Krill may be small, but their role in carbon storage is monumental. Beneath Antarctica's icy waters, these tiny crustaceans are emerging as unexpected heroes in the fight against atmospheric carbon.



While the significance of blue carbon habitats like mangroves, seagrasses, and saltmarshes is well-known, recent research highlights the vital contribution of Antarctic krill and their impressive carbon storage capacity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-unsung-heroes-of-carbon-capture">The unsung heroes of carbon capture</h2>



When we think of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mountains-both-carbon-sinks-and-carbon-sources/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carbon sinks</a> - the vital natural systems that absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere - we might not consider the role of small crustaceans.



The new findings reveal that Antarctic krill store amounts of carbon that are comparable to critical blue carbon habitats like mangroves, seagrasses, and saltmarshes.



Despite <a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/antarctic-krill_store-huge-amounts-carbon_credit-Imperial-College_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">their minute size</a>, these krill contribute significantly to carbon cycling, thanks to their enormous combined populations.



"A key player in the biological carbon pump is the Antarctic krill,&nbsp;Euphausia superba, whose faecal pellets, moults and carcasses can completely dominate Southern Ocean carbon fluxes to the ocean’s interior in the Austral growth season," wrote the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-krill-in-carbon-cycling">The role of krill in carbon cycling</h2>



Krill are often viewed as merely being food for larger animals. Whales, seals, and penguins relish these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-deep-sea-crustacean-species-discovered-in-the-bahamas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crustaceans</a>, and humans also fish them for bait, aquaculture, and dietary supplements. 



However, the value of krill extends far beyond the food chain.



“For the past decade we have been piecing together the role krill have in carbon cycling, finally resulting in this amazing finding that krill, and their poo, store similar amounts of carbon as some coastal marine plants," explained Dr. Emma Cavan, one of the lead authors from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Imperial College London</a>.



Protection for these vital creatures is an urgent matter. 



"I hope this means we can now work towards conserving krill and their valuable Southern Ocean ecosystem with the same gumption as we are seagrasses and mangroves," Cavan continued.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-carbon-storage-in-ocean-systems">Carbon storage in ocean systems</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-impacting-marine-life-more-than-we-realized/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marine life</a> plays a pivotal role in locking carbon away from the atmosphere in ocean systems. The term "blue carbon" was coined over a decade ago to describe the crucial role <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/native-aquatic-plants-could-help-clean-coastal-waters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coastal marine plants</a> play in this process. 



Yet, the ocean has other storage methods far from the coast through animals like krill. These creatures feed on phytoplankton - microscopic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/good-news-plants-are-absorbing-more-human-produced-co2-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plants that absorb carbon</a> during photosynthesis.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/antarctic-krill_store-huge-amounts-carbon_illustration_credit-Imperial-College_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/antarctic-krill_store-huge-amounts-carbon_illustration_credit-Imperial-College_1s.webp" alt="Illustration of Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Credit: Glynn Gorick/Imperial College" class="wp-image-1945051"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Illustration of Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Credit: Glynn Gorick/Imperial College</figcaption></figure>



When krill excrete or shed their exoskeletons, the carbon they've consumed sinks to the ocean depths, where it remains for a long time. 



This process could lock away at least 20 million tons of carbon annually, which is the equivalent of up to $46 billion worth of carbon storage.



“Antarctic krill are well known for being at the center of the unique Southern Ocean ecosystem and supporting an important fishery. But this study paints another picture of krill -- on their key role in storing carbon," noted study co-author Professor Angus Atkinson from <a href="https://pml.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth Marine Laboratory</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-krill-swarms">The power of krill swarms</h2>



The massive populations of krill make them effective carbon storers. Swarms can contain up to 30 trillion individuals, producing a deluge of carbon-rich waste products.



“One of the amazing things about krill is that they form massive swarms, which can be over a kilometer in length," said Dr. Anna Belcher, a co-author from the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a>. 



"This drives a huge 'rain' of krill poo after feeding, making krill globally important for locking carbon away from the atmosphere."



The study also reveals that the depth needed to secure carbon storage effectively is surprisingly shallow, with an average of 381 meters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-krill-for-carbon-storage">Protecting krill for carbon storage </h2>



Antarctic krill are under increasing threat from rapid polar climate change, which is drastically altering their habitat. These krill are also targeted by an expanding fishery that further depletes their populations.



The combined pressures make the carbon storage capacity of krill an urgent and vital area for protection. 



Preserving this crucial carbon sink is essential for maintaining the delicate balance of the Southern Ocean ecosystem, and for meeting global climate goals.



The research highlights the need to integrate carbon considerations into broader conservation policies.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52135-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Tiny Antarctic krill store enormous amounts of carbon

Krill may be small, but their role in carbon storage is monumental. Beneath Antarctica's icy waters, these tiny crustaceans are emerging as unexpected heroes in the fight against atmospheric carbon. While the significance of blue carbon habitats like mangroves, seagrasses, and saltmarshes is well-known, recent research highlights the vital contribution of Antarctic krill and their impressive carbon storage capacity. The unsung heroes of carbon capture When we think of carbon sinks - the vital natural systems that absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere - we might...

The loss of forests is not good news for bats. Clearance and harvesting of trees threaten the habitat of many bat species that make their homes in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-in-protected-indigenous-lands-are-healthy-and-resilient/">forests</a>. Although policy makers understand the importance to biodiversity of in-tact forest habitats, it is unlikely that timber harvesting will ever stop. Humans need wood and so most forest areas will undoubtedly end up being managed for various human needs, including tree growth and removal, hunting and recreation.&nbsp;



This applies also to forests in eastern North America, where bats are additionally threatened by high mortality rates due to white-nose syndrome and collision with wind turbines. Timber harvest could affect bats either positively or negatively in these forests, depending on the management approach and the ecological needs of each species. Although there have been many previous studies on the potential impact of timber harvest on bats, there are many gaps in our understanding due, in part, to the logistical challenges inherent in studying these nocturnal, highly mobile animals.



According to recent <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a> research, certain forest management strategies actually suit the habitat requirements of eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis), meaning that this species is likely to co-exist successfully with, and even benefit from, managed forests in future. The study made use of radio telemetry to track the movements of 26 eastern red bats at a managed Indiana forest site. The study lasted three years and bats were tracked at various times during this period. The data were used to identify where the bats most often foraged and roosted.&nbsp;



“With white nose syndrome causing major declines in many bat species, the eastern red bat has become the most commonly detected bat in many Midwestern forests, making up 70 to 80 percent of the captures in our Indiana study site. So from that perspective, they probably have the most sizeable effect on the forest. To manage the landscape holistically, we should consider species that might have a disproportionate impact,” says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizabeth-Beilke">Elizabeth Beilke</a>, postdoctoral researcher in the&nbsp;<a href="https://nres.illinois.edu/">Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences</a>&nbsp;(NRES) at U of I, and lead author on the study.



The researchers attached tiny radio transmitters to as many red bats as they could capture, and tracked them between May and August, 2017–2019, in two state forests in south-central Indiana. The 26 bats included 18 females and 7 males (one female was tracked twice). During monitoring, the researchers installed themselves at spots on top of ridges to pick up the bats’ signals every five minutes, while the animals were active. They said this approach gave different data from what is normally obtained using acoustic cues only.&nbsp;



Professor&nbsp;<a href="https://nres.illinois.edu/directory/jmokeefe">Joy O’Keefe</a> says it’s an improvement over acoustic methods, where researchers listen for bat calls. With acoustics, researchers can’t distinguish individual bats, potentially missing important differences due to sex, age, health, and other factors. It is sometimes challenging to identify bat species from acoustic cues and, furthermore, bats do not always echolocate while they fly. Acoustic cues are also more difficult to detect in denser vegetation.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The results of the telemetry tracking and analysis, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120604">Forest Ecology and Management</a>, showed that eastern red bats foraged over a relatively small area (81&nbsp;ha or 200 acres) and traveled a maximum distance of 1404&nbsp;m from their roosts. They favored foraging near maintained openings in forest, near recent regeneration openings, roads, and ponds within the study area. In addition, they roosted preferentially near maintained openings, recent regeneration openings, and ponds, switching roosts every two days. They selected large, mature trees for roosting, and preferred to roost where vegetation was less dense.&nbsp;



“Red bats are selecting and using parts of the forest that are associated with forest management, including recent timber harvests and maintained forest openings. They're also using ponds, roads, and ridges more than we’d expect, based on availability. Our data suggest these bats can coexist with forest management,” Beilke says. “This is heartening because timber harvest isn’t going away; it’s a human need. But this work demonstrates that management practices like timber harvest aren’t inherently harmful to bats and could even benefit certain species.”



The results are similar to O’Keefe’s&nbsp;<a href="https://aces.illinois.edu/news/sending-bat-signal-forest-use-endangered-species">previous</a>&nbsp;findings for endangered Indiana bats and threatened northern long-eared bats in the same hardwood ecosystem site in Indiana. Those bats preferentially foraged and roosted near thinned areas, small patch cuts, and ponds.



“It seems like the more recent practice of harvesting smaller sections of the forest is a better approach, not only for regenerating oaks and hickories, but also for these bats. That’s opposed to large clear cuts, where we take out a lot of the forest at once. Oaks and hickories also respond well to shelterwood harvests, which offer shade to tiny tree seedlings during hot, dry summers. These partially shaded forest patches are the kinds of places bats prefer, as well,” O’Keefe says.



The researchers were encouraged by the finding that red bats can coexist with forest management practices, and may even benefit from them. They were delighted to capture one female bat twice during their study; not only did they capture her at the same site for two years running, but also she frequented the same spots in the forest in both years. O’Keefe says, “I think that's a testament to the forest. It must be good quality habitat for bats to migrate to winter sites and to come back.”



Although red bats are becoming the most common bat species in many forests, and they’re less susceptible to white nose syndrome due to their solitary roosting habits, the species is far from entirely safe.



“Unfortunately, eastern red bats die in huge numbers at wind turbines and a few recent papers have suggested they are declining range-wide. This is a shame because they’re very different from other bat species in this region. They roost solitarily in foliage, exposed to the elements, and give birth to three to four pups at once. Plus, they’re devastatingly cute,” Beilke says.



The authors conclude that, when considering habitat for eastern red bats in central hardwood forests, land managers should work to maintain large tracts of mature (&gt;90&nbsp;years old) forest, interspersed with young regeneration openings and provisions of perennial water, such as ponds. This will ensure suitable habitat for these fascinating small mammals.



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



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Eastern red bats do well in managed forests

The loss of forests is not good news for bats....

Scientists have long been puzzled by a strange natural phenomenon: the fact that vibrant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-animals-got-their-complex-color-patterns/">color patterns</a> in various animal species seem to serve different roles. While some animals use these patterns to attract mates, others employ them to ward off predators.&nbsp;



By examining the role of color patterning in all the major groups of land vertebrates – amphibians, mammals, birds, crocodilians, turtles, lizards, and snakes – a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> has identified a strong and consistent link between the function of animals’ bright colors and the activity patterns of their evolutionary ancestors. The experts found that species which use their bright colors as a sexual signal were descended from ancestors that were active during the day, while those that use such colors to deter predators had ancestors which were active during the night.



“This pattern generally seems to hold across land vertebrates, a group with about 40,000 species that evolved over 350 million years,” said study senior author John Wiens, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. “It doesn’t matter how a species produces the colors. The way that a bird makes red is different from how a lizard makes red, but this general pattern of day-night activity still works.”



The scientist discovered that vividly colored lizards and birds typically use their coloring as a sexual signal to attract mates, while colorful amphibians and snakes usually wear them as a warning signal for predators. While many of these amphibians and snakes are currently diurnal, their ancestors were nocturnal. Thus, there is no clear connection between warning colors and present-day diurnal or nocturnal activity.



Early in their evolution, most of the ancestors of modern species started out drab and dully colored. However, vivid coloration evolved over time across many different lineages and, since they helped animals survive and reproduce, they became established and passed on to future generations.&nbsp;



“Traits that we see today in species can be a result of their evolutionary history,” said study lead author Zachary Emberts, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Arizona. “We were looking for evolutionary patterns, so we did two separate analyses, one that used their current day-night activity and one that used their ancestral day-night activity.”



Since ancestors of amphibians and snakes spent time interacting and mating with their conspecifics in the dark, having bright colors offered them no sexual advantage. Thus, their intense coloring may have evolved for a very different purpose: a warning sign for predators. “Animals generally use these colors either as a sexual signal or as a warning signal – rarely both,” Professor Wiens concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.14636">Evolution</a>.



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

Why did bright colors evolve in the animal kingdom?

Scientists have long been puzzled by a strange natural phenomenon:...

A new project led by <a href="https://www.staffs.ac.uk/">Staffordshire University</a> and funded by <a href="https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en">Horizon Europe</a> aims to contribute forensic intelligence to help protecting endangered species such as wolf, bear, lynx, or sturgeon from remote parts of Europe. Over the next three years, the NATURE FIRST project will bring together 12 global partners to safeguard <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-biodiversity-crisis-is-actually-worse-than-we-thought/">biodiversity</a> and protect the habitats of many animal species that are currently threatened by human activities, by developing proactive and preventive capabilities for nature conservation and law enforcement through a combination of forensic intelligence and remote sensing technologies.



Spanning Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia and Spain, this project will focus on regions such as the Carpathian Mountains, the Danube Delta, the Stara Planina Mountains, the Os Ancares and the O Courel, by drawing upon real-time data from satellites, drones, cameras, and other technological devices to closely monitor these locations.



“The overall aim is to halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity in Europe. We want to improve natural habitats where certain species are an incredibly important part of the ecosystem. To achieve this, we need a better understanding of why and where biodiversity is declining and what the key triggers are,” explained Claire Gwinnett, a professor of Forensic and Environmental Science at Staffordshire.



“As most of the threats and pressures on biodiversity are man-induced, this project will combine ecology and forensic science. This novel approach will use remote sensing technologies, machine learning and wildlife forensic methods to detect and recognize traces of human activities that negatively affect the environment.”



The regions that the scientists will investigate cover vast land masses that can’t be easily monitored from the ground. Thus, the use of advanced technologies to detect biodiversity threats - such as poaching of flora and fauna, trafficking and trading of rare animals and plants, or setting fires to forests and other natural areas for agricultural and commercial purposes – is essential for preserving biodiversity.



“The aim of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 is to ensure that ecosystems are healthy, resilient to climate change and rich in biodiversity so that they can keep delivering the range of services essential to the prosperity and well-being of all of us. We are excited to be taking positive steps to help achieve this by working with such a fantastic group of global partners,” Gwinnett concluded.



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



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Forensics could be used to safeguard biodiversity

A new project led by Staffordshire University and funded by...

Invasive plant species can have devastating effects on local ecosystems, comparable to those wrought by climate change. However, scientists do not yet know how many of such <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/managing-invasive-species-can-improve-climate-resilience/">invasive species</a> there are in the world. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts Amherst</a> is the first to comprehensively pinpoint the various unknowns which should be addressed in order to effectively manage invasive plant species around the globe.



According to the experts, the most cost-effective method of stopping invasive species is to put a halt on their introduction. However, in order for this to happen, managers need to know exactly which plants are invasive. While lists of invasive plants worldwide include species reported by scientists, currently unreported species still pose a significant risk.&nbsp;



“Trade and climate change have facilitated the widespread movement of species around the globe,” said&nbsp;study lead author Brittany Laginhas, a doctoral student in Geospatial Analytics at the <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> who completed this research during her graduate studies at UMass Amherst. “In some cases, these species will establish and spread in their new environment, causing devastating ecological and economic damages. Basic information on invasive species, including which species are invasive, where they have invaded, and their timing of invasion, is critical for developing strategies to prevent their spread and subsequent damages.”



Together with her colleagues, Laginhas mined a database of 5,893 studies dating back to 1959 that reported 3,008 invasive species. However, statistical modelling suggests that there should be in fact 4,721 species, although the identity of the remaining 1,713 remains a mystery.



According to the researchers, so many invasive species are currently missing from scientific accounts mostly due to a systemic and geographically uneven undercount. For instance, while North America has been relatively well studied, Central and South America and Oceania have not been given similar attention. “There are vast differences in the studies conducted across different continents,” said study co-author Matthew Fertakos, a graduate student in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at UMass Amherst. “We have statistical methods that can help tell us how many species there&nbsp;should&nbsp;be, but real data is always better than an estimation.”



Unfortunately, a comprehensive map of the world’s invasive species cannot be generated in the laboratory alone. “We need floristic surveys, where researchers actually go out into the field, especially in the places that have been understudied, like Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America, and identify the exact species causing problems,” concluded senior author Bethany Bradley, a professor of Environmental Conservation at the same university.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eap.2776">Ecological Applications</a>.



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

How many invasive plant species are in the world?

Invasive plant species can have devastating effects on local ecosystems,...

As we face the consequences of climate change there is renewed impetus to restore <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-in-protected-indigenous-lands-are-healthy-and-resilient/">forests</a> so that they can once again provide ecosystem services, such as protecting species, sequestering carbon and securing livelihoods. But planting trees in areas that have been disturbed or denuded is costly, as is the maintenance of the new saplings after planting. This makes it especially important to understand the best conditions for successful reforestation.&nbsp;



A new study by a large international team of scientists has reviewed the success of reforesting programs at 176 sites in tropical and sub-tropical Asia. The researchers scoured the literature for published records of tree survival and growth data in areas where forest restoration has been attempted. They synthesized the evidence of forest recovery and the efficacy of tree planting as an intervention for ecosystem restoration.&nbsp;



In particular, the researchers used data on planted tree survival, planted tree size and/or growth, and area-based metrics of forest structure and diversity in planted and unplanted adjacent plots. They also collected data on other variables, such as location, duration of monitoring, disturbance history, site condition prior to planting, restoration methods, diversity of trees planted, planting density, and height of trees at planting. This was to identify the factors most closely correlated with the success of the replanting initiatives.&nbsp;



Overall, the researchers compiled data from 221,199 planted trees at sites across South and Southeast Asia. Of these trees, 207&nbsp;224 were monitored in terms of survival, while data on growth was collected for 102&nbsp;412 trees. In total, 625 tree species (252 genera; 81 families) were planted but species richness of plantings at individual sites was typically low (median of only three species planted per site). Although the maximum study duration was 33 years, only 49 (28 percent) sites conducted surveys at 5 years or more after planting, and the median study length was only two years.



The results of their analysis, published in the&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0090">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>, make for sobering reading. They found that, on average, 18 percent of planted saplings died within the first year, and that this mortality rose to 44 percent after five years. However, survival rates varied greatly between sites and species, with some sites seeing over 80 percent of trees still alive after five years, while at others a similar percentage had died.



Policy makers are aware that forest restoration is a powerful tool to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change, as growing trees lock away carbon and support important habitats. Reforestation projects are also used widely for carbon offsetting. While the main measurement used to gauge success is often the number of trees initially planted, this research shows that many of these trees are not surviving long-term. In addition, the ultimate goal of restoration is the structural and compositional recovery of the whole plant community and broader ecosystem, and monitoring often ceases before this can be assessed fully.&nbsp;



The analysis was not able to identify exactly what was responsible for different success rates at the various sites. Tree survival was not significantly correlated with climatic variables, soil type, species planted, or planting densities, but was highly dependent on the particular site of the reforestation project. This indicates that there are environmental, methodological and social factors that operate and affect whole sites, making restoration outcomes context specific.&nbsp;



“The large variability in survival we found across sites could be for a number of reasons, including planting densities, the choice of species, the site conditions, extreme weather events or differences in management and maintenance. Local socio-economic factors may also be important," said Dr Lindsay Banin, co-lead author based at the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">U.K. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology</a>.



“What’s clear is that success is very site-dependent – we need to understand what works and why, and share that information, so we can bring all sites up to the level of the most successful and harness the full potential for restoration. There’s likely no one-size-fits-all approach and restoration action should be tailored to local conditions. This will help ensure the scarce resources and land available to restoration are used to best effect,” she added.



The researchers found that planting taller saplings did give better survival rates, and that reforestation efforts were more successful in areas where some established trees remained than in areas that had been fully deforested. Saplings planted in areas with existing mature trees had roughly a 20 percent higher chance of survival. Furthermore, there was evidence that active restoration provides faster results than simply letting nature take its course. Sites that included tree planting activities gained forest cover more quickly than sites that were left to regenerate naturally.



“The sites where active restoration is most needed – those that have already been cleared of trees – are also those where restoration is most risky and prone to higher numbers of trees dying," said study co-author Professor David Burslem. "We need to understand better how to improve the survival chances of saplings on these sites, to ensure restoration has positive outcomes. But the study also provides a warning, to protect our remaining forests as much as possible, both because restoration outcomes are uncertain and to provide the diverse seed sources needed for restoration activities.”



“Replanting is only going to be an answer to excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere if we can guarantee that carbon is being successfully drawn out of the atmosphere and locked away – and be able to quantify the amounts and timescales involved," said study co-author Professor Robin Chazdon. "This is why assessing restoration outcomes over the long-term, and gathering information that helps to maximize success rates, are so important. We need the focus to shift away from simply planting trees toward growing them and helping our forests thrive.”



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



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Half of plants used in reforestation projects do not survive

As we face the consequences of climate change there is...

When it comes to carbon emissions in our atmosphere, a major producer was at work long before humans began spewing greenhouse gases from factories and vehicles: Earth itself.

Continental rifting – the process in which continents break apart from one another – releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.

A team of scientists from Potsdam’s <a href="http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/home/">GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences</a> recently turned their focus on rifting, to discover whether the shifting of the Earth’s tectonic plates has more or less of an effect on atmospheric carbon than underwater volcanic activity.

More than 99 percent of the carbon on Earth is captured deep underground. Volcanic activity can allow some of this carbon to escape in gas form and enter the atmosphere.
<h2>What the study found</h2>
However, the team led by Dr. Sascha Brune found that continental rifting releases much more carbon dioxide from under the Earth’s surface.

"Rift systems develop by tectonic stretching of the continental crust, which may lead to break-up of entire plates,” Brune said. "The East African Rift with a total length of [more than 3,720 miles] is the largest in the world, but it appears small in comparison to the rift systems which were formed 130 million years ago when the supercontinent Pangea broke apart, comprising a network with a total length of more than [24,800 miles]."

Using scientific models, the team worked backwards to see where and how active rift systems may have been during the past 200 million years of Earth’s history. They found that 50 million and 130 million years ago, rift systems may have been much larger and more active than at other points in geological history. 

When they compared their findings against models showing the makeup of the Earth’s atmosphere during those periods, they found spikes in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/co2-levels-highest-ever/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">atmospheric carbon</a>. 

Human activity releases more carbon dioxide than continental rifting does, Brune noted.

"The global [carbon dioxide] degassing rates at rift systems, however, are just a fraction of the anthropogenic carbon release today,” he said. "Yet, they represent a missing key component of the deep carbon cycle that controls long-term climate change over millions of years."
<h2>More about continental rifting</h2>
Continental rifting is the process by which a continent is stretched and pulled apart, leading to the formation of a new ocean basin. It occurs when the Earth's tectonic plates move away from each other, causing the lithosphere, which is the rigid outer layer of the Earth, to crack and separate.

This process is typically associated with a significant amount of seismic activity and volcanic activity, as magma rises from the mantle and fills the gaps created by the separating plates.

Over time, the continued movement and separation of the plates can lead to the formation of a rift valley, a long, narrow depression in the Earth's surface that can be hundreds or thousands of kilometers long. As the plates continue to move apart, the rift valley can widen and deepen, and eventually become a new ocean basin.

<a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19830060638" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Continental rifting</a> is an important geological process that helps shape the Earth's surface and can have significant impacts on the environment, including the formation of new ecosystems and the potential for natural resources such as minerals and oil.
<h2>How rift systems and continental rifting work together</h2>
A rift system is a network of interconnected faults and rift zones that are associated with continental rifting. It can be composed of several rift segments that are aligned along a common axis and are separated by areas of relative stability or weakness in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-polar-ice-is-warping-earths-crust/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earth's crust</a>.

Rift systems are characterized by active geologic processes, including seismic activity, volcanic activity, and the uplift and subsidence of the Earth's surface. As the continental plates move apart, the tensional stresses that result can cause the crust to stretch and thin, leading to the formation of faults and rift valleys.

One of the most famous rift systems in the world is the <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/ol-doinyo-lengai-has-some-of-the-worlds-fastest-lava/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">East African Rift System</a>, which stretches for over 3,000 km through East Africa and is associated with the formation of several lakes, including Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika. The Rio Grande Rift is another example of a rift system, located in the southwestern United States and stretching from Colorado to Mexico.

Rift systems are important features in the study of plate tectonics and the evolution of the Earth's crust. They provide insights into the processes that shape the Earth's surface and can have significant impacts on the environment and human societies.

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

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Dr. Sascha Brune, <a href="https://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/">NASA WorldWind</a>

Continental rifting can heat up the planet

When it comes to carbon emissions in our atmosphere, a...

Three days after hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico in mid-September 2022, the National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning stating that the heat index – a measurement incorporating humidity to calculate perceived temperatures – could reach up to 109 degrees Fahrenheit. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a>, such phenomena are not an exception. In fact, above-average temperatures almost always follow <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intense-tropical-cyclones-are-set-to-double-by-2050/">tropical cyclones</a> (which include tropical storms and hurricanes) and may rise up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than average.



While tropical cyclones frequently cause major damage from strong winds, storm surges, massive rainfall, and flooding, extreme heat is an additional hazard that can occur days after the cyclones, and even in nearby areas which were not directly impacted by the storms. “Multiple extreme events happening within a very short window of time can complicate disaster recovery,” said study author&nbsp;Zackry Guido, an assistant professor of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. “To medical providers, heat is a concern. Our results suggest that tropical cyclone preparedness should also include public information about heat risk.”



The scientists analyzed 53 tropical cyclones in the eastern Caribbean between 1991 and 2020 and 2005 interactions between these cyclones and 14 Caribbean cities, and found that the cities’ heat index values were always higher than average after the storm. “Everyone’s focus is on the destructive power of tropical storms and hurricanes – the storm surge, winds, flooding – and that’s obviously quite substantial, but our focus is on the combined hazard of storm and subsequent heat,” Professor Guido explained.



“Hurricanes are massive heat pumps, redistributing heat for a large spatial distance around the center of the storm, and they leave massive destruction in their wake that can knock out the energy grid. That combination is often dangerous because it slows recovery and poses risks to human health.”



Although this study does not explore how climate change may impact this phenomenon, the researchers expect that high heat index values following tropical cyclones will likely increase in the future. “It’s very easy to understand the climate change impacts of this. Our future will likely have hurricanes dropping more intense rain and have more people in harm’s way. Then, if you drape on top of that a hotter environment, you will therefore expect a greater overall impact,” Guido concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099740">Environmental Research Letters</a>.



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

Tropical cyclones fuel extreme heatwaves in their wake

Three days after hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico in mid-September...

According to this year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4811-2022">Global Carbon Budget</a>&nbsp;report, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-co2-emissions-reached-unprecedented-highs-in-2021/">global carbon dioxide emissions</a> from fossil fuels and cement have increased by one percent in 2022, hitting a new record high of 36.6 billion tons. 



The experts found that the current rise in fossil fuel emissions has been mainly driven by a strong increase in oil emissions as the travel industry has started to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic. Although coal and gas emissions grew more slowly, they both had record emissions too in 2022. 



Moreover, the scientists warned that, if global emissions remain at current levels, the remaining carbon budget maintaining global warming below 1.5°C will be gone in roughly nine years.&nbsp;



“This year we see yet another rise in global fossil CO2 emissions, when we need a rapid decline,” said report lead author Pierre Friedlingstein, an expert in the Mathematical Modelling of the Climate System at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. “There are some positive signs, but leaders meeting at COP27 will have to take meaningful action if we are to have any chance of limiting global warming close to 1.3°F (1.5°C).&nbsp;The Global Carbon Budget numbers monitor the progress on climate action and right now we are not seeing the action required.”



The researchers estimate that total global carbon dioxide emissions will reach 40.6 billion tons by the end of the year, which is not far from the highest annual total ever recorded (40.9 billion tons in 2021). While emissions in China and the European Union are expected to decrease by 0.9 and 0.8 percent, respectively, those from India and the United States will rise by 6 and 1.5 percent.



In order to reach zero net emissions by 2050, a decrease of 1.4 billion tons of CO2 is needed annually, which is the equivalent of the observed emissions fall in 2020 as a result of the worldwide Covid-related lockdowns.



&nbsp;“Our findings reveal turbulence in emissions patterns this year resulting from the pandemic and global energy crises,” said co-author Corinne Le Quéré, a research professor of Climate Change Science at the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a>.



“If governments respond by turbo charging clean energy investments and planting, not cutting, trees, global emissions could rapidly start to fall. We are at a turning point and must not allow world events to distract us from the urgent and sustained need to cut our emissions to stabilize the global climate and reduce cascading risks,” she concluded.



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

Global CO2 emissions hit record levels in 2022

According to this year’s&nbsp;Global Carbon Budget&nbsp;report, global carbon dioxide emissions...

Thunderstorm,And,Lightning

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> has found that climate change could alter lightning patterns across Europe. By using state-of-the-art <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/">Met Office</a> climate simulations with the highest local details in meteorological and topographic features down to two kilometers, the experts estimated that global warming could lead to more lightning over mountains and in Northern Europe and less lightning over Central Europe.



By taking into consideration an unmitigated climate change scenario (the so-called RCP.8 scenario), the researchers discovered that, in the future, Europe will face more frequent and powerful storms overall, but less lightning locally due to less cloud ice and frozen particles in storm clouds due to temperature rises. While at higher altitudes, such as the Alps, there will be more lightning, on the lower terrain in central Europe and over the sea, there will likely be less lighting.



These changes could lead to an increased risk of wildfires over the mountains and in Northern Europe. “While more frequent lightning strikes over mountains and in Northern Europe might trigger more wildfires in higher level forests, we are going to see relatively fewer lightning hazards over more populated areas of Central Europe,” said study lead author Abdullah Kahraman, a senior researcher in Severe Weather and Climate Change at Newcastle.



&nbsp;“These new very high-resolution climate projections, which have a resolution on a par with weather forecast models, are providing new insights into future changes in convective storms and their associated hazards - such as heavy downpours, lightning, hail and wind gusts,” added study co-author Lizzie Kendon, a science fellow at the Met Office. “Changes in lightning in this study are in contrast with previous studies. This shows us that representing the fundamental physical processes within storms themselves is important and can lead to future changes that are even of the opposite sign.”&nbsp;



According to the scientists, these findings highlight the need to re-evaluate lightning risks to wildfires, properties, and human life and wellbeing across the European continent. “This is just more bad news for critical national infrastructure in northern Europe, after the damning report ‘Readiness for storms ahead? Critical national infrastructure in an age of climate change’ by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy last week. Our paper has highlighted new risks from increases in lightning, previously unknown, which will require increased investment in climate adaptation measures. Further analysis is needed of the potential impact of these increases in lightning on energy and other critical infrastructure systems to enable policies and measures to be produced that are locally- and sector-relevant for adaptation planning,” concluded co-author Hayley Fowler, an expert in Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9b78">Environmental Research Letters</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Climate change will alter lightning patterns

A new study led by the Newcastle University has found...

Plastic production and subsequent pollution are key drivers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-climate-and-biodiversity-crises-should-be-tackled-together/">climate</a> change, the focus of discussion at COP27 in Egypt this week. At the upcoming Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution, the United Nations must set a new target for plastic pollution. Researchers from the <a href="https://plasticspolicy.port.ac.uk/">Global Plastics Policy Centre</a> at the University of Portsmouth are urging for an aggressive target of zero for new plastic waste.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/persons/steve-fletcher">Professor Steve Fletcher</a> advised the United Nations Environment Programme, G20, and World Bank on plastic policy, including the possible global agreement to tackle plastic pollution.



“The treaty’s target must be ambitious and meaningful, we are calling for the UN to aim for a minimum goal of 0% new plastic pollution by 2040," said Professor Fletcher. "To achieve this, policymakers, businesses, researchers and wider society must go beyond the existing best available technology and practice and be radical in their thinking to develop a coordinated global strategy to tackle plastic pollution.”



The aim of the global treaty is to end plastic pollution, but a target is still needed and should be clearly defined with an agreed upon strategy.&nbsp;



There are nearly 200 nations committed to the development of the treaty. With each country working with different financial, social and political obstacles, the target must be clear, measurable, and based on a relevant timeframe.&nbsp;



The authors feel it is not realistic for countries to clear existing plastic waste. Instead, efforts should be focused on stopping new plastic pollution entering the environment.&nbsp;



Current policies only address a fraction of plastic pollution. These commitments are estimated to decrease plastic entering the environment by only seven percent between now and 2040.&nbsp;



“At best, country-specific policies, such as bans on specific plastic products, do not have the reach to meaningfully affect global drivers of plastic pollution. At worst, they create international legal and policy inconsistencies that push plastic waste to places with the least capacity to deal with it safely," said study lead author Antaya March.



Policies often fail to tackle the root cause of pollution. This is why the team is calling for a globally coordinated approach regulating the entire plastics value chain and confronting the environmental, economic and social impacts of misaligned plastic policies.



“Plastic is extremely useful, but mismanagement has led to a global pollution crisis that is exacerbating climate change. A complete transformation to a circular plastics economy is needed to radically reduce or eliminate plastic pollution while supporting necessary use," said March.



“It is a huge achievement that the development of a global legally binding treaty by the UN to end plastic pollution is underway. But to be effective, the global treaty requires new levels of transparency, disclosure and cooperation to support evidence-based policymaking that avoids the fragmented and reactionary policies of the past. A system change needs to arise that fundamentally alters the way we behave and interact with plastic," said Professor Fletcher.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00361-1">Nature Reviews Earth &amp; Environment</a>.



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



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The world may put an end to plastic pollution by 2040

Plastic production and subsequent pollution are key drivers of climate...

Although climate change has attracted a lot of attention for its catastrophic consequences for the natural world, a new study published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm9982">Science Advances</a> has argued that it is in fact the fourth driver of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-loss-weakens-ecosystem-functioning/">biodiversity loss</a>, after land/sea use change, direct exploitation of natural resources, and pollution.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This major new study, published during the COP27 climate summit, demonstrates clearly that fighting climate change alone will not be enough to prevent the further loss of biodiversity, and with it our future,” said study co-author Nicolas Titeux, an expert in Climate, Environment, and Biodiversity at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.list.lu/">Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology</a>. “The various direct drivers should be addressed with similar ambition as the climate crisis and as a whole.”&nbsp;



While greenhouse emissions have been known to be the leading causes of the current climate crisis, the researchers argued that just as important is understanding what is behind the massive and rapid decline in animal and plant species. Since ecosystems worldwide are changing away from their natural condition at an unprecedented pace, they are increasingly unable to provide crucial ecosystem services for human wellbeing.



Although, overall, climate change is only the fourth driver of biodiversity loss, it is the second driver of species loss in the oceans, after the human-led exploitation of fish stocks. Based on current developments, the scientists fear that the importance of climate change for species loss and the decline of ecosystem services will increase during the following years and move up in the top of direct drivers.



The researchers call for a more holistic approach to tackle the twin threats of climate and the biodiversity crises together. “Climate change and biodiversity loss have been tackled largely separately, by different policies that haven’t always considered the other problem. For example, biofuels are proposed as one way to get to net zero, but the expansion of plantations into natural forest that could result would be terrible for nature,” explained study senior author Andy Purvis, a researcher in Biodiversity and Conservation at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> in London.&nbsp;



Moreover, “nature-positive” solutions to tackle the two crises, such as the large-scale restoration of natural forests and the effective protection of coastal wetlands, are essential for solving the world’s most pressing problems. “I’d love for ‘nature-positive’ to get into the public consciousness as much as ‘net zero’ has. If future generations are going to have the same birthright we had of a livable, supportive planet, then all parts of society will have to transition as quickly as possible to being both net zero and nature-positive,” Purvis concluded.&nbsp;



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

The climate and biodiversity crises should be tackled together

Although climate change has attracted a lot of attention for...

While we are familiar with the ways in which human activities are currently threatening the abundance and diversity of wild species on land, information on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-biodiversity-could-shift-rapidly-due-to-climate-change/">biodiversity</a> changes in the oceans is not as easy to obtain. It’s estimated that intense fishing across the planet’s oceans has led to roughly half of all commercially harvested fish and invertebrate stocks becoming overfished during the 20th&nbsp;century, and the effects of these fisheries on ocean biodiversity are poorly researched and understood.&nbsp;



In a new study, scientists from Spain, the U.S. and Canada, have used the risk categories and criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s ‘Red List of Threatened Species’ to help develop an understanding of changing biodiversity among 52 populations of oceanic tuna, billfish and sharks since1950. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) labels a species as critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN), or vulnerable (V) on the basis of how much its population has declined over the past three generations or 10 years, whichever period is longer. Other categories include near threatened (NT) and of least concern (LC).



Dr. Maria José&nbsp;Juan-Jordá from the Basque Research and Technology Alliance, and colleagues, built upon this classification system and developed a continuous Red List Index (RLI) of yearly changes in extinction risk for populations of seven tuna species, six billfish species, and five shark species over the past 70 years. This helped them to understand the health of oceanic biodiversity as well as the overall impacts of fishing mortality and conservation efforts on these populations of predatory fish.



The researchers found that, between 1950 and 2008, the global RLI trajectory of these fish populations grew worse by around 27 percent. This reflected an increasing extinction risk due to fishing pressure for these iconic oceanic predatory species. However, as calls for better monitoring and effective fisheries management strategies were heeded, mortality due to fishing declined and populations of tuna and billfish gradually recovered. For tunas, the RLI started to improve in the 1990s and end of the 2000s whereas the RLI for billfishes deteriorated until the early 2000s, improving only during the past decade.&nbsp;



In particular, since 2008, populations of southern bluefin tuna have improved from critical to vulnerable, while yellowfin tuna, swordfish, blue marlin, striped marlin, and black marlin have moved to the categories near threatened or of least concern. These findings suggest that effective ocean fisheries management has shifted the biodiversity loss curve for tunas and billfishes. These target species are now being more successfully managed to ensure maximum sustainable catches.



However, the same cannot be said for oceanic shark species. The extinction risk for sharks, which remain largely undermanaged, continues to rise. Sharks are often captured as bycatch in other fisheries, and their numbers and biodiversity continue to decline, leading to increasing risk of biodiversity loss. The researchers report that there seems to be high resistance to any measure that might meaningfully curb fishing mortality for sharks, and emphasize that unless effective management actions are adopted to reduce shark mortality for each fishery and shark species – including international trade regulation – their risk trajectories will continue worsening in the future.&nbsp;



The authors state: “Our study connects annual changes in fishing mortality and extinction risk globally over the past 70 years for oceanic tunas, billfishes, and sharks and reveals how effective management for highly valuable commercial species of tunas and billfishes has reversed the biodiversity loss curve while the extinction risk of undermanaged sharks continues to increase.”



In a related Perspective, Matthew Burgess and Sarah Becker write: “The conservation statuses of threatened target species can be improved by managing the fishing industry, which can benefit the industry economically in the long run while allowing the threatened species to recover. However, the protection of high-vulnerability bycatch and non-target species is expected to be more difficult because they will require fisheries to invest in better fishing gear and targeting practices, or reduce fishing efforts, without directly benefiting from these changes.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abj0211">Science</a>.



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



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Tunas, billfishes, and sharks are sentinels of global ocean health

While we are familiar with the ways in which human...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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



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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



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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



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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 how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



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.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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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.

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



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



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Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" 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.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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



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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



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



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Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a>&nbsp;features the Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of the largest tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland. The glacier is located on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet.



As human-induced climate change continues to drive up temperatures, global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. ESA reports that, over the past decade alone, 3.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet. This is enough to cover the UK with meltwater 15 meters deep.



Based on satellite imagery, researchers determined that Kangerlussuaq entered a new phase of rapid retreat and acceleration in 2017. In their study, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00123/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>,&nbsp; the experts report that the glacier's ice front is now at its most retreated position since the early 20th century.



"Given Kangerlussuaq’s previous impacts on both the magnitude and pattern of ice sheet wide mass loss, we predict that its new phase of retreat, acceleration and thinning will markedly enhance the south-east region’s contribution to increasing discharge from the ice sheet," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"More broadly, accurate forecasting of the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise will require a deeper understanding of, and responses to, these non-linear ice dynamic processes."



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



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Kangerlussuaq Glacier 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 the complex relationship between ocean and climate. ESA's Climate Change Initiative will help us understand how oceans influence the climate and how climate change is impacting the oceans.&nbsp;



"Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate," explains ESA.



"As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life."



The amount of heat and carbon dioxide soaked up by the ocean depends on specific variables, including phytoplankton, temperatures, waves, salinity, and ice cover. Satellites can be used to measure these variables from space.



"From their unique vantage point, satellites provide key information for understanding the complexities of our planet and monitoring environmental issues," says ESA.



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



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Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video 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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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Aerial,Photo,Of,River,In,Amazon,Rainforest,Jungle,In,Peru

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a> describes how scientists are using autonomous sound sensors to monitor deforestation in the Amazon. By recording soundscapes, the experts can determine which animals are present through their distinct sounds.&nbsp;



Using this method, sounds can be used as scientific measurements to analyze the effects of deforestation. The researchers will gain a better understanding of how the acoustics of a forest can be used to measure its health.&nbsp;



"From space, parts of the Amazon rainforest that have previously been logged or burned may look lush and green, like a place buzzing with activity and full of sounds. But inside the rainforest, the animal life may tell a different story, of a harsh environment and a quieter soundscape," says NASA.



Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center&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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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