None of us can live without freshwater. It is, arguably, the most crucial natural resource we have. 



But recent findings have set off alarm bells around the world. Scientists are gravely concerned. Once abundant, our global freshwater levels are now at serious risk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-total-freshwater-levels">Earth's total freshwater levels</h2>



An international group of scientists analyzed data from NASA-German satellites and discovered that Earth's total freshwater levels experienced a sudden drop beginning in May 2014, with no signs of recovery since.



The researchers propose that this decline might indicate that Earth's continents have shifted into an enduringly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hotter-drier-deadlier-how-much-can-forests-tolerate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">drier state</a>.



Matthew Rodell is a hydrologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.



“The average amount of freshwater stored on land - that includes liquid surface water like lakes and rivers, plus water in aquifers underground - was 290 cubic miles (1,200 cubic km) lower than the average levels from 2002 through 2014,” said Rodell. 



"That’s two and a half times the volume of Lake Erie lost.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-satellite-data-exposed-water-loss">Satellite data exposed water loss</h2>



The team used observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, a joint effort by NASA and the German Aerospace Center, to identify this significant global decrease in freshwater. 



The GRACE satellites, which operated from 2002 to 2017, measured changes in Earth's gravity monthly, unveiling the shifts in water mass on and beneath the surface. The mission was succeeded by the GRACE–Follow On (GRACE–FO) satellites, which have been operational since May 2018. 



These satellites revealed that the drop in freshwater began with a <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/severe-drought-in-portugal-has-left-reservoirs-at-extreme-lows/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">severe drought</a> in northern and central Brazil, quickly followed by major droughts in Australasia, South America, North America, Europe, and Africa. 



Warmer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-temperatures-were-a-driving-force-behind-2023s-record-heat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean temperatures</a> in the tropical Pacific during the 2014–2016 El Niño, one of the most intense since 1950, played a critical role in shifting atmospheric jet streams and altering global weather and rainfall patterns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-freshwater-levels-did-not-rebound">Freshwater levels did not rebound </h2>



However, the most troubling finding came after the El Niño event subsided: global freshwater levels did not rebound. Rodell noted that 13 of the world’s 30 most intense droughts observed by GRACE occurred since January 2015. 



This pattern raises concerns about whether global warming could be contributing to the sustained freshwater depletion. 



“Warming temperatures increase both the evaporation of water from the surface to the atmosphere and the water-holding capacity of the atmosphere, increasing the frequency and intensity of drought conditions,” said NASA meteorologist Michael Bosilovich.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-freshwater-decline-and-global-warming">Freshwater decline and global warming</h2>



The relationship between global warming and freshwater loss becomes clearer when considering the impact of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-predicts-global-warmings-impact-on-extreme-weather/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extreme weather</a>. 



“Global warming leads the atmosphere to hold more water vapor, which results in more extreme precipitation,” Bosilovich explained. 



Although annual rain and snowfall totals may not change significantly, the time between these intense precipitation events can grow, causing the soil to dry out and become compact. 



“The problem when you have extreme precipitation is the water ends up running off,” Bosilovich added, meaning it doesn’t soak into the ground and replenish critical groundwater reserves.



This vicious cycle poses significant threats to agriculture, communities, and global stability. During prolonged droughts, the strain on water supplies forces cities and farms to rely heavily on groundwater, creating a loop of unsustainable extraction. 



The resulting depletion impacts farmers and communities, exacerbating poverty, health risks, and potential conflicts. 



A 2024 UN report on water stress highlights that people facing severe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-drought-has-caused-crisis-levels-of-food-and-water-scarcity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water shortages</a> may resort to contaminated water sources, increasing the risk of disease and famine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-our-water-resources">The future of our water resources</h2>



While scientists suspect global warming plays a significant role in these shifts, definitive links remain complex due to uncertainties in climate predictions and models. 



Susanna Werth, a hydrologist and remote sensing scientist at Virginia Tech who was not involved in the study, noted: “There are uncertainties in climate predictions. Measurements and models always come with errors.” 



This complexity highlights the challenge of forecasting future freshwater trends.



The pressing question remains: will global freshwater levels recover, stabilize, or continue to decline? 



Nine of the warmest years in recorded history coincided with this sharp drop in freshwater. “We don’t think this is a coincidence, and it could be a harbinger of what’s to come," said Rodell.



The data emphasizes the urgent need for action and adaptation strategies as we face a potentially drier future.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10712-024-09860-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Surveys in Geophysics</a>.



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Satellites reveal a sudden drop in global freshwater levels

None of us can live without freshwater. It is, arguably, the most crucial natural resource we have. But recent findings have set off alarm bells around the world. Scientists are gravely concerned. Once abundant, our global freshwater levels are now at serious risk. Earth's total freshwater levels An international group of scientists analyzed data from NASA-German satellites and discovered that Earth's total freshwater levels experienced a sudden drop beginning in May 2014, with no signs of recovery since. The researchers propose that this decline might indicate that...

This summer, an unprecedented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/europe-will-face-more-frequent-and-extreme-droughts/">drought</a> is afflicting most parts of Europe - as well as the typically rainy U.K - drying up rivers, killing aquatic species, shriveling crops, damaging farm economies, forcing water restrictions, and causing severe wildfires. Experts argue that climate change is the main driver of this historical drought (which is estimated to be the worst in 500 years), contributing to hotter temperatures that speed up evaporation, “thirstier” plants which take up more moisture, and reduced snowfall in the winter that significantly limits the freshwater supplies generally used for irrigation in the summer.



According to Jean-Philippe Couasné, a chief technician at the <a href="https://www.peche-landes.com/en/who-are-we/">Federation for Fishing and Protection of the Aquatic Environment</a> in France, fish are dying at an unprecedented rate in the Tille river. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “On average, about 8,000 liters (2,100 gallons) per second are flowing…And now, zero liters.” Without rain, the river “will continue to empty. And yes, all fish will die...They are trapped upstream and downstream, there’s no water coming in, so the oxygen level will keep decreasing as the (water) volume goes down. These are species that will gradually disappear.”



Other major rivers throughout Europe, including the Rhine, the Danube, or the Po, as well as lakes such as Garda in Italy or Velence in Hungary face similar conditions, which damage a wide range of ecosystems, and significantly restrict shipping activities. This massive drying up of water sources negatively impacts crop production. For instance, EU corn production is expected to be 12.5 million tons below that in 2021, and sunflower production is projected to be 1.6 million tons lower. Livestock dependent on feed crops are also suffering, with the quantity and quality of milk dropping at unprecedented rates in France and other countries.



Scientists argue that this dire situation Europe is currently facing results from long periods of dry weather caused by changes in world weather systems. Climate change has leveled temperatures across different regions, sapping the forces that drive the Atlantic jet stream, which usually brings rainy weather to Europe. Instead, this weaker and unstable jet stream is now bringing unusually hot air from North Africa to Europe, leading to prolonged heatwaves and subsequent droughts.&nbsp;



If actions to mitigate climate change are not urgently taken, such droughts will become increasingly frequent in the following years, leading to the destruction of a variety of ecosystems, and endangering humans all over the globe.&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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

Europe is experiencing its worst drought in 500 years

This summer, an unprecedented drought is afflicting most parts of...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a> have found that with today's heat waves, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greater-temperature-changes-linked-to-worse-extinction-events/">temperature</a> is a lot more stressful to the human body than what is indicated by the heat index. The experts report that the heat index calculated by meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) may underestimate the perceived temperature by more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit on the hottest days of the year.



The heat index is a measure of humidity combined with the air temperature, which represents how it actually feels when you step outside. It indicates how humans can deal with heat when the humidity is high - when sweating is less effective at cooling the body down.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, a higher heat index means that the human body is more stressed during heat waves than what is accounted for by public health officials. A heat index above 103 is considered by the NWS to be dangerous, and above 125 to be extremely dangerous.



“Most of the time, the heat index that the National Weather Service is giving you is just the right value. It's only in these extreme cases where they're getting the wrong number,” said Professor David Romps. “Where it matters is when you start to map the heat index back onto physiological states and you realize, oh, these people are being stressed to a condition of very elevated skin blood flow where the body is coming close to running out of tricks for compensating for this kind of heat and humidity. So, we're closer to that edge than we thought we were before.”



The heat index was devised in 1979 by physicist Robert Steadman, who created simple equations to calculate the hot and humid conditions of summer. However, Steadman left the index undefined for many conditions that we are now experiencing much more frequently in a hotter climate. For example, with a relative humidity of 80 percent, the heat index is not defined for temperatures above 88 degrees Fahrenheit or for below 59 degrees Fahrenheit.



Professor Romps explained that meteorologists have extrapolated into these areas to get numbers that are correct most of the time, but not based on any understanding of human physiology. “There's no scientific basis for these numbers."



The researchers set out to expand upon Steadman’s work to make the heat index accurate at all temperatures and all humidities between zero and 100.



“The original table had a very short range of temperature and humidity and then a blank region where Steadman said the human model failed,” said graduate student Yi-Chuan Lu. “Steadman had the right physics. Our aim was to extend it to all temperatures so that we have a more accurate formula.”



Earlier this year, Professor Romps and Lu published their revised heat index equation. For the current study, they applied this index to the top 100 heat waves that occurred between 1984 and 2020. While they found mostly minor discrepancies from what was reported by the NWS, the team also discovered some instances where the NWS heat index was way off.



One of the most extreme examples occurred during a heat wave in Chicago in July of 1995, when at least 465 people were killed. The maximum heat index reported by the NWS was 135 degrees Fahrenheit - but it actually felt like 154 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the researchers.



“I'm no physiologist, but a lot of things happen to the body when it gets really hot,” said Professor Romps. “Diverting blood to the skin stresses the system because you're pulling blood that would otherwise be sent to internal organs and sending it to the skin to try to bring up the skin's temperature. The approximate calculation used by the NWS, and widely adopted, inadvertently downplays the health risks of severe heat waves.”



Even among the healthiest of individuals, the threshold of heat death is reached at a heat index of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. While Earth is not likely to reach this point in the next few decades, deadly heat conditions are still becoming much more common.&nbsp;



“A 200 F heat index is an upper bound of what is survivable,” said Professor Romps. “But now that we've got this model of human thermoregulation that works out at these conditions, what does it actually mean for the future habitability of the United States and the planet as a whole? There are some frightening things we are looking at.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326">Environmental Research Letters</a>.



---



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

Heat index is greatly underestimated on the hottest days

Researchers at UC Berkeley have found that with today's heat...

Antarctica's ice shelves may be melting at an accelerated rate, which could contribute to more rapid sea level rise. These are the findings of a new model that simulates how rapidly flowing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parts-of-asia-face-irreversible-declines-in-freshwater-storage/">freshwater</a> melted from the ice shelves can trap dense warm ocean water at the base of the ice, causing it to warm and melt even more.



The study was conducted in the laboratory of Andy Thompson, a professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at the <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/">California Institute of Technology</a>.



Ice shelves are outcroppings of the Antarctic ice sheet, found where the ice juts out from land and floats on top of the ocean. The shelves are several hundred meters thick and act as a protective buffer keeping the whole ice sheet from flowing into the ocean, which would dramatically raise global sea levels.&nbsp;



Climate change, however, has warmed the atmosphere and oceans, increasing the speed at which these ice shelves are melting. This is threatening their ability to hold back the flow of the ice sheet into the ocean.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"If this mechanism that we've been studying is active in the real world, it may mean that ice shelf melt rates are 20 to 40 percent higher than the predictions in global climate models, which typically cannot simulate these strong currents near the Antarctic coast," said Thompson.



In this study, the researchers focused on the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). It is here that Antarctica sees the most dramatic changes due to climate change. The team's model takes into account the narrow Antarctic Coastal Current, which is not included in many climate models because it is so small.&nbsp;



"Large global climate models don't include this coastal current, because it's very narrow - only about 20 kilometers wide, while most climate models only capture currents that are 100 kilometers across or larger," explained senior researcher Mar Flexas. "So, there is a potential for those models to not represent future melt rates very accurately."



The model illustrates how melted ice turned freshwater is carried by the coastal current and transported around the continent. The less-dense freshwater moves along quickly near the surface of the ocean and traps relatively warm ocean saltwater against the underside of the ice shelves. This causes the ice shelves to melt from below.&nbsp;



Increased meltwater exacerbates climate warming via the Coastal Current, which in turn can escalate melting even at West Antarctic ice shelves thousands of kilometers away. This remote warming mechanism may be part of the reason that the loss of volume from West Antarctic ice shelves has accelerated in recent decades.



"There are aspects of the climate system that we are still discovering," said Thompson. "As we've made progress in our ability to model interactions between the ocean, ice shelves, and atmosphere, we're able to make more accurate predictions with better constraints on uncertainty. We may need to revisit some of the predictions of sea level rise in the next decades or century - that's work that we'll do going forward."



The study can be found in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</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

Antarctic ice shelves are likely melting faster than expected

Antarctica's ice shelves may be melting at an accelerated rate,...

The Tibetan Plateau – known as the “water tower of Asia” – currently supplies freshwater for almost two billion people living downstream. A new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01443-0">Nature Climate Change</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-severely-impact-birds-by-2080/">climate change</a> may cause irreversible declines in freshwater storage in this region, leading to a total collapse of the water supply for central Asia and Afghanistan, and a near-total collapse for Northern India, Kashmir, and Pakistan by 2060.



“The prognosis is not good,” said study senior author Michael Mann, a distinguished professor of Atmospheric Science at the <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>. “In a ‘business as usual’ scenario, where we fail to meaningfully curtail fossil fuel burning in the decades ahead, we can expect a near collapse - that is, nearly 100 percent loss - of water availability to downstream regions of the Tibetan Plateau. I was surprised at just how large the predicted decrease is even under a scenario of modest climate policy.”&nbsp;



The researchers used both ‘top-down’ (satellite-based) and ‘bottom-up’ (ground-based) measurements of water mass in glaciers, lakes, and below-ground sources, combined with machine learning techniques, to provide a benchmark of observed terrestrial water storage (TWS) changes during the past two decades (2002-2020), and projections over the next four decades (2021-2060).&nbsp;



“Compared to previous studies, establishing consistency between top-down and bottom-up approaches is what gives us confidence in this study that we can accurately measure the declines in TWS&nbsp;that have already occurred in this critical region,” Professor Mann said.



The results revealed that, in recent decades, climate change has led to severe depletion in TWS (- 15.8 gigatons per year) in certain areas of the Tibetan Plateau, and significant increases in others (5.6 gigatons per year), most likely due to the competing effects of glacial retreat, lake expansion, and degradation of seasonally frozen grounds. Under a moderate carbon emissions scenario, the entire Tibetan Plateau could experience a loss of about 230 gigatons by 2060.&nbsp;



Excess water loss projections of the Amu Darya basin (which supplies water to Central Asia and Afghanistan), and the Indus basin (which supplies water to Northern India, Pakistan, and Kashmir) indicate a 119 percent and 79 percent decrease, respectively.&nbsp;



“Our study provides insights into hydrologic processes affecting high-mountain freshwater supplies that serve large downstream Asian populations,” said study co-author Di Long, an associate professor of Hydrologic Engineering at <a href="https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/en/">Tsinghua University</a>. “By examining the interactions between climate change and the TWS in the historical period and future by 2060, this study serves as a basis to guide future research and the management by governments and institutions of improved adaptation strategies.”



“Substantial reductions in carbon emissions over the next decade, as the U.S. is now on the verge of achieving thanks to the recent Inflation Reduction Act, can limit the additional warming and associated climate changes behind the predicted collapse of the Tibetan Plateau water towers. But even in a best-case scenario, further losses are likely unavoidable, which will require substantial adaptation to decreasing water resources in this vulnerable, highly populated region of the world,” concluded Professor Mann.



---



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

Parts of Asia face irreversible declines in freshwater storage

The Tibetan Plateau – known as the “water tower of...

Nuclear,War

A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> has calculated how much sun-blocking soot would enter the atmosphere from firestorms that would be ignited by the detonation of nuclear weapons in six nuclear war scenarios, ranging from a small India-Pakistan conflict to a massive U.S.- Russia war, based on each country’s nuclear arsenal. 



Using this data, the experts estimated productivity of major crops, such as maize, rice, soybean, or spring wheat on a country-by-country basis, as well as projected changes in livestock pastures and global marine fisheries. The analysis revealed that, following a full-scale nuclear war between U.S. and Russia, over five billion people would die of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/el-nino-drives-millions-of-children-into-hunger/">hunger</a>.



The scientists discovered that, under even the smallest nuclear scenario (a localized war between India and Pakistan), the global average caloric production would decrease by seven percent within five years of the conflict. In the largest war scenario tested (a massive U.S. – Russia nuclear conflict), this percentage would spike to 90 in just three or four years after the war. Crop declines would be most severe in mid-high latitude nations, triggering export restrictions and causing severe disruptions in import-dependent nations in the Middle East and Africa, ultimately leading to a catastrophic disruption of global food markets.



The scientists considered whether using crops generally fed to livestock as human food or reducing food waste would offset these devastating losses in a war’s immediate aftermath, but the savings remain minimal under the large injection scenarios.



“Future work will bring even more granularity to the crop models,” said study lead author Lili Xia, an assistant professor of Environmental Science at Rutgers University. “For instance, the ozone layer would be destroyed by the heating of the stratosphere, producing more ultraviolet radiation at the surface, and we need to understand that impact on food supplies.”



“If nuclear weapons exist, they can be used, and the world has come close to nuclear war several times,” added study senior author Alan Robock, a distinguished professor of Climate Science at the same university. “Banning nuclear weapons is the only long-term solution. The five-year-old UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been ratified by 66 nations, but none of the nine nuclear states. Our work makes clear that it is time for those nine states to listen to science and the rest of the world and sign this treaty,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00573-0">Nature Food</a>.



---



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

Nuclear war would cause global famine and kill billions

A team of researchers led by Rutgers University has calculated...

The Anthropocene is an unofficial unit of geological time defined as the most recent period in our planet’s history, starting in the 1950s, when human activities began to have a significant impact on the Earth’s ecosystems and climate. During this time, humans have increasingly modified natural landscapes and endangered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-loss-weakens-ecosystem-functioning/">biodiversity</a>.&nbsp;



According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a>, small animal communities from the Anthropocene are less diverse and differently structured than those a few centuries ago, during the Holocene (approximately 500 years ago). Fortunately, the experts found that even small protected spaces can play a fundamental role in conserving native small mammal communities, highlighting their importance for urban conservation projects.&nbsp;



Small mammals such as rats or shrews are excellent indicators of ecosystem health. This is due to their abundant numbers, small individual geographic ranges, habitat specificity, and low extinction rates caused by their high fertility and growth rate.



The researchers surveyed small mammal communities along a geographical gradient of human modification – the Jasper Ridge Biological Reserve (least human modification), Stanford’s Student Observatory (average human modification), and the Stanford University campus (high human modification). The scientists found that, although they are fairly resistant to extinctions, small mammal communities are often altered by human activities and environmental changes in less obvious ways.



“We examined thousands of small mammal bones and teeth from modern (Anthropocene) raptor pellets and three (Holocene) archaeological sites along the gradient, representing different levels of human modification today,” said study lead author Maria Viteri, an expert in Conservation Science, Ecology, and Paleontology at Stanford.



The analysis led to three major findings. “First, small mammal diversity decreased with increasing human modification today. Second, the overall make-up of today's small mammal communities is fundamentally distinct from past communities, even 500 years ago,” Viteri reported.&nbsp;



Luckily, the third finding was much more optimistic: “Our results demonstrate that even a relatively small, protected space can at least partially protect native faunal communities.”&nbsp;



Although previous research has argued that larger protected areas do a better job of conserving biodiversity, this study shows the importance of smaller protected areas in urban environments, where large spaces for conservation are lacking.&nbsp;



“The study shows that the way that we manage lands matters, and that it is not too late to protect our lands in order to protect biodiversity.” However, “while biological preserves can buffer biodiversity change across spatiotemporal gradients of human impact, they cannot completely mitigate the overwhelming signal of the Anthropocene on today’s ecosystems,” Viteri concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.916239/full">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



---



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

Small mammals of the Anthropocene are deeply altered

The Anthropocene is an unofficial unit of geological time defined...

Research aircrafts are flying through the heart of Arctic storms this summer to better understand how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-climate-change-affect-extreme-weather-events/">weather</a> systems are affecting polar sea ice.



Temperatures in the Arctic are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth. Climate change has altered sea ice dramatically, making it thinner, easier to break up and more susceptible to winds and storms.



During the summer, Arctic cyclones are hazardous weather events that affect the polar environment. They can impact sea ice movement and trigger rapid ice loss, which further influences the development of cyclones. These storms can measure thousands of kilometers in diameter and can persist for several days or weeks, often moving south outside the Arctic circle.



For the first time, two aircrafts will be flying 60 missions from the Norwegian Arctic to study summer cyclones. This will create a detailed picture of how the ice and ocean interact with the atmosphere above to better simulate climate prediction models.



As a result of global warming, sea ice is becoming thinner across large areas of the Arctic Ocean each and every summer. This means that winds can move the ice more easily, which in turn can influence weather systems. As a result, predicting changes to the Arctic environment has now become difficult in both the short and long term.



The dramatic changes in Arctic ice are expected to become increasingly important for global climate, which makes them an urgent research topic.



“Arctic cyclones are understood far less than those in temperate regions, making them even harder to predict," said Professor John Methven of the <a href="http://www.reading.ac.uk/">University of Reading</a>.&nbsp;



“This project will examine Arctic summertime cyclones from above, below and right in their midst. It will shed light on the relationship between sea ice and the atmosphere above, which will provide invaluable data to improve understanding of how climate change is affecting this globally important region.”



Flights are taking place from July 27th to August 24th. During the first week, strong northerly winds temporarily slowed sea ice retreat due to recent heat waves in the region. This and a forecast for an Arctic cyclone to track across Svalbard over the weekend have provided ideal conditions for the first flights.



A team of UK scientists are flying in the British Antarctic (BAS) Survey Twin Otter plane based from Longyearbyen in Svalbard, the most northerly town on Earth. The team is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.



The flights will observe the ocean and sea ice, with a particular focus on where ice is breaking up. They will monitor turbulence, heat and moisture in the lower atmosphere and taking detailed measurements of physical properties of the sea ice such as surface height, roughness and temperature.



“Recent decades have seen a dramatic fall in Arctic sea ice area and cyclones appear to both slow down and speed up the ice decline, depending on the time of the year," said Professor Ian Renfrew of the University of East Anglia.



"The physical processes are unclear and one of our aims is to investigate the effect of the cyclones on the sea ice and the effect of the sea ice distribution on the cyclones."



Scientists from France and the USA are conducting additional flights in the SAFIRE ATR42 plane, equipped with radar and infrared sensors. The experts will take 3D measurements of the movement of clouds and the droplets within them from above during cyclone conditions.



The second team is funded by the Office of Naval Research (United States) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research and National Centre for space Studies (France).&nbsp;



---



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

Arctic storms will increasingly affect global climate

Research aircrafts are flying through the heart of Arctic storms...

A new research project funded by the <a href="https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/ecology-and-evolution-infectious-diseases-eeid">Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Program</a> has been designed to identify strategies to minimize the risk of pathogens spreading from pet amphibians to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/huge-win-for-wildlife-endangered-species-act-is-restored/">wildlife</a>. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.utk.edu/">University of Tennessee Knoxville</a> have received $2.75 million in funding to investigate the spread of pathogens in wildlife trade networks.



The spread of new infectious diseases has become a major focus since the emergence of Covid-19. According to the researchers, the goal of the new study is to identify how socio-economic decisions and pathogen dynamics impact each other in a wildlife trade network.



“It is important to study how human values and knowledge impact behavior in preventing transmission of pathogens within and beyond the trade network,” said study principle investigator Neelam Poudyal, associate director of the UT One Health Initiative.



“This study will enable us to understand factors that determine human decisions to engage in biosecurity practices, assess the feasibility of market-based mechanisms to promote healthy trade, and characterize the public value of protecting natural populations of amphibian biodiversity.”



Over the next five years, the experts will analyze what aspects of the wildlife trade, like species composition and the number of animals, influence the emergence of pathogens



The experts noted that with more than 2.5 million live animals moving throughout more than 180 nations per year, the need for advanced pathogen mitigation is critical.



“Global and domestic trade of wildlife is one of the major pathways for movement and introduction of wildlife and zoonotic pathogens,” said co-principal investigator Professor Matt Gray. “Our research is focusing on amphibian pathogens in trade but will be used as a model for other pathogens of concern.”



“Especially as global trade markets have become more interconnected, we've seen over and over again how animal trade practices can either foster or else help prevent the emergence of infectious disease outbreaks in wildlife and people, sometimes with devastating effects,” said Nina Fefferman, director of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.



“Our work to discover how people make choices about how they buy, transport, and sell animals and how that shapes pathogen dynamics will help us guide policies to support conservation and prevent the next global pandemic."



---



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

Project aims to limit pathogen spread from pet amphibians

A new research project funded by the Ecology and Evolution...

This year, the United Kingdom experienced record heatwaves and one of the worst droughts in a century, leading some counties, such as Kent or Essex, to introduce water restrictions. These included bans on hose pipes, filling paddling pools, or even washing cars. 



However, in a small part of West Sussex, a highly different method of combating drought is under way. In February, a pair of Eurasian <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/why-do-beavers-build-dams/">beavers</a> were introduced to the <a href="https://knepp.co.uk/home">Knepp Wildland</a>, a pioneering rewilding project on what used to be farmland. During the recent heatwaves, the dams these animals built have kept ponds full and lands marshy, and helped lower the air and land temperatures.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We’ve seen really amazing results just in the five months they’ve been here,” said Penny Green, a resident ecologist at Knepp Wildland. “The beavers have already made a little network of ponds from the damming that they’ve done, they’ve been chewing back some of the vegetation in the ponds and we’ve got little beaver lawns.”



“But the most interesting thing for us at the moment is that even though we’re in a huge drought year, and most of the little streams either side of the enclosure are running dry, here in the beaver pen it is the most amazing wetland oasis all around us.”



The sprawling system of ponds and channels connecting them helps branches take root and start growing again, while also attracting a huge range of wildlife, including dragonflies, damselflies, reed warblers, chiffchaffs, as well as a wide range of amphibians, insects, and bats. Moreover, the water backing up above the dams has given rise to further wetlands outside of the fenced area, where larger mammals such as deer, cows, and pigs often come to quench their thirst.



Surprisingly, the very imperfection of beavers’ dams is a key aspect in the fight against drought and biodiversity loss. “They’re providing opportunities during the summer months because they have slightly leaky dams,” explained Green. “There will be a bit of water trickling out when there perhaps wouldn’t be so much water in our landscapes during drought years like this year. So they’ll be letting a little bit of water out of these dams throughout the summer.”



Beavers’ activity has a crucial role in cooling the environment too, as deeper water with lower temperatures spills out in the surrounding landscape, and its evaporation from the large surface areas of the ponds helps cool the air itself.&nbsp;



As Green argues, many benefits extend well beyond the hot summer months. “Beavers create all sorts of wonderful habitats for other wildlife, but in turn they also provide lots of ecosystem services that helps us as humans. They help to alleviate flooding by holding back water especially in heavy downpour events where we get heavy rain. They are holding on to water and slowing the flow down, which is great.”



Considering these various climate benefits that beaver activity gives rise too, the UK government has finally given these resilient ecosystem engineers legal protection, forbidding people to deliberately capture, kill, and injure them, or damage their lodges and dams. In our fight against climate change, these fascinating creatures may be some of our most unexpected, yet stronger allies.



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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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Beavers are key allies in the fight against droughts

This year, the United Kingdom experienced record heatwaves and one...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-confirms-microplastics-have-entered-our-food-chain/">Microplastics</a> are very small plastics – usually measuring less than five millimeters – which can accumulate in the body of humans and other animals and disturb a range of biological functions. They are mainly introduced in the oceans and eventually affect humans on the top of the food chain by initially disrupting the endocrine systems of marine life-forms. In order to minimize the harm caused by these microplastics, a reliable and effective technology to filter them is needed.



However, since they are small, it is extremely difficult to separate or dispose of water-borne microplastics using available filters. Especially nanoplastics – which are smaller than microns – entail problems that are difficult to overcome, including filter clogging and environmental pollution caused by the filter itself.



Recently though, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.dgist.ac.kr/en/">Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology</a> (DGIST) in collaboration with the <a href="https://eng.kitech.re.kr/">Korea Institute of Industrial Technology&nbsp;</a>(KITECH) has managed to develop the world’s first eco-friendly power generation device which can efficiently remove fine particles - including micro- and nanoplastics - from the water. This device is based on a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/triboelectric-nanogenerators">triboelectric nanogenerator</a> (TENG) developed by researchers at DGIST and a particle removal technology using electrophoresis that scientists at KITECH devised.



As TENG generates electrical energy through physical energy, it provides the opportunity to manufacture eco-friendly microplastic filters. Moreover, since the new device also utilizes the high voltage characteristic of triboelectric energy, it does not require an external power source, so it can be operated regardless of the location. According to the scientists, the new porous microstructure-based TENG exhibits more than threefold higher output than the existing TENG. Tests revealed that this device’s removal rate of microplastics was 21.4 percent – about 5.6 times higher than that of the existing TENG. In addition, the researchers showed that this groundbreaking technology can also efficiently remove a variety of other micro-toxic particles, such as nano-sized zinc oxides or silicon dioxides.



A detailed description of the device was published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107433">Nano Energy</a>.&nbsp;



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

Experts devise the world’s first eco-friendly microplastics filter

Microplastics are very small plastics – usually measuring less than...

Red,Berries,Of,A,Lingonberry,(vaccinium,Vitis-idaea),On,A,Mountainside.

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uaf.edu/">University of Alaska Fairbanks</a> (UAF) has found that thawing Arctic hillsides currently release a large amount of organic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deeper-plant-roots-could-boost-soil-carbon-storage/">carbon</a> that has been locked in frozen ground for thousands of years, but which is now contributing to an already warming climate. A significant and rapid increase of collapsed hillsides feature landslides which gradually expose more permafrost for thawing and release more carbon into the atmosphere.&nbsp;



“Permafrost landscapes are expected to change profoundly over the next decades,” said study co-author Simon Zwieback, an assistant professor of Geosciences at UAF. “Among the many consequences of this is the release of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, which can exacerbate climate change.”



The scientists focused on a 10,500 square miles in the northern Taymyr peninsula of Siberia and compared satellite images from two time periods (2010 to 2017 and 2018 to 2021) in order to observe elevation changes, as well as the movement of debris and of the slump’s exposed leading edge. In a second step, they incorporated a soil organic carbon map into their analysis to estimate the amount of organic carbon released.



An ice sheet covered the Taymyr region around 130,000 years ago, with subsequent periods of ice retreat and advance covering an increasingly smaller area. The experts estimate that the most recent retreat occurred at the end of the last ice age and lasted until about 12,000 years ago. Such a retreating ice sheet leaves behind substantial quantities of ice covered by sand, clay, rocks, and gravel, especially along its edges, which are known as ice-marginal zones.&nbsp;



By studying two of these zones, the scientists found an increase in the slumps from 82 in the 2010-2017 period to 1,404 in the 2018-2021 period, with most of the increase occurring during the region’s extremely warm 2020. Moreover, the analysis revealed that the annual volume of affected material increased by approximately 43 times from the first to the second period.



“The extreme warmth was compounded by there being a lot of ground ice close to the surface,” Professor Zwieback explained. “This is due to the long-term legacy of past ice ages but also to the fact that so much of this old ice is still there because summers are usually cool and there are no fires. And the ice is not well protected by insulating organic layers because there’s not much life in the harsh climate.”



According to Professor Zwieback and his colleagues, the carbon release from thawing Arctic hillsides must be accounted for to reliably assess the Arctic’s carbon cycle. Further investigations are also needed to quantify how much of it is turned into greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. “The big challenge is to quantify and predict where, when and how much carbon dioxide is released,” Professor Zwieback concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/2819/2022/">The Cryosphere</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Thawing Arctic hillsides are contributing to climate change

A new study led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks...

Plastic waste is a perennial problem that technology continues to try and overcome. A possible solution that is being explored is the use of enzymes that can break down plastics. Enzymes could potentially be used to break down specific plastic components and could possibly be more cost and energy efficient than other ways of breaking down or recycling plastics.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Unfortunately, using enzymes comes with a host of problems, as they are often not stable or very effective under conditions that would make them useful at an industrial scale.



In an effort to overcome these challenges and design an enzyme useful for recycling plastics at an industrial level, scientists with the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) have developed a new engineering platform. The platform can assess the ability to break down plastics of about 1,000 enzymes a day. The process uses directed evolution, where mutations are introduced and selected for, to create useful enzymes.&nbsp;



To demonstrate the ability of this platform, scientists have used it to create an enzyme that degrades poly(ethylene) terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic used to make bottles.&nbsp;



“The accumulation of plastic in the environment is a major global challenge. For this reason, we were keen to use our enzyme evolution capabilities to enhance the properties of plastic degrading enzymes to help alleviate some of these problems," explained Dr. Elizabeth Bell, who led the experimental work at the MIB.



"We are hopeful that in the future our scalable platform will allow us to quickly develop new and specific enzymes are suitable for use in large-scale plastic recycling processes.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The new enzyme - called HotPETase - was developed by direct evolution starting with IsPETase, which is naturally created by the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis to degrade PET. Unfortunately, the enzyme is unstable at hotter temperatures required for industrial recycling, so the researchers developed HotPETase, which works at 70°C (~158°F), making it more optimal.&nbsp;



This engineering feat is a promising step forward. However, to continue the process, much collaborative and interdisciplinary work will be needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research was published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41929-022-00821-3">Nature Catalysis</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New enzyme developed to recycle plastic

Plastic waste is a perennial problem that technology continues to...

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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



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.

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



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.

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 



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from <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



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.

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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <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



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.

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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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.

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



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.

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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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



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.

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



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.

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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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.

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



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.

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



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.

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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