There is a green deficit in our cities, and it's more serious than you think. A new study led by RMIT University in Australia highlights this glaring issue. The study measured access to nature in eight global cities and found most of them to be grossly deficient in canopy cover.



This is despite these cities having a significant number of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trees-have-an-amazing-ability-to-adapt-to-new-climates/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trees</a> in sight. The discrepancy lies in the lack of adequate "canopy cover" - the overhead layer of branches and leaves that provide shade, reducing temperatures and increasing green cover.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-troubling-tree-deficit">Troubling tree deficit</h2>



Less than 30 percent of buildings in cities such as New York City, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and Denver were found to be in neighborhoods with adequate canopy cover.



New York and Amsterdam scored almost 0% for canopy cover, while a whopping 92 and 50 percent of their buildings, respectively, had views of at least three <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/resilient-trees-can-help-safeguard-cities-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trees</a>.



This research, a collaborative effort with the Technical University of Munich, studied over 2.5 million buildings across eight cities using the "3-30-300" rule, an emerging sustainable cities measure.



This innovative rule states that every home, school, and workplace should have a view of at least three <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-than-one-third-of-the-worlds-trees-face-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trees</a>, be located in a neighborhood with at least 30% canopy cover, and be within 300 meters of a park.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-canopy-cover-champions">Canopy cover champions</h2>



Among the cities studied, only Seattle and Singapore could pass the 30% canopy benchmark. In these cities, 45% and 75% of buildings, respectively, have the luxury of enjoying adequate shading.



But the access to parks is not consistent. Singapore and Amsterdam scored high, while Buenos Aires and New York City trailed behind.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-need-for-more-canopy-cover">Need for more canopy cover</h2>



Dr. Thami Croeser, a lead researcher and an <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RMIT University</a> research fellow, found it alarming that a majority of the buildings studied failed the 30% tree canopy test.



Considering that 2023 was the hottest year on record and 25% of the global population experienced dangerous levels of extreme heat, canopy cover is an urgent requirement to cool down our cities, noted Dr. Croeser.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-of-tree-cover-in-cities">Benefits of tree cover in cities</h2>



"Previous research has shown depression, anxiety, obesity and heatstroke are more prevalent in urban areas that lack access to shady <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planting-trees-is-important-but-reforestation-can-help-too/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tree</a> canopy and green open spaces," said Dr. Croeser.



Environmentally, urban trees play a critical role in improving air quality by absorbing pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, while also filtering harmful particulate matter. 



Additionally, trees are essential for stormwater management, as their roots absorb rainfall and reduce the risk of flooding.



By storing carbon, urban forests help offset greenhouse gas emissions. They also provide vital habitats for birds, insects, and other wildlife, enhancing urban biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insufficiency-of-current-practices">Insufficiency of current practices</h2>



Dr. Croeser is critical of current methods of street design or retrofitting, which tend to prioritize infrastructure like cabling and pipelines over tree growth.



He advocates for a change in our practice, to prioritize green infrastructure and incorporate trees into early stages of design.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-struggles-of-urban-trees">Struggles of urban trees</h2>



Urban trees face a tough life. They are planted in compacted soil, covered with asphalt and lack proper water access.



Dr. Croeser argues that improving these conditions can greatly enhance the growth and longevity of urban trees, thus increasing canopy cover. The "3-30-300" rule might be relatively new, but it is rapidly gaining global acceptance.



This benchmark was devised by Dutch urban forestry expert Professor Cecil Konijnendijk.to set a definitive, evidence-based minimum for nature in cities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



Professor Wolfgang Weisser from the <a href="https://www.tum.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Munich</a> and Dirk Voets, Senior Advisor Geospatial at Cobra Groeninzicht, have expressed support of the "3-30-300" rule and are optimistic about its potential.



The study is a clarion call for us to reassess our urban designs. The findings reach out to a global audience to advocate for more harmonious co-existence with nature in our urban spaces.



The research may ultimately be a catalyst for significant change, leading us to build more sustainable, liveable, and delightful cities.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53402-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Most cities lack sufficient canopy cover, despite visible trees

There is a green deficit in our cities, and it's more serious than you think. A new study led by RMIT University in Australia highlights this glaring issue. The study measured access to nature in eight global cities and found most of them to be grossly deficient in canopy cover. This is despite these cities having a significant number of trees in sight. The discrepancy lies in the lack of adequate "canopy cover" - the overhead layer of branches and leaves that provide shade, reducing temperatures and...

According to the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/">Copernicus Climate Change Service</a>’s annual <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-globally-seven-hottest-years-record-were-last-seven">report</a>, the last seven years were the warmest on record “by a clear margin,” with greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/u-s-greenhouse-emissions-rebounded-in-2021/">emissions</a> continuing to rise substantially. Although within the last seven years, 2021 ranked among the coolest, together with 2015 and 2018, Europe faced the hottest summer on record, close to the extremely warm summers of 2010 and 2018.



Globally, 2021 was the fifth hottest year on record, with the annual average temperature 0.3°C above the mean temperatures recorded in the period 1991–2020, and 1.1–1.2°C above the pre-industrial level of 1850–1900.&nbsp;



For the full year of 2021, Europe was only 0.1°C above the 1991–2020 average, thus ranking outside the ten warmest years. However, the summer on this continent was its warmest on record, with Sicily breaking the European record for maximum temperature (48.8°C). 



Moreover, Europe has struggled with severe weather events, such as the very heavy rainfall in western central Europe in July, which led to massive floods in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.



In North America, several regions experienced large temperature anomalies, with Northeast Canada averaging unusually high monthly temperatures, and the United States facing an extraordinary heatwave in June (with all-time record temperatures), and massive wildfires during July and August. The second largest wildfire from California’s history (the “Dixie fire”) caused widespread devastation, and resulted in a significant reduction of air quality for thousands of people.



Due to such events, North America experienced the highest amount of carbon emissions (83 megatons) and other pyrogenic emissions compared to any other recorded summer.&nbsp;



“2021 was yet another year of extreme temperatures with the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, not to mention the unprecedented high temperatures in North America. The last seven years have been the seven warmest on record. These events are a stark reminder of the need to change our ways, take decisive and effective steps toward a sustainable society and work towards reducing net carbon emissions,” said Carlo Buontempo, the director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.



“Europe's commitment to respond to the Paris agreement can only be achieved through effective analysis of climate information. The Copernicus Climate Change Service provides an essential global resource through operational, high-quality information about the state of our climate that is instrumental for both climate mitigation and adaptation policies,” commented Mauro Facchini, Head of Earth Observation at the Directorate General for <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/defence-industry-and-space_en">Defence Industry and Space</a>, European Commission.&nbsp;



“The 2021 analysis, showing that globally the warmest years by far were recorded in the last seven years, is a reminder of the continued increase in global temperatures and the urgent necessity to act,” he concluded.



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

The last seven years have been the hottest on record

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service’s annual report, the...

Blue,Lake,Meniques,In,The,High,Plans,Of,Northern,Chile

New research led by the <a href="https://portal.uni-koeln.de/en/sub/uoc-home">University of Cologne</a> has identified the Amazon basin as the dominant source of precipitation in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Elevated water vapor travels from the Amazonian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-rainforest-hits-new-records/">rainforest</a> more than 2,000 kilometers westward, rotating southwest over the Pacific Ocean, and finally turning into precipitation over the desert.



Besides the poles, the Atacama Desert is one of the driest regions on Earth, with annual precipitation rates usually ranging below two l/m².&nbsp;Previously, scientists described two mechanisms leading to precipitation in this region. While during the summer, moist easternly winds transfer storm systems across the Andes, bringing precipitations in the northeastern part of the Atacama, during winter, low pressure systems originating over the Pacific can reach even subtropical regions and cause rains in the southwestern Atacama.



The University of Cologne team has now discovered a third mechanism, based on so-called “moisture conveyor belts.” At heights between 3,000 to 6,000 meters, water can be transported across long distances without much exchange with the moist Pacific air that it encounters along the journey. When such water vapor bands, which originate in the Amazon basin, reach the Atacama Desert from the northwest, the air flow crossing the coastal mountain range is forced to rise and cool off, leading to precipitation formation.



“Accounting for more than half of the total precipitation in the Atacama Desert, moisture conveyor belts were established as the main precipitation source. These are special weather phenomena which feature strong water vapor transport,” said study lead author Christoph Böhm, a research associate in the <a href="http://www.uni-koeln.de/math-nat-fak/geomet/index-e.html">Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology</a> at the University of Cologne.&nbsp;



“The heavier the precipitation event, the more likely it is associated with such a moisture conveyor belt. For a specific case, a region in the driest part of the desert received more than 50 l/m² rain, which exceeded the tenfold annual average. For highly adapted species, the sudden water availability can bring death.”



However, such events can also trigger “biological explosions” such as the sudden emergence of various types of flowers in the desert, while run-off generated by massive rainfall can move around debris and significantly reshape the landscape. Furthermore, traces from activities such as pollen and organic carbon deposition are often conserved for a long period of time, giving researchers the possibility to reconstruct climate history from soil samples.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL094372">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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

The Amazon is the main source of rain in the Atacama Desert

New research led by the University of Cologne has identified...

After declining by a record ten percent during the widespread <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lockdowns-improved-air-quality-in-some-states-but-not-in-others/" data-type="news" data-id="1888707">lockdowns</a> in 2020 (the largest one-year drop in history), U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased again by 6.2 percent in 2021. The jump in emissions was fueled by a rise in coal power and truck traffic as the country's economy began recovering.



According to a recent <a href="https://rhg.com/research/preliminary-us-emissions-2021/">report</a> by a climate consulting firm, the <a href="https://rhg.com/">Rhodium Group</a>, this rebound is largely caused by a 17 percent jump in coal use compared to 2020, as well as from a significant increase in the road transportation sector.&nbsp;



The rise in coal generation is the highest seen in the United States since 2014. According to the Rhodium Group, coal’s rebound was largely driven by an increase in the price of natural gases, leading to a three percent decline in gas generation in 2021.&nbsp;



"I think that's a sign that the fate of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions is largely in the hands of oil and gas producers, because the market for natural gas is one of the primary drivers of coal's decline, and of U.S. emission reductions over the last decade," said report co-author Kate Larsen, a partner at the Rhodium Group. "That wouldn't have happened if we had regulatory backstops for, or other ways to prop up the cleaner fuels."



The coal rebound comes as a stark reminder that the Biden administration’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-40-countries-pledged-to-stop-using-coal-power-at-cop26/">pledge</a> at the UN26 Glasgow summit to significantly reduce coal use in order to mitigate climate change may not be as feasible as initially thought.



In the case of transportation - which comprised the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2021, accounting for 31 percent of the net emissions – most of the increase was caused by a surge in demand for consumer goods, which kept freight trucks operational at an almost pre-pandemic level (in fact, even surpassing 2019 levels for several months of the year). However, private and public transportation did not yet fully recover, and have thus caused less greenhouse gas emissions than before 2020.



Regardless of this sharp rebound in emissions in 2021 through, the pandemic seems to be still keeping in check the situation to some extent.&nbsp; “If anything, last year’s rebound in emissions was lower than it could have been because the pandemic is still causing disruptions and the economy isn’t back to normal. Emissions are still well below 2019 levels,” Larsen concluded.



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

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rebounded in 2021

After declining by a record ten percent during the widespread...

The year 2021 was the first in the United Nations’ Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Goals. This program outlines 17 goals aimed at supporting ocean science and managing oceans sustainably in the light of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dairy-farmers-can-use-strategies-to-adapt-to-climate-change/" data-type="news" data-id="1900632">climate</a> change. However, a new report from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> highlights the fact that oceans are now hotter than ever, continuing their record-breaking streak for the sixth year in a row.



The report, which is authored by 23 researchers from 14 institutes, summarizes two international datasets that record observations of ocean heat content and their impact dating from the 1950s. These records were kept by NOAA and the CAS Institute of Atmospheric Physics.



“The ocean heat content is relentlessly increasing, globally, and this is a primary indicator of human-induced climate change,” said study co-author Kevin Trenberth, distinguished scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado. “In this most recent report, we updated observations of the ocean through 2021, while also revisiting and reprocessing earlier data.”



Data for 2021 showed that the upper 2,000 meters in all oceans absorbed 14 more Zettajoules of heat energy than in 2020. A Zettajoule is 1021 joules, represented by a 1 and 21 zeros. This enormous quantity of energy is equal to 145 times the world’s electricity generation in 2020. In comparison, the total energy use by humans all over the world in a single year is only about half a Zettajoule. (A Zettajoule is equivalent to 240,000,000,000,000,000,000 calories.)



“As well as absorbing heat, currently, the ocean absorbs 20 to 30 percent of human carbon dioxide emissions, leading to ocean acidification; however, ocean warming reduces the efficiency of oceanic carbon uptake and leaves more carbon dioxide in the air,” said study lead author Lijing Cheng. “Monitoring and understanding the heat and carbon coupling in the future are important to track climate change mitigation goals.”



According to Cheng, significant ocean warming has occurred everywhere, in all oceans of the world, since the 1950s. It is true that there are regional warming and cooling phenomena, known as El Niño and La Niña, in certain ocean systems, and that these are natural events. They can produce heat waves that have huge impacts on marine life and may cause local extinctions of species. These regional episodes are short-lived, however, and are different from the slow and continuous increases in water temperature associated with global warming.



“Our previous work showed that scientists need less than 4 years of ocean heat measurements to detect a human-induced warming signal from natural variations.&nbsp; This is much shorter than the nearly three decades of measurements required to detect global warming using temperatures of air near the Earth’s surface. Indeed, although in the top ten warmest years, global surface temperatures for 2021 are not the highest on record because of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific, among other things. Ocean heat content is one of the best indicators of climate change,” said Professor John Abraham from the University of St. Thomas.&nbsp;



“With model experiments, our study shows that the pattern of ocean warming is a result of human-related changes in atmospheric composition,” said Cheng. “As oceans warm, the water expands and sea level rises. Warmer oceans also supercharge weather systems, creating more powerful storms and hurricanes, as well as increasing precipitation and flood risk.”



Study co-author Professor Michael Mann noted that the oceans are absorbing most of the heating from human carbon emissions. “Until we reach net zero emissions, that heating will continue, and we’ll continue to break ocean heat content records, as we did this year. Better awareness and understanding of the oceans are a basis for the actions to combat climate change.”



The report is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/376">Advances in Atmospheric Sciences</a>.



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

Ocean heat reached a record high for the sixth straight year

The year 2021 was the first in the United Nations’...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.3877">Ecosphere</a> has found that the recovery of the fisher, an endangered forest carnivore native to Canada and northern United States, will likely be hindered by the increasing frequency and severity of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-and-extreme-heat-waves-increase-air-pollution/" data-type="news" data-id="1900604">wildfires</a>. Scientists led by <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> (OSU) discovered that fisher abundance declined significantly after three mixed-severity wildfires from the summers of 2014 and 2016.



A fierce and secretive animal, the fisher is a member of the Mustelidae family, which also includes badgers, wolverines, minks, and otters. They are roughly the size of a large house cat. With hind feet that rotate almost 180 degrees, fishers can not only scale trees, but can also climb down head first. These abilities help them attack prey from above or carry offspring in their mouths as they climb up and down trees.



Fisher populations have persistently declined during the 19th and 20th centuries due to fur trapping and logging. With the recent wildfires affecting the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion, a 50,000-square-kilometer area straddling the Oregon-California border and hosting the largest fisher populations, their numbers have dwindled even more.



“The fisher has a limited distribution, and rapid changes to forest structure could threaten its long-term persistence,” said study lead author David Green, a conservation ecologist at OSU. “We estimated a 27 percent reduction in the total number of fishers within our study area following the fires.”&nbsp;



Strangely, Dr. Green and his colleagues have found that, while fisher density decreased regardless of wildfire intensity, gray fox populations showed a significant decline after medium-severity wildfires, but actually increased after high-severity fires.



“Our results suggest that increased severity, extent and frequency of wildfires in the western United States will have negative impacts on fisher populations and change community composition for medium-size predators. We found that the wildfires that occurred in the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion affected fisher density negatively regardless of burn severity, while gray fox density decreased in areas that burned at medium severity and increased in areas that burned at high severity.”



Further research is needed to understand why the different wildfire severity levels had different impacts on the two species of animals studied.



“Understanding the effects of wildfire on the species that live in forests, and the interactions among species, is important for making the most effective conservation and management decisions. The short- and long-term consequences are unclear for wildlife amid the calls for restoring forests to their natural regimes of frequent, low-severity fires,” Dr. Green concluded.



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

Fisher populations will struggle to survive increasing wildfires

A new study published in the journal Ecosphere has found...

New research from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> reveals that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-were-common-in-ancient-antarctica/">Antarctica</a> is threatened by the introduction of non-native and potentially invasive species. The experts report that there are 1,581 ports with connections to Antarctica. Ships from these ports sometimes collect unwanted creatures attached to their hauls, including barnacles, crabs, mussels and algae.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Invasive, non-native species are one of the biggest threats to Antarctica’s biodiversity - its native species have been isolated for the last 15-30 million years. They may also have economic impacts, via the disruption of fisheries,” said study senior author David Aldridge, a professor in the Department of Zoology at Cambridge.



Compared to fishing vessels, tourism ships come from a much broader range of locations. Research vessels are also a potential threat to Antarctica’s ecosystems. One of the greatest concerns involves ships that spend summers in the Arctic before moving south to Antarctica. These ships are likely to introduce alien species that are already cold adapted.



“The species that grow on the hull of a ship are determined by where it has been. We found that fishing boats operating in Antarctic waters visit quite a restricted network of ports, but the tourist and supply ships travel across the world,” said study first author Arlie McCarthy&nbsp;



“We were surprised to find that Antarctica is much more globally connected than was previously thought. Our results show that biosecurity measures need to be implemented at a wider range of locations than they currently are."



"There are strict regulations in place for preventing non-native species getting into Antarctica, but the success of these relies on having the information to inform management decisions. We hope our findings will improve the ability to detect invasive species before they become a problem.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Invasive species are arriving with ships in Antarctica

New research from the University of Cambridge reveals that Antarctica...

In a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science">Frontiers in Marine Sciences</a>, researchers simulated how both micro- and macro- plastics end up in marine protected areas (MPAs). The researchers found that more than half of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-confirms-plastics-contribute-to-heart-disease/">plastic</a> in protected areas across the Mediterranean Sea came from outside of the region.&nbsp;



"From an ecological point of view, and from the perspective of marine policy, the case of the Mediterranean Sea is of particular interest with regard to plastic pollution," wrote the study authors. "This semi-enclosed basin, with restricted water outflows, is one of the most polluted regions globally, and simultaneously a biodiversity hotspot."



While it does not always get as much attention as climate change, marine plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems of our time. The research points toward the need for greater international cooperation to tackle the problem.&nbsp;



The study was led by Dr. Yannis Hatzonikolakis of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. The results showed that macro-plastic pollution crossing boundaries is common. In many of the marine protected areas examined for the study, the researchers found that 55 percent of the macro-plastics came from a different country or region.   



“Our study shows that specific sites, important for the conservation of biodiversity, concentrate high amounts of plastics,” said Hatzonikolakis.



To look at how plastics are distributed and how they accumulate, the scientists modeled Mediterranean marine conservation areas for the years of 2016 to 2018. The experts accounted for currents, winds, and other important factors including how plastics sink.&nbsp;



The scientists found that coastal waters were more impacted by plastic pollution than offshore waters, with greater concentrations of plastic trash near the shore. Since marine protected areas are located close to the shoreline, the results do not bode well for these conservation sites.&nbsp;



“Although marine protected areas are protected by restrictions from other threats, for example fishing and tourism, plastic acts like an ‘invisible’ enemy, potentially threatening the native marine organisms," explained Hatzonikolakis.



“Our study provides results based on which stakeholders can move forward to international collaborations to deal with plastic pollution. This is a challenging task for the Mediterranean Sea, which is shared by numerous countries with great differences in socioeconomic status, political regimes, languages, governance, and cultures.”



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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

An invisible enemy: tracking plastics in marine protected areas

In a new study published in the journal Frontiers in...

A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change has assessed the extent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-ice-levels-complicate-predictions-of-future-climate-change/">sea ice</a> surrounding Antarctica through all four seasons over the last century. According to a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.ohio.edu/">Ohio University</a>, sea ice extent has been characterized by several “regime shifts.” While in the first half of the 20th century, sea ice had been steadily decreasing, from 1979 it started to increase until 2016, when it suddenly began decreasing again.



Previous historical estimates before satellite measurements began available in 1979 relied on limited resources, such as data collected from a few weather stations across Antarctica, human observations along the ice edges, and ice core and ocean sediment samples.&nbsp;



With the advent of satellite technology, measurements became much more reliable and comprehensive. Moreover, computer technology has recently allowed scientists to statistically reconstruct sea ice patterns during the early and middle 20th century, and create a broad picture of sea ice changes over the past century.



“This reconstruction of Antarctic sea ice back through the 20th century gives us detail not only for every season, but also for different regions around the whole of Antarctica. When we sum it up, it gives us the first complete estimate of total Antarctic sea ice extent – how far away the sea ice reaches from the continent – back through the 20th century,”&nbsp;said study lead author Ryan Fogt, a professor of Geography at Ohio University.



Professor Fogt and his colleagues discovered that, after a steady decrease during the early and middle 20th century, sea ice started to increase from 1979. However, this pattern is complicated by a sudden anomalous decrease in 2016 and 2017.



“2016 was a year that surprised all of us, really, because up until then the ice around Antarctica had been increasing, even if slowly,” Fogt said. “And then 2016 came along and, boom, it suddenly dropped down, and it was this big loss that we had never seen in the observation record, and it stayed below average all the way up until mid-2020. And then it kind of went back to normal, but only for a short time.”



Understanding the long-term variations in Antarctic sea ice extent is crucial for clarifying the current and future effects of climate change, and deciding upon sustainable courses of action to mitigate global warming’s impact on a large variety of ecosystems.&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

How Antarctic sea ice has fluctuated over the past century

A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change...

Ocean warming, acidification, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lakes-are-losing-oxygen-much-faster-than-oceans/">oxygen</a> depletion and other changes are impacting marine animals, and these impacts include the displacement of some fish species. To understand these changes, an international team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/">Kiel University</a> (CAU) has created an environmental model of the warm period 125,000 years ago (Eemian interglacial) using sediment samples from the Humboldt Current system off the coast of Peru.&nbsp;



The research shows that the warming of the Humboldt Current could have far-reaching consequences, and that ocean warming is a major threat to the world's fish supply.&nbsp;



The experts found that under warmer conditions, smaller goby-like fish dominated the environment, while important food species such as anchovies were pushed back. The results are independent of management or fishing practices in the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"The conditions of this past warm period that we were able to reconstruct from our samples can definitely be compared to the current development and put in context with future scenarios," said study first author Dr. Renato Salvatteci.&nbsp;



"According to this, there is a clear regime shift towards smaller fish that feel more comfortable in the warm, lower-oxygen conditions. We conclude from our results that the effects of human-induced climate change may have a stronger influence on the evolution of stocks in the region than previously thought."



The area off the coast of Peru is one of the world’s most important fisheries, supplying roughly eight percent the total global catch of marine species. Around ten percent of the world’s anchovies are caught in this region, with much of them being processed into fish meal for aquaculture projects abroad. Smaller fish are better able to survive in warmer, less oxygenated water. The research shows that ocean warming in the Humboldt Current upwelling area may soon reach an irreversible tipping point. Beyond this threshold, commercial fisheries that are an important part of the global food supply chain could start to collapse.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



"In contrast to the present-day anchovy-dominated state, the last interglacial was characterized by considerably smaller (mesopelagic and goby-like) fishes and very low anchovy abundance," wrote the study authors.



"These small fish species are more difficult to harvest and are less palatable than anchovies, indicating that our rapidly warming world poses a threat to the global fish supply."



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

Ocean warming threatens the global fish supply

Ocean warming, acidification, oxygen depletion and other changes are impacting...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has found that dairy farmers from the Northeast U.S. can reduce the environmental impact of their practices and maximize their revenues by double cropping and injecting manure into the soil instead of broadcasting it. These findings are particularly important in the context of ongoing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-can-slow-global-warming-but-they-cannot-stop-it/">global warming</a> which exacerbates nutrient pollution and lengthens the growing season.



According to scientists, warmer conditions will induce increased ammonia volatilization from manure, as well as more frequent and severe storms that will cause phosphorous runoff. Thus, new strategies are urgently needed to limit nitrogen and phosphorous losses from crop fields, and subsequent environmental pollution.



By using the <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/up-pa/pswmru/docs/integrated-farm-system-model/">Integrated Farm System Model</a> developed by C. Alan Rotz, an agricultural engineer at the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a>, scientists simulated several farm management strategies under different climate conditions in order to determine their possible effects on crop yields, nitrogen and phosphorous losses, feed production, sediment erosion, fossil energy use, and production costs.&nbsp;



The researchers found that double cropping and subsurface injection of manure reduced nitrogen losses by 12 to 18 percent and phosphorous losses by 16 to 19 percent, while maintaining and potentially even reducing farm-production costs.



“There’s a lot of interest in double cropping among Northeast dairy farmers,” said study co-author Heather Karsten, an associated professor of Crop Production and Ecology at Pennsylvania State University. “I think farmers are realizing they have a longer growing season, and there are more precipitation events in spring that make getting into the field to do any operation more challenging. Our results demonstrate that adoption of these strategies can help mitigate dairy farm environmental impacts now and even more in the future.”



According to Professor Karsten and her colleagues, reducing projected increases in soluble phosphorous runoff and ammonia emissions caused by warmer temperature and increased levels of precipitation provides a feasible adaptation and mitigation approach for current and future climate change.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308521X21002791?via%3Dihub">Agricultural Systems</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

Dairy farmers can use strategies to adapt to climate change

A new study led by Pennsylvania State University has found...

A recent study from <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a> reveals that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-water-use-strategies-help-forests-cope-with-drought/">drought</a> was likely not the sole reason for the collapse of the ancient Mayan civilization.&nbsp;This dominant indigenous society, which was one of the earliest Mesoamerican civilizations, suffered heavily during a series of droughts in the Yucatan Peninsula in southeastern Mexico and northern Central America at the end of the ninth century.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Previous studies have established that Mayan societies began to inexplicably disappear during this period. Paleoclimatic research suggests the droughts led to widespread famine, as Mayans were heavily dependent on drought-sensitive crops such as maize, corn, beans, and squash.



The UC Riverside team, led by archaeologist Scott Fedick and plant biologist Louis Santiago, reveals that the Mayans had access to 497 indigenous food plant species.&nbsp;



“When botanists study drought resistance, they’re usually talking about a specific plant, or a particular ecosystem. One of the reasons this project was so challenging is because we examined the dietary flora of an entire civilization - annuals, perennials, herbs, trees, domesticates, and wild species," said Fedick, highlighting the unique nature of the research.



Fedick recently prepared and released a comprehensive list of indigenous Maya food plants after being unable to find one. It draws on decades of Maya plant knowledge obtained from previous ethnographic and ethnobotanical studies. Faced with the widespread assumption that drought was the reason for Maya social unrest, he and Santiago decided to test the drought tolerance of all 497 plants on the list.



The study identified 577 edible parts such as fruits and roots for 445 of the 497 edible plants, that would be available during a year of normal rainfall. The specific consumable parts for the remaining 52 food plant species were not identified.&nbsp;



"Even in the most extreme drought situation - and we have no clear evidence the most extreme situation ever occurred - 59 species of edible plants would still have persisted,” explained Santiago.



Some of the toughest plants the Mayans would have turned to include cassava with its edible tubers, and hearts of palm. Another is chaya, a shrub domesticated by Mayans and eaten today by their descendants. Its leaves are high in protein, iron, potassium, and calcium.



Cassava - with its edible tubers - and hearts of palm are two of the toughest plants the Mayan civilization could have used during times of drought. The findings reveal that the heart of palm and other edible plant stems would have been the most stable and abundant plant food, providing high glucose content and protein levels.



Another plant named chaya is a Maya-domesticated shrub that is still consumed by Mayan descendants today. It&nbsp; contains an abundance of protein, iron, potassium, and calcium in its leaves. “Chaya and cassava together would have provided a huge amount of carbohydrates and protein,” said Santiago.



Even though the researchers were unable to unravel why the Mayan civilization collapsed, they believe the role of social and economic disruption cannot be overlooked.&nbsp;



“One thing we do know is the overly simplistic explanation of drought leading to agricultural collapse is probably not true,” said Fedick.&nbsp;



The study also emphasizes the importance of utilizing a wide range of plants in order to resist drought and to combat climate change.



“Even given a series of droughts, maintaining a diversity of resilient crops would enable people, both ancient and modern, to adapt and survive,” said Santiago.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>



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By <a href="http://mailto:ashikha92@gmail.com">Ashikha Raoof</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The collapse of Mayan civilization was not caused by drought

A recent study from UC Riverside reveals that drought was...

A research team from the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/minnesota">Mayo Clinic</a> aims to investigate whether space travel may cause senescence. The researchers will study the first all civilian crew to visit the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">International Space Station</a> (ISS) next month. 



During the process of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/compound-found-in-basil-plants-may-prevent-alzheimers/">senescence</a>, cells age and stop dividing. Instead of dying, however, senescent cells accumulate in tissue throughout the body. While the crew set to travel next month will only spend ten days in space, and will thus not be exposed to serious threats of senescence, spotting early signs of this process could help future, longer-haul trips.



The scientists will take blood and urine samples from the four members of the crew both before and after their voyage to space. “This flight will give us an idea of whether routine spaceflight, without even going beyond the Van Allen belt, is associated with cell senescence,” explained study lead author Dr. James Kirkland, an expert in aging at the Mayo Clinic.&nbsp;



“If we see senescence even under these conditions, we would certainly want to do some work in preparation for a longer mission. Something will have to be worked out before or longer before interplanetary flights are really feasible.”



While senescence is a well-known by-product of natural aging, scientists believe that low gravity conditions or exposure to high levels of solar radiation may speed up this process. Particularly the high gravitational forces that people are exposed to during take-off and space travel could add to DNA cellular senescence.&nbsp;



“The crew on the ISS will be inside the Van Allen belt but the real worry is what's going to happen if there is a Mars mission, and if there is a solar flare, because then you're dealing with atomic radiation,” said Dr. Kirkland. “We've found in preliminary studies very low doses of atomic radiation can drive a cell into senescence at much lower levels than x-rays or gamma rays.”



“And, with atomic radiation, it could pass right through the spacecraft: it's hard to stop. So if there's a Mars mission this could really be a major problem.&nbsp;I'm a physician, not a space scientist, so my view is biased, but I'd say the health problem is pretty darn bad, and I'm very worried after what I've seen.”



If the study results will suggest that space travel may indeed cause senescence, there is still hope that revolutionary drugs, such as the so-called senolytics - which are currently in multiple clinical trials - could be of great help to fight these processes in space travelers.&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

Space travel may cause premature aging

A research team from the Mayo Clinic aims to investigate...

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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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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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

[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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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...