The world watches as the Great Salt Lake, one of Earth's largest saline lakes, deteriorates. 



Over the past 30 years, the lake has lost a staggering 15 billion cubic yards (11.4 billion cubic meters) of water. It has grown shallower at the rate of 4 inches (10 cm) each year.



This rapid depletion isn't a natural mystery. Decades of unsustainable water diversion, combined with increasing demand and a changing climate, have pushed the lake to a breaking point.



Agriculture is a major contributor to this dire situation, particularly in the case of livestock feed crops.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rapid-depletion-of-great-salt-lake">Rapid depletion of Great Salt Lake </h2>



A recent study published in the journal Environmental Challenges reveals a shocking statistic. Approximately 62% of the river water heading towards Great Salt Lake gets diverted for human usage.



Agricultural activities are the primary culprits, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the water diverted.



“The research highlights the alarming role of water consumption for feeding livestock in driving the lake’s rapid depletion," explained William Ripple, a professor of ecology at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a> and co-author of the study.



Almost 80% of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agricultural-water-scarcity-is-about-to-get-much-worse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agricultural water</a> use is for irrigating alfalfa and hay crops - the primary feed for livestock.



This level of diversion not only depletes the lake's vital inflows but also raises questions about the long-term sustainability of current agricultural practices in the region.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-great-salt-lake">Significance of Great Salt Lake</h2>



The importance of Great Salt Lake extends far beyond its beauty or agricultural use.



As one of the world's largest saline lakes, it plays important ecological, economic, cultural, and spiritual roles - all of which are in grave danger due to the dramatic <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/the-great-salt-lake-has-reached-historically-low-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decline in lake levels</a> during the past decades.



Data from the Utah Division of Water Resources shows a disturbing trend. From 1989 to 2022, consumption and evaporation consistently outpaced inflows from river water and precipitation.



This imbalance has created an annual deficit of approximately 500 million cubic yards (380 cubic meters), which has further accelerated the lake's decline.



The water budget has faced a persistent deficit for most of the past century. The situation has been exacerbated by the growing impacts of climate change and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-drought-has-caused-crisis-levels-of-food-and-water-scarcity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prolonged drought</a>, according to the researchers.



“Abnormally large <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snowmelt-changes-may-greatly-affect-farmers-in-western-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">snowmelt</a> inflow during the 1980s and 1990s served to temporarily obscure the long-term decline in lake levels, and the lake actually reached its highest level in more than a century in 1987,” explained Professor Ripple. “But it has been dropping by roughly 4 inches per year on average since then.”



Great Salt Lake is the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere and ranks eighth globally. Its 21,000-square-mile drainage basin, which includes the Wasatch Mountains, relies heavily on snowfall for water replenishment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-threats-from-declining-lake-levels">Threats from declining lake levels</h2>



Great Salt Lake is also a biodiversity hotspot, hosting over 10 million migrating birds and an estimated 350 different species of birds. These habitats are threatened by declining lake levels.



In addition, the lake creates $2.5 billion in annual economic activity. Recreation, mining, and the harvesting of brine shrimp support more than 9,000 jobs. As salinity levels increase, however, brine shrimp experience extreme stress.



Human health also suffers as the Lake shrinks, with wind-carried <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-salt-lake-drying-up-causing-major-dust-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dust from the exposed saline lakebed</a> causing a range of pulmonary problems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-great-salt-lake">Saving Great Salt Lake</h2>



To halt this alarming trend and start refilling the lake, a 35% reduction of human water consumption in the Great Salt Lake watershed by 35% has been proposed.



This includes a significant cut in irrigated alfalfa production, a fallowing of much of the region’s irrigated grass hay fields, and taxpayer-funded compensation for affected farmers and ranchers.



Conservation measures such as crop shifting, reducing municipal and industrial use, and leasing water rights from irrigators have also been proposed.



The impacts of these changes will be significant, and will affect as many as 20,000 farmers and ranchers in the basin. However, the situation presents an opportunity to set a precedent for addressing water scarcity globally.



“The economic and cultural adjustments required are significant but not insurmountable. With the right policies and public support, we can secure a sustainable future for the Great Salt Lake and set a precedent for addressing water scarcity globally,” concluded Professor Ripple.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2667010024002312" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Challenges</a>.



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Great Salt Lake: Agriculture is draining a natural wonder

The world watches as the Great Salt Lake, one of Earth's largest saline lakes, deteriorates. Over the past 30 years, the lake has lost a staggering 15 billion cubic yards (11.4 billion cubic meters) of water. It has grown shallower at the rate of 4 inches (10 cm) each year. This rapid depletion isn't a natural mystery. Decades of unsustainable water diversion, combined with increasing demand and a changing climate, have pushed the lake to a breaking point. Agriculture is a major contributor to this dire situation,...

Proboscis monkeys are fascinating to tourists, and perhaps even more so than other monkeys due to their oversized noses. Areas along rivers are popular for tourists visiting Sabah Malaysia because they can approach monkeys and other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildlife-may-be-the-answer-to-dwindling-fertilizer-ingredient/">wildlife</a> via motor boat.&nbsp;



Tour boats move quickly and loudly through the forest and toward the monkeys, approaching at close proximities. Now, new research led by the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> shows that proboscis monkeys are often stressed by the arrival of these tour boats.&nbsp;



“Our evidence shows that even a single motor boat moving slowly, with humans behaving calmly, can negatively affect the primate’s behavior and induce stress - an impact that is likely to be larger with tourist boats," said study lead author Dr. Marina Davila‐Ross. "The riparian area is an important habitat that has become increasingly popular to primate ecotourism, because it enables tourists to conveniently reach primates via motor boats.”



The scientists carried out the research by driving motorboats toward the monkeys at various speeds and distances. Under the conditions of fast and close, slow and close, or far and fast, the monkeys exhibited stress behaviors.



"Collectively, our findings suggest that the approach of a single motor boat induces stress in proboscis monkeys when approaching them as closely as 60 meters from the other side of the river, regardless of the speed of approach," said&nbsp;



Dr. Davila‐Ross.



"The findings match those obtained in studies on sea mammals and birds, suggesting that stress is a universal response across animals when a boat approaches - a large, loud, and artificial object moving toward them is likely to be threatening.”



The stress can potentially cause the monkeys to move into more dangerous territory. For example, a monkey leaving a safe spot close to nightfall might be more vulnerable to predators and other threats.&nbsp;



“Our study highlights the importance of keeping a distance from proboscis monkeys and perhaps also other primates in the riparian area when in motorboats, and preferably approaching them similarly as in the slow-far condition, where we observed no impact," said Dr. Davila‐Ross. "Such information might be helpful for tourists, allowing them to modify their behaviours when visiting the primates and when encouraging guides to follow the guidelines.”The researchers suggest that guidelines for tourist boats visiting proboscis monkeys should be enacted. Ideally, boats would move no more than 4 km/hr within 100 meters of monkeys and, most importantly, come no closer than 60 meters.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10764">International Journal of Primatology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Proboscis monkeys are stressed out by tourist boats

Proboscis monkeys are fascinating to tourists, and perhaps even more...

Microplastics are everywhere – in our blood, our food and our water. These tiny fragments of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/disposable-coffee-cups-release-trillions-of-plastic-particles/">plastic</a>, no bigger than 5 millimeters, have been introduced into many different environments by human activities. The effects they will have on humans and wildlife are currently not known.



And now a study, published today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, has shown that microplastics in the ocean are linked with pathogens that come originally from the land. The authors show that pathogens that cause disease in both humans and other animals can adhere to the surfaces of microplastics and hitch a ride out to the plastic-contaminated areas of the oceans.&nbsp;



“It’s easy for people to dismiss plastic problems as something that doesn't matter for them, like, ‘I’m not a turtle in the ocean; I won’t choke on this thing,’” said study co-author Karen Shapiro, an infectious disease expert and associate professor in the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis School</a> of Veterinary Medicine. “But once you start talking about disease and health, there’s more power to implement change. Microplastics can actually move germs around, and these germs end up in our water and our food.”



The pathogens studied – Toxoplasma gondii,&nbsp;Cryptosporidium&nbsp;(Crypto) and&nbsp;Giardia – can cause disease in both humans and animals. They are recognized by the World Health Organization as causes of illness from shellfish consumption and are found throughout the ocean.



Toxoplasma gondii,&nbsp;a parasite found only in cat feces, has infected many ocean species with the disease toxoplasmosis. Previous UC Davis research has linked this parasite to the deaths of sea otters, while it has also been implicated in the deaths of endangered Hector’s dolphins and Hawaiian monk seals. In people, toxoplasmosis can cause life-long illnesses, as well as developmental and reproductive disorders.



Crypto&nbsp;and Giardia&nbsp;cause diarrhea and gastrointestinal disease. They are parasites that can infect any mammal, and can be deadly in young children and people who are immunocompromised.



“This is very much a problem that affects both humans and animals,” said first author Emma Zhang. “It highlights the importance of a One Health approach that requires collaboration across human, wildlife and environmental disciplines. We all depend on the ocean environment.”&nbsp;



In order to test whether these pathogens adhere to the surfaces of microplastics, the researchers conducted laboratory experiments using polyethylene microbeads and polyester microfibers. Microbeads are a common constituent in cosmetics, such as exfoliants and skin cleansers, whereas microfibers derive mostly from clothing made of synthetic materials.&nbsp;



The results showed that the microbes adhered more readily to microfibers than to microbeads, although both types of plastic particles could carry the pathogens to the sea and disperse them there. Microplastic particles make it easier for the pathogens to reach places that a land parasite would otherwise never be found, such as in the flesh of coastal shellfish.&nbsp;



Since the plastic particles may sink or float in the ocean, the hitchhiking pathogens can end up in two different habitats. Microplastics that float can travel long distances on the surface of the ocean, spreading pathogens far from their sources on land. In contrast, microplastics that sink may deliver pathogens to the benthic environment where filter-feeding animals such as zooplankton, clams, mussels and oysters remove the particles, and their associated pathogens, from the water and ingest them.&nbsp;



“When plastics are thrown in, it fools invertebrates,” Shapiro said. “We’re altering natural food webs by introducing this human-made material that can also introduce deadly parasites.”



Microfibers are most commonly shed from synthetic clothing when it is washed in a washing machine or dried in a tumble drier. The fibers are released in the waste water or hot air, and can reach waterways or the atmosphere in this way. Study co-author Chelsea Rochman, a plastic-pollution expert and assistant professor of Ecology at the University of Toronto, said there are several ways humans can help reduce the impacts of microplastics in the ocean.&nbsp;



“This work demonstrates the importance of preventing sources of microplastics to our oceans,” said Rochman. “Mitigation strategies include filters on washing machines, filters on dryers, bioretention cells or other technologies to treat storm water, and best management practices to prevent microplastic release from plastic industries and construction sites.”



The study was funded by the Ocean Protection Council and California Sea Grant program, with student financial support provided by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Students Training in Advanced Research (STAR) program.



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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

Pathogens can stick to microplastics and hitchhike to the sea

Microplastics are everywhere – in our blood, our food and...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a>, researchers have found that some mammals drastically shift the timing of their daily activities in urban <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baboons-behave-differently-in-urban-areas/">environments</a>. The experts say that this is likely to minimize encounters with humans.



"Wildlife are under continuous pressure to adapt to new environments as more land area is converted for human use and human populations continue to concentrate in suburban and exurban areas," wrote the study authors. "This is especially the case for terrestrial mammals, which are forced to navigate these habitat matrices on foot. One way in which mammals may occupy urbanized landscapes is by altering their temporal activity behavior."



In collaboration with community volunteers, the team set up a network of more than 300 trail cameras throughout urban sites in the Salt Lake Valley, as well in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The cameras documented almost 20,000 sightings of mammals during the summer months of 2018 and 2019. The most abundant animals were coyotes, mule deer, raccoons, squirrels, and skunks.



The footage revealed that mammals in the city behaved very differently from their country relatives. Coyotes shifted their activities into the nighttime hours, while deer and squirrels moved their activity to daytime hours. In the forest, the squirrels, deer, and coyotes were most active at dawn and dusk.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, these behavioral shifts have consequences for interactions between species. Squirrels adopted a schedule that decreased their interaction with humans, but deer increased their human interaction. In addition, coyotes had less interaction with both deer and squirrels, reducing the availability of their prey.&nbsp;



"Typically, studies have found that mammals increase their nocturnal activity within urbanized environments to avoid overlap with humans," wrote the researchers. "However, to date, the majority of studies on this topic have focused on single species, and studying whether this trend holds across an entire community has important ecological implications."



"Specifically, understanding how differences in species temporal activity response alters predator-prey dynamics and sympatric interspecies competition can provide insight into urban wildlife community assembly and provide a mechanistic understanding of species co-occurrence within these systems."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/global-ecology-and-conservation">Global Ecology and Conservation</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

Mammals change their schedules to adapt to city life

In a new study from the University of Utah, researchers...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> has identified a lesser-known form of ozone that seems to be playing a large role in heating the Southern Ocean – which is one of the Earth’s major cooling systems - by removing a large amount of carbon dioxide and excess heat from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-atmosphere-is-expanding-due-to-climate-change/">atmosphere</a>. While many previous studies have described the ozone layer in the stratosphere and its crucial role in protecting humans and animals from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation, researchers have now discovered that a form of ozone closer to the ground (tropospheric ozone) can be highly damaging for your planet, by significantly warming up the Southern Ocean.



“People haven’t paid much attention in the past to tropospheric ozone in terms of ocean heat uptake. Based on our models, they should be,” said study lead author Wei Liu, a climate scientist at UC Riverside.



Together with an international team of scientists, Dr. Liu explored climate model simulations with changes in ozone levels between 1955 and 2000. These simulations aimed to isolate both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone from other influences on Southern Ocean temperatures, allowing the researchers to assess how each factor contributes to ocean temperature rises.



While both factors were found to significantly contribute to warming, scientists were surprised to discover that tropospheric ozone played a larger role in this process. “Historically, about a third of the ocean’s warming is attributable to ozone. For this third, about 40 percent is from the stratosphere, and the rest is troposphere,” said Dr. Liu.



According to Dr. Liu and his colleagues, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from products such as pesticides, automobiles, or tobacco smoke are the gases that form the building blocks of tropospheric ozone, together with nitrogen oxides produced by combustion, and carbon monoxide from gas stoves, furnaces, or automobile exhaust. Most of these products could be modified to produce fewer VOCs.&nbsp;



“Tropospheric ozone is an air pollutant. If we reduce our production of this, we get the dual benefits of less air pollution and most likely, less Southern Ocean warming as well,” concluded Dr. Liu.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01320-w">Nature Climate Change</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

Lesser-known form of ozone contributes the most to global warming

A new study led by the University of California, Riverside...

Recent research led by the <a href="http://www.upv.es/en/">Valencia Polytechnic University</a> (UPV) in Spain has discovered that disease-causing amoebas that live on organic leafy vegetables can shelter human pathogens such as Pseudomonas, Salmonella, or Helicobacter, and thus represent a potential risk to human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eat-for-a-healthy-planet-reduce-the-demand-for-animal-agriculture/">health</a>.



Foodborne illnesses from eating contaminated fresh produce are common and can have serious effects on human health, particularly when fruits and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dirty-dozen-fruits-and-vegetables-packed-with-pesticides/">vegetables</a> are eaten raw. Currently, there is a growing demand for organically grown fruits and vegetables, as people aim to eat healthier diets and fear potential contamination from pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides. However, during growth, harvest, transportation, and further handling, these products are often contaminated with pathogens from human or animal sources while getting into contact with soil, air, rain, irrigation water, insects, or during industrial processing.



The scientists found that vegetables can be contaminated with protozoa such as free-living amoebae (FLA) that feed on bacteria, but can also act as hosts to pathogenic bacteria that can resist FLA digestion (the so-called “Trojan horses”).



“Food and food-related environments create an ideal meeting place for free-living amoebae and pathogenic bacteria," explained study lead author Dr. Yolanda Moreno, an expert in Water and Environmental Engineering at UPV. “However, comparatively little is known about the occurrence and diversity of free-living amoebae on organic vegetables and their role in transmitting human pathogens.”



Dr. Moreno and her colleagues collected 17 samples of lettuce and spinach from local supermarkets in Valencia between November 2020 and May 2021, and used a metagenomic technique that identifies DNA in all bacteria contained by FLA. The main bacterial types the researchers identified were Flavobacterium and Pseudomonas (each found in about 10 percent of vegetable samples), which rarely cause disease in humans. However, a third of the samples contained 52 potentially disease-causing bacteria, including Legionella,&nbsp;Salmonella, and&nbsp;Arcobacter. In addition, the FLA species&nbsp;Vermamoeba vermiformis,&nbsp;which frequently causes severe infections in humans, was found in 19 percent of vegetable samples, while&nbsp;Acanthamoeba castellanii, that can cause blindness and encephalitis, were identified in 63 percent of samples.



“The presence of bacteria of public health concern contained inside the free-living amoebae suggests that they are vehicles that can easily transmit pathogens capable of reaching humans and causing health problems through contaminated organic vegetables”, said Dr. Moreno.&nbsp;



“Contamination can arise as a consequence of treating soil with organic fertilizers such as manure and sewage sludge, and from irrigation water. Leafy greens are particularly susceptible to fecal contamination due to their proximity to the ground and the likelihood of humans consuming them without cooking.”&nbsp;



These findings highlight the need to educate the public on how to safely and properly handle fresh organic vegetables before eating them fresh or slightly cooked. However, larger studies in more countries are needed to better understand the microbiological quality and safety of organic vegetables.



The study is be presented at this year’s <a href="https://www.eccmid.org/">European Congress of Clinical Microbiology &amp; Infectious Diseases</a> (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal (23-26 April).



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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

Organic vegetables often harbor human pathogens

Recent research led by the Valencia Polytechnic University (UPV) in...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.uab.cat/web/universitat-autonoma-de-barcelona-1345467954774.html">Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona</a> have presented a brand new perspective on how early humans adapted to climate change. The evidence was discovered in the remains of ancient marine mollusk shells.



"Current global climate warming is having, and will continue to have, widespread consequences for humans. Looking to the past, multiple climatic and environmental changes have long been thought to have shaped human evolution and behavior," wrote the researchers.



According to the experts, the "8.2 ka event" was the largest and most abrupt climate change event of the past 11,700 years. This was caused by meltwater from North American lakes flooding into the North Atlantic and stopping ocean circulation systems.



"The influx of cold water into the Atlantic Ocean led to a reduction of sea surface salinity and a decline of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), provoking a reduction in sea surface temperatures (SST) across the North Atlantic," explained the researchers. "The cooling effects of this event have been documented in proxies from the Greenland ice cores and across Europe."



Study lead author Asier García Escárzaga and colleagues used stable carbon isotope analyses to examine marine mollusk shells that were collected in the El Mazo cave along the European Atlantic coast. El Mazo has a long stratigraphic sequence of 1,500 years, with especially high chronological resolution of each archaeological layer.



The results showed that colder ocean water temperatures led to changes in the availability of different shellfish species. For example, one of the most commonly consumed species decreased during the 8.2 ka event, while another commonly harvested species increased.



The results also revealed a major increase in mollusk exploitation by humans. This activity was indicated by a decrease in average mollusk size and evidence of increased harvesting in more dangerous coastal areas.&nbsp;



"A decrease in shell size was also observed at El Mazo during this colder period, something that has been variously linked to either changes in sea surface temperatures or a higher human pressure on coastal resources, mostly in the form of demographic increase and additional resource pressure," wrote the study authors.



"At El Mazo, a clear reduction in shell size for the three most dominant mollusc species can be seen during the 8.2 ka event. Given that each of these species have well-documented differences in temperature tolerance, it seems that changes in sea surface temperatures cannot be considered responsible for changes in shell size."



The researchers propose that humans were flocking to the Atlantic coast as a refuge during the cold event. Despite the influx of people, however, the fossil evidence suggests that humans living around El Mazo managed to avoid over-exploiting their coastal resources. The experts found that the average mollusk size very rarely decreased below 20 millimeters, which has since been established as the minimum size needed to guarantee long-term species survival.&nbsp;



“Our results suggest an ongoing application of local marine ecological knowledge by some of the last foragers in western Europe, despite major changes to climate and demography," explained García-Escárzaga.



The techniques used in the study could be extremely useful for other studies seeking to determine the significance of climate change on marine environments. The research also provides new clues to help predict the nature of future climate change and the impacts on human societies.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</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

Mollusk shells reveal new clues about past climate change

Researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have presented a...

According to a new report released by the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/">Copernicus Climate Change Service</a> (C3S) on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/for-earth-day-lets-make-our-planets-heartbeat-louder/">Earth Day</a> 2022, Europe experienced its warmest summer on record in 2021, with over 1.0°C above the 1991-2020 average. Severe and long-lasting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-heatwaves-reduce-the-oceans-ability-to-absorb-carbon/">heatwaves</a> contributed to wildfires in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, and were compounded by heavy rainfall causing massive floods in Western Europe. Moreover, in large areas of the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, annual sea surface temperatures spiked substantially and were the highest since at least 1993.&nbsp;



“2021 was a year of extremes including the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, flooding, and wind droughts in Western Europe, showing that the understanding of weather and climate extremes is becoming increasingly relevant for key societal sectors,” said Carlo Buontempo, the director of C3S.



Although spring in Europe was cooler than average last year, summer temperatures rose well beyond their expected values, reaching an all-time record of 48.8 degrees in Sicily, and causing devastating wildfires in several European countries (the total area burnt during July and August in the Mediterranean region exceeded 800,000 hectares). According to Freja Vamborg, a senior scientist at C3S, the main reason for these European (as well as global) temperature spikes and extreme weather events is the increased atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases.



“It is the same key message on greenhouse gases that is forever repeated. We see large increases in carbon dioxide in 2021, and it is the main driver behind a general global rise in average temperature between 1.1 and 1.2 degrees Celsius (1.98 and 2.16 degrees Fahrenheit) since the pre-industrial age,” Vamborg said.



The report revealed that global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide increased by 2.3 parts per million and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-are-higher-than-previously-estimated/">methane</a> by 16.5 parts per million. “The rise has been steady for both greenhouse gases with no sign of reduction over the last 10 years. However, we saw a larger than usual increase of methane in both 2020 and 2021,” said Vincent-Henry Peuch, the director of the <a href="https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/">Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service</a>.



&nbsp;“An increase of methane concentrations could be linked not only to emissions but also to a possible change in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. More research is required to get a robust understanding. Still, some recent work points towards changes in tropical areas and emissions from natural sources like wetlands and from human sources such as rice culture and cattle.”



If urgent measures are not taken by governments, policy makers, as well as each and every individual to significantly curb these emissions, last year’s summer will undoubtedly be followed by even more severe ones, significantly threatening life on Earth as we know it.&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

Europe experienced its warmest summer on record last year

According to a new report released by the Copernicus Climate...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.nist.gov/">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a> (NIST) has found that disposable coffee cups coated with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) can release trillions of plastic nanoparticles when exposed to boiling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-the-timing-of-water-that-matters-to-plants/">water</a>. Although the effect of these particles on living organisms are not yet clear, these findings are quite alarming for many scientists, who worry that repeated exposure to such pollutants could have long-term health effects.



While there are different types of plastic materials, they are all made of polymers – natural or human-made substances consisting of large molecules linked together. Scientists have already found myriad microscopic particles from these plastics in the world’s oceans and many other places, including even the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-found-in-the-human-blood-for-the-first-time/">human blood</a>. These tiny particles are categorized into two groups: microplastics (smaller than five millimeters but visible to the naked eye), and nanoparticles (smaller than one micrometer and invisible to the human eye).



“The main takeaway here is that there are plastic particles wherever we look. There are a lot of them. Trillions per liter. We don’t know if those have bad health effects on people or animals. We just have a high confidence that they’re there,” said study lead author Christopher Zangmeister, a chemist at NIST.



Dr. Zangmeister and his colleagues have analyzed two types of commercial plastic products – single-use hot beverage cups, such as coffee cups coated with LDPE, and food-grade nylon bags, such as baking liners.&nbsp;After exposing the LDPE-lined coffee cups to boiling water for 20 minutes, they sprayed the water out into a fine mist and dried the mist and all that was left within a solution in order to isolate the plastic nanoparticles.&nbsp;



By running a powerful computer program that could count the particles, together with state-of-the art procedures such as scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the scientists managed not only to count the nanoparticles, but also to measure their size. They found that the average size of the particles was between 30 and 80 nanometers, and that the concentration of nanoparticles released into boiling water by food-grade nylon was seven times higher compared to that released from coffee cups.



“In the last decade scientists have found plastics wherever we looked in the environment. People have looked at snow in Antarctica, the bottom of glacial lakes, and found microplastics bigger than about 100 nanometers, meaning they were likely not small enough to enter a cell and cause physical problems,” said Dr. Zangmeister.&nbsp;“Our study is different because these nanoparticles are really small and a big deal because they could get inside of a cell, possibly disrupting its function.”



These findings could open new avenues of research for scientists working on the problem of plastic pollution and its effects on human and animal health, while also informing the larger public about the risks involved in using various types of plastic materials. “Most of the studies on this topic are written toward educating fellow scientists. This paper will do both: educate scientists and perform public outreach,” concluded Dr. Zangmeister.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c06768">Environmental Sciences &amp; Technology</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

Disposable coffee cups release trillions of plastic particles

A new study led by the National Institute of Standards...

Colorful tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-destroyed-14-percent-of-the-worlds-coral-reefs/">coral reefs</a> are teeming with an amazing diversity of marine organisms, including over 8,000 species of fish. However, climate change and various human activities are causing these reefs to disappear at an alarming rate, making scientists largely unable to properly quantify how many species of reef fish there are and where they are distributed.&nbsp;



Besides the rapid pace of change that coral reefs are facing worldwide, there are several other reasons why scientists have difficulties in mapping marine ecosystems from specific areas. Most of these fishes lead rather secretive, hidden lives, are highly similar to one another, or live in the open sea and are thus difficult to detect.



In order to circumvent such difficulties, a research team from <a href="https://ethz.ch/en.html">ETH Zurich</a> has applied a new method that is currently advancing the field of ecology - environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. The idea behind this new approach is that organisms leave their genetic material or parts of it in the environment.&nbsp;



By using this method, the scientists only need to take water samples at one location, isolate the DNA fragments they contain, sequence them, and compare these sequences with reference DNA sequences coming from reliably identified specimens in order to determine whether a particular species occurs at the location in question.



“Thanks to the eDNA method, we can detect many fish species and families much faster than with observations alone,” said study senior author Loïc Pellissier, a professor of Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution at ETH Zurich.



In 2017 and 2019, Professor Pellissier and his team collected 226 water samples at 26 sites in five tropical marine regions. The eDNA analysis of these samples revealed a 16 percent higher diversity of reef fishes than what conventional survey methods such as visual observations during dives have previous managed to detect.&nbsp;



With the eDNA method, the scientists discovered more pelagic (swimming in open water), reef-bound, and cryptobenthic (inhabiting caves and crevices in reefs) species than divers are generally able to see or identify. The discovery of these species is highly important because they are actively involved in the function of the coral reefs through their pelagic larval stages or their nocturnal migrations to the reefs.



The findings suggest that the composition of species varies significantly among marine bioregions. Fish diversity was found to be exceptionally high in the “Coral Triangle” between Borneo, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines (five times higher than in the Caribbean, for instance).&nbsp;



According to Professor Pellissier, this has to do with the fact that, historically, the Coral Triangle was very tectonically active, producing a wide range of habitats. Moreover, the more stable surface temperatures of this area during the ice ages allowed the fishes to diversify considerably.



Although this new method is extremely efficient for mapping reef biodiversity, it has its limitations. Since some species – such as wrasses (Labridae) or blennies (Blenniidae) - are poorly detected through eDNA analysis, direct visual observations remain important. In addition, these more traditional methods can help gather supplementary information, such as fish sizes or biomass, which cannot yet be recovered through eDNA analysis.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0162">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Experts use eDNA to measure reef fish diversity

Colorful tropical coral reefs are teeming with an amazing diversity...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal) has found that living in a tree-filled <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biden-administration-restores-a-key-environmental-law/">environment</a> is linked to better early child development than living in areas where vegetation takes the form of grass cover. However, both varieties of green spaces were associated with better developmental outcomes than places dominated by paved surfaces.



Many previous studies have argued that exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exposure-to-green-space-reduces-oxidative-stress-in-children/">green spaces</a> is associated with better memory and attention in early childhood, higher academic achievements, and fewer behavioral and emotional problems. However, this is the first study to explore whether the type of vegetation makes a difference in these positive associations.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The investigation was carried out in the Vancouver Metropolitan Area in Canada and was based on a large cohort of 27,539 children, who were followed from birth to five years of age (between 2000 and 2005). In the fifth year, in order to compute each child’s developmental score, the researchers asked children’s kindergarten teachers to rate their pupils’ physical health, mental well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, communication skills, language development, and general knowledge.&nbsp;



Afterwards, by using a high-spatial-resolution land cover map, the scientists determined how much exposure to vegetation each child had, and whether the vegetated land consisted of grass or trees. The average percentage of total vegetation exposure was found to be 36 percent, while exposure to predominantly paved surfaces was 32.2 percent.&nbsp;



While children with the greatest exposure to vegetation (either trees or grass) had the highest developmental scores, those exposed predominantly to paved surfaces had the lowest ones. However, the study revealed that living close to tree-filled areas in early childhood led to better developmental scores than being exposed to grass-covered environments. According to the scientists, this may be due to the fact that tree-filled areas are better in mitigating air pollution, noise and heat than more open green spaces, while also contributing to a higher degree to support restoration from mental fatigue and the capacity for focused attention. On the other hand, grassy spaces may encourage group activities and thus foster social well-being.



“Because we assessed different types of vegetation, our findings contribute to an&nbsp;improved understanding&nbsp;of associations between exposure to green spaces and early childhood development,” said study lead author Ingrid Jarvis, a landscape ecologist at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a>.



“Taken together, our findings suggest that&nbsp;converting paved surfaces to green spaces&nbsp;and, in particular, increasing the amount of trees in neighborhoods may have positive effects on early childhood health and development,” concluded study senior author Matilda van den Bosch, an expert in landscape planning and public health at ISGlobal.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001222?via%3Dihub">Environment International</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

Tree-filled spaces boost child development

A recent study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global...

In celebration of Earth Day today, <a href="https://nature.disney.com/">Disneynature</a> will be releasing an all-new documentary film, “Polar Bear,” which will be available to view on the Disney+ streaming service as part of an Earth Day celebration. The feature, filmed over three years in and around Svalbard, gives a glimpse into the life of a mother polar bear as she navigates the challenges of life for her young family. The story follows the mother bear’s memories of her youth and how these prepare her to face the changes occurring in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brown-carbon-released-from-wildfires-is-warming-the-arctic/">Arctic</a> world due to global warming.&nbsp;



The filmmakers had to overcome enormous challenges in order to film this documentary. Svalbad, a Norwegian archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, is a place of glaciers, frozen tundra, mountains and fjords. Some filming had to take place during the icy winter and early spring when the seas are frozen over and the polar bears begin to hunt. At times, the filmmakers had to work in bitterly cold conditions and total darkness. Add to this the fact that the iconic stars of the show are white against a white background and wander around at will, and the amazing feat of the filmmakers becomes even more impressive.&nbsp;



The directors, Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson, admit that they would not have been able to make this film ten years ago, but advances in technology – including drones – allowed them and members of their team to get closer than ever to the bears. Apart from using drones to film at a distance, the use of long lenses allowed the filmmakers to witness but not to disturb the natural behavior of the polar bears.



The result is a remarkable and awe-inspiring portrait of polar bears and the habitat in which they live. The visual feast is provided by the polar bears themselves, when they exhibit playful, resilient and tender behavior. The film’s musical score, composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, sensitively conveys these varied emotions using specific themes for each storyline. The narrator, two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener, uses spare narration and measured intonations to characterize the mother bear as “thoughtful, courageous, and resilient.”&nbsp;



Film sequences of the Arctic habitat are more sobering, however. They show the deteriorating state of the polar ice and relate this state of affairs to the bears’ decreased chances of survival. As the ice melts, they have to make more dangerous journeys and travel further to find the food they need. In this way, the documentary highlights the plight of this remarkable species in a world beset by climate change.&nbsp;



In keeping with the Disney philosophy to care for wildlife and their habitats, the Disney Conservation Fund has committed to providing support to Polar Bears International to help their efforts to protect polar bears and their sea ice habitat.



“Polar Bears International is an exceptional organization doing exceptional work for both the polar bears and the environment in which they live,” said Roy Conli, who is a producer of “Polar Bear.” “They bring essential awareness to the general populace of what’s going on in the Arctic, the realities polar bears face today, and hope for how we can all take action to positively change the future for this species. I’m so proud that we’re working with their incredible team.”&nbsp;



“The reason we wanted to make the film is people talk a lot about climate change but it's hard to show it. In this film, through the eyes of our female bear, you certainly see it," said film director Alastair Fothergill. "And I think Earth Day is a very good time to question. You should question your own footprint on the planet, your own use of energy, as individuals we can do an enormous amount.”



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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

Disney documents the plight of polar bears in remarkable film

In celebration of Earth Day today, Disneynature will be releasing...

Dirty fossil fuels, burned to create electricity or just to transport us across town, get a lot of headlines. But there are other sources of destructive greenhouse gases, such as animal agriculture. Not only that, but animal agriculture contributes to habitat destruction, competition with wild animals, and cruelty to domestic animals.&nbsp;



Animal agriculture is also a major contributing factor to climate change. In fact, <a href="https://assets.ciwf.org/media/7447656/breaking-the-taboo-why-diets-must-change-to-tackle-climate-emergency.pdf?_gl=1*1ykctxr*_ga*MTIwNDU0MDAxNi4xNjMyMjM5MzYw*_ga_QHTMX95D1M*MTYzODIyMTUzNi42NC4wLjE2MzgyMjE1NDMuMA..">a study</a> by <a href="https://www.ciwf.org/">Compassion in World Farming </a>shows that meeting the Paris 1.5 °C target is impossible without tackling the issue. The food industry contributes somewhere between a quarter and a third of greenhouse gases. The livestock industry is responsible for 75 percent of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, or 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions as a whole.&nbsp;



Animal agriculture contributes to deforestation, including the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest in South America. Not only is land cleared for the animals raised for food, but more land is cleared to grow food for those animals in a parody of inefficiency. Besides ruining the beauty of forests and other habitats and killing wildlife, habitat destruction also releases carbon stores, contributing even more to climate change. Soils and water are polluted with excess animal waste directly from livestock as well as pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer for animal feed.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Furthermore, livestock contribute to greenhouse gases and pollution, and animal agriculture is decidedly bad for wildlife as well. Cattlemen’s associations in the US have been all too willing to promote<a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2012/wolves-01-31-2012.html"> killing wolves</a> and other predators as well as <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/appeals-court-upholds-habitat-protections-for-new-mexico-meadow-jumping-mouse-2022-04-18/">challenge habitat protections</a> for <a href="http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2021/09/02794_CattleGroupsChallengeESAListing_LPC09032021_162343.php#.YmLjjy1OKhA">endangered species</a>. There are a finite amount of resources on the planet and when they’re all used to feed livestock, there’s less for other animals to survive on.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The good news is that it’s within your power to contribute to a solution. By cutting out or cutting down on animal products - meat (including fish), dairy and eggs - you can help. You can also help by supporting government programs aimed at reducing meat consumption. Today, fees for grazing on public lands are at their <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/54.5/north-bureau-of-land-management-cows-coal-and-climate-change-a-q-a-with-the-new-blm-director">lowest legal limit</a> and much of it is <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/north-bureau-of-land-management-there-are-millions-of-acres-of-failing-rangelands-data-shows">overgrazed</a>.&nbsp;



“Reducing meat, egg, and dairy consumption is one of the easiest and strongest levers we can use to combat climate change, pollution, and animal abuse," said Ben Williamson, the US Executive Director of Compassion in World Farming.



If you care about the climate, wildlife, public lands, basically anything Earth Day stands for, now is the time to think hard about what’s on your plate, because dinner could be the change we need.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Eat for a healthy planet - reduce the demand for animal agriculture

Dirty fossil fuels, burned to create electricity or just 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

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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

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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

[sendtonews key="u0TYxxqfF7-2186404-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA’s...