Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features a brilliantly colored phytoplankton bloom in the Barents Sea. Almost every year in this region - just north of Norway and Russia - phytoplankton blooms appear in satellite images. 

Nutrients are abundant and well-mixed in the Barents Sea in the spring and early summer, and these conditions are just right for microscopic phytoplankton called diatoms to thrive. As they multiply and expand, their silica shells and chlorophyll turn the surface waters green.

By late July and into fall, the water becomes more stratified and contains fewer nutrients. According to NASA, these changes benefit a different type of phytoplankton - coccolithophores. Covered with plates of highly reflective calcium carbonate, coccolithophores transform the surface waters into a milky turquoise blue.

“It is possible this is a mixed bloom,” said Andrew Orkney, a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford. “Mixed blooms of coccolithophores and another important bloom-forming group, the diatoms, have been observed off the Norwegian coast in previous years.”

The image was captured on July 15, 2021 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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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

The Barents Sea transformed by phytoplankton

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> features Fogo, an active volcanic island located 400 miles off the coast of West Africa.

Fogo, which means fire in Portugese, is part of the island nation of Cabo Verde in the central Atlantic Ocean. 

Pico de Fogo is the cone at the summit of the volcano that forms the island. With an altitude of 9,280 feet above sea level, it is the highest peak in West Africa.

Experts have determined that the entire east side of the Fogo volcano slid into the ocean around 80,000 years ago, which formed the caldera. 

According to NASA, so much material slid off the volcano flank that the debris field covers an area larger than the area of the island itself.

The image was captured on July 23, 2020 by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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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

The active volcanic island of Fogo

Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> features the Büyük Menderes River in southwestern Turkey.

The river rises in west central Turkey near Dinar, then twists and turns across 382 miles until it reaches the Aegean Sea.

According to NASA, The river’s ancient Greek name Maíandros, or Maeander, became synonymous with the bending character of river courses, and the modern geographical term “meander” was born.

Much of the landscape that the Büyük Menderes River flows through is a depression in the landscape known as a graben - an elongated block of the Earth's crust lying between two seismic faults

The false-color image was captured on March 30, 2021 by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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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

Meandering of the Büyük Menderes River

Wildfire smoke pours across the United States Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> shows wildfire smoke from western North America pouring into the eastern United States.

According to <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=nasa&amp;cvid=f684d872fb3c40a0a3ed152a597fa3c1&amp;aqs=edge.0.69i59j0l4j69i60l2.939j0j1&amp;pglt=43&amp;FORM=ANNTA1&amp;PC=HCTS">NASA</a>, haze darkened skies and reddened sunsets, unleashed a rash of code red and orange air quality warnings, and even left the smell of smoke in the air in some regions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.

Some of the haziest skies can be seen in New York City, where fine particulate pollution has reached levels that are considered harmful - even for healthy people. New York City (NYC), often simply called New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2019 population of 8,336,817 distributed over about 302.6 square miles (784 km ), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the State of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area. With almost 20 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and approximately 23 million in its combined statistical area, it is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports, and is the most photographed city in the world.

Ryan Stauffer, an atmospheric scientist based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said that it's a magnitude of particle pollution that New York City hasn’t seen in more than a decade.

The experts report that most of the smoke that has streamed into the eastern U.S. is likely from a cluster of fires near the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario.

The image was captured on July 20 by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NOAA-20.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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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

Wildfire smoke pours across the United States

Wildfire smoke pours across the United States Today's Image of...

Black carbon is streaming across North America Today's Image of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> shows shows the concentration of black carbon particulates, or soot, over North America on July 21, 2021. The smoke from fires burning in central and western North America continues to spread across the continent. North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be described as the northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Because it is on the North American Tectonic Plate, Greenland is included as part of North America geographically. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 16.5% of the Earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

According to <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=nasa&amp;cvid=f684d872fb3c40a0a3ed152a597fa3c1&amp;aqs=edge.0.69i59j0l4j69i60l2.939j0j1&amp;pglt=43&amp;FORM=ANNTA1&amp;PC=HCTS">NASA</a>, skies have turned hazy in cities ranging from Boston to Washington, D.C., while smoke from fires in Canada’s Manitoba and Ontario provinces is pouring into the U.S. Northeast. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research. 

The black carbon data is obtained from the GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) model, which combines observations from satellite, aircraft, and ground-based systems.

Thick plumes of black carbon can be seen streaming from clusters of fires in British Columbia, Oregon, Washington, and California.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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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

Black carbon is streaming across North America

Black carbon is streaming across North America Today's Image of...

The COVID-19 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ozone-pollution-dropped-dramatically-during-pandemic/">pandemic</a> gave us a small glimpse into a world where people traveled and consumed less. Unfortunately, the pandemic also showed scientists that even an enormous reduction in human consumption and fossil fuel use is not nearly enough to stop the climate crisis. 

Published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience">Bioscience</a>, new research by William J. Ripple and Christopher Wolf from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> shows that although fossil fuel use dropped in 2020, the news is not good. 

Despite a major decrease in fossil fuel burning, concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have reached record highs. Sea level rise, ocean temperatures, and the loss of ice mass have also hit disturbing records. 

The researchers explain that their study shows the inadequacy of a small drop in fossil fuel consumption as it relates to the climate crisis.

"The updated planetary vital signs we present largely reflect the consequences of unrelenting business as usual," said the study authors. "A major lesson from COVID-19 is that even colossally decreased transportation and consumption are not nearly enough and that, instead, transformational system changes are required."

The scientists claim that only large systematic changes have any chance of really combating the climate crisis, and they recommend a few specific shifts. 

The researchers suggest phasing out fossil fuels, and ultimately banning them altogether, along with climate education in schools to raise awareness. 

The team is also calling for the conservation of ecosystems that act as natural carbon sinks. The root problem, according to the scientists, is overconsumption and overexploitation of the planet. They criticize solutions that do not tackle the problem at its root.

“Policies to alleviate the climate crisis or any of the other threatened planetary boundary transgressions should not be focused on symptom relief but on addressing their root cause: the overexploitation of the Earth," wrote the researchers.

Only by facing the real basis of the problem the scientists remind us, will humanity have a chance at a sustainable future. 

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By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists issue new warning on climate crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic gave us a small glimpse into a...

Air pollution from common everyday products is killing up to ten times more people than what was previously realized, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">CU Boulder</a>. The experts report that pollutants sourced from vehicle fuels and chemical products, such as house paints, are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths every year. 

The researchers refer to the deadly air pollutants as “anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols," which form from chemicals that are regularly released through human activities. The team estimates that these secondary aerosols are linked to somewhere between 340,000 and 900,000 premature deaths each year. 

"That’s more than 10 times as many deaths as previously estimated,” said study co-author Benjamin Nault.

“The older idea was that to reduce premature mortality, you should target coal-fired power plants or the transportation sector."

“Yes, these are important, but we’re showing that if you’re not getting at the cleaning and painting products and other everyday chemicals, then you’re not getting at a major source.”

Direct sources of fine particle pollution (PM2.5), including power plants and diesel exhaust, are well documented. These sources of pollution are tied to at least three million premature deaths annually. 

The new study indicates that anthropogenic secondary organic pollutants serve as an indirect source of deadly fine particles. The chemicals are emitted from tailpipes and cooking fuels like charcoal. They are increasingly being used in house paints and cleaning products.

In previous work, a team of experts from CIRES and <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">NOAA</a> found that volatile chemical products contribute as much as vehicles do to the formation of particle pollution. 

“What’s new here, is that we are showing this is an issue in cities on three continents, North America, Europe and east Asia," said study co-author Brian McDonald.

Professor Jose-Luis Jimenez noted that air quality regulations have tended to focus on volatile chemicals that produce ozone. The current investigation shows that chemicals in everyday products - which contribute little to ozone pollution - may still contribute to the formation of fine particle pollution in a major way. 

“Because this effect has been thought to be small, it hasn’t been targeted for control,” said Professor Jimenez. “But when you take atmospheric chemistry into account and put it into a model, you find that this particular source is killing a lot of people.”

“If you care about air pollution impacts on health and mortality, you have to take this problem seriously."

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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

Air pollution from everyday products is deadlier than previously realized

Air pollution from common everyday products is killing up to...

Moderate drinking may lower the risk of a fatal cardiovascular event among individuals with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-may-lower-the-risk-of-heart-problems/">heart</a> disease, according to a new study published by <a href="https://www.biomedcentral.com/journals">BMC</a>.

"Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption has been reported to be cardio-protective among apparently healthy individuals; however, it is unclear whether this association is also present in those with disease," wrote the study authors.

To investigate, the researchers analyzed data from 48,423 adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) who participated in the UK Biobank, the Health Survey for England, the Scottish Health Survey, and 12 previous studies. 

The individuals, who reported their average alcohol consumption, were followed for up to 20 years. Based on this data, the study authors estimated the risk of CVD-related death.

Drinking up to 15 grams of alcohol per day was associated with a reduced risk of heart attack, stroke, or death, but the lowest risk was found among CVD patients who drank between six and eight grams of alcohol per day.

Individuals who drank six grams of alcohol per day had a 50 percent lower risk of recurrent heart attack, angina or stroke compared to those who did not drink. 

The researchers also found that those who drank more than 62 grams of alcohol per day did not have an increased risk of a recurrent or fatal CVD incident compared to individuals who did not drink alcohol.

"Our findings suggest that people with CVD may not need to stop drinking in order to prevent additional heart attacks, strokes or angina, but that they may wish to consider lowering their weekly alcohol intake," said study co-author Chengyi Ding of University College London.

"As alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing other illnesses, those with CVD who do not drink should not be encouraged to take up drinking."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/">BMC Medicine</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

Light drinking lowers risk of fatality from heart disease

Moderate drinking may lower the risk of a fatal cardiovascular...

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Today&#8217;s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. This region is one of the most famous places on the planet for viewing wildlife.
The Galápagos Islands are home to many native plants and animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, including giant tortoises and sea lions. 
When Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1835, his wildlife observations inspired the theory of evolution by natural selection. In 1959, the Ecuadorian government made the entire archipelago a national park to protect its unique diversity. 
The archipelago is made up of 13 major islands and several smaller islands and islets across 60,000 square kilometers of ocean. According to ESA, repeated volcanic eruptions and ongoing seismic activity have helped form the rugged mountain landscape of the islands. 
The largest of the Galapagos Islands, Isabela, was formed when multiple large volcanoes merged into one single land mass. 
Video Credit: European Space Agency 
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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

The Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific