Over the past 20 years, scientists have observed a subtle but widespread shift in the color of our oceans. While these changes might not be noticeable during a day at the beach, you can easily see them from airplanes and satellites in space.



This is happening on a massive, global scale, signaling to anyone paying attention that significant transformations are taking place beneath the surface of our seas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sounding-alarm-bells">Sounding alarm bells</h2>



Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a senior research scientist at <a href="https://www.mit.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a>, has been studying this phenomenon closely. She's part of a team that's raising concerns about what these color changes mean for the health of our planet.



"We hope people take this seriously," says Dutkiewicz. "It's not only models predicting these changes; we can now see them happening, and the ocean is changing."



In a study published in Nature, researchers from the <a href="https://noc.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Oceanography Center</a> in the UK and other institutions revealed that more than half of the world's oceans have experienced a shift in color. 



They found that these changes can't be chalked up to natural variations alone -- they're likely a result of human-driven climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-greener-ocean-color-near-the-equator">Greener ocean color near the equator</h2>



Tropical regions near the equator have become noticeably greener over time. This isn't just a visual tweak; it's a sign that the ecosystems within the surface ocean are changing. 



The color of the ocean is influenced by what's in its upper layers, especially tiny organisms like phytoplankton.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/earth-ocean-waters_south-carolina-coast_landsat8_green-color_nasa-1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/earth-ocean-waters_south-carolina-coast_landsat8_green-color_nasa-1s.webp" alt="Winyah Bay (roughly midway between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) receives input from a number of blackwater rivers whose dark, reddish hues arise from the absorptive properties of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) which some have likened to nature's tea. Credit: NASA" class="wp-image-1951739"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winyah Bay (roughly midway between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) receives input from a number of blackwater rivers whose dark, reddish hues arise from the absorptive properties of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) which some have likened to nature's tea. Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invisible-forest-of-phytoplankton-thrives-in-a-warming-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Phytoplankton</a> are microscopic, plant-like creatures that contain chlorophyll, giving them their green tint. They're a cornerstone of the marine food web and play a key role in capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 



Shifts in their populations can have ripple effects throughout marine ecosystems and impact the global carbon cycle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blame-the-humans-of-course">Blame the humans, of course</h2>



Lead author B.B. Cael from the National Oceanography Center points out that this isn't a random occurrence. 



"This evidence shows how human activities are affecting life on Earth on a vast scale," he says. "It's another way humans are impacting the biosphere, affecting even the most extensive environments on the planet."



Traditionally, scientists have monitored <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-algae-genes-chlorophyll-boost-crop-yields-land-plants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chlorophyll levels</a> to keep tabs on phytoplankton populations. But tracking changes using chlorophyll alone can take decades because of natural year-to-year fluctuations. 



Back in 2019, Dutkiewicz and her colleagues suggested that looking at the full spectrum of ocean colors could reveal climate change-driven trends more quickly. They estimated that such changes could become apparent within 20 years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-satellites-spot-the-difference">Satellites spot the difference</h2>



The team analyzed data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (<a href="https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MODIS</a>) on NASA's Aqua satellite. 



Since 2002, this instrument has been observing ocean color across seven visible wavelengths. Their analysis showed a clear trend over two decades, lining up with what their models had predicted.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/earth-ocean-waters_new-zealand-coast_modis-satellite_nasa_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/earth-ocean-waters_new-zealand-coast_modis-satellite_nasa_1s.webp" alt="Phytoplankton blooms are evident throughout the South Pacific Ocean with sediment re-suspended from the ocean floor by waves and tides along much of the New Zealand coastline. Credit: MODIS/NASA" class="wp-image-1951737"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Phytoplankton blooms are evident throughout the South Pacific Ocean with sediment re-suspended from the ocean floor by waves and tides along much of the New Zealand coastline. Credit: MODIS/NASA</figcaption></figure>



Cael explains that these trends match up with the effects of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-induced-changes-in-ocean-salinity-threaten-biodiversity-and-marine-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human-induced</a> climate change, not just random shifts in the Earth's system. 



This means the changes in ocean color are a direct response to how we're altering the planet's climate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-ocean-color-matter">Why does ocean color matter?</h2>



So, what's the big deal about the ocean turning a bit greener? It suggests that the types of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plankton-at-risk-global-warming-threatens-the-oceans-lifeline/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phytoplankton communities</a> are changing. 



Different phytoplankton have varying abilities to capture carbon and support marine life. Changes in these communities can affect the entire food web, from tiny marine organisms all the way up to fish and whales.



Dutkiewicz emphasizes that these shifts will impact all creatures that rely on plankton for food. 



"Different types of plankton influence how much carbon the ocean can absorb," she notes, highlighting the broader implications for climate regulation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-visible-sign-of-invisible-changes">Visible sign of invisible changes</h2>



This research shines a light on the far-reaching effects of climate change on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-and-habitat-degradation-have-devastated-marine-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine ecosystems</a>. Monitoring ocean color offers a tangible way to detect and understand these shifts. 



The findings are a stark reminder of the significant impact human activities have on Earth's complex systems.



"The evidence is clear: human activities are altering the very color of our oceans," says Cael. This isn't just about aesthetics; it's about the intricate balance of marine life that keeps our planet healthy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-can-we-do-to-help">What can we do to help?</h2>



This shift in the ocean's hue is more than just a scientific curiosity -- it's a call to action. 



Scientists are continuing to study these trends to grasp the full impact on marine ecosystems and the global climate.



By keeping a closer eye on the full spectrum of ocean colors, researchers hope to gain a quicker understanding of how climate change is affecting the oceans.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/earth-ocean-waters_lake-erie_great-lakes_modis_nasa_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/earth-ocean-waters_lake-erie_great-lakes_modis_nasa_1s.webp" alt="At the end of winter the ice is nearly all gone from Lake Erie, and growing phytoplankton populations are revealed mingling with suspended sediments in this relatively shallow Great Lake. Credit: MODIS/NASA" class="wp-image-1951741"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">At the end of winter the ice is nearly all gone from Lake Erie, and growing phytoplankton populations are revealed mingling with suspended sediments in this relatively shallow Great Lake. Credit: MODIS/NASA</figcaption></figure>



This could lead to faster responses and more effective strategies to lessen the impacts.



As we face the realities of climate change, understanding what's happening in our oceans is crucial. Changes in the oceans can affect weather patterns, sea levels, and biodiversity on a global scale.



Addressing these challenges isn't something scientists can do alone. It requires all of us to pitch in -- from reducing our carbon footprints to supporting policies that protect marine environments. 



Every action, no matter how small, contributes to the bigger picture.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-color-climate-change-and-human-health">Ocean color, climate change, and human health</h2>



To sum it all up, scientists have noticed that over the past 20 years, more than half of the world's oceans have subtly changed color. 



Stephanie Dutkiewicz points out that this shift matches what climate change models have been predicting. 



The color change is linked to alterations in phytoplankton communities -- tiny, plant-like organisms with chlorophyll that give the ocean its green tint. 



These little guys are essential for marine life and play a big role in capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



By analyzing satellite data, researchers found that these changes aren't just natural fluctuations; they're consistent with human-driven climate change. 



The shift in ocean color suggests significant changes in marine ecosystems, which could impact the entire food web -- from microscopic organisms to large marine animals. 



This finding highlights how human activities are affecting the planet in profound ways, even down to changing the very color of our oceans. It's a clear sign that we need to take climate change seriously and start making changes now.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06321-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

Earth's oceans are rapidly changing colors, and it's too late to stop it

Over the past 20 years, scientists have observed a subtle but widespread shift in the color of our oceans. While these changes might not be noticeable during a day at the beach, you can easily see them from airplanes and satellites in space. This is happening on a massive, global scale, signaling to anyone paying attention that significant transformations are taking place beneath the surface of our seas. Sounding alarm bells Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a senior research scientist at MIT, has been studying this phenomenon closely. She's part...

Global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/">climate</a> change is resulting in dramatic consequences for our planet, with one of the most significant issues being the increasing size of hunting grounds of various species. A prime example of this is the Beaufort Sea polar bears, whose hunting ground has increased in size by 64 percent within the last two decades.



New research from the <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> School of the Environment has found that the increase in polar bear hunting ground size is the result of their receding sea ice habitat, meaning they must travel further north in order to hunt for fish and seals. This has led to a decrease in the polar bear population within the Beaufort Sea of around 30 percent.



“Having to travel farther means these bears are expending more energy which can threaten their survival,” said study lead author Anthony Pagano. “If we want to preserve the habitat of these amazing mammals, then we need to focus on the root of the problem, which is slowing global climate change.”



The researchers used satellite tracking data to analyze the movement patterns of female polar bears between 1986 and 2016 across the North Alaskan Beaufort Sea.



“The combined impact of having to move farther and farther north with the ice in the summer and then having to move back in the fall and winter as the ice freezes is taking a major toll,” said Pagano. “Our work highlights the worrying impact of sea ice decline on polar bear movement patterns.”&nbsp;



In addition to traveling further for their favorite prey of seals and fish, the experts also discovered that around 20 percent of the Beaufort Sea polar bear population is coping by traveling across the Alaskan and Canadian coast in search of alternative food sources such as carrion, berries, and bowhead whale carcasses.



“Sometimes you’ll have 50 to 100 polar bears that congregate around these whale carcasses and compete with each other for food,” said Pagano. “As more and more bears move on land, I suspect there’ll be a lot more competition for these food resources and we’ll probably start seeing further decreases in abundance and survival.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The team aims to continue conducting similar studies to gain further insight into how the polar bears are coping with their changing habitat. Pagano and his colleagues have also urged for the curbing of global carbon emissions in order to protect the remaining Beaufort Sea polar bear population, which is only around 800. If global warming of more than 3.6°F can be avoided, recent models suggest that the polar bear population could survive.



“Coming across a polar bear while flying over the Arctic in a helicopter is a surreal experience,” said Pagano. “They are incredibly massive and impressive. It is amazing to observe this animal that is so uniquely adapted to exist in this harsh Arctic environment. They are worth the effort it will take to preserve them.”&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21508925">Ecosphere</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;

Polar bears are forced to hunt for food on land

Global climate change is resulting in dramatic consequences for our...

Wind turbines are used to combat climate change and provide an alternate source of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-does-the-resting-brain-consume-so-much-energy/">energy</a>, but they come with their own risk of environmental impacts. Bats and birds are often victims of turning turbines and death by collision and barotrauma is common. 



The demographics of bats killed by wind turbines compared to the general population have remained unknown. A new study led by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) seeks to correct this gap in our knowledge.



The research was focused on the Nathusius’ pipistrelles, a bat widely distributed across Europe. What the scientists have discovered regarding the bats that are most impacted by wind turbines has disturbing conservation implications.&nbsp;



“In our comparative investigation we observed more juvenile Nathusius’ pipistrelles (Pipistrellus nathusii) dead beneath wind turbines than expected from their frequency in the local population, suggesting that juvenile bats may be particularly vulnerable to encounters with wind turbines," said study senior author Dr. Christian Voigt.



Losing more females and juveniles than males is likely to have a negative impact on the population of Nathusius’ pipistrelles, as these are the bats most important for population growth and maintenance. The bias towards juveniles and females was found in prime breeding areas, but not in other places.



“We found this significant bias at low wind turbine densities in areas with water bodies and forests where Nathusius’ pipistrelles breed. In areas with high turbine densities such as in coastal regions, this difference was no longer observed," said Dr. Voigt.



Hopefully, this research can be used to mitigate the impact of wind turbines on bats, but more research may be required to fully understand the effect on other species of bats. 



“Females and juveniles are extremely important for ensuring the long-time viability of populations. Protecting juvenile and female bats from being killed should be a high-priority goal for planning and operation of wind parks," said Dr. Voigt.



The study is published in the scientific journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19395582">Ecological Applications</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Wind turbines kill more female and juvenile bats

Wind turbines are used to combat climate change and provide...

Guinea worm disease is generally caught by drinking water containing water fleas that carry the parasite’s larvae. The worms mate and grow inside the human body, and after 10 to 14 months a one-meter-long adult worm emerges, usually from an arm or a leg, in order to shed its new larvae back into the water. This dreadful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-have-a-high-risk-of-disease-due-to-inbreeding/">disease</a> causes disability and trauma in some of the world’s poorest communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan.



While in the 1980s there were millions of Guinea worm disease cases per year, eradication programs have significantly improved the situation, lowering these numbers to only 27 in 2020, and giving hope that this will be the second disease to be fully eradicated, after smallpox.



However, new research led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that domestic dogs are also harboring the parasite, with target surveillance showing that in 2020, 93 percent of Guinea worms detected worldwide were in dogs from Chad, South Africa.&nbsp;



By tracking hundreds of dogs with satellite tags to analyze their movements, and using forensic stable isotope analysis of dog whiskers to assess their diets, the scientists revealed a new vector of transmission for the Guinea worm: through dogs eating small fish or fish guts that were discarded by humans fishing on rivers and their lagoons, and that contained the parasitic larvae.



“Dogs are now the key impediment to eradicating this dreadful human disease,” said study lead author Robbie McDonald, a professor of Environmental Sciences and Sustainability at the University of Exeter.



"Our work shows that fisheries, and the facilitation of dogs eating fish, are likely contributing to the persistence of Guinea worm in Chad. The challenge now is that this pathogen must be eliminated not only from people but also from animals.”



"This is a clear example of where a 'One Health' approach to integrating health of people, animals and the environment is required to eradicate this debilitating human disease," he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.050">Current Biology</a>.



---



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

Debilitating human parasite is spread to dogs through fish

Guinea worm disease is generally caught by drinking water containing...

Every time a human cuts grass with a lawnmower or an animal eats it, the leaves always grow back remarkably fast, and this is due to their shape. However, the way in which the shape of a grass leaf arises has not been fully understood by scientists.



A collaborative project led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.jic.ac.uk/">John Innes Centre</a> has been investigating exactly how the shape of grass leaves arise, applying the concept to other crops such as wheat, rice, and maize.



Grass is a form of monocot, a type of flowering plant that has leaves which encircle the stem at their base and have parallel veins throughout. The other key type of flowering plant is the eudicot (such as brassicas, legumes, shrubs, and trees), and these are structured in the typical manner of stalks, petioles, and net-like veins



Furthermore, the tube-like structure that forms the base of the leaf, known as the sheath, allows grasses to increase in height whilst protecting themselves from lawnmowers and animals by keeping its base tip very close to the ground.



The researchers used cutting-edge computational modeling and developmental genetic techniques in order to get to the bottom of the mystery.&nbsp;



“By formulating and testing different models for its evolution and development, we’ve shown that current theories are likely incorrect and that a discarded idea proposed in the 19th century is much nearer the mark," explained study co-author Professor Enrico Coen.



It was initially proposed by 19th-century botanists that the sheath of grass was similar to the petiole of eudicot leaves. However, this was disputed in the 20th century, as plant anatomists discovered that petioles had parallel veins, assuming that the majority of the grass leaf (excluding the tip of the stem) was derived from the petiole.



With new analysis tools at their disposal, the collaborative research team revisited the controversial debate, modeling different hypotheses for the growth of grass leaves and comparing the predictions with experimental results. The researchers concluded that the original 19th-century idea of sheath-petiole similarity was significantly stronger than the 20th-century reassessment.&nbsp;



Ultimately, the findings demonstrate how small modulations of growth rules based on common genetic activity patterns can generate a wide range of different leaf shapes across many crops.



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



---



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;

How do grass leaves get their shape?

Every time a human cuts grass with a lawnmower or...

<a href="https://www.onezoom.org/">OneZoom</a> is an interactive website, developed by a research team led by the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> (ICL), that maps the evolutionary connections between 2.2 million living species, the closest thing until now to a single view of all the known plant and animal species. The digital tree of life also includes images of over 85,000 species and, where known, their vulnerability to extinction.



“By developing new algorithms for visualization and data processing, and combining them with ‘big data’ gathered from multiple sources, we’ve created something beautiful,” said lead author Dr. Yan Wong, an evolutionary biologist from the <a href="https://www.bdi.ox.ac.uk/">Big Data Institute</a> at the University of Oxford.



“It allows people to find their favorite living things, be they golden moles or giant sequoias, and see how evolutionary history connects them together to create a giant tree of all life on Earth.”



“We have worked hard to make the tree easy to explore for everyone, and we also hope to send a powerful message: that much of our biodiversity is under threat,” added co-author Dr. James Rosindell, a biodiversity researcher at ICL.



The leaves representing each species on the tree of life are color-coded according to their risk of extinction. The green ones are not threatened, the red ones are, and the black ones are already extinct. However, most of the leaves are grey, meaning they have not yet been evaluated or that experts do not have sufficient data to assess their extinction risk.



The OneZoom explorer can be used on laptops and computers, as well as on tablets and smartphones with touchscreens. The developers made the software free to download and use by educational organizations such as schools, museums, and zoos.



Moreover, the authors have also set up a OneZoom charity, making each species available for “adoption.” Over 800 leaves have already been sponsored by individuals and organizations.



The interactive tree of life also contains data regarding the popularity of each species, based on how often the Wikipedia page about the species is viewed. 



“Perhaps unsurprisingly, humans come out on top, but it has swapped places a few times with the second most popular: the grey wolf – the ‘species’ that includes all domestic dogs,” said Dr. Wong. Among the plants, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-use-increases-the-risk-of-covid-breakthrough-infections/">cannabis</a> came first, followed by cabbage, potatoes, and coconuts.



“With OneZoom, we hope to give people a completely new way to appreciate evolutionary history and the vastness of life on Earth in all its beauty,” Dr. Rosindell concluded.



The website is presented in a paper published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13766">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



Image Credit: OneZoom



---



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

A visually stunning tree of life is available online

OneZoom is an interactive website, developed by a research team...

The Thwaites glacier is one of the fastest changing glaciers in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-were-common-in-ancient-antarctica/">Antarctica</a>, contributing as much as four percent of global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/">sea level rise</a> today. The huge, Florida-sized glacier - also known as the "Doomsday glacier” due to its recent tendency to disintegrate - faces dramatic changes in the next decade. It is already dumping 50 billion ton of ice into the ocean each year.



Recently, scientists have discovered several large, worrying cracks in the ice shelf holding back this glacier, suggesting that this crucial buttress against sea level rise could completely shatter within the next five years.



"There is going to be dramatic change in the front of the glacier, probably in less than a decade. Both published and unpublished studies point in that direction," reported glaciologist Ted Scambos, the US lead coordinator of the&nbsp;<a href="https://thwaitesglacier.org/">International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC)</a>. "This will accelerate the pace (of Thwaites) and widen, effectively, the dangerous part of the glacier,"



According to Erin Pettit, a glaciologist at the <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>, the weak spots that the scientists have recently discovered are like cracks in a windshield: with just one more blow, they could spiderweb across the entire ice shelf surface.&nbsp;



“You’re like, I should get a new windshield. And one day, bang - there are a million other cracks there,” she said. “This eastern ice shelf is likely to shatter into hundreds of icebergs. Suddenly the whole thing would collapse.”&nbsp;



Although the shattering of the Doomsday glacier will not immediately accelerate global sea level rise, it will not take much long until its effects will be strongly felt, and millions of people living in coastal areas will be endangered.&nbsp;



Moreover, since the Thwaites glacier is situated in a deep basin, if it collapses, neighboring glaciers could follow, ultimately leading to the loss of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet. “That would be a global change,” said Robert DeConto, a glaciologist at the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/">University of Massachusetts, Amherst</a>. “Our coastlines will look different from space.”&nbsp;



During the following year, scientists will continue investigating the current status of the glacier by sending a tubby yellow submarine known as "Boaty McBoatface" to dive under Thwaites' floating ice in order to gather data on factors that influence melting, such as water temperature, current direction, and turbulence.



The new findings regarding the status of the Thwaites glacier are presented this week at the <a href="https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting">American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans</a>.



---



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

The Doomsday glacier is heading for dramatic change

The Thwaites glacier is one of the fastest changing glaciers...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a>, researchers are working to gain a better understanding of how the health and well-being of people are affected by the quality of their local urban parks, gardens, rivers, and canals. A growing collection of research has recently highlighted the health benefits of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-spaces-provide-a-refuge-for-urban-pollinators/">green spaces</a>, especially as people turned to nature to help cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.



The experts report that despite the fact that most people live in urban areas, relatively little is known about how the quality of these urban ecosystems influence human health.&nbsp;



The Quality of Urban Environments with Nature-Connectedness and Health (QUENCH) network will study urban nature, including soils, pollution levels, size and biodiversity. 



By learning more about the connection we feel to nature, and the effects to human health and well-being, the project could be used to inform the future planning and management of urban green spaces.



"Our experiences through the pandemic have highlighted the importance of connecting with nature. Lots of people sought out and visited natural environments, like parks and woodland, near where they lived, and felt better for doing so. There’s lots of good science too that demonstrates the health and wellbeing benefits of connecting with nature," said Professor Jessica Davies, principal investigator on the QUENCH project.



“However, we need to know more about how the health of the ecosystems themselves matters for our health and wellbeing. Towns and cities are the fastest growing habitat on Earth, and urbanisation has huge effects on the spatial layout of ecosystems, the species that reside in them, and the local climate and pollutants they experience."&nbsp;



"We need to understand how all these human-influenced conditions affect ecosystem health, and what, in turn, are the consequences for how we experience those environments and nature.”



“Given that urban areas are also often where greater levels of ill-health can occur it is important to find out how green and blue urban spaces can be better used to tackle health inequalities and create fairer societies," said Dr. Mark Green from the University of Liverpool



The QUENCH network is funded through the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).



---



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

How does nature affect human health in urban areas?

In a new study from Lancaster University, researchers are working...

Since 2008, the number of deaths caused by air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-benefits-of-exercise-are-compromised-by-air-pollution/">pollution</a> have been reduced by thousands in the United States as a result of decreasing vehicle emissions, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>. The improvements are the result of federal air pollution regulations and technological innovations by car manufacturers.



However, although emissions caused by large trucks have been significantly reduced, passenger light-duty vehicles such as pickup trucks or SUVs continue to contribute to air pollution in metropolitan areas.



“Recent reductions in vehicle emissions have yielded major health benefits, even though only small progress has been made on reducing their climate impact,” said study first author Ernani Choma, a research fellow in Harvard T.H. Chan School’s <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/environmental-health/">Department of Environmental Health</a>. “Our results indicate that to achieve further public health and climate gains, even more stringent policies will be required.”



By using recent national emissions data, Choma and his colleagues modeled four scenarios for emissions in 2017: the actual emissions and three alternative scenarios in which the level of emissions was the same as in 2014, 2011, and 2008.&nbsp;



The researchers found that deaths attributable to air pollution associated with vehicle emissions dropped from 27,700 in 2008 to 19,800 in 2017. If vehicles were still emitting at 2008 levels, they would have caused 48,200 deaths in 2017 (a 74 percent increase from 2008 to 2017).



Although there was a significant progress in reducing emissions from heavy-duty trucks, less progress was done with passenger light-duty vehicles such as cars, SUVs, or pickup trucks. According to the scientists, emissions from these vehicles caused two-thirds of public health burden from transportation-related air pollution in 2017.



“If the trends of increased population density with an aging population, and a shift to larger passenger vehicles continue, emissions, especially in urban areas, will continue to become more harmful and it will be harder to achieve further public health gains by small incremental improvements in new vehicles,” said study senior author John Spengler, a professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation at Harvard.



“Our study findings strengthen the case for policies at the municipal level that encourage electric vehicles while discouraging conventional gasoline vehicles and for making our cities more accessible for non-motorized transportation such as biking or walking.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2107402118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



---



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

Reduced vehicle emissions have saved thousands of lives

Since 2008, the number of deaths caused by air pollution...

Seagrass is suffering from a wasting disease across the Pacific Northwest, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farmed-seafood-supply-is-at-risk-due-to-climate-change/">climate change</a> is driving the destructive outbreak, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>.



Seagrass wasting disease (SWD) is particularly threatening to a temperate species known as eelgrass. In the new study, experts report that the pathogen responsible for SWD, Labyrinthula zosterae, is thriving in warmer ocean temperatures.



According to the study authors, the heat sensitivity of Labyrinthula zosterae prompts the need for a greater understanding of the impacts on host health under climate change.&nbsp;



"Previous work demonstrates pathogen cultures grow faster under warmer laboratory conditions and documents positive correlations between warmer ocean temperatures and disease levels in nature," wrote the researchers. "However, the consequences of disease outbreaks on eelgrass growth remain poorly understood."



As the problem of seagrass wasting disease becomes increasingly widespread, the researchers have confirmed that the disease impacts eelgrass all the way down to its roots. 



“Not only are we seeing more seagrass wasting disease outbreaks, we’re seeing a severe impact within the vital nutrient stores of these plants in the roots – so they become compromised late in the growing season, setting them up for a harder winter,” explained study co-lead author Olivia Graham.



Eelgrass can be found in the San Juan Islands, Washington, and on the Salish Sea along the Canadian border. Graham said that in typical conditions, the seagrass meadow environment has bountiful underwater rainforests, which clean the waters and support herring, salmon, perch, clams, mussels and oysters.



For the investigation, the researchers marked hundreds of plants at low tide and monitored the meadow for several weeks. They found that seagrass with disease lesions grew more slowly, produced less storage sugars, and were less healthy overall.&nbsp;



“This answers a long-standing question about whether this disease does actual damage,” said study senior author Professor Drew Harvell. “Unfortunately, it is a resounding ‘yes.’”



Eelgrass plants spread vegetatively, explained Professor Harvell, noting that seagrass roots have huge systems where carbohydrates and sugars get manufactured and stored, to expand their own lush networks.



“We learned that the lesioned plants had reduced starch reserves and grew more slowly, so now we can say that the wasting disease is even bigger than most thought – and the harm goes well beyond the lesions,” Harvell said.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>.



---



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

Seagrass wasting disease is fueled by climate change

Seagrass is suffering from a wasting disease across the Pacific...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> (UBC), Canada, has found that, if no action to mitigate climate change is taken, the supply of ocean-farmed seafood such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/declining-salmon-populations-linked-to-environmental-decline/">salmon</a> or mussels is projected to drop 16 percent globally by 2090.



Many people see ocean-farmed seafood or mariculture as a solution to the problem of depleted wild fish stocks and growing human demand. However, new findings show that this industry is also very vulnerable to climate change.



By taking into account various factors, such as changing ocean temperatures, suitable mariculture areas, and the supply of fishmeal (which is composed of smaller fish such as anchovies or herring that farmed fish feed upon) and fish oil, the researchers projected a significant decline in farmed seafood by the end of this century.



“If we continue to burn fossil fuels at our current rate, the amount of seafood such as fish or mussels able to be farmed sustainably will increase by only eight percent by 2050, and decline by 16 percent by 2090,” said study lead author Dr. Muhammed Oyinlola, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://oceans.ubc.ca/">Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries</a> (IOF) at UBC. The hardest-hit regions, including countries such as Norway, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, China, or Myanmar, could see a decline of 40 to 90 percent.



In a low emissions scenario though, where significant action is taken to curb climate change, mariculture is projected to grow by 17 percent until 2050 and 33 percent by the end of the century.



A method of mitigating the effects of climate change on fish farms is to substitute fishmeal and fish oil with plant-based foods such as soybeans. When a quarter of the fish food is substituted with such alternatives, under a low emission scenario, farmed fish production was projected to increase by 25 percent by 2050 and 31 percent by 2090.



“This study highlights the need to diversify mariculture development from the current focus on fish,” and include species not dependent of fishmeal and fish oil, such as shellfish or algae, said study senior author Dr. William Cheung, the director of IOF. &nbsp;“Farming these species generally helps to reduce exposure of seafood farming to climate hazards.”



“Climate change affects everything, including aspects of seafood farming we’ve not previously considered. We need to act, and quickly, to mitigate climate change rather than rely on one solution to solve all our seafood production problems,” Dr. Cheung concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15991">Global Change Biology</a>.



---



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

Farmed seafood supply is at risk due to climate change

A new study led by the University of British Columbia...

More than 100 scientists and researchers sent a letter to Congress today, demanding immediate action to stop illegal fishing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-seafood-has-one-sixth-the-carbon-footprint-of-red-meat/">seafood</a> fraud, and human rights abuses in the U.S. seafood supply chain.&nbsp;



According to a report from <a href="https://oceana.org/">Oceana</a>, the experts are calling for increased traceability of seafood imports and transparency at sea to ensure that all seafood is safe, properly labeled, legally caught, and responsibly sourced.



The letter is signed by world-renowned scientists like Dr. Rashid Sumaila of the <a href="https://oceans.ubc.ca/">UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries</a>.



The experts state that illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing “threatens the sustainability of fisheries, the livelihoods of fishers internationally, and the well-being of workers in the industry.”&nbsp;



“As concerned scientists, we are insisting that measures be undertaken to address these issues across the seafood supply chain."



"We ask that the federal agencies support regulatory and congressional action that combats IUU fishing, seafood fraud, and human rights abuses in seafood by taking strong and immediate action on extended regulation, monitoring, and enforcement in the United States. Only by thoroughly addressing these interrelated issues can we protect our oceans and the people dependent on them.”



Oceana reports that up to 85 percent of the fish consumed in the United States is imported, with up to 32 percent of wild-caught imports being products of illegal or unreported fishing. According to a report from the International Trade Commission, the U.S. imported $2.4 billion worth of seafood derived from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2019.&nbsp;



IUU fishing includes ignoring catch limits, operating in closed areas, targeting protected wildlife, and fishing with prohibited gear. These activities threaten habitats, fish populations, and global food security.&nbsp;



“Scientists are rightfully concerned that illegal fishing and human rights abuses continue to run rampant in the seafood supply chain," said Beth Lowell, Oceana’s deputy vice president for U.S. campaigns.



"The U.S. must take action to ensure all seafood sold in the United States is safe, legally caught, responsibly sourced, and honestly labeled by expanding traceability of seafood and transparency at sea."&nbsp;



"By collecting the right information about seafood, the government can more effectively screen imports and keep illicit products out of the U.S. market. President Biden has the opportunity to lead in the global fight against IUU fishing, seafood fraud, and forced labor - an effort that has widespread bipartisan public support."&nbsp;



"As world leaders prepare for the 2022 Our Ocean conference in February, Oceana urges President Biden to commit to stronger actions to fight IUU fishing, including expanding catch documentation and traceability requirements to all seafood, increasing the transparency of commercial fishing vessels, and taking stronger actions against countries who fail to address IUU fishing in their fleets.”



In 2019, a seafood fraud investigation supported by Oceana found that one in every five fish tested nationwide was mislabeled. This highlights the widespread nature of fraudulent seafood practices.&nbsp;



The results of a nationwide poll, which were released by Oceana in January 2021, revealed that Americans overwhelmingly support policies to end illegal fishing and seafood fraud. The vast majority of respondents also want to prevent seafood from being sold in the U.S. that was caught using human trafficking and slave labor. Furthermore, 83 percent of voters agreed that seafood should be traceable from the fishing boat to the dinner plate.



Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. To learn more about the campaign to expand seafood traceability and transparency at sea, visit <a href="https://usa.oceana.org/reports/transparency-and-traceability-tools-stop-illegal-fishing/">usa.oceana.org/StopIllegalFishing</a>.



---



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

The U.S. must put an end to illegal fishing and seafood fraud

More than 100 scientists and researchers sent a letter to...

In many regions of the world, insects are declining at an alarming rate. However, we still know very little about the number of species currently in existence. Scientists estimate that, up to now, we have described one million out of 5.5 million insect species on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-sun-may-be-the-original-source-of-earths-water/">Earth</a>. Thus, it is crucial to develop reliable methods to properly monitor biodiversity.



Researchers from <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> have discovered for the first time that it is possible to detect insect DNA in the air. By using air samples from three sites in Sweden, the scientists identified DNA from 85 species, including bees, flies, moths, beetles, wasps, and ants, as well as some vertebrate species of birds and mammals.&nbsp;



While traditional sampling methods use malaise traps, which lead to the death of the sampled animals, or transect walks and moth trapping, which required taxonomic expertise and generally focus on larger species of insects, a DNA metabarcoding approach can be a safer, faster, and more accurate method of investigating biodiversity.



&nbsp;“In the face of the biodiversity crisis, we desperately need better information on the status and distribution of species,” said study lead author Fabian Roger, an environmental scientist at the <a href="https://ethz.ch/en.html">Swiss Federal Institute of Technology</a> in Zürich (ETZ Zürich).&nbsp;



“Our study is a proof of concept that shows that we can detect DNA from insects and vertebrates from air collected under natural conditions. This opens many exciting possibilities for species monitoring and detection, which could allow us to comprehensively monitor biodiversity at large spatial and temporal scales.”&nbsp;



Although this method is still in its infancy, it has the potential of becoming a powerful tool for biodiversity monitoring. In order to refine it, a greater understanding of how DNA moves through the air is needed. Luckily, aerosol experts and meteorologist have already studied the movement of airborne particles for decades, offering thus a strong foundation for accelerating the development of DNA sampling techniques. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We are at the very beginning of exploring airborne environmental DNA for anything other than bacteria, pollen or spores – and even there we have only scratched the surface,” said Roger. “One of the first challenges will be to optimize sampling and molecular methods to increase sensitivity and achieve more reliable detection. Then we will need to understand how airborne environmental DNA is generated,&nbsp;transported&nbsp;and degraded.”



The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/events/ecology-across-borders-2021/">Ecology Across Borders</a> conference in Liverpool (12-15 December, 2021).



---



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

Scientists can detect insect DNA in air samples

In many regions of the world, insects are declining at...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NTU...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="sFFhiK9OOn-1720418-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="sFFhiK9OOn-1720418-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EPdZexVR30-1731237-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="EPdZexVR30-1731237-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JrMLDXHmjl-1911953-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="JrMLDXHmjl-1911953-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="u0TYxxqfF7-2186404-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...