Invasive species pose a significant challenge to ecosystems and agriculture, often spreading unnoticed until they have caused considerable damage. Conservationists and growers now have an unusual new ally in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly - trained dogs.



A recent study published in the journal Ecosphere highlights how these detection dogs outperform humans in identifying lanternfly egg masses in challenging environments, offering a novel strategy to curb the pest’s spread.



"Preventing the introduction of invasive species is championed as the most cost-effective and efficient strategy for avoiding negative impacts on systems," noted the researchers.



"However, once a species has been introduced, the next best option is to detect the population and eliminate it before it becomes established and spreads more widely across the landscape."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spotted-lanternfly-infestations">Spotted lanternfly infestations </h2>



First detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, the spotted lanternfly has now infested 19 states, including New York. This invasive insect feeds on woody plants like grapes, apples, hops, and various trees, causing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/growing-threat-of-invasive-species-requires-immediate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">widespread destruction</a>.



“A spotted lanternfly infestation in a vineyard can cause 80% to 100% mortality of the vines in one growing season,” said study co-author Angela Fuller, a professor in Cornell’s Department of <a href="https://cals.cornell.edu/natural-resources-environment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural Resources and the Environment</a>.



Fuller also noted the financial burden of infestations. “Infestations also increase the amount of insecticide that growers need to use, which can increase costs by up to 170% in a growing season.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-training-dogs-for-invasive-species-detection">Training dogs for invasive species detection</h2>



In collaboration with the <a href="https://www.nynjtc.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York-New Jersey Trail Conference</a> and <a href="https://wd4c.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Working Dogs for Conservation</a>, researchers trained a Labrador retriever and a Belgian malinois to sniff out the lanternfly’s egg masses.



These organizations have previously trained dogs to detect invasive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-have-become-one-of-the-worlds-most-invasive-predators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> and pathogens, making them well-equipped for this task.



The study compared the efficiency of human and canine detection in 20 vineyards across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 



The researchers mapped transects in vineyard rows and adjacent forests, where egg masses are likely to overwinter. Humans and dogs surveyed the areas on separate days to prevent cross-contamination of scents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-outperform-humans-in-forests">Dogs outperform humans in forests</h2>



While humans excelled in detecting invasive egg masses in vineyards, dogs proved superior in forested areas. In vineyards, humans detected 1.8 times more egg masses than dogs, finding 31 egg masses per hour compared to the dogs’ 24. 



Fuller attributed this to humans’ ability to systematically search vines and poles, whereas dogs relied on scent and conducted more random searches. In forests, however, dogs excelled, finding 3.4 times more egg masses than humans. 



“The dogs find egg masses by smell,” Fuller explained. “In a very <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unseen-crisis-37000-alien-species-have-been-introduced-by-human-activities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">complex environment</a>, it’s easier for a dog to smell something than it is for a human to see something that is small and cryptic.” 



Dogs located 7.6 egg masses per hour in forests compared to humans’ 6.7 per hour.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-importance-of-invasive-species-detection">Importance of invasive species detection</h2>



The study emphasizes the importance of early detection in managing the lanternfly’s spread. Dogs performed exceptionally well in areas with low egg mass densities, making them invaluable for rapid response efforts. 



Fuller noted that while dogs take more time to search than humans, the added time is worth it. 



“The extra time that dogs take to find them is not as important as it is to find them in the first place, because you need to detect the egg masses in order to eradicate them,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insights-into-lanternfly-behavior">Insights into lanternfly behavior</h2>



Using computer modeling, the researchers identified patterns in lanternfly egg mass distribution. They found higher occupancy rates in vineyards than forests, particularly on metal poles. 



Vineyards near forests had higher lanternfly populations, likely because the insects don’t disperse far and often migrate from nearby trees.



“If you’re searching in a vineyard close to the forest, that’s more likely where they’re going to be,” Fuller said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-combating-invasive-species-with-dogs">Combating invasive species with dogs </h2>



This innovative approach offers hope for combating invasive species like the spotted lanternfly. 



By combining human surveys with trained detection dogs, growers and conservationists can strengthen their defense against this destructive pest.



The integration of canine detection into pest management strategies represents a significant step forward in protecting vital ecosystems and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/non-native-species-are-spreading-at-an-exponential-rate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agricultural resources</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70113" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecosphere</a>.



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Trained dogs can sniff out invasive pests in forests

Invasive species pose a significant challenge to ecosystems and agriculture, often spreading unnoticed until they have caused considerable damage. Conservationists and growers now have an unusual new ally in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly - trained dogs. A recent study published in the journal Ecosphere highlights how these detection dogs outperform humans in identifying lanternfly egg masses in challenging environments, offering a novel strategy to curb the pest’s spread. "Preventing the introduction of invasive species is championed as the most cost-effective and efficient strategy for avoiding...

New research shows that healthy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-memories-of-fear-are-seared-into-our-brains/">brains</a> fluctuate a lot more in temperature than what was previously known. The study has also revealed that brains are generally warmer than other parts of the body. While normal oral temperatures run around 37°C, the average brain temperature can be 38.5°C, with deeper brain regions sometimes more than 40°C. The brain is particularly hot among women throughout the day, according to the study.&nbsp;



Previous temperature data relied on numbers from intensive care patients, where brain monitoring is essential. Recently, a technique known as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has led to non-invasive monitoring in healthy individuals and new data on "normal" brains. For the current investigation, the experts used MRS to monitor how brain temperatures change throughout the day.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“To me, the most surprising finding from our study is that the healthy human brain can reach temperatures that would be diagnosed as fever anywhere else in the body," said Dr. John O’Neill, group leader at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology. "Such high temperatures have been measured in people with brain injuries in the past, but had been assumed to result from the injury.”



“We found that brain temperature drops at night before you go to sleep and rises during the day. There is good reason to believe this daily variation is associated with long-term brain health - something we hope to investigate next.”



The scientists used 40 volunteers from the ages of 20 to 40 whose brains were scanned in the morning, afternoon and late evening. The study participants were also given wrist worn monitors to take into account activity levels and individual variations in each person’s "body clock."&nbsp;



The results showed that there is an overall higher temperature in the brain with age. The scientists hypothesize that it might be harder for the brain to cool off as we grow older.&nbsp;



The researchers were able to compare the data from the volunteers to previous medical data and create a map of the human brain, though they say more data is still needed.&nbsp;



“Using the most comprehensive exploration to date of normal human brain temperature, we’ve established ‘HEATWAVE’ - a 4D temperature map of the brain. This map provides an urgently-needed reference resource against which patient data can be compared, and could transform our understanding of how the brain works," said Dr. Nina Rzechorzek, MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow from the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology who led the study.



"That a daily brain temperature rhythm correlates so strongly with survival after TBI suggests that round-the-clock brain temperature measurement holds great clinical value.”



The scientists hope that their research may be used in the future to better understand and treat brain disorders.&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/brain">Brain</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Surprising study reveals that healthy brains run hot

New research shows that healthy brains fluctuate a lot more...

A new survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of <a href="https://www.orlandohealth.com/">Orlando Health</a> finds that men are likely to be skipping a simple yet critical step in a healthy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hummingbirds-cannot-maintain-an-energetic-lifestyle-at-high-altitudes/">lifestyle</a>: an annual checkup with their doctor.&nbsp;



The survey found a third of men (33%) don’t think they need annual health screenings and almost two-thirds (65%) believe they are naturally healthier than others in general. This is statistically impossible, argues Dr. Thomas Kelley, a family medicine specialist at Orlando Health Physician Associates.&nbsp;



“Even if you think you’re healthy and you’re not experiencing any symptoms, there can be developing issues that often go unnoticed and can also be life-threatening if left unchecked. Some of those include rising blood pressure that can be a ticking time bomb for a heart attack or stroke, as well as colon cancer, which is one of the most deadly yet preventable cancers that exist.”



As a primary care physician, Dr. Kelley has heard many excuses from his male patients as to why they skip appointments. He believes the underlying reason is often fear.



“If you're a man and you haven't been to the doctor in a while, you don't really know what to expect.” said Dr. Kelley. “One of the big things that makes it less scary is having that great relationship with a primary care physician, and most men find the process to be easier than they thought. It takes about half an hour and by the end of the appointment you have the big picture about where you stand, what you’re at risk for and what you need to do for your health in the future.”



Kelley says building trust with your doctor can reduce nerves and help make conversations comfortable, which often creates confidence in returning.&nbsp;



But first, doctors need to get patients in the door. The survey found that 38 percent of men often get medical advice from social media, which can be extremely problematic without reputable medical sources.&nbsp;



Nearly two in five men admit that they focus on their pet’s health more than their own. This wasn’t surprising to Kelley, who argues that taking care of yourself first and foremost is how you can provide care to the others in your life.&nbsp;



It’s never too late to get caught up on routine appointments and screenings. However, starting as soon as possible is key to taking control of your health.&nbsp;



Combining annual exams with regular exercise, a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water and finding ways to reduce stress can make a big difference in your overall health.&nbsp;



“It’s much easier to go to the doctor once a year for a wellness checkup and make certain that you’re not developing diabetes, high blood pressure or a heart problem, than to find yourself in an intensive care unit needing heart bypass surgery because you didn't look into those things,” said Dr. Kelley.



This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Orlando Health from May 9 - 11, 2022 among 893 U.S. adult men ages 18 and older.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Most men think they are naturally healthier than others

A new survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of...

According to new rules proposed by the Biden Administration on June 9, 2022, electric vehicles charging stations should be placed along Interstates every 50 miles, leading to half a million public charging stations by the end of the decade. These stations should be able to recharge cars quickly, and be located no more than a mile from a major highway. Moreover, they will be prohibited from requiring customers to have a membership or be part of a club in order to use them. 



“EV drivers should be able to count on finding a place to recharge easily wherever they go,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Everyone should be able to find a working charging station when and where they need it without worrying about paying more or getting worse service because of where they live.”



These proposed regulations outlined by Buttigieg and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm are part of the Biden administration’s efforts to incentivize widespread use of zero-emissions vehicles, with the goal of having half of all new vehicles sold in the United States electric by the end of this decade. If this initiative turns out to be successful, the country’s dependence on foreign oil will be reduced and emissions contributing to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-viruses-may-help-slow-climate-change/">climate change</a> could be significantly curbed.  



Each state will be required to provide at least four of the fastest types of recharging ports (known as “DirectCurrent fast chargers”)&nbsp;in order to allow multiple drivers to recharge their cars at the same time. Moreover, companies that build charging stations should provide a standard facility which can accommodate all models of electric vehicles.&nbsp;



These standards will apply to federally funded charging station in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and are designed to ensure that rural areas and communities would have equal access to electric charging stations as urban regions.



The government promised that it will provide $7.5 billion to create this nationwide network of charging stations until 2030. “If we’re going to build out infrastructure like we haven’t done since the Eisenhower era, we have to do it right,” said Mrs. Granholm.



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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

Biden lays out plan for electric vehicle charging stations

According to new rules proposed by the Biden Administration on...

According to a new study presented at <a href="https://endo2022.endocrine.org/">ENDO 2022</a> (the <a href="https://www.endocrine.org/">Endocrine Society</a>’s annual meeting), encouraging moderation, balance, and real-life engagement may help combat the overuse of wireless mobile devices, such as cell phones or tablets, and the subsequent adverse health effects such behaviors cause.



By reviewing existing data on the neuroscience underlying addiction to mobile devices, Dr. Nidhi Gupta – the founder of <a href="https://kapendocrine.com/">KAP Pediatric Endocrinology</a> in Franklin, Tennessee – has discovered that extensive screen time increases the prevalence of obesity, dyslipidemia, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. This study is an extension of Dr. Gupta’s previous research, in which she examined the role of mobile devices overuse in health care settings, and found that devices such as smartphones or tablets are often a source of distraction, errors, procrastination, and inefficiency for clinicians, often leading to an increased risk of burnout.



In the new study investigating the impact of mobile devices overuse on the general population, Dr. Gupta has found that each hour per day increase in screen time was correlated with a 0.05 to 0.07 increase in body mass index (BMI), most likely caused by online food marketing, distracted eating, and procrastination of physical activities. Moreover, sleep disturbances, daytime tiredness, depression, the odds of using illegal substances, and various cognitive and behavioral issues were also linked to the overuse of mobile devices.



“As a pediatric endocrinologist, the trend in smartphone-associated health disorders (obesity, sleep, and behavior issues) worries me. I often get asked by my patients, ‘What can we do about the screen time?’ A simple but loaded question. It opens multiple avenues to educate and inspire my patients and their families,” Dr. Gupta explained.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In order to reduce screen time, Dr. Gupta recommended turning off excessive notifications, deleting social media apps, using traditional alarm clocks, promoting “green time” instead of screen time, and closely supervising children’s use of wireless mobile devices.&nbsp;



In the case of clinicians, wearing a wristwatch instead of relying on mobile devices as timekeepers, setting boundaries for checking emails, decreasing reliance on text messages, and placing devices in a drawer for 30-minute intervals to work without distractions could significantly boost productivity and safeguard against a wide range of health issues linked to mobile devices overuse.



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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

Moderation is key to avoiding addiction to mobile devices

According to a new study presented at ENDO 2022 (the...

Prey often avoids predators by fleeing in seemingly random directions. Scientists have hypothesized that this unpredictable and sporadic behavior may help prey animals escape. Now, research published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a> has tested this theory.



For the study, researchers at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> observed robotic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-is-wiping-out-large-bodied-fish-in-the-amazon/">fish</a> with pre-programmed escape patterns that were either predictable or unpredictable. These robot prey fish were then presented to predatory blue acara cichlids. The robots initially remained still, like a prey fish momentarily paralyzed by fear. Then, the robots fled.&nbsp;



“Using robotic prey allowed us to present individual predators with one of two prey escape strategies: ‘predictable’ prey which repeatedly escaped in the same direction from one interaction with the predator to the next, or ‘unpredictable’ prey which escaped in random directions," explained study lead author Dr. Andrew Szopa-Comley.



The predators seemed to quickly adjust to the different types of prey robots. With the predictable prey, the predators adjusted their own speed upon approach, speeding up if the prey was expected to flee directly away but maintaining a slower speed for prey that fled sideways.&nbsp;



Interestingly, these speed adjustments were done from memory of past encounters, before the prey even moved. Unsurprisingly, the predators didn’t adjust their speed when approaching unpredictable prey.&nbsp;



The strange part of the results is that predators had very similar levels of success whether encountering an unpredictable prey robot or a predictable one. This flies in the face of the hypothesis that unpredictable behavior aids in escape.&nbsp;



“Our results suggest that the predators in our study were able to overcome the potential downsides of facing prey which behave unpredictably. From the prey’s point of view, this raises the question of whether unpredictable behaviour is as widely beneficial as was originally thought," explained study senior author Dr. Christos Ioannou.



The study shows how important it is for a predator to be able to adjust its own behavior to the success of the hunt or the failure of the hunted.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Robots reveal how fish hunt down unpredictable prey

Prey often avoids predators by fleeing in seemingly random directions....

According to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.18262">New Phytologist</a>, Lantana strigocamara&nbsp;– a highly invasive horticultural herb or shrub native to Central and South America - is the second-ever documented case of a plant creating blue-colored fruits with layered fat molecules, using a trick of light called “structural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/true-color-ancient-insects/">color</a>.”



Structural color is very common among animals. It is what gives many butterflies their bright blue coloring, or the peacock’s otherwise brown feathers their brilliant greens. This optical illusion of sorts is produced by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with light, and is very rare in the plant world. Until now, only six species of plants have been found to produce their fruits’ hues using structural color.



What makes L. strigocamara special is that it creates this structural color in the skin of its berries by using layers of lipid molecules, or fats – a phenomenon previously documented in only one other plant species, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/science/blue-fruits-viburnum.html">Viburnum tinus</a>. To create their unique colors, L. strigocamara’s blue fruits use microscopic structures in their skin to manipulate light and reflect the wavelengths human eyes perceive as blue, giving them a distinctive metallic finish.&nbsp;



Thus, structurally-colored berries have no color within themselves: when they are peeled and held up to the light, for instance, they look completely translucent. However, when placed against a dark background, they look blue again, due to nanostructures on their surface that are responsible for reflecting the color.



The scientists argue that, in evolutionary terms, structural coloring may help with seed dispersal, which could explain the fact that the handful of plants known to use this strategy are highly invasive and spread all over the world. By providing a strong contrast with the surrounding foliage, the mechanic, shiny nature of their fruit perhaps attracts animals to eat them and spread their seeds. Moreover, this theory could also fit with the fact that humans are highly interested in using these plants in horticulture.&nbsp;



“The fact that they made their way into horticulture suggests that we are susceptible to the same things are that other animals find attractive about them,” explained study co-author Stacey Smith, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado, Boulder</a>. “We're like, oh, look at that sparkly, cute thing. I should put that in my garden.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, another evolutionary explanation could be that the thick, fatty layer that creates the color is a protective mechanism for the plant, providing defenses against pathogens or improving the structural integrity of the fruit.



Scientists hope that, as more structurally colored fruits are discovered, they will manage to learn more about the evolutionary prompts for this fascinating mechanism. According to study lead author Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Boulder, so few of such plants have been found until now simply because people were not actively looking for them. “They're out there. We just haven’t seen them all yet,” she 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

Blue berries found to manipulate light using structural color

According to a new study published in the journal New...

Antarctica is dominated by ice, mainly two massive glacial ice sheets called the East and West Antarctic Ice Sheets. Unsurprisingly, these ice sheets have been losing mass in recent years.&nbsp;Two glaciers within these ice sheets - the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers - are especially threatened. Scientists estimate that at the current melt rates, the ice sheets together will add as much as 3.4 meters to rising sea levels in the coming centuries.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Now, new research led by the <a href="https://umaine.edu/">University of Maine</a> and the British Antarctic Survey has measured the rates of sea level change around Antarctica. The research shows something disturbing. The glaciers have been retreating at rates not seen for 5,500 years. Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers have lost 192,000 square kilometers and 162,300 square kilometers, respectively. These glaciers alone could add significantly to global sea level rises.&nbsp;



“We reveal that although these vulnerable glaciers were relatively stable during the past few millennia, their current rate of retreat is accelerating and already raising global sea level," said study co-author Dr Dylan Rood, an expert in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a>.



"These currently elevated rates of ice melting may signal that those vital arteries from the heart of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet have been ruptured, leading to accelerating flow into the ocean that is potentially disastrous for future global sea level in a warming world. Is it too late to stop the bleeding?"



During the mid Holocene, more than 5,000 years ago, the earth’s climate was much warmer than it is today. Because of the warmer climate, the scientists wanted to look at the sea levels to compare them to what may be our future. To look at the sea levels, the researchers studied sea shells and penguin bones, indicators of sea levels. Using carbon dating, they were able to pinpoint these remains in time.&nbsp;



Interestingly, sea levels in Antarctica seemed to be lower during the warmer period while at the same time higher globally. This is because the weight of glacial ice pushes land down, causing it to ride lower in the water and ride higher when the ice melts away, relieving the pressure.&nbsp;



Overall, the researchers have been able to see a drop in sea levels for Antarctica as the glaciers melted but a rise in sea levels nearly everywhere else. To further understand the phenomenon and hopefully find possible solutions, the scientists plan to carry out more research.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antarctic glaciers are melting at highest rate in 5,500 years

Antarctica is dominated by ice, mainly two massive glacial ice...

Scientists’ understanding of the Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-evidence-suggests-earths-inner-core-is-rotating/">inner core</a> – a hot, dense ball of solid iron the size of the planet Pluto – has expanded dramatically over the past three decades. In a new study, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences</a> has found that the inner core oscillates, contradicting previously proposed models that suggested it consistently rotates at a faster rate than the Earth’s surface. 



By analyzing seismic data, the experts discovered that the inner core changed direction in the six-year period from 1969 to 1974, a phenomenon that also explains the variation in the length of day that has been shown to oscillate persistently during the past few decades.



“From our findings, we can see the Earth’s surface shifts compared to its inner core, as people have asserted for 20 years,” said study co-author John E. Vidale, a professor of Earth Sciences at USC Dornsife. “However, our latest observations show that the inner core spun slightly slower from 1969-71 and then moved the other direction from 1971-74. We also note that the length of day grew and shrank as would be predicted. The coincidence of those two observations makes oscillation the likely interpretation.”



By analyzing seismic waves generated from Soviet underground nuclear bomb tests from 1971 to 1974 in the Arctic archipelago Novaya Zemlya, Professor Vidale and his colleagues found that the inner core rotated slower than previously predicted (approximately 0.1 degrees per year). Applying the same methodology to a pair of earlier atomic tests beneath Amchitka Island at the tip of the Alaskan archipelago, the researchers were surprised to discover that the inner core had reversed direction, sub-rotating at least a tenth of degree per year.



“The idea the inner core oscillates was a model that was out there, but the community has been split on whether it was viable,” Professor Vidale explained. “We went into this expecting to see the same rotation direction and rate in the earlier pair of atomic tests, but instead we saw the opposite. We were quite surprised to find that it was moving in the other direction.” These findings support the hypothesis that the inner core oscillates based on variations in the length of day (plus or minus 0.2 seconds during six years) and geomagnetic fields.



“The inner core is not fixed — it’s moving under our feet, and it seems to going back and forth a couple of kilometers every six years. One of the questions we tried to answer is, does the inner core progressively move or is it mostly locked compared to everything else in the long term? We’re trying to understand how the inner core formed and how it moves over time — this is an important step in better understanding this process,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm9916">Science Advances</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

Scientists find proof that the Earth’s inner core oscillates

Scientists’ understanding of the Earth’s inner core – a hot,...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> has found that the common Zophobas morio&nbsp;“superworm” is able to eat through polystyrene – a versatile, solid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-a-planetary-emergency/">plastic</a> used to make a large variety of consumer products - due to a bacterial enzyme in their gut. This discovery could help scientists engineer enzymes to degrade plastic waste in recycling plants through mechanical shredding followed by enzymatic biodegradation.&nbsp;



The researchers fed superworms different diets over a period of three weeks, with some of them given polystyrene foam, some bran, and others forced to fast.&nbsp;



“We found the superworms fed a diet of just polystyrene not only survived, but even had marginal weight gains,” said study senior author Christian Rinke, an expert in the genomics, ecology, and phylogeny of uncultured microbes. “This suggests the worms can derive energy from the polystyrene, most likely with the help of their gut microbes.”



Dr. Rinke and his team used a technique called metagenomics to identify several encoded enzymes that were able to degrade plastics such as polystyrene and styrene.&nbsp;



“Superworms are like mini recycling plants, shredding the polystyrene with their mouths and then feeding it to the bacteria in their gut. The breakdown products from this reaction can then be used by other microbes to create high-value compounds such as bioplastics,” Dr. Rinke explained.



In future research, the scientists aim to grow these gut bacteria in the laboratory and further test their ability to degrade various types of plastic waste.&nbsp;



“We can then look into how we can upscale this process to a level required for an entire recycling plant,” said study co-author Jiarun Sun, a doctoral student at the University of Queensland. If these initiatives turn out to be successful, plastic recycling on a mass scale could finally be a viable option for reducing plastic pollution.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000842">Microbiology Society</a>.&nbsp;



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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

Superworms capable of eating through plastic waste

A new study led by the University of Queensland has...

Due to climate change, the frequency of extreme weather phenomena, such as droughts, fires, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flash-floods-are-set-to-become-much-more-common-in-the-u-s/">floods</a> has significantly increased. Floods have a highly negative impact on agriculture, with scientists estimating that about 15 percent of global crop losses are due to flooding. 



However, an international team of experts has now found that a signaling molecule can make plants more resistant to flooding: the gaseous plant hormone ethylene causes plants to switch on a type of emergency power system helping them survive the lack of oxygen during flooding.



Plant species differ greatly in their ability to withstand long periods of flooding. “In the case of potatoes, the roots die after two days due to a lack of oxygen. Rice plants are much more resistant, able to survive their entire lives in waterlogged paddy fields,” explained study co-author Sjon Hartman, an expert in Plant Biology at the <a href="https://uni-freiburg.de/">University of Freiburg</a>.&nbsp;



Professor Hartman and his colleagues used Arabidopsis thaliana – a model organism for plant research - to examine how plants cope with flooding conditions. By placing Arabidopsis seedlings in a bell jar without light or oxygen and exposing them to ethylene gas, they found that the plants stopped root growth and switched energy production in the cells to oxygen-free metabolic processes. 



Moreover, the ethylene also seemed to protect the cells against harmful oxygen radicals which accumulate in oxygen-deprived plants.



“Plants notice that they are surrounded by water because the gas ethylene, which all plant cells produce, can no longer escape into the air,” said Professor Hartman. “Taken together, these rearrangements that ethylene triggers improve plant survival during and after flooding. As we better understand these signaling pathways, we can learn to make crops more resilient to flooding to combat climate change.”



Further research is needed to identify which species of plants are using these flood survival mechanisms, and to clarify how such processes could be artificially reproduced by scientists to improve the resilience of species that are less adapted to extreme weather conditions.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/plphys/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plphys/kiac245/6595039">Plant Physiology</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

What makes some plants resistant to flooding?

Due to climate change, the frequency of extreme weather phenomena,...

A new study has found that women can have a longer lifespan - beyond the age of 90 - with higher levels of optimism. This association was made across racial and ethnic groups in a study led by researchers at <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>.



“Although optimism itself may be affected by social structural factors, such as race and ethnicity, our research suggests that the benefits of optimism may hold across diverse groups,” said study lead author Hayami Koga, a PhD candidate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.



“A lot of previous work has focused on deficits or risk factors that increase the risks for diseases and premature death. Our findings suggest that there’s value to focusing on positive psychological factors, like optimism, as possible new ways of promoting longevity and healthy aging across diverse groups.”



Previously, the research group found that optimism was linked to a longer lifespan and longevity. However, this study only looked at white populations.&nbsp;



This time around, the participant pool was broadened to include women from various racial and ethnic groups. Including diverse participants in public health research helps to inform policy decisions.&nbsp;



For the investigation, the researchers analyzed data and survey responses from 159,255 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative, which included women aged 50–79 from 1993 to 1998. These individuals were followed for up to 26 years.&nbsp;



The results of the analysis showed that the 25 percent of women who were the most optimistic were likely to have a 5.4 percent longer lifespan and a 10 percent greater likelihood of living beyond 90 years.



No interactions were found between optimism and race or ethnicity, even after taking into account demographics, chronic conditions, and depression. The results may encourage people to reconsider decisions that affect their health.&nbsp;



“We tend to focus on the negative risk factors that affect our health,” said Koga. “It is also important to think about the positive resources such as optimism that may be beneficial to our health, especially if we see that these benefits are seen across racial and ethnic groups.”



The Women’s Health Initiative is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services.



The research is published in the <a href="https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15325415">Journal of the American Geriatrics Society</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Optimism appears to help women live longer

A new study has found that women can have a...

Monarch butterflies, with their distinctive orange, black and white colors, are perhaps the most familiar butterflies in North America. They are also famous for making their annual late-summer migration from southern Canada and the northern and central U.S., all the way south to California, Florida and Mexico. During these migrations, the butterflies travel thousands of miles and suffer considerable risk of mortality from factors such as poor weather, predation, pesticides and vehicle strikes.



For many years, scientists have recorded decreasing numbers of monarchs in their wintering colonies in the south. In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported a study that showed nearly a billion monarchs had vanished from the overwintering sites since 1990. Various researchers have warned that the butterflies are dying off in droves and that some populations are in danger of imminent extinction. However, a new research study from the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> has found that the summer population of monarchs has remained relatively stable over the past 25 years. &nbsp;



“There’s this perception out there that monarch populations are in dire trouble, but we found that’s not at all the case,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ecology.uga.edu/directory/andy-davis/">Andy Davis</a>, corresponding author of the study and an assistant research scientist in UGA’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ecology.uga.edu/">Odum School of Ecology</a>. “It goes against what everyone thinks, but we found that they’re doing quite well. In fact, monarchs are actually one of the most widespread butterflies in North America.”&nbsp;



In the current study, which is the largest and most comprehensive assessment of breeding monarch butterfly populations to date, researchers analyzed more than 135,000 observations from the North American Butterfly Association. These records were made between 1993 and 2018 by citizen scientists across North America, who took part in two-day butterfly surveys every summer. Each group of observers had a defined circle to patrol that spanned about 15 miles in diameter, and the observers counted all the butterflies they saw, including monarchs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The findings of this analysis, published today in the journal Global Change Biology, indicate an overall annual increase of 1.36 percent in the relative abundance of monarchs in their summer locations. This is contrary to the declines reported for wintering populations in Mexico and California in the past few years, and suggests that the successful survival and summer breeding in North America makes up for the winter losses.&nbsp;&nbsp;



As Davis explained, the marathon migratory journey to Mexico or California each fall may be getting more difficult for the butterflies as they face traffic, bad weather and more obstacles along the way south. So fewer butterflies are getting to their overwintering grounds alive.&nbsp;



“But when they come back north in the spring, they can really compensate for those losses,” Davis said. “A single female can lay 500 eggs, so they’re capable of rebounding tremendously, given the right resources. What that means is that the winter colony declines are almost like a red herring. They’re not really representative of the entire species’ population, and they’re kind of misleading. Even the recent increase in winter colony sizes in Mexico isn’t as important as some would like to think.”



One of the major concerns for conservationists is that the abundance of milkweed has declined across the monarch’s range, as GMO crops are sprayed with herbicide to kill off unwanted weeds. Milkweed is the sole source of food for monarch caterpillars and its loss, due to replacement by crops and destruction by herbicides, has significantly reduced the distribution of this plant. Previous research has attributed the 90 percent decline in overwintering numbers of the eastern monarch population to the loss of breeding habitat and milkweed.&nbsp;



However, Davis believes this current study suggests that breeding monarchs already have all the habitat they need in North America. If they didn’t, Davis said, the researchers would have seen that in this data.



“Everybody thinks monarch habitat is being lost left and right, and for some insect species this might be true but not for monarchs,” Davis said. If you think about it, monarch habitat is people habitat. Monarchs are really good at utilizing the landscapes we’ve created for ourselves. Backyard gardens, pastures, roadsides, ditches, old fields – all of that is monarch habitat.”



However, the loss of millions of acres of milkweed habitat may be bringing about some subtle changes in monarch migratory behavior. In some parts of the U.S., monarchs have a year-round or nearly year-round presence, which leads some researchers to believe the insects may be moving away from the annual migration to Mexico. San Francisco, for example, hosts monarchs year-round because people plant non-native tropical milkweed in their gardens and parks. And Florida is experiencing fewer freezes each year, making its climate more attractive for monarchs that would normally head across the border.&nbsp;



“There’s this idea out there about an insect apocalypse – all the insects are going to be lost,” said <a href="https://ent.uga.edu/people/faculty/william-e-snyder.html">William Snyder</a>, co-author of the paper and a professor in UGA’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.caes.uga.edu/">College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences</a>. “But it’s just not that simple. Some insects probably are going to be harmed; some insects are going to benefit. You really have to take that big pig picture at a more continental scale over a relatively long time period to get the true picture of what’s happening.”&nbsp;



The study authors warn that their findings do not necessarily mean that everything is rosy for monarch butterfly populations. Environmental conditions may change for monarchs as rising global temperatures bring new and growing threats, not just to monarchs but to all insects.&nbsp;



“There are some once widespread butterfly species that now are in trouble,” said Snyder. “So much attention is being paid to monarchs instead, and they seem to be in pretty good shape overall. It seems like a missed opportunity. We don’t want to give the idea that insect conservation isn’t important because it is. It’s just that maybe this one particular insect isn’t in nearly as much trouble as we thought.”



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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

Monarch butterflies may not be threatened as previously thought

Monarch butterflies, with their distinctive orange, black and white colors,...

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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

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" 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 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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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