In the world of science, there's something especially captivating about an anomaly that defies expectations. The sudden appearance of a vast hole in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-ice-shelves-melting-faster-due-to-ocean-currents/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Antarctic</a> sea ice – the Maud Rise polynya – in 2016 and 2017 was precisely that kind of mystery. 



Now, a team of scientists has pieced together the intricate chain of events behind this extraordinary phenomenon. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-polynyas">Polynyas</h2>



The Antarctic Ocean stretches out like a vast, white expanse, a seemingly unbroken sheet of ice. However, this frozen landscape isn't entirely uniform. Closer inspection reveals occasional cracks and gaps in the ice cover, like tears in a giant white canvas. These openings, known as polynyas, are far less common than the surrounding ice, but they are much larger than the occasional crack. They are essentially sprawling stretches of unfrozen water amidst the vast sea ice.



Some polynyas form near coastlines where winds push ice from the shore. Others emerge in the open ocean, far from land. These open-ocean polynyas are much rarer and pose a bigger scientific mystery. Unlike their coastal counterparts, their formation isn't readily explained by simple wind patterns. Instead, they seem to be triggered by a complex interplay of factors beneath the ocean's surface.



These open water areas act like temporary windows, allowing for a significant exchange of heat and carbon dioxide to occur. Cold, deep ocean water interacts with the atmosphere at the surface, releasing heat and potentially influencing the amount of carbon dioxide the ocean absorbs. This exchange creates hotspots of activity within the icy landscape, potentially impacting regional climate patterns in the area.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-maud-rise-polynya-the-antarctic-sea-ice-hole">Maud rise polynya: The Antarctic sea ice hole</h2>



In the frigid expanse of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-suffered-extremely-rapid-ice-loss-after-the-last-ice-age-alarming-scientists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Antarctic</a> Ocean, a peculiar phenomenon emerged during the winters of 2016 and 2017. A massive hole, named the Maud Rise polynya after the submerged mountain beneath it, appeared in the sea ice. 



This anomaly was particularly baffling due to its sheer scale – encompassing an area more than double the size of Wales. Furthermore, unlike most polynyas that come and go seasonally, the Maud Rise polynya persisted for multiple winters, leaving scientists thoroughly perplexed.



A new study has shed light on this icy enigma, meticulously reconstructing the sequence of events that culminated in the formation of this massive polynya. By piecing together the puzzle, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing this rare phenomenon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-oceanic-forces-and-antarctic-sea-ice-hole">Oceanic forces and Antarctic sea ice hole</h2>



The story of the Maud Rise polynya begins with an oceanic change far below the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-ice-levels-in-antarctica-have-reached-an-unprecedented-low/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">icy surface</a>. An intensification in the Weddell Sea's large-scale ocean circulation system - imagine a powerful underwater whirlpool - had a significant impact. 



This swirling intensification caused a layer of warmer and saltier water to rise from the depths. This upwelling of warm, salty water created conditions that could potentially alter the balance between freezing and melting at the surface.



Maud Rise played a critical role. Turbulent currents, like underwater rapids, churned and interacted with the mountain's slopes. This turbulence effectively transported salt from the surrounding waters towards the summit of the mountain.



The physics of wind-driven ocean currents, known as Ekman transport, became a major player in the polynya's formation. The complex mechanics of this phenomenon result in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-ocean-water-discovery-is-unlocking-secrets-of-earths-past/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean water</a> being deflected at a right angle to the direction of the blowing wind. This deflection propelled the salt concentrated around Maud Rise towards its northern side. The influx of salt proved to be a crucial factor in creating the opening within the sea ice.



"Ekman transport was the essential missing ingredient that was necessary to increase the balance of salt and sustain the mixing of salt and heat towards the surface water,” explained Professor Alberto Naveira Garabato, a co-author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications">Broader implications</h2>



The story of the Antarctic ice hole Maud Rise polynya doesn't end with the unraveling of its origins. Understanding these events is key to decoding broader changes in the Southern Ocean. Polynyas can leave lasting "footprints" on the ocean, shaping how water moves and distributes heat.



"The dense waters that form here can spread across the global ocean,” noted Professor Sarah Gille. This study serves as a reminder of the complex and far-reaching consequences of even localized phenomena in the context of our planet's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-the-oceans-hidden-influence-on-global-weather-patterns/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate system</a>.



The Maud Rise polynya reminds us that even in the most remote and desolate corners of Earth, dynamic processes are at play. Scientists' relentless pursuit of knowledge sheds light on delicate balances within polar environments and the potential global consequences of change in these icy realms.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj0777" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 



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Experts solve the mystery of a giant hole in Antarctic sea ice

In the world of science, there's something especially captivating about an anomaly that defies expectations. The sudden appearance of a vast hole in the Antarctic sea ice – the Maud Rise polynya – in 2016 and 2017 was precisely that kind of mystery. Now, a team of scientists has pieced together the intricate chain of events behind this extraordinary phenomenon. Polynyas The Antarctic Ocean stretches out like a vast, white expanse, a seemingly unbroken sheet of ice. However, this frozen landscape isn't entirely uniform. Closer inspection reveals...

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<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Storm Mirinae seen approaching China. Tropical Storm Mirinae seen approaching China. Tropical Depression 05W strengthened into a tropical storm and was renamed Tropical Storm Mirinae as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Aqua satellite passed over the South China Sea and captured a visible image of the storm.</div>
On Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 06:05 a.m. UTC (2:05 a.m. EDT) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Aqua satellite looked at the storm in visible light. The image showed a somewhat elongated storm. The strongest thunderstorms around the center appear slightly elongated from southwest to northeast, as a result of moderate vertical wind shear. Tropical Storm Mirinae seen approaching China

In the image, bands of thunderstorms wrap around the storm from the south to west to northwest. Thunderstorms in the northwestern quadrant of the storm had already spread over Hainan Island.

By 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) Mirinae's maximum sustained winds were near 35 knots (40 mph/62 kph). It was centered near 18.7 north latitude and 111.5 east longitude, about 231 nautical miles southeast of Haikou, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mongolia-air-pollution/">China</a>. Mirinae was moving to the west-northwest at 12 knots (13.8 mph/22.2 kph).

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast calls for Mirinae to cross Hainan Island, move into the Gulf of Tonkin where it will slightly re-strengthen and make a final landfall in northeastern Vietnam, north of Hanoi on July 27. After landfall, Mirinae is expected to turn to the northwest and move into southern China where it will dissipate.

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Tropical Storm Mirinae seen approaching China

Tropical Storm Mirinae seen approaching China. Tropical Storm Mirinae seen...

<div>Cornell researchers have advice for vineyard managers in cool and humid climates like the Northeast: cover up.Planting cover crops under grapevines saves the environment</div>
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Maintaining bare soil beneath vines has long been accepted management practice used to stifle competition and preserve water and nutrients for grapevines. Exposing soil beneath trellises has been achieved by using extensive herbicide treatments, a practice that is expensive and potentially damaging to the surrounding vineyard ecosystem and locations downstream, due to runoff. What's more, excessive vine growth can result as a function of the lack of competition for water and nutrients, requiring costly canopy management practices in the vineyard to maintain fruit quality.

Planting cover crops under grapevines instead can remediate these problems, according to researchers at Cornell's  State Agricultural Experiment Station in <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/the-rhone-river-flowing-into-lake-geneva/">Geneva</a>, NY. A series of studies led by Justine Vanden Heuvel, associate professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science, provides vineyard managers with an environmentally sustainable alternative to herbicide treatments in cool and humid climates, while tamping down the cost associated with unnecessary herbicide use.

Researchers grew buckwheat, annual ryegrass, white clover and an assortment of local plants known as native vegetation over a period of three or four years, in a one-meter wide strip to see how the grape vines fared as an alternative to maintaining bare ground through either herbicide or cultivation.

Their findings showed that growing cover crops beneath grape vines reduced nitrogen leaching through the soil compared to the herbicide plots. Dissolved organic carbon (a proxy for soil breakdown) was lower in the cover crop plots, and the neonicotinoid insecticide Imidacloprid -- which has garnered attention for its harmful impacts on honey bees and other pollinators -- was found in fewer leachate samples and at lower concentrations in the cover crop plots compared to the herbicide treatments.

Not only does a reduction in herbicide benefit the environment, it also has economic ramifications for vineyards as well. Vanden Heuevel said the cost of seeding and maintaining most cover crops is estimated to be less than using herbicides, saving vineyards money while protecting the environment from excessive herbicide applications.

"With the ample precipitation that the Northeast receives in most years, there is little reason to be using herbicides in mature winegrape vineyards," said Vanden Heuvel. "This work has shown that cover crops can reduce vineyard expenses while improving environmental sustainability compared to herbicides."

Some of the cover crops also proved a useful tool for reducing vine growth in newer vineyards. Excessive vine growth, known as vigor, can shade the fruit from the sunlight it needs to produce desirable flavors and aromas. While cover crops had little impact on mature vineyards, the researchers found reduced vine growth and yield in younger vineyards, likely as a result of shallower root systems competing with the cover crops. Both those qualities can prove advantageous: less dense vines increases sun exposure on the fruit, improving quality of the grape, and many winemakers prefer lower yields. Deploying cover crops in a vigorous vineyard could potentially provide a level of control that helps growers achieve a balanced vine, according to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katrina_vanden_Heuvel">Vanden Heuvel.</a>

The studies were published in the journals HortTechnology, the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture and the forthcoming issue of HortScience.
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Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.

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Planting cover crops under grapevines saves the environment

Cornell researchers have advice for vineyard managers in cool and...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">One final look at Tropical Storm Darby. Tropical Storm Darby weakened to a remnant low pressure system in the Central Pacific Ocean today, July 26. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Aqua satellite and RapidScat instrument provided a "last look" at Darby when it was still a tropical storm the previous day.</div>
The RapidScat instrument flies aboard the International Space Station and measures winds over an ocean surface. RapidScat provided a look at the winds around Tropical Storm Darby on July 25 as the storm was weakening. RapidScat found strongest wind speeds near 30 meters per second (67 mph/108 kph) north of the center and much weaker around the rest of the elongated storm.One final look at Tropical Storm Darby

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Darby at 12:29 UTC (8:29 a.m. EDT) and gathered infrared temperature data on the storm using the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument. Data showed that the coldest cloud top temperatures, in excess of minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) and strongest thunderstorms were north of the center, where RapidScat found the strongest winds.

By 0300 UTC on July 26 (11 p.m. EDT, July 25) NOAA's Central Pacific Hurricane Center deemed Darby a post-tropical storm. It was centered about 265 nautical miles west-northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii near 22.6 degrees north latitude and 161.8 degrees west longitude. Darby was moving to the west-northwest at 8 knots (9.2 mph/14.8 kph) and had maximum sustained winds near 25 knots (28.7 mph/46.3 kph).

By 1332 UTC (9:32 a.m. EDT/3:32 a.m. HST) on July 26 the CPHC said the remnants of Darby were located around 250 miles to the west-northwest of Lihue and are expected to dissipate over the next day or two.


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One final look at Tropical Storm Darby

One final look at Tropical Storm Darby. Tropical Storm Darby...

<div>Although the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=amazon+jungle&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=fc30e3a3e019413eaef4d7d121840abe&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;elv=AY3%21uAY7tbNNZGZ2yiGNjfNhS3t*LItEfHefM2goi1CZgCYekUTdnZDDoZhqXh**qaUoWJMMhFwSdmr*Us22D%21z*L2UkpQTm3A9lUEJKPwdC&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">Amazon Jungle</a> may appear to be perpetually green, a University of Illinois researcher believes there are actually seasonal differences of photosynthesis, with more occurring during the dry season and less during the wet season. Understanding how a rainforest that occupies 2.7 million square miles of South America functions is crucial to the future health of the entire planet.</div>
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"With the potential negative effects of climate change, one key question we are trying to answer in the study of tropical ecology is how a tropical forest responds during a long-term drought," says Kaiyu Guan, an environmental scientist at the University of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/oil-drilling-la-earthquake-risk/">Illinois</a>. "If we don't know their daily performance or their seasonal performance, what confidence can we have to predict the forests' future 20 years, 30 years, or longer?" Also Study: Rainforests are greener during the dry season.

Analyzing data from several sources, including individual leaves, camera data from towers above the leaf canopy, and decadal long satellite images, Guan and his colleagues measured the photosynthesis rate over the landscape. Photosynthesis--the process green plants use to convert energy from the sun that plants use to grow--from tropical forests, plays a huge role in determining global atmospheric CO2 concentration, which is closely linked the global temperature and rate of climate change.

"Bringing all of the data together, we find that the dry season in the Amazon has increased photosynthesis," says Guan. "There may be less photosynthesis in the wet season because of the cloud cover which limits the amount of light the plants can use."

Guan explains that understanding the seasonality of photosynthesis can help scientists assess whether or not the Amazon is under stress and how it handles and recovers from stress.

"During the dry season, you would think that the plants would be water stressed and photosynthesis would decrease, but looking at multiple sources of data over the years we find that the plants are not stressed because there is ground water carried over from the previous year," he says.

It does not appear to be just the quantity of leaves driving the higher photosynthesis during the dry season. Guan and his collaborators believe it is actually leaf quality which changes over leaf age that is at work.

"Leaf amount can only explain about 5 percent of all the photosynthesis variations, so what's really going on? It's the leaf quality. Putting it in a different way, when you are a baby, you aren't very productive. When you become more mature, you're more productive. Then, when you're older, your productivity goes down again. It's true for humans and it's also true for plants. Leaves in tropical forests that are 3 or 4 months old are more productive. As you get to the end of the dry season, the leaves are aging and their productivity decreases again. So the combination of the leaf amount and the leaf quality together can satisfactorily explain the pattern," Guan says.

Guan cautions that if the forest experiences several droughts, the carryover of water is depleted--the tropical forest responds to the climate.

"The rainforest also absorbs the majority of carbon," Guan says. "It's the engine that drives the carbon cycle for the whole world, which makes it important when we discuss climate changes. Global warming is dependent upon the atmospheric CO2 concentration, so we need to care about carbon.

"Most of the climate models are showing a drying down trend in tropical forests, with a longer dry season. That's a cause for concern for the future of the Amazon," Guan says. "If we neglect it, it can have consequences around the globe. We need to recognize the importance of this rainforest pattern in which our entire global ecosystem functions. The healthiness of these systems is highly relevant for human beings."

In addition to being an assistant professor in ecohydrology and geoinformatics in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at U of I, Guan has a joint appointment as a Blue Waters professor affiliated with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

Using the same satellite technology, Guan is currently looking at agricultural systems in tropical and temperate regions like the U.S. Corn Belt. "We'd like to build a satellite-based system to monitor the entire United States food productivity in order to predict the crop yield."
###
The above report is based on four recent articles that appear in Science, Nature, Nature Geoscience, and Global Change Biology with Guan as lead author or co-author along with researchers from institutions in the United States from Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, and California, as well as from Brazil, Australia, and Japan.

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Study: Rainforests are greener during the dry season

Although the Amazon Jungle may appear to be perpetually green,...

Study: Even isolated coral reefs are dying. For the world’s coral reefs, the picture keeps getting gloomier. Although it’s widely assumed that both local and global factors are contributing to their decline, new research from the <a href="http://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a> shows that isolated reefs far from human activities are in fact not healthier than those in more densely populated areas.

The work, led by John Bruno, a professor of marine biology in <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/measuring-ice-sheet-elevation/">UNC’</a>s College of Arts and Sciences, marks the first global test of the hypothesis that isolated reefs are suffering from less damage.

“We often mythologize isolated coral reefs as pristine and safe from harm,” said Bruno. “In fact, coral loss on some of our isolated reefs is just as dramatic as coral decline on reefs adjacent to more densely populated islands.”

Bruno and co-author Abel Valdivia (a former UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student, currently a research scientist for the Center for Biological Diversity in Oakland, Calif.), analyzed data from 1,708 reefs around the world from the Bahamas to Australia collected from 1996 to 2006. Reef isolation was calculated as the number of people living within 50 kilometers of the reefs.

The research, to be reported online July 20 in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, shows that local management efforts to mitigate impacts of things like fishing and tourism cannot alone restore coral reef populations, which provide a home for thousands of marine species and offer coastal buffering from storms.

“Widespread arguments that coral reef degradation is mostly caused by local factors are unsupported,” added Valdivia. “We found the problem is better explained by global impacts such as climate change.”

One striking example is the massive bleaching of hundreds of kilometers on the northern and central Great Barrier Reef in Australia — which is one of the world’s most isolated and well-protected reefs — that was reported earlier this year, Bruno said.

“Our work illustrates the truly far-reaching effects of global warming and the immediate need for drastic and sustained cuts in carbon emissions to help restore the health of coral reefs,” Bruno said.

Study: Even isolated coral reefs are dying

Study: Even isolated coral reefs are dying. For the world’s...

Scientists working in the North Atlantic have found the clearest geologic evidence yet of a planetary thermostat that counteracts the warming cause by massive amounts of greenhouse gas by absorbing CO2 into the rocky sediments of the Earth itself. Scientists: Earth has a planetary thermostat that counteracts warming

The researchers said they analyzed ocean floor sediment off the coast of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=newfoundland&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=407a26278b40496e80bca86437f5cf1e&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">Newfoundland</a> to confirm a sudden release and subsequent removal of CO2 that occurred 56 million years ago during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). That event, in which thousands of petagrams of carbon were released into the atmosphere and ocean in just a few thousand years, is considered by many researchers to be the closest ancient analogue to today’s rise in atmospheric carbon levels.

“It’s long been thought that when the planet warms, as it did during the PETM, the rate of rock weathering on land, which absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, increases. This draws down CO2 and cools the planet back down again,” said Yale University geologist Donald E. Penman, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Pincelli Hull and first author of a paper reporting the findings in the journal Nature Geoscience. Scientists: Earth has a planetary thermostat that counteracts warming

The products of that weathering process, Penman explained, are dissolved ions that end up in the ocean, where <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coastal-mud-cool-climate/">organisms</a> such as plankton and corals turn them into calcium carbonate. The carbon is not fully removed from the system until that calcium carbonate is buried in sediments.

“What our paper details is a pulse of carbonate burial in the aftermath of the PETM,” Penman said. “We analyzed a sediment core in which, before the PETM, there is no carbonate at all, and then in the recovery phase of the event, it has lots of carbonate.”Scientists: Earth has a planetary thermostat that counteracts warming

The work builds upon a large body of research about carbon cycling begun a generation ago by the late Yale geochemist Robert Berner. It was Berner who pioneered the notion of a planetary thermostat mechanism via rock weathering and carbonate burial in sediments.

Penman and his co-authors collected core samples from sea floor sediments located in an area known as the Newfoundland sediment drifts. The effort was part of a research voyage undertaken by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, aboard the scientific drilling ship JOIDES Resolution. The chief scientists on the voyage were Richard Norris of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and Paul Wilson of the University of Southampton, in the United Kingdom. Norris is a co-author of the new paper.

The data will help scientists as they try to understand the causes and effects of the PETM, say the researchers, and also may provide insight into how Earth will handle rising carbon levels in the future.

“We believe this process is going to operate in response to carbon emissions related to human activity,” Penman said. “But if the PETM is any guide, it will take tens of thousands of years.”

--

<a href="http://www.yale.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale University</a>

Scientists: Earth has a planetary thermostat that counteracts warming

Scientists working in the North Atlantic have found the clearest...

<div>Ocean acidification could have a major impact on the reproductive behavior of fish living in affected waters, a new study shows. <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/deep-ocean-predators-thrived/">Ocean</a> acidification is having a major impact on fish reproduction</div>
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Research conducted close to volcanic vents off the coast of Southern <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy">Italy</a> demonstrated marked reproductive differences in species of ocellated wrasse (Symphodus ocellatus).

Key mating behaviours such as dominant male courtship and nest defence did not differ between sites with ambient versus elevated CO2 concentrations. Dominant males, however, did experience significantly lower rates of pair spawning at elevated CO2 levels, but a sizeable increase in their mating success.

Scientists say that while previous research has shown fish exhibit impaired sensory function and altered behaviour at high levels of ocean acidification, this study - conducted using cameras at nest sites followed by paternity tests in laboratories - provides the first evidence of the effects of ocean acidification on the reproductive behaviour of fish in the wild. Ocean acidification is having a major impact on fish reproduction

Professor Marco Milazzo, of the University of Palermo, said: "Given the importance of fish for food security and ecosystem stability, these results highlight the need for further targeted research into the effects of rising CO2 levels on their reproduction."

Symphodus ocellatus is a widespread wrasse in the rocky subtidal of the Mediterranean Sea with an annual breeding season lasting from late April to July. It comprises three types of male - dominants (who build nests, court females and provide defence), satellites (who cooperate with dominant males and help with courting), and sneakers (who hover around nests and try to join the females during spawning).

Film footage captured for this study, published in Royal Society Proceedings B, demonstrated that dominant male pair spawning was reduced by almost two thirds in areas of high CO2 concentrations compared to ambient sites, with the time spent courting also significantly decreased. However, genetic testing showed dominant male parentage increased from 38% in ambient areas to more than 58% in areas of high concentration.

Professor Jason Hall-Spencer, of Plymouth University, said: "We had predicted that dominant males would lose out due to increased competition, but our genetic paternity tests showed that they did not. In fact they fertilized more of the eggs than the other types of males and it was the sneaky males that lost out. Even though the sneakers produced more sperm and spawned on the eggs more often, they did not end up fertilizing more eggs."


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Ocean acidification is having a major impact on fish reproduction

Ocean acidification could have a major impact on the reproductive...

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<div>Most of the Hawaiian Islands were spared serious damage from Tropical Storm Darby. . Most of the Hawaiian Islands were spared serious damage from Tropical Storm Darby. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a> estimated the rainfall left behind from the storm and found more than a foot and half fell north of Oahu.</div>
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The location of Darby's track through the Hawaiian Islands resulted in the islands of Hawaii and Oahu being the most affected. Flash flooding was common on Oahu due to a reported 177.8 mm (7 inches) of rain drenching the island. Interstate H-1 was flooded in some locations. Lightning damage was reported in Kaneohe on the windward side of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/native-plants-oahu-non-native-birds/">Oahu.</a>

Estimates of rainfall accompanying Tropical Storm Darby were produced using NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data. GPM is the Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite, a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The IMERG rainfall accumulation totals were calculated for the period from July 19 through 26, 2016 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Darby had weakened from a category one hurricane to a tropical storm before moving into the Central Pacific. IMERG estimates indicate that Darby dropped extremely heavy rainfall at times. The greatest rainfall total estimates during this period were located north of Oahu where 480 mm (18.9 inches) fell.

IMERG creates a merged precipitation product from the GPM constellation of satellites. These satellites include DMSPs from the U.S. Department of Defense, GCOM-W from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Megha-Tropiques from the Centre National D'etudies Spatiales (CNES) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), NOAA series from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Suomi-NPP from NOAA-NASA, and MetOps from the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). All of the instruments (radiometers) onboard the constellation partners are inter-calibrated with information from the GPM Core Observatory's GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR).

Darby dissipated in the Central Pacific Ocean late on July 26.

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Tropical Storm Darby spared the Hawaiian Islands

Most of the Hawaiian Islands were spared serious damage from...

<div>Infrared data from NASA showed that cloud top temperatures in Hurricane Frank were warming, an indication that Hurricane Frank was getting weaker. The center of Tropical Storm Frank was located near latitude 22.7 North west.</div>
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Infrared data taken July 26 at 2053 UTC (4:53 p.m. EDT) from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Aqua satellite revealed that Frank was a compact storm. The center was surrounded by a small area of strong thunderstorms where cloud top temperatures were warming as the uplift of air weakened, not pushing cloud tops as high into the troposphere.

Frank is a small tropical cyclone. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center

On July 27, the National Hurricane Center noted that Frank was quickly weakening and the strongest storms were shrinking in area, located northwest of the center. NASA sees compact Tropical Storm Frank weakening

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) Frank weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm. The center of Tropical Storm Frank was located near latitude 22.7 North, longitude 120.8 West. About 695 miles (1,115 km) west of the southern tip of Baja California, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/samalayuca-sand-dunes/">Mexico</a>.

Frank is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph) and this general motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected over the next 48 hours. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 65 mph (100 kph) with higher gusts. NASA sees compact Tropical Storm Frank weakening

Steady weakening is expected due to the cyclone moving over progressively colder waters and into a more stable air mass.


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NASA sees compact Tropical Storm Frank weakening

Infrared data from NASA showed that cloud top temperatures in...

Environmentalists are again taking aim at the company that proposed the Keystone XL pipeline - this time for another of its projects they fear would send hundreds of supertankers laden with crude oil down the Atlantic coast to refineries in <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tropical-storm-imelda-brings-extreme-rainfall-to-texas/">Texas</a> and Louisiana.
TransCanada is behind the Energy East Pipeline project, a 4,600-kilometer pipeline, or nearly 3,000 miles, that would carry crude oil from tar sands in Western Canada to the East Coast, where it would then be shipped to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. When completed, the project would carry 1.1-million barrels of crude oil every day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern Canada.
Plans call for converting a natural gas line for part of the route and then building a new pipeline in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Eastern Ontario, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy">Québec</a> and New Brunswick to connect to the existing pipeline. Environmentalists protest Energy East Pipeline project
The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and other environmental groups are concerned about potential spills of tar sands diluted bitumen along the route in Canada that goes over thousands of rivers, streams and lakes. They also warned a spill along the East Coast could prove devastating to communities that depend on tourism and fisheries and are not prepared to handle an event of this kind.
The groups held a conference call Tuesday with the media, in releasing a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/tar-sands-atlantic-ocean-transcanadas-proposed-energy-east-pipeline">report</a> , "Tar Sands in the Atlantic Ocean: Transcanada's Proposed Energy East Pipeline," that lays out their case against the project.Environmentalists protest Energy East Pipeline project
"What we have is a proposal to move nearly 300 super tankers down the eastern seaboard, and we don't have the techniques and technology to contain and clean a spill of tar sands diluted bitumen should one happen," said Anthony Swift, the Canada project director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
TransCanada said that the project would adhere to stringent safety standards and that it would be the responsibility of its customers of where they ship the oil, noting that "it does not own or operate ships for the delivery of oil."
"Safety remains our top priority," TransCanada spokesman Jonathan Abecassis said in an email to The Associated Press. He said the port in New Brunswick "will have a number of preventive safety measures" including the use of trained pilots and advanced navigational and docking technologies.
"We are working in collaboration with local authorities and first responders during the development of our emergency plan to ensure that the plan is adapted to local circumstances with resources placed strategically across the route to react quickly in the unlikely event of an emergency," he said.
Abecassis said the project is being reviewed by the National Energy Board in Canada. Environmentalists are hopeful the United States will express its opposition to the project during this review process and enact a ban on the shipment of tar sands in U.S. waters.
The project comes less than a year after President Barack Obama rejected the Keystone XL project following seven years of political wrangling, arguing it would have undercut U.S. efforts to clinch a global climate change deal. The Paris agreement last December aims to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with preindustrial times.
Environmentalists are hoping the same grassroots success they had with Keystone will bring down the Energy East project. In a sign they may use some of the same tactics, the National Resource Defense Council has already launched a petition against the project that highlights the role tar sands play in worsening global warming.
"We're here today because the threat of climate change is increasingly dire, and we have a critical but narrow window of opportunity to take action," Sierra Club's Cathy Collentine said. "That includes action to stop tar sands infrastructure from being built and to take action to ban the transport of tar sands in tankers that would increase the threat to our communities, environment and our climate."
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Environmentalists protest Energy East Pipeline project

Environmentalists are again taking aim at the company that proposed...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">NASA sees Tropical Storm Mirinae approaching landfall. Tropical Storm Mirinae was moving through the Gulf of Tonkin early on July 27 when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Aqua satellite passed overhead. Forecasters expect Mirinae to make landfall in northeastern Vietnam later in the day.</div>
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/swirling-sediment-caspian-sea/">MODIS</a> instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Mirinae early on July 27 as it flew over the South China Sea's Gulf of Tonkin. The MODIS image revealed a large band of thunderstorms east of Mirinae's center were already over the coast of northeast Vietnam. The center of the storm was just west of Hainan Island, China. Microwave satellite data showed an elongated eye. Therefore NASA sees Tropical Storm Mirinae approaching landfall

Mirinae made landfall over the northeast coast of Vietnam, around 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT) about 60 nautical miles south-southeast of Hanoi. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that surface winds from Bach Long Vi Island, Vietnam peaked at 48 knots (55.3 mph/88.4 kph). Bach Long Vi Island is about half way between Hai Phong, Vietnam and China's Hainan Island in the Gulf of Tonkin.

The Vietnam National Hydro-meteorological Service (VNHS) continued a tropical storm warning. Details can be found on the VNHS website: <a href="http://www.nchmf.gov.vn/web/en-US/43/Default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nchmf.gov.vn/web/en-US/43/Default.aspx</a>.

The JTWC issued their final warning on Mirinae at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on July 27. At that time, Mirinae was located about 58 nautical miles south-southeast of Hanoi, Vietnam. The center of the storm was near 20.3 degrees north latitude and 106.0 degrees east longitude. Maximum sustained winds were near 45 knots (51.7 mph/83.3 kph). Mirinae is moving to the west-northwest at 9 knots (10.3 mph/16.6 kph).

The JTWC forecast calls for the storm to continue to move inland and dissipate over the next day.


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NASA sees Tropical Storm Mirinae approaching landfall

NASA sees Tropical Storm Mirinae approaching landfall. Tropical Storm Mirinae...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Storm Frank weakened to a tropical storm on July 28, 2016 and satellite imagery shows that winds and thunderstorms have continued to weaken.</div>
On July 27, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> RapidScat instrument observed Frank's strongest sustained winds were near 30 meters per second (67 mph/108 kph) north of the center. Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center. Frank weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm by 5 p.m. EDT on July 27.

The RapidScat instrument flies aboard the International Space Station and measures winds over an ocean surface. Images are created at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/shasta-lake-northern-california/">California</a>.

Later on July 27, at 21:35 UTC (5:35 p.m. EDT) the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared data of Frank. The AIRS data showed that the coldest cloud top temperatures of at least minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) and strongest thunderstorms were only along the southern quadrant of the storm.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Frank was located near 23.6 degrees latitude and 123.7 degrees west longitude. That's about 875 miles (1,410 km west of the southern tip of Baja California. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph (65 kph) with higher gusts.

Frank was moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph (15 kph), and the National Hurricane Center expects a gradual turn toward the west and west-southwest over the next 48 hours as the storm weakens.

NOAA GOES-West infrared image of Tropical Storm Frank was taken on July 28, 2016 at 1315 UTC (9:15 a.m. EDT). The GOES-West image showed very weak storms and mostly along the southern quadrant, as the infrared imagery from AIRS had shown 16 hours before. The GOES image was generated at the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

Forecaster Pasch at NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that "All of the deep convection associated with Frank has dissipated, and since the cyclone is moving over waters cooler than 23 degrees Celsius, regeneration of thunderstorms within the circulation is not anticipated. Therefore, the cyclone is likely to degenerate into a post-tropical remnant low pressure area later today.

NHC said that the storm will continue to weaken as the circulation spins down over the next couple of days. Frank is expected to dissipate by Sunday, July 31.


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Tropical Cyclone Frank is fading fast

Tropical Storm Frank weakened to a tropical storm on July...

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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

[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

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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.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

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://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

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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



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.

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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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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...