Ambon,,Indonesia,-,January,25,,2023,:,Silhouette,Photo,Of

Scientists have recently discovered that humans have recorded less than 0.001 percent of the deep seafloor - a surface that covers two-thirds of the planet. 



The finding shows how little we really know about life and geology below 200 meters. The analysis comes from a study led by researchers at <a href="https://www.oceandiscoveryleague.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ocean Discovery League</a> and partner groups. 



Using records from about 44,000 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-deep-sea-fish-survive-the-crushing-depths-of-the-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deep-sea</a> dives since 1958, the team produced the first global estimate of visual coverage in deep water. They report that the total imaged area is only as large as the U.S. state of Rhode Island.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vast-depths-still-unexplored">Vast depths still unexplored</h2>



The deep ocean sustains rich ecosystems, moderates climate, produces much of Earth’s oxygen, and supplies molecules for new drugs.



Yet visual surveys of this realm remain rare and clustered around a few coastlines. Most dives have happened close to shore because far-off expeditions cost millions of dollars.



“As we face accelerated threats to the deep ocean - from climate change to potential <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-mining-impacts-marine-life-for-decades/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mining</a> and resource exploitation - this limited exploration of such a vast region becomes a critical problem for both science and policy,” said lead author Katy Croff Bell, the founder and president of the Ocean Discovery League.



“We need a much better understanding of the deep ocean's ecosystems and processes to make informed decisions about resource management and conservation.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-seafloor-exploration-is-uneven">Deep seafloor exploration is uneven</h2>



The researchers found that 65 percent of all visual observations happened within two-hundred nautical miles of only three nations.



The United States, Japan, and New Zealand dominate because they own or fund most deep-diving vehicles.



Five countries - the United States, Japan, New Zealand, France, and Germany - conducted ninety-seven percent of all recorded dives. That narrow sampling skews our picture of the deep sea. 



Traits seen off California or Honshu may not describe conditions under the tropical Atlantic or the Southern Ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-images-low-detail">Old images, low detail</h2>



Almost thirty percent of the dives logged by the study took place before 1980. Many produced only black-and-white still photos. 



Today’s color and video systems can resolve tiny organisms and map fine sediment patterns, yet large parts of the ocean floor have never been filmed with modern gear.



Because many expedition logs are not public, the team tested how missing records might change the estimate. 



Even if the true tally were ten times higher, they conclude, we would still have images for less than one-hundredth of one percent of the deep seafloor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-uneven-ocean-habitat-coverage">Uneven ocean habitat coverage</h2>



Canyons, ridges, and other dramatic features draw scientists because they are visually striking and may host rare species. In contrast, broad abyssal plains and many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seamounts-are-gathering-hubs-for-ocean-predators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seamounts</a> lie in silence and darkness.



Those plains hold most of the deep bottom, but they remain poorly sampled. Without clear data, researchers cannot judge how global warming, fishing gear, or planned seabed mining will alter these vast habitats.



The authors argue that cost, not curiosity, limits exploration. Deep-rated submersibles, remotely operated vehicles, and large research ships demand huge budgets. Technologists are now building smaller, cheaper <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biohybrid-jellyfish-robotics-ocean-exploration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">robots</a> and camera sleds that coastal labs can deploy.



Such systems could open doors for low- and middle-income nations. If more countries gather images from their own waters, the global map will fill in faster and with less bias.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ocean-is-still-a-mystery">The ocean is still a mystery</h2>



Ian Miller of the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Geographic Society</a> noted that there is so much of our ocean that remains a mystery.



“Deep-sea exploration led by scientists and local communities is crucial to better understanding the planet’s largest ecosystem," said Miller. 



“Dr. Bell’s goals to equip global coastal communities with cutting-edge research and technology will ensure a more representative analysis of the deep sea. If we have a better understanding of our ocean, we are better able to conserve and protect it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-narrow-view-of-a-vast-world">A narrow view of a vast world</h2>



The paper offers a stark comparison: imagine trying to understand all land life on Earth by studying an area the size of Houston, Texas. That, the authors argue, is the scale of our current visual knowledge of the deep sea.



Without broader coverage, global policies on deep-sea mining, fishing, and climate mitigation rest on dangerously limited data.



To address this, the authors urge agencies, foundations, and industry to support large-scale imaging campaigns. They also call on researchers to share dive records openly - so that every frame of footage and every still image adds to a collective archive.



With shared data and open software, analysts worldwide could help identify new species, map coral gardens, or track drifting debris in deep-sea trenches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hope-below-the-waves">Hope below the waves</h2>



Technological progress gives reason for optimism. Autonomous vehicles now fit in a suitcase and dive thousands of meters. 



Machine learning can sort hours of deep seafloor footage in minutes. Fiber-optic cables on the seabed can detect passing animals through tiny pressure shifts. Taken together, these advances could multiply visual coverage within a decade.



The study marks a turning point in how society views the hidden majority of the planet. By revealing the gaps, the researchers have set clear targets for future work. Filling those gaps will require money, new machines, and global cooperation.



Yet the payoff could be immense: better climate forecasts, new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-sea-microbes-show-promise-as-new-antibiotic-drugs/">medicines</a>, wiser resource policy, and the thrill of discovery in places no human has ever seen.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp8602">Science Advances</a>.



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Only .001 percent of Earth's deep seafloor has ever been directly observed

Scientists have recently discovered that humans have recorded less than 0.001 percent of the deep seafloor - a surface that covers two-thirds of the planet. The finding shows how little we really know about life and geology below 200 meters. The analysis comes from a study led by researchers at Ocean Discovery League and partner groups. Using records from about 44,000 deep-sea dives since 1958, the team produced the first global estimate of visual coverage in deep water. They report that the total imaged area is only...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> have discovered that a gout medicine already approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (<a href="https://www.fda.gov/">FDA</a>) in 1979 could also help combat <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-one-third-of-americans-had-covid-19-by-the-end-of-2020/">COVID-19</a>. 



Probenicid, generally used to treat the joint tenderness and pain caused by gout, may prove effective against SARS-CoV-2 by preventing the virus from taking over a person’s cells and using them to replicate. Thus, prebencid may successfully stop the virus from spreading throughout the body and causing severe illness.



Scientists believe that gout medicine can also work in the fight against other respiratory illnesses, including the common flu, which doesn’t have a clear therapeutic path either. “There's really nothing out there to safely fight these viruses,” said lead author Dr. Ralph Tripp, a professor in the <a href="https://vet.uga.edu/education/academic-departments/infectious-diseases/">Department of Infectious Diseases</a> at the University of Georgia.



“This antiviral works for all RNA respiratory viruses we tested, including SARS-CoV-2. RSV, coronavirus and flu all circulate in the same season. Bottom line is you can potentially reduce infection and disease using this one oral drug.”



Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many drugs have been used in the hope that they will manage to cure the disease, including monoclonal antibodies. However, these drugs are expensive, not very widely available, and they are mostly used when patients already reach a critical condition and they are hospitalized.



“These treatments have seen some effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, but they're very expensive and very hard to come by,” explained Professor Tripp.&nbsp;“In reality, there are only a handful of options that can actually be used because of the cost, restricted IV usage, and lack of access. That's not very useful to the world.”



On the other hand, Probencid can be cheaply produced and distributed around the world, which creates an opportunity for low income nations to easily access these potentially helpful treatments. &nbsp;



“SARS-CoV-2, RSV and flu have a huge impact on health systems throughout the world. Probenecid has a potent antiviral effect against these viruses, and it works safely,” concluded Professor Tripp.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97658-w?utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_source=commission_junction&amp;utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_deeplink_PID100032693&amp;utm_content=deeplink">Nature Communications</a>.



&nbsp;---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Gout medicine found to be effective against COVID-19

Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that a...

The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is an extremely common research animal for biologists. Thus, it may not be much of a surprise that scientists know a lot about the humble little worm’s sensory abilities. Shawn Xu’s research lab has been working with C. elegans for years and found some interesting things.&nbsp;



The worm was discovered to react to light, without eyes. Now, in a study published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/neuron/home">Neuron</a>, the scientists have established that the worm can hear without ears.&nbsp;



"There was just one more primary sense missing - auditory sensation, or hearing," said Xu. "But hearing is unlike other senses, which are found widely across other animal phyla. It's really only been discovered in vertebrates and some arthropods. And the vast majority of invertebrate species are thus believed to be sound insensitive."



The researchers showed that when a noise was played for the worms, the little creatures moved away from it, showing that they could hear and discern where the sound was coming from. The research has important implications in our understanding of other animals.



"Our study shows that we cannot just assume that organisms that lack ears cannot sense sound," said Xu.



After the researchers confirmed that the worms were responding to air borne sounds, not vibrations in the substrate they were resting on, they discovered hearing neurons attached to the worms’ skin. This points to the difference in how these worms hear compared to both vertebrates and arthropods, suggesting that each evolved the sense of hearing separately.&nbsp;



"Based on these differences, which exist down to the molecular level, we believe the sense of hearing has probably evolved independently, multiple times across different animal phyla," said Xu. "We knew that hearing looks very different between vertebrates and arthropods."



"Now, with C. elegans, we have found yet another different pathway for this sensory function, indicating convergent evolution. This stands in sharp contrast to the evolution of vision, which, as proposed by Charles Darwin, occurred quite early and probably only once with a common ancestor."



As exciting as this discovery is, Xu expects that it will lead to more research and more interesting conclusions about sensory biology.&nbsp;



"This opens a whole new field for studying auditory sensation, and mechanosensation as a whole. With this new addition of auditory sensation, we have now fully established that all primary senses are found in C. elegans, making them an exceptional model system for studying sensory biology."



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Worms without ears can hear through their skin

The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is an extremely common research animal...

Men’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleeping-heart-disease-risk/">sleeping</a> patterns might be more powerfully influenced by the lunar cycle than women’s, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721052992?via%3Dihub">Science of the Total Environment</a>. Researchers from <a href="https://www.uu.se/en">Uppsala University</a> found that men tend to sleep worse on nights during the first half of the lunar cycle.



For decades, scientists have struggled to understand whether any correlation between sleep patterns and the lunar cycle exists in humans. The results have been rather conflicting, with some studies finding strong correlations and others finding none.&nbsp;



Moreover, most previous studies faced a serious methodological problem: they did not control their analyses for variables that are known to have a significant impact on human sleep, such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea.



Led by Dr. Christian Benedict, an associate professor of Neuroscience at Uppsala, a team of researchers aimed to address these problems by adjusting their findings to chronic sleep problems such as insomnia or sleep apneas. Additionally, their study is the first to investigate sex-specific associations of the lunar cycle with sleep.&nbsp;



The lunar cycle can be described in terms of a waxing and waning period. During the waxing period, the amount of the illuminated moon surface as observed from the Earth increases, and the time when the moon passes a place’s meridian gradually shifts to late evening. By contrast, during the moon’s waning period, the illuminated moon surface decreases and the moment when the moon crosses a location’s meridian shifts to daytime.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"We used one-night at-home sleep recordings from 492 women and 360 men,” reported Dr. Benedict. “We found that men whose sleep was recorded during nights in the waxing period of the lunar cycle exhibited lower sleep efficiency and increased time awake after sleep onset compared to men whose sleep was measured during nights in the waning period. In contrast, the sleep of women remained largely unaffected by the lunar cycle. Our results were robust to adjustment for chronic sleep problems and obstructive sleep apnea severity.”&nbsp;



The experts think that the moon might impact sleep through the presence of the sunlight reflected by the moon at times when people usually go to sleep, and that the male brain could be more sensitive to ambient light than the female brain.



Dr. Benedict concluded that it is difficult to understand whether the association of sleep with the lunar cycle was causal or just correlative. Further research is needed to disentangle the peculiar relationship that exists between human sleep and the moon.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The moon disrupts sleep among men more than women

Men’s sleeping patterns might be more powerfully influenced by the...

Microplastics are tiny fragments (less than 0.2 in or 5 mm in length) of any type of plastic that are found in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pandas-can-thrive-in-less-than-perfect-environments/">environment</a>. They have been identified in oceans, fresh water and air, as well as in our food, drinks and house dust.&nbsp;



Microplastics enter the environment in one of two ways: tiny, man-made particles such as microfibers from clothing and microbeads from cosmetics, or plastic pellets from packaging, are already less than 0.2 in when they are disposed of; larger plastic items degrade and fragment due to natural weathering processes in the environment.



Because microplastics have a ubiquitous distribution it is not surprising that they have been found in the feces of humans and pets. Their effects on human health are not yet known.&nbsp;



It used to be thought that the plastic particles passed through the digestive system without causing damage. Now, it is understood that some fragments pass through, some get lodged in the stomach and intestinal lining, and the very tiniest particles move into the bloodstream and travel to organs and cells. Studies on laboratory animals have shown that exposure to microplastics can cause inflammation, cell death and metabolic disorders.&nbsp;



In a recent pilot study, reported in the American Chemical Society’s <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/estlcu">Environmental Science &amp; Technology Letters</a>, a team of scientists led by Kurunthachalam Kannan from the New York University School of Medicine assess the levels of human exposure to two common microplastics - polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) - by measuring levels in infant and adult feces.



The researchers used fecal samples from six infants and 10 adults in New York State, along with three samples of meconium (a newborn infant’s first stool). Mass spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of PET and PC microplastics in the samples.&nbsp;



The experts found at least one type of plastic present in every sample and, although levels of PC microplastics were similar in adult and infant stools, feces from infants contained, on average, 10 times higher concentrations of PET than feces from adults.&nbsp;



The authors hypothesize that infants are exposed to higher levels of PET plastics through their extensive use of drinking bottles, teethers and toys, all of which are in regular and direct contact with the mouth. Further, more detailed studies are needed in order to corroborate these findings, they say.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Infants carry higher levels of microplastics than adults

Microplastics are tiny fragments (less than 0.2 in or 5...

A new study published in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10902-021-00440-y">The Journal of Happiness Studies</a> has investigated the impact of fruit, vegetables and exercise on individual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cuddling-with-dogs-can-improve-your-well-being/">well-being</a>. The experts found that fruit and vegetable consumption, along with physical activity, increase general life satisfaction.



While correlations between healthy lifestyles and well-being have previously been documented and used in public health campaigns advocating the value of healthier diets and exercise, this new study shows that there is also a positive causation between a healthy lifestyle and general wellbeing.&nbsp;



“There has been a bigger shift in recent years for healthier lifestyle choices. To establish that eating more fruit and vegetables and exercising can increase happiness as well as offer health benefits is a major development,” said study co-author Uma Kambhampati&nbsp;from the <a href="http://www.reading.ac.uk/">University of Reading</a>. “This may also prove useful for policy campaigns around environment and sustainability.”



The researchers argued that the capacity of individuals to delay gratification and apply self-control plays a fundamental role in influencing lifestyle decisions. This ability enables individuals to give greater weight to the investment component of their lifestyle, which might not always be pleasant, rather than merely the affective component, where desires are gratified immediately.&nbsp;



For example, many people engage in strenuous physical exercise as a long-term goal of increasing their wellbeing, instead of munching tasty fast foods on their couches to achieve instant gratification.&nbsp;



"Behavioral nudges that help the planning self to reinforce long-term objectives are likely to be especially helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” explained lead study author Dr. Adelina Gschwandtner, a senior lecturer at the University of Kent’s <a href="https://www.kent.ac.uk/economics">School of Economics</a>. “If a better lifestyle not only makes us healthier but also happier, then it is a clear win-win situation.”



Humans’ unique ability to invest in long-term goals of maintaining good health and well-being by consuming fruits and vegetables and engaging in sports activities is now proven to be also a source of mental well-being and thus overall life satisfaction.&nbsp;



Although men are generally shown to be more willing to exercise and women more prone towards healthy eating, both genders appear to be particularly good long-term planners, able to delay instant gratification in order to achieve later and more prolonged states of well-being and life satisfaction.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fruit, vegetables, and exercise can increase life satisfaction

A new study published in The Journal of Happiness Studies...

On the 14th of July, an amount of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rainfall-will-become-harder-to-predict-with-climate-change/">rain</a> that usually would’ve fallen over several months came pouring down in the Eifel region of Germany, causing massive flooding. The extreme precipitation event was far more destructive than scientific models predicted, leading climate scientists at the <a href="https://www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/home/">Helmholtz Centre Potsdam</a> to ask new questions.



"As climate change continues, we may encounter precipitation events like the one on 14 July 2021 quite frequently," explained Dr. Michael Dietze, lead researcher on a paper published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>.



"Therefore, research must now begin to understand precipitation-induced floods not only as a phenomenon of too much fast-flowing water. We also have to include the associated self-reinforcing effects, some of which are also favored by climate change."



As climate change continues to intensify, extreme precipitation events are going to become more common, making it all the more important to understand them. In advance of the flood, scientists set up seismic measuring devices, in order to measure ground movement during rain and potentially flooding. Unfortunately, these seismic stations themselves were flooded and lost in short order.&nbsp;



The soil quickly filled up with water. Since the soil had lost its capacity to absorb more water, the flooding moved over the land hundreds of times faster than usual. This, in turn, led to flash flooding across the valleys.&nbsp;



The water tore across the land, unleashing erosive powers - digging channels, carrying debris to catch on bridges. A dam quickly eroded, threatening a breach that never quite happened.&nbsp;



The Steinbach Dam holds back 1.2 million cubic meters of water. By evening on July 14, the dam was flooded knee-deep over a width of 150 meters, according to the study authors. If the dam would have breached, this would have caused massive destruction of the communities downstream.&nbsp;



In an effort to understand what happened more clearly after the flood, the scientists created a 3D model. This model is useful in understanding how the landscape changed in response to the flood and will hopefully help people to more effectively prepare for extreme precipitation events in the future&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Flood disaster in Germany raises questions about extreme precipitation

On the 14th of July, an amount of rain that...

New research led by <a href="https://english.pku.edu.cn/">Peking University</a> has found that the highly unusual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-will-cause-extreme-cooling-elsewhere/">Arctic</a> ozone hole that developed in the spring of 2020 was likely caused by record-high sea surface temperatures (SST) in the North Pacific Ocean.&nbsp;



Unlike the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-years-ozone-hole-is-larger-than-antarctica/">Antarctic ozone hole</a> which develops each year between September and November (the austral spring), ozone levels in the Arctic do not get sufficiently depleted to endanger the ozone layer. Since the Arctic stratospheric vortex is significantly warmer than its Antarctic counterpart, polar stratospheric clouds, which play a key role in ozone depletion processes, do not generally form.



However, polar meteorologists reported an unusually large Arctic ozone hole during spring 2020. Scientists from the <a href="https://www.atmos.pku.edu.cn/en/">Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences</a> at Peking University, led by Professor Yongyun Hu, have struggled to discover what caused this unusual event. Using a long-range climate model and performing multiple experiments and simulations, Dr. Hu and his colleagues managed to explain the strange phenomenon.&nbsp;



In a study recently published in the journal <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-021-0359-9">Advances of Atmospheric Sciences</a>, they argued that a weakened “<a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/rossby-wave.html">wavenumber 1-wave</a>” (a type of oceanic and atmospheric wave occurring largely due to the Earth’s rotation) was responsible for the anomalously cold Arctic stratosphere vortex that depleted the ozone layer. In its turn, this weakening of planetary wave was apparently caused by the record-high sea surface temperature registered during late winter and early boreal spring.



“The record-high North Pacific sea surface temperatures during February and March 2020 led to a large reduction of wavenumber-1 wave activity by modifying the Aleutian low,” explained Professor Hu. “The reduction of planetary wave activity caused the extremely cold and persistent stratospheric polar vortex between February and April 2020 which provided the necessary conditions for severe ozone loss.”



According to Professor Hu, these results suggest that, as long as high enough sea surface temperatures will continue to occur, severe ozone loss is unavoidable. Only by urgently and significantly mitigating climate change we will be able to save our already precarious ozone layer.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Heat in the North Pacific linked to unusual Arctic ozone hole

New research led by Peking University has found that the...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> reveals how aspen forests maintain the diversity they need to adapt to fluctuating environmental conditions. The experts found that aspen trees change their genetic structure over time as they balance the need to compete for sunlight and defend themselves from pests.&nbsp;



Since Aspen is the most broadly distributed tree species in North America, it serves as a "bellwether species," or a good indicator of how forests will adapt to anthropogenic climate change and other environmental challenges.



Trees are often faced with competition from other trees for sunlight, and they respond by making growth a priority. But with all of that energy committed to height growth, the trees become more vulnerable to pests.



The new research, which is funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF), demonstrates that evolutionary forces can quickly shape entire forests. The study also shows that exposure to a range of environmental changes promotes the diversity that trees need to overcome various stressors.&nbsp;



"This long-term project provides new insights into the role of forest structure on genetic diversity in aspen groves, and how that affects leaf traits that influence the abundance and distribution of herbivores," said Colin Orians, a program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. &nbsp;



According to a report from NSF, the findings are valuable for conservation biologists who want to protect diverse forest ecosystems from the threats of global warming, invasive species, and other environmental changes.



"What this work has done is show how key traits - like growth and defense - can be coupled together and how genetic diversity will allow populations to adapt to new stresses," said Rick Lindroth, an ecologist at University of Wisconsin–Madison.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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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

Aspen trees change their genetic structure to adapt

A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison reveals how...

A recent study has found that the mass extinction from 252 million years ago which killed nine of out ten species on Earth was caused by a “toxic soup” of accelerated greenhouse emissions, increased <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanoes-stabilize-temperatures-at-earths-surface/">temperatures</a>, and abundant nutrients leading to a huge spike in toxic algae blooms in rivers and lakes. Scientists warn that, although this extinction at the end of the Permian period was caused by prolonged volcanic eruptions, today’s anthropogenic climate change might lead to similar outcomes.&nbsp;



By studying fossils, sediment, and chemical records of rocks near Sydney, Australia, researchers from the <a href="https://www.nrm.se/en/16.html">Swedish Museum of Natural History</a> and the <a href="https://www.unl.edu/">University of Nebraska</a> discovered that a massive volcanic eruption that ran for almost a million years and released enormous amounts of chemicals into the atmosphere caused the Earth’s largest mass extinction 252 million years ago. By stripping the Earth of its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-years-ozone-hole-is-larger-than-antarctica/">ozone layer</a> and poisoning the waters and the atmosphere, this catastrophic event wiped out almost 90 percent of life from Earth.



When comparing the fossil records of other warming-related mass extinctions, scientists found highly similar patterns, increasing worries that our current situation might lead to the same catastrophic outcomes.&nbsp;



“We're seeing more and more toxic algae blooms in lakes and in shallow marine environments that's related to increases in temperature and changes in plant communities which are leading to increases in nutrient contributions to freshwater environments,” reported co-author Tracy Frank, an adjunct professor in the <a href="https://eas.unl.edu/">Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences</a> at the University of Nebraska.



“The volcanism was a source of CO2 in the past but we know that the rate of CO2 input that was seen back then was similar to the rate of CO2 increases we're seeing today because of anthropogenic effects.”



According to study co-author Christopher Fielding, a professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska, another important parallel is that the increase in temperature at the end of the Permian coincided with massive increases in forest fires.&nbsp;



“One of the things that destroyed whole ecosystems was fire, and we're seeing that right now in places like California. One wonders what the longer-term consequences of events like that as they are becoming more and more widespread.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25711-3?utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_source=commission_junction&amp;utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_deeplink_PID100032693&amp;utm_content=deeplink">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change is following a pattern similar to Earth’s largest mass extinction

A recent study has found that the mass extinction from...

Due to climate change effects such as ocean warming and acidification, the biodiversity of coral reef cryptobiota will most likely shuffle rather than decline, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2103275118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</a>.



Coral reefs - some of the most complex, diverse, and productive ecosystems on Earth - consist of a multitude of microorganisms known as cryptobiota. These organisms play a fundamental role in reef processes such as cementation, nutrient cycling, and food web dynamics. Many scientists have worried that climate change will lead to a dramatic loss of this coral reef biodiversity.



However, a research team led by the <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/">University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa</a> has found that while the species that dominate the coral reef communities might shift, the total biodiversity will not collapse under future climate conditions.



“Rather than the predicted collapse of biodiversity under ocean warming and acidification, we found significant changes in the relative abundance, but not the occurrence of species, resulting in a shuffling of coral reef community structure,” said lead study author Molly Timmers, a doctoral student at the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.himb.hawaii.edu/">Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology</a>&nbsp;(HIMB).



In order to assess cryptobiota’s response to future ocean conditions, Timmers and her colleagues conducted an experiment in which tiered settlement plates were placed in experimental flow-through tanks. These recipients were filled with untreated seawater from a nearby coral reef and were then exposed to end-of-21st-century predicted ocean warming and acidification conditions.&nbsp;



The team found that after two years of exposure, the total number of species did not change, but the composition of the coral reef community differed significantly from the initial one. The scientists believe that the outcome of this shuffling will depend upon the ecological roles that the winners and losers among these microorganisms will play.&nbsp;



As Timmers explained, however, “we lack sufficient information on the ecological functions, life histories, and distributions (let alone names) for most members of the coral reef cryptobenthic community to be able to adequately predict responses or ecosystem outcomes of changes in this community.”



Nonetheless, this study highlights the importance of including these understudied microorganisms in research related to the future effects of climate change on marine ecosystems.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Coral reef biodiversity expected to shuffle but not decline

Due to climate change effects such as ocean warming and...

Hoverflies migrate south based on a combination of the sun and their body clock, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. The experts report that the insects keep the sun on their left in the morning, then gradually adjust to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-magnetic-field-navigate/">navigate</a> in the right direction. 



Pied and yellow-clubbed hoverflies are important pollinators that spend their summers in places like the UK and Scandinavia, and then fly to the Mediterranean and North Africa in the fall.



While it was known that the hoverflies migrate on sunny days, the new study is the first to show that the hoverflies use a "time-compensated sun compass."



"Simply flying towards the sun would lead them south, but this would create a winding, inefficient route," said study lead author Richard Massy of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.



"Our study shows that hoverflies account for the sun's movement using their circadian rhythm. Other animals, including certain birds and butterflies, are known to have this ability. Our work suggests that it has independently evolved across multiple insects."



For the investigation, the researchers captured migrating hoverflies at a mountain pass in the Pyrenees. The insects were placed in a type of flight simulator that confined them to one place but allowed them to freely move their bodies.



The hoverflies were positioned so that they could see the sun but not the ground, which prevented them from using landmarks for navigation. The study revealed that the flies adjust their migration route based on the position of the sun.



"Understanding how these insects navigate can help us predict their movements," said Dr. Karl Wotton. "This could be useful for conservation measures, such as limiting the use of pesticides at key migration times."



"Hoverflies are also important predators of crop pests such as aphids, so understanding their migrations could help us use them as natural pest controllers."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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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

Hoverflies navigate by aligning their bodies with the sun

Hoverflies migrate south based on a combination of the sun...

Over 80 human languages employ whistling to communicate over long distances. The whistling form of languages often develops in cultures based in rugged terrain such as mountains or thick forests. In these places, whistles carry further than speech or even shouting, which makes this an effective way for people to communicate over distances.&nbsp;



In fact, whistle forms of languages are usually understood quite well by those familiar with them. For instance, the whistle form of Turkish can be understood 90 percent of the time. Scientists see parallels between whistling in the human language and bottlenose dolphin communication.&nbsp;



Dolphins and humans clearly communicate differently. However, some of the ways people use whistling may provide insight into how dolphins convey information with their whistles. Sonograms that capture an image based on sound are not broken into parts by silences between words.&nbsp;



“By contrast, scientists trying to decode the whistled communication of dolphins and other whistling species often categorize whistles based on the silent intervals between whistles," noted Dr. Diana Reiss, a psychology professor focusing on dolphins and other cetaceans.



This means that scientists may have to reconsider how they look at dolphin communication. A better approach might be to use a sonogram to look at dolphin communications, comparing it to what sonograms reveal about human communications.&nbsp;



In order to use human language to decode dolphin whistles, the researchers plan on creating a database. “On these data, for example, we will develop new algorithms and test some hypotheses about combinatorial structure," explained study lead author Dr. Julien Myer.



There is also the possibility of using AI algorithms to decipher the dolphin language, but further research is needed.



"One of the most striking aspects of this whistled transformation of words is that it remains intelligible to trained speakers, despite a reduced acoustic channel to convey meaning," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"It constitutes a natural traditional means of telecommunication that permits spoken communication at long distances in a large diversity of languages of the world."&nbsp;



"Historically, birdsong has been used as a model for vocal learning and language. But conversely, human whistled languages can serve as a model for elucidating how information may be encoded in dolphin whistle communication."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology">Frontiers in Psychology</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human whistling may decode dolphin language

Over 80 human languages employ whistling to communicate over long...

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

[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

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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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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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