Gravel Road through Flint Hills

<h2>The Flint Hills</h2>
known historically as Bluestern Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a group of hills located in eastern Kansas reaching into north central Oklahoma, extending from Marshall County and Washington County in Kansas in the north to Cowley County, Kansas and Osage and Kay counties in Oklahoma towards the south. The people of Oklahoma usually refer to the same geologic formation as the Osage Hills or The Osage.

The Flint Hills are designated as a unique ecoregion due to it having the most dense coverage of intact tall grass prairie in North America. Because of its rocky soil, the early settlers of European origin weren't able to plow the area, causing the predominance of cattle ranches, which then were largely benefited by the tall grass prairie. The Flint Hills Discovery Center opened in Manhattan, Kansas in April of 2012. The center is a history and science museum that focuses on the Hills.
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The highest point in the Flint Hills is Butler County High Point, with the elevation measured at 1,680 feet. These Flint Hills were formed about 250 million years ago during the Permian Period. During this time, the majority of the Midwest, including Kansas and Oklahoma, were blanketed with shallow seas. That resulted in much of the Flint Hills being made up of limestone and shale with abundant fossils of prehistoric sea creatures.

The most prominent layer of chert-bearing limestone is the Florence Limestone Member. It's about 45 feet thick; a number of road cuts of the Florence Member are famous along Interstate 70 in Riley County, Kansas. Many of the honey-colored limestones have been utilized for building blocks. The non-chert-bearing limestones are superlative for this, because the chert is very hard to cut, yet it can break quite easily.

Image Caption: A tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills, northeastern Kansas. Credit: Edwin Olson/Wikipedia

What is Flint Hills?

The Flint Hills known historically as Bluestern Pastures or Blue...

Coral reefs are submerged structures consisting of calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of small animals found in marine waters that enclose few nutrients. The majority of coral reefs are constructed from stony corals, which then consist of polyps that come together in groups. The polyps are like small sea anemones, to which they are very closely related. Unlike the sea anemones, coral polyps secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which provide support and protections for their bodies. Reefs grow the best in shallow, clear, warm, sunny and agitated waters.

Frequently called â€œrainforests of the seaâ€, coral reefs create some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They take up less than 0.1 percent of the worldâ€™s ocean surface, about half the entire area of France, yet they host 25 percent of all marine species.

The majority of the coral reefs were created after the last glacial period when melting ice caused rising sea levels and flooding of the continental shelves. This means that most coral reefs are less than 10,000 years of age.
There are three principal types of reef. Fringing reef is directly attached to a shore, or borders it with a prevailing shallow channel or lagoon. Barrier reed is a reef that is separated from a mainland or island shore by a deep channel or lagoon. Atoll reef a more or less circular or continuous barrier reef that extends all the way around a lagoon without a central island.

Coral reef ecosystems have distinct zones that are representation of different kinds of habitats. Normally, the three major zones are recognized: the fore reef, reef crest, and the back reef.
Image Caption: A Blue Starfish (Linckia laevigata) resting on hard Acropora coral. Credit: Richard Ling/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What is Coral Reef?

Coral reefs are submerged structures consisting of calcium carbonate secreted...

The Central and Southern mixed grasslands are a prairie ecoregion of the central United States, a portion of the North American Great Plains.

This is a vast grassland area with few trees running north to south from central Nebraska through central Kansas and western Oklahoma to north central Texas, covering about 282,000 square kilometers. This is a transition zone between the Central tall grasslands and Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregions towards the east and the Western short grasslands towards the west, while to the north lies the Northern mixed grasslands which have a cooler temperature and a much shorter growing season.

Image Caption: Approximate area of the Central and Southern Mixed Grasslands ecoregion. Credit: Cephas/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What is Central and Southern mixed grasslands?

The Central and Southern mixed grasslands are a prairie ecoregion...

The Central tall grasslands are a prairie ecoregion of the Midwestern United States, a portion of the North American Great Plains.

It covers a large region of southern Minnesota, most of Iowa, and a small portion of eastern South Dakota and a narrow strip going through eastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas. The rainfall here is 1,000 millimeters per year, which is higher than most of the Great Plains. The Northern tall grasslands are located to the north and have fewer and different species of grass, while the Flint Hills tall grasslands towards the south have a rockier landscape.

Image Caption: Approximate area of the Central Tall Grasslands ecoregion. Credit: Cephas/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What is Central Tall Grasslands?

The Central tall grasslands are a prairie ecoregion of the...

<h2>The Hajar Mountains</h2>
are the highest mountain range within the eastern Arabian Peninsula. They located in northeastern Oman and the eastern United Arab Emirates. Lying 50 to 100 kilometers inland from the Gulf of Oman coast, they divide the low coastal plain of Oman from the high desert plateau.

The Hajar mountains start in the north, creating the Musandam peninsula. From there, the Northern Hajjar runs southeast, parallel to the coast but also moving gradually farther away as it goes. The middle section of the Hajjar is the Jebel Akhdar, which is the highest and wildest terrain in the country. Jebel Akhdar, in addition to the smaller Jebel Nakhl range, is bordered on the east side by the low Samail Valley. Eastwards of Samail are the Eastern Hajjar, which run east, towards the fishing town of Sur, nearly at the eastern point of Oman. Totally, the mountains stretch for 500 kilometers.

The low and coastal land that is north and east of the Jebel Hajjar is called Al Batinah Region, and the terrain that is inland of the mountains is Ad Dhahirah.
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These mountains are a significant ecoregion, the only habitat in eastern Arabia that is above 2,000 meters in elevation. The climate is usually wet, warmer and cool from December to March. But It has occasional rain from April to September.

They are rich in plant life compared to the majority of Arabia, including numerous endemic species. The types of vegetation on this mountain vary with the altitude. They are blanketed with shrubland at the lower elevations, becoming richer with woodland, including wild olive and fig trees at between 3,630 and 8,250 feet. Then higher still are junipers. Fruit trees, apricot and pomegranate. For example, are grown in the cooler valleys and in locations where there are rocky outcrops with little vegetation.

Image Caption: Nakhal Fort. Credit: Mark Hills/Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0)

What is Al Hajar Mountains?

The Hajar Mountains are the highest mountain range within the...

Royal Gramma side on, next to star coral

The Royal Gamma (Gramma loreto) is a species of fish that is found naturally in the waters of the Bahamas, Venezuela, and the Lesser Antilles. It is widely popular in the aquarium trade. It is an ideal fish for most reef aquariums containing coral and other invertebrates. Although they can become aggressive towards other fish when kept in smaller tanks.

The Royal Gamma is dark purple which fades to yellow in the back. It is similar to the False Gamma, with the exception of the fins. False gamma has clear fins, whereas the Royal gamma does not. Also, the False gamma has a distinct color that does not fade. The Royal Gamma averages about 3 inches long and has been bred to live in tanks. It is a carnivorous fish and will eat most meat-based diets.
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What is Royal Gamma?

The Royal Gamma (Gramma loreto) is a species of fish...

Environmental science is a science that contains a wide range of scientific disciplines. These disciplines are grouped together based on the natural environment which they encompass and interact with. These sciences include physical, chemical, and biological components. Environmental science provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the environmental systems. The most common way environmental science is studied is through the work of one individual or small team drawing on the published work of many other scientists throughout the world.

Environmental science is based on the impact of human actions upon terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and develops ideas and plans for restoring these ecosystems. Environmental scientists also help planners develop and construct buildings and other modules to help benefit water resources and efficient land usage. Environmental research is commonly conducted among many different interdisciplinary sciences to produce one goal. Since most environmental issues deal with human activities, study of economics, law and social sciences are often used in conjunction with environmental science.

Environmental science deals with a wide range of issues including: climate change, conservation, biodiversity, water quality, soil and groundwater contamination, natural resources, waste management, development, disaster reduction, and various pollutions. While the environment has been studied since as long as science has been around, only recently (1960s and 1970s) has it become an active mainstream scientific investigation. Growing public awareness of environmental issues and a need for action is one factor in the growth of environmental science to what it is today.

Environmental sciences pertaining to the atmosphere examine the phenomena of the Earth’s gaseous outer layer and the relation it has to other systems. Atmospheric sciences is comprised of
meteorological studies, greenhouse gas phenomena, atmospheric dispersion modeling of airborne contaminants, sound propagation phenomena related to noise pollution, and even light pollution.

Other environmental sciences include environmental chemistry, geosciences, environmental geology, environmental soil science, and volcano phenomena. Hydrology and oceanography can sometimes be linked to environmental science. With all environmental sciences, many other disciplines are utilized and are needed in the issues pertaining to our environment.

In common usage, environmental science and ecology are often used in conjunction with one another, but technically, ecology refers to only the study of organisms and their interactions with each other and the environment. Ecology could be considered a subfield of environmental science, which could involve purely chemical, or public health issues that ecologists are unlikely to study. There is considerable overlap between the work of ecologists and other environmental scientists.
Image Credit: NASA/Wikipedia

What is Environmental Science?

Environmental science is a science that contains a wide range...

Fermium is a synthetic, radioactive metallic element. It has the symbol Fm and atomic number 100. It is an element in the actinide series. It is named after nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi. Fermium became the eighth transuranic (having an atomic number greater than 92) element discovered. It was first discovered in 1952 by a team of scientists led by Albert Ghiorso. They found fermium-255 in debris of the first hydrogen bomb explosion from Operation Ivy. Fermium-255 was created when uranium-238 combined with 17 neutrons in the intense temperature and pressure of the explosion. Findings of this compound were kept secret until 1955 due to tensions from the Cold War.
Only small amounts of fermium have ever been produced and isolated. Little is known about its chemical properties. Heavier fermium isotopes can be synthesized by bombardment of lighter elements (such as uranium and plutonium). The intense neutron bombardment needed to create fermium exists in thermonuclear explosions and can be replicated at laboratories such as the
High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. There are no known uses for fermium outside of research.
Fermium has 17 known radioisotopes, with the most stable being fermium-257 with a half-life of 100.5 days. The rest have half-lives of 3 days or less, with a majority of those with half-lives less than 3 minutes. Fermium has 1 meta state. The isotopes of fermium range in atomic weight from 242.073 (fermium-242) to 259.101 (fermium-259).
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What is Fermium?

Fermium is a synthetic, radioactive metallic element. It has the...

<h2>Einsteinium</h2>
is a metallic synthetic element with the symbol Es and atomic number 99. It became the seventh transuranic (atomic number higher than 99) element produced. It was named for Albert Einstein. Es is an element found within the actinoid series which includes Actinium. Though it has only been produced in small amounts, it has been accurately determined to be silver in coloration. Like all synthetic elements, einsteinium isotopes are highly radioactive and are extremely toxic. Besides research, einsteinium has no known uses.

Einsteinium does not occur naturally. The process of creating it starts with irradiation of plutonium-239 in a nuclear reactor over a period of several years. This process produces plutonium-242 in the form of plutonium oxide and is then mixed with aluminum and formed into pellets. The pellets are also irradiated for one year in a nuclear reactor, after which another 4 months of irradiation is needed in a another reactor. The total process results in a mixture of californium and Es, which can then be separated.
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Einsteinium was first recognized by Albert Ghiorso in 1952 of UC Berkeley. He was studying debris from the first hydrogen bomb test of November 1952. He discovered isotope einsteinium-253. His findings were not made public until 1955 due to tensions from the Cold War. More isotopes were produced at UC Berkeley using nuclear fusion reaction, then later with neutron irradiation of plutonium. In 1961, about .01 micrograms of Es-253 was produced which in turn was used to produce mendelevium. Roughly 1/10 thousandths of an ounce of einsteinium was produced over a 4 year period that started from about 105 ounces of plutonium.

There are 19 known radioisotopes of Es. The most stable is einsteinium-252 with a half-life of 471.7 days. Es-254 has a half-life of 275.7 days. The remaining isotopes have half-lives of less than 40 days, with almost all of those less than 40 hours. Einsteinium also has three meta states. The isotopes range in atomic weight from 240.069 (einsteinium-240) to 258.100 (einsteinium-258).

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What is Einsteinium?

Einsteinium is a metallic synthetic element with the symbol Es...

74053530 - erbium element symbol

<h2>Erbium</h2>
is a chemical element with the symbol Er and atomic number 68. Erbium is a rare, silvery-white metallic lanthanide (an element having an atomic number between 57 and 71). It is found solid in its natural state and is commonly found with several other elements in the mineral gadolinite. It is found in Ytterby, Sweden. Erbium was discovered by Carl Gustaf Mosander in 1843. Mosander separated yttria from gadolinite into three compounds he called erbia, terbia, and yttria. Erbia and terbia, however, were confused at that time. After 1860, terbia was renamed erbia, then after 1877 what was known as erbia, was renamed terbia. Erbium-oxide was isolated in 1905, and pure Er metal wasn’t produced until 1934. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Er-oxide would be cheap enough to be used as a colorant in art glass.

Erbium is never found as a free Earth element in nature. It is found bound to monazite sand ores. It was historically difficult to separate rare earth metals from one another until the invention of ion exchange techniques in the 1950s. This made it also cheaper to produce pure metals and their compounds. The principal sources of Er come from the minerals xenotime, euxenite, and gadolinite. It has also been found recently in the clays of southern China. Two-thirds of the ore produced in China, though, is yttrium. Only about 5% is erbia. The total concentration of Er found in the Earth’s crust is less than one ounce per ton of earth
Erbium in its pure state is pliable (easily shaped).
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It is very soft, yet stable in air. It does not oxidize as quickly as other rare-earth metals. The salts of Er are rose colored. The oxidized state of Er is called erbia. Erbium doesn’t have any known biological roles although it does stimulate metabolism. Erbium can be used as an optical medium, or for lasers and optical amplifiers. Er is ferromagnetic (highly magnetic to various alloys) below -425 degrees Fahrenheit. Between -425 and -315 degrees Fahrenheit it becomes antiferromagnetic (atoms point in opposite directions), and at temperatures above -315 degrees Fahrenheit, Er becomes paramagnetic (less magnetic than ferromagnetic).

Naturally occurring erbium has 6 known stable isotopes. Er-166 is the most abundant (33% natural abundance). It has 29 radioisotopes with the most stable being Er-169 with a half-life of 9.4 days. The rest have half-lives less than 50 hours, with most having half-lives less than 4 hours. The majority of theses have half-lives less than 4 minutes. Er has 13 meta states. The isotopes of Er range in atomic mass from 142.9663 to 176.9541.
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Erbium is used in several applications. It is commonly used as a photographic filter, and a metallurgical additive. It is used in nuclear technology as a nuclear poison. Er is commonly used in its erbia state as a colorant for glass, cubic zirconia, and porcelain. It is also used in sunglasses and cheap jewelry.
Er compounds have little to moderate toxicity, although their toxicity has yet to be investigated in detail. The dust form of metallic erbium presents a fire and explosion hazard.

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What is Erbium?

Erbium is a chemical element with the symbol Er and...

<h2>Europium</h2>
is a chemical element with the symbol Eu and atomic number 63. It is named after the continent Europe. Eu is the most reactive of the rare earth elements. It rapidly oxidizes in air. Europium ignites in the air at around 302 degrees Fahrenheit. It is quite pliable (bendable). Although it was first discovered by Paul Ãƒâ€°mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1890, it is usually credited to French chemist Eu ne-Anatole Demaray, who suspected samples of the discovered samarium were contaminated with an unknown element in 1896, and was able to isolate europium in 1901.

Europium caused a revolution in the 1960s when it was discovered that Eu-doped yttrium red phosphor enhanced the picture in the color television industry. There also was a mad dash to obtain the limited supply of Eu on hand in monazite processors (Eu content in monazite was roughly 0.05%). Luckily, europium-rich bast site deposits (0.1% Eu content) at Mountain Pass. California contained enough of the element to sustain the industry. Prior to europium, the color-TV red phosphor was very weak. The other colors had to be muted to maintain color balance.
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Europium is not found naturally as a free element. Many minerals are found that contain traces of europium, with the most popular minerals being monazite and bast site. Europium is also included in trace element studies in geochemistry and petrology to help understand the process that form igneous rocks. The Eu anomaly is used to help reconstruct the relationships of compounds in igneous rocks. Europium in small amounts happens to be the activator of bright blue fluorescence in samples of fluorite. Fluorite found in Weardale, England was given its name due to the fluorescence, although it was not discovered until much later that europium was determined to be the cause of its brilliance.

Europium has been used in many commercial applications including its use to dope glass to make lasers, and for screening for Down Syndrome and other genetic diseases. So it is being studied as a possible use in nuclear reactors. It is used for its red phosphor in color televisions, computer monitors, and fluorescent lamps. Europium is also used in the anti-counterfeiting phosphors in Euro banknotes.
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Europium that occurs naturally is composed of 2 isotopes. Also Eu-151 and Eu-153. Eu-153 is the most abundant (52.2% natural abundance). 35 artificial radioisotopes have been also characterized, with the most stable being Eu-150 with a half-life of 36.9 years. Eu-152 has a half-life of 13.516 years, and Eu-154 has a half-life of 8.593 years. All of the remaining isotopes have half-lives of less then 4.8 years and most of those have half-lives of less than 12.2 seconds. Europium has 8 meta states.

The toxicity of Eu and its compounds is not fully understood, but there are no indications that it is highly toxic compared to other heavy metals. Eu metal dust presents a fire and explosion hazard. Europium has no known biological role.

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What is Europium?

Europium is a chemical element with the symbol Eu and...

Digital,Illustration,Of,The,Earth's,Magnetosphere,Deflecting,Solar,Wind,And

Earth's Magnetic Field: Origin, Structure, and Impact on Humanity

Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is...

The Columbia Plateau ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion which the United States Environmental Protection Agency designed it in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington, with little areas over the Washington state border in Idaho. This ecoregion stretches across a wide swath of the Columbia River Basin from the Dalles, Oregon to Lewiston, Idaho to Okanogan, Washington near the Canadian border. It incorporates nearly 500 miles of the Columbia River, as well as the lower reaches of major tributaries. It's named for the Columbia River Plateau, a flood basalt plateau created by the Columbia River Basalt Group during the late Miocene and early Pliocene.

The arid sagebrush steppe and grasslands of the region are bordered by moister, predominantly forested, mountainous ecoregions on all sides. The underlying basalt is up to two miles thick and partly covered by thick loess deposits. Where the precipitation amounts are sufficient, the deep loess soils have been extensively cultivated for wheat. Water from the Columbia River is subject to resource allocation debates involving fisheries, navigation, recreation, irrigation and hydropower, and the Columbia Basin Project has considerably transformed much of the area of the region to agricultural use.

This plateau ecoregion includes at least fourteen Level IV ecoregions
<ol>
 	<li>The Channeled Scablands</li>
 	<li>Loess Islands</li>
 	<li>Umatilla Plateau</li>
 	<li>Okanogan Drift Hills</li>
 	<li>Pleistocene Lake Basins</li>
 	<li>Dissected Loess Uplands</li>
 	<li>Yakima Folds</li>
 	<li>Palouse Hills</li>
 	<li>Deep Loess Foothills</li>
 	<li>Nez Perce Prairie</li>
 	<li>Deschutes/John Day Canyons</li>
 	<li>Lower Snake and Clearwater Canyons</li>
 	<li>Okanogan Valley</li>
 	<li>the Umatilla Dissected Uplands</li>
</ol>
Image Caption: Alkali Lake in a coulee, Eastern Washington State, United States. Credit: Jami Dwyer/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What is Columbia Plateau?

The Columbia Plateau ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion which...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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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

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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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

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...