Today's Image of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features a false-color image of Lake Abbe in northeast Ethiopia. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.&nbsp;



"Visible as the large round dark area, Lake Abbe, also known as Lake Abhe, straddles the border of Ethiopia to the west and Djibouti to the east. The lake is 19 km wide and 17 km long and is extremely salty. It is dotted with clusters of steaming limestone chimneys and surrounded by large salt flats, visible in white, and rift volcanoes," says ESA.



"The biggest volcano in the image is Mount Dama Ali, a dormant 25-km-wide shield volcano that rises on the northwest shore of the lake."



"Lake Abbe and Lake Afambo, which is visible at the top of the image, are part of a chain of six connected salt lakes, fed by the Awash River - one of Ethiopia’s biggest rivers.'



Copernicus Sentinel-2’s near-infrared channel highlights vegetation in bright red. This strategy makes it easy to spot algal blooms, such as the one that is visible in Lake Abbe. According to ESA, the light blue color on the west shore indicates sediment discharged into the lake.



"Because of its dry, desert, almost lunar landscape and the steaming, sulphuric vents, Lake Abbe is considered one of the most inaccessible areas on Earth," says ESA. "Earth observation satellites are key in these cases as they are particularly relevant for monitoring remote regions such as this."



Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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Lake Abbe in northeast Ethiopia

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features vibrantly colored water near the coastline of Vancouver Island.



"The colorful plumes - which are likely comprised of both phytoplankton and sediment - stood out in this image, acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite on July 26," said NASA.



"Clouds covered much of Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia at the time of this image. But coastal areas were cloud-free, exposing water that likely contained flourishing populations of phytoplankton - floating plant-like organisms that are the foundation of the aquatic food web."



During the summer in the northeast Pacific Ocean, phytoplankton blooms are frequent due to offshore winds pushing surface waters away from the coast. This leads to the upwelling of cooler, nutrient-rich waters from the depths, which fuels the growth of phytoplankton.&nbsp;



The Salish Sea plays a significant role in supplying nutrients through its circulation and upwelling, enhancing phytoplankton productivity along the continental shelf near Vancouver Island. Additionally, the bloom may also be fueled by nutrient-rich sediment runoff from the coast.



Vancouver Island is known for its lush landscapes, including mountains, forests, and stunning coastlines. The island is also home to the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.&nbsp;



Vancouver Island offers various outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, kayaking, and wildlife viewing, including opportunities to see whales and bears. The island has a rich Indigenous history, which is reflected in many of its local arts and cultural exhibits



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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Vibrant colors off the coast of Vancouver Island

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory </a>&nbsp;features a massive smoky storm cloud that developed over Northwestern Canada on September 16, 2023.



"For much of summer 2023, fires burned through boreal forests in northern British Columbia and Alberta, and in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories. The blazes triggered evacuations as they approached towns and unleashed plumes of smoke that occasionally dipped south into the United States," said NASA.



"In mid-September, strong winds from a passing cold front interacted with some of the fires to create a vast smoke-infused cloud spiral. The smoky storm, which spanned hundreds of kilometers, is visible in this image captured by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-20 satellite."



Wind gusts as high as 40 miles per hour intensified the fires and created towering “fire clouds” called pyrocumulonimbus clouds, which boosted smoke up into the storm clouds.&nbsp;



“We see dozens of pyrocumulonimbus clouds each year, but this was an impressive event,” said Colin Seftor, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.&nbsp;



Seftor monitors the spread of the airborne aerosols within wildfire smoke using the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite sensor on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite.



“After the smoke was lofted up and entrained within the circulation of a passing low-pressure system, it resulted in the highest aerosol measurements we’ve seen this year,” said Seftor. “We did see two other smoke events in Canada in mid-August and early September, when aerosol index values were nearly as high,” he added.



Atmospheric scientist Hiren Jethva analyzed data collected by a lidar sensor on NASA’s ICESat-2 to measure the height of the smoke plume. “ICESat-2 data show a rising smoke cloud ranging from 6 to 11 kilometers,” he said.&nbsp;



According to NASA, scientists track smoke heights as part of a broader effort to understand how aerosols within wildfire smoke affect the radiation budget and climate when they form smoke layers above clouds.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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Smoke-infused storm cloud over the Northwest Territories 

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory &nbsp;features...

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory </a>&nbsp;features the port city of Derna on the northeastern coast of Libya, where heavy rainfall caused catastrophic flooding that killed thousands of people.&nbsp;



"On September 10 and 11, over 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain fell on Derna. The city lies at the end of a long, narrow valley, called a wadi, which is dry except during the rainy season," explained NASA.



"Floods triggered two dams along the wadi to collapse. The failure of the second dam, located just one kilometer inland of Derna, unleashed 3- to 7-meter-high floodwater that tore through the city. According to news reports, the flash floods destroyed roads and swept entire neighborhoods out to sea."



The image was captured by the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 on September 18. It shows the eroded banks of Wadi Derna, and muddy water off the coast.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Preliminary estimates by the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) indicate that 3,100 buildings in Derna were damaged by rushing water. According to the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 40,000 people in the country were displaced by the storm, and 30,000 of those were displaced from Derna," said NASA.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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Aftermath of catastrophic flooding in Derna, Libya

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory </a>&nbsp;features the western region of Morocco, where a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on September 8, 2023. The violent earthquake killed thousands of people and many are still missing more than a week later.



"The damage proxy map shown above is a NASA Earth Observatory version of a map created by the Earth Observatory of Singapore - Remote Sensing Lab (EOS-RS). The map uses modified Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data processed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and with software originally developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech," said NASA.



"To map the landscape, including buildings, Sentinel-1’s radar sends pulses of microwaves toward Earth’s surface and 'listens' for reflected echoes of those waves. In the map above, the damage proxy data from EOS-RS was laid over a Landsat 9 image and combined with a digital elevation model based on data collected by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission."



According to NASA, the most severe destruction occurred in small rural villages in the High Atlas Mountains. Near the epicenter, entire communities were destroyed.



A resident of the town of Tinzert, Hakim Idlhousein, told CNN that it took just 10 seconds for his whole village to disappear. The homes have been reduced to rubble, and the survivors are still waiting for government aid. These hardest-hit regions have been difficult to reach after roads were destroyed by the earthquake.&nbsp;



"Help has been slow to come and has so far mostly consisted of food and water brought up into the mountains in private cars by volunteers from across Morocco," reported CNN.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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Entire villages destroyed by earthquake in the High Atlas Mountains

In a recent study led by Professor Adrian David Cheok at the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Tokyo</a>, researchers have successfully deciphered the emotional states of chickens through their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/zebra-finches-use-both-calls-and-vision-to-coordinate-flight/">vocalizations</a>. This unique endeavor seeks to bridge the interspecies communication gap.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chicken-vocalizations">Chicken vocalizations</h2>



The research, which is still awaiting peer review, has reported a groundbreaking achievement. The team determined the six emotional states of chickens - hunger, fear, anger, contentment, excitement, and distress - with 80% accuracy solely based on vocalizations.&nbsp;



The preliminary findings have been documented in a paper submitted to Nature Scientific Reports and initially published in <a href="https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-3034567/v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Research Square</a>.



Cheok, otherwise recognized for his sex robot research, humorously commented on this novel venture: “It’s a cluckin’ great leap for science! And this is just the beginning."



"We hope to be able to adapt these AI and ML techniques to other animals and lay the groundwork for incredible intelligence in the various animal-related industries. If we know what animals are feeling we can design a much better world for them.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-emotional-analysis-learning-deal">Deep Emotional Analysis Learning (DEAL)</h2>



“Our methodology employs a cutting-edge AI technique we call Deep Emotional Analysis Learning (DEAL), a highly mathematical and innovative approach that allows for the nuanced understanding of emotional states through auditory data,” explained Cheok.&nbsp;



The innovative AI technique holds the promise of designing a more humane environment for animals by better comprehending their feelings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collaborative-expertise-nbsp">Collaborative expertise&nbsp;</h2>



"We conducted our study with a sample of 80 chickens, meticulously recording and analyzing their vocalizations under various conditions," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"To ensure the accuracy of our system's interpretations, we collaborated with a team of eight animal psychologists and veterinary surgeons, who provided expert insights into the emotional states of the chickens."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-accurate-results">Accurate results</h2>



The researchers meticulously analyzed approximately 200 hours of chicken sounds. The AI system was trained on half of these recordings, where each sound was labeled with a corresponding emotional state.&nbsp;



When tested on the remaining 100 hours of chicken vocalizations, the system impressively pinpointed the chickens' emotional states most of the time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-welfare">Animal welfare</h2>



“This research not only opens up new avenues for understanding and improving animal welfare but also sets a precedent for further studies in AI-driven interspecies communication,” said the study authors.



They noted that chickens are “highly social animals” and plan to create a free app so that farmers can use the technology to communicate with their chickens.



According to the researchers, this study not only enhances our understanding of animal welfare but also sets the foundation for further exploration in AI-facilitated interspecies communication.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-implications-nbsp">Study implications&nbsp;</h2>



Farming Online recognizes the immense potential of this research, saying that it could redefine animal welfare, advance veterinary medicine, improve poultry farming conditions, and assist animal behavior research, among other applications.



"The novelty of our approach lies in its application of sophisticated AI techniques to a largely unexplored area of study," concluded the researchers.



"By bridging the gap between human and animal communication, we believe our research will pave the way for more empathetic and effective interactions with the animal kingdom."



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Experts can now decipher the emotional states of chickens

In a recent study led by Professor Adrian David Cheok...

In an era where the emphasis on creating a nature-friendly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cigarette-butts-leak-thousands-of-deadly-toxins-into-the-environment/">environment</a> has never been greater, researchers are warning of the dangers posed by greenwashing. 



The concept of greenwashing has emerged as a significant barrier to achieving a ‘nature positive’ world, an aspirational vision of halting environmental degradation and protecting biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-positive-nbsp">Nature positive&nbsp;</h2>



According to World Economic Forum, nature positive means enhancing the resilience of our planet and societies to halt and reverse nature loss.



It represents an intent to go a step beyond the present measures, which largely orbit around damage control.



"Nature positive is a hot topic in conservation. Described as the biodiversity version of a ‘net zero’ climate goal, the desired outcome is an improvement in the state of nature and not merely the mitigation of impacts," wrote the researchers.



The team was led by Professor Martine Maron from <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">The University of Queensland</a>.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-leaders-pledge-for-nature">Leaders’ Pledge for Nature</h2>



Professor Maron stressed the indispensability of a nature positive approach, especially in the face of the ongoing mass extinction.&nbsp;



“Countries around the world are starting to back the concept – more than 90 world leaders have signed on to the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature calling for a nature positive future by 2030," said Professor Maron.&nbsp;



“And 11 of the global Fortune 100 companies already aspire to contribute to nature positive."



“This is fantastic news, but these laudable ambitions mustn’t be sidelined by a well-known enemy of the environmental movement: greenwash.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-greenwashing">What is greenwashing?</h2>



Greenwashing is the tactic employed by organizations to project an inflated image of their environmental commitments.&nbsp;



It involves dishing out misleading or deceptive information to appear more environmentally responsible than one truly is.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-misleading-information-nbsp">Misleading information&nbsp;</h2>



Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland from the University of Oxford said the team hopes that the public does not get the proverbial wool pulled over their eyes.



“Our message to the public is that it’s incredibly important to scrutinize these claims,” said Professor Milner-Gulland.



“As with the term ‘net zero,' you’ll soon start to see the businesses you buy from, and the governments you vote for, making claims that they are being, doing, or contributing to nature positive."



“But to be clear, such an achievement is only possible if we fundamentally change how we run our society and economy."



“What we really need are standards, so that it’s clear what constitutes misleading information, and transparency, so that consumers and voters can tell the greenwash from the genuine efforts for change.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-we-still-have-a-long-way-to-go">We still have a long way to go</h2>



Australia is currently framing its national environmental law reforms around the concept of nature positive.



“For these initiatives to truly achieve that goal, they’ll need to be substantial and far-reaching, preventing the accumulation of further impacts, especially on our threatened biodiversity,” said Professor Maron.



“Hundreds of thousands of hectares of habitat are still being cleared in Australia every year, so we still have a long way to go before we can say we’re nature positive.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02199-2">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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Greenwashing jeopardizes efforts for a "nature positive" world

In an era where the emphasis on creating a nature-friendly...

Night,Landscape,With,The,Milky,Way,In,Namibia,In,The

A recent study has shone a new light on our understanding of the universe, revealing that Milky Way-like galaxies are not as rare as previously thought. In fact, they are are surprisingly common, reshaping notions surrounding galaxy formation and evolution. 



The study involved an international team of researchers, including prominent scientists from the <a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Manchester</a> and the <a href="https://www.uvic.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Victoria</a> in Canada, utilizing the advanced <a href="https://webb.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James Webb Space Telescope</a> (JWST).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shift-in-cosmic-perspectives">Shift in cosmic perspectives</h2>



The conventional wisdom was that galaxies resembling our Milky Way were scarce due to their delicate nature. The use of the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble Space Telescope</a> had led scientists to think that disc galaxies scarcely existed until the universe was approximately six billion years old. 



However, the findings from the new study, published in the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/acc45c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Astrophysical Journal</a>, reveal that such galaxies were ten times more prevalent and have existed much longer, forming around 10 billion years ago or even earlier.



Professor Christopher Conselice, a Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy at the University of Manchester, noted, "These JWST results show that disk <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-galaxy-cluster-as-it-appeared-4-6-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> like our own Milky Way are the most common type of galaxy in the Universe. This implies that most stars exist and form within these galaxies which is changing our complete understanding of how galaxy formation occurs."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pioneering-discoveries-with-webb">Pioneering discoveries with Webb</h2>



The JWST has played a pivotal role in these discoveries, illustrating its unparalleled ability to uncover details about galaxies’ structures far earlier in the universe than scientists had anticipated. 



Lead author Leonardo Ferreira from the University of Victoria commented on the instrumental role of the JWST, saying, "The fact that JWST finds so many [disc galaxies] is another sign of the power of this instrument."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-debunking-the-fragility-myth">Debunking the fragility myth</h2>



The longevity and commonality of Milky Way-like galaxies dispel previous notions about their rarity stemming from their fragile nature and supposed susceptibility to the violent encounters that galaxies frequently undergo. 



The newfound abundance of these galaxies is compelling evidence that these entities form much earlier in the Universe than researchers had estimated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rewriting-galactic-understanding">Rewriting galactic understanding</h2>



These revelations raise fundamental questions about the formation of the first galaxies and the evolution of galaxy over the last 10 billion years, necessitating a comprehensive reevaluation of our understanding of the universe. 



Professor Conselice stressed the significance of these findings, stating, "Based on our results astronomers must rethink our understanding of the formation of the first galaxies and how galaxy evolution occurred over the past 10 billion years."



Moreover, the results imply profound implications for our understanding of dark matter in the early universe, about which little is currently known. The fact that the majority of stars exist and form within these common disk galaxies is reshaping the entire scientific perspective on galaxy formation and dark matter, propelling forward our comprehension of cosmological phenomena.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-and-next-steps">Implications and next steps</h2>



These findings open up a realm of new questions and doubts regarding the universe's evolution and galaxy formation, obliging scientists to reconsider existing theories and models. The advanced insights provided by the JWST will continue to be crucial in answering these emerging questions and refining our knowledge of the cosmos.



The discovery of the abundance of Milky Way-like galaxies marks a transformative moment in astronomy and cosmology, offering new pathways for exploring the complexities of the universe and prompting renewed curiosity and fascination with the mysteries of the cosmos. 



The continued exploration and research into galaxies and the universe will undoubtedly unravel more secrets and deepen our understanding of our place in the cosmos.



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Galaxies like our own Milky Way are not unique

A recent study has shone a new light on our...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a wearable sensor to help monitor the water levels of plants.&nbsp;



When plants are in need of water, there are not always obvious signals. Plant leaves do not turn brown or shrivel until most of the water is gone.&nbsp;



The new system is designed to detect water loss earlier. According to ACS, the system can wirelessly transmit data to a smartphone app, allowing for remote management of drought stress in gardens and crops.



&#8220;Impedimetric wearable sensors are a promising strategy for determining the loss of water content (LWC) from leaves because they can afford on-site and nondestructive quantification of cellular water from a single measurement,&#8221; explained the study authors.&nbsp;



&#8220;Because the water content is a key marker of leaf health, monitoring of the LWC can lend key insights into daily practice in precision agriculture, toxicity studies, and the development of agricultural inputs.&#8221;



The experts have published their research in the ACS journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/aamick">Applied Materials &amp; Interfaces</a>.



Video Credit: ACS



&#8211;&#8212;



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

Plant sensor can remotely track water levels