Mars continues to surprise scientists with its geological activity. While the Red Planet lacks the tectonic movements that shape Earth, it still experiences seismic activity caused by internal forces and meteoroid impacts. 



Recent discoveries, powered by artificial intelligence, have revealed a new crater on Mars that evidences how deeply impact-generated seismic waves can travel.



This finding challenges existing models of the planet’s interior and opens new avenues for understanding its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wave-ripples-discovered-mars-surface-indicate-liquid-water-present-4-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">geological history</a>.



A pair of recent studies published in Geophysical Research Letters detail how scientists linked a newly formed crater to seismic activity recorded by NASA’s <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/insight/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">InSight lander</a>. 



This marks a major breakthrough and shows that impact-related tremors can penetrate deeper into the Martian mantle than previously thought.



With the help of data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MRO</a>), researchers can now refine their models of the planet’s subsurface, which will enhance our knowledge of Mars and also our understanding of other rocky worlds, including Earth and its Moon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-impact-crater-that-changed-mars-research">Impact crater that changed Mars research</h2>



NASA’s InSight mission was designed to probe the interior of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gale-crater-reveals-secrets-of-water-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars</a> and offer an unprecedented look at the planet’s crust, mantle, and core.



The lander, which arrived in 2018, deployed the first seismometer ever placed on the Martian surface. 



Over its four-year mission, InSight detected more than 1,300 marsquakes, some caused by internal forces and others triggered by space rocks striking the planet.



By studying how seismic waves move through different layers of Mars, scientists have been able to infer the planet’s internal structure. Unlike Earth, which has a dynamic interior, Mars appears to have a colder, more rigid mantle. 



However, new findings suggest that some seismic waves travel deeper than previously assumed, indicating that the Martian mantle may be more complex than once thought.



One of the most important recent discoveries involved a meteoroid impact near Cerberus Fossae, a geologically active region on Mars. 



The impact not only created a visible crater but also generated seismic waves that traveled in an unexpected way, revealing a new pathway for seismic energy through the planet’s mantle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mars-impact-craters-and-seismic-waves">Mars impact craters and seismic waves</h2>



Scientists have long relied on seismic data to study the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/organic-matter-in-a-crater-sparks-new-questions-about-life-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interiors of planets</a>. On Earth, earthquakes help researchers understand how our planet’s layers interact.



On Mars, where seismic activity is much weaker, researchers use marsquakes and impact events to investigate the nature of the subsurface.



The newly discovered Mars crater, which measures 71 feet (21.5 meters) in diameter, is located over 1,019 miles (1,640 km) from InSight’s landing site.



The seismic energy it produced was surprisingly strong for an impact at that distance. Scientists originally believed that Mars’s crust would dampen seismic waves from impacts, thus weakening them before they reached the InSight lander. However, this event proved otherwise.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mars_impact-crater_Cerberus-Fossae-region_MRO_Insight_AI_NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mars_impact-crater_Cerberus-Fossae-region_MRO_Insight_AI_NASA_1s.webp" alt="Captured by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 4, 2021, this impact crater was found in Cerberus Fossae, a seismically active region of the Red Planet. Scientists matched its appearance on the surface with a quake detected by NASA’s InSight lander. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona" class="wp-image-1959029"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Captured by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 4, 2021, this impact crater was found in Cerberus Fossae, a seismically active region of the Red Planet. Scientists matched its appearance on the surface with a quake detected by NASA’s InSight lander. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona</figcaption></figure>



“We used to think the energy detected from the vast majority of seismic events was stuck traveling within the Martian crust,” said InSight team member Constantinos Charalambous of <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Imperial College London</a>. 



“This finding shows a deeper, faster path - call it a seismic highway - through the mantle, allowing quakes to reach more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-captured-in-true-color-like-youve-never-seen-the-red-planet-before/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">distant regions of the planet</a>.”



This new evidence forces scientists to rethink their models of how seismic waves travel on Mars. If impact-generated waves can reach deeper into the mantle, it means that Mars’s internal structure may differ significantly from what was previously assumed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-and-mars-impact-crater-detection">AI and Mars impact crater detection</h2>



Tracking new impact craters on Mars has always been a labor-intensive task. Scientists rely on before-and-after images taken by MRO to detect changes on the planet’s surface. 



In the past, this process required manually sifting through thousands of images, looking for telltale signs of fresh craters.



To accelerate this process, NASA’s <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> developed an AI-powered tool that can rapidly analyze images from MRO’s <a href="https://www.msss.com/all_projects/mro-ctx.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Context Camera</a>. 



This machine-learning algorithm scans tens of thousands of images in a matter of hours, identifying potential impact sites for further investigation.



“Done manually, this would be years of work,” said InSight team member Valentin Bickel of the <a href="https://www.unibe.ch/index_eng.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bern</a> in Switzerland. “Using this tool, we went from tens of thousands of images to just a handful in a matter of days. It’s not quite as good as a human, but it’s super fast.”



The AI-assisted search focused on areas within 1,864 miles (3,000 km) of InSight’s location, looking for craters that formed while the lander’s seismometer was active. By comparing time-stamped images, scientists found 123 fresh <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-mars-became-uninhabitable-after-being-life-supporting-ocean-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">craters</a>. 



Of these, 49 showed possible matches with marsquake data. After additional filtering, they identified the impact crater in Cerberus Fossae as the most likely source of a recorded seismic event.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-marsquakes-vs-impacts">Marsquakes vs. impacts</h2>



One of the biggest challenges in planetary seismology is differentiating between quakes caused by internal processes and those triggered by meteoroid strikes. 



InSight’s data has helped scientists improve their ability to classify these events, but this new discovery suggests that some previous assumptions may need revision.



“We thought Cerberus Fossae produced lots of high-frequency seismic signals associated with internally generated quakes, but this suggests some of the activity does not originate there and could actually be from impacts instead,” Charalambous said.



This distinction is crucial for understanding Mars’s long-term geological evolution. If some seismic signals attributed to tectonic activity were actually caused by impacts, it could reshape interpretations of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-sediments-found-in-jezero-crater-hint-at-past-life-on-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars’s internal dynamics</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-s-role-in-space-science">AI’s role in space science</h2>



The success of AI in detecting impact craters is just one example of how machine learning is transforming Martian research and overall planetary science.



AI tools are now being used to identify landslides, dust devils, and other surface changes on Mars. Similar techniques have been applied to analyze images of the Moon, and they have revealed previously unnoticed craters and geological features.



“Now we have so many images from the Moon and Mars that the struggle is to process and analyze the data,” Bickel said. “We’ve finally arrived in the big data era of planetary science.”



As missions like NASA’s <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Perseverance rover</a> and ESA’s <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/ExoMars" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ExoMars</a> continue to gather vast amounts of data, AI will play an increasingly vital role in processing and interpreting these findings. 



Scientists are now developing new machine-learning models that can automatically detect geological changes, allowing them to make discoveries faster than ever before.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-effort-behind-insight-and-mro">Global effort behind InSight and MRO</h2>



NASA’s InSight mission was part of the agency’s Discovery Program, managed by the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/marshall/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marshall Space Flight Center</a>. 



Lockheed Martin <a href="https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/space.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Space</a> designed and built the spacecraft, while numerous European institutions contributed to its scientific instruments.



France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (<a href="https://cnes.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNES</a>) provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), with other contributions from the <a href="https://www.ipgp.fr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris</a>, the <a href="https://www.mps.mpg.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute </a>for Solar System Research, and <a href="https://ethz.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH Zurich</a>.



Germany’s <a href="https://www.dlr.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DLR</a> provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, while Spain’s <a href="https://cab.inta-csic.es" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Centro de Astrobiología</a> supplied temperature and wind sensors.



The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which played a crucial role in this discovery, is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The <a href="https://www.arizona.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a> operated its high-resolution camera, <a href="https://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HiRISE</a>, while <a href="https://www.msss.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Malin Space Science Systems</a> built and operates the Context Camera.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crater-discovery-changes-mars-analysis">Crater discovery changes Mars analysis</h2>



The discovery of a fresh impact crater linked to seismic waves traveling through Mars’s mantle marks a significant advance in planetary science. 



It not only challenges previous models but also highlights the importance of AI in accelerating discoveries.



As researchers continue to analyze InSight’s data, they will refine their understanding of how the Martian interior behaves.



With AI-driven tools improving the efficiency of crater detection and seismic analysis, future missions will be better equipped to unlock the secrets hidden beneath the Red Planet’s surface.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL109133" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">papers</a> are&nbsp;<a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL110159" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL).



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Two Mars spacecraft teamed up with AI to find a fresh impact crater on the surface

Mars continues to surprise scientists with its geological activity. While the Red Planet lacks the tectonic movements that shape Earth, it still experiences seismic activity caused by internal forces and meteoroid impacts. Recent discoveries, powered by artificial intelligence, have revealed a new crater on Mars that evidences how deeply impact-generated seismic waves can travel. This finding challenges existing models of the planet’s interior and opens new avenues for understanding its geological history. A pair of recent studies published in Geophysical Research Letters detail how scientists linked a...

Fresh,Tomato

New research published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a> has found something very interesting. A certain variety of tomato has fruits that can use chemical and hormonal signaling to notify the rest of the plant when they're attacked by caterpillars. 

"We usually forget that a plant's fruits are living and semiautonomous parts of their mother-plants, far more complex than we currently think," said Dr. Gabriela Niemeyer Reissig of the Federal University of Pelotas.

"Since fruits are part of the plant, made of the same tissues of the leaves and stems, why couldn't they communicate with the plant, informing it about what they are experiencing, just like regular leaves do?"

"What we found is that fruits can share important information such as caterpillar attacks--which is a serious issue for a plant--with the rest of the plant, and that can probably prepare other parts of the plant for the same attack."

To study signaling of tomato plants, the researchers measured the electrical responses of the plant before, during and after herbivory by insects for a 24 hour period. The signals before and after the caterpillars munched on the tomatoes were different, showing that some sort of electrical signaling was taking place. 

The results showed an overall picture of signaling, not a narrow view of specific signals. However, the techniques used in the study can be replicated for a closer look in the future. Dr. Reissig is hopeful this study will lead to more research and important results,   

"If studies like ours continue to advance and the techniques for measuring electrical signals in open environments continue to improve, it will be possible to detect infestation of agricultural pests quite early, allowing for less aggressive control measures and more accurate insect management," said Dr. Reissig.

"Understanding how the plant interacts with its fruits, and the fruits among themselves, may bring insights about how to 'manipulate' this communication for enhancing fruit quality, resistance to pests and shelf life after harvest."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems">Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tomato fruit warns the rest of the plant when attacked

New research published by Frontiers has found something very interesting....

Giant Galapagos tortoises that live in human-dominated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/success-of-rewilding-efforts-depends-on-the-landscape/">landscapes</a> have increased levels of antibiotic resistance, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.ucm.es/">Universidad Complutense de Madrid</a>.

The experts found that the number of bacteria with resistant genes was higher in tortoises who had human contact compared to those that live in more isolated ecosystems.

"Human activities are facilitating the dispersal of resistance into the environment, which has already been observed in other parts of the world, but which has never been demonstrated on the Galapagos Islands," said study lead author Ainoa Nieto.

According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to public health. The WHO estimates that by 2050, resistance to antibiotics could cause more deaths than cancer, diabetes, or traffic accidents. 

The new study has detected antibiotic resistant bacteria in the Galapagos archipelago for the first time.

For their investigation, the researchers collected samples from 270 tortoises in two Galapagos sites with different characteristics - the island of Santa Cruz, which has the largest human population, and the remote volcano of Alcedo on the island Isabela.

Overall, 21 genes were analysed that codify resistance for eight of the antibiotic families most commonly used in human and animal medicine.

"We don't know the real implications that this discovery could have for the health of giant tortoises, but resistance is considered environmental pollution, and the fact that species as iconic as Galapagos tortoises are entering into contact with these resistant bacteria implies that the ecosystem in which they live is being contaminated," explained study co-author Casilda Rodríguez.

The researchers said their findings suggest that human activities in Galapagos have a negative impact on ecosystem health through the dispersal of antimicrobial resistant genes.

"This research highlights a new threat for the health and conservation of the unique wildlife of the Galapagos, their ecosystems, and the humans inhabiting this World Heritage Site," wrote the study authors.

"Our recommendation to local policy makers is to control and reduce the use of antibiotics in both human and animal health, thus helping enforce antimicrobial regulations."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-pollution">Environmental Pollution</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antibiotic resistance found in giant tortoises of Galapagos

Giant Galapagos tortoises that live in human-dominated landscapes have increased...

Monarch butterflies in eastern North America are in a state of decline. Since the mid 1990’s, the monarch population that winters in Mexico and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/painted-lady-butterflies-execute-the-longest-known-insect-migration/">migrates</a> to the northern US and Canada has dropped dramatically. 

Some scientists have estimated that existing monarch populations are only 20 percent of the number found a few decades ago. In a new study from <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a>, researchers think they might have a handle on why.

Between 2004 and 2018, the impact on monarch breeding grounds on populations was the most devastating. Other factors have played a role in the decline but it appears that the impact of climate change is seven times greater than other effects. 

"What we do is develop models to understand why monarchs are declining and what's happening to biodiversity in general," said study lead author Erin Zylstra.

"We did this study not just to say what's causing changes in the monarch butterfly population, but also learn how we can make it better."

&nbsp;

Glyphosate herbicides also coincided with some of the worst declines in monarch butterfly populations from the 90’s into the early 2000’s. One theory is that the wide use of this herbicide killed off a lot of milkweed, the only food source for monarch caterpillars. 

Still today, scientists are divided about the cause of monarch butterfly decline overall. The butterflies have a complex life history that makes it difficult to understand the underlying impacts on their population. With long, multi-generational migrations, there are many factors could hurt the butterflies. 

With the dedication of volunteers collecting butterfly data between 1994 and 2018, data gathered primarily by non-scientists in a very structured manner, researchers have a lot more to work with than they have before. The new research was focused on this data.

The experts determined that many factors from habitat destruction at wintering grounds and pesticide use to mortality during migration have contributed to the disappearance of monarchs. The researchers concluded that climate change has played the biggest role.   

"A lot of it is not good news. But in understanding the reasons why a species is declining, there is also a message of hope: there's something we can do about it," said Zylstra. "We did this study not just to say what's causing changes in the monarch butterfly population, but also learn how we can make it better."

The study is published in the July 19 issue of <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

---

By Zach Fitzner, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

What’s happening with the eastern monarch butterfly?

Monarch butterflies in eastern North America are in a state...

COVID-19 antibodies persist for at least nine months after SARS-CoV-2 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-americans-had-undiagnosed-covid-19-infections/">infection</a>, according to a new study from Imperial College London. The researchers tested nearly 3,000 residents of Vo', Italy for infection in February and March of 2020, and then tested them again for antibodies in May and November.

The study revealed that 98.8 percent of people infected during the first round of tests had antibodies in November. The level of antibodies was no different between people who had suffered symptoms of COVID-19 and those who that had been symptom-free. 

"We found no evidence that antibody levels between symptomatic and asymptomatic infections differ significantly, suggesting that the strength of the immune response does not depend on the symptoms and the severity of the infection," said study lead author Dr. Ilaria Dorigatti.

"However, our study does show that antibody levels vary, sometimes markedly, depending on the test used. This means that caution is needed when comparing estimates of infection levels in a population obtained in different parts of the world with different tests and at different times."

The team used three types of tests that detect different types of antibodies that respond to different parts of the virus. 

The researchers found that antibody levels had increased in some people, which suggests they were re-infected and their immunity was further boosted. 

"The May testing demonstrated that 3.5 percent of the Vo' population had been exposed to the virus, even though not all of these subjects were aware of their exposure given the large fraction of asymptomatic infections," said Professor Enrico Lavezzo of the University of Padua.

"However, at the follow-up, which was performed roughly nine months after the outbreak, we found that antibodies were less abundant, so we need to continue to monitor antibody persistence for longer time spans."

"It is clear that the epidemic is not over, neither in Italy nor abroad," said Dr. Dorigatti. "Moving forward, I think that it is of fundamental importance to continue administering first and second vaccine doses as well as to strengthen surveillance including contact tracing. Encouraging caution and limiting the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 will continue to be essential."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

COVID-19 antibodies persist for at least nine months

COVID-19 antibodies persist for at least nine months after SARS-CoV-2...

The frequency of intense rainstorms will increase across Europe as a result of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shocking-un-report-the-worst-of-climate-change-is-yet-to-come/">climate change</a>, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a>. The experts predict that by the end of the century, slow-moving storms could become 14 times more frequent across land. 

The slow-moving storms will dump extremely high levels of precipitation, with the potential for devastating impacts like those caused by the recent storms in Germany and Belgium.

"This study shows that in addition to the intensification of rainfall with global warming, we can also expect a big increase in slow-moving storms which have the potential for high rainfall accumulations. This is very relevant to the recent flooding seen in Germany and Belgium, which highlights the devastating impacts of slow-moving storms," said Professor Lizzie Kendon.

"Our finding that slow-moving intense rainstorms could be 14 times more frequent by the end of the century under the high emissions RCP8.5 scenario, shows the serious impacts that we may expect across Europe if we do not curb our emissions of greenhouse gases."

For the investigation, a team of researchers led by Dr. Abdullah Kahraman used very detailed climate model simulations at the UK Met Office Hadley Centre. 

The results of the study indicate that the weather phenomenon is directly related to climate change, which is causing intense rainstorms to move more slowly. The experts found that the slower movement of storms will drive an increase in local rainfall accumulations, raising the risk of flash flooding across Europe beyond what was previously expected. 

"With recent advances in supercomputer power, we now have pan-European climate simulations resolving the atmosphere in high detail as short-range weather forecasting models do. These models have grid spacing of approximately 2 km, which allows them to simulate storm systems much better, resulting in better representation of extremes," explained Dr. Kahraman.

"Using these state-of-the-art climate simulations, we have developed metrics to extract potential cases for heavy rainfall, and a smaller, almost-stationary subset of these cases with the potential for high rainfall accumulations. These metrics provide a holistic view of the problem, and help us understand which factors of the atmosphere contribute to heavy rainfall changes."

"This is one of the first studies to explore changes in the speed of such heavy rainfall systems - an important aspect contributing to flood risk. Currently, we are also investigating other extreme weather types by examining the climate simulations data with a severe weather forecaster's perspective."

Professor Hayley Fowler pointed out that governments across the world have been too slow in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and global warming is keeping pace. 

"This study suggests that changes to extreme storms will be significant and cause an increase in the frequency of devastating flooding across Europe," said Professor Fowler.

"This, alongside the current floods in Europe, is the wake-up call we need to produce improved emergency warning and management systems, as well as implementing climate change safety factors into our infrastructure designs to make them more robust to these severe weather events."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Europe will see a surge in slow-moving intense storms

The frequency of intense rainstorms will increase across Europe as...

The body of evidence showing links between prenatal exposure to air pollution and poor academic outcomes in adolescents is growing. 

In a recent longitudinal study from the <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/">Columbia Mailman School of Public Health</a>, maternal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was monitored during the third trimester of pregnancy. This is a time when a fetus is particularly sensitive to environmental conditions. 

The 200 children subsequently born were tested at age 10 for levels of inhibitory control, and again at age 13 for academic achievement in areas including spelling, reading comprehension, and math. 

Inhibitory control is an important factor when a child learns a new skill or concept. Very often, a new and different rule must supersede an old, familiar rule in order to progress. 

Across all the participants, higher levels of prenatal exposure to PAH were associated with poorer inhibitory skills. This implies that exposure to high levels of PAH renders a child less capable of replacing a familiar response with a new, more unusual one.  

The ability to self-regulate in this way is crucial during the acquisition of academic skills. In this study, poor inhibitory control was associated with worse spelling, worse reading comprehension, and worse math skills. 

Study first author Professor Amy Margolis is an associate professor of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. 

&nbsp;

"By compromising childhood inhibitory control, prenatal exposure to air pollution may alter the foundation upon which later academic skills are built,” said Professor Margolis.

&nbsp;

Inhibitory control can thus be seen as a mediator in the relationship between air pollution and poor academic achievement. Those exposed to high levels of air pollution suffer poor inhibitory control and therefore struggle to learn new concepts and skills.

The findings may ultimately lead to the development of interventions to help students to improve their academic outcomes. 

"When evaluating students’ learning problems and formulating treatment plans, parents and teachers should consider that academic problems related to environmental exposures may require intervention focused on inhibitory control problems, rather than on content-related skill deficits, as is typical in interventions designed to address learning disabilities," said Professor Margolis.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-research">Environmental Research</a>.

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By <a href="http://bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Air pollution exposure linked to poor academic achievement

The body of evidence showing links between prenatal exposure to...

For three decades, Professor Hisayoshi Nozaki has collected algae samples from the Sagami River an hour outside of Tokyo, Japan. This work was part of a research project aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of sexes. Now, that research is finally paying off. 

Samples first collected in 2007 and 2013 from a dam lake show a strange species of algae. What makes the algae species, Pleodorina starrii, interesting is that it comes in three sexes. 

Individuals of each of the sexes breed in pairs. The third sex which scientists are calling ‘bisexual’ can produce both male and female sex cells. 

This may sound like a case of hermaphroditism but it’s subtly different. Hermaphrodites are indeed organisms that produce both male and female sex cells, however this is due to abnormal gene expression. 

In the case of P. starrii, the third sex is completely normal. A few other plants and some invertebrate animals have three sexes, although this is the first case of an algae with three sexes. 

“It seems very uncommon to find a species with three sexes, but in natural conditions, I think it may not be so rare," explained Professor Nozaki.

There are even ancient organisms with sexes referred to as ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ rather than male and female. Later in evolution, sexes evolved to be quite different from one another, such as in mammals the small sperm cells and large egg cells. 

P. starrii is a good model organism for studying the evolution of sex because, it has a different reproductive strategy than its closest relatives, representing an evolutionary change. 

To study their reproduction, colonies of different sexes are reared in the lab and forced to reproduce sexually. Males grow sperm packets which are released, and the sperm swim until they come into contact with a female colony. 

The researchers discovered that this third sex in P. starrii has previously isolated both the male and female genes in the algae. It is their hope to continue research and make more discoveries about the nature of sex.

"This finding was possible because of our very long-term experience of going on field collection trips and our practice growing and studying algae," said Professor Nozaki.

"Continued, long-term studies are very important to unveil the true nature of species in the natural world."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15585646">Evolution</a>.

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By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Algae species with three sexes discovered in Japan

For three decades, Professor Hisayoshi Nozaki has collected algae samples...

Part of the Amazon rainforest has been transformed into a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions, according to a long-term study. Experts at <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">NOAA</a> report that deforestation in eastern Brazil has led to less rainfall and hotter temperatures, which has flipped the forest from a carbon sink to a source of carbon dioxide. 

Based on nearly 10 years of CO2 measurements, the researchers found that the most deforested parts of the eastern Amazon - mainly in the southeast - are releasing more carbon than they store. 

“On the other hand, the wetter, more intact western and central Amazon, was neither a carbon sink nor source of atmospheric CO2 , with the absorption by healthy forests balancing the emissions from fires," explained study co-author and NOAA scientist John Miller. 

The Amazon is made up of 2.8 million square miles of jungle and represents more than half of the remaining tropical forest on the planet. Scientists estimate that the Amazon locks up about 123 billion tons of carbon, both above and below ground.

In 2010, study lead author Luciana Gatti and an international team of experts set out to investigate whether the combined effects of climate change and land conversion is compromising the Amazon’s ability to store carbon.

“The regions of southern Pará and northern Mato Grosso states represent a worst-case scenario,” said Gatti. 

The southeast region of the Amazon has experienced 30 percent deforestation over the last four decades. Nine years of airborne measurements showed that this region is a net emitter of carbon. On the other hand,   the western portion of the rainforest has experienced less clearing still serves as a carbon sink. 

According to the researchers, the increased emissions were likely due to the fires that are used to convert jungle to cropland, and by reduced uptake of CO2 by the trees that remained. 

“The big question this research raises is if the connection between climate, deforestation, and carbon that we see in the eastern Amazon could one day be the fate of the central and western Amazon, if they become subject to stronger human impact,” said Miller.  

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Part of the Amazon now releases more carbon than it stores

Part of the Amazon rainforest has been transformed into a...

To most of us, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/adults-are-not-good-at-daydreaming-but-we-should-be/">dreaming</a> mind is a mystery. Until recently, this was true for scientists as well. Experts at the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/university/">University of Geneva</a> recently used artificial intelligence to take a peek at the sleeping brain. 

Using an electronic encephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) interpreted by artificial intelligence, the researchers gained important insight.

The evidence gathered by the scientists shows that during deep sleep, when the brain is no longer gathering external stimuli, it is instead sorting through memories. 

Different parts of the brain communicate with each other to evaluate our memories, and only the most useful ones are kept. The brain prioritizes memories that have a reward associated with them, and these are usually preserved. 

The researchers already knew that memories are consolidated during deep sleep but wanted to learn more, particularly about the role of emotions in memory consolidation.

Virginie Sterpenich, the principal investigator of the study, is a researcher in the lab of Professor Sophie Schwartz in the Department of Basic Neurosciences at UNIGE Faculty of Medicine.

"To find out which brain regions are activated during sleep, and to decipher how these regions allow us to consolidate our memory, we developed a decoder capable of deciphering the activity of the brain in deep sleep and what it corresponds to," explained Sterpenich. 

"In particular, we wanted to see to what extent positive emotions play a role in this process."

The researchers had people play two different games while awake and monitored their brains. The different games were chosen because they activated different parts of the brain. 

Half the participants won one game, half won the other, so that positive emotions were associated with winning. Next, the experts watched the same people’s brains while they slept. 

The recordings from the sleeping brains were very similar to those of the brains while people played games. This showed that the sleeping brain was actually remembering playing the games. 

The sleepers especially focused on remembering the game they won. The scientists concluded that the brain reinforces positive memories - those associated with a reward. 

Later, participants were tested to see how well they remembered the games. Interestingly, those who had more parts of their brain activated while replaying the memory during sleep were able to remember the game better. Sleep, it turns out, helps us remember important things.        

Sterpenich said that the brain "very clearly" relived the game won and not the game lost by reactivating the regions used during wakefulness. 

"As soon as you go to sleep, the brain activity changes. Gradually, our volunteers started to 'think' about both games again, and then almost exclusively about the game they won when they went into deep sleep."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

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By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What does the brain do while we sleep?

To most of us, the dreaming mind is a mystery....

A new study published by <a href="https://plos.org/">PLOS</a> looks at the ability of jumping spiders to use their peripheral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/australian-bees-adapted-their-vision-to-forage-at-night/">vision</a> to distinguish between objects and living creatures. 

Being able to detect other animals allows the finding of mates, stalking of prey, and the avoidance of predators. Animals betray a pattern of movement because of their jointed limbs across vertebrates and many invertebrates. 

Scientists have known for a long time that most vertebrates can quickly notice this pattern. Now, the experts report, jumping spiders have proven their own ability to notice other animals in their surroundings. 

To come to this conclusion, the researchers caught and partially restrained 60 jumping spiders (Menemerus semilimbatus) on a round treadmill. On either side of the treadmill, video screens flashed patterns of light that were only visible to outside eyes. Some of the patterns were random, while others mimicked movement patterns of animals. 

The results showed that the spiders were more likely to turn and face the random patterns than those showing animal movement patterns. 

It may seem counterintuitive that the spiders would prefer to face the random patterns, but the researchers explain that the spiders do this to focus their other eyes on a movement they don’t recognize and investigate, rather than watch organismal movement that they do recognize. 

Interestingly, complex vision evolved separately in vertebrates and invertebrates, so the ability to identify living things with peripheral vision almost certainly evolved separately as well. This convergent evolution shows how important it is to be able to identify potential prey, predators, and mates. 

The research says a lot about the evolution of sight in general as well, since this ability was only known of in vertebrates previously. The scientists are excited to see what other secrets jumping spiders may be hiding.    

"Jumping spiders' secondary eyes confirm themselves to be a marvelous tool," said study lead author Massimo De Agrò of Harvard University. "In this experiment, we observed how they alone can tell apart living from non-living organisms, using the semi-rigid pattern of motion that characterize the formers and without the aid of any shape cue." 

"Finding the presence of this skill, previously known only in vertebrates, opens up new and exciting perspectives on the evolution of visual perception. My co-authors and I can't wait to see what other visual cues can be perceived and understood by these tiny creatures."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">Plos Biology</a>.

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By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Jumping spiders know the difference between animals and objects

A new study published by PLOS looks at the ability...

High tide floods - those caused by especially high tides - are a growing threat in the United States and elsewhere. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported more than 600 high tide floods in 2019 alone. 

A new study from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> predicts that high tide floods will become much more widespread across the coast of the U.S. in the 2030’s. The projections are based on a combination of rising sea levels and lunar cycles. 

“Low-lying areas near sea level are increasingly at risk and suffering due to the increased flooding, and it will only get worse,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. 

“The combination of the Moon’s gravitational pull, rising sea levels, and climate change will continue to exacerbate coastal flooding on our coastlines and across the world. NASA’s Sea Level Change Team is providing crucial information so that we can plan, protect, and prevent damage to the environment and people’s livelihoods affected by flooding.” 

Flooding like this seems more benign than that caused by major storms. However, high tide floods are predicted to have major impacts, disrupting commerce and causing health threats.

One of the major causes of the increase in high tide flooding is due to a wobble in the moon’s orbit that occurs on an 18.6 year cycle. The wobble was first noticed by scientists in 1728. The reason that the wobble will be especially problematic in the 2030’s is due to higher sea levels from a warmer climate. 

During half of the year the moon’s cycle tides are suppressed, and the tides are heightened during the other half. We are in a part of the cycle now where tides are made higher than usual. Only now, the ocean levels haven’t yet risen to the point they are predicted to be at in 2030, so there’s still relatively little flooding. 

Study co-author Ben Hamlington of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the leader of the Sea Level Change Team. He noted that the findings of the new study are a vital resource for coastal urban planners, who may be focused on preparing for extreme events rather than more high-tide floods.

“From a planning perspective, it’s important to know when we’ll see an increase,” said Hamlington. “Understanding that all your events are clustered in a particular month, or you might have more severe flooding in the second half of a year than the first - that’s useful information.” 

The scientists hope that this new information is used wisely for planning and decision making.     

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

The moon’s wobbles will cause a surge in high tide flooding

High tide floods - those caused by especially high tides...

In a new study published by <a href="https://plos.org/">PLOS</a>, experts have investigated the long term effects of COVID-19. The researchers recruited 431 people who had contracted the disease and tested positive between February and August 2020 in Zurich, Switzerland to ask about their experience. 

Participants reported on their health and symptoms roughly seven months after contracting COVID. Overall, 89 percent of the individuals had symptoms when they were first diagnosed, and 19 percent required hospitalization at the time. Most of the study participants were relatively young, averaging only 47 years of age.

Six to eight months after their initial diagnosis, 26 percent of the people in the study reported that they still had some symptoms. Fatigue was still an issue for me than half of the individuals, while 25 percent had shortness of breath. 

Symptoms of depression were reported by 26 percent of the participants, and 40 percent reported at least one doctor visit related to COVID.

The continuing symptoms are now officially referred to as "long COVID" or "post-COVID-19 syndrome." This is a growing problem for health care systems which may or may not have adequate resources to treat persistent symptoms. 

The study authors say that their research highlights the need for resource planning and medical attention tailored to those suffering from COVID-19.    

"This cohort study based on a representative, population-based sample of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals found that 26% did not fully recover within 6-8 months after diagnosis and 40% had at least one further healthcare contact related to COVID-19," said the researchers.

"These findings underline the need for the timely planning of healthcare resources and services tailored to the needs of individuals suffering from post-COVID-19 syndrome."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Over 25% of COVID patients are symptomatic six months later

In a new study published by PLOS, experts have investigated...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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