling in the U.S. echoed those of an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll this week, which found two out of three Americans accept global warming and the vast majority of those say human activities are at least part of the cause. However, fewer than one in four Americans are extremely or very worried about it, according the poll of 1,058 people in mid-October.
Climate scientists and social scientists say that relative indifference is keeping the American public from demanding and getting the changes that are necessary to prevent global warming from reaching a crisis.
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Global Survey: Majority Support Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Global Survey: Majority Support Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions. A survey...

Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014. New scientific analysis shows the fingerprints of man-made climate change on 14 2014 extreme weather events, hitting every continent but Antarctica.
Dozens of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and across the world examined 28 strange weather conditions last year to see if global warming partly increased their likelihood or their strength. In a series of papers in a 180-page, peer-reviewed report, the scientists spotted some effects of climate change in half of them.
In other weather events, scientists found no evidence of climate change making conditions more likely or stronger. Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014
Researchers found climate change fingerprints on Hawaii's tropical cyclones and heat in Argentina, Europe, South Korea, China, and repeatedly in Australia. The studies also found global warming partly to blame for heavy rain and flooding in Canada and New Zealand, winter storms in Nepal and drought in Africa and the Middle East.
In the case of the California wildfires, they found that global warming has increased the likelihood of fires and should increase with time; the cause of the 2014 wildfire situation is a bit harder to assess.
In a record hot year, heat stood out. Hundreds of millions of people live in areas where 2014 extreme heat was linked to climate change.
"Globally, extreme heat is becoming more common," said NOAA climate scientist Stephanie Herring, lead editor of the report published Thursday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
One study looked at a giant swath of Europe and found it was unusually warm because of climate change. The study found 12 percent of the large area set warm records in 2014, but no records for cold were established.
The studies varied in how much influence climate change had on those events, but it was never the sole cause, scientists said.
"This series of papers makes it more clear than ever that human-caused climate change is increasing both the severity and frequency of an increasing variety of climate extremes," said University of Arizona climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck, who wasn't part of the report.
The researchers used statistical analysis and computer simulations to show what would happen without man-made warming and compare that to what did happen.
Scientists could not find a climate fingerprint on 13 events, including winter storms in the United States, heavy rain in England and France, tropical cyclone Gonzalo, the Singapore drought and an increase in Antarctica's sea ice.
Climate change's influence would make a cold snap such as the one that occurred in the U.S. upper Midwest 20 to 100 times less likely, but it happened anyway, Herring said.
Last year some people speculated that harsh cold winters had been influenced by climate change, but the scientists who looked at that just couldn't find it, said NOAA climate scientist Martin Hoerling, a co-editor of the paper.
"All that is unusual is not necessarily happening due to climate change," he said. "Some of these events are climate surprises."
Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said humans have changed Earth's climate as a whole, so it is "seriously misguided" to ask if individual events are affected by humans.
---
Online:
The report: <a href="http://bit.ly/1NSh8A7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://bit.ly/1NSh8A7</a>
---
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Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014

Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014....

Yellow mine waste water is seen at the entrance to the Gold King Mine in San Juan County, Colorado

EPA Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill. The Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general is expanding its investigation into a toxic spill from an inactive <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/cameron-peak-fire-is-now-the-largest-in-colorados-recorded-history/">Colorado</a> gold mine to include questions about whether the agency was following its own rules when it triggered the blowout.
The inspector general's office said Thursday that it will add more than a dozen lines of inquiry, some requested by Congress and others raised by a review of the spill by the Interior Department.
An EPA-led contractor inadvertently released 3 million gallons of wastewater tainted with heavy metals from the Gold King Mine on Aug. 5 during cleanup operations. Rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah were contaminated. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=epa&amp;cvid=ec6e2c375cb84d42bebe1160c35d8d51&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">EPA</a> Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill
The inspector general will also look into what kind of legal protection EPA gave the contractor and whether that affected the way the work was done.
Gold mining in Colorado, a state of the <a title="United States" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States">United States</a>, has been an industry since 1858. It also played a key role in the establishment of the state of <a title="Colorado" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado">Colorado</a>.

Explorer <a title="Zebulon Pike" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebulon_Pike">Zebulon Pike</a> heard a report of gold in <a title="South Park (Park County, Colorado)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park_(Park_County,_Colorado)">South Park</a>, present-day <a title="Park County, Colorado" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_County,_Colorado">Park County, Colorado</a>, in 1807.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_mining_in_Colorado#cite_note-H._Bergendahl_1968_p.143-1">[1]</a>

Gold discoveries in Colorado began around Denver; prospectors traced the placer gold to its source in the mountains west of Denver, then followed the <a title="Colorado Mineral Belt" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Mineral_Belt">Colorado Mineral Belt</a> in a southwest direction across the state to its terminus in the <a title="San Juan Mountains" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Mountains">San Juan Mountains</a>. The <a title="Cripple Creek, Colorado" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek,_Colorado">Cripple Creek</a> district, far from the mineral belt, was one of the last gold districts to be discovered and is still in production.
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EPA Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill

EPA Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill. The Environmental...

Drought Monitor: Majority Of Texas Out Of The Drought. Recent rains that fell on Texas saturated many parts of the state and lessened drought conditions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows that about 95 percent of Texas has no drought. Just more than 4 percent has moderate drought.
Heavy rains that brought flooding to the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sauna-sessions-workout/">Austin</a> region eliminated small areas of severe drought, the third-driest category on the weekly map, in places such as Wichita Falls and Abilene. Drought Monitor: Majority Of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=texas&amp;cvid=16517738d93f482eaa77807dcc598c78&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Texas</a> Out Of The Drought
A Texas A&amp;M University statement says the five-day period beginning Oct. 22 was the wettest on record, with a statewide average of 3.97 inches. That's when remnants of Hurricane Patricia and a separate storm moved across the state. Those five days eliminated the two driest drought categories.
The previous five-day record came in December 1991, when 3.82 inches fell.Other major cities include <a title="Austin, Texas" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas">Austin</a>, the second-most populous <a title="List of capitals in the United States" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States">state capital</a> in the U.S., and <a title="El Paso, Texas" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso,_Texas">El Paso</a>. Texas is nicknamed the "Lone Star State" for its former status as an independent republic
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Drought Monitor: Majority Of Texas Out Of The Drought

Drought Monitor: Majority Of Texas Out Of The Drought. Recent...

INDIA FESTIVAL

Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India. Greenpeace says its registration to operate in India has been canceled under orders from the country's Home Ministry.
The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=environmental&amp;cvid=87d4b4503bcc46ba8a3cf4585fcdc8d0&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">environmental</a> group said in a statement that it would challenge Friday's decision in court.
India began cracking down on foreign-funded charities last year after a government intelligence bureau report said economic growth was hurt when the groups rallied communities against polluting industries.
In April the government suspended <a href="http://www.earth.com/organizations/greenpeace-international/">Greenpeace</a> India's registration for six months, saying it was underreporting foreign contributions and using them without government clearance. Greenpeace challenged the order in court. Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India
Greenpeace India said Tamil Nadu state, where it was registered, canceled the registration at the Home Ministry's direction without giving the group a hearing.
Ministry officials were unavailable for comment after normal working hours Friday.Greenpeace is known for its direct actions and has been described as the most visible environmental organization in the world.It has raised environmental issues to public knowledge, and influenced both the private and the public sector.The organization has received criticism
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Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India

Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India. Greenpeace says...

Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection. President Barack Obama's decision to reject TransCanada's application to build the Keystone XL pipeline was seven years in the making. Since the company first proposed the 1,179-mile pipeline, the project has been studied, stalled, slammed and hyped - all amid intense political pressure from powerful interests on both sides of the debate. Here's a look at the Keystone pipeline's long road to rejection:
Sept. 19, 2008 - TransCanada submits an application for a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline would extend from <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/the-fall-rhapsody-in-ottawa/">Canada's</a> tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska and connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. Because the pipeline crosses the border, the State Department must determine whether it is in the national interest.Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection
Oct. 15, 2010 - As the permit is reviewed, then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the department is "inclined" to approve project. "We're either going to be dependent on dirty oil from the Gulf or dirty oil from Canada," she said. The project begins to galvanize the environmental movement to pressure the administration to act on climate change. Republicans and other project supporters argue the project will create jobs and juice the economy.
Aug. 26, 2011 - The State Department issues its final environmental impact statement determining "there would be no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed project corridor."
Nov. 10, 2011 - Amid intense political pressure, President Barack Obama announces a delay pushing off a decision until after his reelection campaign. The administration says other potential routes through Nebraska needed to be studied.
Dec. 23, 2011 - Congress tries to force Obama's hand by passing legislation requiring approval of the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days unless the president determines the project does not serve the national interest. Weeks later, Obama rejected the application, but allowed TransCanada to re-apply.
May 4, 2012 - TransCanada reapplies and restarts the review process.
June 25, 2013 - Obama declares he will only approve the project if it doesn't worsen carbon pollution. "Our national interest would be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," Obama says in a speech declaring that fighting climate change will be a major priority his second term.
Jan. 31, 2014- The State Department releases another final environmental impact statement, again voicing no major environmental objections to the project.
Feb. 19, 2014 - A Nebraska judge overturns the state law that allowed the pipeline, throwing the project into legal limbo.
April 18, 2014 - The State Department announces it is again delaying its review, citing the legal dispute over the Nebraska route.
Feb. 11, 2015 - Congress again tries to push the Obama administration to decide on the permit by passing legislation forcing the decision and sending it to the White House. Obama vetoes the bill days later.
Sept. 22, 2015 - Clinton, now seeking the Democratic nomination for president, says she opposes construction of the Keystone pipeline.
Nov. 2, 2011 - As it appears increasingly likely that Obama will reject the pipeline, TransCanada asks the administration to suspend its application. The State Department reviews the request for a day and rejects it.
Nov. 6, 2011 - Obama announces he is rejecting the permit to build the Keystone pipeline. The project is not in the national interest, he says. "America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change. And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership," he says.
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Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection

Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection. President Barack...

Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline. President Barack Obama killed a Canadian energy giant's application to build the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, declaring the proposed project wouldn't serve U.S. national interests and would have undercut America's global leadership on climate change. The decision capped a seven-year saga that spiraled into one of the biggest environmental flashpoints of Obama's presidency.
Announcing his decision at the White House,<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coal-plants-closed-trump/"> Obama</a> said he agreed with Secretary of State John Kerry, whose department recommended rejecting the proposal for a 1,179-mile pipeline crossing the nation's heartland. He downplayed the claimed economic benefits of the pipeline, arguing it wouldn't have lowered U.S. gas prices, created long-term jobs or reduced U.S. dependency on foreign energy.
"This pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others," Obama said in the Roosevelt Room.
Killing the pipeline allows Obama to claim aggressive action on the environment, potentially strengthening his hand as world leaders prepare to finalize a major global climate pact. Obama used the occasion to announce his plans to travel to Paris in the coming weeks for talks on that agreement, which Obama hopes will be a crowning jewel for his environmental legacy.
The president, flanked by Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden, said the U.S. had become a global leader on climate action in the run-up to the Paris meeting.
"Frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership," he said.
Obama's decision places him in a direct confrontation with Republicans and energy advocates that will almost surely spill over into the 2016 presidential election. The GOP field is unanimous in support of Keystone, while Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bernie Sanders and the other Democratic candidates are opposed.
The rejection also risked damaging U.S. relations with its neighbor and major trading partner. New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "disappointed by the decision," but pledged to pursue a "fresh start" with Obama nevertheless.Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline
In a nod to the domestic fight that intensified over many years of delay, Obama said the project had taken on an "overinflated role" in U.S. political discourse. He lamented that both Democrats and Republicans had used Keystone as a "campaign cudgel" but glossed over his own role in allowing the controversy to drag out over several national elections.
Keystone has been in limbo for more than 7 years, awaiting reviews that have lasted more than 5 times longer than average, according to a recent Associated Press analysis. Over time, the pipeline was elevated by environmentalists and energy advocates into a proxy battle for climate change.
Environmental groups hailed Obama's decision, with some declaring Friday "a day of celebration."
"Stopping the Keystone XL pipeline is a victory for the planet, for the health and well-being of the communities along the pipeline route," said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune.
Yet while the project is dead for now, Obama's rejection will likely not be the last word for Keystone XL.
Backers are expected to challenge his decision in court, and the Republican-controlled Congress may try to override the president, although those efforts have previously failed. The project could also get a fresh look in 2017 if a Republican wins the White House and invites TransCanada to reapply.
"Given this project's importance to North American energy independence, the question still remains not if but when Keystone will be built," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Another open question is whether TransCanada will try to recoup the more than $2 billion it says it has already spent on the project's development. Earlier in the year, the company left the door open to suing the U.S. government. The company said Friday it remained "absolutely committed" to building the project and was considering filing a new application for permits.
"Today, misplaced symbolism was chosen over merit and science. Rhetoric won out over reason," said TransCanada CEO Russ Girling.
TransCanada, an Alberta-based company with an expansive North American footprint, first applied for Keystone permits in September 2008 - shortly before Obama was elected. As envisioned, Keystone would snake from Canada's tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, then connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Democrats and environmental groups latched onto Keystone as emblematic of the type of dirty fossil fuels that must be phased out. Opponents chained themselves to construction equipment and the White House fence in protest.
But Republicans, Canadian politicians and the energy industry touted what they said were profound economic benefits - thousands of jobs and billions injected into the economy. They argued transporting crude by pipeline was safer than alternatives like rail, and charged Obama with hypocrisy for complaining about the lack of infrastructure investment while obstructing an $8 billion project.
The first major delay came in 2011, when Obama postponed a decision until after his re-election. He cited opposition to the proposed route through Nebraska's sensitive Sandhills region and said the U.S. would wait while the route was revised. When Congress passed legislation requiring a decision within 60 days, Obama rejected the application, but allowed TransCanada to re-apply.
In a major speech unveiling his climate change agenda in 2013, Obama established a litmus test for Keystone: He wouldn't approve it if it were shown to significant increase carbon dioxide emissions. A U.S.-commissioned review found Keystone unlikely to exacerbate emissions, but that was based on outdated, higher oil prices, so environmentalists insisted it be redone.
For TransCanada, the financial imperative to build Keystone may have fallen off recently amid a sharp drop in oil prices that could make extracting and transporting the product much less lucrative. But Girling has insisted that wasn't the case.
---
Associated Press writers Julie Pace, Matthew Daly, Kevin Freking and Matthew Lee in Washington and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
---
Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a>
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Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline

Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline. President Barack Obama killed...

UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions 'Point Of No Return' Ceiling. The U.N.'s environmental authority has quietly raised its assessment of the level at which global greenhouse gas emissions must peak to avoid dangerous climate change.
In annual emissions reports since 2010, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/united-nations-bans-trade-of-african-grey-parrots/">United Nations</a> Environment Program has said emissions must not exceed 44 billion tons in 2020 for the world to limit global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F).
But in this year's report, a summary of which was released Friday, UNEP says 52 billion tons in 2020 is consistent with the 2-degree target. UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions 'Point Of No Return' Ceiling
The new analysis assumes that emissions cuts will drop faster after 2030 than was assumed in previous reports.
Explaining the change, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=unep&amp;cvid=59e40f88ab91469580d52fa746e7d8e8&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">UNEP</a> chief scientist Jacqueline McGlade said earlier assessments were based on emissions scenarios that are "no longer realistic."Human activities since the beginning of the <a title="Industrial Revolution" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a> (around 1750) have produced a 45% increase in the <a title="Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth%27s_atmosphere">atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide</a>, from 280 <a class="mw-redirect" title="Parts per million" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parts_per_million">ppm</a> in 1750 to 415 ppm in 2019.
The last time the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was this high was over 3 million years ago. This increase has occurred despite the uptake of more than half of the emissions by various natural "sinks" involved in the <a title="Carbon cycle" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle">carbon cycle</a>.The vast majority of <a title="Human impact on the environment" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_impact_on_the_environment">anthropogenic</a> carbon dioxide emissions come from <a title="Combustion" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion">combustion</a> of <a title="Fossil fuel" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel">fossil fuels</a>, principally <a title="Coal" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal">coal</a>, <a title="Petroleum" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum">petroleum</a> (including <a title="Oil" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil">oil</a>) and <a title="Natural gas" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas">natural gas</a>,
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UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions 'Point Of No Return'...

Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate Conference In Paris. More than 100 world leaders will attend the upcoming U.N. climate conference in Paris, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, France's foreign minister said Sunday during a three-day ministerial meeting in the capital to prepare the negotiations.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that Putin has accepted an invitation to attend the conference in Paris. He will be among the speakers on the conference's first day, along with President Barack Obama and the leaders of India and <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/historic-flooding-has-killed-hundreds-across-china/">China</a>.
The Kremlin hasn't confirmed Putin's participation at the so-called COP 21 talks, which aim to reach the most ambitious accord to date limiting emissions that cause global warming. Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate Conference In <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=paris&amp;cvid=adb3663319804cbbbe5d1688f562e50b&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Paris</a>
Organizers expect at least 40,000 people in addition to thousands of activists from environmental, human rights and other groups to attend the Nov. 30-Dec. 11 conference.
Fabius spoke during a meeting of foreign and environment ministers to prepare the way for the climate conference's final negotiations.
"The purpose of these three days is to find the road of compromise on as many issues as possible," Fabius told senior officials from more than 70 countries.
One key issue to be discussed is how rich countries can provide financial and other support to help developing countries reduce emissions.
The foreign minister of the Marshall Islands, Tony de Brum, told The Associated Press that "the most important thing that is at stake is the survival of my country. We need to get an agreement that's going to ensure the most vulnerable states will not be forgotten."
The Marshall Islands is among the small island states that fear they will be submerged by rising seas caused by global warming.
The Paris climate conference will gather 196 parties to reach an agreement aiming at limiting the rise in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) between pre-industrial times and the end of the century.
---
Associated Press writer Greg Keller in Paris contributed to this report.
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Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate Conference In Paris

Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate...

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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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?

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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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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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

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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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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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

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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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&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.

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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