This week, the October sky is treating us to a brilliant display that you won't want to miss -- the Hunter's supermoon, a rare comet, and the Orionids meteor shower. 



Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a rare comet making its journey past Earth, offering a unique opportunity to witness its tail of icy particles glistening against the dark canvas of space.



In addition, this week features the biggest supermoon of the year, Hunter's supermoon, which will illuminate the night with a breathtaking orangish glow.



Since Tuesday, the moon has looked larger than usual, and it’ll keep that appearance through Friday. By Thursday morning, as people head out for their morning commute. Depending on the weather in your area, Thursday night being the best time to see the full Hunter's supermoon..



And let's not forget the dazzling Orionids meteor shower, where you can catch glimpses of shooting stars streaking across the sky, resulting from debris left by Halley's Comet.



There's truly something for everyone in this celestial display. So, grab a warm jacket, perhaps a pair of binoculars for a closer look.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-80-000-year-old-time-traveler">80,000-year-old time traveler</h2>



Meet <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-anticipated-comet-of-2024-returns-this-weekend-after-80000-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS</a>, a celestial wanderer that's been on an 80,000-year long odyssey. 



From the outermost regions of our solar system, this comet embarks on an interminable journey around the sun. The last time it paid us a visit, our ancestors were just crafting civilizations.



Although its closest Earth pass was on October 12, it remains visible for the remainder of the month. 



So, how do you spot it? An hour into the sunset, turn your sight to where the sun has sunk and voila. The elusive comet, while difficult to sight with the naked eye, could be seen with a pair of binoculars. 



Don't miss this rare chance to witness a phenomenon that won't return for another 80,000 years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hunter-s-supermoon">Hunter's Supermoon</h2>



Next up...mark your calendars for October 17, 2024. The night sky is all set to parade the Hunter's Moon, but this year it's not just a full moon -- <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunters-supermoon-prepares-to-illuminate-the-october-skies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it's a supermoon</a>! 



This phenomenon occurs when the moon is at its closest to Earth during its full phase, making it larger and brighter.



The Hunter’s Moon got its name from the historical practice of hunters utilizing the bright moonlight to track game and gather food in preparation for winter. This full moon rises soon after sunset, extending the period of illumination more than usual.



As it ascends, the Hunter’s Moon appears particularly large and orange, a visual effect produced by its lower position on the horizon and the scattering of light in the atmosphere.



This lunar phase holds cultural significance across various traditions, representing a time for preparation and gathering, underscoring the importance of readiness for the impending colder months.



The Hunter’s Moon is generally in October -- although once every four years it makes an appearance in November.



While contemporary life may not depend on this extra light to hunt or complete outdoor tasks, the Hunter’s Moon remains a fascinating reminder of nature’s rhythms and the cyclical changes of the seasons.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-puts-the-super-in-the-supermoon">What puts the 'super' in the supermoon?</h3>



So, you might ask, "What's so super about the supermoon?" As Anna Gammon-Ross, a seasoned astronomer from the <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Museums Greenwich</a> explains, a supermoon occurs when a full moon is nearest to Earth in its orbit. 



This cosmic alignment results in a moon that's roughly 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual. On seeing the radiant orb hanging low in the sky, you'd agree that the supermoon does indeed earn its name.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shooting-stars-orionids-meteor-shower">Shooting stars: Orionids meteor shower</h2>



The Orionids meteor shower is one of the highlights of the October night sky. These meteors are actually tiny bits of dust left behind by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orionids-meteor-shower-peaks-this-weekend-heres-what-to-expect/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Halley's Comet</a> as it travels through the solar system. 



When Earth passes through this trail of debris, the particles slam into our atmosphere at incredible speeds -- up to 148,000 miles per hour! As they burn up, they create those bright streaks of light we love to watch.



What's cool about the Orionids is that they're known for their fast and bright meteors, often leaving glowing trails that last for a few seconds. 



The best time to catch them is in the early morning hours before dawn, when the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/betelgeuse-one-of-our-brightest-stars-will-vanish-from-sight-next-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">constellation Orion</a> (which gives the meteor shower its name) is high in the sky. 



Just find a comfy spot away from city lights, let your eyes adjust to the darkness, and enjoy the show -- no special equipment needed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skywatching-101">Skywatching 101</h2>



All set to behold these cosmic spectacles? Here are some tips to enhance your experience:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Search for a location far from city lights to escape light pollution. </li>



<li>Always check the weather. Clear skies are your best pals for skywatching. </li>



<li>Bring your binoculars. For the supermoon, they are optional, but they'll help with the comet and make meteor watching more fun. </li>



<li>Comfort is key. Dress warmly and consider bringing a blanket or a chair. </li>



<li>Patience is a virtue. Allow around 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.</li>
</ul>



These celestial showstoppers make for some spectacular photography opportunities. 



For the supermoon, a camera with manual settings, plus a tripod for steadiness, can help capture stunning shots. 



For the meteors, a wide-angle lens with a long exposure setting can help you nab a shooting star.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-wonders-to-watch">More wonders to watch</h2>



October's skywatching doesn't end with the comet, supermoon, and meteor shower. 



Throughout the month, Venus brightly greets morning risers, while Saturn and Jupiter are earlier night visitors. 



Mars is a bit elusive but worth seeking out. Several constellations, such as Cassiopeia and Perseus, also adorn the night sky. 



If you're a novice stargazer, a smartphone app can help you navigate the starry expanse.



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Hunter's supermoon, a comet, and Orionids meteors are sharing the sky tonight

This week, the October sky is treating us to a brilliant display that you won't want to miss -- the Hunter's supermoon, a rare comet, and the Orionids meteor shower. Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a rare comet making its journey past Earth, offering a unique opportunity to witness its tail of icy particles glistening against the dark canvas of space. In addition, this week features the biggest supermoon of the year, Hunter's supermoon, which will illuminate the night with a breathtaking orangish glow. Since Tuesday, the...

In the animal kingdom, tails come in many shapes, sizes, and strengths. For instance, the long, thick tail of a kangaroo acts as a third leg, while the rabbit’s fluffy tail is used to communicate with conspecifics. In the case of carnivores, tails often help them be more agile while hunting. Scientists have long debated whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/epigenetic-variation-predicts-behavior-in-dogs/">dogs</a>’ tails could play a similar function.



Now, by combining experimental data, mathematical modeling, and computer simulations, an international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://is.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems</a> has found that the canines’ tails play very little role in stabilization and more likely act as a communication device.



While in many mammalian carnivores, tails are very useful for balancing, counterbalancing, and sometimes gripping during climbing activities, they can play a significant role on the ground too. For instance, cheetahs use their tails for jumping stabilization and turning. But is this the case for dogs too?



“It is unknown if larger carnivorans, such as canids, can still use their tails to this effect or whether other appendages, such as head movement, must be used,” the study authors wrote. “Canidae have been shown to exhibit various tail elevations and depressions in different movement paces with many dogs walking with an upright tail whereas galloping with a tail aligned with the spinal column. However, these movements are highly complex and require long periods of dedicated practice to be able to perform them, making it an unlikely strategy for other animals. This study sought to design a complex biomechanics model to test the inertial capabilities of canidae tails.”



To clarify the role dogs’ tails play in stabilization, the scientists used data from detailed motion tracking studies of the ways dog move and jump. Then, they performed computer simulated leaps, altering the position of the tails to see whether positioning had a significant effect on the jump. The analysis shown that dogs were able to jump adroitly regardless of what their tails were doing.



“The utilizing of the tail during jumping mechanisms achieves very low amounts of center of mass movement across all species with the largest being under a single degree. We believe that this implies that dogs utilize their tails for other means, such as communication and pest control, but not for agility in maneuvers,” the scientists explained.



“Given the incredibly low angular movement the tail is imposing on the center of mass in a range of canid species, we believe at this point that the dog tail is primarily adapted for communication,” they concluded.



The study is published on the preprint server <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.30.522334v1.full">bioRxiv</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Dogs use their tails more for communication than movement

In the animal kingdom, tails come in many shapes, sizes,...

The first <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/geminid-shower-set-to-shoot-150-meteors-per-hour-at-its-peak/">meteor</a> shower of the year will light up the skies tonight, producing more than 100 shooting stars per hour. The Quadrantids are most active during their peak which will last for just a few hours leading up until dawn. By comparison, most meteor showers have a peak that lasts about two days.



"The reason the peak is so short is due to the shower's thin stream of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle," explained <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>.



The Quadrantid shower is known for its "fireballs," which appear as brilliant explosions that leave behind long-lasting trails. According to astronomers, this is among the strongest and most consistent of all meteor showers.



While most shooting star events occur as Earth moves through debris left behind by a comet, the Quadrantids come from asteroid 2003 EH1. This near-Earth asteroid was first observed by Chinese astronomers more than 500 years ago



Because the moon is approaching a full phase, it may be difficult to see all of the shooting stars in tonight's sky. The moonlight will potentially outshine all but the brightest meteors.



The best way to locate the Quadrantids is to look north for the Big Dipper and follow the handle across the sky to the red giant star Arcturus. This star forms the bottom of the constellation Bootes - the region of the sky where the Quadrantids will appear.&nbsp;



"For the best conditions, you want to find a safe location away from street lights and other sources of light pollution," said the <a href="https://ras.ac.uk/">Royal Astronomical Society</a>. "The meteors can be seen in all parts of the sky, so it's good to be in a wide open space where you can scan the night sky with your eyes."



"In 2023, the maximum of the shower occurs just before the Full Moon, so moonlight will cause some interference."



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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 Quadrantid meteor shower peaks tonight

The first meteor shower of the year will light up...

In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.pitt.edu/">University of Pittsburgh</a>, experts have discovered that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-what-triggers-our-brains-to-overeat/">brains</a> rely on sight to identify a familiar voice. While listening to the voices of U.S. presidents, study participants used the same brain region to recognize both voices and faces.&nbsp;



The results suggest that voice and face recognition are more closely linked than what was previously understood.&nbsp;



“From behavioral research, we know that people can identify a familiar voice faster and more accurately when they can associate it with the speaker’s face, but we never had a good explanation of why that happens,” said study senior author Dr. Taylor Abel of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.&nbsp;



“In the visual cortex, specifically in the part that typically processes faces, we also see electrical activity in response to famous people’s voices, highlighting how deeply the two systems are interlinked.”&nbsp;



Neuroscientists have widely acknowledged a connection between auditory and the visual brain processing, but those systems were expected to have distinct and separate structures.&nbsp;



The study was focused on epilepsy surgery patients, who had been were temporarily implanted with electrodes that measure brain activity. The participants were presented with photographs and voice recordings of three U.S. presidents - Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.&nbsp;



For the investigation, electrical activity was recorded in the brain region that processes visual cues, the fusiform gyri (FG). The experts found that the same brain region became active when participants heard familiar voices, even though this response was slightly delayed.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This is important because it shows that auditory and visual areas interact very early when we identify people, and that they don’t work in isolation,” said Dr. Abel. “In addition to enriching our understanding of the basic functioning of the brain, our study explains the mechanisms behind disorders where voice or face recognition is compromised, such as in some dementias or related disorders.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.00459.2022">Journal of Neurophysiology</a>



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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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Brains rely on sight to identify voices

In a new study led by the University of Pittsburgh,...

According to a recent study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064">Current Biology</a>, the ascendancy of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-were-going-strong-when-the-deadly-asteroid-struck/">dinosaurs</a> through the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods was primarily driven by climate change, rather than inter-species competition.



The experts argue that changes in global climate linked to the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction - which wiped out many large terrestrial vertebrates such as the armadillo-like aetosaurs – in fact benefited the earliest dinosaurs.



For instance, sauropod-like dinosaurs, which later on evolved into the giant herbivore species of the late Jurassic (such as Diplodocus or Brachiosaurus) were able to thrive and expand their territories as the Earth warmed substantially after the mass extinction event, about 210 million years ago.



By comparing computer models of prehistoric global climate conditions like temperature and rainfall with data on the different locations of dinosaurs, the scientists showed how the sauropods and related creatures ended up being the success story of a turbulent period of evolution.



“What we see in the data suggests that instead of dinosaurs being outcompeted by other large vertebrates, it was variations in climate conditions that were restricting their diversity. But once these conditions changed across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, they were able to flourish,” said study lead author Emma Dunne, a lecturer in Paleontology at <a href="https://www.fau.eu/">Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg</a> (FAU).



“The results were somewhat surprising, because it turns out that sauropods were really fussy from the get-go: later in their evolution they continue to stay in warmer areas and avoid polar regions.”



“Climate change appears to have been really important in driving the evolution of early dinosaurs. What we want to do next is use the same techniques to understand the role of climate in the next 120 million years of the dinosaur story,” concluded study co-author Richard Butler, a professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Early dinosaurs benefited from changes in global climate

According to a recent study published in the journal Current...

As cells perform their daily functions, they turn on various genes and cellular pathways. A research team led by the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) has now managed to coax cells to inscribe the history of these events in a long <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/proteins-identified-that-allowed-vertebrates-to-evolve/">protein</a> chain which can be then studied using a light microscope. 



According to the experts, cells programmed to produce these chains incessantly add building blocks encoding particular cellular events. Later, these ordered protein chains can be labeled with fluorescent molecules which the scientists can use to reconstruct the timing of the events. This method could help clarify the steps that underlie processes such as memory formation, responses to drug treatments, or gene expression.



“There are a lot of changes that happen at organ or body scale, over hours to weeks, which cannot be tracked over time,” explained study senior author Edward Boyden, a professor of Neurotechnology at MIT. However, if the newly developed technique could be extended to function over longer time periods, it could be also used to study temporal phenomena such as disease progression or aging.



To study the functions of biological cells, scientists usually image proteins, RNA, or other molecules from inside the cells. Unfortunately, most current methods for doing this offer only a glimpse of a single moment in time, or don’t function properly with large populations of cells.



“Biological systems are often composed of a large number of different types of cells. For example, the human brain has 86 billion cells,” said study lead author Changyang Linghu, an assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a>. “To understand those kinds of biological systems, we need to observe physiological events over time in these large cell populations.”



To achieve this, the scientists recorded cellular events as a series of protein subunits continuously added to a chain, by using engineered protein subunits that can assemble into long filaments. Then they designed a genetically encoded system in which one of these subunits is continuously produced inside cells, while another is generated only when specific events occur. Each subunit contains an “epitope tag” - a short peptide that can bind to a different fluorescent antibody that can help scientist later on visualize the tags.



“We’re hoping to use this kind of protein self-assembly to record activity in every single cell,” Linghu said. “It’s not only a snapshot in time, but also records past history, just like how tree rings can permanently store information over time as the wood grows.”



This approach could detect and record a variety of temporally extended cellular events, including the progression of a disease or a drug treatment, as well as processes related to growth or aging. In future research, the scientists aim to extend the recording period so that longer temporal events can be recorded and analyzed.



“The total amount of information it could store is fixed, but we could in principle slow down or increase the speed of the growth of the chain. If we want to record for a longer time, we could slow down the synthesis so that it will reach the size of the cell within, let’s say two weeks. In that way we could record longer, but with less time resolution,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-022-01586-7">Nature Biotechnology</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Engineered proteins can record cellular "memories"

As cells perform their daily functions, they turn on various...

Clinical,Trial,For,New,Modern,Covid,Vaccine,During,Global,Pandemic.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) is a poorly understood health condition affecting about one in 3,000 to 4,000 children and adolescents who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. It usually occurs about a week or two after a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-largest-covid-wave-currently-unfolding-across-china/">Covid</a> infection and is characterized by symptoms ranging from stomach pain, fever, and rashes to myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and even organ failure. To date, over 9,000 patients have been diagnosed with MIS-C in the Unites States, and 74 have died.



A lingering question troubling scientists has been whether a Covid vaccine may increase the risk of health problems in young people who have had MIS-C. Fortunately, according to a new study funded by the <a href="https://www.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health</a> (NIH) and involving 22 medical centers and 385 racially diverse patients aged five or older with prior MIS-C, vaccination does not seem to lead to serious complications such as myocarditis or MIS-C reoccurrence. Instead, only mild adverse reactions – such as arm soreness and fatigue – occurred in 49 percent of the participants.



“We are very reassured by the results and this safety data should be comforting to families and healthcare professionals when considering and recommending vaccination,” said study co-leader Matthew D. Elias, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at <a href="https://www.chop.edu/">Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia</a> and clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics at the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a>.



These findings provide support for the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers of Disease Control and Prevention</a>’s recommendation that patients with a history of MIS-C receive a Covid vaccine at least 90 days after their initial diagnosis. “In light of the acute and long-term consequences of COVID-19 it is vital to continue the development, testing, and deployment of preventive as well as therapeutic agents in at-risk groups as well as the general population,” concluded Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., the director of the <a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/">National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute</a> (NHLBI).&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.48987">JAMA Network Open</a>.   



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Covid vaccines appear safe for children after MIS-C

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) is a poorly understood health condition...

According to a new global quantitative study based on data collected from research articles and databases, most reservoirs of rodent-borne diseases tend to live exclusively or occasionally in or near human dwellings, show large fluctuations in their population numbers, and are often hunted by humans for their fur or meat, thus increasing the risk of new <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/the-terrifying-biology-of-zoonotic-diseases/">zoonotic diseases</a> to emerge.



“Most rodents that spread zoonotic pathogens, meaning pathogens spreading between animals and humans, show large population fluctuations, move at least occasionally indoors, or are hunted for meat or fur. Our results were consistent among pathogen types, i.e., virus, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. And with transmission modes, i.e., intermediate, involvement of vectors or non-close and close contact, with close contact including inhalation of contaminated aerosols,” said study lead author Frauke Ecke, a professor of Organismal and Evolutionary Biology at the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> in Finland.



In order to clarify the interplay between natural and human-driven factors in the risk of pathogen transmission from animals to humans, the scientists focused on&nbsp;436 rodent species (of which 282 are well-known reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens), and investigated the linkage among the rodents’ choice of habitat, population fluctuations, humans’ hunting activities, and the status of rodents as potential reservoirs.



The analysis revealed that certain regions in the world – including large parts of Europe (especially central and northern Europe), a wide stretch of land extending from eastern Europe to eastern Asia, eastern China, parts of South America, southeast Australia, and eastern parts of North America – are at high risk of pathogen spillovers from rodents to humans. “If people encounter a rodent in these regions, there is a high risk that this rodent carries zoonotic pathogens,” Ecke warned.



Some examples of such pathogen-carrying rodents include the bank vole in Europe, the North American deer mouse, and the South American Azara’s grass mouse. These species exhibit large population fluctuations and can often live inside human dwellings.



“It is especially the large population fluctuations together with the disturbance of the rodents’ natural habitat that can explain why rodents move nearby and into human dwellings. This movement behavior is typical for so-called generalists, which are species that can cope with many different environments. These generalists are the most important reservoirs of pathogens,” Ecke concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35273-7">Nature Communications</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Why rodent-borne diseases spill over into humans?

According to a new global quantitative study based on data...

Icy mountains, with their snow, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-could-unleash-dangerous-viruses/">glaciers</a> and permafrost, are important sources of water for downstream communities in many parts of the world. Some scientists refer to these frozen bodies as the ‘water towers of the world,’ since they store water during the cold winter months and release it slowly as meltwater during spring and summer, meeting the needs of people and ecosystems in lower lying areas.&nbsp;



However, as global warming takes effect, glacial ice and permafrost are receding or disappearing from these mountain regions, necessitating new water management strategies to ensure the continued stable supply of fresh water. Essentially, as ice melts in mountainous regions throughout the world, the glaciers, snow and permafrost no longer act as storage reservoirs, meaning that water supply in these regions will be provided solely by precipitation. Previous research has suggested that, by 2100 up to half of the world’s population could be living with water scarcity.&nbsp;



A recent study led by researchers from the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a> suggests that there is a lack of integrated water security knowledge for communities that depend on water supply from snow and ice. This is due to the fact that, in these regions, there is often limited understanding of what happens ‘beyond the cryosphere’ – that is the contribution from water sources other than frozen water, such as hillslopes, wetlands, and groundwater. Communities have just always depended on melting ice as a reliable supply of water.



Emerging research is showing that the effects of global warming and climate change are enhanced in mountainous areas, where glacier-related disasters such as ice avalanches and glacial lake outburst floods are becoming more commonplace. This highlights the fact that there are likely to be serious and life-threatening implications for the millions of people who depend on mountain water supply in these regions.&nbsp;



The study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00996-4">Nature Sustainability</a>, finds that there are huge gaps in available data on how communities use water from glaciers and mountain snow in combination with other water sources. This information will be crucial in formulating management plans for sustainable water use in future, as meltwater becomes less available. The picture is especially difficult to construct, say the researchers, because of complex mountain landscapes, differences in localized weather systems and a low density of data station records.



“In mountains, there are complex interconnections between the cryosphere [snow and ice] and other water sources, as well as with humans," said Professor David Hannah. "We need to identify the gaps in our understanding and rethink strategies for water security in the context of climate change adaptation and shifting human needs.”



The lack of data is exacerbated by low uptake of new monitoring technologies and approaches, particularly in lower income countries with limited institutional capacities. This further hampers the understanding of water use in high-altitude, data sparse regions in many parts of the world, and makes it very difficult to create models for future water management that can be scaled up accurately across watersheds.



Furthermore, the picture is complicated by uncertainties about future water needs. Information on population growth and likely adaptation to water security threats is limited, as are data on the future expansion of irrigated agriculture and hydropower, all of which will have substantial impacts on water access and allocation. In the light of these concerning gaps in understanding and knowledge, the research team have called for a fundamental rethink of the methods and technologies used to assess current water availability and to model future scenarios.



Study lead author Dr. Fabian Drenkhan conducted the research while at Imperial and now works at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. “The future is likely to lead to a more variable water supply and growing water demand, which is a real threat to water security in many mountain regions. Our current incomplete picture is hampering the design and implementation of effective climate change adaptation," said Dr. Drenkhan.



"A holistic perspective based on improved data and process understanding is urgently needed to guide robust, locally tailored adaptation approaches in view of increasingly adverse impacts from climate change and other human interferences.”



What is clear is that climate change will impact the availability of fresh water over the coming decades, centuries and even millennia, making serious impacts inevitable for current communities and for generations to come. Adaptation to these changes will require comprehensive data sets and an understanding of how global warming may affect the cryosphere in order to develop management strategies that enhance water security in future.&nbsp;



“Our study highlights the need for scientists to work on the ground with stakeholders. A thorough understanding of the local water security context is essential to co-produce integrated local and scientific knowledge that can support local water management decisions and adaptation strategies," concluded study senior author Professor Wouter Buytaert.



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.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Water supply from icy mountains will become less reliable

Icy mountains, with their snow, glaciers and permafrost, are important...

During the first year of the Coronavirus <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/monkeypox-is-spreading-but-unlikely-to-cause-a-pandemic/">pandemic</a>, a relatively slow but constant rate of viral mutations occurred. However, since the end of 2020, several variants characterized by a large number of mutations have emerged, exceeding by far the mutation rates observed in the first stage of the pandemic.&nbsp;



A new study led by <a href="https://english.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a> has found that immunocompromised patients tend to develop chronic Coronavirus infections, allowing the virus to accumulate a variety of mutations, which can make it become more transmissible and able to evade prior natural or vaccine-induced immunity, as was the case of the Omicron variant.



The scientists argue that weakened antibody responses – particularly in the lower airways of chronic patients – may prevent their full recovery and drive the Coronavirus to mutate several times during lengthy infections, potentially leading to the emergence of new variants.&nbsp;



“The Coronavirus is characterized by the fact that in every population, there are people who become chronically infected. In the case of these patients, the virus remains in their body for a lengthy period of time, and they are at high risk for recurrent infection,” explained study senior author Adi Stern, an expert in viral evolution at the Tel Aviv University.&nbsp;



“In all of the cases observed so far, these were immunocompromised patients – part of their immune system is damaged and unable to function. In biological evolutionary terms, these patients constitute an ‘incubator’ for viruses and mutations – the virus persists in their body for a long time and succeeds in adapting to the immune system, by accumulating various mutations.”



By examining 27 chronic Covid-19 patients at the <a href="https://www.tasmc.org.il/sites/en/Pages/default.aspx">Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center</a>, Professor Stern and his colleagues found that their weakened immune systems have often created pressure for the virus to mutate. Most of these patients showed a pattern&nbsp;of apparent recovery, followed by recurring viral infection.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that, when such a pattern of apparent recovery was observed – based on negative nasopharyngeal swabs – the virus continued to thrive in the patients’ lungs, where it accumulated several mutations before travelling back to the upper respiratory tract.



“The complexity of Coronavirus evolution is still being revealed, and this poses many challenges to the scientific community. I believe that our research has succeeded in peeling back a missing layer of the big picture, and has opened the door for further research efforts to discover the origins of the various variants. This study highlights the importance of protecting immunocompromised individuals, who are at high risk for the virus, yet may also be an incubator for the formation of the next variant, posing a risk to all of us,” Professor Stern concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01882-4">Nature Medicine</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer  



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Covid variants emerge from chronic patients

During the first year of the Coronavirus pandemic, a relatively...

A new study published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0001062">Journal of Applied Psychology</a> has found that gig workers, salespeople, and other workers who rely on volatile, fluctuating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/income-inequality-public-less-cooperative/">income</a> often experience worse physical health outcomes, including poor sleep, headaches, stomach issues, and back pain.



“Pay volatility seems to predict worse health outcomes across a wide range of incomes,” said study author Gordon Sayre, an assistant professor of Organizational Behavior at <a href="https://em-lyon.com/">Emlyon Business School</a> in France. “Not only was pay volatility related to worse health in lower-paid tipped jobs or among freelancers in the gig economy but for higher-paid professionals working in finance, sales, and marketing, where commissions and performance bonuses are common.”



In one study, 85 U.S. workers relying on tips, such as waiters, delivery drivers, or maids, filled-in daily surveys for two weeks regarding their total daily pay and health. The analysis revealed that large fluctuations of daily pay over the study period was associated with negative health issues and poor sleep quality. This relationship was stronger when volatile pay made up a larger percentage of the workers’ total pay.



Another three-weeks study included 375 U.S. participants who spent an average of 29 hours per week working Amazon’s <a href="https://www.mturk.com/">Mechanical Turk</a>, a website where individuals have to complete a variety of tasks for minimal amounts of pay. In this case too, those with larger fluctuations in their pay experienced the worse health outcomes.



Finally, Sayre conducted a three-month online survey of 252 higher-income employees in finance, marketing, and sales who relied on commissions or bonuses for a fraction of their income. The results showed that pay volatility was less harmful to health when the participants were less reliant on commissions and bonuses.



These findings suggest that businesses should consider whether volatile forms of pay are necessary and ensure that more stable forms of compensation make up a larger part of employees’ total income.&nbsp;



“Unions are another way that workers could secure stronger protections against volatile pay. Raising the proportion of base pay and reducing dependence on volatile pay should help protect workers’ health in many industries,” Sayre concluded.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Fluctuating income is detrimental to health

A new study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology...

India is one of the ten most forest-rich countries in the world, with about 80.9 million hectares of trees covering it (nearly 25 percent of the entire country). However, between the 1890s and the 1990s, a combination of rapid economic development and overexploitation of resources led India losing almost 80 percent of its forest area. Now, as the country’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-forests-are-more-resilient-and-productive/">forests</a> continue to disappear, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> has developed a deep learning algorithm that, by using satellite data, could provide real-time monthly land use and land cover maps of India.



“Our work was done in an effort to help India’s government and industries improve the country’s attempts at forest sustainability,” said study lead author Ying Zuo, a graduate student in Earth Sciences at OSU.



This land monitoring system was trained by using data from <a href="https://www.norad.no/en/front/thematic-areas/climate-change-and-environment/norways-international-climate-and-forest-initiative-nicfi/">Norway’s International Climate and Forests Initiative</a> (NICFI), an enterprise of the Norwegian government aiming to reduce the destruction of tropical forests by providing high-resolution satellite images of the tropics. By combining this data with a global land cover map produced by <a href="https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/en/">Tsinghua University</a> in China, the deep learning algorithm was able to develop more detailed maps of Indian forests.



“In an effort to combine two datasets into the same system, we resampled them into the same spatial resolution and aligned each pixel to create an image-labeled paired training dataset,” Zuo explained. “The process helps us to assimilate the two datasets so they can be used to train our deep learning model.”&nbsp;



After training the model through these methods, the scientists processed ten base monthly maps of the area, from January to October 2022. These maps allowed researchers to detect seasonal shifts across India, including changes to barren land, the way monsoons affected crop land, and the distribution of forests in mountainous regions.



The experts concluded that it is vital for ecologists to more comprehensively investigate the seasonal impact of monsoons on India’s forest cover. “As the average temperature of our Earth increases, natural hazards will become a lot more frequent, so having these maps at our disposal benefits everyone’s understanding of how this problem affects life on Earth,” Zuo said.



In future research, the scientists aim to expand the timespan of these base maps over several years instead of just a few months to study other annual changes around the world, such as the effects of floods on forests.



“The characteristics of local forests and their surrounding habitats might likely be different in other regions. But with the help of more detailed datasets, our work could easily be used in areas of the world where detecting and alerting the public to forest degradation and its side effects need to become a priority,” Zuo concluded.



The study was presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting">American Geophysical Union</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Deep learning can help track changes in forest cover

India is one of the ten most forest-rich countries in...

A study led by the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> has found that physical activity during older age can help protect cognitive functioning. Moreover, in order to see significant improvements in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/moderate-drinking-can-cause-premature-brain-aging/">brain</a> health, no intense physical exercise is needed. In fact, even just a few minutes of walking could have high neuroprotective benefits.



“This finding isn’t saying, ‘If you’re older, you need to go out there and start running marathons,’” said study lead author Marissa Gogniat, a recent doctoral graduate in Psychology at the University of Georgia. “This is saying if you get more steps, if you’re moving around your environment a little bit more, that can be helpful to your brain health and keep you more independent as you age.”



Dr. Gogniat and her colleagues tracked the physical activity and fitness measurements of 51 older adults, who wore a device that measured the intensity of their physical activity, the number of steps taken, and the distance they covered. The scientists assessed fitness through a six-minutes walking test, during which participants had to walk as quickly as they could. Afterwards, the participants performed tests specifically designed to measure their cognitive functioning and underwent functional MRIs to assess their brain functioning.



The researchers found that the functioning and interaction of the different neural networks that the brain consists of – which is fundamental for being able to perform basic daily tasks, such as remembering important information and exhibiting self-control – was significantly improved by physical exercise.



“This paper is exciting because it gives us some evidence that when people whose brain networks aren’t functioning optimally engage in physical activity, we see improvement in their executive function and their independence,” Dr. Gogniat explained.&nbsp;



“We’re not saying you need to radically change your life. Maybe just take the stairs on the way to work. Stand up and walk around a little bit more. That’s where you get the most bang for your buck, not crazy, high-intensity exercise.”



“We’ve always been told it’s good to exercise, but I think this is some evidence that exercise can actually change your brain. And that impacts the way you’re able to function in your daily life,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11332-021-00887-9">Sport Sciences for Health</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</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.

Even moderate exercise can improve brain health

A study led by the University of Georgia has found...

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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



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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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...