NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has never been shy around cameras. From iconic selfies to being spotted from space, its activities have been well-documented over the years.



But something new happened on February 28, the 4,466th Martian day - or sol - of its mission. Curiosity was caught mid-drive, possibly for the first time, by one of NASA’s Mars orbiters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-rare-glimpse-of-curiosity">A rare glimpse of Curiosity </h2>



The <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-orbiter-spots-curiosity-rover-making-tracks-to-next-science-stop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">image</a> was taken by the HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, which is aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



Scientists at the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a> operate this camera, which offers a sharp view of the Martian surface. In the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-orbiter-spots-curiosity-rover-making-tracks-to-next-science-stop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">photo</a>, Curiosity appears as a small, dark speck at the front of a long trail of tracks stretched across the Red Planet.



The tracks cover about 1,050 feet (320 meters) and reflect roughly 11 drives that started on February 2, 2025. 



During these moves, Curiosity crawled along at a top speed of just 0.1 mph (0.16 kph), making its way from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-curiosity-rover-finds-sulfur-crystals-martian-rock-hints-at-possible-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gediz Vallis</a> channel toward its next science destination: a region that may hold boxwork formations created by ancient groundwater billions of years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-curiosity-is-still-roaming-mars">Why Curiosity is still roaming Mars</h2>



Curiosity wasn’t just sent to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-captured-in-true-color-like-youve-never-seen-the-red-planet-before/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars</a> to take pretty pictures. Its mission, which began with a dramatic landing in 2012, is all about asking a big question: Was Mars ever able to support small forms of life? 



To answer that, the rover has been exploring the ancient environments of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gale-crater-reveals-secrets-of-water-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gale Crater</a>, drilling into rocks, analyzing soil, and studying the planet’s climate and geology. 



Every discovery Curiosity makes helps build a clearer picture of what Mars was like, billions of years ago. Some of its biggest finds so far include evidence of ancient rivers, lakes, and the chemical ingredients necessary for life.



Even after more than a decade, Curiosity is still hard at work, pushing uphill to study higher and older layers of Martian history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-closer-look-at-curiosity-s-journey">A closer look at Curiosity’s journey</h2>



Curiosity’s arrival at its next stop isn’t on a set timeline. Several factors can affect its progress, including how its navigation software handles the landscape and how steep the terrain becomes. 



Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California work hand-in-hand with scientists to plan each day’s drive carefully.



“By comparing the time HiRISE took the image to the rover’s commands for the day, we can see it was nearly done with a 69-foot (21-meter) drive,” said Doug Ellison, Curiosity’s planning team chief at JPL.



HiRISE is built for incredible detail. Most of its images are in black and white, with a strip of color down the center to boost spatial resolution. 



Although HiRISE has captured Curiosity in color in the past, this time the rover happened to fall inside the black-and-white section of the image.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracks-that-tell-a-story">Tracks that tell a story</h2>



In the latest image, Curiosity’s tracks stretch across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clues-beneath-mars-surface-reveal-possible-habitats-for-ancient-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martian surface</a> and lead up to the base of a steep slope. 



Since the image was taken, the rover has successfully climbed that slope. If everything goes smoothly, Curiosity is expected to reach its new science site within the next month or so.



The trail it left behind could remain visible for months, unless Martian winds sweep the marks away. 



Every track, every footprint on Mars tells part of the story of a journey that's been unfolding for more than a decade - and is still going strong.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next-for-mars-exploration">What comes next for Mars exploration</h2>



Curiosity’s journey is just one piece of the bigger picture, a stepping stone in our long-term efforts to explore another world. 



NASA and other space agencies are already planning the next steps to explore Mars even further, using the lessons learned from past and current missions.



Missions like Perseverance are already collecting rock samples that could someday be brought back to Earth for detailed study.



Future plans include launching more helicopters, building complex sample return missions, and even sending <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronauts-can-survive-mars-space-journey-but-their-kidneys-will-be-permanently-damaged/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">astronauts</a> to the Red Planet in the 2030s - a goal that once seemed like pure science fiction.



Each discovery Curiosity makes helps shape and inspire these future missions. It reminds us that even the slow, careful drive of a lone rover can lay the groundwork for humanity’s bigger dreams beyond Earth.



Information for this article came from a <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-orbiter-spots-curiosity-rover-making-tracks-to-next-science-stop/">press release</a> by NASA's JPL.



-----



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Curiosity rover captured in action for the first time

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has never been shy around cameras. From iconic selfies to being spotted from space, its activities have been well-documented over the years. But something new happened on February 28, the 4,466th Martian day - or sol - of its mission. Curiosity was caught mid-drive, possibly for the first time, by one of NASA’s Mars orbiters. A rare glimpse of Curiosity The image was taken by the HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, which is aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Scientists at the University...

<div>Shoreline hardening is a threat to ecosystems. Shoreline hardening, defined as the installation of structures to prevent erosion or provide flood protection, is a common practice worldwide. Over 22,000 kilometers of shoreline have been hardened in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/united-states-global-waste/">United States</a> alone, and many major coastal cities, such as Hong Kong and Sydney, have 50% or more of their shorelines protected by artificial structures. With growing urban populations and rising seas, these trends are expected to continue. However, despite a growing chorus of conservation practitioners advocating for more nature-based approaches to coastal protection, the science on shoreline hardening's effects has failed to keep pace. Shoreline hardening is a threat to ecosystems</div>
<div>

To address this shortcoming, a team of marine ecologists led by Rachel K. Gittman of Northeastern University conducted a meta-analysis of 54 existing studies on shoreline hardening. The results, described in the journal <a href="http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/biw091" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BioScience</a>, highlight stark ecological effects of shoreline hardening and of seawalls in particular. "Biodiversity was 23% lower along shorelines with seawalls when compared with that of natural shorelines," observed the authors. Moreover, Gittman and her colleagues noted that overall organism abundance was 45% lower in seawalled areas.

The authors describe the possible mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, including the loss of shoreline habitat: "Because they are typically placed in the high intertidal zone, installation of a seawall and to a lesser extent, a riprap revetment, can sever the connection between upland and intertidal habitat, reflect wave energy and alter sediment transport, and potentially increase the depth of the intertidal and nearshore subtidal zones."

Despite this, one potentially encouraging finding was that biological diversity and the abundance of organisms were not demonstrably altered by other forms of shoreline hardening, such as riprap and breakwaters. The authors report that "some shore-protection structures may serve as surrogate habitats for native epibiota where natural hard substrates, such as oyster reefs and mussel beds, have been lost to overharvest, erosion, and poor water quality." However, Gittman and her colleagues caution that such structures may enable invasive species or have other unintended consequences: "In general, additional studies examining the ecological effects of riprap revetments and breakwaters are needed to inform future decisions on the consequences of selecting these types of structures."
###
BioScience, published monthly by Oxford Journals, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">AIBS)</a>. BioScience is a forum for integrating the life sciences that publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles. The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is a meta-level organization for professional scientific societies and organizations that are involved with biology. It represents nearly 160 member societies and organizations. Follow BioScience on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/BioScienceAIBS" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@BioScienceAIBS</a>.

Oxford Journals is a division of Oxford University Press. Oxford Journals publishes well over 300 academic and research journals covering a broad range of subject areas, two-thirds of which are published in collaboration with learned societies and other international organizations. The division been publishing journals for more than a century, and as part of the world's oldest and largest university press, has more than 500 years of publishing expertise behind it. Follow Oxford Journals on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/OxfordJournals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@OxfordJournals</a>.

</div>
<div>

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

</div>

Shoreline hardening is a threat to ecosystems

Shoreline hardening is a threat to ecosystems. Shoreline hardening, defined...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">NASA's RapidScat instrument provided measurements of sustained wind speeds as Tropical Storm Conson continued tracking north through the northwestern Pacific Ocean. <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/nasa-app-makes-it-easy-to-measure-trees/">NASA</a> measures winds of Tropical Storm Conson.</div>
When RapidScat passed over Conson on Aug. 10, it was near peak intensity. RapidScat measured maximum sustained winds around the center of circulation as fast as 49 mph (22 meters per second/79 kph) on Aug. 10. The RapidScat instrument that flies aboard the International Space Station measures <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">Earth's</a> ocean surface wind speed and direction over open waters.

RapidScat is an important tool for meteorologists, because it shows forecasters the location of the strongest winds in different quadrants of an area of low pressure or tropical cyclone as they are not always equally distributed. In addition, surface wind speed is always lower than speeds at higher altitude.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Aug. 11 Tropical Storm Conson's maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph (35 knots/62 kph). Conson was centered near 21.9 degrees north latitude and 154.4 degrees east longitude, about 140 nautical miles south of Minami Tori Shima. Also NASA measures winds of Tropical Storm Conson. Also the wind speeds and storm measurements of this powerful storm has shown a lot of damage. the max speeds have hit making this one of the cities largest most powerful storm.

Conson is moving to the north-northeast at 17 mph (15 knots/27.7 kph) and is expected to turn to the north-northwest. Conson does not threaten any land masses. Although the storm measured to be one of the most powerful ones, it still captured the speeds of wind and rainfall.


</div>
<div></div>

NASA measures winds of Tropical Storm Conson

NASA's RapidScat instrument provided measurements of sustained wind speeds as...

<div>New extraction technique makes shale oil cheaper. Also Researchers at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">MIPT</a>) have developed mathematical models and software that will enable Russian shale oil producers to reduce development costs. Part of the software has been registered with the patent authorities and has a program registration certificate issued by the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent)</div>
<div>

Multiple hydraulic fracturing (aka hydrofracking) is a standard shale oil <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plant-sugars-rival-petroleum/">extraction</a> technique. It involves the high-pressure injection of fluid into a horizontal borehole. The fluid used is typically water with sand or other specially designed additives (called proppants). The rock formation is first fractured by water, allowing oil to flow freely into the borehole. When the pressure is released, the fractures are held open by the proppant (e.g. sand). This speeds up oil extraction and increases production output. However, this technique relies on preliminary calculations; if these are ignored, enormous financial losses could follow.

In multiple hydrofracking, the precise manner in which fractures are formed (their shape, aperture, and geometry) is determined based on very complex calculations that predict how rock will respond to stress. These predictions belong, scientifically speaking, to the domain of material failure theory. As of now, rock mechanics offers no unified theory to describe the process of material failure. For this reason, predicting the behavior of hydraulically fractured rock is a challenging task. Failing to correctly predict crack propagation and rock failure can, nevertheless, lead to well flooding or disturbance of the gas layer. In both cases, development costs will far exceed the revenue. To simulate the behavior of fractured rock and thus eliminate potential risks, computer modelling is normally used.New extraction technique makes shale oil cheaper

The restrictions imposed on Russian oil-related services by the EU and the US in 2014, along with the main Western sanctions package, included the prohibition of the export of specialized software to Russia. At that point, there were no alternatives to this software available on the Russian market. In view of this, several major international credit rating agencies--among them FitchRatings--prophesied that any shale oil projects in Russia would become unprofitable, which in turn would damage the oil industry as a whole.

Not only did a team of MIPT's researchers succeed in designing the necessary software--their unique software package is unlike those offered by Western competitors. Focusing on industrial applications, MIPT cooperated with the Gazpromneft Scientific and Technical Centre, a Gazpromneft subsidiary.

Ivan Zavialov and Natalia Zavialova, researchers at the Section (Department) of Applied Mechanics of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology talked about the benefits of the software: 'Based on mathematical calculations, our software suite tells you how fractures will affect each other and what their propagation trajectories will be. It predicts new physical properties acquired by the fractured rock formation. In hydrofracking, it is necessary to make sure that the formation of a new fracture does not cause compression of a previously formed fracture. This maximizes oil recovery.'

Using the data obtained with the help of MIPT's simulator, oil-company engineers can model multiple hydraulic fracturing solutions for any oilfield. This technology will ensure maximum profitability of the Russian businesses that work with unconventional oil (classified as 'hard-to-recover' in Russia), while minimizing the associated environmental risks. Perhaps it could even make Russia a leading producer of shale oil.


</div>
<div></div>

New extraction technique makes shale oil cheaper

New extraction technique makes shale oil cheaper. Also Researchers at...

Geoffrey Hargreaves

Ancient ice cores reveal clues about Earth's past climate. Inside a huge walk-in freezer in suburban Denver, a college student in a thick parka shoots a jolt of electricity through a yard-long column of ancient ice extracted from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica">Antarctica.</a>
Just outside the freezer, in a much warmer room, a computer wired to the ice registers a sudden spike in a jagged red line crawling across the screen.
"Hey, we got a volcano," says T.J. Fudge, a University of Washington researcher. The electric current has detected a thin layer of volcanic residue in the ice, deposited by an eruption about 8,000 years ago.
This is the National Ice Core Laboratory in Lakewood, where ice pulled from the depths of Antarctica and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/winter-rain-greenland-ice-loss/">Greenland</a> is sliced up, photographed and tested. Most of it is shipped to other labs, where researchers do more experiments looking for clues about Earth's past and future.
Smooth and milky white, the 4- to 5-inch-diameter pieces - called ice cores - provide scientists with a wealth of historical information, from air temperature to greenhouse gases to evidence of cosmic events. The record reaches as far back as 800,000 years.
The ice is the remnant of centuries of snowfall, compressed by the weight of successive years of accumulation.
"You can drill into it, and it's much like looking at tree rings," Fudge said. "It's just year after year after year of climate information that's preserved out in the ice sheet."
Specialized drilling rigs pull the cores from as deep as 9,800 feet below the surface of the ice sheets. Crews then tuck them into protective tubes, pack them in chilled containers and ship them to the U.S. Refrigerated trucks haul them to Colorado lab, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.
In a bustling, white-walled workroom in the Lakewood freezer - kept at about minus 11 Fahrenheit - workers push the cores through a series of saws on metal frame benches, divvying up the ice according to a prearranged pattern for different experiments.
Part of every ice core is archived in another, larger room at about minus 33 degrees, so future researchers can verify old results or try new tests. The archive contains nearly 56,000 feet of ice.
Scientists tease data from the ice in various ways. Differences in the weight of molecules in the frozen water hold clues about the air temperature at the time the snow fell.
Air trapped in bubbles can be analyzed to measure how much carbon dioxide and other gases were in the atmosphere when the ice formed.
A solar flare or other cosmic events can leave distinctive radioactive atoms on the snow. Dust blown in from distant continents offers clues about atmospheric circulation.
"The ice sheets are in direct contact with the atmosphere," said Mark Twickler, the lab's science director. "Everything that's in the atmosphere we capture as time goes by, and it gets buried in snow."
The depth of the core and evidence of volcanoes help determine how old the ice is.
Scientists already know when major eruptions occurred, so a layer of volcanic residue indicates the year the adjacent ice formed. That becomes a reference point for annual layers above and below.
The record is remarkably precise, even reflecting seasonal changes, scientists say.
"It's as if we're standing on the ice sheet writing down the temperature for the last 800,000 years," said Bruce Vaughn, a University of Colorado-Boulder lab manager who works with the ice. "It's that good."
Without a record of its depth and age, the ice has little research value, said Geoffrey Hargreaves, curator of the Lakewood lab.
"An ice core without any depth references - I shouldn't say this - it's good for margaritas," he said, poker-faced.
No, Hargreaves said, scientists don't actually do that.
"There's drill fluids in these things that you really don't want to drink," he said.
Some experiments are done only on ice from the core's interior, away from the fluids.
Ice cores have led scientists to significant conclusions about climate, including that CO2 levels in the atmosphere today are higher than at any other time recorded in the ice.
"The only reason we can make that statement is because we have the ice core air archived," said Murat Aydin, a researcher at the University of California-Irvine. Ancient ice cores reveal clues about Earth's past climate
Ice cores also help refine computer models used to make climate predictions.
"If we run them backwards with the parameters that we measure in the ice core and we get it right, that gives us a lot more confidence in the climate models going forward," Vaughn said.
As technology improves, researchers find new ways to analyze the ice. A technique called continuous flow analysis lets them slowly melt a one-yard stick of ice and analyze it drop-by-drop, instead of cutting it into small pieces, melting them one-by-one and averaging the results. The new technique gives scientists up to 2,400 measurements per yard instead of 20, Vaughn said.
"There'll be science for dozens of years with researchers who are maybe only now getting their degrees or learning about this," Vaughn said. "It's exciting. How could you not be excited about it?"
---
Follow Dan Elliott at <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP.">http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP.</a> His work can be found at<a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott.">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott.</a>
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Ancient ice cores reveal clues about Earth's past climate

Ancient ice cores reveal clues about Earth's past climate. Inside...

Officials are skeptical about pallid sturgeon protection program A group of Montana and federal wildlife officials has expressed opposition to a $57 million concrete dam and fish bypass that the U.S. government says would help an ancient and endangered fish species in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exxon-agrees-yellowstone-river-oil-spill-settlement/">Yellowstone River.</a>
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers and Interior Department are proposing the irrigation dam and bypass on the lower Yellowstone near the Montana-North Dakota border. That's where aging pallid sturgeon have been trapped for decades downstream of their spawning grounds.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA"> NASA</a>
But wildlife officials from a government-sponsored pallid sturgeon recovery group dismissed the project's alleged benefits for the fish as "unfounded" and "purely theoretical." Officials are skeptical about pallid sturgeon protection program
The group, known as the Upper Basin Pallid Sturgeon Workgroup, includes representatives of state and federal wildlife agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Interior's Bureau of Reclamation.
The group's concerns were detailed in a July 28 letter to the Army Corps that was obtained by The Associated Press. It puts the Interior and Army Corps in the awkward position of promoting a costly construction project opposed by a group that includes members of their own staffs and other agencies.
Project manager Tiffany Vanosdall said the Army Corps continues to believe the dam and fish bypass would help sturgeon. An environmental study of the project is due to be completed late this year, Vanosdall said.
"We are working on other analyses of why we believe the bypass channel would work," she said.
Pallid sturgeon - with their shark-like shape and long snout - have changed little over the past 200 million years, earning the species recognition among scientists as a "living fossil."
The bypass would be located northeast of Glendive, Montana.
It's meant to give sturgeon access to upriver spawning grounds while maintaining an irrigation system that serves more than 50,000 acres of farmland in Montana and North Dakota. The recovery group's letter said it would be better to remove an existing rock weir on the river that traps the decades-old fish downstream.
"We believe the most beneficial alternative for pallid sturgeon would involve removing the existing barrier to provide full-river passage," the group wrote. "Across North America, sturgeon species have exhibited little success with fish passage structures."
The July 28 letter was signed by the sturgeon recovery group's chairman, Zachary Shattuck, a native fish specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Shattuck has since asked to rescind the letter, over concerns that it was not reviewed by senior officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has oversight for the recovery group.
"The decision to rescind the letter doesn't reflect on the nature of the comments," said Greg Lemon, a spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "It just reflects a mistake in the process."
Shattuck said Wednesday that the comments were made on behalf of the sturgeon recovery group, not just himself. But he said he did not want to send "mixed signals" about the project and referred further questions to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Regional Director Mike Thabault.
Thabault said the federal agency supports the fish bypass as the best alternative for the fish while also maintaining irrigation. He acknowledged "there's room for debate" and not everyone in the scientific community agrees.
Thabault confirmed that his agency had concerns about the contents of the recovery group's letter, adding that the objections to the dam and bypass should have been taken to the agency's regional director instead of submitted to the Army Corps. But Fish and Wildlife Service personnel did not ask Shattuck for a retraction, Thabault said.
A representative of Defenders of Wildlife, Jonathan Proctor, said the recovery group's comments come at a crucial time for sturgeon, which face potential extinction in the Upper Missouri River Basin unless they can get upriver to spawn.
"Their own biologists have stated clearly that this will not work and the best solution is to restore a free-flowing Yellowstone River," Proctor said. Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council sued to stop the project last year.
As a result, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris blocked construction of the dam just as it was set to begin last September. The government's plan includes a 2-mile concrete channel for sturgeon to get around the dam, but Morris said the agencies never proved it would work.
---
Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/matthewbrownap">https://twitter.com/matthewbrownap</a>
<a id="9b319d48-b6ce-4ed5-b898-da6def915e6f" href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ENDANGERED_FISH_DAM?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2016-08-10-19-53-56#9b319d48-b6ce-4ed5-b898-da6def915e6f" rel="item-license">© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms">Terms of Use</a>.

Officials are skeptical about pallid sturgeon protection program

Officials are skeptical about pallid sturgeon protection program A group...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Study: Marine animals live longer at high latitudes. Researchers in the Department of Earth Sciences have shown that high-latitude marine animals live longer and grow slower than those in the tropics. Their findings are the subject of an article in the "Proceedings of the Royal Society B" (The Royal Society, 2016). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a></div>
David Moss, a Ph.D. student in the Earth sciences department, located in the College of Arts and Sciences, is the article's lead author. Study: Marine animals live longer at high latitudes

"We've created a global database of more than 1,100 populations of marine bivalves, documenting their maximum reported lifespan and growth rate, along with body size," he says, referring to animals such as oysters, clams, scallops and mussels. "Cold-blooded marine animals, such as bivalves, are influenced by their environment, so latitudinal patterns that exist in bivalves likely exist in other invertebrates, too."

After months of work by Moss and other members of the Earth sciences department, two patterns have emerged. The first reveals that, as a bivalve's lifespan increases, its growth rate decreases. The second shows that long life and slow growth are common among animals near the North and South poles, whereas tropical bivalves, close to the equator, are fast-growing and short-lived.

"As the poles are thought to harbor ecosystems like those from millions of years ago, our data suggest that more ancient animals were slow-growing," Moss says.

Professor Linda Ivany '88, in whose lab Moss is based, says bivalves are just as abundant in the fossil record as they are in today's oceans. As a result, she and her students can easily recover bivalve lifespans and growth rates by studying the bands in their fossilized shells, a process analogous to tree-ring dating.

Ivany says this kind of work has implications for the study of the evolutionary history of life on Earth, and may help explain why the metabolism of cold-blooded animals has changed over time.

"Research shows that marine animals have gotten bigger over the last 500 million years," Ivany says. "Because body size is determined by how fast you grow and how long you grow, this work sets the stage for us to move back in time and answer evolutionary questions about why and how animals have gotten bigger."

Based on his group's observations, Moss argues that the increase in body size of marine bivalves throughout the Phanerozoic, the current geologic eon stretching back more than 540 million years, should be accompanied by a shift to faster growth and a shorter lifespan.

Moss also hopes to pinpoint why biodiversity is high in the tropics and low near the poles.

"Short generation times and high mutation rates associated with short lifespan and fast growth enable new species to appear at a faster rate in the tropics," he says. "The distribution of lifespan and growth with latitude might help explain one of the more fundamental patterns in the evolutionary and ecological history of animal life on the planet: the latitudinal diversity gradient."
###
In addition to Moss and Ivany, the article is co-authored by Emily Judd, also a Ph.D. student in Earth sciences; Patrick Cummings '17, Claire Bearden '16, and Woo-Jun Kim '15, all undergraduates at the time of the project; and Emily Artruc and Jeremy Driscoll, 2016 graduates of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

All of the A&amp;S participants have belonged to Ivany's lab.

</div>

Study: Marine animals live longer at high latitudes

Study: Marine animals live longer at high latitudes. Researchers in...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Coral bleaching caught in action. Also BRISBANE, Australia: Coral researchers have for the first time captured the specific behaviour of a coral as it's bleaching.</div>
The team from <a href="http://www.qut.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">QUT</a> in Australia used a clever combination of microscope, digital camera and smart tablet to record close-up, detailed time-lapse videos of a coral species' physical reaction to heat stress, showing evidence for the first time that it employs pulsed inflation.

To simulate rising sea surface temperatures, researchers <a href="http://staff.qut.edu.au/details?id=lewisbm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brett Lewis</a> and Dr <a href="http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/nothdurf/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Luke Nothdurft</a> from QUT's marine facility in the <a href="http://www.qut.edu.au/science-engineering/our-schools/school-of-earth-environmental-and-biological-sciences" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences</a> placed solitary corals, Heliofungia actiniformis, into controlled aquaria, before heating the water up.Coral bleaching caught in action

Their resulting videos, described in the peer-reviewed <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-016-1473-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coral Reefs</a>, show the unhappy corals belching Symbiodinium, tiny algae cells that live within coral tissue and give corals their vibrant colours.

"What's really interesting is just how quickly and violently the coral forcefully evicted its resident symbionts," said Mr Lewis, from QUT's <a href="http://www.qut.edu.au/science-engineering" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Science and Engineering Faculty</a>.

"The H. actiniformis began ejecting the symbionts within the first two hours of us raising the water temperature of the system."

Mr Lewis said previous studied had shown H. actiniformis was one of the very few corals on the Great Barrier Reef considered to be relatively resilient to bleaching, even as neighbouring species suffered the full effects.

"Our observations suggest this resilience could be due to the rapid expulsion of the coral's algal symbionts during thermal stress, and could very well increase H. actiniformis's chance of survival during abnormally high sea temperatures."

During the experiments, the team raised the water temperature in a 10-litre aquarium system from 26oC to 32oC over 12 hours, where it remained for up to eight days.

While scientists have known for some time that coral bleaching occurs when the relationship between the coral and their Symbiodinium breaks down as ocean temperatures rise, the QUT team's time-lapse videos show for the first time how this coral removes the algae.

"Our H. actiniformis used a pulsed inflation to expel Symbiodinium over time (seen as greenish plumes in the video) - inflating their bodies to as much as 340 per cent of their normal size before suddenly and violently contracting and ejecting Symbiodinium through their oral openings over the four to to eight day duration of the experiments" Dr Nothdurft said.

Dr Nothdurft said reef-building corals and their algal Symbiodinium had evolved to form a mutually-beneficial relationship.

"Coral provide Symbiodinium with protection and surface area for photosynthesis, while the excess sugars created by the algae supply the majority of the coral's daily food requirements," he said.

He said expulsion of the algae removed the pigment from the corals tissue, rendering them white or transparent, referred to as coral bleaching. If environmental conditions return to normal quickly enough, some corals may regain their Symbiodinium and associated colour.

"If the Symbiodinium is removed from the host and does not recolonise quickly, the corals can die. .

"Mass coral bleaching events are a concern for scientists globally with recent events on the Great Barrier Reef highlighting the threat of elevated water temperatures to the heath of reef ecosystems."


</div>
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Coral bleaching caught in action

Coral bleaching caught in action. Also BRISBANE, Australia: Coral researchers...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Endangered species wait an average of 12 years for protection. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted by Congress in 1973 to protect species threatened with extinction. To receive protection, a species must first be listed as endangered or threatened in a process that is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A two-year timeline for the multi-stage process, which starts with submission of a petition and ends with a final rule in the Federal Register, was established in 1982 by a Congressional amendment to the ESA. Now, a new study from the University of Missouri found that many species are encountering much longer wait times before receiving the endangered designation. Scientists studying the ESA believe that delays could lead to less global biodiversity.</div>
"While the law lays out a process time of 2 years for a species to be listed, what we found is that, in practice, it takes, on average, 12.1 years," said Emily Puckett, who recently received her doctorate in the Division of Biological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science. "Some species moved through the process in 6 months but some species, including many flowering plants, took 38 years to be listed -- almost the entire history of the ESA."

Findings are based on an analysis of 1,338 species listed for protection under the ESA between January 1974 and October 2014. Researchers analyzed the amount of time it took each listed species to move through the listing process. Researchers also analyzed whether a species grouping influenced how quickly or slowly it moved through the process. They found that vertebrates, including reptiles, fish, birds, amphibians and <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=mammals&amp;cvid=6bfef0a0fce343da8ca9fb1c56475818&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">mammals</a> had a significantly shorter wait time than did invertebrates and flowering plants. According to the authors, the finding suggests a bias in the listing process that contradicts the policies of the ESA.

"While the Service can account for species groups in its prioritization system, it's not supposed to be mammals versus insects versus ferns but, rather, how unique is this species within all of the ecological system," Puckett said. "However, our findings suggest some bias that skews the process toward vertebrates."

The delays in listing have real world consequences for endangered species. In the study, the authors cite previous studies that document species that went extinct due to a delay in the process. Likewise, a species that gets listed quickly and has a conservation plan put in place to protect it may have a chance to even bounce back. For example, the island night lizard was listed in 1.19 years, whereas the prairie fringed orchid took 14.7 years to be listed. The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tropical-lizards-are-surprisingly-adaptable-to-climate-extremes/">lizard</a> has since recovered and been removed from endangered status; the orchid is still considered threatened. Endangered species wait an average of 12 years for protection

"The whole point of putting species on the list is they already have been identified as threatened or endangered with extinction," Puckett said. "Without being on the list, we run the risk that these populations will go locally or globally extinct and there will be nothing to save."

The study, "Taxa, petitioning agency, and lawsuits affect time spent awaiting listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act," appears in the early online edition of the journal Biological Conservation. The study was supported in part by a University of Missouri Life Sciences Fellowship and by The Institute for Bird Populations. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.


</div>
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Endangered species wait an average of 12 years for protection

Endangered species wait an average of 12 years for protection....

<div>Global warming is creating saltier beaches. Batches of sand from a beach on the Delaware Bay are yielding insights into the powerful impact of temperature rise and evaporation along the shore that are in turn challenging long-held assumptions about what causes beach salinity to fluctuate in coastal zones that support a rich network of sea creatures and plants.</div>
<div>

The findings have implications for the migration and survival of invertebrates such as mussels and crabs as global warming drives temperatures higher.Global warming is creating saltier beaches

A first major study of the effects of evaporation on the flow of subsurface water and salinity, or salt content, in the beach intertidal zone - the section of the beach between the low and high tide marks - is being published today in Scientific Reports, an online affiliate of Nature.

The study, by New Jersey Institute of Technology's Center for Natural Resources Development (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">CNRDP</a>) and led by two environmental engineers and a coastal geologist, shows that sediments from some sections of Slaughter Beach in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/blood-sucking-kissing-bug/">Delaware</a> have salt concentrations four times as high as the ocean water that washes over them. The finding came as a surprise.

The nearshore seawater the team measured had salt concentrations of 25 grams per liter (g/L), leading the researchers to expect that the subsurface water in areas of the beach it infiltrated would have similar or even lower levels as seawater mixes with inland groundwater in this zone. However, they discovered that the average salinity in the upper intertidal zone - the high tide line - was 60 g/L, with some values reaching as high as 100.

"These elevated levels can only be caused by evaporation, as there is no other mechanism for increasing the salt in pore water - the water trapped between the grains of sediment," said Xiaolong Geng, a postdoctoral fellow at NJIT and the principal author of the study, noting that the rates of evaporation - and salinity - are thus mainly determined by temperature and relative humidity, while tide and wave flows dilute a beach's salt content.

"Previous studies have identified seawater as the primary source of salinity in coastal aquifer systems, thereby concluding that seawater infiltration always increases pore-water salinity by seawater-groundwater mixing dynamics," said Michel Boufadel, director of the CNRDP, who is also an author of the study. "Based on what we learned, we think this finding should alter the way water management in coastal areas is conducted."

The team analyzed nearly 400 sediment samples collected during the sequential phases of a complete tidal cycle, from day to night, on seven discontinuous days.

The intertidal, or littoral, zone, is a dynamic habitat, washed by seawater at high tide and uncovered at low tide, that is favored by crabs, mussels and sea anemones, the birds and sea mammals that feed on them, and plants such as kelp. Many of these animals burrow in the beach to find food and to seek protection from predators and the action of waves, and are in near constant contact with pore water.

The researchers have developed models that show that increases in temperature associated with global warming will not only make inland locations more salty, but would also create drastically different pattern of pore water salinity that will have implications for animals and plants in the intertidal zone.

"Evaporation is an important driver of underground water flow and salinity gradients, and animals such as mussels and crabs are affected by changes in salinity. If the concentrations are too high or too low, they will move away," noted Geng.

Nancy Jackson, a professor of coastal geomorphology in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science and the study's third author, collected the beach samples from Slaughter Beach and provided interpretations of pore water dynamics.
###
About NJIT

One of the nation's leading public technological universities, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a top-tier research university that prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT's multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business acumen and leadership skills. With an enrollment of 11,300 graduate and undergraduate students, NJIT offers small-campus intimacy with the resources of a major public research university. NJIT is a global leader in such fields as solar research, nanotechnology, resilient design, tissue engineering and cybersecurity, in addition to others. NJIT ranks fifth among U.S. polytechnic universities in research expenditures, topping $110 million, and is among the top 1 percent of public colleges and universities in return on educational investment, according to Payscale.com. NJIT has a $1.74 billion annual economic impact on the state of New Jersey.

</div>

Global warming is creating saltier beaches

Global warming is creating saltier beaches. Batches of sand from...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of extra-tropical cyclone Conson's clouds spread Japan's northern most island, the Sea of Okhotsk and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.Extra-tropical cyclone Conson in Sea of Okhotsk</div>
On Aug. 15, 2016 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Terra satellite captured a visible image of the clouds associated with the extra-tropical cyclone. In the image, clouds covered Japan's island of Hokkaido and stretched over the Sea of Okhotsk and the southern portion of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Alth0ugh the typhoon has caused a lot of damage to the country there will always be the community there to help pick it back up. Also these storms cause a lot more than damage. They also hurt the buisnesses and peoples living situations, such as when they can come back to live and work. Japan is known to have these massive typhoons that cause tragic damage.

&nbsp;

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and the largest and northernmost prefecture. The Kamchatka Peninsula is located in far eastern Russia and is about 776 miles (1,250 kilometers) long. The peninsula is between the Sea of Okhotsk to the west, and the Pacific Ocean to the east.

The Joint <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/typhoon-lingling-moves-through-the-yellow-sea/">Typhoon</a> Warning Center issued the final warning of Conson on Sunday, Aug. 14.


</div>
<div></div>

Extra-tropical cyclone Conson in Sea of Okhotsk

NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of extra-tropical cyclone Conson's...

<div>Record-setting rainfall and flooding in southern Louisiana have been calculated at NASA with data from satellites.NASA analyzes deadly Louisiana flooding</div>
<div>

An extremely severe rainfall event hit the states of Louisiana and southern Mississippi when a very slow moving low pressure system continuously pulled tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

Measurements by the Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM mission core observatory satellite showed that rainfall intensity within the low pressure system actually increased on Aug. 12 as the low pressure area bringing the rainfall settled over southeastern Louisiana. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA.

At least 4 people have died in record flooding after the unusually heavy rainfall starting falling the week of Aug. 8. More than 27 inches (686 millimeters (mm)) of rain have been reported in the area. This is the second time this year that record flooding rainfall has hit <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hunter-fined-killing-black-bear/">Louisiana</a>. At least 27 inches (686 mm) of precipitation was also reported in Louisiana during the middle of Mar. 2016 and also caused record flooding.

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA'</a>s Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data were used to make estimates of total rainfall over the northern Gulf of Mexico during the period from Aug. 8 to Aug. 15, 2016.

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The IMERG data showed heavy rainfall totals moving toward the northwest from the Florida Panhandle into the central northern Gulf coast. Over 20 inches (508 mm) of rainfall was estimated in large areas of southeastern Louisiana and extreme southern Mississippi. Even greater rainfall totals of 30 inches (762 mm) were indicated in a small area of Louisiana west of Lake Pontchartrain.

Heavy rainfall and flooding is now predicted to occur northward into the Mississippi valley as tropical moisture continues to be transported northward and interacts with a nearly stationary frontal system. Heavy rainfall has also recently affected southeastern Texas and western Louisiana.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in New Orleans, Louisiana noted in a forecast discussion on Aug. 15, "As historical and devastating river flooding continues over areas between Baton Rouge and Lake Maurepas, the weather has returned to a more typical summer pattern with isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms developing with daytime heating."NASA analyzes deadly Louisiana flooding

NWS also noted that several of the rivers in and around the greater Baton Rouge area still remain at high levels after peaking at record or major crests. NWS noted that several points downstream and close to Lake Maurepas still have a way to go before broad cresting. NWS New Orleans cautioned that some locations will also undergo backwater flooding well away from the main streams, so this event remains in full swing.


</div>
<div></div>

NASA analyzes deadly Louisiana flooding

Record-setting rainfall and flooding in southern Louisiana have been calculated...

<div>NASA's Terra satellite flew over Tropical Storm Chanthu as it continued moving past the big island of Japan and staying to the east of the country.Tropical Storm Chanthu seen off east of Japan caused a lot of damage.</div>
<div>

On August 15 at 11:00 a.m. EDT (15:00 UTC) the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) indicated that Chanthu was located about 424 nautical miles south-southeast of Yokosuka, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/nearly-complete-duck-billed-dinosaur-fossil/">Japan</a>, near 29.6 degrees north latitude and 143.3 degrees east longitude. Chanthu was moving to the north-northwest. Maximum sustained winds were near 46 mph (40 knots/74 kph). Slight intensification is forecast.Tropical Storm Chanthu seen off east of Japan

On August 15 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Chanthu when it was east of the big island of Japan. The strongest thunderstorms appeared in a band north and northwest of the center of circulation. Fragmented bands of thunderstorms wrapped into the low-level center from the south and east.

Chanthu was previously known as Tropical depression 09W. Island, Japan on Aug. 13.

JTWC forecasts Chanthu to track north, and skirt the northeastern coast of the big island, then make landfall on Aug. 17 in south central Hokkaido, Japan's northern most island.


</div>
<div></div>

Tropical Storm Chanthu seen off east of Japan

NASA's Terra satellite flew over Tropical Storm Chanthu as it...

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

[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

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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

[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

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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"

[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...

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