Close-up,Of,Antarctic,Moss,At,Fort,Point,,Antarctica

Hidden beneath East Antarctica’s thick ice lie secrets from a warmer, ancient world. For decades, scientists have speculated about what lies under this frozen continent.&nbsp;



Researchers have uncovered remnants of vast prehistoric river landscapes buried beneath East Antarctica. These hidden features could help refine predictions about the future of our planet’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-sea-ice-extremes-disrupt-global-climate-systems/">ice</a> and oceans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plains-found-under-east-antarctica-s-ice">Plains found under East Antarctica’s ice</h2>



A team led by researchers from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durham University</a> studied radar data across a 3,500 km (2,175 mile) stretch of Antarctica, from Princess Elizabeth Land to George V Land. 



They discovered 31 flat surfaces beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). These surfaces, preserved under ice as thick as 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), appear as coherent, low-relief plains. 



The study showed that they were once part of a single fluvial landscape that formed after East Antarctica separated from Australia.



The researchers used data from four major airborne surveys. Their detailed analysis revealed gently sloping surfaces with consistent elevations, now separated by deep glacial troughs. 



These plains dip coastward and cluster around 200 to 450 meters (656 to 1,476 feet) above present sea level, once adjusted for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-sea-ice-collapse-linked-to-a-sudden-surge-in-ocean-salt/">ice</a> unloading.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-origins-in-ancient-river-systems">Origins in ancient river systems</h2>



The scientists interpret the surfaces as remnants of ancient river plains. After the continents split, rivers eroded the land to a base level, creating a vast, seaward-sloping plain. 



These features closely resemble those along the Australian coast, which formed through similar processes.



According to the team, the plains likely developed between 80 and 34 million years ago, after the breakup and before widespread glaciation.



“Information such as the shape and geology of the newly mapped surfaces will help improve our understanding of how ice flows at the edge of East <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-lies-beneath-16000-feet-of-antarctic-ice-a-world-never-before-seen-by-humans/">Antarctica</a>,” said Dr. Guy Paxman.



“This, in turn, will help make it easier to predict how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-past-present-and-future/">East Antarctic Ice Sheet</a> could affect sea levels under different levels of climate warming in the future.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surfaces-in-east-antarctica-survived-ice">Surfaces in East Antarctica survived ice</h2>



Remarkably, these river-carved surfaces have survived beneath the ice for over 30 million years. 



They were not destroyed by glacial erosion. Instead, fast-moving ice carved deep troughs between them, leaving the flat surfaces mostly intact. These areas likely remained frozen at the base, which reduced erosion.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/antarctic-ice-sheet_underneath_topography_credit-S-Ink_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/antarctic-ice-sheet_underneath_topography_credit-S-Ink_1s.webp" alt="The topography beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Credit: Open-access s-ink.org repository" class="wp-image-1978129"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The topography beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Open-access s-ink.org repository</figcaption></figure>



Research shows that today's fast-flowing glaciers, such as Totten and Denman, move through these deeper troughs. 



Meanwhile, the ice above the flat surfaces is slow-moving and cold-based, further preserving the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarcticas-waters-are-getting-saltier-and-it-could-transform-earths-climate/">landscape</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bedrock-confirms-river-not-ice-origins">Bedrock confirms river, not ice origins</h2>



The researchers found that the surfaces cross different geological provinces, including crystalline gneisses and sedimentary rocks. 



This confirms that the surfaces did not form due to rock boundaries. They formed from river erosion, not through ice or marine processes. Their consistency in elevation and slope supports this.



Some of these surfaces now align with exposed regions like the Bunger and Vestfold Hills. These exposed features show signs of glacial scouring, but not enough to erase the original fluvial structure. 



The research suggests limited modification by ice, mostly during the Oligocene or early Miocene periods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-influence-on-future-ice-sheet-retreat">Influence on future ice sheet retreat</h2>



These buried plains are not just ancient relics. They still shape the modern flow of the EAIS. Ice moves fastest through the troughs, not over the flat surfaces. 



The researchers argue that these plains could anchor ice during future warming events, potentially forming grounded ice rises.



“This study brings the jigsaw pieces of data together, to reveal the big picture: how these ancient surfaces formed, their role in determining the present-day flow of the ice, and their possible influence on how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-patterns-point-to-rapid-melting-risks/">East Antarctic Ice Sheet</a> will evolve in a warming world,” noted Professor Neil Ross.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slowing-east-antarctica-s-ice-loss">Slowing East Antarctica’s ice loss</h2>



The presence of these elevated plains buried under the ice could slow the retreat of grounding lines.



If ice shelves collapse during warming, some grounded ice might remain over these surfaces. This would reduce ice loss into the ocean. In regions like Law Dome, some surfaces already host ice rises, which help anchor and stabilize the inland ice.



However, current large-scale ice sheet models often overlook these features. Their resolution is too low to capture how these plains affect grounding-line behavior. 



The authors urge more drilling and high-resolution modeling to better understand the role of these features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-could-change-sea-level-predictions">This could change sea level predictions</h2>



East Antarctica holds about 90 percent of Antarctica’s ice. If this ice sheet melted, it would raise sea levels by 52 meters (171 feet). Improving how we model its behavior is essential. 



These hidden landscapes offer a new constraint on where ice will likely remain stable.



The study's detailed data on elevation, slope, and bedrock composition provide critical insights. They help scientists to project more accurately the responses of the EAIS to future climate change.



The findings highlight the value of geophysical surveys in revealing what lies beneath the ice and how it might shape our future.



The research appears in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01734-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Geoscience</a> and is supported by institutions in the U.K., Germany, China, and Australia. 



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Vast river landscapes discovered beneath Antarctica's thick ice sheet

Hidden beneath East Antarctica’s thick ice lie secrets from a warmer, ancient world. For decades, scientists have speculated about what lies under this frozen continent.&nbsp; Researchers have uncovered remnants of vast prehistoric river landscapes buried beneath East Antarctica. These hidden features could help refine predictions about the future of our planet’s ice and oceans. Plains found under East Antarctica’s ice A team led by researchers from Durham University studied radar data across a 3,500 km (2,175 mile) stretch of Antarctica, from Princess Elizabeth Land to George V...

No, jet contrails are not the insidious ‘chemtrails’ that some believe are controlling our climate or even our minds. However, they are responsible for environmental damage of another kind. That’s why scientists at <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> measured the effects of various fuel mixes and found that a biofuel blend could reduce the impact on air quality and climate.

Contrails are burned fuel that turn sooty as they interact with the cold atmosphere and have an adverse effect on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/winter-pollution-china-worsening/">climate</a> in the process.

"Those soot particles serve as nuclei for water vapor in the very cold atmosphere to condense on and for the artificial-looking linear contrails that we see when we look out the window," Dr. Richard Moore, from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/langley">NASA’s Langley Research Center</a> in Virginia, told the<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio"> BBC World Service</a>. “We know these contrails and cirrus clouds have a warming effect on the Earth's climate, and it's currently thought the warming effect associated with those clouds is more significant than all of the carbon dioxide emitted by aviation since the first powered flights began.”

While other fuel data has been accumulated from the use of engines running full throttle on grounded jets, this was the first time that tests were conducted with a plane at cruising speeds in the colder atmosphere.

The DC-8 was given a tank of conventional kerosene-based aviation fuel and another using a 50-50 mix of conventional and biofuel. The biofuel consisted of ingredients from the Camelina oilseed plant.

The results? After taking into effect varying flying conditions, the biofuel blend produced 50 percent less black carbon by number and as much as 70 percent by mass.

“We were testing in what we call the soot-rich regime,” study participant Professor Bernadett Weinzierl told <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news">BBC News</a>. “Models tells us if you reduce the number concentration of black carbon then you will reduce the number concentration of ice crystals. So this could be a way to mitigate the climate impacts of aviation.”

The study was described in the current edition of the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html">Nature</a>. 

--

By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39286079">BBC News</a>, <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html">Nature</a>

Jet fuel with biofuel blend could reduce environmental impact

No, jet contrails are not the insidious ‘chemtrails’ that some...

In a new study published on Friday in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>, researchers reveal that the sub-Antarctic island of <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/south-georgia-island-2/">South Georgia</a> was once covered by a massive ice cap during the last ice age. They believe that roughly 20,000 years ago – during the peak of the last ice age – ice thickened and extended tens of kilometers from the island, which is much further than previously thought.

So why does this ice cap discovery matter? Well, according to co-author Duanne White, from the <a href="http://www.canberra.edu.au/">University of Canberra</a>, this research shows that “South Georgia’s glaciers were sensitive to climate change in the past… our work has really shown that they were dynamic and underwent big changes over geological time.” This could be indicative of large geological changes occurring in the future if climate change continues at its current rate.

The research team – a mixture of scientists from the UK, Germany, and Australia – traveled by ship to the island of South Georgia. They braved the seas in a territory where explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton once landed during his expedition to Antarctica, where he attempted to rescue the team of his famous Endurance expedition. Unlike Shackleton in his wooden lifeboat, the researchers wisely decided to use the British Antarctic Survey’s RRS James Clark Ross and the German RV Polarstern for the 2012 and 2013 trips respectively.

They carried sonar mapping gear mounted to the hulls of their ice-breaking vessels and called upon weighted gravity corers to retrieve samples of sediment from around the island. The team focused on hundreds of distinct ridges carved into the seabed by glaciers, which served as proof that the ice had once pushed far beyond South Georgia’s expansive continental shelf.

Lead author Dr. Alastair Graham, of the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, explained: “Although the island is small framed against Antarctica’s great ice sheets, the discovery of an extensive past ice cap on South Georgia is an important result.” According to Dr. Graham, the vitality of ocean ecosystems is directly related to patterns of glaciation. Their observations of how past seabed ecosystems survived the ice age and how climate cycles affect biodiversity have major implications on today’s ecosystems.

This belief was echoed by co-author Dominic Hodgson, from <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a>, who said: “Studying the longer-term history of glacial changes in the region is key to understanding the sensitivity of glaciers to climate change, and their impacts on biodiversity and species survival.”

Technological advancements made in geological research are now allowing scientists to look into our past in order to predict outcomes in the future. As we gain a greater understanding of how past climate change has affected specific ecosystems, we can better prepare for what lies ahead.

More information on this important work can be found in their article: “Major advance of South Georgia glaciers during the Antarctic Cold Reversal following extensive sub-Antarctic glaciation.”

--

By Connor Ertz, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>

South Georgia’s past ice cap gives a look into the effects of climate change

In a new study published on Friday in the journal...

The nose knows climate. That’s one conclusion that can be drawn by a <a href="http://psu.edu">Pennsylvania State University</a> study of noses and nostril shapes by ancestral location on the planet.

Researchers from <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> conducted the study because it’s known that physical characteristics that are in direct contact with the environment assume appearances related to that contact, due to natural selection. For example, skin pigmentation varies because of global variations in the intensity of the sun on the skin.

What the researchers found was that nostril width on human noses corresponded beyond the odds of random genetic mutation to the climate of the individual’s ancestry. Those who came from hot, humid climates had wider nostrils while those from cold, dry climates tended to have narrower nose shapes. The relationship, however, wasn’t as strong as that between geographic location of ancestry and skin pigmentation.

The nostril shape findings supported previous research, which has found in studying human skulls that narrower nasal inlets tend to do a better job of warming and humidifying cold, dry air.

Dr. Arslan Zaidi, a postdoctoral scholar in genetics at the school led the team in examining at least 40 study participants with ancestry from each of four geographic areas with disparate climates: West <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/green-heart-africa/">Africa</a>, East Asia, Northern Europe and South Asia.  They used 3D facial imagery to study nose shapes and dimensions and found that only nostril widths were statistically similar among groups. The strongest correlation between nostril shape and ancestral location was among Northern Europeans, who typically had narrow nostrils.

“People are more similar than they are different. What this research does is offer people a view of why we’re different,” said Zaidi in an interview with the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times</a>. “There’s an evolutionary history to it that, I think, kind of demystifies the concept of race.”

The research was reported in yesterday’s issue of PLOS Genetics.

The next question researchers might address with this data is whether life in another climate than that of ancestry can lead to or exacerbate respiratory illnesses.

--

Written by David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Source:<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/"> PLOS Genetics</a>

Climate shapes human noses, study finds

The nose knows climate. That’s one conclusion that can be...

A team of doctors at <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> in Britain have received the first UK license to perform a 3-parent In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) technique aimed at preventing inherited genetic diseases. If all goes according to plan, the first 3-parent child will be born this year.

According to the <a href="http://www.hfea.gov.uk/">Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority </a>(HFEA), this will mark the first time that the new mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) will be performed on patients. Thanks to funding from the <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/">NHS England</a>, the Newcastle team hopes to treat up to 25 female patients per year.

“The team here at Newcastle Fertility Centre is delighted with the decision to grant our clinic a licence to offer treatments to prevent transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease,” said Professor Mary Herbert of <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a>. “Many years of research have led to the development of pronuclear transfer as a treatment to reduce the risk of mothers transmitting disease to their children. It's a great testament to the regulatory system here in the UK that research innovation can be applied in treatment to help families affected by these devastating diseases.”

MRT babies would receive a small amount of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-shark-dna-may-hold-key-curing-cancer/">DNA</a> from a third person. This donor DNA would then replace abnormal genes in the mitochondria. 

“This significant decision represents the culmination of many years hard work by researchers, clinical experts, and regulators, who collectively paved the way for Parliament to change the law in 2015 to permit the use of such techniques,” said <a href="http://www.hfea.gov.uk/">HFEA</a> Chair Sally Cheshire. “Patients will now be able to apply individually to the HFEA to undergo mitochondrial donation treatment at Newcastle, which will be life-changing for them, as they seek to avoid passing on serious genetic diseases to future generations.”

Some critics have questioned the ethics of the 3-parent procedure and the creation of so-called “designer babies.”

“It comes as little surprise that the HFEA has approved the creation of 'three-parent' embryos given their track record of undermining respect for the human embryo and the integrity of human reproduction,” said bioethicist Dr. Andrew McCarthy of The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. “The two techniques which the HFEA has decided to permit are not curative of mitochondrial diseases and in no way help those who already have them.”

But defenders of MRT are quick to point out that mitochondria only possesses 0.1% of a human’s DNA and has no influence over appearance or personality. It is DNA in the cell nucleus that contains most individual genes.

“This is excellent news, especially for those patients in the UK who have been waiting for this opportunity,” said Professor Simon Fishel, Managing Director of CARE Fertility. “We know it won't be easy for all concerned as the technology is not straightforward and success will depend upon many factors. But it is indeed a step in the right direction following in-depth debate and consideration of all issues from the medical science to the ethics.”

--

By Rory Arnold, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a>, <a href="http://www.hfea.gov.uk/">HFEA</a>

First 3-parent babies could be born in the UK this year

A team of doctors at Newcastle University in Britain have...

Is Oklahoma Republican Senator James Inhofe stacking the deck at the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a>? If so, that could be bad news for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmentalists-to-california-stop-offshore-fracking-2/">environmentalists</a>.

Fellow Oklahoman Scott Pruitt, his state’s former attorney general and current new head of the EPA, has hired more than a half dozen former aides to Inhofe at the agency. Among those, according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>, are the agency’s new chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and top advisers on air, climate and legal issues.

The reason this is notable is that Inhofe is among Washington D.C.’s leading climate change deniers. In fact, he’s the author of the 2012 book The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.

The senator says that he’s looking forward to a greater sense of fairness at the agency, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/how-james-inhofe-is-upending-the-nations-energy-and-environmental-policies/2017/03/14/2bebdbfa-081c-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html?wpisrc=nl_heads-draw6&amp;wpmm=1">Washington Post interview</a>.

“It gives me a level of comfort to know that we have a bureaucracy that’s actually going to be serving instead of ruling,” he said in describing his former staffers as qualified professionals who will protect the environment. “They are going to be very realistic. They’re going to do it in a way that will not be punitive. The previous administration was almost looking for ways to punish people.”

That enthusiasm for the new EPA wasn’t shared by Inhofe’s critics, including Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters.

“Inhofe was like the original climate-denier in chief,” said Karpinski. “He was one of the first people spouting this gibberish — fact-free but dangerous gibberish. Now he and his cronies have far more reach and are far more dangerous than they’ve ever been. . . . That’s good news for the polluters but horrible news for public health.”

In addition to the EPA appointees, two more of Inhofe’s former aides now sit as top domestic and international energy and environmental advisers to the Donald Trump administration.

--

Written by David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Source:<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/"> Washington Post</a>

Climate change denier Inhofe filling top EPA spots

Is Oklahoma Republican Senator James Inhofe stacking the deck at...

When the Philippines volcano Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, it released about 10 million metric tons of <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/sulfur-dioxide-emissions-volcanoes/">sulfur</a> into the atmosphere, reducing global temperatures about one degree Fahrenheit for an entire year. This helps prove the plausibility of such an occurrence triggering the quick glaciation of the Earth some 717 million years ago, according to a study released by <a href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> researchers and published in <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-8007/">Geophysical Research Letters</a>. The sudden pole-to-pole freeze, also known as Snowball Earth, happened at about the same time as violent volcanic activity that happened between modern day Greenland and Alaska, said Harvard professors Francis Macdonald and Robin Wordsworth.

Macdonald is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences at the university while Wordsworth is assistant professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science. Neither scientist thought the timing of the two events – the volcanoes and the freeze – was coincidental.

“These types of eruptions have happened over and over again throughout geological time but they’re not always associated with cooling events. So, the question is, what made this event different?” Wordsworth wanted to know.

One major difference was that the sulfur dioxide from the eruptions got into the tropopause – the altitude separating the stratosphere from the troposphere. And this was at a lower height than it is today, due to the era’s cooler climate. At that altitude, the chemical fog was able to remain for about a year.

It’s long been known the effect volcanic activity can have on climate conditions on the ground. But instead of the one-time eruption in the Philippines, this was a 2,000-mile-long chain of volcanoes that were almost constantly erupting. The researchers demonstrated that this constant bombardment of aerosols from the sulfuric dioxide thrown into the air could have had a devastating weather impact after ten years or more.

“Cooling from aerosols doesn’t have to freeze the whole planet; it just has to drive the ice to a critical latitude,” said MacDonald. “Then the ice does the rest.”

The final piece of the puzzle was location. Because of continental drift, the volcanic ring of fire was located near the equator back then, at just the right place to cause maximum damage and create Snowball Earth.

“It’s easy to think of climate as this immense system that is very difficult to change and in many ways that’s true,” said Wordsworth. “But there have been very dramatic changes in the past and there’s every possibility that as sudden of a change could happen in the future as well.”

--

By David Searls, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016GL072335/abstract?campaign=wolacceptedarticle"> Geophysical Research Letters</a>

Cascade of events led to Snowball Earth

When the Philippines volcano Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, it...

Antibiotics kill bacteria. We’ve known that since the 1920s. But we’re also learning more about how the overuse of antibiotics can cause more harm than good. That lesson was reinforced through experiments conducted on honeybees by researchers at the <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>, led by professor Nancy Moran and postdoctoral researcher Kasie Raymann.

The team found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-smarter-thought/">bees</a> that were fed tetracycline, a common antibiotic, in a sweet syrup were twice as likely to end up dead in one week as a control group of the colony given the sweet syrup without antibiotics. The working theory is that the antibiotics cleared out the bees’ gut bacteria, a “good” protective bacteria, which then allowed a pathogen to wreak havoc on the bees’ systems.

This experiment was conducted for two reasons. Bees’ gut bacteria are very much like our own, and commercial beekeepers use antibiotics to protect their hives from bacterial infection.

That’s understandable. Bacterial infection is among the leading suspected causes of “colony collapse,” the sudden and still mysterious deaths of entire colonies of honeybees.

“Our study suggests that perturbing the gut microbiome of honeybees is a factor, perhaps one of many, that could make them more susceptible to declining and to the colony collapsing,” said Moran. “Antibiotics may have been an underappreciated factor in colony collapse.”

In addition to being a warning to beekeepers, the results have human ramifications as well. In addition to having gut bacteria much like the bees, humans are similarly vulnerable to the same pathogens that ravaged the bees when the antibiotics destroyed the good bacteria and left them defenseless.   

“We aren't suggesting people stop using antibiotics,” Moran said. “Antibiotics save lives. We definitely need them. We just need to be careful how we use them.”

The study was published today in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>.

-- 

By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/"> PLOS Biology</a>

Overuse of antibiotics may cause death for bees

Antibiotics kill bacteria. We’ve known that since the 1920s. But...

An international team of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/archaeological-lost-kingdom-dark-ages/">archeologists</a> walked into a cave in 2014 and came out with a 400,000-year-old skull, the oldest human cranium fossil ever found in Portugal. Except, as most things having to do with scientific discovery, it wasn’t nearly that easy.

What the team, under the direction of Portuguese archaeologist João Zilhão, actually found was a solid block of sediment attached to the cranium. It took two years of painstaking work undertaken at the Centro de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion y Comportamiento Humanos, a paleoanthropology research center in Madrid, Spain, to finally bring the discovery to the full light of day.

The cranium, found at the cave of Aroeira, was found along with numerous stone tools, including handaxes, from the same era, the middle Pleistocene Epoch, according to the researchers.

“This is an interesting new fossil discovery from the Iberian Peninsula, a crucial region for understanding the origin and evolution of the Neandertals,” said Rolf Quam, an associate professor of anthropology at <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/">Binghamton University</a>, <a href="https://www.suny.edu/">State University of New York</a> and member of the international team. “The Aroeira cranium is the oldest human fossil ever found in Portugal and shares some features with other fossils from this same time period in Spain, France and Italy.”

Zilhão applauded his team’s accomplishments. “I have been studying these sites for the last 30 years and we have recovered much important archaeological data, but the discovery of a human cranium of this antiquity and importance is always a very special moment,” he said.

The study, titled “New Middle Pleistocene hominin cranium from the Gruta da Aroeira (Portugal),” appears this week in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By David Searls, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.pnas.org/"> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>

400,000-year-old human cranium, oldest ever, found in Portugal

An international team of archeologists walked into a cave in...

A new vaccine could protect chimpanzees and gorillas from the deadly Ebola virus – if it’s ever approved for use in the wild.

Like humans, gorillas and chimps can catch the virus, and outbreaks can wipe out large numbers of the primates. 

Now, scientists are hoping that a vaccine developed in response to a major human outbreak more than three years ago has led to a similar inoculation for the apes.

“In 2014 the world was gripped by fears of an Ebola virus (EBOV) pandemic. Few people realized that Ebola had already inflicted pandemic scale mortality on our closest relatives, killing about one third of the world’s gorillas and countless chimpanzees,” the researchers wrote in a new study, published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep43339">Scientific Reports</a>.

In late 2013, an epidemic of the Ebola virus took hold in West Africa. By the time it was brought under control a year ago, more than 11,000 people had died around the world. The virus spread to several countries in West Africa along with the United States, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.

The epidemic – the largest ever outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, which causes pain, fever, chills, sweating, hemorrhaging and other symptoms – spurred efforts to create a vaccine.

At least one vaccine has been created for humans, and is undergoing successful trials in West Africa. 

But it raised the question, what about a vaccine for gorillas and chimps? The Ebola virus often ravages their populations, too. For them, it’s much more deadly; during an Ebola outbreak among primates, the death toll is often more than 90 percent of those infected, scientists said.

The study, led by Dr. Peter Walsh of the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, developed an oral vaccine using an oral rabies vaccine already in use. 

The researchers tested the oral vaccine on captive chimpanzees at the <a href="http://nirc.louisiana.edu/">New Iberia Research Center</a> in Louisiana. Testing lasted 28 days, at which point new Endangered Species Act regulations took effect banning invasive testing on chimpanzees. 

While testing the effects of the vaccine on the chimps as well as its effectiveness, researchers also studied the psychological effects the testing had on their subjects. 

"We sought both to objectively quantify the level of stress experienced by study chimpanzees and to differentiate between chronic stress induced by social isolation or confinement in small experimental cages and acute stress induced by the vaccine or experimental procedures," they wrote.

According to the scientists, the oral vaccine was hugely effective. Testing showed a strong immune response against the Ebola virus in the chimps, they said. 

“The psychological pathologies (e.g. repetitive behavior, severe lethargy, self-harm) often seen in victims of severe trauma, chronic psychological stress or extreme social isolation were entirely absent in study chimpanzee,” the researchers added.

Testing showed few physiological responses to stress, and those chimps that did exhibit stress were already showing signs of it before the study, the scientists said.

The research team is now looking at how the vaccine could be distributed to wild chimpanzee populations, including through heat-stabilized bait. 

However, the ethical hurdles of testing on chimps may put up a roadblock to the vaccine being used in wild populations. Aside from pushback against recombinant vaccines, there is now a shortage of test populations, the scientists said.

“It seems likely that further safety and immunogenicity trials on captive chimpanzees will not be part of the development program,” the team wrote. “In principle, research that benefits wild chimpanzee conservation is exempt under the new ESA regulations banning medical research on chimpanzees. In practice, all of the biomedical facilities that held chimpanzees have or are in the process of “retiring” their populations to sanctuaries.”

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Vaccine could protect chimps from Ebola virus

A new vaccine could protect chimpanzees and gorillas from the...

About 13,200 years ago, near the end of the last Ice Age, the Clovis people arrived in North America.

These Paleo-Americans were best known for distinctive stone points – called Clovis points – along with bone and ivory tools. Genetic testing of a known Clovis burial found that modern Native American populations seem to be closely related to the Clovis people.

But the Clovis people seem to have abruptly vanished from the scene about 12,800 years ago. 

Many anthropologists believe the Clovis people began manufacturing different tools as megafauna like mastodons dwindled. They point to other styles of stone points, like the Folsom culture, that pick up almost precisely where Clovis culture left off as evidence. 

Now, a new study may lend support to a theory that has drawn enormous skepticism in the past: the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis. 

“The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis proposed a causal link between a cosmic impact event and a) the onset of the YD climate cooling episode at ~12,800 calendar years BP, b) a peak in continental-scale biomass burning, c) extinction of more than 35 genera of North American Pleistocene megafauna, and d) the demise of the Paleoindian Clovis technocomplex,” the researchers behind the new study wrote in <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep44031">Scientific Reports</a>.

The research team, led by Dr. Christopher R. Moore of the <a href="http://www.sc.edu/">University of South Carolina</a>, based their conclusions on the discovery of platinum at 11 different Clovis sites in North America. 

Higher than normal concentrations of platinum were found at sites ranging from California to South Carolina and Georgia. The metal is found in comets, meteors and asteroids.

The platinum at the sites dates to about the same period as a large platinum deposit discovered in Greenland.

The researchers acknowledge that they have yet to find an impact site. The extraterrestrial object would have caused a much smaller impact than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, they said. 

However, the platinum is the first concrete evidence that a meteor or asteroid may have played a role in the decline of the Clovis people, a theory that has been proposed before but found no real scientific support until now.

“Regardless of origin, the consistent presence of anomalous [platinum] concentrations within sediments from multiple archaeological sites across North America that date to the onset of the [Younger Dryas] Chronozone is compelling,” the researchers wrote.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Meteor may have led to the decline of the Clovis people

About 13,200 years ago, near the end of the last...

One detail of President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget has climate scientists worried. The budget could make deep cuts to Environmental Protection Agency funding, including hundreds of millions of dollars that support research.

Environmentalists say the deep cuts to academic research and fact-finding projects could have huge consequences if they make it into the official federal budget, which the president will unveil on Thursday.

Among the cuts suggested in the proposed budget is a 40 percent reduction of funding for the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">EPA</a>’s Office of Research and Development, according to sources who spoke to the media. The agency’s Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program could see up to half its funding slashed, they said. 

“A budget is a statement of priorities, and with this proposal, Trump is telling America he doesn’t care about what happens to children who are forced to drink toxic water and breathe polluted air,” Sierra Club president Michael Brune said in a <a href="http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2017/02/trump-budget-attacks-core-american-values-public-health">press release</a> upon the unveiling of the federal budget outline. 

It’s not just environmental activists who are concerned. Scientists around the U.S. have released statements expressing worries over the Trump administration’s attitude toward scientific research. 

“There are important research grant programs at EPA, NOAA, USDA and other parts of the government,” Dr. Robert Cook-Deegan of <a href="http://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> said in February at the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/news/science-policy-faces-uncertainties-under-new-administration">2017 AAAS Annual Meeting</a>. “There are a lot of people in those programs worried about climate and energy research. All we have right now are question marks.”

Cutting the EPA’s budget would jeopardize public health, Elliot Negin wrote at the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gutting-epas-budget-and-staff-would-endanger-the-health_us_58b75494e4b0563cd36f6496">Huffington Post</a>. 

“If anything, the environmental challenges of today suggest that the EPA needs more money and staffing to carry out its congressionally mandated mission, especially since Congress has already reduced its budget between fiscal years 2010 and 2016 by 28 percent in real dollars,” wrote Negin, a senior writer for the <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>. Staff has also shrunk by about 10 percent in the past 10 years, he said.

The proposed slash of research funding in the federal budget would come with other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trumps-budget-epa-programs/">deep cuts at the EPA</a> – up to 24 percent of the agency’s budget.

Those cuts would trickle down to states that rely on the EPA not just to fund clean air and water programs, but to provide educational materials, scientific studies and training not easily available elsewhere, Negin said.

“We must not return to an era when mercury, smog, lead, hazardous wastes, acid rain, sulfur dioxides, radon and pesticides galore went unregulated. To curtail testing our water or monitoring our air quality is to court disaster,” Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defence Council, said in a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2017/170227-0">press release</a> in response to the proposed cuts. “Since its creation in 1970, EPA has proven to be a health-protection agency extraordinaire, providing us with clean air, water and lands. There is no turning back.”

However, a bill currently in the House of Representatives, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/861">H.R. 861</a>, would go even farther and dissolve the Environmental Protection Agency by December 31, 2018 if passed.

The president has also proposed huge cuts to the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>’s research into Earth’s changing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/steep-budget-cuts-noaa/">oceans and atmosphere</a>. President Trump has previously criticized <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>’s Earth Sciences program, though no official cuts have been proposed at this time.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New federal budget could cut climate change research funds

One detail of President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget has...

We already know that CO2 stored in soil is a major contributor to carbon release into the atmosphere. In fact, the soil contains more than three times the amount of <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/giant-molten-carbon-lake/">carbon</a> than what’s found in the atmosphere at any one time.

What researchers conducting soil warming experiments for the <a href="https://energy.gov/">U.S. Department of Energy’s</a> National Laboratory found was that microbes break down the soil at a faster rate when warmed and that the added heat most affects deeper soil. What this could say about the future is that, as climate change continues to intensity, it might lead to a faster rate of CO2 release from soil and act as a sort of feedback loop to further intensify the effects of climate change.

Soil warming experiments have been conducted before, but this was the first that tested warming conditions on much lower soil depths. The researchers surrounded soil plots with heating cables buried more than two meters below the surface of the plots. Half the plots were heated 4 degrees C – replicating the predicted level of temperature increase by the year 2100 – for two years while the other half were left unheated.

What they found was that the heated plots resulted in between 34 and 37 percent more carbon release than the unheated plots. Furthermore, 40 percent of the increase came from soil more than 15 centimeters down. And it’s estimated that soil below 20 centimeters down contribute more than half of the planet’s soil organic carbon.

“There's an assumption that carbon in the subsoil is more stable and not as responsive to warming as in the topsoil, but we've learned that's not the case,” said study co-author Margaret Torn. “Deeper soil layers contain a lot of carbon, and our work indicates it's a key missing component in our understanding of the potential feedback of soils to the planet's climate.”

The research was reported in the March issue of the journal Science.

 --

By David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/"> Science</a>

Soil releases CO2 faster at deeper depths as climate warms

We already know that CO2 stored in soil is a...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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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

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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

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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



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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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



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"

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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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