Some of the most dramatic climate events in history are the Snowball Earth episodes, which occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. Nearly the entire planet was covered in ice up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) thick during these periods.&nbsp;



The rare Snowball Earth events did not follow regular cycles but lasted for millions to tens of millions of years before being followed by intense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-global-warming-event-sheds-light-on-earths-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warming</a>. Despite their significance, the details surrounding how these frozen periods ended are still not fully understood.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Washington</a> (UW) offers a more complete picture of how the last Snowball Earth episode ended and sheds light on why it was followed by a major expansion of life, including the emergence of Earth's first animals.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changes-in-key-earth-properties">Changes in key Earth properties</h2>



The research, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51412-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>, focuses on ancient rocks known as “cap carbonates,” which are believed to have formed as the planet’s ice sheets thawed.&nbsp;



These rocks provide clues about the state of Earth's atmosphere and oceans roughly 640 million years ago - long before ice cores or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-largest-ever-solar-storm-discovered-through-tree-rings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tree rings</a> could record such history.



Study lead author Trent Thomas is a doctoral student in earth and space sciences at UW.



“Cap carbonates contain information about key properties of Earth's atmosphere and ocean, such as changing levels of carbon dioxide in the air or the acidity of the ocean,” said Thomas. "Our theory now shows how these properties changed during and after Snowball Earth.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-formation-of-cap-carbonates-nbsp">Formation of cap carbonates&nbsp;</h2>



Cap carbonates are layered limestone or dolomite rocks with distinct chemical properties. Today, they can be found in more than 50 locations worldwide, including places like Death Valley, Namibia, Siberia, Ireland, and Australia.&nbsp;



These formations are believed to have resulted from the melting of the ice sheets that once covered Earth, triggering significant shifts in atmospheric and oceanic chemistry. The unique sediments were then deposited on the ocean floor.



The rocks are called “caps” because they lie atop the glacial deposits left behind after the Snowball Earth <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-complete-record-of-snowball-earth-found-in-rock-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">events</a>, and they’re classified as “carbonates” because they consist of carbon-containing limestone or dolomite.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animals-appeared-after-the-last-snowball-earth-nbsp">Animals appeared after the last Snowball Earth&nbsp;</h2>



Understanding how these rocks formed helps clarify the carbon cycle during periods of dramatic climate shifts. 



This latest study, which models these environmental changes, also provides clues about the evolution of life on Earth and explains why more complex life-forms emerged following the last Snowball Earth.



“Life on Earth was simple - in the form of microbes, algae, or other tiny aquatic organisms - for over two billion years leading up to Snowball Earth,” said senior author David Catling, a professor of earth and space sciences at UW.&nbsp;



“In fact, the billion years leading up to Snowball Earth are called the ‘boring billion’ because so little happened. Then two Snowball Earth events occurred, and soon after, animals appear in the fossil record.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chemistry-of-a-snow-covered-earth-nbsp">Chemistry of a snow-covered Earth&nbsp;</h2>



The new research offers a framework to explain how these two events may be connected. The study models the chemistry and geology during three distinct phases of Snowball Earth.&nbsp;



During the peak of the icy period, the thick ice sheets covering the planet reflected sunlight, though some open water allowed limited exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. Meanwhile, the cold seawater continued reacting with the ocean floor.



Over time, carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere until it trapped enough heat to warm the planet and melt the ice.&nbsp;



Once this occurred, rainfall began again, and freshwater from glacial melt poured into the oceans, creating a layer of meltwater that floated on top of the denser, salty ocean water.&nbsp;



This layering slowed down ocean circulation. Eventually, ocean mixing resumed, allowing the upper ocean, deep ocean, and atmosphere to interact again.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-recovery-from-the-snowball-period-nbsp">Earth's recovery from the Snowball period&nbsp;</h2>



“We predict important changes in the environment as Earth recovered from the Snowball period, some of which affected the temperature, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preparing-for-ocean-acidification-a-silent-killer-of-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acidity</a>, and circulation of the ocean. Now that we know these changes, we can more confidently figure out how they affected Earth’s life,” noted Thomas.



The research team plans to continue exploring how pockets of life that may have survived during Snowball Earth’s tumultuous aftermath could have evolved into the more complex <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-life-and-environment-co-evolved-over-500-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">life</a> forms that appeared shortly after.



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‘Snowball Earth’ event set the stage for complex life

Some of the most dramatic climate events in history are the Snowball Earth episodes, which occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. Nearly the entire planet was covered in ice up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) thick during these periods.&nbsp; The rare Snowball Earth events did not follow regular cycles but lasted for millions to tens of millions of years before being followed by intense warming. Despite their significance, the details surrounding how these frozen periods ended are still not fully understood. A new study led by...

Climate variability is driving more intense thunderstorms In a new study from <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University</a>, experts report that large thunderstorms in the Southern Great Plains of the United States have increased in frequency and intensity. The researchers found that these shifts are linked to climate variability.

"Thunderstorms in the Southern Great Plains of the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=united+states&amp;cvid=888d8d75d7de4a93b790b987d05b1ca8&amp;aqs=edge.0.0l5j69i61l2.1836j0j9&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">United States</a> are among the strongest on Earth and have been shown to be increasing in intensity and frequency during recent years," explained the researchers.

"Assessing changes in storm characteristics under different climate scenarios, however, remains highly uncertain due to limitations in climate model physics."

The current study was focused on isotopes from Texas cave stalactites that date back between 30,000 and 50,000 years. The researchers analyzed oxygen isotopes contained in the stalactites to identify thunderstorm trends of the past. 

"Storm regimes shift from weakly to strongly organized on millennial timescales and are coincident with well-known abrupt climate shifts during the last glacial period," the study authors found. 

"Modern-day synoptic analysis suggests that thunderstorm organization in the Southern Great Plains is strongly coupled to changes in large-scale wind and moisture patterns."

According to the experts, understanding these changes will not only help reconstruct past thunderstorm patterns, but will also help predict the mid-latitude patterns that will emerge in the decades to come. 

"Proxy records are available in the Southern Great Plains within caves," said study co-author Christopher Maupin. "There are probably thousands of caves in Southern Great Plains and in southern Texas. Why hasn't more research occurred in those areas? Cave deposits are so promising as proxies."

Study co-author Courtney Schumacher said that scientists understand modern-day rainfall patterns. "However, we don't know what will happen in the future, and this work will help predict trends of storms in the future," said Schumacher. Climate variability is driving more intense thunderstorms

"If we can run a climate model for the past which is consistent with cave records, and run that same model moving forward, we can trust its findings more if it matched the cave records versus if they didn't. Out of two models, if one really matches the cave isotopes then you can trust that one in understanding storm distribution in the future."

"There are really important questions about what has happened in the past regarding big weather events we get through mesoscale convective systems (large storms) versus non-mesoscale (smaller storms) stuff."

"We get so much precipitation from really big storms, and model grids can't capture big weather events, because the grids themselves are so big. Paleoclimatology helps with organizing past events to develop a proxy record of how they respond to mean climate."

Schumacher noted that large storms which cover hundreds of miles provide around 50 to 80 percent of the rainfall in Texas.

"These thunderstorms are so big that even if most of the rain occurs in Oklahoma, rain in Texas will still carry isotopic signature of these huge storms," said Maupin. 

"You're fingerprinting these systems despite where they occur, and they don't have to be super localized to be recognized. Big storms cause depleted isotopic signatures. You can't explain the variability in stalactites with temperature changes alone."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate variability is driving more intense thunderstorms

Climate variability is driving more intense thunderstorms In a new...

More than half of the structures in the United States are threatened by natural disasters, including floods, tornadoes, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/western-u-s-wildfires-will-increase-the-threat-of-dangerous-debris-flows/">wildfires</a>, according to a new study published by the <a href="https://www.agu.org/">American Geophysical Union</a>. 

While this dangerous trend is strongly influenced by clinate change and rising temperatures, the experts have found that risky development and land use changes are also to blame. 

Study lead author Virginia Iglesias is a research scientist in the University of Colorado Boulder Earth Lab.

"We know that climate change is increasing the risk of damage from some natural hazards," said Iglesias. "But are losses also increasing because of the way that we are developing our cities, our towns?"

To investigate, the researchers assembled maps of earthquake, flood, hurricane, tornado and wildfire hazards and compared them to a unique dataset of historical land-use derived from Zillow's housing and property database. 

By mapping where the probability or magnitude of a natural disaster event fell in the top 10 percent, the experts identified natural hazard hotspots.

"Since development patterns drive exposure and loss, more detailed mapping can improve national-scale risk assessments," said Iglesias. "This study fills a gap by exploring changes in hazard exposure across the country, at fine resolution, for multiple hazards, and over long periods."

&nbsp;

The researchers found that 57 percent of the structures in the contiguous United States are in natural hazard hotspots. The experts report about 1.5 million structures are in hotspots of two or more natural hazards. 

The study showed that the number of structures in natural hazard hotspots is still increasing, despite a national slowdown in development over the last decade.

The team also established regional development patterns that affect hazard risk. For example, they linked a greater vulnerability to hurricanes and earthquakes with the increasing number of buildings and homes going up in cities or suburbs that are already developed.

The researchers suggest that local decision makers could use the methods innovated in this study to improve risk assessments and to better understand the socio-economic variables that might increase the risk exposure of neighborhoods or communities.

"Vulnerability matters. There's evidence that natural disasters exacerbate socioeconomic inequality," said Iglesias. "If we want to make decisions that effectively increase the ability of communities to cope with natural hazards, we need to know where vulnerable populations live, and the specific hazards they're exposed to."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23284277">Earth's Future</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nearly 60 percent of all U.S. structures threatened by natural disasters

More than half of the structures in the United States...

Sexual competition among males important for maintaining genetically healthy populations. A new study from <a href="https://www.uu.se/en">Uppsala University</a> describes how sexual selection eliminates bad mutations, and helps to pass along genes to offspring that tend to increase their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-fast-bad-heart/">fitness</a>.

"When deleterious mutations are purged from a population through rigorous selection in males, resulting in fewer males reproducing, the process can take place with little or no effect on population growth."

"This is because relatively few males suffice to fertilize all the females in a population, hence, whether those females are fertilized by few males or many males makes little or no difference to the number of offspring those females can produce, especially in species where the male doesn't look after its own offspring," explained study lead author Karl Grieshop, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Toronto.

"By contrast, such rigorous selection in females would result in fewer females reproducing, hence fewer offspring produced, which could lead to a massive population decline or even extinction.'

The researchers analyzed 16 genetic strains of seed beetle to investigate how the number of deleterious mutations in each affected their reproductive ability. 

The experts quantified the cumulative effects of each strain's unique set of mutations through the intensive inbreeding of strains followed by crosses among them. This showed that the mutations harmed both females and males nearly equally. 

However, when the team looked at just the crosses among strains, which is the more more how selection would act in nature, the mutational effects only impacted male fitness. In the females, the deleterious effects of the mutations they carried were not detectable in this more genetically variable background.

"This indicates that although these mutations do have a detrimental effect on females' reproduction, they are more effectively removed from the population by selection acting on male carriers than female carriers," said Grieshop.

"Previous research from our group and others has succeeded in showing this effect by artificially inducing mutations, but this is the first direct evidence that it ensues for naturally occurring variants of genes."

According to the researchers, their study sheds new light on the old question of why so many multicellular organisms use sexual reproduction.

"Production of males causes a decrease in the reproductive capacity of a species, since males themselves contribute less than females to the production of offspring. The question, then, is why a species evolves to reproduce sexually, instead of just producing females through asexual reproduction," said study co-author David Berger.

"Our study shows that production of males, which may engage in intense competition for the chance to mate, enables faster purging of deleterious mutations from the population, which could thereby enable a healthier set of genes and higher reproductive capacity relative to asexual reproduction."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20563744">Evolution Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Males are responsible for the genetic fitness of a population

Sexual competition among males important for maintaining genetically healthy populations....

Millions of people worldwide will be suffering from starvation, disease, and extreme heat by 2050, according to a shocking new report from the UN's <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> that has been obtained early by <a href="https://www.afp.com/en/news-hub">Agence France-Presse</a> (AFP). 

The report, which was set to be released next year, warns that the devastating effects of climate change will reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. This is largely due to the fact that melting glaciers and thawing permafrost are already set to release tons of carbon dioxide emissions, regardless of mitigation efforts.

In the decades since the Industrial Revolution, the Earth has warmed by roughly two degrees Fahrenheit, according to NASA. 

The IPCC scientists warn that we are currently on track to reach 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit "at best." The researchers explained that prolonged warming - even beyond 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit - could produce "progressively serious, centuries' long and, in some cases, irreversible consequences." 

The experts have determined that by the middle of the century, 130 million people will face starvation, 350 million will suffer from prolonged drought, and 420 million more people will be exposed to extreme and potentially deadly heat waves.  

Furthermore, millions of people who live along coastlines around the world could be battered by multiple climate calamities at once: drought, heatwaves, cyclones, wildfires and flooding.

"The worst is yet to come, affecting our children's and grandchildren's lives much more than our own," says the UN report. "Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions."

Simon Lewis, a professor of global change science at University College London, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/">The Guardian</a> that nothing in the IPCC report should be a surprise, as all the information comes from the scientific literature. "But put together, the stark message from the IPCC is that increasingly severe heat waves, fires, floods and droughts are coming our way with dire impacts for many countries."

"On top of this are some irreversible changes, often called tipping points, such as where high temperatures and droughts mean parts of the Amazon rainforest can’t persist. These tipping points may then link, like toppling dominoes.”

“The exact timing of tipping points and the links between them is not well understood by scientists, so they have been under-reported in past IPCC assessments. The blunter language from the IPCC this time is welcome, as people need to know what is at stake if society does not take action to immediately slash carbon emissions.”

The IPCC said in a statement that it does not comment on the contents of draft reports while the research is still ongoing. AFP noted that the official report, which is intended to influence critical policy decisions, is not scheduled for release until February of 2022.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Shocking UN report: The worst of climate change is yet to come

Millions of people worldwide will be suffering from starvation, disease,...

Eating milk chocolate in the morning may lead to unexpected health benefits, such as burning fat throughout the day, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/">Brigham and Women's Hospital</a>. 

The researchers found that consuming milk chocolate during a specific time of the morning may help prevent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-loss-can-be-achieved-at-any-age-with-simple-lifestyle-changes/">weight</a> gain and decrease blood sugar levels.

In collaboration with investigators at the University of Murcia in Spain, the team conducted a randomized trial. A group of postmenopausal women consumed 100 grams of chocolate either in the morning within an hour after waking time or at night within an hour before bedtime. 

After two weeks, the researchers measured weight gain and other effects and compared the health outcomes with that of participants who did not consume chocolate during the study period. 

The investigation revealed that morning or nighttime chocolate consumption did not lead to weight gain, despite an increase in caloric intake. The experts also found that eating chocolate in the morning or in the evening can influence hunger and appetite, microbiota composition, and sleep quality. 

"Our findings highlight that not only 'what' but also 'when' we eat can impact physiological mechanisms involved in the regulation of body weight," said study co-author Dr. Frank A. J. L. Scheer.

The researchers determined that a high intake of chocolate during the morning hours could help to burn fat and reduce blood glucose levels.

"To investigate why volunteers didn’t gain significant body weight, we explored different aspects of energy intake and expenditure. Results show that chocolate reduced ad libitum energy intake, consistent with the observed reduction in hunger, appetite and the desire for sweets shown in previous studies," explained the study authors. 

"While the volunteers had an increase of energy intake due to chocolate’s extra calories as compared to the non-chocolate condition, they spontaneously reduced their ad libitum energy intake by 16% when eating chocolate in the morning." 

"This happened even though females consumed milk chocolate that has been shown to have less of an effect in decreasing appetite than dark chocolate."

"The study was limited to postmenopausal females. Therefore, further studies should be performed in men and younger females, to confirm these results."

The study is published in the <a href="https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15306860">FASEB Journal</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Eating chocolate in the morning may help you lose weight

Eating milk chocolate in the morning may lead to unexpected...

East Asia endured a coronavirus epidemic 20,000 years ago, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.qut.edu.au/">Queensland University of Technology</a>. The researchers have discovered traces of the outbreak in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-holds-genetic-material-from-the-coronavirus/">genetic</a> makeup of people from the region, which is now China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan.

"The modern human genome contains evolutionary information tracing back tens of thousands of years, like studying the rings of a tree gives us insight into the conditions it experienced as it grew," explained study co-author Professor Alexandrov.

There have been three severe outbreaks of coronaviruses in the last 20 years. By far the worst of these events is the ongoing outbreak SARS-CoV-2, which has claimed 3.8 million lives over the last 18 months. 

In 2002, SARS-CoV infections led to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed more than 800 people. More than 850 people were killed by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which was caused by the coronavirus MERS-CoV. 

Using genetic data from the 1000 Genomes Project, the QUT looked for changes in the genes coding for SARS-CoV-2 interacting proteins.

"Computational scientists on the team applied evolutionary analysis to the human genomic dataset to discover evidence that the ancestors of East Asian people experienced an epidemic of a coronavirus-induced disease similar to COVID-19," said Professor Alexandrov.

"In the course of the epidemic, selection favored variants of pathogenesis-related human genes with adaptive changes presumably leading to a less severe disease."

"By developing greater insights into the ancient viral foes, we gain understanding of how genomes of different human populations adapted to the viruses that have been recently recognised as a significant driver of human evolution."

"Another important offshoot of this research is the ability to identify viruses that have caused epidemic in the distant past and may do so in the future."

"This, in principle, enables us to compile a list of potentially dangerous viruses and then develop diagnostics, vaccines and drugs for the event of their return."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

East Asia endured a coronavirus outbreak 20,000 years ago

East Asia endured a coronavirus epidemic 20,000 years ago, according...

The largest human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-got-their-diverse-skulls-in-the-time-of-dinosaurs/">skull</a>, the so-called Harbin cranium, sits in collections at a museum in Hebei GEO University in China. Researchers now think that the skull could belong to our nearest relative, "Dragon Man," replacing Neanderthals in this important position. 

Three papers published by <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a> in the June 25th issue of the journal Innovation support this position. 

“The Harbin fossil is one of the most complete human cranial fossils in the world," said study co-author Professor Qiang Ji. "This fossil preserved many morphological details that are critical for understanding the evolution of the Homo genus and the origin of Homo sapiens."

The fossil is now described as a new species, Homo longi or Dragon Man. The skull was first discovered in the 1930s in China and holds a brain larger than the modern human brain, large squarish eye sockets and large brow ridges. The mouth is wide with large teeth. 

The skull is believed to have belonged to a 50-year-old male that lived in a forested floodplain as part of a small hunter-gatherer community. The individual was almost certainly quite large by modern human standards.  

Using chemical analysis, the researchers dated the skull to 146,000 years old, a time when many Homo sapiens populations were on the move and it’s possible that H. longi may have encountered H. sapiens in the area. It’s an open question whether like Neanderthals, if there may have been hybridization between the two species. 

The paleontologists created a new tree of life for humans, including Dragon Man as our sister group and Neanderthals as a more distant relative that diverged from our lineage further back in time. Only time will tell if further discoveries will complicate or validate this new view of human evolution.     

"It is widely believed that the Neanderthal belongs to an extinct lineage that is the closest relative of our own species. However, our discovery suggests that the new lineage we identified that includes Homo longi is the actual sister group of H. sapiens," explained study co-author Professor Xijun Ni. 

The new human tree of life also suggests that our common ancestor with Neanderthals existed even further back in time.

"The divergence time between H. sapiens and the Neanderthals may be even deeper in evolutionary history than generally believed, over one million years," said Professor Ni.

"Altogether, the Harbin cranium provides more evidence for us to understand Homo diversity and evolutionary relationships among these diverse Homo species and populations. We found our long-lost sister lineage."

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

"Dragon Man" may be our new closest relative

The largest human skull, the so-called Harbin cranium, sits in...

Some <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/neanderthals-may-have-communicated-like-modern-humans/">Neanderthals</a> may have actually originated in the Levant region of Western Asia and not in Europe, according to a new study from <a href="https://english.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a>. The experts have discovered a previously unknown group of humans, with distinct features and characteristics, that resemble Pre-Neanderthal populations in Europe. 

The new finding suggests that two types of Homo groups lived side by side in the Levant region of Western Asia for more than 100,000 years, sharing knowledge and tool technologies. The research indicates that the Nesher Ramla people, who lived in the region from around 400,000 years ago, were joined by Homo sapiens about 200,000 years later.

According to the researchers, at least some of the later Homo fossils found previously in Israel do not belong to early Homo sapiens, but to groups of mixed Homo sapiens and Nesher Ramla lineage - the Nesher Ramla Homo type.

"The discovery of a new type of Homo is of great scientific importance. It enables us to make new sense of previously found human fossils, add another piece to the puzzle of human evolution, and understand the migrations of humans in the old world," said study co-author Professor Israel Hershkovitz.

"Even though they lived so long ago, in the late middle Pleistocene (474,000-130,000 years ago), the Nesher Ramla people can tell us a fascinating tale, revealing a great deal about their descendants' evolution and way of life."

The relevant human fossil was found by Dr. Yossi Zaidner from the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem during salvage excavations at the Nesher Ramla prehistoric site.

"This is an extraordinary discovery. We had never imagined that alongside Homo sapiens, archaic Homo roamed the area so late in human history. The archaeological finds associated with human fossils show that 'Nesher Ramla Homo' possessed advanced stone-tool production technologies and most likely interacted with the local Homo sapiens," explained Dr. Zaidner.

Professor Hershkovitz noted that the discovery of the Nesher Ramla Homo type challenges the prevailing hypothesis that the Neanderthals originated in Europe. 

"Before these new findings, most researchers believed the Neanderthals to be a 'European story', in which small groups of Neanderthals were forced to migrate southwards to escape the spreading glaciers, with some arriving in the Land of Israel about 70,000 years ago," said Professor Hershkovitz.

"The Nesher Ramla fossils make us question this theory, suggesting that the ancestors of European Neanderthals lived in the Levant as early as 400,000 years ago, repeatedly migrating westward to Europe and eastward to Asia. In fact, our findings imply that the famous Neanderthals of Western Europe are only the remnants of a much larger population that lived here in the Levant - and not the other way around."

According to Dr. Hila May of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, the discovery may help to solve the mystery of how genes from Homo sapiens penetrated the Neanderthal population that had presumably lived in Europe long before the arrival of Homo sapiens.

"Europe was not the exclusive refugium of Neanderthals from where they occasionally diffused into West Asia," said Professor Gerhard Weber of Vienna University. "We think that there was much more lateral exchange in Eurasia, and that the Levant is geographically a crucial starting point, or at a least bridgehead, for this process."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New type of prehistoric human found in the Levant

Some Neanderthals may have actually originated in the Levant region...

There is a general rule for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-mammals-actually-benefit-from-human-disturbance/">mammal</a> vocalizations - the larger the animal’s vocal fold, the lower the vocalization’s fundamental frequency. Large vocal folds such as those found in Asian elephants set an upper limit to the fundamental frequency of sounds produced by them.

In keeping with this rule, many of the sounds Asian elephants produce are low frequency calls - trumpets and infrasonic rumbles below the threshold of human hearing. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.univie.ac.at/en/">University of Vienna</a> have been studying these vocalizations for decades.

Asian elephants - but not their African cousins - make a high pitched squeaking noise that cannot, if the rule holds, be produced by their large vocal folds. To investigate, the experts analyzed the squeak sounds in Asian elephants from Nepal. 

The research team used 48 microphones and a special camera that translates the location of sounds into colors, similar to a heat sensing camera. In this way, the precise location of each sound was visually mapped as it was created. 

The researchers discovered that the squeaking sound is created by the elephant’s mouth, not by the trunk as in trumpeting. 

"Our results strongly suggest that Asian elephants force air from the small oral cavity through the tensed lips, inducing self-sustained lip vibration. Besides human brass players, lip buzzing is not described elsewhere in the animal kingdom," wrote the study authors.

"Given the complexity of the proposed mechanism, the surprising absence of squeaking in most of the unrelated subjects and the indication for volitional control, we hypothesize that squeak production involves social learning."

The research supports other recent discoveries which show that elephants have the ability to learn and repeat novel sounds they hear. The study highlights the elephant’s vocal flexibility as well as their learning capacity. 

"Our study offers new insights into how vocal and cognitive flexibility enables mammals to overcome size-related limitations of laryngeal sound production," said the researchers.

"This flexibility enables Asian elephants to exploit a frequency range spanning seven octaves within their communicative system."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/">BMC Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Asian elephants vibrate their lips like human brass players

There is a general rule for mammal vocalizations - the...

Nearly 17 million Americans had undiagnosed COVID-19 infections during the first wave of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/indoor-air-quality-standards-needed-to-prevent-pandemics/">pandemic</a>, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">AAAS</a>. The experts report that by July of 2020, there were about five undiagnosed COVID-19 infections for every single diagnosed case.

The study reveals that women, people under the age of 45, African Americans, and city dwellers had the highest rate of undiagnosed infections. 

"The majority of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop robust antibody responses against the viral spike protein, nucleocapsid protein, and the envelope protein that can be detected by serological testing," wrote the study authors.

"Antibodies against spike protein persist for months and can neutralize SARS-CoV-2. Frequently, these neutralizing antibodies bind to the receptor binding domain of the spike protein, but antibodies against the spike protein S2 domain have also been observed."

"To characterize the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States, we evaluated seropositivity in a national survey of participants who had not previously been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection."

A team of researchers led by Heather Kalish of the National Institutes of Health analyzed blood samples from 8,058 undiagnosed adults. The samples were mainly collected from early May to the end of July 2020. 

The experts found that 304 of the participants harbored antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and its receptor binding domain. 

The results suggest that there was a much larger spread of COVID-19 than previously realized, which included undiagnosed infections in at least 4.6 percent of the U.S. population.

"This study demonstrates that spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the US during the first six months of the pandemic was more widespread than has been suggested by data reporting diagnostic test-confirmed cases," wrote the researchers.

"These results, including the subgroup analysis, give us a previously undescribed view into the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic by more clearly identifying the large numbers of individuals with undiagnosed infections during the initial months of the pandemic. These data are of great importance as we consider the impact vaccination may have on the future course of the pandemic and plan for current and future available vaccines to be administered." 

"In addition, these data can also help us to better assess the public health measures taken during the pandemic and how to take the best approaches forward during any future public health emergencies."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://stm.sciencemag.org/">Science Translational Medicine</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

&nbsp;

Millions of Americans had undiagnosed COVID-19 infections

Nearly 17 million Americans had undiagnosed COVID-19 infections during the...

Most models for viral transmission focus on humans spreading viruses that infect other humans. However, other factors may also be at play when it comes to transmission of viruses like the one that causes COVID-19, including tree pollen.

Researchers noticed a correlation between the increase of pollen and an increase in COVID-19 infections. In a new study from the <a href="https://www.aip.org/">American Institute of Physics</a>, Talib Dbouk and Dimitris Drikakis set out to investigate how pollen distribution may assist in the spread of SARS-COV-2 and other viruses.

The experts used a computer model to show how pollen moves in a willow. The computer model recreated a realistic tree producing pollen amidst a gathering of roughly 100 people, some of which were infected by COVID-19. 

"This included thousands of tree leaves and pollen grain particles, hundreds of stems and a realistic gathering of a crowd of about 100 individuals at about 20 meters from the tree," explained Dbouk.

As the tree pollen was caught in the wind and spread through the crowd of people, some of the particles attached to COVID-19 particles, carrying them farther than they would have traveled alone. 

Every grain of pollen can carry hundreds of virus particles, and a tree can populate a cubic meter of air with 1,500 grains on some days. The research suggests that pollen could have a significant impact on virus transmission, changing normal human to human dynamics.     

"In the case of high pollen grains concentrations in the air or during pollination in the spring, the social distance of 2 meters does not hold as a health safety measure for an outdoor crowd," explained the study authors. "Thus, the public authorities should revise the social distancing guidelines."

Although this study focused mainly on COVID-19 transmissions, the researchers hope that the paper increases interest in fluid dynamics of trees. 

They plan on carrying out more research on how these dynamics affect human respiration under different atmospheric conditions next.    

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf">Physics of Fluids</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Trees spread COVID-19 through pollen

Most models for viral transmission focus on humans spreading viruses...

In the mid-2030s, the frequency of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overtopping-threatens-the-future-of-coastal-habitats/">coastal</a> flooding will drastically increase across multiple regions in the United States, according to a new study from <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/">UH Mānoa</a>. The projections show rapid increases in the number of high-tide flooding (HTF) days, as well as extreme months.

Study lead author Phil Thompson is the director of the UH Sea Level Center and assistant professor of Oceanography in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).

"We expect the most rapid increases to be along U.S. Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coastlines, which includes Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. This is important, because this is the point at which high-tide flooding transitions from being primarily a local or regional issue and becomes a national issue affecting a majority of our nation's coastlines," said Professor Thompson. 

The researchers analyzed tide gauge data from 89 coastal locations around the United States, including 10 locations from Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. To project future occurrences of high-tide flooding, the team developed a new statistical technique that combines changes in tidal range with NOAA sea level rise scenarios for the 21st century.

The study shows that in the coming decades, sea-level rise will exacerbate the issue where it is already a recurring problem, while many more locations will begin to experience recurrent high-tide flooding.

The researchers found that annual cycles in tides can coincide with oceanographic anomalies to produce many high-tide flooding episodes over a short amount of time, leading to extreme months with clustered events.

"Scientists, engineers and decision-makers are accustomed to thinking about rare high-impact events, for example, a 100-year storm, but we demonstrate that it is important to plan for extreme months or seasons during which the number of flooding episodes, rather than the magnitude, is exceptional," said Professor Thompson.

The experts also determined that natural fluctuations in tidal range, which occur from one decade to the next, are responsible for alternately reducing and exacerbating the impacts of sea level rise.

"Understanding and communicating this phenomenon reduces the possibility of complacency and inaction during periods of reduced impacts and helps us be more prepared for periods when impacts will be heightened," said Professor Thompson. 

"As an island state with much of its infrastructure and economy vulnerable to sea level rise, these results are crucial to understanding how impacts from sea level rise will evolve in coming decades in Hawaii."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

High-tide flooding will rapidly increase along the U.S. coastline

In the mid-2030s, the frequency of coastal flooding will drastically...

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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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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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

[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"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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...