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>.



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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...

One of the many negative consequences that global warming is having on Earth is the heating of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/major-climate-shift-a-million-years-ago-linked-to-ocean-currents/">oceans</a>, resulting in unsuitable habitats for aquatic life. However, new research from <a href="https://english.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a> has found that some species of marine creatures across the Mediterranean Sea are adapting to global warming by moving to cooler waters tens of meters deeper than their natural habitat.



The research team, led by Shahar Chaikin and Jonathan Belmaker, ultimately found that fish, crustaceans, and mollusks across the Mediterranean Sea were all seeking refuge in deeper waters. The average depth of change was 55 meters, resulting in a maximum temperature change of six degrees Celsius.



“It should be remembered that the Mediterranean was hot in the first place, and now we are reaching the limit of many species’ capacity,” explained Belmaker. “Moreover, the temperature range in the Mediterranean is extreme – cold in the northwest and very hot in the southeast. Both of these factors make the Mediterranean an ideal test case for species’ adaptation to global warming.”



The Mediterranean Sea is particularly affected by global warming, rising in temperatures of one degree Celsius every thirty years. Whilst adaptation is good news, it is important that researchers learn if and how other species will adapt in order to present mitigation and conservation solutions.



“Our research clearly shows that species do respond to climate change by changing their depth distribution, and when we think about the future, decision-makers will have to prepare in advance for the deepening of species," said Chaikin.



"For example, future marine nature reserves will need to be defined so that they can also provide shelter to species that have migrated to greater depths. And on the other hand, fishing in the future will involve fishing the same fish at greater depths, which means sailing further into the sea and burning more fuel.”



The researchers arrived at their conclusions through a process called trawling, where boats drag a net at different depths in order to identify population sizes. Through the measuring of the depth distribution of 236 marine species, they concluded that the pattern of deeping was not uniform, with cold-water species deeping significantly more than warm-water species.



“The minimum depths for species in the Mediterranean are getting deeper, while the maximum depths remain stable," explained Chaikin. “The deepening effect was found to be more significant among cold-water species. In contrast, there are species that function within a narrow temperature range and at a certain depth that deepen much less, probably because they cannot survive in deeper water.”



The results of the study have many implications for the future, with the benefits of adaptation still having their limits. “Even if species deepen to escape the warm waters and this rapid adaptation helps them, there is still a limit – and that limit is the seabed,” explained Belmaker. “We are already seeing deep-sea fish like cod whose numbers are declining, probably because they had nowhere deeper to go.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14668238">Global Ecology and Biogeography</a>.



---



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

Mediterranean animals are moving to deeper water to survive

One of the many negative consequences that global warming is...

Beautiful,Star,Trail,Image,During,The,Night,Of,The,Perseid

According to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>, the Leonids are some of the fastest meteors, traveling at speeds of 44 miles per second. Every year in November, these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meteors-may-transfer-life-from-earth-to-other-planets/">meteors</a> fall towards the Earth after breaking off from a comet called Tempel-Tuttle. This year’s Leoninds Meteor Shower is set to peak on Wednesday night (November 17 to 18), with up to 15 shooting stars each hour until Thursday dawn.



Meteors, or shooting stars, come from leftover comet particles and bits of broken asteroids. When comets travel around the Sun, the dust they emit gradually spreads into dusty trails around their orbits, and while the Earth passes through these debris trails, they disintegrate while colliding with our planet’s atmosphere, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.



The Leonids acquired their name due to the path they take through the sky, appearing to originate in the Leo constellation. They are debris from the small Tempel-Tuttle comet, whose nucleus measures only 2.24 miles - approximately the same size as the island of Manhattan.



Every 33 years or so, viewers from Earth can experience a massive Leonid "storm," with thousands of meteors falling each minute through our planet’s atmosphere during a 15 minutes period. 



“Viewers in 1966 experienced a spectacular Leonid storm – thousands of meteors per minute fell through Earth's atmosphere during a 15 minute period,” NASA reported. “There were so many meteors seen that they appeared to fall like rain. The last Leonid meteor storm took place in 2002.”



Although next week’s Leonid shower will not be so spectacular as those from 1966 and 2002, it will nonetheless be a beautiful event, definitely worthwhile to see. According to the <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory">Royal Observatory Greenwich</a>, meteor showers are best seen on nights without clouds, from a place with an unobstructed horizon and very little light pollution. There is no advantage to using binoculars or a telescope while watching a meteor shower: the shooting stars will be clearly visible by naked eye if the sky is not cloudy.&nbsp;



According to meteorologists, the best time to see the Leonid shower next week will be in the early hours of Thursday, November 18, when the Leo constellation is up in the sky.



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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 annual Leonids meteor show will peak this week

According to NASA, the Leonids are some of the fastest...

Extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crops-have-a-drought-memory-that-prepares-them-for-tough-times/">droughts</a> often occur with little or no warning, making effective short-term response to them almost impossible. A research team led by the <a href="https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/home">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</a> (PIK) has recently developed a new network-based framework which allows more accurate predictions of weather events.



“Currently, for instance, there is no reliable prediction of heavy rainfall in the Easter Central Andes leading to floods and landslides with devastating impacts for the inhabitants in that part of South America,” said study co-author Jürgen Kurths, a climate expert at PIK. “Our network-based approach can predict those events up to two days in advance – that is crucial time for the people to prepare, save lives and limit damages.”



Traditional weather and climate forecasting rely on numerical methods imitating atmospheric and oceanic processes, and can’t always accurately and timely predict phenomena such as monsoon offsets, floods, or droughts. By contrast, the new network-based forecasting, which instead of simulating the entire Earth system, analyses large-scale connectivity patterns in observational data, is much more efficient in predicting the onset of extreme weather events.



“As opposed to looking at a huge number of local interactions, which represent physical processes like heat or humidity exchange, we look directly at the connectivity between different geographical locations, which can span continents or oceans,” explained study lead author Josef Ludescher, a senior scientist at PIK. “This connectivity is detected by measuring the similarity in the evolution of physical quantities like air temperatures at these locations. For instance, in the case of El Niño, a strong connectivity in the tropical Pacific tends to build up in the calendar year before the onset of the event.”



“The new forecasting approach has, in several instances over the past years, proven to be highly efficient in predicting different climate phenomena much earlier than before. El Niño for instance could be predicted up to one full year early, compared to about six months with the standard prediction methods. The onset of the Indian Summer Monsoon in central India, vital for the economy in this region, was predicted more than a month in advance, much earlier than the forecast currently used, thanks to the new approach,” he added.



This new weather prediction tool, which could potentially save millions of lives and help avoiding billions of economic costs, is described in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1922872118">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

New tool can predict extreme weather events

Extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods, or droughts often...

Milano,,Italy,October,1,,2021:,Young,People,Display,Placards,During

The annual UN climate change conference (<a href="https://ukcop26.org/">COP26</a>) has concluded after nearly 200 countries signed the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/14/glasgow-climate-pact-leaders-welcome-cop26-deal-despite-coal-compromise">Glasgow Climate Pact</a> on Saturday.&nbsp;



This year's COP meeting took an unprecedented step in the right direction by making specific decisions on coal and fossil fuels. In the aftermath of the conference, however, many people are expressing frustration and disappointment that India and China pushed for (and were granted) lighter restrictions on coal.&nbsp;



Both countries, which are heavily dependent on coal, refused to commit to phasing it out entirely, but agreed to "phase down" coal use. 



The pact also mentions moving away from fossil fuels, but critics say that even with accelerated action, the new climate agreement fails to protect the nations and people who are already greatly suffering from the climate crisis.&nbsp;



Seve Paeniu is the Minister of Finance and Climate Change of Tuvalu, an island nation in the South Pacific that is severely threatened by sea level rise. According to a report from Popular Science, the low-lying island nation of Tuvalu is "literally sinking" in Pacific waters that have already risen by up to a foot.



Paeniu was disappointed that there was no clear establishment of a loss and damage fund, in which wealthy nations would pay for the consequences of climate change on Tuvalu and other smaller nations.&nbsp;



"First of all, little countries made our voices heard, but in a negotiation room like this, you've got the big countries. So it's a case of take-it-or-leave-it kind of deal," said Paeniu.&nbsp;



"So there was no other option left for us. We just want to work with this and are hopeful that some outcome would come out of this dialogue."



US climate envoy John Kerry said that while there is support for loss and damage, "we have to work through what is this all about," such as how much money is needed and what the money would be used for.&nbsp;



Teresa Anderson, climate policy coordinator for ActionAid International, also addressed the issue.&nbsp;



"This outcome is an insult to the millions of people whose lives are being torn apart by the climate crisis," said Andersen. She pointed out that "the wealthy countries most responsible for our warming world - particularly the United States - have blocked their ears and hung those most impacted out to dry."



Meanwhile, Minister Paeniu remains hopeful that actions will speak as loudly as the pledges that have been made at COP26.



"There's a lot of commitment to take action. So between now the next COP, countries just need to deliver on those commitments. I think Glasgow has provided a platform for ambition. The challenge now is for countries to actually deliver on those."



Overall, the Glasgow pledges fall short of their global warming goal. According to projections by the <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/">Climate Action Tracker</a>, the world needs to cut the rate of greenhouse gas emissions by almost 27 billion metric tons a year in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2030. The current pledges will only eliminate 25 percent of the target rate of emissions.&nbsp;



Sir David King, Chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory group, reacted to the Glasgow Climate Pact. He noted that the scientific community has a critical role to play in managing a safe future for humanity by monitoring the year-by-year actions and accountability of each country.



“There were real advances made in the Agreement, following on from COP21 in Paris 2015. Adaptation, mitigation and finance were all strengthened. Rules on carbon markets were approved. The importance of the protection, conservation and restoration of nature and ecosystems was recognized - although the phrase 'critical importance' was removed. And the 'phase down' - not 'phase out' - of coal was approved, at the last minute," said King.



“But there was no real understanding in the agreement of the extreme nature of the crisis. How do we, the current generation, ensure a manageable future for humanity?"&nbsp;



"The threat to all of us from the loss of polar summer sea ice over the Arctic Ocean is a clear signal of the disaster from rising sea level, severe extreme weather events and high temperatures; but it was not addressed in any way."&nbsp;



"This was the meeting when the end of coal, oil and gas should have been set in place, in an orderly, efficient and fair way. The power of the USA oil and gas lobby meant that the USA was unable, once again, to show clear leadership on this critical issue."



COP26 President Alok Sharma referred to the Glasgow Climate Pact as a "fragile win." He said that China and India will have to explain themselves to climate-vulnerable nations to somehow&nbsp;justify their actions.



"I am going to be calling on everyone to do more," Sharma told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show. "But as I said, in relation to what happened yesterday, China and India will have to explain themselves and what they did to the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world."



"I wouldn't describe what we did yesterday as a failure - it is a historic achievement."



---



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

COP26 deal: failure or historic achievement?

The annual UN climate change conference (COP26) has concluded after...

Scientists have discovered a new species of beaked whale that is 17 feet long, weighs over 2,000 pounds, and lives 6,000 feet below the sea surface. Ramari’s beaked whale - named after Māori whale specialist Ramari Stewart, who helped discover the first member of the species in November 2011 in New Zealand - appears to have a distinctly different bodily and genetic structure than other beaked whales.



“Beaked whales (ziphiids) are among the most visible inhabitants of the deep sea, due to their large size and worldwide distribution, and their taxonomic diversity and much about their natural history remain poorly understood,” explained the study authors.&nbsp;



Until now, only a few species of beaked whales have been discovered. Some of these species are only known by a handful of incomplete skeletons, and, since they tend to spend very brief periods of time at the sea surface, they are difficult to distinguish.&nbsp;



In this new study though, the scientists used genomic tools to analyze genetic information from museum and archival specimens of various ages in order to distinguish between different whale species. These investigations revealed that Ramari’s beaked whale was genetically different from other beaked whales and should be thus classified as a new species.&nbsp;



According to the scientists, discovering a new animal species requires important decisions around the naming of the new taxon. In order to honor the significant role indigenous Māori population has in studying the local ecosystems, the researchers decided to name this beaked whale after one of the indigenous whale experts who participated in the discovery of the first specimen. 



“We sought to recognize Indigenous peoples’ deep connection with, and knowledge of, the natural environment by consulting with them on potential species and common names,” explained the study authors. 



"This is part of a critical shift in the global science community, which strives to collaborate with Indigenous knowledge holders in ecology and conservation biology. Here, this has resulted in one of the first cetaceans named after an Indigenous woman.”



“It is not only rare to discover new whale species but even more rare to name them after women and honor the indigenous peoples whose coastlines are visited by these amazing creatures,” added Regina Asmutis-Silvia, the Executive Director of the <a href="https://uk.whales.org/">Whale and Dolphin Conservation</a> initiative.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1213#d1e1428">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

New beaked whale discovered in New Zealand

Scientists have discovered a new species of beaked whale that...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/11/514/htm">Diversity</a> has found that over half of the surveyed crop varieties across seven Indian states covering five agro-ecological regions are under threat of extinction. By developing a Varietal Threat Index, which draws upon farmer knowledge to assess changes in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-impact-of-fire-on-amazon-biodiversity/">biodiversity</a>, scientists discovered that many of the Indian crops and varieties are being lost at an alarming rate.



Crop and varietal diversity are highly important for global nutrition security, and for the livelihood of millions of people. Each of these crop species and farmer varieties (also called “landraces”), that have been cultivated by farmers for millennia, contains unique genetic traits that could help breeders and farmers adapt food systems to global stressors such as climate change.&nbsp;



While it is clear that this agrobiodiversity is diminishing, large data gaps remain regarding how many are lost, and how many are currently under threat of extinction.&nbsp;



“Our knowledge about the status of agrobiodiversity on farms is still very limited. While several studies to assess the crop genetic diversity on farms have been undertaken, there are no systematic documentation and monitoring practices for varietal diversity in space and time,” wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



Researchers from&nbsp;<a href="https://alliancebioversityciat.org/">Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT</a> have recently developed the Variety Threat Index, a tool to systematically monitor changes in varietal diversity on farms, between areas, and over time.&nbsp;



By using a rapid assessment technique to gather knowledge from 600 farmers about local agrobiodiversity, combined with a four-cell assessment method to calculate the level of threat for each crop and variety, the scientists found that over 50 percent of the landraces studied were under threat.



The findings suggest that Indian crops and varieties used for consumption are the ones most threatened, while those with multiple uses such as sales, fodder, or household food, are less likely to be classified as under threat.



The study could help inform global conservation efforts by offering reliable methods of developing tangible targets and indicators in order to monitor the global status of plant genetic resources for agriculture and food. Knowing which crops and varieties are most threatened can help inform urgent priority conservation actions to sustainably and inclusively improve people’s lives worldwide.



---



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

Over half of Indian crop varieties are close to extinction

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

In the deepest, most pristine areas of the Amazon Forest, birds are isolated from almost any direct contact with humans. Yet, data collected over 40 years in this,&nbsp; the largest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/african-rainforests-are-surprisingly-resilient-to-heat-and-drought/">rainforest</a> in the world, shows that even here, birds are being impacted by the effects of global warming.



The study, conducted by scientists from the <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a>, found that the number of sensitive resident birds has declined throughout the Amazon rainforest&nbsp;during the past four decades. In addition, the body sizes and wing lengths of birds have changed. According to the researchers, these physical changes are associated with increasingly hot and dry conditions in the dry season, between June and November each year.



“Even in the middle of this pristine Amazon rainforest, we are seeing the global effects of climate change caused by people, including us,” said study lead author Vitek Jirinec, associate ecologist at the Integral Ecology Research Center and lead author of this study.&nbsp;



More than 15,000 individual birds were captured, measured, weighed, marked with a leg band and released, over the 40-year study period. Analysis of the data set reveals that, in nearly all of the 77 different species recorded, body size has decreased since the 1980s.&nbsp;



On average, birds have lost about two percent of their body weight every decade. For an average bird species that weighed about 30 grams in the 1980s, the population now averages about 27.6 grams.&nbsp;



“These birds don’t vary that much in size. They are fairly fine-tuned, so when everyone in the population is a couple of grams smaller, it’s significant,” said study co-author Philip Stouffer, who is the Lee F. Mason Professor in the LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources.



The birds were collected over a large range of the rainforest, and therefore the changes recorded are not related to any specific locality. This indicates that the phenomena of lighter bodies and longer wings are most likely happening in all regions of the rainforest.



“This is undoubtedly happening all over and probably not just with birds,” said Professor Stouffer. “If you look out your window, and consider what you’re seeing out there, the conditions are not what they were 40 years ago and it’s very likely plants and animals are responding to those changes as well. We have this idea that the things we see are fixed in time, but if these birds aren’t fixed in time, that may not be true.”



The 77 different species recorded represent inhabitants at all forest levels, from the cool, dark forest floor to the warmer, sunlit midstory.&nbsp;The results showed that the species living in the higher sections of the forest midstory had the most dramatic changes in body weight and wing length. These are the birds most exposed to the hotter and drier environmental conditions. They also tend to do more flying as they travel from tree to tree.



The researchers hypothesize that these Amazonian bird species have adapted to hotter, drier conditions by reducing the energy required to fly around and find food. A lighter body with longer wings will result in reduced wing loading and this will make flight more efficient. If a bird has a higher wing loading, it needs to flap its wings faster to stay aloft, which requires more energy and produces more metabolic heat. Reducing body weight and increasing wing length leads to more efficient resource use while also keeping cooler in a warming climate.



LSU alumnus Ryan Burner (Ph.D. ’19) conducted much of the analysis that revealed the variation among the groups of birds over the years. Burner, who is now a research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, is the second author on this study.



As the rainforest environment becomes increasingly hotter and drier, the capacity of these Amazonian birds to deal with the conditions will be tested further. The limit of changes in body weight and wing length is not currently known, but at some stage this strategy may fail to deliver the necessary adaptation to changing climate. The same situation no doubt also exists in a lot of other places and for other species that are experiencing the pressures of environmental extremes.



“There may be other researchers in other places who have relevant data from the 1970s and 1980s that could be compared to modern data, because the bird banding protocol we used is pretty standard. So, if you measure mass and wing, maybe there will be more datasets that will emerge and we’ll be able to get more of an idea of the variation across space and how it might be changing in different systems,” said Professor Stouffer.



The results of the study are published today in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</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

Amazonian birds are changing shape in response to global warming

In the deepest, most pristine areas of the Amazon Forest,...

Agricultural,Land,Beside,The,Yangtze,River,(chang,Jiang,River),In

New research using high resolution mapping technology looks at the global impact of wastewater on coastal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-ecosystems-are-disrupted-by-small-temperature-changes/">ecosystems</a>. The study, carried out by scientists at the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California Santa Barbara</a> (UCSB), was just published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.&nbsp;



Human sewage can spread disease from bacteria as well as introduce detrimentally large amounts of nitrogen to coastal environments. These impacts affect local wildlife, fishing and other human enterprises. So far, most research into coastal pollution has focused on agricultural run off while relatively little research has looked into wastewater pollution.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



To look more closely at the impact of sewage, researcher Cascade Tuholske led a team to estimate and map the nitrogen pathways to the ocean from 135,000 watersheds worldwide. The assessment combined high resolution data on human populations with computer modeling to estimate how wastewater plumes enter the sea and how these plumes overlap with different ecosystems.&nbsp;



The researchers estimate that 6.2 tetragrams of wastewater from sewage enters the ocean in coastal areas per year. This is approximately 40 percent of the wastewater entering these same areas from agriculture.&nbsp;



The watersheds releasing the greatest amount of sewage were found in Asia, where the highest human population densities are. The Chang Jiang (Yangtze) alone contributes about 11 percent of the global total.&nbsp;



Hotspots of nitrogen exposure to coral reefs were also identified in Haiti, China, Kenya, India and Yemen. Hotspots of exposure to seagrass habitats were also identified in Ghana, Kuwait, India, Nigeria and China. The Chang Jiang and Brahmaputra Rivers contributed the most pathogens.&nbsp;



Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of this problem, but this research is a starting point for mitigating the issue on a global scale.&nbsp;



"The sheer scale of how much wastewater is impacting coastal ecosystems worldwide is staggering," said the study authors. "But because we map wastewater inputs to the ocean across more than 130,000 watersheds, our results identify target priority areas to help marine conservation groups and public health officials to work together and reduce the impacts of wastewater on coastal waters across the planet."&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Staggering amount of wastewater impacts coastal ecosystems

New research using high resolution mapping technology looks at the...

The name "rockfish" is applied to a wide variety of different groups of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-loss-leads-to-changes-in-fish-populations/">fish</a> that typically live amongst rocks on the ocean floor. Rockfish from one particular genus (Sebastes) have recently been studied by scientists from <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkley</a>, to investigate the genetic basis of their unusual longevity.



Tissue samples from 88 of the 137 species of rockfish in this genus, all known to inhabit coastal waters around the Pacific Ocean, were used to obtain DNA for analysis.&nbsp;



The Sebastes group of fishes has undergone a very rapid evolutionary radiation in the past 10 million years, and has adapted to a wide range of different conditions and habitats. As a consequence, their phenotypes (i.e., their observable characteristics) differ widely in terms of their sizes, lifestyles, ecological niches, and longevity.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Some species, such as the colorful calico rockfish (Sebastes dallii), live for little more than a decade. The most long-lived of the genus&nbsp;Sebastes – the rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus), which occurs from Japan to the Aleutian Islands – can survive in cold, deep coastal waters for more than 200 years. Some of the most long-lived vertebrate species on Earth are found in this genus.&nbsp;



The researchers sequenced the complete genomes of the 88 rockfish species using a state-of-the-art technique known as Pacbio, or SMRT, sequencing. In particular, they were looking for DNA variations that were more common in fish with longer lives.&nbsp;



The results show that a variety of genes are associated with a longer lifespan; they found a total of 137 longevity-associated gene variations. Although the researchers were aware that factors such as body size and habitat depth influence lifespan, they also identified several new genes that are involved with the process of ageing.&nbsp;



Approximately 60 percent of variation in longevity was explained by variations in body size and the depth at which the species occur. Vertebrates with larger bodies usually live for longer (think of an elephant and a mouse, for example) and the fish that habitually live in deep, cold waters have a lower metabolic rate which is also associated with living for longer.&nbsp;



"We can explain 60% of the variation in lifespan just by looking at the size at maturity and the depth at which a fish lives," said senior author Professor <a href="https://www.sudmantlab.org/">Peter Sudmant</a>.&nbsp;"So, you can predict lifespan with pretty high accuracy just from these factors. This allowed us to identify the genes that allow them to do those things."



The remainder of the longevity-associated variation was explained mostly by differences in three types of genes: an enrichment in the number of genes for repairing DNA; variations in many genes that regulate insulin, which has long been known to influence lifespan; and an enrichment in genes that modulate the immune system. More DNA repair genes could help protect against cancer, while more immune genes could help ward off infections, as well as cancer.



"Six different members of the insulin signaling pathway are under selection in these fish," said Professor Sudmant. "If you look at the textbooks, there are about nine or 10 core members of the pathway, so the majority of them are under selection in rockfish." Professor Sudamant explained that some rockfish species extended their lifespan simply by adapting to live in deeper, colder waters and increasing their size, but the longest-lived species boosted their lifespans even further by tweaking their DNA repair, insulin signaling and immune-modulation genes.



The scientists were also able to identify some consequences of a long lifespan in these rockfish. Species that live longer tend to have smaller populations (again, think of elephants and mice) and may survive today in small numbers that rely on very old, but very fertile, females to breed and restock the population.&nbsp;



"In these rockfish, we can actually watch this evolution happening over this 10-million-year time period, and we observe that when some species evolve a short lifespan, their population sizes expand, and when they evolve a long lifespan, their population sizes contract," said Professor Sudmant. "We can see a signature of that in their genomes, in the genetic variation that exists in these species. So, there is a consequence to adapting to long and short life."



A fascinating finding from the study is that long-lived species have an excess of certain kinds of DNA mutations – specifically, the conversion of the nucleotide pair CG (cytosine-guanine) to TG (thymine-guanine) – that are known to accumulate in tumors with aging. Because it is the oldest females that produce most of the offspring in these long-lived species, these unusual genetic alterations are passed along to the rest of the long-lived population.



"In this study, we identified both the genetic causes and consequences of adaptation to extreme lifespan," said Professor Sudmant. "It's very exciting to be able to look at a group of species and see how their phenotype has been shaped through time and the genetic changes that drive that phenotype, and simultaneously, how that phenotype then feeds back and influences the genetic diversity of that population."



The study may also help scientists understand human lifespan better. Sudmant and his colleagues found that longer-lived species had more immune modulating genes –&nbsp; in particular, a group called butyrophilins – than shorter-lived species. The immune system is involved in regulating inflammation, and increased inflammation has been implicated in human aging. This implies that the findings of this study identify genes that could be used therapeutically to slow age-related damage in the body. "There is an opportunity here to look in nature and see how natural adaptations have shaped lifespan and to think about how those same sorts of genes are acting in our own bodies," explained Professor Sudamant.



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

Pacific rockfish give clues about the genetic basis of longevity

The name "rockfish" is applied to a wide variety of...

When a volcano erupts, clouds of ash may spew into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-melting-may-release-nuclear-waste-into-the-atmosphere/">atmosphere</a> and block the effects of the sunlight for more than a year. Volcano eruptions can also release millions of tons of sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere, forming vast sulfuric acid clouds that reflect sunlight and lower Earth's average surface temperature. These environmental extremes can affect the growth of plants, as well as the survival of animals and humans alike.



In a new study by scientists at <a href="https://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University-New Brunswick</a>, the fall of ruling dynasties in China has been associated with past major eruptions in volcanoes. In order to investigate this relationship, the scientists reconstructed 156 explosive volcanic eruptions between 1 A.D. and 1915 by identifying layers with elevated sufate levels in ice cores from Greenland and the Antarctic. The researchers also analyzed historical documents relating to 68 Chinese dynasties that ruled between 850 and 1911, and the warfare that took place during each dynasty’s rule.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"We confirmed for the first time that collapses of dynasties in China over the last 2,000 years are more likely in the years after volcanic eruptions," said study co-author Professor <a href="http://people.envsci.rutgers.edu/robock/">Alan Robock</a>. "But the relationship is complex because if there is ongoing warfare and conflict, dynasties are more susceptible to collapse. The impact of a cooled climate on crops can also make conflict more likely, further increasing the probability of collapse."



The researchers found that major volcanic eruptions could lead to "a double jeopardy of marked coldness and dryness during the agricultural growing season." This would have led to crop failures and famines, which could have been made worse by associated livestock deaths, accelerated land degradation and more crop damage from agricultural pests that could survive during the milder winters.



Smaller volcanic eruptions may also have caused dynasties to collapse, particularly when political and socioeconomic stress was already high. Larger eruptions may have led to collapses without substantial pre-existing stress. Other factors that could have been involved in the collapse of dynasties include poor leadership, administrative corruption and demographic pressures.



The scientists emphasize the need to prepare for future eruptions, especially in regions with economically vulnerable populations (perhaps comparable to the Ming and Tang dynasties in China) or that have a history of resource mismanagement, as in Syria before the 2011 uprising that may have been partly triggered by drought.



Although volcanic eruptions have been smaller during the 20th and 21st centuries than they were during the time of imperial China, they can still cause significant disruption to ecosystems and populations. Moderate eruptions may have contributed to the Sahelian drought of the 1970s to 1990s, which led to about 250,000 deaths and resulted in 10 million refugees in this economically marginalized region.&nbsp;



Future major eruptions, combined with climate change, are likely to have profound effects on agriculture and food security in some of the Earth's most populous and marginalized regions, the study says.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsenv/">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</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

Volcanic eruptions linked to collapse of Chinese dynasties

When a volcano erupts, clouds of ash may spew into...

According to recent climate models estimates, the frequency of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiger-sharks-can-take-a-direct-hit-from-a-major-hurricane/">hurricanes</a> in the Gulf Coast will significantly increase by the end of the century. States such as Louisiana and Florida will be twice as likely to experience two consecutive tropical storms, with less than ten days between them.



By examining hurricane seasons from 1979 to 2020 and pairing them with climate models, a research team led by <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> provided an estimate on how the number of back-to-back or sequential hurricanes will increase over time.&nbsp;



The scientists found that although states such as Louisiana or Florida will be the most likely places for multiple storms to strike, the whole Gulf Coast will be increasingly more exposed to extreme weather events.



This rise in hurricane frequency will have a strong negative impact on the possibility of communities and infrastructure to recover between storms. With longer storm seasons and shorter breaks between disasters, the stresses on infrastructure, ecosystems, and people will clearly intensify.



“In previous research, people have mostly focused on the resilience of infrastructure, [rather than] the time to restore it after a storm,” said study lead author Dazhi Xi, a climate scientist at Princeton University.&nbsp;



“If you need 15 days to restore infrastructure - for example, a power system - after a storm hits, and the second storm makes landfall before the system can recover, residents will face dangerous conditions.”



If power, transportation, and communications are disrupted, health risks surrounding rescue and clean-up operations will increase and cause more damage to communities that are already under intensive stress. Most likely, a large number of people will be more frequently forced to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-will-force-millions-to-migrate/">relocate</a>.



“Even the best-case scenario of this worst-case scenario still spells devastation for the coast,” said Jill Trepanier, a climate scientist and geographer at <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a>. “That's why climate refugees exist. They’re people who are displaced because they can no longer live in an area due to changing climate conditions."



"If we're unable to put power grid structures back in place, adequately house people, or provide water and other resources, we can't have people living there.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL094826">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

Hurricanes will increase in frequency on the Gulf Coast

According to recent climate models estimates, the frequency of hurricanes...

New research from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> reconstructed the Earth’s climate for the last 24,000 years - since the last ice age. The goal of the research was to look more closely at global warming to see how far “out of bounds” human activity has pushed the climate.&nbsp;



The researchers found that main drivers of climate change are greenhouse gases and the feedback loop of melting ice sheets. They determined that the last 10,000 years has been a warming period for Earth.&nbsp;



Furthermore, the experts report that warming for the last 150 years has been much faster than for the last 24,000 years.&nbsp;



"This reconstruction suggests that current temperatures are unprecedented in 24,000 years, and also suggests that the speed of human-caused global warming is faster than anything we've seen in that same time," said study co-author Professor Jessica Tierney.



Study lead author Matthew Osman, a postdoctoral researcher in Geosciences, created global maps showing the change in climate every 200 years going back to 24,000 years ago.&nbsp;



"The fact that we're today so far out of bounds of what we might consider normal is cause for alarm and should be surprising to everybody," said Osman.



"These maps are really powerful. With them, it's possible for anyone to explore how temperatures have changed across Earth, on a very personal level. For me, being able to visualize the 24,000-year evolution of temperatures at the exact location I'm sitting today, or where I grew up, really helped ingrain a sense of just how severe climate change is today."



To create the maps, the scientists combined two datasets - temperature from marine sediments and computer simulated climate models. The experts used a method called data assimilation. Professor Tierney explained that this method is commonly used in weather forecasting,



"To forecast the weather, meteorologists start with a model that reflects current weather, then add in observations such as temperature, pressure, humidity, wind direction, and so on to create an updated forecast."



The research provides a glimpse into a future with rising greenhouse gases, as well as a window into the past, and will hopefully serve as a useful tool for planning.&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</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

Global warming over the last 150 years is unprecedented

New research from the University of Arizona reconstructed the Earth’s...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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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



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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



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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



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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



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Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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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



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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



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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



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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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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



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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



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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

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