Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid impact near the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico ended the era of non-avian dinosaurs. But amid the global upheaval, certain birds - and the group that gave rise to today’s ducks and geese - found sanctuary in the temperate habitats of Antarctica.&nbsp;



Now, an article published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08390-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> describes a nearly complete, 69-million-year-old fossil skull of Vegavis iaai, an early relative of modern waterfowl.



Study lead author Christopher Torres spent three years at <a href="https://www.ohio.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ohio University</a> as an NSF postdoctoral fellow. He investigated how various factors - ranging from ecological roles to brain anatomy - played into bird diversification and resilience to extinction. 



“Few birds are as likely to start as many arguments among paleontologists as Vegavis,” said Torres. “This new fossil is going to help resolve a lot of those arguments. Chief among them: where is Vegavis perched in the bird tree of life?”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controversy-surrounding-the-bird-fossil-nbsp">Controversy surrounding the bird fossil&nbsp;</h2>



Originally identified two decades ago by study co-author Julia Clarke of <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The University of Texas at Austin</a> and colleagues, Vegavis was suggested to be a primitive modern (crown) bird related to waterfowl. 



Yet, given the scarcity of modern-type birds before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, some researchers questioned Vegavis’s classification.&nbsp;



The newly studied fossil addresses these doubts because it incorporates anatomical regions absent from earlier fossils - particularly a nearly intact skull.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-notable-features-of-the-bird-skull">Notable features of the bird skull</h2>



Skepticism surrounding the bird’s identity has largely been dispelled by notable skull features, including the structure of the beak and brain region, which align with traits found in present-day waterfowl.&nbsp;



The specimen further preserves strong jaw muscles, likely advantageous for diving and seizing fish - a departure from the feeding habits of most modern waterfowl but more reminiscent of species like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-loon-habitats-dramatically-altered-climate-change-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">loons</a> and grebes.



These skull features, combined with other evidence in the skeleton, support the idea that Vegavis propelled itself through water with its feet in pursuit of aquatic prey - an approach that diverges from what is typical of modern ducks and geese.



“This fossil underscores that Antarctica has much to tell us about the earliest stages of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-bird-feathers-contain-traces-of-dinosaur-feathers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modern bird</a> evolution,” said co-author Patrick O’Connor, a paleontologist at Ohio University, and director of Earth and Space Sciences at <a href="https://www.dmns.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Denver Museum of Nature &amp; Science</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-late-cretaceous-bird-fossils">Late Cretaceous bird fossils</h2>



Bird fossils from this Late Cretaceous interval in other regions of the world tend to look distinctly un-modern. Moreover, localities that preserve delicate avian remains are quite rare, often providing fragments insufficient for determining much about the species’ evolutionary connections - mirroring the situation with Vegavis until now.



“And those few places with any substantial fossil record of Late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extraordinary-dinosaur-fossils-discovered-from-the-end-of-cretaceous-era/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cretaceous</a> birds, like Madagascar and Argentina, reveal an aviary of bizarre, now-extinct species with teeth and long bony tails, only distantly related to modern birds,” said O’Connor.



“Something very different seems to have been happening in the far reaches of the Southern Hemisphere, specifically in Antarctica.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antarctica-and-early-bird-evolution-nbsp">Antarctica and early bird evolution&nbsp;</h2>



Exactly how the Antarctic continent shaped the development of current ecosystems across deep time remains a focus of worldwide scientific inquiry.&nbsp;



According to study co-author Matthew Lamanna of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Antarctica is in many ways the final frontier for humanity’s understanding of life during the Age of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dinosaurs</a>.



“This discovery exemplifies the power of scientific research and the crucial role our institution plays in advancing knowledge about Earth's deep history,” said Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez.&nbsp;



“This research not only enhances our understanding of early bird evolution but also highlights the invaluable contributions of Ohio graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who are at the forefront of these expeditions. It is through these global, expeditionary efforts - whether in the field or in the lab - that we can truly grasp the dynamic changes our planet has undergone over millions of years.”&nbsp;



 Gonzalez noted that the study is a prime example of real-world experiential learning that connects STEM education with hands-on, transformative research, preparing the next generation of scientists to tackle the challenges of the future.



“Large-scale projects like this one, involving students and postdoctoral researchers, prepare the scientists of tomorrow to collaborate, advance science, and tackle the biggest questions facing our planet,” O’Connor concluded.



Image Credit: Mark Witton, 2025.



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Earliest modern bird lived in Antarctica 69 million years ago

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid impact near the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico ended the era of non-avian dinosaurs. But amid the global upheaval, certain birds - and the group that gave rise to today’s ducks and geese - found sanctuary in the temperate habitats of Antarctica.&nbsp; Now, an article published in the journal Nature describes a nearly complete, 69-million-year-old fossil skull of Vegavis iaai, an early relative of modern waterfowl. Study lead author Christopher Torres spent three years at Ohio University as an NSF postdoctoral fellow....

Scientists have found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-tap-water-contains-plastics/">microplastics</a> are infiltrating the Pacific Ocean at its farthest depths. An unprecedented study has revealed that crustaceans living nearly seven miles deep in the ocean are ingesting plastic fibers.

The study was led by Dr. Alan Jamieson from <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a>. 

“These observations are the deepest possible record of microplastic occurrence and ingestion, indicating it is highly likely there are no marine ecosystems left that are not impacted by anthropogenic debris,” said Dr. Jamieson.

Using deep-sea landers, the researchers collected samples from 90 crustaceans in trenches that span the entire Pacific Ocean. These included the New Hebrides, Mariana, Japan, and Kermadec trenches. The deepest region is the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is 6.7 miles down. 

“The deep sea is not only the ultimate sink for any material that descends from the surface, but it is also inhabited by organisms well adapted to a low-food environment and these will often eat just about anything,” said Dr. Jamieson. “This study has shown that manmade microfibers are culminating and accumulating in an ecosystem inhabited by species we poorly understand.”

The study revealed that every crustacean sampled from the Mariana Trench had ingested plastic fragments including polyethylene, polyvinyls, and nylon. At least 50 percent of sea creatures had swallowed microplastics in the other trenches as well.

Dr. Jamieson explained, “This type of work requires a great deal of contamination control but there were instances where the fibers could actually be seen in the stomach contents as they were being removed.”

“We felt we had to do this study given the unique access we have to some of the most remote places on earth, and we are using these samples to make a poignant statement about mankind's legacy,” said Dr. Jamieson.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Crustaceans ingesting plastic at the deepest depths of the ocean

Scientists have found that microplastics are infiltrating the Pacific Ocean...

A groundbreaking study reveals that dog owners have a lower risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and death from other causes. The new research shows that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lonely-dogs-anxious-owners-can-help/">dog owners</a> in a single household have a significantly lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease than non-owners who live alone.

Swedish scientists investigated data on the health of more than 3.4 million individuals to see how dog-ownership related to the risk of cardiovascular disease. 

The researchers selected records from seven different national registries for individuals between the ages of 40 and 80 who did not have cardiovascular disease in 2001. The registries included two dog ownership registries, and enabled the researchers to track the subjects over the course of 12 years.

Mwenya Mubanga is the lead junior author of the study at <a href="https://www.uu.se/en/">Uppsala University</a>.

"A very interesting finding in our study was that dog ownership was especially prominent as a protective factor in persons living alone, which is a group reported previously to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death than those living in a multi-person household,” said Mubanga. “Perhaps a dog may stand in as an important family member in the single households.”

The researchers found that single dog owners had a 33 percent reduction in risk of death and 11 percent reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease compared to single non-owners. 

“Another interesting finding was that owners to dogs from breed groups originally bred for hunting were most protected," said Mubanga.

"These kind of epidemiological studies look for associations in large populations but do not provide answers on whether and how dogs could protect from cardiovascular disease,” explained senior author Tove Fall. “We know that dog owners in general have a higher level of physical activity, which could be one explanation to the observed results. Other explanations include an increased well-being and social contacts or effects of the dog on the bacterial microbiome in the owner.”

Fall pointed out that there also may be health differences between dog owners and non-owners before getting a dog. For example, people who choose to get dogs may simply have more active lifestyles. The results of the study are 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

Adopting a dog can actually extend your life

A groundbreaking study reveals that dog owners have a lower...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California San Francisco</a> (UCSF) have demonstrated that songbirds can adapt their songs according to their situation. The researchers are using the birds as a model to understand how the human brain learns movement and speech adaptation.

"We wanted to understand how the brain balances the need to generalize learning of movements across many contexts with the need to produce specialized movements in specific contexts," said lead author Lucas Tian.

Neurobiologists at UCSF have been studying birdsongs for years to explore what insight they may provide into how the brain learns complex behaviors. The researchers set out to analyze how the Bengalese finch changes the tune of its song depending on context.

A finch’s song is much like the human language, made up of a sequence of syllables and learned from adult tutors. Adult finches sing to attract mates, but still adjust their songs depending on various situations, such as whether they are performing or practicing.

For their study, the research team investigated what makes the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbird-learn-new-songs/">birds</a> alter the pitch of specific syllables. They trained the finches by playing a burst of white noise when the birds sang a syllable outside of the pitch range the researchers had established. The birds learned right away to shift the pitch of that syllable to avoid the unpleasant noise.

The researchers noticed that the birds also modified the pitch when singing those syllables in other song sequences as well. The extent to which they adjusted the pitch depended on how much the sequence resembled the original song.

Next, the experts guided the finches to modify the same syllable in opposite directions depending on the context to test whether the birds could learn different rules for different situations. Incredibly, the finches learned to distinguish between contexts and changed their responses accordingly. For example, they would sing C in a lower pitch when the syllable came after a B but in a higher pitch when the syllable came after an A.

"This type of sophisticated customization of learning to different contexts is very similar to human speech," said senior author Michael Brainard. "It's hard to study what's going on in the human brain during this process, but we can ask how this context-dependent learning is happening in birds. There is enough similarity in neural structures between birds and mammals to allow us to think that what we learn in the bird might apply more broadly."


The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/neuron/home">Neuron</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Songbirds adapt their tune to different situations

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have...

According to a new study, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> could cause 50 to 80 percent of marine species in the Pacific Islands Nations to either die off or migrate away from their native habitat by the end of the 21st century.

The study was conducted by the <a href="http://www.nereusprogram.org/">Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program</a> and revealed that many species in the Pacific Islands region are in danger of being wiped out if serious efforts to combat climate change are not put in place. 

“Under climate change, the Pacific Islands region is projected to become warmer, less oxygenated, more acidic, and have lower production of plankton that form the base of oceanic food webs," said Rebecca Asch, the study’s lead author. 

Marine wildlife in the region are ill-equipped to adapt to a changing climate as area is the warmest in the entire global ocean and there is very little seasonal change.

Species in the Pacific Islands are not used to any major temperature changes, which is why climate change could have more of a severe impact. 

“Since no organisms living in the ocean today would have time to adapt to these warmer conditions, many will either go extinct or migrate away from the western Pacific, leaving this area with much lower biodiversity,” said Gabriel Reygondeau, one of the co-authors. 

For the study, the researchers examined more than 1,000 species from both reef and open-water habitats, and specifically noted how the different populations would be affected by warming waters. 

The team discovered that both open water and reef habitats would lose biodiversity, but those species who live in open water would undergo higher rates of decline. 

The results are bleak, especially because Pacific Islanders depend on marine species for not only food but also for economic opportunities.

However, the researchers note that if mitigation efforts to combat climate change are put in place, the Pacific Island region will not lose nearly as many marine species. 

“One hopeful point is that the extent of these changes in biodiversity and fisheries was dramatically reduced under a climate change scenario where greenhouse gas emissions were close to what would be needed for achieving the Paris Climate Agreement,” said William Cheung, co-author and the Nereus Director of Science. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pacific Islands in danger of losing over half of local fish

According to a new study, climate change could cause 50...

ZB.11078

At one point in North America, the population of passenger pigeons was estimated to be around 3 to 5 billion — yes, that’s billion with a “b”. However, the species is now extinct due to it being hunted mostly for sport by humans. To this day, scientists are still perplexed at how such a massive population was able to go <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutan-species-extinction/">extinct</a> so quickly, and not persist in at least a few isolated populations.

In a new study published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/journals">Science</a>, researchers postulate that passenger pigeons — while well-adapted to living in huge flocks — were poorly adapted to living in smaller groups. Their findings suggest that rapid change in population size gave the species very little time to properly adapt.

“Passenger pigeons did really well for tens of thousands of years, and then suddenly they went extinct,” says Beth Shapiro, one of the study’s authors and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a>. “Paradoxically, their enormous population size may have been a factor in their extinction.”

The study involved analyzing the genetic diversity of passenger pigeons through DNA recovered from museum specimens. They looked at the variation in diversity across the genome, and found that it was lower than expected, as well as more variable. The analysis allowed them to see where regions of high and low diversity existed in the passenger pigeon genome. 

Their findings showed patterns in the species’ genome which revealed that low genetic diversity was a result of natural selection initiating the rapid spread of beneficial mutations and elimination of bad mutations throughout the population. However, in the band-tailed pigeon — a closely related species — these patterns of genetic diversity were not present. An interesting fact to note is that the band-tailed pigeon has a relatively small population of about 2 million that are native to western North America.

“When we looked at rates of adaptive evolution and purifying selection in both species, we found evidence that natural selection had resulted in both a faster rate of adaptive evolution in passenger pigeons and a faster purging of deleterious mutations,” explains Gemma Murray, the study’s first author and a researcher in Shapiro’s lab at <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a>. “That is exactly what you would expect to see if selection is causing the differences in genetic diversity.”

Through further analysis of the passenger pigeon genome, the researchers found that many of the genes that showed evidence of adaptive evolution could be related to aspects of passenger pigeon ecology and the demands of living in large flocks. This included genes related to the immune system and stress reduction, as well as the ability to eat a wide diversity of foods. When the population size is greatly reduced, these traits are no longer as beneficial to the individual. 

These findings have wide implications for current models used by population geneticists, which often assume neutral evolution in order to look back on a population’s history. For a species such as the passenger pigeon, these models don’t fit the mold. “In most species, it is probably safe to assume the majority of the genome is evolving neutrally, but for species with very large populations we might want to hesitate,” says Shapiro. “These tools that use genetic diversity to make inferences about historical changes in a population’s size don't work at all for the passenger pigeon.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Rene O'Connell

How the passenger pigeon went extinct so quickly

At one point in North America, the population of passenger...

A new genomic study of Africanized honey bees in Puerto Rico reveals that while they mostly resemble their African ancestors, a few regions of their DNA are more like European honey bees. This may explain why these killer bees have become more gentle over the last 30 years.

Africanized bees are a hybrid of gentle European bees and aggressive, disease-resistant African bees. Also known as killer bees, the new breed was first introduced in Brazil in an effort to boost honey production. After 26 swarms escaped from isolation in 1957, the species then spread throughout South America and eventually arrived in North America. 

Africanized honey bees were accidentally carried into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hurricane-maria-slams-puerto-rico/">Puerto Rico</a> in the 1990s, and within three decades evolved into the gentle bees that are prevalent on the island today. Study co-author Tugrul Giray is a Biology professor at the <a href="http://www.upr.edu/">University of Puerto Rico</a>. Giray first reported on the gentle Puerto Rican bees in 2012.

The research team sequenced the genomes of 30 bees from Puerto Rico, 30 Africanized bees from Mexico, and 30 European honey bees from central Illinois to investigate how the Puerto Rican bees became gentle. 

"The benefit of having these three populations is that you can compare and contrast between the three," said study co-author Arian Avalos of the <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a>. "We asked, 'How is the genome of the gentle Africanized bee different than other Africanized populations? What parts of the genome are similar to European bees?'"

The study revealed that the genomes of Puerto Rican bees were mostly like those of Africanized bees. However, some regions of the DNA had shifted to become more like gentle European bees. These regions appeared to be under "positive selection," which means that something in the bees' environment was favoring these genetic expression patterns over others.

The scientists believe that the bees have evolved to be less aggressive as a result of living on a densely populated island that is difficult to for them escape.

"Evolution involves changes in the frequency of gene variants across a population, and that's what we're seeing in Puerto Rico," said co-author Gene Robinson. "Now we know that these gentle Africanized bees can be genetically distinguished both from other Africanized honey bees and from European honey bees."

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Killer bees in Puerto Rico evolved to be less aggressive

A new genomic study of Africanized honey bees in Puerto...

Parrotfish relentlessly grind up coral and deposit it as sand onto the seafloor, and can single-handedly produce hundreds of pounds of sand every year. But what gives this fish its powerful bite? Scientists have now identified a woven microstructure that enables parrotfish to chomp on coral tirelessly. 


Study first author Matthew Marcus is a scientist at the Department of Energy's <a href="http://www.lbl.gov/">Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a>. He works at the lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS), a type of X-ray source known as a synchrotron light source. This method of investigation proved to be critical to the examination of parrotfish.

Marcus became intrigued with parrotfish during a trip to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-barrier-protected-zones/">Great Barrier Reef</a> when he was reminded of the remarkable roles they play. Parrotfish primarily eat polyps and algae on the surface of coral skeletons, and help to clean up reefs.


"I was reminded that this is a fish that crunches up coral all day, and is responsible for much of the white sand on beaches," said Marcus. "But how can this fish eat coral and not lose its teeth?"

Measured near the biting surface, the hardness of parrotfish teeth is about 530 tons of pressure per square inch. This is equivalent to a stack of 88 African elephants compressed inside of a single square inch of space.

Marcus teamed up with biophysicist Pupa Gilbert to analyze parrotfish teeth. Collaborators in French Polynesia contributed parrotfish beaks, and the team performed a series of structural studies to examine how they work.

Using specialized techniques at the ALS, the team set out to examine how the fine crystal structure of parrotfish teeth contribute to their incredible strength. The researchers were able to view the individual crystals and observed their intricately woven structure.


Fluorapatite, which contains calcium, fluorine, phosphorous, and oxygen, is the the mineral responsible for the crystal structure of parrotfish teeth. The study revealed that the fluorapatite crystals are assembled into interwoven bundles, which decrease in size toward the tip of each tooth.

Gilbert pointed out that conventional microscopes overlook the unique orientation of crystals within the enamel structure of teeth. According to Gilbert, the crystal orientation "tells a big story about how different teeth are specialized for different functions."

In parrotfish, the continuously growing rows of teeth, which form a beaklike structure that constantly replaces worn teeth with new teeth, are also key to their specialized feeding behavior. Parrotfish have approximately 1,000 teeth situated in 15 rows, and each tooth is cemented to the others and surrounded by bone to form a solid beak.

"Parrotfish teeth are the coolest biominerals of all," Gilbert said. "They are the stiffest, among the hardest, and the most resistant to fracture and to abrasion ever measured." 

The study is published online in the journal <a href="http://www.acsnano.org/">ACS Nano</a>.
--
By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Don’t underestimate the incredible bite of the parrotfish

Parrotfish relentlessly grind up coral and deposit it as sand...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebee-declared-endangered/">bumblebee</a> is one of the few bees that uses buzz pollination. Most bees pollinate by coating themselves in flower pollen while collecting nectar from a flower’s anthers, which is the part of the flower that houses pollen. 

But some flowers store their pollen inside their anthers, and so buzz pollination is the only way a bumbleebee can collect the pollen grains. 

Buzz pollinators use a distinctly different buzzing frequency that vibrates their wings and body, creating enough resonance to release the trapped pollen. 

But now, a new study conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.stir.ac.uk/">University of Stirling</a> has found that pesticides may interfere with a bumblebee’s ability to buzz and collect pollen.

Neonicotinoid pesticides directly affect the bee’s buzzing vibrations, which impacts their ability to harvest pollen. 

For the study, the researchers monitored captive colonies of bumblebees that visited buzz-pollinated flowers and recorded the bees’ buzzes with microphones.

The researchers also had a control group of bees that weren’t exposed or affected by neonicotinoid pesticides. 

The team observed the captive bees over time, analyzing any changes in their buzz frequencies while collecting pollen. 

After chronic exposure to pesticides, the bumblebee’s buzzing vibrations were affected and the bees collected fewer pollen grains as a result.

“Our result is the first to demonstrate quantitative changes in the type of buzzes produced by bees exposed to field-realistic levels of neonicotinoid,” said Dr. Penelope Whitehorn, leader of the research. “We also show that buzz pollinating bees exposed to the pesticide also collect fewer pollen grains.

The control bees who were not exposed to any pesticides collected more pollen as they got older and gained experience. 

“However, bees that came into contact with pesticide did not collect more pollen as they gained more experience, and by the end of the experiment collected between 47% and 56% less pollen compared to the control bees,” said Dr. Whitehorn. 

The results show the negative impact that pesticides have on buzz-pollinators like bumblebees. The researchers hope to conduct further studies to determine exactly how neonicotinoid  pesticides impair buzz-pollinators. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pesticides stop bumblebees from buzzing and collecting pollen

The bumblebee is one of the few bees that uses...

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>.

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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

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...

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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



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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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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



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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

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

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



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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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> 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

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" 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.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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> 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...