iron ore deposit - 1

Many people find themselves disoriented when the clocks shift for the seasonal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daylight-saving-time-has-little-influence-on-heart-health/">time change</a>. Our internal alarms can take days to settle, which may leave us feeling off-balance.



Some <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experts</a> have been investigating how sled dogs in Ontario, Canada, respond to that same disruption. 



They found that these working animals were so tied to their daily routine that it took them by surprise when handlers arrived an hour later than usual.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animals-clocks-and-routines">Animals, clocks, and routines</h2>



We rely on Daylight Saving Time <a href="https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/daylight_time" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(DST)</a> to optimize daylight hours, yet not all creatures can adapt quickly. Sled teams in this recent study had been on strict schedules that revolved around the time of sunrise.



"I wasn't expecting any differences between the two groups [of dogs]," said <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lavania-Nagendran" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lavania Nagendran</a>, a lead <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">researcher</a> at the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Toronto</a>. She later explained that the working animals were tightly synchronized to their early start time.



Researchers placed <a href="https://global.epson.com/products_and_drivers/sensing_system/what_are_accelerometers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accelerometers</a> on the dogs' collars to record their activity before and after the clocks went back. The team observed that, on the first morning of the shift, these animals were moving around about an hour earlier than usual.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pet-dogs-and-everyday-life">Pet dogs and everyday life</h2>



In contrast, household companions of similar breeds showed no similar upheaval. Their extra hour of rest seemed to slip by without a fuss.



"Not all animals can just switch up their schedule based on human influences, [like changing the clocks]," said Ming Fei Li, the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">co-lead researcher</a>.



"When we've spoken to pet owners, everyone comments that, with that hour change, their dog or cat is up in the morning, going crazy, waiting to be fed," said Li, who observed no clear shift for household animals. She explained that their data contradicted the usual anecdotal complaints from owners.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helping-animals-adjust-their-clocks">Helping animals adjust their clocks</h2>



Experts have long <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23477947/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a> that people might experience fragmented sleep for up to a week after time adjustments. 



Disrupted rest has even been linked to a spike in serious <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11152980/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">road crashes</a> right after clocks change.



This project is among the first to measure how domesticated canines respond to abrupt clock changes. 



Within just a day, the group of working dogs returned to their usual schedule, while the pets barely seemed to notice any difference.



Handlers with strict timetables might consider shifting routine times in small increments before the official clock change. This gentle approach could <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/probiotics-help-overweight-dogs-shed-pounds/">help dogs</a> feel less rattled when sunrise no longer coincides with mealtime.



Pets with flexible routines may not need any special changes. Their behavior often shows surprising resilience when humans tamper with the daily clock.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004016" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Researchers</a> wonder how these findings might apply to wolves, given that dogs diverged from wolf ancestors thousands of years ago. 



It remains unclear whether wild canines would show the same one-day scramble to adjust, or be more resistant to the adjustment.



This question has sparked conversations about how domestication shapes an animal's internal clock. Most of our modern dog breeds share a genetic link with wolves but have adapted to human routines.



Early domestication likely favored animals that were comfortable living alongside humans. Over time, that compatibility included an ability to sleep and wake in sync with caregivers.



Future studies might explore whether wild relatives can handle abrupt time shifts or if they struggle to reset their daily rhythms. Answers to that could reveal new insights into canine adaptability.



Comparisons across species also show how biology and environment blend to shape behavior.<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-evolving-to-fit-the-modern-lives-of-humans/"> Dogs live </a>in a human-made world, so their responses to clock changes might differ from those of truly wild cousins.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-an-open-mind">Keeping an open mind</h2>



Every dog is unique, and some may adapt more easily to seasonal schedule changes than others. External factors, like mealtime and exercise, can influence an animal's natural cycle.



Working animals rely on consistent daily patterns, from feeding times to training sessions. That routine could amplify their surprise when the clock switches overnight.



Pet dogs, in contrast, might lounge for an extra hour if no one is nudging them awake. Their laid-back lifestyle often shields them from abrupt schedule disruptions.



Experts note that minor tweaks to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-walking-improves-mobility-and-prevents-falls-in-older-adults/">mealtimes and walks</a> can smooth out this transition. Spreading those adjustments over a few days offers dogs a gentler shift in routine.



Such small steps may prevent confusion, especially for dogs that thrive on a predictable morning schedule. Even a half-hour move can be enough to avoid an early wake-up call.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-body-clocks-animals-and-humans">Body clocks, animals, and humans</h2>



These observations add another layer to our understanding of how work-oriented and companion animals experience abrupt changes in their day-to-day flow and highlight the subtle effects of shifting external cues. 



While many dogs seem to roll with life's shifts, an hour can still feel monumental when every meal, walk, and training session is truly anchored to a tightly orchestrated timetable.



For the curious, the official study was published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLoS One</a>.



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Pets and animals face internal chaos when you mess with their body clocks

Many people find themselves disoriented when the clocks shift for the seasonal time change. Our internal alarms can take days to settle, which may leave us feeling off-balance. Some experts have been investigating how sled dogs in Ontario, Canada, respond to that same disruption. They found that these working animals were so tied to their daily routine that it took them by surprise when handlers arrived an hour later than usual. Animals, clocks, and routines We rely on Daylight Saving Time (DST) to optimize daylight hours, yet...

With its extreme temperatures, lack of resources, and spontaneous sandstorms, the desert can be a very unforgiving place. There is also not much shelter if you come face to face with some of the aggressive creatures that call the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/desert-ants-navigational-skills/">desert</a> home. The following are ten of the most dangerous animals that can be found in the desert.

&nbsp;

Saw Scaled Viper

Found across Africa, the Middle East, and south Asia, these snakes are among the most deadly in the world. They are aggressive by nature, produce extremely poisonous venom, and are known for having a lightning-fast strike.

&nbsp;

Gila Monster

Located in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, the Gila monster is one of the only venomous lizards in the world. The Gila monster has a very strong, painful grip when it bites, but rarely causes death in humans.

&nbsp;

Wild Dogs

Dingoes are top predators in Australia that hunt down animals such as kangaroos, birds, and wallabies. Like dingoes, African wild dogs hunt large animals and run in packs. Both groups of wild dogs have been known to turn on humans and attack when hungry.

&nbsp;

Cougar

Also known as the mountain lion, panther, or puma, the cougar is often found in lowland or mountainous deserts. These solitary animals are strong and stealthy. There are around 30,000 cougars in the western United States, but only 20 fatal attacks on humans have been documented since 1890.

&nbsp;

Inland Taipan

Located in the Australian Outback, this snake is widely believed to have the deadliest venom of any snake. When this snake strikes, it bites several times in rapid succession, delivering enough venom in each bite to kill 100 people.

&nbsp;

Ostrich

This unlikely candidate is one of the most deadly animals in the deserts of Africa. The ostrich uses its strong legs to attack, particularly when the eggs are threatened, and can leave serious wounds with claws that grow up to 21 inches long.

&nbsp;

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

This snake can be found in the southwestern United States and in Mexico, where it is to blame for the majority of fatal snakebites in both countries. Growing up to seven feet in length and weighing as much as 15 pounds, the western diamondback rattlesnake is the second largest venomous species of snakes in North America.

&nbsp;

Killer Bees

Africanized bees will swarm and attack when their hive is threatened, even if they are a quarter mile away. They are also disturbed by noises and traffic, and these bees cause the most suffering by stinging the head and face. They can be found in regions of North, Central, and South America, including the southwestern United States.

&nbsp;

Desert Horned Viper

With over 13 different kinds of toxins present in their venom, the bite of a desert horned viper can be fatal to humans. This is the most common venomous snake in the Sahara Desert, and is often encountered in sand dunes.

&nbsp;

Arizona Bark Scorpion

Particularly dangerous for small children and elderly people, the Arizona bark scorpion is found in western Mexico, the Baja Peninsula, and in the southwestern United States. These small scorpions are not typically aggressive, but their sting can be fatal.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The 10 most dangerous desert creatures

With its extreme temperatures, lack of resources, and spontaneous sandstorms,...

The whooping crane is a rare North American bird, with just over 600 in existence. Researchers have discovered that these uncommon birds are also unusual when it comes to love in the wild. 

A recent study has revealed that the long-term relationships that whooping cranes have with their partners often begin during childhood.

When courting, whooping cranes leap, flap their wings, and produce loud vocalizations. When a whooping crane is ready to bond or mate, its crown turns bright red.

A research team led by the <a href="http://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> tracked 58 pairs of whooping cranes during breeding season using transmitters. These birds had been reintroduced to the eastern United States in 2001.

The researchers observed that the majority of the whooping cranes became friends before breeding. The experts determined that 62 percent of the bird <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-couples-women-house/">couples</a> had struck up a friendship over a year before mating, while 26 percent had formed a close relationship over two years before breeding.

“In addition, 60% of pair associations began before at least one partner had reached nominal sexual maturity,” said the study authors. “Most pairs began associating in the late spring upon arrival at the summer grounds, while associations beginning at other times of the year were rare.”

According to the researchers, the birds’ behavior suggests that there are benefits to prebreeding relationships, such as protection from predators, increasing partner familiarity, and reproductive success. 

Furthermore, the monogamous nature of the whooping cranes’ partnership may be an advantage that shelters them from the difficulty of finding a new mate each breeding season.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/animal-behaviour/">Animal Behaviour</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Whooping cranes often marry their childhood sweethearts

The whooping crane is a rare North American bird, with...

Picnic-lovers take heed: Disease-ridden flies carry a lot more germs than previously suspected. Between them, houseflies and blowflies alone house more than 600 bacteria, many of them linked to human illnesses, according to a new study.

An international team of biologists and entomologists collected sample flies from around the world and analyzed their DNA. 

“We sampled 116 individual houseflies and blowflies from varying habitats on three continents and subjected them to high-coverage, whole-genome shotgun sequencing,” the study said.

They then used the DNA to analyze the flies’ microbiomes – communities of bacteria on their bodies. 

They found that both houseflies and blowflies carry hundreds of bacteria – more than 350 for the housefly, and a little over 300 for blowflies. Many of the bacteria are pathogens like Helicobacter pylori, linked to stomach ulcers in humans. 

The flies often feed on feces and decaying organic matter, the study said – ripe breeding grounds for bacteria. On top of that, their legs and wings showed the greatest diversity of bacteria, and were the most likely parts of the flies to transmit that bacteria to other surfaces. Burger fixings sitting uncovered for hours on a picnic table, for example. 

The disease-ridden flies may transmit more illnesses to humans than epidemiologists and public health officials suspected, the researchers told the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>. 

“We believe that this may show a mechanism for pathogen transmission that has been overlooked by public health officials, and flies may contribute to the rapid transmission of pathogens in outbreak situations," Dr. Donald Bryant, a study co-author at Pennsylvania State University, told the news agency.

Because flies are so widespread in most ecosystems, they play a large role in how bacteria is spread throughout a community, the researchers said. 

"It will really make you think twice about eating that potato salad that's been sitting out at your next picnic," Bryant told the BBC.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-16353-x">Scientific Reports</a>. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Disease-ridden flies carry hundreds of different bacteria

Picnic-lovers take heed: Disease-ridden flies carry a lot more germs...

An unknown bird that appeared 36 years ago in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-galapagos-islands-are-struggling-from-the-growth-of-ecotourism/">Galapagos Islands</a> is providing scientists from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> with genetic evidence of how new species arise. The researchers have identified a new family of birds which were created right in front of their eyes.

Two scientists from Princeton, B. Rosemary Grant and Peter Grant, have witnessed the origin of this new species over the course of four decades of research on the small island of Daphne Major. 

"The novelty of this study is that we can follow the emergence of new species in the wild," said senior research biologist B. Rosemary Grant. "Through our work on Daphne Major, we were able to observe the pairing up of two birds from different species and then follow what happened to see how speciation occurred."

In 1981, a graduate student working with the researchers on Daphne Major identified a new bird. It was a male that sang a different song and had a much larger body and beak size than the three species of birds native to the island.

"We didn't see him fly in from over the sea, but we noticed him shortly after he arrived. He was so different from the other birds that we knew he did not hatch from an egg on Daphne Major," said Peter Grant.

The researchers captured the bird to collect a blood sample and then released him. The newcomer later bred with a medium ground finch, starting a brand new lineage which was named by the team the "Big Bird lineage." The experts followed the new birds for six generations, collecting blood for analysis.

In the current study, researchers from <a href="https://www.uu.se/en/">Uppsala University</a> analyzed the DNA collected from the birds over the years. They discovered that the original male was a large cactus finch of the species Geospiza conirostris from Espanola island, which is more than 62 miles southeast of the Galapagos archipelago. This incredible distance meant that the bird was unable to return home to mate so instead chose a member of a different species to mate with on the island. 

This type of reproductive isolation is considered a critical step in the development of a new species when two separate species interbreed. In addition, the offspring were unsuccessful in mating with native birds because of noticeable differences like their songs, and so these offspring mated with others of their same lineage and further strengthened the development of the new species.

While it has been long assumed that the formation of a new species takes a very long time, the Big Bird lineage happened in just two generations.

Leif Andersson of Uppsala University explained, "We have no indication about the long-term survival of the Big Bird lineage, but it has the potential to become a success, and it provides a beautiful example of one way in which speciation occurs. Charles Darwin would have been excited to read this paper."

The findings of the study are published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

[caption id="attachment_965468" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/big-bird.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-965468" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/big-bird-300x233.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233" /></a> A member of "Big Bird" lineage. Photo Credit: Copyright P. R. Grant[/caption]

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A new species can develop in just two generations

An unknown bird that appeared 36 years ago in the...

Ever wonder why the turkey is the central character of the holiday celebrating the bountiful agriculture of the United States? The European Pilgrims who happened upon North America had never seen a turkey in the wild before. And as one might assume based on the folklore of Thanksgiving, turkey (meat and eggs) was a favored meal of many of the eastern Native tribes. In honor of the holiday and its most popular guest, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> has put together a list of ten things you probably didn’t know about wild turkeys.

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number One:

The species the pilgrims first encountered was the Eastern wild turkey.  They are indigenous to the eastern half of the continent. They can be found running wild from Maine down to northern Florida and as far west as Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri. Their range is the largest of the six subspecies.

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Two:

The Osceola wild turkey or the Florida wild turkey can only be found in… you guessed it: Florida. With darker feathers (described as “purple green” by some) than the Eastern wild turkey, and the smallest of the subspecies, there are about 100,000 Osceola today. 

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Three:

The Rio Grande wild turkey is native to the central plain states like Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico, and has been introduced to California and Hawaii. Compared to their forest and mountain dwelling cousins, the prairie-based Rio Grande turkey’s legs are relatively long.

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Four:

The largest of the subspecies is the Gould’s wild turkey. They can only be found in Arizona, New Mexico, and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges of Mexico. Their declining numbers have them heavily protected and regulated. 

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Five:

Merriam’s wild turkeys are native to the Rocky Mountains and the nearby prairies of South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana as well as Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.  

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Six:

The only wild turkey not indigenous to the United States is the Ocellated turkey, also referred to as the South Mexican wild Turkey. Their range reaches from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, to Northern Belize, to northern Guatemala. When Spanish explorers traveled to Mexico in the 1600s and found that the Mesoamerican natives had domesticated turkeys, the Spaniards took them back to Europe, giving rise to domesticated turkeys there.

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Seven:

Male wild turkeys go to great lengths to get the attention of females and, seeing as they are polygamous, mate with as many as they can. They display for females by spreading their tails, fluffing up their feathers, and scraping their wings against the ground in a ritual known as ‘strutting.’

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Eight:

Gobbling and spitting are behaviors used by males to express social dominance. When males are out looking for females, they tend to court in groups, with the more dominant male strutting, gobbling, and spitting out front and the less dominant males following behind and then moving in for the “leftovers,” so to speak.

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Nine:

Baby wild turkeys and eggs fall prey to raccoons, opossums, gray foxes, skunks, groundhogs and snakes. Owls, hawks and bald eagles are also trouble for the nestlings. Adult turkeys have to watch out for predators like coyotes, wolves, bobcats, cougars, and bald eagles.

&nbsp;

Turkey Fact Number Ten:

In the 1940s, Eastern and Osceola turkeys could only be found in very remote forested areas of the United States, where illegal hunting was minimal due to inaccessibility. Since then, wildlife managers have transplanted wild turkeys into timbered areas and the populations have flourished. There are four optimal habitats for wild turkeys.

Riparian zones (near rivers and streams) ensure that water and vegetation are available.

Oaks and grasslands provide roosting areas and food. 

Pine savannas are open forested areas canopied by pine trees, which provide food, cover, and brood and nesting areas. 

Forest clearings, meadows, and pastures with young grass, tree and shrub growth provide sustenance for the animals.

&nbsp;

Happy Thanksgiving!

--

By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Darryl Joseph</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

10 things you probably didn’t know about turkeys

Ever wonder why the turkey is the central character of...

Scientists have revealed that male dolphins use some of the same tactics that human men use to get the attention of women. As a type of mating ritual, adult humpback dolphins present potential partners with gifts.

The researchers made this surprising discovery during ten years of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/polluted-oceans-wild-dolphins/">dolphin</a> observation off the coast of northwestern Australia. They saw male Australian humpback dolphins gifting large marine sponges to females, while also communicating visually and acoustically.

Simon Allen is a biologist at the <a href="https://www.uwa.edu.au/">University of Western Australia</a> in Perth and lead author of the study.

“We were at first perplexed to witness these intriguing behavioral displays by male humpback dolphins, but as we undertook successive field trips over the years, the evidence mounted.” explained Dr. Allen. “Here we have some of the most socially complex animals on the planet using sponges, not as a foraging tool, but as a gift, a display of his quality, or perhaps even as a threat in the behavioral contexts of socializing and mating.”

While many animals put themselves on display to attract a mate, such as the peacock with its extravagant feathers, it is rare that a non-human species uses objects in a sex display. 

“A display to impress a female is not unusual, but using an object in that display is very unusual,” said Dr. Allen.

The scientists first noticed the behavior during an interaction between a male, female, and a calf. The male dolphin retrieved a large marine sponge from the ocean floor, balanced it on its beak, and then nudged it toward the female dolphin.

The research team also witnessed the male dolphins enlisting the help of a “wingman” to get the attention of a sexually mature female.

“The formation of alliances between adult males for the purposes of coercing females is uncommon, since mating success cannot be shared,” said co-author Stephanie King. “This is a new finding for this species, and presents an exciting avenue for future research.”

While the researchers do not yet know how successful the male dolphin’s strategy is at this time, they plan to conduct underwater studies to find out. The scientists also want to use DNA testing to see if the males who give gifts have more babies.


The researchers believe this behavior demonstrates the male's strength and quality as a partner. They say the findings of the study indicate an unperceived level of social complexity in dolphins.

--

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

Male dolphins use gifts to flirt with potential mates

Scientists have revealed that male dolphins use some of the...

The sea nettle jellyfish is common along the East Coast of the United States and can sometimes be a nuisance to swimmers during jellyfish blooms. But new research has discovered that this average jellyfish is actually two different species. 

It was assumed that sea nettle jellyfish, found in areas like Chesapeake Bay and Rehoboth Bay, were the same as ocean-based nettle jellyfish. But as it turns out, the “bay nettle” is its own unique species. 

The discovery was made by Patrick Gaffney, a professor at the <a href="http://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a> and Keith Bayha, a research associate with the <a href="http://naturalhistory.si.edu/">Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History</a>, using DNA sequencing.

“Before DNA came along, people in museums looked at organisms and counted spines and bristles, measured things, and sorted organisms by their physical characteristics in order to identify species,” Gaffney said. “In the case of this jellyfish, which has been commonly known for centuries, Keith found through DNA sequencing that there were actually two groups.”

The researchers performed genetic testing on samples of sea nettle <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-sleep-ancient-behavior/">jellyfish</a> and found that there were differences between the jellyfish from bayside areas and those that were ocean-based.

The DNA samples were also compared to physical measurements of the jellyfish.

The ocean-based sea nettle jellyfish are larger, have more tentacles, and a larger bell (the appropriately-named top part of the jellyfish) compared the bayside nettle jellyfish. 

It was Bayha that confirmed the findings, and thus, the sea nettle jellyfish was officially named as two different species, the “bay nettle” and the “sea nettle.” 

“When you go back and pay close attention, you start counting the number of stinging cells and types, you see discrete differences that correspond to the DNA,” said Gaffney. “In many cases, when we plotted the data, the graphs looked entirely different with no overlap, reaffirming that it was two species.”

The researchers note that jellyfish are not commonly studied, and so species differences can often go undetected. This discovery is just one example of a species that was long overlooked because researchers didn’t investigate beyond physical attributes.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shannon Howard, South Carolina Aquarium; Keith Bayha

This everyday jellyfish is actually two separate species

The sea nettle jellyfish is common along the East Coast...

When we think of pollution, it’s not often that we consider light to be in that category. But in fact, artificial light is considered an environmental pollutant, as it throws off <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-bird-seasonal-clocks/">circadian rhythms</a> and threatens nocturnal animals, plants and microorganisms. Now, an international study published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a> finds that artificial lights are increasing “loss of night,” with the effects particularly strong in certain nations.

In order to determine whether the use of outdoor light is continuing to grow exponentially, Christopher Kyba and colleagues analyzed data acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer (VIIRS), which is a satellite sensor with a spatial resolution of 750 meters. Through this analysis, they determined that the Earth’s artificially lit outdoor areas grew by over 2 percent (2.2%) per year from 2012 to 2016.

Data showed that these lighting changes were highly variable between countries – some nations greatly exceeded the global rate, while a few experienced decreases in radiance. Two of the countries that had these decreases are Yemen and Syria, which are currently in turmoil with widespread war.

In the world’s brightest nations (referring to light, not necessarily intelligence) such as the United States and Spain, the radiance levels remained stable. In South America, Africa, and Asia, most nations experienced growth in artificial light. Overall, these results show that the global demand for outdoor nighttime light has yet to be met. Furthermore, despite the increases in solid-state lighting (such as LEDs), short-term decreases in related energy consumption appear unlikely.

The researchers also note that the growth in nighttime light from 2012 to 2016 were a close match to the global rise in gross domestic product (GDP). They believe that this finding suggests that access to solid-state lighting does not decrease global energy consumption for outdoor light, which has been an international goal.

These increases – and projections of further increases – in artificial light have significance for everything from our economic policies to our environmental policies. While discovering what areas are experiencing the greatest effects is key, determining how to lessen these effects will be crucial.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Artificial lights could cause “loss of night” in some places

When we think of pollution, it’s not often that we...

Yellow-fronted canary, Crithagra mozambicus, at Pilanesberg Nati

The wild bird trade has been occurring around the world for ages, and is the root cause of exotic birds spreading worldwide. Birds are the most traded animals in the world, with Europe historically being the main importer. The consequences of the bird trade can affect both the importing and exporting countries. In the country where the birds are captured, it can cause a loss of biodiversity. In the country where the birds arrive, they can damage the local ecosystem, destroy crops, and outcompete local birds.

In 2005, the European Union (EU) banned the trade of all wild birds. A new study shows that since that time, the trade of wild birds has dropped roughly 90 percent globally. The number of birds traded annually fell from about 1.3 million to 130,000.

Prior to this ban, the countries of Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain accounted for the import of about two-thirds of all wild birds on the global market. These birds came mostly from West Africa, and almost all wild bird exports involved two groups of birds. Passerines, including the popular pet birds such as the yellow-fronted canary and the common waxbill, made up almost 80 percent of exported birds. Parrots made up roughly 18 percent.

Since the EU trade ban, these numbers have reversed. Currently, passerine birds make up less than 20 percent of the global trade while parrots have increased to almost 80 percent of all traded birds. Parrots are now the most threatened group of bird species, and the bird most likely to establish in countries it is not native to.

Latin America has now taken the reigns from West Africa as the main exporter of wild birds, responsible for over half of all global wild bird exports. Both the United States and Mexico are now much bigger importers, as wild imports in these two countries have increased from about 23,000 to 82,000 annually.

“Worryingly, we document a shift in wild bird trade towards areas with a high biodiversity,” says Luis Reino, from the <a href="https://cibio.up.pt/">CIBIO-InBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources</a>. “For example, several south-east Asian nations have emerged as important bird importers. These regions are now exposed to a higher risk of bird invasions.”

Reino believes that these results show the importance of a global wildlife trade ban, which would help reduce the number of traded birds and minimize the chances of exotic birds spreading. If anything, the success of the EU trade ban shows that a global ban would likely be effective.

--

By: <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Derek Keats, 2016

Global trade of wild birds greatly reduced by EU trade ban

The wild bird trade has been occurring around the world...

It might surprise you to know that birds and reptiles have any relation, but in fact, both are the closest living relatives of dinosaurs. All of these creatures evolved from archosaurs, which essentially ran the show on Earth 250 million years ago.

But exactly how the reptile to bird or scale to feather transition occurred and what genetic factors determined those changes has long puzzled scientists. 

A new study, conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://keck.usc.edu/">Keck School Of Medicine at the University of Southern California</a>, set out to identify the genes responsible for scale and feather development by looking at chickens and alligators. 

If birds and reptiles are the closest living relative to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-dinosaurs/">dinosaurs</a> then they should all share the same genes that helped birds evolve. 

The study was led by Dr. Cheng-Ming Choung who used modern genomics and molecular biology to help map the genetic evolution of scales to feathers. 

Not only did Choung’s research team isolate the genes responsible for feathers and scales, but they also explored how to turn scales into feathers by turning on and off critical molecular circuits during different growth stages. 

“We now have a potential molecular explanation for these hypothesized missing links,” said Chuong. “These results show that different perturbations cause different levels of scale to feather conversion, implying that scales have the capability to form feathers given the proper molecular signals.”

For the study, the researchers performed a complete RNA transcriptome and DNA genomic analysis of chicks and alligators during development. An RNA transcriptome is like the transcript of DNA, and it allows researchers to “read” all the genes in a cell. 

The researchers were able to identify the gene expression differences in the chicks and alligators and isolate the genes responsible for producing either feather or scales. 

After the research team identified the genes responsible for chicken feathers, these genes were put inside alligator eggs, and the researchers used molecular circuitry to turn the genes on or off in the alligators. 

The researchers noted that the developing alligators showed the beginnings of feathers such as budding, elongated appendages, follicles with stem cells, and feather keratin. 

“Our analyses led to the identification of five morpho-regulatory modules that are essential for modern feather formation,” said Chuong. 

The study shows the genes and molecules that helped the dinosaurs evolve into birds and could potentially pave the way for testing the transformation of scales to feathers in modern alligators. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

From scales to feathers: How birds evolved from dinosaurs

It might surprise you to know that birds and reptiles...

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.ice.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology</a> have closely examined the behavior of desert ants and discovered that these insects are able to evaluate the informative value of cues in their environment.

While returning to their nest, desert ants can distinguish between ambiguous and unambiguous landmarks. Visual cues or nest-defining odors must only occur near their nest, and not elsewhere along their route, in order to get the ants to respond.

The desert ant, Cataglyphis fortis, lives in dry salt lakes in the North African Sahara, where few other creatures can be found. The ants spend entire days foraging for food on their own, often covering exceptionally large distances. 

Study co-author Markus Knaden explained, "What is special about these insects is the fact that ants returning home from foraging are desperate to find their nest. You can therefore catch them anywhere and place them in a specific test situation. While other animals would immediately drop their piece of food and try to disappear, the ants stick to their innate homing behavior. By manipulating the environment we can identify the navigational means the ants use for orientation.”

The research team set out to investigate the behavior of the ants after they had learned specific nest cues such as odors and landmarks, and then encountered them far away from the nest.

"You have to imagine a situation like this: If we need to orient ourselves in an unknown city by using a distinctive tower block as landmark and suddenly realize that there are other tower blocks that look quite similar, we get confused. We therefore wanted to know how ants solve this problem," said Knaden.

Using a 16-meter-long aluminum channel in which the ants learned to search for food, the scientists tested their ability to find their nest entrance despite cues that may lead them off track. Ultimately, the ants did not pay attention to the ambiguous cues. 

Study first author Roman Huber explained, "The ants ignored visual or olfactory cues that were not reliable. Unreliable nest cues are those that are not only found at the nest entrance, but are ubiquitous along the route. The ability to assess the informational value of visual landmarks or odor trails as relevant or irrelevant for the nest search is another example of the amazing cognitive performance of the tiny ant brain.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By<a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com"> Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Markus Knaden, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Desert ants have incredible navigational skills

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology have...

Previous research has suggested that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genes-determine-music-songbirds/">songbirds</a> and humans share the same innate process that guides how they learn and produce sounds. Scientists at <a href="http://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a> are providing new evidence that human speech and birdsong are, in fact, rooted in the same biological process.

The researchers discovered that young zebra finches are naturally inclined to learn certain patterns of sound over others. “In addition, these sound patterns resembled patterns that are frequently observed across human languages and in music,” explained senior author Jon Sakata.

Theories on the association between human language and music inspired the experiments with finches. According to language experts, all of the world’s languages share many common features, which are referred to as "universals." These features include the language’s word structure as well as acoustic patterns of speech such as timing and pitch.

Scientists such as Noam Chomsky believe that these shared features represent a "universal grammar" that is built by natural brain mechanisms. These mechanisms promote language learning and influence how it is perceived. In zebra finches, there are acoustic patterns which are universal across populations.

"Because the nature of these universals bears similarity to those in humans and because songbirds learn their vocalizations much in the same way that humans acquire speech and language, we were motivated to test biological predisposition in vocal learning in songbirds," said study co-author Logan James.

In an attempt to identify biological predispositions, the research team taught young zebra finches songs consisting of five acoustic elements arranged in every possible sequence. Each sequence was presented in random order and for the same amount of time so that each finch would individually select which sequences to use out of the options made available.

The patterns chosen by the trained birds were extremely similar to the patterns observed in natural populations of birds. Both wild finches and finches raised in the lab placed a long, low-pitched vocalization at the end of their songs.

The researchers identified other sounds which were more likely to appear in the beginning or middle of the birdsong.  Short, high-pitched vocalizations were more likely to be produced in the middle of song than at the beginning or end of song, for example. 

These findings  match patterns commonly shared in diverse languages and in music, where sounds at the end of songs are longer and lower in pitch than sounds in the middle.


"In the immediate future, we want to reveal how auditory processing mechanisms in the brain, as well as aspects of motor learning and control, underlie these learning biases,” said Sakata.

The research is published in <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Do humans and birds learn speech the same way?

Previous research has suggested that songbirds and humans share the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.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 



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.

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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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"

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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...

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



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.

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...