Every living organism relies on a genetic blueprint encoded in its DNA, yet the amount of DNA - or genome size - varies dramatically across the tree of life.&nbsp;



In animals alone, genome sizes range from the minuscule genome of Intoshia variabili, a marine parasite - which is about 200 times smaller than the human genome - to the massive genome of the marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) - which is over 40 times larger than ours.&nbsp;



Plants exhibit a similar range, with the fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolata) setting the record with a genome size over 50 times larger than that of humans.



This diversity in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genome-mapping-completed-for-dozens-of-common-animals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genome</a> size reveals the vast variety of life forms on Earth, but it also raises a fascinating question: If smaller genomes lead to faster, more efficient growth, why do some species have larger genomes?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-advantages-of-smaller-genome-sizes">Advantages of smaller genome sizes</h2>



The replication of DNA is essential for cell production and growth, making smaller genomes more efficient as they require fewer resources and time to replicate.&nbsp;



Smaller genomes demand fewer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/excess-nutrients-are-creating-ocean-dead-zones/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nutrients</a>, especially the DNA-building elements nitrogen and phosphorus, making them ideal for rapid growth and reproduction.



Because of these advantages, it’s not surprising that most species have evolved with relatively small genomes.&nbsp;



However, large genomes persist in some organisms, suggesting that these genomes may confer certain benefits in specific environments, where the costs of carrying extra DNA are outweighed by unique growth advantages.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-large-genome-benefits-in-grasses">Exploring large genome benefits in grasses</h2>



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sheffield</a> has recently studied the potential benefits of large genomes in grass species. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fairy-circles-kill-all-newly-planted-grasses-deepening-their-mystery/">Grasses</a>, a vast plant family found worldwide from arctic tundras to tropical savannas, vary in genome size, making them an ideal group to examine how genome size affects growth in different conditions.



The study, published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20150" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Phytologist</a>, examined the growth of various grass species under conditions mimicking their natural environments - high temperatures, low nutrients, and drought. 



The scientists compared growth rates to each species’ genome size and observed that while grasses with smaller genomes generally grew better across most conditions, larger genomes provided advantages in two specific scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-large-genomes-thrive-in-nutrient-rich-environments">Large genomes thrive in nutrient-rich environments</h2>



The first scenario where larger genomes proved beneficial was in nutrient-rich soils. While low nutrient levels slowed down large-genome grasses, those with large genomes thrived in high-nutrient environments.&nbsp;



Here, the extra DNA content meant larger cells that produced more biomass, such as leaves, which allowed these plants to outgrow and overshadow neighbors with smaller genomes.&nbsp;



In nutrient-poor areas, however, the demands of replicating additional DNA outweighed these benefits, making smaller genomes more favorable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growing-seasons-and-genome-sizes">Growing seasons and genome sizes</h2>



The second advantage for large-genome grasses occurred in cooler environments, such as temperate regions with lower growing season temperatures.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-plants-grow-more-branches-and-become-bushy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plant growth</a> typically has two stages: cell division, where new cells are generated, and cell expansion, where cells swell with water to help the plant grow taller or spread. 



Cool temperatures significantly slow down cell division, but they have less impact on cell expansion.&nbsp;



Consequently, grasses with larger cells, which accompany large genomes, can expand more rapidly by cell enlargement even in cooler weather, outpacing smaller-genome plants that rely on faster cell division in warmer temperatures.



This cell expansion process explains the early spring growth of plants like daffodils and bluebells, which also have large genomes.&nbsp;



These plants perform much of their cell division in warmer months, allowing them to use cell expansion to grow quickly in early spring, well before smaller-genome plants begin to compete for light and nutrients.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genome-size-diversity">Genome size diversity</h2>



The diversity in genome sizes among grasses may be one reason for their global success, as it allows them to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions.&nbsp;



While smaller genomes typically support efficient growth, larger genomes offer unique advantages in specific environments, enabling certain species to thrive where others cannot.&nbsp;



This genetic diversity in grasses underscores the importance of variation in supporting species’ survival and adaptability across ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genome-size-and-evolutionary-success">Genome size and evolutionary success</h2>



The relationship between genome size and survival is not limited to plants. Our own medium-sized genome has supported humanity’s adaptability, though we don’t face the same nutrient limitations as stationary plants.&nbsp;



Unlike grasses, humans can move to seek out food and resources, which may allow us to bear the metabolic costs associated with our DNA without significant limitation.&nbsp;



This mobility highlights how different species leverage their genetic make-up in conjunction with unique behaviors and environmental interactions to thrive across diverse habitats.



In summary, the role of genome size in evolutionary success is nuanced and complex.&nbsp;



From the efficient replication of small genomes to the adaptability enabled by larger ones, genome size continues to shape the ecological <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asian-forests-proving-resilient-both-climate-change-human-actions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resilience</a> and global distribution of life on Earth.



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How does genome size impact evolutionary success?

Every living organism relies on a genetic blueprint encoded in its DNA, yet the amount of DNA - or genome size - varies dramatically across the tree of life.&nbsp; In animals alone, genome sizes range from the minuscule genome of Intoshia variabili, a marine parasite - which is about 200 times smaller than the human genome - to the massive genome of the marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) - which is over 40 times larger than ours.&nbsp; Plants exhibit a similar range, with the fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolata)...

One of Greenland's largest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-global-glaciers-are-melting-faster-than-ever-2/">glaciers</a> may have an unexpected new crack, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/14/scientists-just-found-a-strange-and-worrying-crack-in-one-of-greenlands-biggest-glaciers/?utm_term=.cd886d800332">Washington Post</a> reported.

Satellite photos revealed a crack in the Petermann Glacier which could contribute to a "dramatic break in coming years," the Post said.

In 2010 and 2012, the glacier "lost extremely large pieces, each several times the size of Manhattan, from its ice shelf, which floats on top of the waters of a fjord whose depth exceeds that of the Grand Canyon," the Post story said.

The new crack "suggests the shelf could lose another large 'ice island' soon,’" the story said.

Stef Lhermitte, a researcher at <a href="https://www.tudelft.nl/en/">Delft University of Technology</a> in the Netherlands who studies Greenland using satellites told the Post the new crack began to form last summer, but cautioned it could have been there earlier and was obscured by snow.

Andreas Muenchow, a <a href="http://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware </a> oceanographer who studies Petermann, told the Post Lhermitte’s images suggest the possibility of another large breakup in the glacier as soon as this year.

“This could be a big deal that may lead to a third break-up, but it probably will not happen until later this summer,”  Muenchow told the Post by email. “The odd thing here is that new crack is on the western side of the central channel and  that it originates at the center. This I have not seen in all imagery that I looked up for the period of 1918-present.”

Seongsu Jeong and Ian Howat of <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a>, authors of a recent study of Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica, were also struck by the Petermann images and conducted some additional analysis.

The new crack may be caused by the larger pre-existing one, which could be exerting additional stress across the shelf, the scientists said.. They also suggested that floating sea ice at the front of Petermann glacier is probably keeping the cracks from widening further by holding the shelf in place — but noted that this bracing function will disappear as summer approaches and the sea ice dissipates.

“I’d say that the rifting process is on hiatus right now, but it is very likely that the cracks will continue to grow in this summer,” Jeong said by email.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/14/scientists-just-found-a-strange-and-worrying-crack-in-one-of-greenlands-biggest-glaciers/?utm_term=.cd886d800332">Washington Post</a>

Photo Credit: <a href="https://twitter.com/nasa_ice">@NASA_ICE Twitter</a>

New crack appears in massive Greenland glacier

One of Greenland's largest glaciers may have an unexpected new...

In 30 years, lakes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area could be so filled with road salt contamination that they will no longer support native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-saving-coral-reefs/">fish</a> and plant life. That’s according to the <a href="http://www.startribune.com/">Star Tribune</a> and based on a study published this week in <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</a>.

The research was conducted as part of the <a href="http://gleon.org/">Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network</a> (GLEON) Fellowship Program, an initiative that seeks to train the next generation of freshwater scientists and practitioners. They studied the salt content in more than 370 lakes in ten northern states and Ontario, Canada, including more than 60 in the Twin Cities metro area.

“One of the most impacted areas is Minneapolis and St. Paul, where you have dozens of small lakes,” said Hilary Dugan, lead researcher and a limnologist at the <a href="http://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a>. “The smaller the lake, the more easily you load it with salt.”

Surprisingly, while municipalities in the metro area use hundreds of thousands of tons or road salt every winter, about half the problem is from residents and private businesses over-sprinkling rock salt on driveways and sidewalks.

“When you put down salt on the sidewalk you should be thinking of teaspoons — not cups,” she said. “All you need is a few crystals to work effectively on ice.”

The Environmental Protection Agency sets the pollution standard at just one teaspoon of salt per five gallons of water, so it doesn’t take much.  

It’s not just the region’s lakes being damaged by salt runoff from spring rains and ice melt. Groundwater is affected too. Studies show that nearly one-third of monitoring wells contain enough salt to affect aquatic life, and almost as many have so much salt that it affects the taste of drinking water.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.apnews.com/128e18f8f07f4a788e400fccb069c576/Study:-Road-salt-levels-spike,-threaten-Twin-Cities-lakes"> Associated Press</a>

Road salt runoff killing Twin City lakes

In 30 years, lakes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area...

Try not to worry about this too much as you check into a hotel or motel, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-remains-bed-bug/">bed bugs</a> are becoming ever-more resistant to insecticides – and the main cause is world travel. That’s according to a study conducted at <a href="http://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University</a> and published this month in the Journal of Economic Entomology.

The researchers used bed bugs contributed from the field and found significantly reduced susceptibility to the treatment chemical chlorfenapyr among three of the ten bed bug populations, and to bifenthrin among half of the populations. Reduced susceptibility was defined as when more than 25 percent of the bugs had survived after seven days’ exposure to the insecticide.

This is in addition to the already noted significant resistance shown by the common bed bug to the chemical deltamethrin and some other pyrethroid-based insecticides.

Organisms can develop resistance to chemical treatments after generations of exposure, so it takes continuous development of new chemicals to control a pest population. One factor to the bed bugs’ advantage is that their eggs aren’t vulnerable to the insecticides, according to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a>.

Travelers can pick up bed bugs in hotels and inadvertently take them home in shoes, clothing or luggage.

<a href="https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/do-it-yourself-bed-bug-control">The EPA offers this advice</a> on how to attempt to control the pests with and without insecticides, but be warned in advance – it ain’t fast or easy.

“There is a plethora of research that has shown that if insecticides are integrated with additional control measures such as vacuuming, steam or heat, mattress encasements, traps, and desiccant dusts, effective bed bug control can be accomplished and theoretically this should reduce the risk of resistance build-up in populations,” said Ameya D. Gondhalekar, Ph.D., research assistant professor at <a href="https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/urban/">Purdue's Center for Urban and Industrial Pest Management</a> and a member of the research team.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://academic.oup.com/jee/article-abstract/110/2/i5/3574029/Journal-of-Economic-Entomology-April-2017-Volume?redirectedFrom=fulltext"> Journal of Economic Entomology</a>

Bed bugs becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides

Try not to worry about this too much as you...

A new international research study led by climate change experts from the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>, <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, and the <a href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/">Met Office</a> has found that global warming may thaw around 20% more permafrost than previously thought.

Permafrost – which is defined as soil that has been frozen for at least two continuous years – contains large quantities of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-emissions-income-gap/">carbon</a> stored in the organic matter frozen in the soil. When it unfreezes, the organic matter begins to decompose, releasing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. 

Scientists estimate that there is more carbon contained in permafrost than is currently present in our atmosphere. Needless to say, the thawing of permafrost around the world could cause a significant increase in the amount of greenhouse gases swirling around the planet.

The study suggests that permafrost may be more sensitive to the effects of global warming than previously thought. Researchers believe almost 4 million square kilometers of permafrost could be lost for every additional degree of global warming experienced. Furthermore, recent studies have found that the Arctic is warming at about twice the rate as the rest of the world – causing a permafrost thaw across vast tracts of frozen tundra.

Besides the negative impact of additional greenhouse gases, thawing permafrost can also affect the stability of buildings located in high-latitude cities. About 35 million people live in the permafrost zone, which includes three cities built on continuous permafrost along with many other smaller communities. Thawing of this previously frozen ground could cause buildings and roads to become unstable and even collapse.

How can this problem be stopped? Well, the researchers believe that widespread permafrost thaws can be avoided if we are able to meet our agreed upon global climate targets.

“A lower stabilization target of 1.5ºC would save approximately two million square kilometers of permafrost,” says Dr. Sarah Chadburn of the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>. “Achieving the ambitious Paris Agreement climate targets could limit permafrost loss. For the first time we have calculated how much could be saved.”

By using a unique combination of global climate models and observed data, researchers were able to come up with a solid estimate of the global loss of permafrost under proposed climate stabilization targets.

“The advantage of our approach is that permafrost loss can be estimated for any policy-relevant global warming scenario,” explained Dr. Eleanor Burke from the <a href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate-guide/science/science-behind-climate-change/hadley">Met Office Hadley Centre</a>. “The ability to more accurately assess permafrost loss can hopefully feed into a greater understanding of the impact of global warming and potentially inform global warming policy.”

Although even stabilizing our climate at just 2°C above pre-industrial levels would lead to thawing of more than 40% of today’s permafrost regions, it’s not enough to give up just yet. Continuing studies such as this can help us gain a better understanding of the actions we need to take in order to curtail climate change and lead to a better future.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>

Massive permafrost thaws may be too late to stop

A new international research study led by climate change experts...

Comb jellies steal title of oldest animals, sparking outrage amongst the sponge community

Although the scientific community is generally supportive of most avenues of research and forms of methodology, there are some questions that put scientists at odds. For the last decade, zoologists in particular have been arguing over the question, “what is the oldest branch of the animal family tree?” 

It has been long thought that sponges were the earliest animals, as scientists have organized the animal family tree based mostly on their judgment of the relative complexity of groups of organisms – and it doesn’t get much less complex than a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dead-zones-coral-reefs/">sponge</a>. 

However, it has been argued that a group of marine predators called comb jellies – also known as ctenophores – were actually the first members of the animal kingdom. The answer to this question could have a significant effect on how scientists’ think about the evolution of the nervous system, digestive tract, and other basic organs that are necessary to our survival today.

A team of evolutionary biologists from <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/">Vanderbilt University</a> and the <a href="http://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> believe they have come up with the answer. The researchers designed a new approach specifically built to settle this phylogenetic tree-of-life argument – and the comb jellies won.

In the field of phylogenomics, scientists are causing a paradigm shift due to the wealth of information provided by the DNA of every living – and non-living – organism. Genetic information can be used to define and redefine evolutionary relationships. However, in some cases the bloom of available genetic information has only intensified controversies such as the sea sponge vs. comb jelly battle royale. 

In 2008, one of the earliest phylogenomic studies pointed to the comb jelly as the earliest member of the animal kingdom, sparking a controversy that ignited the zoological community more so than if it had been doused in gasoline. 

In response to the 2008 study, a corresponding study was published last month that included a massive amount of genetic data ultimately supporting the sponge’s claim to the first animal throne.

“The current method that scientists use in phylogenomic studies is to collect large amounts of genetic data, analyze the data, build a set of relationships and then argue that their conclusions are correct because of various improvements they have made in their analysis,” says Antonis Rokas, Professor of Biological Sciences at <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/">Vanderbilt University</a>. “This has worked extremely well in 95 percent of the cases, but it has led to apparently irreconcilable differences in the remaining 5 percent.”

In an effort to shine some light on these darkened battlegrounds, Rokas and his collaborators focused on 18 of these controversial relationships. They did so by comparing the individual genes of the leading contenders in each relationship.

“In these analyses, we only use genes that are shared across all organisms,” explains Rokas. “The trick is to examine the gene sequences from different organisms to figure out who they identify as their closest relatives. When you look at a particular gene in an organism, let’s call it A, we ask if it is most closely related to its counterpart in organism B? Or to its counterpart in organism C? And by how much?”

The research team would perform this analysis with hundreds of thousands of genes, comparing the results from each gene to one of the two possible hypotheses. In the end, they found that comb jellies have significantly more genes that support their “first to diverge” status in the animal lineage.

It remains to be seen if this is the final word on the comb jellies vs. sea sponges front. However, it appears to be the most comprehensive argument to date. The researchers are confident that their analysis can be used to settle disputes such as this throughout the scientific community. “We believe that our approach can help resolve many of these long-standing controversies and raise the game of phylogenetic reconstruction to a new level,” says Rokas.

More information on this study can be found in the journal Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/">Vanderbilt University</a>

Marine jellies were the first animals, not sea sponges

Comb jellies steal title of oldest animals, sparking outrage amongst...

It was a heartbreaking find at the Malaysian airport in Kuala Lumpur. Authorities, relying on a tip, seized 18 rhinoceros horns in the airport’s cargo warehouse crated as art objects, according to the Associated Press. The cargo had a fake air bill and presumably came from Mozambique.

Airport customs director Hamzah Sundang said the horns transited in Doha, Qatar. No arrests were made at this time.

In a report issued last year, the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC called Malaysia a world transit hub, and a major link to Kenya and Uganda, for the flow of tons of illicit elephant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/china-ivory-trade-ban/">ivory</a> between Africa and Asia.

There’s a significant black market for rhinoceros horns because they’re prized throughout parts of Asia where they’re said to have medicinal as well as artistic value. As a result of illegal hunting of the rare savannah mammal, the worldwide rhino population, which was at around a half million just a few decades ago, has shrunk to 30,000.

In an article published in 2013, The Atlantic said that rhino horns traffic for as much as $300,000 in Vietnam because of such healthcare myths as the horn being a cure for cancer and hangovers. At a result, the value is literally more than the per-kilogram price of gold. The article also mentioned a $650,000 armed heist of a museum in Dublin, Ireland where only the horns were taken.

Prices had fallen considerably when China and other nations froze the market for the horns, but a resurgence occurred in 2008 when the false cancer elixir rumors started in Vietnam. Today, all five remaining rhino species are officially listed as Threatened, and three of the five species are Critically Endangered.

-- 

By <a href="mailto:dsearls@earth.com">David Searls</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.apnews.com/f0da0eb77e924885a0b6ef454e66b73b/Malaysia-seizes-18-rhino-horns-from-Mozambique"> Associated Press</a>,<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/05/why-does-a-rhino-horn-cost-300-000-because-vietnam-thinks-it-cures-cancer-and-hangovers/275881/"> The Atlantic</a>

Rhinoceros horns worth $3 million seized in Malaysian airport

It was a heartbreaking find at the Malaysian airport in...

A series of steep toxin taxes which could affect millions of commercial and private diesel engine owners in cities and towns throughout the United Kingdom will kick in over time, according to <a href="http://thetimes.co.uk/">The Sunday Times</a>, Britain’s largest national newspaper. The tax of as much as £20, or about $25, per day will target trucks, buses, taxis and other commercial vehicles, and will also affect potentially millions of private owners of diesel-driven vehicles. The proposed laws vary in the 35 cities and town that will be involved.

This is in addition to stiff tax penalties already being levied against <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dieselgate-settlement-vw-bosch/">diesel</a> drivers (and, in some areas, drivers of all kinds of vehicles) in parts of traffic-congested and heavily polluted London.

Details and timelines of the various toxin taxes will be issued next week by the nation’s Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom.

In the UK, at issue is the high levels of air particulate spewed by diesel-driven vehicles, particularly models manufactured before 2015. Diesel engines release nitrogen gases such as nitrogen oxide in four times the quantity of gasoline engines.

Certain highly populated or industrialized areas of the UK already exceed nitrogen dioxide limits, including greater London, the West Midlands urban area, Greater Manchester, the West Yorkshire urban area, Teesside, The Potteries, Kingston upon Hull and Southampton.

UK government agencies call the current level of air pollution in many cities throughout the UK a public health emergency that causes 40,000 early deaths and costs the economy £27.5 billion annually.

While the toxin taxes should help clean the air in the most affected cities, and presumably slump diesel sales, the UK says it’s not a long-range answer to the health crisis. That would be the ‘zero emissions’ standard the nation is working toward by 2024, when the hope is that the only new vehicles taking to the nation’s streets and highways will be electrically powered.

--

Written by David Searls, Earth.com staff writer

Source:<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/20-daily-toxin-tax-for-diesel-drivers-mhkzggdn3"> The Sunday Times</a>

New toxin taxes will hit UK diesel drivers

A series of steep toxin taxes which could affect millions...

In the face of President Donald Trump’s recently announced first step toward <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-executive-order/">dismantling</a> the Clean Power Plan, a carbon reduction plan of former President Barack Obama, the governors of California and New York released a joint statement yesterday. It outlined their commitment toward enacting policies to counteract climate change independent of the federal government.

"With or without Washington, we will work with our partners throughout the world to aggressively fight climate change and protect our future," governors Jerry Brown of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York wrote.

The two states announced ambitious carbon reduction targets that go even well beyond goals set by federal policies under Obama. Brown and Cuomo said that their states would both reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below that 1990 mark by 2050. In addition, they mandated that electricity in each of their states must be fully generated from renewable sources by 2030.

“Climate change is real and will not be wished away by rhetoric or denial,” the governors wrote. “We stand together with a majority of the American people in supporting bold actions to protect our communities from the dire consequences of climate change.”

Brown and Cuomo also pointed out that their two states were homes to about one in five Americans and totaled 20 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.

--

Written by David Searls, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Newsroom/2017-Announcements/2017-03-28-Governor-Cuomo-and-Brown-Reaffirm-Commitment-to-Exceeding-Targets-of-Clean-Power-Plan"> NYSERDA</a>

California and New York team up against Trump climate policy

In the face of President Donald Trump’s recently announced first...

Former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan had already been sidelined by the U.S. Supreme Court while its provisions were being legally challenged. But today, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin to undo the act altogether. The order will also substantially reduce the federal government's role in climate regulation by eliminating six other Obama-era executive orders aimed at curbing climate change. According to the Trump administration, the changes are all in the interest of helping the American economy.

"It is an issue that deserves attention," a White House official told <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/politics/trump-climate-change-executive-order/index.html?adkey=bn">CNN</a> regarding climate change. "But I think the President has been very clear that he is not going to pursue climate change policies that put the US economy at risk. It is very simple."

The sidelined Obama plan established metrics for individual states to meet to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired and natural gas power plants and encouraged faster transitions to renewable energy sources. In his former position, as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oklahoma-is-latest-state-to-prevent-oil-fracking-bans/">Oklahoma</a> attorney general, Pruitt was one of many states attorney general suing the Obama administration to block the initiative from going into effect.

The idea behind the Clean Power Plan was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel power plants by as much as 32 percent by the year 2030. By doing so, it signified the U.S. commitment to meeting carbon dioxide reduction standards established as part of the Paris Accord of 2015.

“We've made tremendous progress on our environment, and we can be both pro-jobs and pro-environment," Pruitt told <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/">ABC News’s</a> This Week host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “And the executive order's going to address the past administration's effort to kill jobs across this country through the Clean Power Plan.”

Among other objections, environmental groups say that by backing out of Paris Accord commitments, the U.S. will set a bad example in front of other nations in compliance.

Pruitt said that rejection of the Clean Power Plan is not a violation of the Accord and that the administration isn’t worried about legal obstructions.

-- 

By Earth.com Staff Writer David Searls

Source:<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek"> This Week</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/">CNN</a>

&nbsp;

Trump signs executive order to drastically cut climate regulation

Former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan had already been...

Not only is the existence of the rusty patched bumblebee threatened, but for a while so was the directive to add it to the endangered species list.

Among his last acts in office, President Barack Obama had directed that the rusty patched bumblebee be added, but the temporary freeze that the Trump administration had ordered on all federal regulations had intervened. However, on Tuesday the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> announced that the administration had relented and the bumblebee had been added to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-species-act-endangered/">endangered</a> species list. This makes it the first bee from the continental U.S. to be gain inclusion, although Obama had designated seven Hawaiian bee species as endangered earlier in his term.

“The Trump administration reversed course and listed the rusty patched bumblebee as an endangered species just in the nick of time,” said Rebecca Riley, senior attorney with the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> (NRDC). “Federal protections may be the only thing standing between the bumblebee and extinction.”

The NRDC had filed a lawsuit in federal court in February to carry out the Obama order.

The news should be good for food growers. This particular species used to be abundant in 28 states, but it has suffered an 87 percent population decline over the last 20 years and the species can now only be sporadically found in pockets within thirteen states. Like other bee species, the rusty patched bumblebee (named for the marking on its back) pollinates critical fruit, seed and nut crops.

With the designation, the federal government will protect the endangered bumblebee and its grounds as part of the federally enacted Endangered Species Act.

--

Written by David Searls, Earth.com staff writer

Source:<a href="https://www.fws.gov/"> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a>

Bumblebee declared endangered after all

Not only is the existence of the rusty patched bumblebee...

Upon reacting to the release of the annual report of the World Meteorological Organization, Dr. Phil Williamson, associate fellow at the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> in England had some harsh words for climate change doubters in an interview with the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html">Daily Mail</a>. He was addressing the release of the annual report from the <a href="https://www.wmo.int/">World Meteorological Organization</a>, a specialized agency of the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a>.

“Human-driven climate change is now an empirically-verifiable fact,” he said. “Those who dispute that link are not sceptics, but anti-science deniers.”

The <a href="https://www.wmo.int/">WMO</a> report released earlier this week stated that, once again, last year was the warmest since measurements had been made in 1880.

 Other “lowlights” of the report were that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-sea-louisiana-coast/">sea levels</a> continued to rise due to melting polar ice and Arctic and Antarctic ice levels were far below average.

“With levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere consistently breaking new records, the influence of human activities on the climate system has become more and more evident,” WMO chief Petteri Taalas wrote.

The report shows that the effect of greenhouse gases can be felt in a number of ways. For instance, warming in the Arctic and melting sea ice were leading to a shift in wider oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns. That, in turn, created confusing weather conditions all over the globe, and including unexpected highs in the U.S. and Canada last year and chilly temperatures in the Arabian peninsula and North Africa.

Worst of all, the WMO report indicated that we’re making few gains in defense of the planet.

“Provisional data also indicates that there has been no easing in the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations,” it stated.

--

By <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer David Searls

Source:  <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html">Daily Mail</a>,<a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/about-us/who-we-are"> World Meteorological Organization</a>

Climate change evidence grows with UN report

Upon reacting to the release of the annual report of...

According to an article published yesterday in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times</a>, the Trump administration is about to start the process of rolling back former President Barack Obama’s set of environmental regulations knowns as the Clean Power Plan – but it won’t be easy. It will be a long and arduous process, and one fraught with lawsuits that will probably end up before the U.S. Supreme Court in years to come. In the meantime, however, there are smaller steps the president is taking to change Obama-era policies, rules and regulations.

The Clean Power Plan is a set of regulations that, in part, shut down hundreds of high-polluting coal-fired power plants and froze the construction of new plants. Trump signaled that he was about to challenge those regulations when he told a Kentucky audience earlier in the week that he was preparing a plan to “save our wonderful coal miners from continuing to be put out of work.”

Most economists have concluded that the coal mining industry was on life support even before the election and that most of the lost jobs won’t be coming back because energy technology has moved beyond <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obama-protect-streams-forests-coal-mining/">coal</a>.

Despite the long road ahead of the Trump administration in killing the Clean Power Plan, the president has also taken several quicker steps to weaken or roll back Obama-era initiatives to address climate change by:
<ul>
 	<li>    Proposing to reduce the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by 31 percent, the steepest cut    to any federal agency, and eliminate funding for climate change research</li>
 	<li>    Lifting the former president’s moratorium on new coal mining leases on public lands</li>
 	<li>    Announcing last week that he’d ordered EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to revise the agency’s standards on vehicle tailpipe pollution</li>
</ul>
The administration is also expected to eliminate an Obama budgeting metric that assigned a carbon a social cost of $36 per ton when issuing regulations that could hurt industries such as coal mining, and rescind an executive order by Obama mandating that federal agencies take climate control into consideration when issuing environmental permits.

In addition, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">EPA</a> Administrator Scott Pruitt butted heads with most climate scientists in announcing earlier this month that he didn’t believe carbon dioxide was the main driver of climate change. And Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, said in regards to budget cuts to environmental agencies and programs, “As to climate change, I think the president was fairly straightforward. We’re not spending money on that anymore.”

--

By Earth.com Staff Writer David Searls

Source:<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/"> New York Times</a>

Trump begins dismantling Obama-era environmental policies

According to an article published yesterday in the New York...

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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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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...