Researchers at Montana State University (MSU) have unearthed a remarkable ancient forest preserved under ice on the Beartooth Plateau, providing a rare look into how warming climates could reshape alpine ecosystems.&nbsp;



The study, published in the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412162121" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, analyzes the remnants of a mature whitebark pine forest that once thrived at an elevation of 10,000 feet during a period of warmer temperatures roughly 6,000 years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-exposed-by-melting-ice">Ancient forest exposed by melting ice</h2>



The forest, which endured for centuries before cooling temperatures forced it to retreat downslope, was sealed under ice approximately 5,500 years ago due to a shift in summer solar radiation and subsequent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-cooling-not-warming-caused-a-major-mass-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">volcanic cooling</a>.&nbsp;



“This is pretty dramatic evidence of ecosystem change due to temperature warming. It's an amazing story of how dynamic these systems are,” said David McWethy, one of the study’s authors and an associate professor in <a href="https://www.montana.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MSU</a>’s Department of Earth Sciences.



Unlike glaciers, ice patches do not flow and instead preserve deposited materials such as pollen, charcoal, and macrofossils in their frozen layers. These conditions allowed the forest to remain intact until recent warming caused the ice to melt, exposing the ancient remnants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collaborative-effort-to-decode-climate-history">Collaborative effort to decode climate history</h2>



The idea to explore the Beartooth Plateau for ancient climate clues stemmed from earlier discoveries by Craig Lee, now an assistant professor at MSU. In 2007, Lee uncovered a 10,300-year-old atlatl fragment in the region, suggesting that layers of ice held vast records of cultural and environmental history.



“Most of our best long-term climate records come from Greenland and Antarctica. It's not a small thing to find ice patches that persisted for that long a time period at lower latitudes in the interior continent,” McWethy noted.



Building on this discovery, McWethy, Lee, and Greg Pederson, a paleoclimatologist with the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Geological Survey</a>, began investigating the ice patches in 2016. By 2018, their team expanded the project to study additional alpine ice patches in the region.&nbsp;



This collaborative effort involved tribes, federal agencies, and multiple universities and focused on reconstructing the area’s long-term <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-earths-temperature-has-changed-over-500-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate history</a> and its influence on Indigenous peoples.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reconstructing-the-ancient-alpine-ecosystem">Reconstructing the ancient alpine ecosystem</h2>



To piece together the story of the forest, the team examined multiple elements of this alpine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alpine-ecosystems-are-thrown-off-balance-by-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ecosystem</a>. Using ice cores, they analyzed water isotopes and organic material, while Pederson harvested cross-sections of ancient wood for radiocarbon dating. 



The findings confirmed that during a period of moderate and moist climate, tree lines shifted upward, allowing whitebark pine forests to thrive for 500 years.



“The plateau seems to have been the perfect place to allow for ice patches to establish and persist for thousands of years, recording important information on past climate, human activity and environmental change,” Pederson said.



The study suggests that as today’s climate warms, tree lines could rise again, transforming areas of alpine tundra into forest. However, Pederson cautioned that factors such as precipitation, wind, and snowpack would influence the density, distribution, and composition of these potential new forests.&nbsp;



“Growing season temperatures are the primary control on tree line elevation and latitude, but other factors such as moisture, wind, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-driven-climate-change-is-to-blame-for-sharp-snowpack-declines-since-1980/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">snowpack</a> and human disturbance may play an important role in dictating forest structure and elevational limits,” he explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-alpine-ecosystems">Implications for alpine ecosystems</h2>



The researchers warn that these changes could have profound impacts on the region’s ecosystem and resources. Rising tree lines might alter high-altitude snowpack, which serves as a critical water source for irrigation and hydroelectric power.&nbsp;



Additionally, if forests encroach on tundra areas, they could increase the risk of wildfires due to changing fuel conditions.



Cathy Whitlock, a climate expert and MSU Regents Professor Emerita, emphasized the broader implications. She noted that reduced snowpack could strain water supplies, while McWethy added that the establishment of forests in tundra areas might fundamentally alter the region’s fire dynamics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-from-the-past-to-predict-the-future">Learning from the past to predict the future</h2>



The study emphasizes the importance of understanding past ecological changes to prepare for future challenges.&nbsp;



“That’s the reason why studies of past ecological change are more than interesting pieces of science. They have much larger implications for the resources we all depend on,” Pederson said.



As climate change accelerates, the Beartooth Plateau’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient forest</a> serves as both a stark reminder of the Earth’s dynamic ecosystems and a window into the potential future of high-altitude environments.



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Frozen forest reveals climate impacts on alpine ecosystems

Researchers at Montana State University (MSU) have unearthed a remarkable ancient forest preserved under ice on the Beartooth Plateau, providing a rare look into how warming climates could reshape alpine ecosystems.&nbsp; The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzes the remnants of a mature whitebark pine forest that once thrived at an elevation of 10,000 feet during a period of warmer temperatures roughly 6,000 years ago. Ancient forest exposed by melting ice The forest, which endured for centuries before cooling temperatures forced...

Several days of unusually hot <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-will-climate-change-affect-extreme-weather-events/">weather</a> in northern Greenland – with temperatures of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees higher than normal for this time of year) - have caused rapid ice melting, made clearly visible by the rivers of meltwater flowing into the ocean. The scientists estimate that, between July 15 and 17, six billion tons of water per day have melted in Greenland – enough to fill 7.2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, or to cover the entire state of West Virginia with a foot of water.&nbsp;



“The northern melt this past week is not normal, looking at 30 to 40 years of climate averages,” said Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a>. “But melting has been on the increase, and this event was a spike in melt.”



Scientists worry that soon the record ice melting of 2019 – when 532 billion tons of ice flowed out into the sea, causing a permanent global sea level rise of 1.5 millimeters - will be surpassed and cause even more damage around the world. Researchers estimate that Greenland holds enough ice to lift sea level by 7.5 meters around the globe if melted completely.



Earlier this year, unprecedented rates of melting have been observed at the bottom of the Greenland ice sheet, caused by the enormous quantities of meltwater trickling down from the surface. This phenomenon is highly concerning since it can destabilize the surface ice sheet and lead to a massive, rapid loss of ice.



According to scientists from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a>, Greenland’s ice sheet has unfortunately melted beyond the point of no return and no efforts to stave off global warming could stop it from eventually disintegrating. The rate of melting that Greenland has witnessed in the past few years has exceeded anything it had experienced in the last 12,000 years, and has led to measurable changes in the gravitational field over the island.



However, even if Greenland’s ice will eventually vanish, how fast this happens and with what consequences remains in humanity’s hands. Measures to mitigate climate change are urgently needed to slow down sea ice melting and thus protect myriads of vulnerable ecosystems.&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;

Greenland lost billions of tons of water last weekend

Several days of unusually hot weather in northern Greenland –...

According to climate experts, the current heatwave in the UK is just a taste of things to come. They predict that 40-degree Celsius days will be the norm by 2050.&nbsp;



In a new study from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, experts report that human-caused emissions are at least partially to blame for last year's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-quality-can-help-crops-survive-rising-temperatures/">temperature</a> spike in the US and Canada that killed 1,500 people.&nbsp;



"An extraordinary and unprecedented heatwave swept western North America in late June of 2021, resulting in hundreds of deaths and a massive die-off of sea creatures off the coast as well as horrific wildfires," said study co-author Chunzai Wang.



Moreover, this link may explain the current heatwave in the UK. Greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric patterns seem to be the primary culprits.&nbsp;



"In this paper, we studied the physical processes of internal variability, such as atmospheric circulation patterns, and external forcing, such as anthropogenic greenhouse gases," said Wang.&nbsp;



Using computer models, the researchers found three circulation patterns that coincided during the 2021 heatwave: the North Pacific, the Arctic-Pacific Canada, and the North America pattern.



"The North Pacific pattern and the Arctic-Pacific Canada pattern co-occurred with the development and mature phases of the heatwave, whereas the North America pattern coincided with the decaying and eastward movements of the heatwave," Wang said. "This suggests the heatwave originated from the North Pacific and the Arctic, while the North America pattern ushered the heatwave out."



Although air patterns often co-occur without triggering intense heatwaves, the experts found human greenhouse emissions played a significant role in causing last year's heatwaves.



Based on model simulations, the researchers are confident that the number of severe heatwaves will increase by more than 30 percent, and greenhouse gases will cause nearly two-thirds of that increase.&nbsp;



"From the CMIP6 models, we found that it is likely that global warming associated with greenhouse gases influences these three atmospheric circulation pattern variabilities, which, in turn, led to a more extreme heatwave event," explained Wang.&nbsp;



"If appropriate measures are not taken, the occurrence probability of extreme heatwaves will increase and further impact the ecological balance, as well as sustainable social and economic development."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-022-2078-2">Advances in Atmospheric Sciences</a>,



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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

Human activities are fueling more extreme heatwaves

According to climate experts, the current heatwave in the UK...

The mid-latitude climates of Central Asia are turning into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-that-deserts-breathe/">desert</a> climates, according&nbsp; to research conducted by Qi “Steve” Hu and Zihang Han of the <a href="https://www.unl.edu/">University of Nebraska–Lincoln</a>. The researchers say the desert climate has expanded 60 miles northward since the 1980s.



Central Asia includes five former Soviet republics - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Sometimes it includes Afghanistan, western China, and parts of other neighboring nations.&nbsp;



Due to its semi-arid conditions and potential impacts, Hu and Han wanted to determine if the region had any climate shifts. They found that the average annual temperature in Central Asia has increased by roughly nine degrees Fahrenheit when comparing the decades from 1960-1980 to decades from 1990-2020.



“The region is dry, so small deviations from the average or anticipated amount of growing-season rainfall can be devastating to the agricultural production and social stability of the region,” said Professor Hu. "It’s a place very vulnerable to climate change.”



The team discovered that while the lower altitude regions were getting less precipitation, the higher altitudes were getting more precipitation. This increase, however, was in the form of rain - not snow. Rain is problematic when compared to meltwater because rain is less sustainable and increases the likelihood of flooding.&nbsp;



“That’s coming at the cost of your future water,” said Professor Hu. “If this continues, after maybe 20 or 30 more years, those glaciers and that snowpack could be gone."



"Then you have just the summer precipitation, which is not going to be enough to keep up the water level in your lakes and your soil to sustain agricultural production in the growing season. So you’re possibly going to be in a one-way drought that you don’t come back from.”



Although the conditions are not identical, these findings are also relevant to patterns emerging in portions of the United States.



"This has some potential implications for the situation we’re facing in the west-central United States, especially around the Rockies,” Hu said. “That could undermine the availability of water resources in the next 50 years.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022GL098895">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Desert climate is rapidly spreading across Central Asia

The mid-latitude climates of Central Asia are turning into desert...

Urban <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-could-play-a-key-role-in-limiting-global-warming/">agriculture</a> is booming. For many of us who live in urban areas, a backyard garden can provide a mini oasis from city life. However, the hidden danger of lead can be found in city soils.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In a recent study from the <a href="https://aces.illinois.edu/news/lead-lurking-your-soil-new-chicago-project-maps-distribution">University of Illinois</a>, researchers have detected elevated lead levels in soils across Chicago, an urban agriculture hotspot.



It is not well understood how vegetables and crops take up lead in real-world settings, but the new research is shedding some light on the topic. The experts found that tomatoes, even when grown in lead-contaminated soil, are safe to eat.



“There was so little lead accumulation in the fruits, we estimate the average adult male would have to eat almost 400 pounds of tomatoes per week to reach toxic levels,” said study co-author Andrew Margenot.



While this is good news for urban agriculture, there are potential caveats for home gardeners. Specifically - exposure during tillage and planting.&nbsp;



“If you magically have no exposure to contaminated soils to get to the fruit stage, or if you mulch the heck out of the soil and wear a suit and respirator, you're golden. But, of course, we all know it doesn’t happen that way," said Margenot.



When we work in contaminated soil, plant into it, or track it into our homes, we end up inhaling it. Lead can also end up in the fine dust on the skin of tomatoes, leafy greens, and especially root vegetables that we ingest. Depending on the soil concentration, a little bit of lead exposure can have big health impacts.



The researchers planted Roma tomatoes in Chicago backyards with soil lead levels between 77 and 1,206 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the natural background lead level of 21 ppm and surpassing the Illinois EPA threshold of 400 ppm for inhalation risk.&nbsp;



The researchers measured lead concentration in fruit with no soil treatment. They compared this level of contamination to fruit grown in soil that was treated with phosphorus-based treatments, which are developed to reduce lead uptake by humans.



The EPA recommends phosphate fertilizers such as triple super phosphate (TSP) to mitigate soil lead for human ingestion, but some wanted an organic matter amendment, as well.



“We chose to test TSP as well as composted and air-dried biosolids, which are human feces processed by Chicago wastewater treatment plants. They're Class A biosolids, which means they’re tested for pathogens and heavy metals,” explained Margenot. “I know there’s an ick factor, but they’re likely safer than steer manure you can buy at a hardware store.”



The results showed that none of the amendments lowered lead in the tomatoes. Lead uptake by tomato plants was already so low, even in highly contaminated soil, that the amendments had no detectable effect.&nbsp;



Across the two years of the study, lead levels remained very low. However, variation between study years was of interest to the research team.



“In the second year, we saw an order of magnitude increase in lead in the fruit at two of the three sites. It was totally unexpected, and we couldn’t explain it. But the soil lead levels didn’t change across years and the fruit lead levels were still extremely low,” said Margenot.&nbsp;



“So to me, it’s two things. First, there’s still so much basic research to be done on plant uptake of lead – we didn’t even know to expect a seasonality effect. Second, and importantly, there’s a very poor correlation between total soil lead and lead uptake.”



So - what can you do as a backyard tomato grower? Don’t panic!&nbsp;



“If you minimize dust with a heavy mulch, you can safely grow tomatoes, so not all hope is lost. In Illinois, the EPA sets the inhalation risk at 400 ppm, but we found you can be up to three times above that in the soil and safely grow tomatoes,” said Margenot.



Overall, it is advised to till the soil with care, cover the surface, and wash the fruit to minimize lead exposure.&nbsp;



Despite the minimal change in applying phosphorus treatments, the researchers see opportunity in minimizing lead uptake.&nbsp;



“If we want to sustainably reduce lead ingestion and inhalation risk across the city, we should be looking at phosphorus and at local sources such as biosolids more closely,” said Margenot. “Biosolids are locally produced in Chicago and there are programs to get them into the hands of users. So if we’re talking about low-cost ways to deal with lead, this would be one good resource in the city.”



The researchers also recommend agricultural practices that require minimal soil disturbance, such as agroforestry and perennial fruit production.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/science-of-the-total-environment">Science of The Total Environment</a>.



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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

Tomatoes appear to be unaffected by lead-contaminated soil

Urban agriculture is booming. For many of us who live...

A new report from the <a href="https://mote.org/">Mote Marine Laboratory</a> has revealed that over 70 percent of species in the global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-worlds-fastest-shark-spotted-near-barcelona/">shark</a> fin trade are threatened with extinction. 



An international team of scientists analyzed 9,820 fin trimmings from markets in Hong Kong, one of the largest shark fin trade hubs in the world. Overall, 86 different shark species were found, as well as rays and chimeras. More than two-thirds of the species identified in the analysis are at risk of extinction.&nbsp;



“Overfishing is most likely the immediate cause of the declining trends we are seeing in shark and ray populations around the world. The fact that we are finding so many species threatened with extinction in the global shark fin trade is a warning sign telling us that international trade might be a main driver of unsustainable fishing,” said study lead author Diego Cardeñosa.



In 2021, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species revealed that about one third of all shark species are threatened. Sadly, the current study indicates that species in the fin trade are much more likely to be endangered.



For nearly a decade, Dr. Demian Chapman has led a project to track and monitor the global shark fin trade. The researchers have conducted DNA testing on about 10,000 small scraps taken from processed imported fins, sold in markets in Hong Kong and South China.&nbsp;



The experts aimed to better understand what species are in the trade and how common they are. By tracking this over time, the information can be shared with decision-makers to consider how well various management measures are working.



The most common species found to end up in the fin trade are open-ocean, or pelagic sharks, such as blue and silky sharks. In addition, the greatest number of species in the fin trade live in coastal areas, including blacktip, dusky, spinner, and sandbar sharks. Without sufficient management, many coastal species could vanish.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“A few nations are protecting or sustainably fishing sharks and their relatives, but the majority are not for a variety of reasons,” said Chapman. “Quite a few of the coastal sharks we found in the trade - such as smalltail, broadfin, whitecheek and various hound shark, river shark and small hammerhead species - are listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered and yet there are no regulations protecting them anywhere in their range."&nbsp;



"Unless the relevant governments respond with management soon, we are likely to experience a wave of extinctions among coastal sharks and rays.”



In nations that do not regulate shark fishing, three coastal species are already thought to be extinct. To encourage better management, species should be listed under the <a href="https://cites.org/eng">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)</a> — an international agreement seeking to protect species from overexploitation driven by international trade.&nbsp;



The 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to CITES will take place in November. This study will provide key evidence, bringing the plight of coastal sharks to the attention of governments. The findings will also show that only a small percentage of the overall trade in shark fins is currently regulated under the Convention.



“The upcoming CITES CoP19 Governments have tabled proposals that would bring the vast majority of sharks traded for their fins under the Convention’s sustainability controls, action that has been informed by this study’s findings. We’re encouraged to see CITES Governments match their level of ambition to the level of threat seen for sharks and rays globally, with CITES listings a strong driver for better domestic management of shark fisheries,” said Luke Warwick, director of shark and ray conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society.



There are many actions that can be taken to better manage coastal shark fishing and avert the threat of extinction. These strategies include changing fishing gear, creating protected areas and limiting catch.&nbsp;



“Since our Founding Director, Dr. Eugenie Clark - the Shark Lady - began her work documenting shark populations in southwest Florida and around the world over 65 years ago, the core of Mote has been to push the frontiers of science in support of evidence-based, sustainable use of our shared ocean resources,” said Mote President &amp; CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby.&nbsp;



The research team plans to continue their work in monitoring shark species found in the trade. The international team will continue to collaborate through innovative science, community-engagement and resource management to prevent the extinction of these species.



“Our results highlight high levels of international trade and clear management gaps for coastal species. Many are in the highest extinction risk categories," said Cardeñosa. "The next category is extinction. We can’t allow this to happen."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1755263x">Conservation Letters</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

Sharks in the fin trade have a high risk of extinction

A new report from the Mote Marine Laboratory has revealed...

The North American <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/monarch-butterflies-may-not-be-threatened-as-previously-thought/">monarch butterflies</a> (Danaus plexippus plexippus), a species famous for its multigenerational, cross-continental migration patterns, have recently been classified as endangered by the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN), the world’s leading scientific authority on the status of species. This decision comes after decades of steady decline in monarch populations driven by losses of the plants they need as caterpillars, combined with the impact of climate change.



“It’s been so sad to watch their numbers decline so much, so anything that might help them makes me happy, and I think that this designation might help them,” said Karen Oberhauser, a conservation biologist at the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> who contributed to the assessment. “Although it’s sad that they need that help, that they’ve reached the point where this designation is warranted.”



According to Dr. Oberhauser and her colleagues, the number of Western Monarchs, which live west of the Rocky Mountains, has plummeted by 99.9 percent between 1980 and 2021. Although they rebounded slightly in 2022, they still remain in great danger. Eastern monarchs – which make up most of the monarch butterfly population in North America – also dropped by an estimated 84 percent from 1996 to 2014.



Monarch butterflies depend on milkweed, the only plant that they can consume. After departing from their overwintering grounds in the forests of central Mexico, females deposit eggs on milkweed plants from Texas to Canada, during a multigenerational journey. While habitat destruction in the Mexican forests was an early threat to the butterflies, the fact that American farmers turned to crops genetically modified to withstand glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, created significant problems for the monarchs.&nbsp;



“Glyphosate was suddenly sprayed over vast acreage of farm in the Midwest,” said Anna Walker, an entomologist at the <a href="https://www.bioparksociety.org/main/">New Mexico BioPark Society</a> who led the assessment. “That took out a lot of the milkweed plants that the monarch caterpillars rely on.”



Besides these problems, climate change has also significantly contributed to the steep decline of monarch populations, by disrupting their ancient cycles through increases in storms, droughts, and other similar events, which can be catastrophic for already vulnerable populations. “We’re starting to see this kind of mismatch between when insects are ready to start the spring and when plants are ready,” Walker explained. “There are a ton of unknowns.”



According to the experts, a viable solution for saving monarchs from extinction is by planting milkweed native to each specific region in the U.S. and Canada. For instance, swamp milkweed is a good, easy-to-grow variety native to most of the western regions of the U.S., which could help migrating butterflies along their journey. Unless such measures are implemented rapidly, we are at risk of losing one of the most fascinating species of insects on our planet.&nbsp;



More details regarding this new assessment of the status of monarch butterflies can be found on IUCN’s <a href="https://www.iucn.org/press-release/202207/migratory-monarch-butterfly-now-endangered-iucn-red-list">website</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;

Monarch butterflies are officially listed as endangered

The North American monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus), a species...

Although massive heatwaves currently ravage the United States, Europe, and Africa, killing thousands of people, the worst is still to come. With many countries continuing to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and thus contributing to global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-threatens-the-oceans-most-diverse-regions/">warming</a>, this summer’s blistering temperatures may seem mild in a few decades.&nbsp;



During extreme heatwaves, access to air conditioning (AC) may be life-saving. However, only about eight percent of the 2.8 billion people living in the hottest (and often poorest) countries have air conditioning in their homes. By modeling the future demand for AC as periods of extreme heat increase in frequency and intensity, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> has found a massive gap between current AC capacity and what will be needed in 2050 to save lives.&nbsp;



According to the experts, if emission rates continue to climb, at least 70 percent of the population in several countries will need AC by 2050, with that percentage even higher in equatorial countries such as India or Indonesia. But even if the world meets the emission targets set out in the Paris Agreement – which is far from being on track to – an average of 40 to 50 percent of the population in the world’s hottest countries will still require air conditioning.



“Regardless of the emission trajectories, there needs to be a massive scale-up of air conditioning or other space cooling options for billions of people so that they’re not subject to these extreme temperatures throughout the rest of their lives,”&nbsp;said study lead author Peter Sherman, a postdoctoral researcher in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard.



The scientists focused on days when the combination of heat and humidity could be extremely harmful even for young, healthy individuals, in two different future scenarios – one with a significant increase of emissions and one when emissions are scaled back but not eliminated completely. In the first scenario, they estimated that 99 percent of the population of countries such as India or Indonesia will require AC. Even in Germany, for instance – a country previously known for its temperate climate – as much as 92 percent of the population may require air conditioning for such extreme heat events. In the U.S., this percentage will climb to 96.



However, more AC needs more power, thus straining electrical grids across the world, and pushing energy systems to their breaking point. “If you increase AC demand, that has a major impact on the electricity grid as well,” said Dr. Sherman. “It puts strain on the grid because everyone is going to use AC at the same time, affecting the peak electricity demand.”



“When planning for future power systems, it’s clear that you can’t simply scale up of present-day demand, especially for countries such as India and Indonesia,” added study senior author Michael McElroy, a professor of Environmental Science at Harvard. “Technologies such as solar power could be particularly useful for handling these challenges, as the corresponding supply curve should correlate well with these summertime peak demand periods.” Other strategies to moderate electricity use may include dehumidifiers, which use considerably less energy than AC.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778822003693?via%3Dihub">Energy and Buildings</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;

Air conditioning could be life-saving in a hotter world

Although massive heatwaves currently ravage the United States, Europe, and...

The Colorado River is a critically important resource that supplies <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-make-water-resources-less-predictable/">water</a> to more than 40 million people, including those in major cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But now, an ongoing megadrought in the Western United States is causing water shortages across the entire river basin.



In a recent study led by Kevin Wheeler of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute, experts report that the ongoing megadrought - along with impacts from climate change and systematic overuse - have created a deep management crisis. The researchers argue that drastic measures and difficult decisions are needed to avoid severe outcomes and to prevent a further decline in water levels.&nbsp;



While the public is well aware that water cuts are inevitable and that policy changes are necessary, the negotiations between the basin states will be anything but simple.



“Our results show that although current policies are inadequate to stabilize the Colorado river if the Millennium Drought continues, various consumptive use strategies can stabilize the system. However, these measures must be applied swiftly,” wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



Although the proposed reductions in consumptive use being considered by Upper and Lower Basin states may seem like a political impossibility at present, they will become inevitable if hydrologic conditions persist, said Wheeler.



The Colorado River is fed by Lake Mead, where water levels have reached their lowest point since the reservoir was first filled in 1937. The Colorado River is also fed by Lake Powell.&nbsp;



Both the Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs are currently approaching record lows of 25 percent capacity. According to NASA, the entire Colorado river system stands at just 35 percent of its total capacity.



A recent study by experts at UCLA and Columbia University found that a 22-year megadrought has made the Western United States the driest it has been since at least the year 800. The researchers confirmed that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as megadroughts. Overall, 95 percent of the Western US faces some form of abnormally dry or drought conditions.



For the current study led by Wheeler, the experts modeled 100 potential scenarios and management strategies for the Colorado River basin. They determined that in order to stabilize the river’s resources, drastic political measures will be needed.&nbsp;



"By the end of 2022, combined storage in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two largest reservoirs in the United States, will have declined from 95% full in 2000 to approximately 25% full," wrote the study authors. "If this 'Millennium Drought' persists, then stabilizing reservoir levels to avoid severe outcomes will require reducing water use to match diminished runoff."&nbsp;



"With a process underway to renegotiate interstate and international agreements on consumptive uses of the river, we describe a promising new management approach based on combined storage of both reservoirs, rather than just Lake Mead as currently used, to trigger consumptive use reductions to the Lower Basin and Mexico."



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



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

Drastic measures needed to stabilize the Colorado River

The Colorado River is a critically important resource that supplies...

Large carnivores are crucial members of many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-can-earths-ecosystems-adapt-to-climate-change/">ecosystems</a> and play important roles in their functioning. But their populations are in decline worldwide because they require large territories in which to live, have low reproduction rates and behave in ways that bring them into conflict with humans. 



To gain an understanding of just how populations of large carnivores have changed in recent years, researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara have turned to data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).



Led by Adrian Stier and Kurt Ingeman, the team identified a list of 362 carnivore species from six different major taxon groups (sharks and rays, bony fish, amphibians and reptiles, birds, terrestrial mammals, and marine mammals) using the existing IUCN database from 2019. Species on this list include leopards, yellowfin tuna, steppe eagles, and gharials.



The researchers gathered data on population trends and extinction risk status for these species from the IUCN database. They report in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a> that 137 (37.8 percent) of the large carnivore species on this list were currently considered threatened (classed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered). Marine mammals had the lowest proportion of threatened species (26.5 percent), while 60.9 percent of rays and sharks included in the study were classified as threatened.&nbsp;



The experts then assessed the recovery of large carnivore populations based on whether the IUCN reported increasing population numbers and whether the risk of extinction had changed since the populations were first investigated. Of the 362 species considered, only 12 had shown genuine decreases in the risk of extinction, while 39 (10.7 percent) showed recovery for one or both factors. These improvements were concentrated among populations of marine mammals such as humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Among terrestrial mammals, only the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) met either recovery criterion.&nbsp;



Lastly, the researchers quantified whether large carnivore species had shown any population recoveries when targeted conservation strategies, such as habitat protection and restrictions on hunting, had been applied. The results showed that carnivores protected by international legislation were 6.8 times more likely to show a reduced extinction risk, while those with controlled hunting plans were three times as likely to be at lower risk of extinction.



The experts concluded that national and international legislation and the identification of conservation sites were associated with reduced risk of extinction in carnivore species, and they suggest that these findings provide a glimmer of hope that large carnivore population declines can be halted, and even reversed when protective legislation and targeted conservation actions are put in place.



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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

Large carnivores need protection to avoid extinction

Large carnivores are crucial members of many ecosystems and play...

In a paper recently published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>, an international team of scientists found that more than 70 percent of the most diverse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-stability-helped-ocean-biodiversity-flourish/">ocean</a> regions are threatened due to warming water.



“Our research shows that locations with exceptionally high marine biodiversity are the most exposed to future oceanic warming, making them particularly vulnerable to 21st century climatic change," explained study lead author Dr. Stuart Brown from the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/">University of Adelaide</a>’s Environment Institute.



“This is because species living in these biodiverse regions are generally ill-equipped to respond to large changes in temperature.”



Using past ocean warming rates and predicted rates, researchers determined where plants and animals would need to migrate to survive.



“In many cases this will require moving distances beyond the oceanic regions that these species evolved in and are adapted to, at rates of movement rarely seen for marine life," said Dr. Brown.



“While we have known for some years that recent human-induced climate change is affecting marine life through shifts in species distributions and abundances, the spatial pattern of exposure to past and future fast rates of ocean warming has been unclear," said study co-author Damien Fordham.



“By showing that areas of high marine biodiversity are disproportionately exposed to future warming, our results provide important new information for deriving and strengthening conservation actions to safeguard marine biodiversity under climate change."



People have a lot to lose, and so do other animals. The most at-risk areas are home to coral reefs that provide manatee and fish habitats. Reefs also buffer our coasts from the ravages of intense storms.



According to Fordham, we must start thinking about how we will negotiate warming oceans and biodiversity.&nbsp;



“Actions that strengthen ecological and evolutionary resilience to climate change should be a priority. These could include improving fisheries management, assisting the movement of species, and the expansion of well-managed, climate-smart marine protected areas.”



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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

Warming threatens the ocean’s most diverse regions

In a paper recently published in Global Change Biology, an...

A recent survey study led by the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a> has found that nearly one in three species are at risk of extinction by the end of the 21st century, due to multiple drivers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-biodiversity-crisis-is-actually-worse-than-we-thought/">biodiversity</a> loss including climate change, human rampant production and consumption, or environmental pollution. While all living organisms will face significant threats, insects and plants are considered to be the most endangered.&nbsp;



The survey received 3,331 responses from experts in biodiversity from 187 countries, covering all the main groups of species, ecosystems, and habitats.&nbsp;



“While considering the types of species and ecosystems they know best, experts estimated that about 30 percent of species have been globally threatened or driven extinct since the year 1500,” said study lead author Forest Isbell, an associate professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Minnesota.&nbsp;



“Experts also acknowledged substantial uncertainty around their estimates, with perhaps as few as 16 percent or as many as 50 percent of species threatened or driven extinct over this time.”



According to Professor Isbell and his colleagues, global biodiversity loss and its impacts may be significantly greater than previously thought, due to higher estimates provided for understudied taxa and underrepresented experts.&nbsp;



“This paper includes the perspectives of a very wide range of experts and allows us to assess less known taxa as well as give a voice to underrepresented experts in the global literature,” said study co-author Patricia Balvanera, a professor of Ecosystem and Sustainability Research at the <a href="https://www.unam.mx/">National Autonomous University of Mexico</a>.



“Experts who identify as women and who are from the Global South have provided significantly higher estimates for past biodiversity loss and its impacts. Also, experts who identify as women disproportionately study the taxa that experts estimate are most threatened.”



The scientists encourage biodiversity specialists to use these findings to learn how their own perspectives may differ from those of others, and to ensure that a wide range of perspectives is included when conducting global biodiversity assessments, setting conservation goals, and implementing new policies aiming to safeguard biodiversity.



“Since biodiversity is highly regional in nature, the attempt of our study to bring together the opinions of regional experts from around the world is unprecedented,” said co-author Akira Mori, a professor of Ecology at the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/index.html">University of Tokyo</a>. “From the perspective of social and cultural diversity and inclusiveness, even if they are not necessarily complete, I believe we have presented certain suggestions for future international policy discussions.”



Urgently increasing conservation efforts and investments is crucial for removing the threat of extinction for one in three species that may otherwise disappear by the end of the century.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.2536">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</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;

One in three species could vanish this century

A recent survey study led by the University of Minnesota...

According to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022GL098574">Geophysical Research Letters</a>, reconstructing how natural communities located near a rapidly advancing and retreating glacier in Alaska have responded to fast-paced warming events in the past could help predict their responses to climate change in the future.&nbsp;



While studying once-buried layers of trees that had been plowed down by glaciers in the 19th century, researchers from the <a href="https://www.uaf.edu/">University of Alaska Fairbanks</a> (UAF) have noticed that tree rings in the Glacier Bay National Forest had compressed growth during the late 1800s, as the La Perouse glacier advanced and pushed a bubble of cold air out into the woods.



“Then we had this idea to monitor the size and intensity of the cold microclimate around the ice using temperature sensors,” said study lead author Benjamin Gaglioti, an ecologist at UAF. “If the glacier went back and forth and this microclimate influenced the surrounding forest, we could use it as an experiment” to assess how ecosystems may respond to climate change in the future.



By using historical accounts, tree cores, and aerial imagery, Gaglioti and his colleagues found that the glacier rapidly advanced hundreds of meters during the late 19th century, remained stable during the early 20th century, and began retreating around 1950. These microclimate changes were clearly reflected in the tree rings from the surrounding forest, which exhibited a slowdown of growth as the glacier advanced and an increase in growth rates as it retreated.



“That was stunning to me,” Gaglioti said. “Because of the glacier’s advance and retreat, the La Perouse forest experienced some of the fastest rates of historical cooling and warming on Earth, but climate models indicate these rates of change will&nbsp;become more common in the next century. Studying these types of glacier-adjacent ecosystems can help us understand how they may respond to the unprecedented rate of warming in the future.”



In future studies, the scientists aim to compare how different species of trees have responded to microclimate changes in the vicinity of the glacier in order to better understand the effects of large magnitude cooling and warming on entire forests. In addition, similar microclimates elsewhere can be used to examine climate sensitivities of other ecosystems, ranging from microorganisms to mammals.



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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;

Fluctuating glaciers shed new light on climate change

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

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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"

[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



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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://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

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

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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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