In an era characterized by rapid technological development and growing environmental concerns, photosynthesis stands as a remarkable example of nature's enduring efficiency and sustainability.



This fundamental process, which has powered life on Earth for billions of years, exemplifies a balance that modern science strives to emulate.



Consequently, the need for innovative and sustainable solutions has become more pressing than ever, driven by the urgency to combat climate change and reduce our reliance on finite resources. 



One potential answer lies in harnessing and replicating the natural processes that sustain ecosystems.



Mimicking photosynthesis may hold the key to transforming <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-hydrogen-energy-production-just-got-a-lot-easier/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">energy production</a>, creating renewable pathways, and promoting a cleaner, more resilient future for generations to come.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-artificial-photosynthesis-and-clean-energy">Artificial photosynthesis and clean energy</h2>



In a decisive step towards the future, a team of brilliant minds from the <a href="https://www.jaist.ac.jp/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology</a> (JAIST) and the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Tokyo</a> have taken a leaf out of nature's book. 



They have created an inventive new hydrogel that could drastically improve clean energy production by harnessing the power of natural processes.



This bioinspired hydrogel is capable of producing hydrogen and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-oxygen-discovery-deep-ocean-no-photosynthesis-baffles-scientists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oxygen</a> through a process that closely mirrors photosynthesis, offering a unique method for energy generation. 



Sunlight, instead of electricity, is used to split water molecules, leading to the generation of hydrogen - a clean, renewable, and efficient source of energy that holds great potential for future energy systems.



This is a remarkable breakthrough, as explained by Professor Kosuke Okeyoshi, who led the research team. He emphasized the significance of this achievement in advancing renewable technologies.



"Hydrogen is a fantastic energy source because it is clean and renewable. Our hydrogels offer a way to produce hydrogen using sunlight, which could help sustainably reshape energy technologies," said Professor Okeyoshi.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-behind-the-sun-soaked-gel">Science behind the sun-soaked gel</h2>



The hydrogels were developed by Professor Okeyoshi, his doctoral student Reina Hagiwara at JAIST, and Professor Ryo Yoshida at the University of Tokyo. They function based on their meticulously planned polymer networks.



These networks govern the vital electron transfer required for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/removing-carbon-dioxide-from-seawater/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water-splitting</a>. Packed with functional molecules, like ruthenium complexes and platinum nanoparticles, the hydrogels replicate photosynthesis. 



"The biggest challenge was figuring out how to arrange these molecules so they could transfer electrons smoothly," noted Professor Okeyoshi. "By using a polymer network, we were able to prevent them from clumping together, which is a common issue in synthetic photosynthesis systems."



“What’s unique here is how the molecules are organized within the hydrogel," said Hagiwara. "By creating a structured environment, we’ve made the energy conversion process much more efficient.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bright-prospects-for-clean-energy">Bright prospects for clean energy</h2>



This innovative hydrogel tackles one of the key limitations of previous artificial photosynthesis systems - molecule aggregation. 



By averting this, the researchers were able to enhance the activity of the water-splitting process and produce more hydrogen than older methods.



This discovery has significant implications for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bronze-age-technology-is-a-modern-solution-for-clean-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clean energy</a>. The dawn of a future where renewable hydrogen could drive industries, transport, and energy storage systems is closer than ever.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-artificial-photosynthesis">The future of artificial photosynthesis</h2>



Nevertheless, there are still hurdles to overcome. “We have shown the potential, but now we need to refine the technology for industrial use. The possibilities are exciting, and we’re eager to continue pushing forward," said Professor Okeyoshi.



Going forward, the team aims to accomplish precise integration within the hydrogels to further increase their energy conversion efficiency. 



Their continued efforts will be pivotal in bringing this innovative technology closer to practical, sustainable energy solutions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scaling-up-and-potential-applications">Scaling up and potential applications</h2>



While this breakthrough marks an exciting step forward, the path to practical implementation still poses challenges. 



Transitioning this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-hydrogel-can-extract-unlimited-amounts-of-water-from-the-air-even-in-deserts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hydrogel</a> technology from research to real-world applications will require further innovation and testing. 



Ensuring that the hydrogels can be produced at a larger scale and integrated into existing energy systems is key to unlocking their potential.



The promise of sunlight-driven hydrogen production could extend to various industries - powering vehicles, supporting energy storage, and fueling large-scale facilities.



If successfully adopted, this technology could significantly contribute to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and advancing global sustainability efforts.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/cc/d4cc04033c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chemical Communications</a>.



Image Credit: Kosuke Okeyoshi from JAIST



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Artificial photosynthesis could transform power generation

In an era characterized by rapid technological development and growing environmental concerns, photosynthesis stands as a remarkable example of nature's enduring efficiency and sustainability. This fundamental process, which has powered life on Earth for billions of years, exemplifies a balance that modern science strives to emulate. Consequently, the need for innovative and sustainable solutions has become more pressing than ever, driven by the urgency to combat climate change and reduce our reliance on finite resources. One potential answer lies in harnessing and replicating the natural processes that...

The role of the government is often seen as a regulator of business.  One of the major ways the government regulates business is by keeping the environmental practices of business within reasonable bounds.  

Sometimes there is a struggle between government regulators and those who are unwilling or even unable to comply with environmental regulations.  Sometimes poverty coerces people to act in their best interest against law. In western culture, the embodiment of the poor taking the law into their own hands is Robin Hood.  The reality of the nature of struggle between government and poor is often much messier and less clear cut than stories like Robin Hood’s would have us believe. Nigeria has such an example.

Many oil companies work operate in Nigeria.  A quick Google search shows that you’re likely to have used one of the oil companies that works in Nigeria.  Examples include Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell (most often known simply as Shell). Nigeria is also part of <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/167.htm">OPEC</a> which lists their crude oil production at 82,000 barrels per day.  The value of Nigerian petroleum exports for 2017 was $38,607,000,000.  

By the 1980s, Nigeria’s economy had become almost completely dependent on oil production, with as much as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_in_the_Niger_Delta">25% of the nation’s GDP</a> being made up of petroleum extraction, the percentage has only risen with petroleum extraction making up 60% of Nigeria’s GDP in 2008. The wealth brought by oil has created economic disparity in Nigeria, though.  <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/even-it-nigeria/nigeria-extreme-inequality-numbers">Oxfam International</a> reports that Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, yet wealth disparity is extreme.  Oxfam reports:

“The combined wealth of Nigeria’s five richest men - $29.9 billion - could end extreme poverty at a national level yet 5 million face hunger. More than 112 million people are living in poverty in Nigeria, yet the country’s richest man would have to spend $1 million a day for 42 years to exhaust his fortune.”

In the Niger Delta, inequity has historically been part of life.  The government and oil companies have in the recent past forced ethnic minorities from their land to seize control of petroleum revenues without compensation to land owners.  The government has even massacred some groups, like those living in Ogoniland, and denied fair trials for others who were hanged by the government. A 2001 report by <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/">Greenpeace</a> found that Shell had given money to the Nigerian military as bribes for their violent acts.    

Organized resistance formed by minority groups has at times violently taken control of oil produced in the Niger Delta.  Today, there are hundreds of small militia groups and a couple of larger ones operating in the Niger Delta. Oil pipelines are tapped and the oil drained off to be loaded onto waiting boats by these militia groups.  Government amnesty programs slowed the violent resistance movements but actions have flared up again in 2016 when a few different oil operations were bombed by different militant groups.

The crude oil stolen by militant groups is often processed in clandestine refineries in the Niger Delta, Africa’s largest wetland.  The processing is often done with few health or environmental protections and leaks are common. When government forces seize these illegal refineries, oil is often dumped on the ground, spilled rather than used by the Nigerian forces.  All of this together has a huge impact on the environment. 

The Nigerian Delta is a place of incredible biodiversity, as well as a place of poverty and unique cultural groups.  Located in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria is not only tropical but equatorial. This means that Nigeria and the Niger Delta in particular stands in a unique place in the world.  

The Niger Delta is made up of coastal barrier islands, mangrove swamp forests, freshwater swamps and lowland tropical rainforests.  The area is also home to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_the_Niger_Delta">20 million</a> people of 40 different ethnic groups.  Oil spills in the area aren’t always recorded with any sort of accuracy and estimates of the number of oil spills vary, the Department of Petroleum Resources estimates there were 4,835 oil spills between 1976 and 1996 totaling 2.4 million barrels of oil spilled.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell">The Guardian</a> reports that one source estimated 1.5m tons of oil spilled in 2006, noting this number to be 50 times the pollution released in the famous Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.  

According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell">Shell</a>, 98% of its spills are due to vandalism.  This stops short at explaining the motivation behind such vandalism though.  Many oil companies including Shell have been accused of human rights violations in Nigeria.  According to <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/shell-oil-settlement-ogoniland/">Greenpeace</a>, cleanup of the oil spills in Ogoniland will take 25 to 30 years.  As of 2015, Shell has agreed to pay only $83 million for cleanup and restoration of the area. 

Greenpeace also reports that a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) concluded a study of the area in 2011 concluding that drinking water was contaminated in at least ten communities.  The report also found oil floating on ground water and seeping into soil. This comes on top of the alleged complicity of Shell with human rights violations, arrests and executions of resistance members and forced removal of people from their land.  News such as this fuels continued violence in Nigeria as inequity continues despite the new government’s commitment to stop corruption. 

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jul/18/shameful-nigeria-doesnt-care-about-inequality-corruption">The Guardian</a> reported in 2017 that 86 million people still live in extreme poverty in Nigeria.  Between 2004 to 2010, the number in extreme poverty increased from 69 to 112 million, despite economic growth of 7% and an increase in the number of millionaires in Nigeria of 44%.  Corruption is rampant in the country as well, money lost in the government is commonplace. 

Political and economic power coincide in Nigeria, a country with little ethical or legal oversight.  Now as Nigeria’s economic growth has slowed, there is even less discussion in the country about economic inequality.  The poor are left living in the waste left by the rich and those struggling for justice by any means available. There is little way to know the full extent of the problem as oil companies and the Nigerian government keep full records of oil spills and connected problems secret from the public.                                      

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Illegal oil refineries in Nigeria have led to conflict, spills

The role of the government is often seen as a...

The world’s largest living organism, located in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest, might not look like anything much but a large stretch of aspen trees. But if you were to look beneath the surface, you would find a vast and complex root system responsible for this behemoth organism. 

The Pando aspen clone is connected by the same route system and is considered the largest and oldest living organism in the world.

The name clone comes from the fact that each of its above-ground stems, of which there are more than 47,000, is a direct copy of an underground parent clone. 

Researchers from <a href="http://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a> have conducted a thorough assessment of the Pando aspen clone and found that a majority of the clone is deteriorating even though restoration efforts have worked to recover portions of the grove.

The study represents the first comprehensive analysis of the forest ever conducted and was published in the journal PLOS ONE. 

The researchers examined the success of restoration efforts, such as fencing to keep out mule deer. At first, these protective strategies showed potential, but the researchers found that these measures are now largely failing. 

“After significant investment in protecting the iconic Pando clone, we were disappointed in this result. In particular, mule deer appear to be finding ways to enter through weak points in the fence or by jumping over the eight-foot barrier,” said Paul Rogers, a lead author of the study. “While Pando has likely existed for thousands of years--we have no method of firmly fixing its' age--it is now collapsing on our watch. One clear lesson emerges here: we cannot independently manage wildlife and forests.” 

The clone has thinned over time due to deforestation and development, and researchers worry that the Pando clone won’t survive much longer. 

The aspen trees that are part of the Pando clone are iconic for <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/fall-colors-arrive-in-northern-utah/">Utah</a> and much of the American West. If the clone collapses, it would mean a significant loss for Utah’s National Forests and cause untold damage to local food webs and habitats. 

“In addition to ecological values, Pando serves as a symbol of nature-human connectedness and a harbinger of broader species losses,” said Rogers.  “Here, regionally, and indeed internationally, aspen forests support great biodiversity. This work further argues for ‘mega-conservation’ as a departure from traditional individual species-habitat approaches. It would be a shame to witness the significant reduction of this iconic forest when reversing this decline is realizable, should we demonstrate the will to do so.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Paul C. Rogers

The world’s largest living organism is collapsing in Utah

The world’s largest living organism, located in Utah’s Fishlake National...

Ice Station

Over 70 percent of our planet is covered with water, and yet more than 80 percent of the world’s oceans remain unexplored, according to the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/exploration.html">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). </a>

For the permanently ice-covered Arctic ocean, mapping life on the ocean floor is challenging, and there exists little data on species diversity, biomass, and composition at different depths. 

In fact, the deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean are some of the least studied on Earth. 

The Arctic is an area of particular interest because of its susceptibility to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plants-arctic-taller-climate-change/">climate change</a>. If researchers don’t have a thorough understanding of the Arctic’s ecosystem now, it will be difficult to understand how the Arctic is impacted by climate change in the future. 

Researchers led by the <a href="https://www.mpi-bremen.de/en/Home.html">Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology</a> recently conducted one of the most extensive surveys of animal life on the ocean floor of the Central Arctic Ocean, and the results show that species diversity at the lowest depths of the Arctic Ocean is similar to diversity patterns recorded in warmer waters.

[caption id="attachment_1861029" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/arctic.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1861029" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/arctic-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></a> Image Credit: Sea Ice Group, Alfred Wegener Institute[/caption]

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0200121">PLOS ONE. </a>

Life in the Benthic zone (the lowest depths of the ocean) of the Central Arctic is sparse because of the long winters and ice cover, but the researchers wanted to characterize species composition for benthic communities, something long overlooked by previous studies. 

The researchers reviewed data from ocean floor surveys and categorized communities of marine life based on depth. 

It was determined that there were five different groups of benthic communities, the outer shelf, the upper slope, lower slope, mid-slope, and the abyssal plain. 

Species abundance, biomass, and diversity were at their lowest at the plain depths (3,236-4,381 meters). 

The dominating groups of species also differed for each group. For example in the upper slope, (73-577 meters), bivalves, polychaetes, and Cirratulidae made up the dominant species. 

Biomass decreased at the lower depths in correlation with available food, but the rate of decline witnessed by the researchers was greater than in more temperate oceans. 

The researchers hope that the new study will provide a crucial groundwork for future research and will help answer questions about the impacts of climate change. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Alfred Wegener Institute, Stefan Hendricks

Scientists explore uncharted parts of the Arctic Ocean seafloor

Over 70 percent of our planet is covered with water,...

Is <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/trump-confuses-climate-change/">President Trump</a> beginning to slightly shift his stance on climate change?

In a recent 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl, Trump discussed climate change and his previous belief that climate change was a hoax. 

“I think something's happening. Something's changing, and it'll change back again,” <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-full-interview-60-minutes-transcript-lesley-stahl-2018-10-14/">Trump said</a>. “I don't think it's a hoax, I think there's probably a difference. But I don't know that it's manmade. I will say this. I don't wanna give trillions and trillions of dollars. I don't wanna lose millions and millions of jobs. I don't wanna be put at a disadvantage.”

The argument that climate has gone through drastic changes in the past and now we’re just experiencing a natural period of change is popular among climate science dissenters. 

It’s an argument that doesn’t outright deny climate change, but it does strategically keep human impact on climate and the environment well out of the mix.

After the President’s comments on 60 Minutes, the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/8f4baf7aaddc442dad0a726f3ebe7fff">Associated Press (AP) interviewed</a> him on Tuesday asking him to clarify his stance on climate change and the environment.

During his interview with the AP, Trump said that he cares about the environment but in the face of uncertainty about what’s causing climate change, enacting policies to mitigate climate change when it could threaten potential economic growth is just not feasible. 

The President and other political figures may cite uncertainties about climate change, but it has become more and more evident that anthropogenic activities are driving increases in temperature and the window to act on this information is getting smaller. 

“But what I’m not willing to do is sacrifice the economic well-being of our country for something that nobody really knows,” Trump told the AP. “I have a natural instinct for science, and I will say that have scientists on both sides of the picture.” 

The declarations that there are scientists on “both sides” mirrors comments Trump made during his 60 Minutes interview about scientists that disagree with the realities of climate change and that “scientists also have a political agenda.” 

Trump’s statement that he has a “natural instinct” is surprising given that Trump provided no evidence to back this claim other than explaining that he had an uncle who was a professor at MIT. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Trump claims “natural instinct for science,” climate change stance

Is President Trump beginning to slightly shift his stance on...

Polls have shown that a large majority of Americans agree that CO2 emissions should be regulated. Data from the <a href="http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2016/?est=happening&amp;type=value&amp;geo=county">Yale Program on Climate Communication</a> found that in 2016, about 7 in 10 Americans were in favor of regulating carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

More recently, a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/231530/global-warming-concern-steady-despite-partisan-shifts.aspx">Gallup poll</a> has found that over 60 percent of Americans agree that climate change is happening and humans are the driving force behind it. 

Despite the consensus on greenhouse gas emissions, the issue of climate change is, at this point, not a top issue for voters as we approach the midterm elections. 

A new report from <a href="http://time.com/5413384/california-wildfires-climate-change/?utm_source=emailshare&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=email-share-article&amp;utm_content=20181017">Time</a> revealed how environmental groups are targeting political figures who question climate science to get more voters thinking about climate change this election. 

The aim of environmental groups like the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/">Sierra Club </a>and <a href="https://www.redtoblueca.org/">Red to Blue California</a> is to turn the spotlight on Republican political figures who have repeatedly and publicly downplayed or even denied the impacts of climate change. 

In California, a state that has been ravaged by increasingly severe wildfire seasons, U.S Representative Tom McClintock has come under fire by environmentalists for his comments on climate change. 

“The climate has been changing for four and a half billion years,” McClintock said in a September debate, according to Time. “The extent to which human activity has a role to play is being hotly debated right now.”

This is an argument that continues to make the rounds with the administration, climate change deniers, and major political party members. 

In response, environmental groups have launched several ads and campaigns. 

In one campaign headed by the Sierra Club, McClintock is called the “fossil fuel fool.” 

“California is burning, but Republican Tom McClintock voted repeatedly against fire protection and relief,” an add sponsored by the Red to Blue California organization says. 

McClintock isn’t the only Republican coming under fire in a competitive district. In Michigan and Orange County in California, Democratic candidates are pointing out their opponent's opinions on climate change as part of their platform. 

The reason so many groups are pushing to make climate change a top issue is that more and more evidence is coming to light that for us to have any impact on mitigating <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>, the time to act is now. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com </a>

What role will climate change play in the midterm elections?

Polls have shown that a large majority of Americans agree...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/">University of Lincoln</a> has found that climate models have failed to account for 30 years of air pressure changes that have taken place over Greenland. As a result, climate change predictions for the UK and regions of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/europe-coastal-overhaul-flooding/">Europe</a> could be inaccurate.

When the researchers  looked at simulated data over the past three decades, they found that the models showed slightly decreasing air pressure in the Greenland region. However, the real data showed a significant increase in high air pressure, also known as “Greenland blocking,” during the summer months.

In the UK and nearby parts of Europe, the meteorological conditions are very closely linked to air-pressure changes over Greenland. The findings raise concerns about the accuracy of regional climate projections, which are used by climate scientists to predict climate change.

If the air pressure continues to strengthen over Greenland in the next few decades, the record wet summers of 2007 and 2012 could repeat themselves in England and Wales. However, inaccurate climate models may fail to predict these conditions.

The researchers also noted that current models may significantly underestimate the global sea-level rise that can be expected by the end of this century.

“These differences between the estimates from the current climate models and observations suggests that the models cannot accurately represent recent conditions or predict future changes in Greenland climate,” said study lead author Professor Edward Hanna.

“While there is natural variability in the climate system, we think that the recent rapid warming over Greenland since the early 1990s is not being fully simulated by the models, and that this misrepresentation could mean that future changes in atmospheric circulation and the jet stream over the wider North Atlantic region may not be properly simulated.”

“Until now, no-one has systematically examined the projections to see how they represent the last few decades and future changes - up to the year 2100 - from a Greenland regional perspective.” 

“Previous work reported a tendency for global warming to result in a slightly more active jet stream in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic by 2100, but our results indicate we may actually see a somewhat weaker jet, at least in summer.”

The study is published in <a href="https://www.the-cryosphere.net/">The Cryosphere</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Professor Edward Hanna

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Greenland air pressure changes impact Europe climate change models

A new study from the University of Lincoln has found...

A recent assessment of UNESCO World Heritage sites (WHS) located in coastal areas has identified 49 regions that could be destroyed by sea-level rise. In low-lying coastal areas of the Mediterranean, 42 sites are currently threatened by coastal erosion, while 37 sites are at risk of a catastrophic 100-year flood. 

“As the risk of coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion increases with sea-level rise, a considerable number of coastal World Heritage Sites will gradually be exposed to these hazards in the future,” wrote the researchers. “This threatens the Outstanding Universal Value of affected sites and potentially leading to losses in economic revenue.”

Using mathematical models to predict the impacts at individual sites, the researchers examined the risk of flooding and erosion under four sea-level rise scenarios through 2100. The team, led by Lena Reimann from the <a href="https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/?no_cache=1">Kiel University</a>, found that the flood risk will  increase by 50 percent and erosion risk will rise by 13 percent across the Mediterranean coast by the end of this century. 

The study revealed considerably higher increases at certain sites. Venice, for example, was found to be one of the regions most at risk from both <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-double-coastal-flooding/">coastal flooding</a> and erosion. Other historic areas at risk include the medieval city of Rhodes, Piazza del Duomo, and the Amalfi coast.

“Our results provide a first-order assessment of where adaptation is most urgently needed and can support policymakers in steering local-scale research to devise suitable adaptation strategies for each World Heritage Site,” wrote the study authors. 

“The Mediterranean region has a high concentration, many of which are in coastal locations. Sea-level rise poses a threat to these sites however, information on the risk at a local level is needed for adaptation planning.”

“A combination of awareness-raising strategies and protection measures seem to be the most suitable adaptation strategies, but relocation also needs to be considered, in particular where risk is very high.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Major World Heritage sites severely threatened by sea-level rise

A recent assessment of UNESCO World Heritage sites (WHS) located...

Coral reefs around the world have been experiencing mass bleaching events and are dying off at an unprecedented rate. Famously, the Great Barrier Reef experienced catastrophic <a href="https://theconversation.com/back-to-back-bleaching-has-now-hit-two-thirds-of-the-great-barrier-reef-76092">back to back bleaching events</a> in 2016 and 2017. 

Scientists are now working to predict how the world’s corals will respond to warming ocean temperatures caused by climate change. 

While the future doesn’t look promising, research has shown that corals can adapt to environmental changes and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rehabilitating-coral-reefs/">recover</a>.  But can corals keep up with the fast pace of climate change? And what intervening methods can conservationist employ to help corals recover? 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California-Santa Barbara</a> and <a href="https://www.rice.edu/">Rice University</a> conducted a new study examining the relationship between rising temperatures, fish aggression, and coral recovery to see how fish impact coral growth. 

The results, published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, show that an increase in water temperatures may benefit corals to some extent because it increases the aggressiveness of some species of fish that guard the reef.

“Predicting the future of corals will require a systems approach,” said Jonathan Pruitt, the lead author of the study. “Failing to account for broader ecological processes, such as species interactions, could lead us to issue the wrong predictions about how some corals will fare in future environments.” 

For the study, the researchers focused on farmerfish (stegastes nigricans), which are an aggressive species of damselfish that live around coral reefs in tropical climates. The fish guard gardens of algae which is how they get their name and the researchers wanted to see how farmerfish aggression impacted coral performance. 

The researchers planted coral fragments into 29 farmerfish colonies with different levels of aggressiveness in French Polynesia and observed the colonies for a year between 2016 and 2017. 

Aggressiveness was evaluated along with fish size and a group’s reaction to an intruder. The researchers also measured coral growth and recovery. 

At the end of the study, the researchers found that aggressiveness correlated with an increase in branching corals near the farmerfish colonies. Corals that were planted in non-aggressive farmerfish territories showed 80 percent more damage compared to corals in aggressive colonies. 

While larger sized farmerfish had more aggression, the researchers found that group aggression was more important than size in determining coral performance. 

The researchers say that because warmer waters can increase fish aggression, coral recovery may have more of a chance than previously thought in a warming world.

“Heating up many corals even mildly can negatively impact a variety of physiological processes,” said Pruitt “However, this study shows that small increases could provide greater protection by resident fishes. Obviously, this can't go on for forever, though. At some point, all the protection in the world won't matter anything if the corals can't feed themselves”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmaill.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Aggressive, territorial fish can help boost coral reef recovery

Coral reefs around the world have been experiencing mass bleaching...

When Andrew Wheeler, the acting <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</a> administrator, was first <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/andrew-wheeler-inew-epa-head/">appointed</a> to replace Scott Pruitt, there were concerns that Wheeler’s history as a lobbyist for massive energy companies represented a conflict of interest. 

As a former coal lobbyist, he pushed for the termination of a bill that would have restricted coal companies from dumping waste into streams, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/climate/andrew-wheeler-epa-lobbying.html">New York Times. </a>

This is just one example of Wheeler’s past coming in direct contrast with the mission of the EPA since its birth in 1970 to address public concerns about pollution. 

It seems those concerns that Wheeler would act counter to the public’s interest in regulating pollution and making public health a top priority were not unfounded. 

The EPA recently announced that Wheeler replaced five members of an independent review committee and disbanded two review panels that were dedicated to assessing standards for particulate matter and ozone. 

<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/13/politics/epa-clean-air-committee-changes/index.html">CNN</a> reported that Wheeler appointed five new members to the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and over the past year, the entire committee has been replaced with new members. 

Review panels are a crucial part of any regulatory process, but this new announcement has some scientists concerned that CASAC will not be able to do its job properly, which is advise the EPA on regulating pollution to ensure air quality standards are kept in check. 

The EPA is tasked with setting outdoor air quality standards for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment as part of the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/naaqs-table">Clean Air Act.</a>

According to CNN, the EPA updated its air quality standards in 2015 and will be creating new standards in 2020. The CASAC informs the EPA of the health risks associated with different pollutants and recommends air quality and pollution levels that ensure that those health risks are kept to a minimum. 

The <a href="https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/health-impacts/en/">World Health Organization</a> estimates that around 4.2 million premature deaths are linked to ambient air pollution, and air pollution increases the risks of cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

Now, with all new members and the disbanding of two other panels that examine ozone and particulate matter, there are concerns that CASAC will not make public safety as much of a priority. 

“Protecting the public's health from dangerous amounts of pollutants in the air that we all breathe is the mandate of this agency,” Jack Harkema, a professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation at Michigan State University, told CNN. “This cannot be done without careful, deliberate and knowledgeable understanding [of] this complex environmental health issue. Multidisciplinary teams of scientific experts must be free to conduct thorough peer-review of the pertinent science. Millions of lives are at stake.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

EPA dismisses scientists overseeing air quality safety standards

When Andrew Wheeler, the acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator,...

As New Delhi enters into its worst season for air pollution, an emergency action plan has been introduced that will outlaw many activities such as burning trash and the use of diesel-powered generators. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) details what actions must be taken on day-to-day basis, depending on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-intelligence/">air pollution</a> levels.

When the air quality is classified as “poor,” generators cannot be used, burning trash is prohibited, and extra police officers will help to direct traffic so that it runs more smoothly. In addition, road sweeping will take place more regularly.

As the air quality worsens, the new regulations under GRAP will become stricter. Some of the measures that will be implemented on days that the air quality is “very poor” or “severe” include: the impounding of polluting vehicles, parking fees will be tripled or quadrupled, bus services will become more frequent, and all construction activity will be temporarily halted. 

The air quality is currently “poor” in New Delhi, but authorities have predicted that the city will reach the status of “very poor” this week.

NASA satellite images have shown that the burning of crop residue has substantially increased over the last ten days in Punjab and Haryana. This activity is a major contributor to air pollution in New Delhi each year, as the smoke mixes with fog and creates a toxic smog.

According to Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union environment and science minister, government scientists have set up a new system that will provide warnings about hazardous air conditions three days in advance. The warning system has been developed by experts of Harsh Vardhan's Ministry of Earth Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Finland.

“Scientists from the Ministry of Earth Sciences have devised a strategy to further improve air quality projection across India,” said Dr. Vardhan. “We are now in a position to give warnings three days in advance about deteriorating air quality.”
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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

New Delhi set to take drastic measure to improve air quality

As New Delhi enters into its worst season for air...

Only a few degrees of global warming can have devastating environmental consequences. Now, a disturbing new study has revealed massive declines in insect populations in the forests of Puerto Rico.

The <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC) has released <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2030-limit-climate-change-warming/">a report</a> reviewing what it would take to reduce warming and ensure that global temperatures don’t rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, some areas of the globe have already exceeded warming past 2 degrees, which have resulted in devastatingly negative consequences.

In the Luquillo rainforest in Puerto Rico, temperatures have already reached or exceeded two degrees Celsius, and the new study found a direct correlation between rising temperatures and a 60 fold decline in insect biomass. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.rpi.edu/">Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</a> conducted the study which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

“Our results suggest that the effects of climate warming in tropical forests may be even greater than anticipated,” said Brad Lister, the lead author of the study. “The insect populations in the Luquillo forest are crashing, and once that begins the animals that eat the insects have insufficient food, which results in decreased reproduction and survivorship and consequent declines in abundance.” 

Between 1976 and 2013, the team collected data from the Luquillo rainforest study area and used sticky traps and sweep netting to measure arthropod biomass over the years. 

Arthropods are invertebrate animals like insects, millipedes, and sowbugs. The researchers measured biomass declines of up to 60 fold between the years studied. 

Along with these declines in arthropod biomass, the researchers observed population declines in insectivorous lizards, frogs, and birds in the area. 

Climate warming was identified as the primary driver of arthropod declines, and according to the researchers, the decreases in biomass have caused the rainforest food web to collapse. 

Over two-thirds of the Earth’s species reside in tropical forests and the results of the study show how easily rising temperatures overthrow the delicate balance of an ecosystem. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Slight warming has resulted in massive insect loss in Puerto Rico

Only a few degrees of global warming can have devastating...

At the peak of the hysteria surrounding the poliovirus in the 1950s, famed scientist Jonas Salk discovered the polio vaccine and changed the world forever. The vaccine has now led to the potential for total eradication of the poliovirus being an attainable goal. However, for global eradication of polio to occur, it will take more than just widely-available vaccines.

A study from the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> suggests that robust environmental monitoring be relied upon as we get closer to eradicating the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/prenatal-gene-editing-fatal-disease/">disease</a>. This comes after the researchers studied the epidemiology of the 2013 silent polio outbreak in Rahat, Israel. Thanks to Israel’s efficient environmental surveillance program, the epidemic was detected and vaccines were mobilized before any cases of acute flaccid paralysis could occur. Because the infections didn’t result in paralysis, the outbreak is called “silent.”

Despite the quick response, researchers discovered that a significant portion of children under the age of 10 were likely infected during the outbreak. Silent transmission is still a concern, as it can lead to paralytic cases if left undetected. 

The researchers say that – despite being so close to polio eradication – silent transmission of wild-type and vaccine-driven polioviruses can be expected to occur every so often. “Environmental surveillance is particularly useful for detecting silent circulation of the disease,” says first author Andrew Brouwer, a research investigator in epidemiology at the UM School of Public Health. “Because paralytic polio only occurs in a small fraction of infections, and that fraction is shrinking as vaccination improves, standard surveillance of paralytic cases will not be sensitive enough to trigger the fast and robust responses needed.”

Brouwer and his colleagues came up with an analytical method to estimate the epidemic trajectories of polio from sewage data. 

“Beyond polio, environmental surveillance of pathogens coupled with our method to estimate epidemic curves is a powerful public health surveillance tool to improve our control of infectious diseases.” Their work could one day result in the total eradication of the polioviruses, and pave the way for us to do the same with other infectious diseases.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Full eradication of polio will require close environmental monitoring

At the peak of the hysteria surrounding the poliovirus in...

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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



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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



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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 



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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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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



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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a>&nbsp;features the Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of the largest tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland. The glacier is located on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet.



As human-induced climate change continues to drive up temperatures, global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. ESA reports that, over the past decade alone, 3.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet. This is enough to cover the UK with meltwater 15 meters deep.



Based on satellite imagery, researchers determined that Kangerlussuaq entered a new phase of rapid retreat and acceleration in 2017. In their study, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00123/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>,&nbsp; the experts report that the glacier's ice front is now at its most retreated position since the early 20th century.



"Given Kangerlussuaq’s previous impacts on both the magnitude and pattern of ice sheet wide mass loss, we predict that its new phase of retreat, acceleration and thinning will markedly enhance the south-east region’s contribution to increasing discharge from the ice sheet," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"More broadly, accurate forecasting of the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise will require a deeper understanding of, and responses to, these non-linear ice dynamic processes."



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the complex relationship between ocean and climate. ESA's Climate Change Initiative will help us understand how oceans influence the climate and how climate change is impacting the oceans.&nbsp;



"Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate," explains ESA.



"As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life."



The amount of heat and carbon dioxide soaked up by the ocean depends on specific variables, including phytoplankton, temperatures, waves, salinity, and ice cover. Satellites can be used to measure these variables from space.



"From their unique vantage point, satellites provide key information for understanding the complexities of our planet and monitoring environmental issues," says ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a> describes how scientists are using autonomous sound sensors to monitor deforestation in the Amazon. By recording soundscapes, the experts can determine which animals are present through their distinct sounds.&nbsp;



Using this method, sounds can be used as scientific measurements to analyze the effects of deforestation. The researchers will gain a better understanding of how the acoustics of a forest can be used to measure its health.&nbsp;



"From space, parts of the Amazon rainforest that have previously been logged or burned may look lush and green, like a place buzzing with activity and full of sounds. But inside the rainforest, the animal life may tell a different story, of a harsh environment and a quieter soundscape," says NASA.



Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center&nbsp;



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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