Imagine a world where damaged ecosystems, specifically coral reefs teeming with vibrant marine life, could be revived and restored to their former glory.



These vibrant underwater habitats, often referred to as the "rainforests of the sea," are essential for marine biodiversity and coastal protection. 



That's no longer just a dream, thanks to an innovative study that has just shed light on a technique with immense potential for reviving and restoring damaged coral reefs. 



By harnessing the power of healthy ecosystems, scientists have unlocked a sustainable and scalable method to breathe new life into these critical environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mother-nature-s-life-savers">Mother nature's life-savers</h2>



The research was led by scientists at <a href="https://www.biu.ac.il/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bar-Ilan University</a>’s Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, along with Professor Ezri Tarazi of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and Professor David Bourne of James Cook University.



The study was focused on a breakthrough method known as "a coral reef ecosystem transplant" or aCRET. This simple yet brilliant model could be a symbol of hope in the face of widespread <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crown-of-thorns-starfish-thrive-in-degraded-coral-reefs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coral degradation</a>.



The researchers took a healthy reef and transferred biomimetic terracotta tiles packed with a diverse community of organisms - a virtual "metropolis" of invertebrates and beneficial microorganisms. 



These tiles were then transplanted to a nearby, damaged reef which showed signs of coral decline. 



Implanting these vibrant communities of microorganisms onto the ailing coral reefs led to an impressive increase in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reef-health-can-be-measured-through-sound/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coral health</a>. You can think of it as a supercharge for the undersea inhabitants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-novel-approach-to-coral-restoration">A novel approach to coral restoration</h2>



These biomimetic terracotta tiles were not just randomly chosen, they were meticulously designed to replicate the complex 3D structure of natural reefs, making a perfect home for diverse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-organisms-may-adapt-to-climate-change-but-with-hidden-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">organisms</a>. 



They were carefully cultured for six months on the healthy reef before being moved to their new home six kilometers away on the damaged reef.



"This innovative approach underscores the critical role of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthy-reef-sounds-inspire-coral-larvae-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">healthy reef</a> ecosystems in restoring coral health and resilience," said Dr. Natalie Levy, lead researcher of the study. 



"The results highlight the potential of ecosystem transplantation as an effective, sustainable restoration tool that can be integrated with other coral restoration methods like coral gardening and artificial reefs."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-coral-reef-restoration">The future of coral reef restoration</h2>



The promising application of aCRETs could revolutionize the field of coral reef restoration, particularly in regions experiencing immense environmental stress. 



By adopting this cost-effective method, it is hoped that it can enhance and build upon existing restoration strategies, acting as a safety net for the invaluable ecosystem crucial for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-biodiversity-could-shift-rapidly-due-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine biodiversity</a>.



"This research advances our understanding of coral restoration and provides an invaluable tool to help address the ongoing global coral crisis," said Professor Oren Levy.



"By using healthy ecosystems to regenerate damaged reefs, we can work towards more resilient, sustainable coral ecosystems that may one day recover from climate change and other threats."



This pioneering study has undoubtedly set the stage for a new wave of coral conservation efforts, embodying a glimmer of hope for reversing the alarming degradation of coral reefs on a global scale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-reef-restoration-beyond-borders">Expanding reef restoration beyond borders</h2>



The success of the aCRET method holds immense promise not just for localized reef restoration but for broader, global applications. 



With coral reefs under threat in regions spanning the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, this approach could be a scalable solution for nations grappling with environmental stressors like warming oceans, pollution, and overfishing.



By encouraging international collaborations, much like the partnership utilized for this study, scientists and policymakers can work together to deploy aCRET and similar methods across diverse marine ecosystems.



These efforts could be paired with education and awareness campaigns aimed at empowering coastal communities to take active roles in reef conservation.



Moreover, the integration of advanced monitoring technologies, such as AI-driven reef health analytics and satellite imaging, could further enhance the impact of such restoration efforts. 



These innovations would allow for the tracking of transplanted ecosystems, ensuring long-term sustainability and adaptive management in the face of a changing climate.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54149-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Healthy coral transplants could revolutionize reef restoration

Imagine a world where damaged ecosystems, specifically coral reefs teeming with vibrant marine life, could be revived and restored to their former glory. These vibrant underwater habitats, often referred to as the "rainforests of the sea," are essential for marine biodiversity and coastal protection. That's no longer just a dream, thanks to an innovative study that has just shed light on a technique with immense potential for reviving and restoring damaged coral reefs. By harnessing the power of healthy ecosystems, scientists have unlocked a sustainable and scalable...

For almost eight years, scientists have been studying footprints left behind by a gigantic dinosaur in the mountains of France. The animal responsible for the prints, which make up the world's largest fossilized track, has been named Thunderfoot.

The huge <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-dinosaurs/">dinosaur</a> footprints were ultimately found to extend over 500 feet through the French village of Plagne in the Jura Mountains.

20 prints were first discovered in 2009 by two scientists from the <a href="http://www.geologypage.com/2017/11/worlds-largest-dinosaur-tracks-discovered-jura-mountains.html">Oyonnax Naturalists' Society</a>. Digs at the site unearthed more footprints, and the track was found to contain 110 massive imprints.

The depth and length of the 150-million-year-old tracks exposed the size of the dinosaur, which was as long as three buses. The experts determined that the Sauropod weighed at least 38.5 tons and was 114 feet long.

The footprints featured five elliptical toe marks, while the handprints showed five circular finger marks arranged in the shape of a crescent.

The details of the study have been released to the public by the <a href="http://lgltpe.ens-lyon.fr/">Laboratoire de Geologie de Lyon</a>. The massive animal was named after the French village where it was discovered. The dinosaur’s scientific name is Brontopodus plagenensis, which means ‘Thunderfoot from Plagne.”

The research institution responsible for the excavation of the Plagne site is the <a href="http://www.cnrs.fr/">Centre national de la recherche scientifique</a>, or CNRS. 

A representative of CNRS said in a statement, “Dating of the limestone layers reveals that the trackway was formed 150 million years ago, during the Early Tithonian Age of the Jurassic Period. At that time, the Plagne site lay on a vast carbonate platform bathed in a warm, shallow sea.”

“The presence of large dinosaurs indicates the region must have been studded with many islands that offered enough vegetation to sustain the animals. Land bridges emerged when the sea level lowered, connecting the islands and allowing the giant vertebrates to migrate from dry land in the Rhenish Massif.”

The Jurassic Period was named after the Jura Mountains because rocks from this time period were found there. The dinosaurs are thought to have left their tracks in the mud, which dried before becoming covered with the water and sediment that preserved them.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Photo Credit: P. Dumas

Dinosaur who left longest footprint trail named Thunderfoot

For almost eight years, scientists have been studying footprints left...

We live in an age that has been dubbed the Anthropocene era because of how drastically humans have changed the global landscape. From climate change to habitat degradation, human-related activities have played a major part in current conditions. 

Global trade and human-induced climate change, in particular, are now making it easier for pests to spread across the planet, even to those regions that might otherwise have been protected by cold winters. 

Tree-eating insects like bark beetles, wood-boring beetles, and leaf-sucking insects are killing plants and wreaking havoc on forests. Park rangers and forest conservation policies have been unable to keep up as new pests are continually introduced.  

But now, recent research from <a href="http://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> and the <a href="http://www.usc.es/en/index.html">University of Santiago de Compostela</a> offers new strategies to manage pests in the era of human-induced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>.

“Forest managers working in isolation and learning by trial and error cannot possibly keep up with the rapidly changing challenges. We hope that this research can serve as a guidebook for pest management in the Anthropocene,” said Matthew Ayres, a professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth.

Ayres and his colleagues from Dartmouth and Santiago de Compostela in their paper recommended several tactics that can be used to help combat new pests and reduce invasive pests from forests. 

The researchers have outlined eight different tactics, beginning with the use of practical scientific theory. 

To reduce the introduction of new pests or protect forests from invasive species, first researchers need to be thoroughly familiar with the pests and their adaptability to new environments and climates. 

“Understanding the general effects of temperature on insects gives us certainty that continued warming will produce continued changes in where we find pests,” said Ayres. “In some cases, we can make detailed predictions of where pests will be in coming years under different climate scenarios.” 

The other tactics proposed include management plans that anticipate continuing change, improving monitoring, prediction, and mitigation of established pests, and improving biosecurity against future human-aided invasions. 

In addition, the researchers emphasized the importance of different countries sharing intelligence, improved assessments of costs and benefits, accurate assessments of outcomes, and improved relationships between forests and socioeconomic systems.

The research proves that pest management is possible, even with a changing climate and increased global trade.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a>, Staff Writer

Strategies for managing new pests brought by climate change

We live in an age that has been dubbed the...

Researchers from <a href="https://med.nyu.edu/">NYU School of Medicine</a> have discovered that mammals can identify scents much faster than previously realized. In less than one-tenth of a second, a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-mammals-nocturnal-dinosaurs/">mammal</a> can distinguish between one odor and another, according to the new study.

By conducting tests on mice, researchers found that chemical particles which trigger the sense of smell known as odorants only need to reach a few signaling proteins on the inside lining of the nose for a familiar scent to be identified. The scientists also found that the mice could distinguish between odors regardless of how concentrated the scents were.


"Much like human brains only need a few musical notes to name a particular song once a memory of it is formed, our findings demonstrate that a mouse's sense of smell needs only a few nerve signals to determine the kind of scent," said senior researcher Dmitry Rinberg.

As soon as an odorant docks into its olfactory receptor protein on a nerve cell in the nose, the cell signals a region of the brain that assigns odor and the smell is identified, explained Rinberg. 

The most important of the research team's findings was that mice recognize a scent right after activation of the first few olfactory brain receptors, usually within the first 100 milliseconds of inhaling an odorant. 

This was significant because earlier studies in animals had found that it takes as long as 600 milliseconds for the majority of olfactory brain receptors involved in smell to become fully activated. Previous experiments in mice showed that their smell receptors peaked after approximately 300 milliseconds because they have a faster sense of smell.

In addition, researchers had not described the role of concentration in the odor identification process prior to the current analysis. Earlier investigations had shown that more receptors were activated by highly concentrated scents, but Rinberg’s study revealed that mice could quickly differentiate between scents regardless of concentration.

Rinberg’s team plans to develop more animal experiments to link brain cell activity to smell identification. They will also examine how their findings can be applied to people.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mammals can identify smells in a fraction of a second

Researchers from NYU School of Medicine have discovered that mammals...

Birds in California are breeding earlier than they did a century ago as a result of warming temperatures. The adaptation could mean that birds and other species may be more equipped to adapt to global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-plants-hawaii/">climate change</a> than previously thought. 

A new study, conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://berkeley.edu/">University of California-Berkeley</a> and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that many different birds in California are in fact breeding earlier than they did 100 years ago. 

The researchers compared data from the early 1900s to data compiled recently on more than 200 species of birds, specifically focusing on breeding behavior. 

The results show that many birds are breeding five to twelve days earlier than they did a century ago. 

Previous studies have shown that some of California’s birds were moving to higher elevations to compensate for the temperature changes, but not all birds were following this pattern. 

This recent study explains why some birds choose to stay at their regular nesting grounds and adapt to the warmer weather by breeding earlier. 

“The shift to earlier breeding that we detected allows birds to nest at similar temperatures as they did a century ago, and helps explain why half the bird species in the mountainous areas of California did not need to shift upward in elevation in response to climate warming over the past century,” said Steven Beissinger, the study’s co-author. 

For the study, the researchers used data on different animal species collected by UC Berkeley biologist Joseph Grinnell, his colleagues, and his students between 1911 and 1929. 

The researchers were able to show through Grinnell’s observations that at least half of the birds in California had moved to higher elevations in response to the warming climate. 

The other half did not move upward but adapted to climate change by changing their usual breeding schedule. 

By nesting a week earlier, the birds produce eggs and young at temperatures one degree Celsius lower than if they nested during their regular time. Temperature is crucial component for the survival of the young. 

The study reveals that birds and other species may be more adaptable to climate change than many scientists had expected.

“The good news is that there may be more flexibility for species to respond to climate change than we thought, and not all species may need to move farther north or to higher elevations,” said Beissinger. “But we don't know yet whether staying in place and shifting schedules earlier is a permanent solution, or only provides temporary relief from the 2 degree Celsius rise in temperatures forecast to occur.” 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds in California are nesting earlier due to climate change

Birds in California are breeding earlier than they did a...

The costs of poor sleep are high – impaired memory, lack of good judgement, and a high risk of stroke or obesity, among others. But new studies are beginning to show just how complex the effects of sleep are when it comes to physical and mental health.

Several studies examining how sleep affects the brain were presented at <a href="https://www.sfn.org/annual-meeting/neuroscience-2017">Neuroscience 2017</a>, the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a>. 

One study uncovered three species of spiders with accelerated circadian rhythms. The discovery has raised new questions about how the spiders can avoid negative health effects due to poor sleep, according to Dr. Darrell Moore of <a href="http://www.etsu.edu/">East Tennessee State University</a>, who led the research.

A study of microRNA expression found that it can indicate when someone has a history of poor sleep in both humans and rats. The discovery by Dr. Seema Bhatnagar of the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a> found that it could provide a method for predicting when poor sleepers are at risk for diseases or cognitive deficits connected with sleep loss.

A third study led by Dr. Roy Cox, a postdoctoral research fellow at <a href="http://www.bidmc.org/">Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center</a>, found that the brain reactivates negative, emotional memories during sleep. 

Additional research found that brain activity during sleep can be analyzed to determine whether people looked at photos of people or houses before drifting off.

"Sleep is even more multifaceted and fascinating than we realize," Dr. Sigrid Veasey of the University of Pennsylvania said in a press release. "Today's findings reveal interesting new aspects of the complex relationship between sleep and the brain, and the vital role that sleep plays in everyday human functioning."

The new studies add to a growing body of research about the effects of poor sleep. Neuroscientists have found in the past that adequate sleep is essential for good health, and it can improve memory and cognitive function. Poor sleep is connected to memory problems, impaired judgement, and cardiovascular disease, along with stroke and obesity.

The new research was supported by the <a href="https://www.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health</a> and other organizations.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Studying the effects of poor sleep on the brain

The costs of poor sleep are high – impaired memory,...

While many people simply will not consider eating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/houses-lifestyles-attract-bugs/">bugs</a>, there is a lot of potential for insects as a sustainable source of food for both people and animals. A new review published in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291467-3010">Nutrition Bulletin</a> explores the challenges and potential risks that hinder the progress of using insects as food and feed.

Insects are high in nutrients such as animal protein. Insects also produce lower environmental footprints than traditional animal feed, and they can be raised simply on organic waste such as leftover food. Some scientists consider insects to be the feed of the future, but obstacles still remain.

Darja Dobermann is a doctoral researcher in Entomophagy at the <a href="http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/">University of Nottingham</a> and <a href="https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/">Rothamsted Research</a>.

"In ideal conditions, insects have a smaller environmental impact than more traditional Western forms of animal protein; less known is how to scale up insect production while maintaining these environmental benefits," says Dobermann.

As for people food, the report points out that insects have been a source of food for hundreds of years in over 100 countries. In central Africa, half of all of dietary protein comes from insects, and their market value is higher than most alternative sources of animal protein. The safety of introducing bugs as food, however, presents more issues.

"Insects present a nutritional opportunity, but it is unclear how their nutritional quality is influenced by what they are fed," says Dobermann. 

The review also clarifies that insects need to be easy to locate and discoverable in high enough quantities to make the efforts of capturing them worthwhile. They must also be large enough to have substantial dietary value.

"Studies overall show that insects could make valuable economic and nutritional contributions to the food or feed systems, but there are no clear regulations in place to bring insects into such supply systems without them turning into a more expensive version of poultry for food, or soya for feed," explains Dobermann.

According to the researchers, there are over 2000 edible species of insects. The most popular insect species for consumption are beetles, caterpillars, bees and wasps, ants, grasshoppers, and crickets.
--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Could eating BUGS be the way of the future?

While many people simply will not consider eating bugs, there...

The Chicxulub asteroid, named after the town that lies near to its center, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-killed-dinosaurs-cooled/">hit Earth</a> 66 million years ago with a force so incredible that it wiped out around 75 percent of the planet's species, including the dinosaurs. Experts have now determined that if the asteroid had struck nearly anywhere else the dinosaurs would have survived.

The new research has revealed that the area where the gigantic Chicxulub asteroid struck Earth, which is now Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, was among the worst possible places it could have made contact with the planet. 

The asteroid directly impacted rocks in a shallow sea which are particularly rich in hydrocarbons. The scientists explain that the event would not have been nearly as devastating had the asteroid hit on hard rocks, which cover nearly 87 percent of the Earth's surface.

Instead, it slammed into the hydrocarbon-rich rocks which released a cloud of soot and dust so vast that it triggered global climate change. The resulting mass extinction ultimately led to the evolution of mammals and the existence of humans.

Geochemist Kunio Kaiho, a professor at <a href="http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/">Tohoku University</a>, is the study's senior author. 

“The site of asteroid impact, therefore, changed the history of life on Earth,” said Kaiho. “Here we show the probability of significant global cooling, mass extinction, and the subsequent appearance of mammals was quite low after an asteroid impact on the Earth's surface.”

Dr Kaiho teamed up with senior researcher Naga Oshima of the <a href="http://www.mri-jma.go.jp/index_en.html">Meteorological Research Institute</a> to calculate the amount of soot and sulphate that would be released by an asteroid impact depending on the amount of hydrocarbon present on the Earth’s surface. They used a coupled atmosphere–ocean global climate model developed at the Meteorological Research Institute to simulate a virtual asteroid impact.

By testing five quantities of black carbon, the scientists determined that only impact in areas containing high concentration levels would cause a drop in global temperature severe enough to kill off the dinosaurs. In areas with lower concentrations of hydrocarbons, the climate change would not have been severe enough to cause the mass extinction.

“This significant event could have only occurred if the asteroid hit the hydrocarbon-rich areas occupying approximately 13 percent of the Earth's surface,” said Dr. Kaiho.

“The history of life on Earth could have varied, then, according to impact site, and depended on minute differences in the orbital forcing of asteroids.”

The study is published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit worst possible place

The Chicxulub asteroid, named after the town that lies near...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/">U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station</a> have been investigating the interactions between native birds and plants in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feds-assessing-health-hawaiis-fish-population/">Hawaii</a>. Their study has revealed that seasonal changes in plants from year to year, which are heavily influenced by climate change, have an alarming impact on bird populations.

The scientists set out to examine the changes in bird abundance, breeding, and molting based on climate-induced alterations to vegetation. To do this, the team reviewed extensive data collected between 1976 and 1982 at a 40-acre monitoring site on Hawaii Island. 

The experts established that "bottom-up processes” in the food chain strongly influence the survival rates of Hawaiian bird communities. The density of bird populations was frequently found to mirror the availability of their food sources.

"Our results suggest that changes in climate can cascade up the food chain and strongly affect wildlife at higher levels in the chain," said lead author Jared Wolfe.

The researchers observed that three native bird species all timed their breeding season with the availability of specific flowers, which were abundant after periods of heavy rain. Similar correlations were found in other bird varieties, both native and non-native. The birds based breeding patterns on the accessibility of their flower or fruit food sources as well as the timing of molting, a physically demanding process by which the birds replace their feathers. 

"The susceptibility of many Hawaiian birds to climatically-induced changes in their food web is alarming when considering that the archipelago has been subject to an increasingly drier climate during the last 30 years," said Wolfe.

"These types of studies are rare because they depend on long-term data and labor-intensive field work," said co-author C. John Ralph. "But findings from long-term studies, such as this one, are critically important because they provide insights into how changes in climate might affect organisms in seemingly indirect ways."

The study is published in this month's issue of <a href="http://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1939-9170/">Ecology</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change altering plants and bird populations in Hawaii

Researchers at the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station...

Researchers believe that an enormous otter which lived about 6 million years ago may have been a top predator in its day. A study revealed that the wolf-size otter had surprisingly strong jaws. 

"We started our study with the idea that this otter was just a larger version of a sea otter or an African clawless otter in terms of chewing ability, that it would just be able to eat much larger things. That's not what we found," said lead author Z. Jack Tseng of the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo</a>.

The prehistoric otter, Siamogale melilutra, was much bigger than any otter living today, weighing about 110 pounds. The scientists used computers to simulate how biting would strain the otter’s jaws and found that the animal had much firmer jaw bones than expected. This stiffness would have given the otter an exceptionally strong bite.

"We don't know for sure, but we think that this otter was more of a top predator than living species of otters are," said Tseng. "Our findings imply that Siamogale could crush much harder and larger prey than any living otter can."

The analysis gives insight into the lifestyle of the creatures in the wetlands of southwest China.

"At the time that the otter lived, the area where its remains were found included a swamp or a shallow lake surrounded by evergreen forest or dense woodland," said co-author Denise F. Su. "There was a diverse aquatic fauna at Shuitangba, including fish, crab, mollusks, turtles and frogs, as well as many different species of water birds, all of which could have been potential prey for S. melilutra."

Modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/otter-fossil-mammals-migrated-america/">otters</a> eat foods that range from plants and rodents to fish and crabs. Based on their research, the scientists believe the ancient otter’s jaws would have been strong enough to crush the shells of big mollusks or the bones of birds.

"Carnivores are known to evolve powerful jaws, often for the purpose of cracking the bones of their prey," said co-author Xiaoming Wang. "In the shallow swamp of South China, it's possible that an abundance of big clams drove these giant otters to acquire their rare traits, including their crushing teeth and robust jaws."

The study will be published on November 9 in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Artwork by Mauricio Anton

Massive ancient otters may have been a top predator

Researchers believe that an enormous otter which lived about 6...

What exactly influences which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dirty-laundry-attracts-bed-bugs/">bugs</a> join us to live inside of the house? An international team of scientists set out to investigate how physical factors of our homes, ranging from the floor plan to our level of cleanliness, affect the diversity of the insects living among us. 

"We are just beginning to realize--and study--how the home we create for ourselves also builds a complex, indoor habitat for bugs and other life," said lead author Dr. Misha Leong. "We're hoping to better understand this age-old coexistence, and how it may impact our physical and mental well-being."

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.calacademy.org/">California Academy of Sciences</a>, <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a>, and the <a href="http://snm.ku.dk/english/">Natural History Museum of Denmark</a> teamed up for the study, which focused on 50 homes in Raleigh, North Carolina. The analysis revealed that a larger number of insect species were found in rooms with more outdoor accessibility, such as windows and doors.

"We're beginning to see how houses can be a passive go-between for insects traveling through the surrounding landscape," said senior author Dr. Michelle Trautwein. "The more numerous the entry points of windows and doors, the more diverse the community that thrives inside."

The researchers also found that ground floors harbored the most insect diversity, and that more varieties of insects existed in carpeted rooms as opposed to rooms with bare floors.

"While the idea of uninvited insect roommates sounds unappealing, bugs in houses may contribute to health in a roundabout way," said Dr. Trautwein. "A growing body of evidence suggests some modern ailments are connected with our lack of exposure to wider biological diversity, particularly microorganisms--and insects may play a role in hosting and spreading that microbial diversity indoors."

The insects discovered in the study varied from room to room. Common areas like living rooms had more diverse bug communities compared to bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. Basements also held a larger variety of insects, which were typically cave-dwelling species that thrive in damp, dark spaces like spiders and crickets.

Every room in the home contained a complex habitat of predator and prey. Scavenger species, strays from outdoors, and temporary go-betweens all played key roles in a room's ecological structure. 

"Even though we like to think of our homes as shielded from the outdoors, wild ecological dramas may be unfolding right beside us as we go about our daily lives," said Dr. Leong. "We're learning more and more about these sometimes-invisible relationships and how the homes we choose for ourselves also foster indoor ecosystems all their own."

Species diversity within the home tends to mirror the life thriving outside, according to the researchers. Tidiness played no significant role in what insects were found indoors. The presence of pets, houseplants, pesticides, and dust also had no notable impact on insect diversity, indicating that indoor bug communities are more strongly influenced by the environment outside the window than our cats, dogs, or cleaning habits.

The study is published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Different houses and lifestyles attract different types of bugs

What exactly influences which bugs join us to live inside...

Baboons in Cape Town, South Africa are known for entering into urban areas to steal food. Similar to raccoons or even bears in many parts of North America, baboons will look for food wherever they can find it, presenting a real nuisance to Cape Town residents. 

A new study, conducted by researchers from <a href="http://www.swansea.ac.uk/">Swansea University</a>, showed that the baboons used stealthy tactics to maximize their foraging time in urban areas. 

One of the tactics the baboons used is a classic “sit-and-wait,” where they scope out the scene before entering someone’s home. 

“Raiding baboons are a real challenge in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. The baboons enter properties to raid in gardens and bins, but also enter homes and sometimes take food directly from people,” said Justin O'Riain, the co-author of the study. 

The reason baboons take such risks is because the food in urban areas has more caloric value and is more plentiful and available.

The researchers note that the food rewards in urban areas are 10 times richer in terms of calories, so for some baboons, it’s well worth the danger. 

Even though Cape Town had implemented strategies to keep the baboons away, some male baboons were still able to enter the city and forage. 

In order to see how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-egyptians-worshipped-baboons/">baboons</a> were succeeding, the researchers built tracking collars and fitted them to ten male baboons. 

The researchers then monitored and tracked the baboon’s movements using GPS and accelerometer sensors. 

The data from the tracking collars showed that the baboons stayed at the edge of the city and waited awhile before heading in for intense bursts of foraging. The researchers call it a “sit-and-wait” kind of a strategy. 

The baboons who risked raiding urban areas also only foraged for about ten percent of their time, much less than baboons who stayed away from the city. 

“We suspected the baboons were doing something clever to allow them to minimise the risks associated with urban foraging, and the data collected from the collars confirmed this,” said Dr. Andrew King, the senior author of the study. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Dr Gaëlle Fehlmann

Baboons use stealthy tactics to steal food in cities

Baboons in Cape Town, South Africa are known for entering...

The colors red and green look exactly the same to dogs, according to new research. Experts have discovered that dogs suffer from a condition that does not allow them to detect a difference between the two colors.

Previous studies have found that dogs are prone to poor vision, yet the cause of this was unknown. Researchers have now concluded that dogs suffer from deuteranopioa, which prevents them from distinguishing between red and green.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-expressive-looking/">Dogs</a> were most active at dusk and dawn back before they were domesticated, and at those hours of the day it is not important to distinguish between colors. Some experts believe that dogs’ eyes have simply not evolved to see colors.

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.uniba.it/english-version/university-of-bari-aldo-moro">University of Bari</a> in Italy developed a color dot test similar to a test used to detect color vision deficiency in humans. For the human version of the test, numbers are used to mark the various dots. For the dog variation of the test, the research team used images of cats hidden in the dots.

After testing 16 dogs of different breeds, the experts determined that the dogs could not see the images of the cats, indicating they had red-green color blindness.

Lead author Marcello Siniscalchi told <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/">The Telegraph</a>, “We show that dogs exhibit a behavioral response similar to that of red–green blind human subjects suggesting that dogs struggle to distinguish between red and green colors. It would be reasonable to hypothesise that dogs also have difficulty in discriminating between brown and orange but we have not directly tested these color shades.”

The researchers believe that the findings of this study could help both dog owners and dog trainers improve their dog’s attentive skills. The study is published in the <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@gmail.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs can’t see the difference between red and green colors

The colors red and green look exactly the same to...

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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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&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> Staff Writer 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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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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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



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.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video 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 history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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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.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&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 capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...