Human litter has now infiltrated the deepest parts of Earth's oceans and seas. Debris and trash produced by human activity was spotted at a depth of 5,112 meters (3.2 miles) in the Mediterranean Sea. 



The site, which is the deepest point in the Mediterranean, is known as Calypso Deep, and is located off the south-western coast of Greece in the Ionian Sea.



In a new study, researchers have identified 167 objects at the bottom. Of these, 148 were clearly marine debris, while 19 were believed to be of human origin, though less definitively.



According to the authors, this represents one of the highest concentrations of litter documented at great depths in any sea.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-debris-in-the-bottom-of-the-sea">Debris in the bottom of the sea </h2>



To investigate the Calypso Deep, scientists used a crewed submersible called the Limiting Factor, a deep-submergence vehicle capable of withstanding extreme pressure.



Images captured by the Limiting Factor confirm that besides accumulating on coasts, surface waters and shallower bottoms, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/is-it-still-possible-to-save-the-ocean-from-plastic-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine waste</a> also reaches the deepest, most remote points of the Mediterranean Sea.&nbsp;



Given the heavy impact of human activities on this nearly enclosed sea, the discovery emphasizes the urgency of global actions to reduce marine debris and a need for lifestyle changes that cut waste and protect marine environments worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-calypso-deep-as-a-debris-trap">The Calypso Deep as a debris trap</h2>



Located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south west of the Peloponnese coast in Greece, the Calypso Deep is a depression within the Hellenic Trench system. 



Surrounded by steep terrain in an area with active faults, it has slopes measuring thousands of meters and a mostly flat floor at its lowest point. 



Its deeper, kidney-shaped portion extends over approximately 20 by 5 kilometers (12 by 3 miles) at depths surpassing 5,000 meters (3 miles).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-litter-s-journey-to-the-bottom">Litter's journey to the bottom</h2>



But how does rubbish collect so far down?



According to Miquel Canals from the University of Barcelona’s <a href="https://www.ub.edu/portal/web/earth-sciences" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Faculty of Earth Sciences</a>, the debris comes from various sources, both terrestrial and marine. 



It could have arrived by various routes, including both long-distance transport by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weakening-ocean-currents-could-cost-trillions-of-dollars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean currents</a> and direct dumping. 



Canals explains that plastic items, for instance, can drift from coastal waters. 



Some light waste, such as plastics, comes from the coast, from where it escapes to the Calypso Deep, just 60 kilometers [37 miles] away. 



Some plastics, such as bags, drift just above the bottom until they are partially or completely buried, or disintegrate into smaller fragments.



“We have also found evidence of the boats’ dumping of bags full of rubbish, as revealed by the pile-up of different types of waste followed by an almost rectilinear furrow," Canals continued.



"Unfortunately, as far as the Mediterranean is concerned, it would not be wrong to say that ‘not a single inch of it is clean.'"



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-debris-transport-across-the-sea">Debris transport across the sea</h2>



Canals noted that the Calypso Deep is a closed depression, which favors the accumulation of debris inside it. He pointed out that the weak currents in the trench also facilitate the deposition of light debris at the bottom.



Floating debris originates mostly in the southern Ionian Sea or further south, and drifting eddies bring it toward the Calypso Deep.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-litter-debris_bottom-seafloor_Mediterranean-Sea_montage_credit-Caladan-Oceanic_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/marine-litter-debris_bottom-seafloor_Mediterranean-Sea_montage_credit-Caladan-Oceanic_1s.webp" alt="The debris identified by the international team in the Calypso Deep warns of the need to implement global policy actions to reduce ocean waste, as well as to encourage changes in citizens’ consumption habits and waste reduction in order to protect seas and oceans around the world. Credit: Caladan Oceanic" class="wp-image-1962233"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The debris identified by the international team in the Calypso Deep warns of the need to implement global policy actions to reduce ocean waste, as well as to encourage changes in citizens’ consumption habits and waste reduction in order to protect seas and oceans around the world. Credit: Caladan Oceanic</figcaption></figure>



“When these eddies are located over the Calypso Trench, some debris tends to fall slowly to the bottom, aided by degradation mechanisms and ballasting processes that increase its density," explained Canals 



"Surface currents can also transport debris from the Adriatic Sea to the north, through the Strait of Otranto, and from the waters off north-western Greece."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-technology-to-explore-the-abyss">Technology to explore the abyss</h2>



Investigating such extreme depths demands cutting-edge tools. In this case, the Limiting Factor submarine, built by Triton Submarines, allowed a small crew of two to descend. 



Moving at about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) per hour to obtain clear images, the Limiting Factor covered roughly 650 meters (0.4 miles) in a straight line over a 43-minute window on the bottom.&nbsp;



“On each dive, more time is usually spent descending and ascending the vehicle back to the surface than inspecting the bottom. Each complete dive usually takes a few hours,” Canals noted.



The expedition revealed no substantial impact on local marine life, likely due to the area’s low biodiversity. 



Only a few species - namely, the fish Coryphaenoides mediterraneus and the crustacean Acanthephyra eximia - appeared in the footage. 



“However, in places with more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-ocean-day-a-unified-approach-to-protect-biodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a>, there are different types of interaction between the debris deposited on the bottom and the organisms, such as ghost fishing, burial, hooking or ingestion, but also the use of debris as a substrate where animals can grow, hide or lay their eggs,” Canals said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mediterranean-s-pollution-problem">Mediterranean’s pollution problem</h2>



Scientists first documented trash on the ocean floor in 1975, in the North Atlantic’s Skagerrak Strait. Areas like canyons and seamounts are especially prone to accumulating garbage, either from settling, burial, or erosion processes. 



Now, the Mediterranean ranks among the worst-affected seas. In 2021, research identified the Strait of Messina as the global hot spot for seafloor litter. 



This highlights broader concerns about intensifying human influence on an enclosed region subject to heavy maritime traffic and fishing.



“The Mediterranean is an enclosed sea, surrounded by humanity, with intense maritime traffic and widespread fishing activity," noted Canals. 



"The evidence provided by our research should shake up global efforts, and in particular in the Mediterranean, to mitigate waste dumping, especially plastics, in the natural environment and ultimately in the sea, in line with the <a href="https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN Global Plastics Treaty</a> against plastic pollution, which is still pending approval."



Canals emphasized that the ocean floor is still largely unknown to society as a whole, which makes it difficult to raise social and political awareness about the conservation of these spaces. 



"It is necessary to make a joint effort between scientists, communicators, journalists, the media, influencers and other people with social impact. The problem is there, and it has an enormous scope, even if it is not directly visible. We should not forget about it."



Details of the study are published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X25000852?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a>.



Image Credit: Caladan Oceanic



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Human trash has found its way to the deepest parts of Earth's seas and oceans

Human litter has now infiltrated the deepest parts of Earth's oceans and seas. Debris and trash produced by human activity was spotted at a depth of 5,112 meters (3.2 miles) in the Mediterranean Sea. The site, which is the deepest point in the Mediterranean, is known as Calypso Deep, and is located off the south-western coast of Greece in the Ionian Sea. In a new study, researchers have identified 167 objects at the bottom. Of these, 148 were clearly marine debris, while 19 were believed to be...

Women who work at border crossings and in toll booths are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new study. 

The research focused on two groups of women working near a busy US-Canadian border crossing who all developed breast cancer within the same short amount of time. 

According to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6422423/Six-women-working-busiest-border-port-developed-cancer-30-months.html">Daily Mail</a> which reported on the study, six women who worked at the same bridge near the Ontario-Detroit border were all diagnosed with breast cancer within three years of each other. 

Four miles away, another group of seven women also developed breast cancer, receiving similarly close diagnoses in relation to one another. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.stir.ac.uk/">University of Stirling</a> in Scotland and published in the journal New Solutions. The results show that exposure to traffic pollution sharply increases the risk of breast cancer. 

“These outbreaks of breast cancer represent a new occupational disease,”  Michael Gilbertson, a lead researcher for the study, told the Daily Mail. 

There is only a 1 in 10,000 chance that the timing of the cases of breast cancer between the two groups of women was a coincidence, according to the study. 

The researchers calculated that the location of the jobs increased the risk of breast cancer by 16. 

One of the women had worked on the Ambassador Bridge, a major hub between Michigan and Ontario for 20 years, and the researchers calculated that throughout that time she was exposed to traffic fumes from 46.8 million vehicles. 

A little under 30,000 cars and trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge every day, and previous studies have found that pollution and traffic fumes can increase the risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-asthma-attacks/">cardiovascular and respiratory disease</a> as well as some cancers. 

This study provides a strong correlation between breast cancer and traffic fumes which the researchers say inhibits the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are known for preventing breast cancer, from stopping tumor growth. 

“We now have plausible mechanisms for inferring how the BRCA1/2 tumour suppressors in this highly-exposed border guard became dysfunctional and likely contributed to the ongoing epidemic of sporadic, early onset, premenopausal breast cancer among her colleagues,” Gilbertson told the Daily Mail. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Traffic fumes linked to breast cancer, new study shows

Women who work at border crossings and in toll booths...

Thirteen pounds of plastic and waste were found in the stomach a dead sperm whale in Indonesia. 

Researchers from the Wakatobi National Park, the Academy of Marine and Fisheries Community, and the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund (WWF)</a> tasked with studying the whale have not yet determined a cause of death, but its stomach contents highlight the realities of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/polar-bear-cubs-plastic-pollution/">plastic crisis</a> currently taking over our world’s oceans.

According to the WWF 115 plastic cups, two sandals, 19 pieces of hard plastic, six wood splinters, four plastic bottles, seven pounds of rope, and 25 plastic bags were found in the sperm whale. 

The whale had washed ashore on Kapota Island in Southeast Sulawesi where it was first found by a team from the Wakatobi National Park, according to the <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/11/20/6-kg-of-garbage-found-in-dead-whales-stomach-in-wakatobi.html?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1542698749">Jarkata Post</a>.

By the time the whale was found, it had already started to decompose which further complicated identifying a cause of death. According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/20/669685624/researchers-find-115-plastic-cups-in-dead-whales-stomach">NPR</a>, the sperm whale was over 31 feet long. 

Plastic is extremely problematic for marine wildlife, and this isn’t the first time a whale has been found with a stomach full of plastic. 

When a whale eats plastic, it disrupts the digestive system and tricks the whale into thinking it’s full, according to <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/whale-dead-plastic-bags-thailand-animals/">National Geographic.</a>

“At some point, their stomach fills up with trash and they can't eat real food,” Regina Asmutis-Silvia from the <a href="https://us.whales.org/">Whale and Dolphin Conservation</a> program told National Geographic. “You're not getting any nutrients in and you've basically completely clogged your digestive system.”

Our oceans are filling up with plastic. Millions of tons of unrecycled plastic and microplastics enter the oceans every year, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife and habitats. 

This latest incident is just one in a long, tragic line of the world’s wildlife suffering due to humanity’s widespread problem with pollution. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Muhammad Irpan Sejati Tassakka/AKKP Wakatobi/AP

Dead whale found with a stomach full of 115 plastic cups

Thirteen pounds of plastic and waste were found in the...

Patagonia has long involved itself in a certain level of political activism.  This time last year, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/patagonia-fighting-trump/">I reported</a> on the outdoor clothing company’s fight to protect Bear’s Ears despite Trump’s executive order to downsize the National Monument.  I also reported on the company’s support of Planned Parenthood, against protests by the Christian Action Coalition:

“When Patagonia and other companies came under fire from the Christian Action Coalition for their support of Planned Parenthood, they didn’t back down.  CAC planned a boycott and a protest. Patagonia coordinated a response, for every protestor to show up, they pledged to donate $10.00. The protest fell apart.”

Now Patagonia has become even more obviously involved in politics, directly endorsing two Democratic candidates in states where Democrats don’t always do well.  Patagonia’s owner and founder Yvonne Chouinard has called Trump’s government ‘evil’ saying in an interview with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/">CNN</a>:

“We have an evil government.…I'm not going to stand back and just let evil win.”

In response to Patagonia’s pushback on Trump’s shrinking of Bear’s Ears, <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/patagonia-versus-donald-trump">GQ</a> reports that the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources essentially called for a boycott of the outdoor clothing company sending an email out with the headline, “Patagonia: Don’t buy it.”

Now, Patagonia is perhaps throwing an even bigger political punch.  Since the 2010 Supreme Court decision of Citizens United, it seems that corporations have been free to support candidates as if they were individual human supporters.  No company has taken the step to support candidates in the same way Patagonia did in the last election, reports the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/10/19/the-energy-202-in-what-may-be-a-first-patagonia-endorses-two-senate-candidates/5bc8b2fb1b326b7c8a8d1a67/?utm_term=.cd63b5656f28">Washington Post</a>.  CEOs of companies have supported candidates as individuals and funds may have been donated to candidates but in this last election, Patagonia as a company actually endorsed two Democratic candidates.  

Candidates Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada both won their election, Tester maintaining his seat in the senate and Rosen beating the Republican incumbent in the recent midterms.

Jon Tester has faced off against Trump, and the president blames him for ruining his nomination of Dr. Ronny Jackson as his Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/07/politics/jon-tester-montana/index.html">CNN</a> reports that Tester said Dr. Jackson handed out prescriptions “like candy”, ruining his confirmation.  Importantly, <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/patagonia-senate-endorsements-2018">GQ</a> quoted Chouinard on why the outdoor brand supported Jon Tester, 

“We are supporting Jon Tester because he gives a damn about protecting public lands—and, like us, he’s committed to fight back against anyone who doesn’t.”

Trump continuously attacked Tester in speeches in Montana, supporting his rival, Republican Matt Rosendale, a former Maryland developer, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/us/politics/jon-tester-montana-senate-trump.html">The New York Times</a> reports.  This was a big deal in Montana where Trump won the state by 20 points.  CNN reports that despite Trump’s attacks, Jon Tester won his race in Montana, playing up his Montana roots as opposed to Rosendale’s connection to Maryland.  Running on his long ties to local agriculture, in a state with a lot of public lands, <a href="http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/jon-tester">The League of Conservation Voters</a> gave him an 84% approval rating for 2017 and an 86% lifetime score.  Jon Tester, a long time rancher, is said to bring his organic beef with him to Washington, though it’s worth asking how much of that beef was raised on public lands.  Nevada is another state with a large amount of public land in the contentious interior American west and another place where Patagonia supported a candidate. 

Jacky Rosen’s race for senate was also supported by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and she received an impressive <a href="http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/jacky-rosen">97% lifetime score</a> by the league as well.  A former Southern Nevada Synagogue president, Rosen beat out Republican Senator Dean Heller, who according to the <a href="https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/22/nevada-democrat-jacky-rosen-dean-heller-us-senate/1697245002/">Reno Gazette Journal</a>, hadn’t lost an election in 30 years.  

<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/07/politics/nevada-senate-jacky-rosen-dean-heller/index.html">CNN</a> reported earlier this month that Rosen won despite her opponent’s long reign in Nevada.  During the election, Trump labeled Rosen as ‘Wacky Jacky’ despite the fact that Dean Heller initially said he was 99% against Trump before cuddling up with him during his failed reelection bid.  Rosen also seemed to tap into Latino voters in Nevada, partly by making a trip to the border herself in a state not far from Mexico.

It’s not clear how much difference Patagonia made in the midterm election, Rosen was predicted to lose but won, Tester was favored to win and did.  Patagonia seems to be profiting from its political advocacy though, gaining goodwill from social media users and consumers, seemingly only angering hard right wingers who probably wouldn’t buy Patagonia already.  

Patagonia itself seems more than happy to turn its webpage into a political ad, it did for Bear’s Ears and it did for the midterm election as well.  Other clothing companies seem to be emboldened by Patagonia’s success as well and we might wonder if we’re entering a new age. Will we soon see new branded political candidates?  Will it be candidate X brought to you by Pepsi, superior to candidate Y brought to you by Coca Cola? I personally support the initiative Patagonia’s taking in facing down what it considers wrong in favor for what is right.  I’m also a little nervous about the engagement of business in politics.

In a <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/politics-is-sporting-a-patagonia-fleece-a-political-statement">High Country News</a> perspective piece, a reporter recently asked, ‘Is wearing a Patagonia fleece a political statement?’  To many, it’s clear indeed that wearing Patagonia is a political statement. I’d argue at least the brand is honest about what it represents.  There are plenty of companies that profit from war, like Halliburton, or environmental destruction or sweatshop labor. Maybe in a time when Nike can give Colin Kaepernick an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/sports/nike-colin-kaepernick.html">advertising deal</a> featuring slogans like, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” we can almost believe that corporations are willing to do the right thing, sometimes.  We should tread very carefully though if we want real dialogue, discussion and thought from our politicians and not just branding. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Patagonia gets more involved in partisan and conservation politics

Patagonia has long involved itself in a certain level of...

New Zealand’s North and South Islands have shifted closer together after the massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/powerful-earthquake-rocks-new-zealand/">Kaikoura earthquake</a>, researchers have discovered. 

The epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude temblor that struck New Zealand on November 13, 2016 was near the town of Waiau on the South Island, and land in that area has barely moved, the scientists said. But several other cities have shifted several inches, they said. The creep has not settled yet, either, they added.

The Kaikoura earthquake brought the city of Cape Campbell – at the northern edge of the South Island – and the country’s capital of Wellington on the North Island more than a foot closer together. 

Nelson, another city near the top of the South Island, sank nearly an inch. Other areas were raised by several feet, <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/new-zealand-earthquake-exposes-land-kaikoura/">exposing the ocean floor</a>.

The “creep” is the result of at least 25 different fault lines rupturing during the catastrophic Kaikoura earthquake.

“In reality we are having all this creeping going on and the question is, which [fault] is the dominant factor?” Dr. Sigrún Hreinsdóttir of <a href="https://www.gns.cri.nz/">GNS Science</a> told a New Zealand website, according to the news outlet <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us">The Guardian</a>.

Though the massive quake was two years ago, the two islands have continued to edge closer, researchers said. The Kaikoura earthquake also reawakened the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-zealand-fault-line/">Hikurangi subduction zone</a>, which could lead to more powerful quakes in the future.

New Zealand seismologists have called it one of the <a href="https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/2Wn37bnkNWWWssc2CoG4yQ">most “complex” quakes</a> on record.

“It’s fair to say that all earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 and above are invariably very complex …” GNS scientist Dr. Kevin Berryman told The Guardian. “We have to be prepared to live with a level of risk, but we should be asking how much risk is acceptable.”

New Zealand sees thousands of earthquakes each year, though only a few hundred are strong enough to be felt and few are on the magnitude of the Kaikoura earthquake. 

On Saturday, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook the island nation, striking about 160 miles southwest of Riverton on the South Island. It was followed several hours later by a 5.6-magnitude shaker 50 miles northwest of Raoul Island. Two moderate earthquakes were also felt near Tonga.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Kaikoura earthquake shifted New Zealand islands closer

New Zealand’s North and South Islands have shifted closer together...

As fans of “Dynasties” tune in to today’s episode, they’ll not only learn about how lioness mothers raise their young. They’ll also learn more about Earth’s shrinking lion populations.

The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06mvmmr">new BBC One nature series</a>, hosted by Sir David Attenborough, follows five of Earth’s endangered species: chimpanzees, penguins, lions, painted wolves and tigers.

This week’s episode shows how lionesses protect their cubs from male lions and hyenas – but those aren’t the biggest threats to lions’ survival.

Humans are.

“Down from as many as 200,000 lions a century ago, some experts believe that we could now have as few as 20,000 individuals remaining in the wild – and that number is likely to be falling by the day,” Dr. Niki Rust, a postdoctoral researcher, wrote in a review of the episode for <a href="http://theconversation.com/dynasties-lions-may-disappear-without-urgent-funding-for-conservation-107116">The Conversation</a>. “Worryingly, the general public are mostly unaware of their precarious conservation status. We have done a bad job of showing the perilous state of these big cats.”

Without funding for conservation and work by humans, shrinking lion populations may soon lead to extinction, said Rust, a social scientist at <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/">Newcastle University</a> and technical advisor in wildlife for the <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/">World Wildlife Fund-United Kingdom</a>.

Threats to the lions include habitat loss and loss of prey animals as humans develop rural areas, to farmers killing them to protect livestock, illegal wildlife trade and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asian-lion-bone-market-poaching/">poaching</a>, and trophy hunting, she said.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, she added.

“For instance, for lions that reside alongside people in areas outside national parks, research has shown that it is absolutely vital to reduce the perceived costs of lions to local people, like livestock depredation, while increasing their benefits, such as income from photographic tourism or trophy hunting,” Rust said.

Employing poachers as lion guardians in places like Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia has helped to turn around shrinking lion populations in those countries, reducing killing by up to 99 percent, she said.

Pride Lion Conservation Alliance has brought together five different conservation groups so that they can combine their efforts to protect the wild cats.

But more help is needed – to the tune of $900 million to $2.1 billion for conservation. It’s time for brainstorming to determine how to raise that funding, if people want to protect big cats, Rust said.

“An idea from Sir David Attenborough himself argues that companies that use lions in their marketing should pay for lion conservation. What is abundantly clear is that if we want lions to have a future, we must start stumping up the cash for their conservation,” she said.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

New BBC show sheds light on shrinking lion populations

As fans of “Dynasties” tune in to today’s episode, they’ll...

As temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, and sea levels rise, we find ourselves coming closer and closer to the point of no return where no amount of climate mitigation will be enough to stem the rising tides, both literally and figuratively. 

Not only will climate change threaten food security, infrastructure, and the environment, but now a <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/">new report</a> offers an exhaustive breakdown of the increasing economic costs if climate change goes unchecked.  

13 federal agencies conducted the Congressionally mandated report, and what’s most surprising is that the report came directly from a presidential administration at odds with even the idea of climate change. 

President Trump and his administration have taken repeated steps to increase fossil fuel emissions, foster fossil fuel production, and reduce protected lands all in the name of economic progress. 

But, this report, which was made public by the White House on Friday, predicts that climate change could shrink the American economy by ten percent. 

The report estimates that by the end of the century, sea level rise alone could cost the US economy $118 billion, infrastructure damage could cost $32 billion, and severe droughts and heat waves could cost $141 billion in heat-related deaths. 

No corner of the country will go unscathed as climate change could cause an increase in wildfires in both the southwest and southeast, and declines in trade and agriculture will put major stress on food security and imports. 

The report even discusses climate change impacts for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands where coastal flooding could contaminate drinking water, according to the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yvrf_jRu3ti-nAXI9-msVY8nZpRzXVvEme2H4mLbnwQ/edit">New York Times</a>.

The impacts of climate change are already being evidenced in many areas of the world, but the report says that the far-reaching effects of climate change will disrupt trade and imports. 

Extreme weather events could shut down factories abroad and drive up prices and demand for certain products in the US, and the report says that this may become a common occurrence in the future. 

“Climate change is another risk to the strength of the U.S. trade position, and the U.S. ability to export,” Diana Liverman, a <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> professor and co-author of the report, told the New York Times. “It can affect U.S. products, and as it drives poverty abroad we can lose consumer markets.”

One of the most worrying aspects of the report are the predictions for agricultural yields in the US which could decline to 1980s numbers. 

“Rising temperatures, extreme heat, drought, wildfire on rangelands and heavy downpours are expected to increasingly disrupt agricultural productivity in the U.S.,” the report states. “Expect increases in challenges to livestock health, declines in crop yields and quality and changes in extreme events in the United States and abroad.”

Going forward, it will be interesting to see how this report will fit in the current administration’s strategy. Will the news help inform key emissions regulation strategies or will it simply be ignored until the next climate change report? 

The agencies who conducted the report do offer several solutions to help limit the impacts of global warming including taxing emissions, regulating greenhouse gasses, and investing in clean-energy initiatives. 

Whether or not these suggestions will be taken into consideration is another matter altogether. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

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Report: Climate change to reduce the American economy by 10 percent

As temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, and sea levels rise, we...

One of the more outside-the-box solutions for combating climate change involves injecting aerosols like sulfates into the atmosphere to block the sun’s rays and cancel the warming effect of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. 

Researchers have been toying with stratospheric aerosol injections but geoengineering is not without its controversies, as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificially-cooling-planet-devastating/">there are a number of risks and unknowns involved</a>. 

For example, some people question if the potential costs of a global solar geoengineering project will outweigh the results.

There are also concerns that a privately funded secret operation could inject aerosols into the atmosphere without being detected. 

<a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard</a> researchers have developed a step-by-step plan for launching a future stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) program. While it’s technically possible, the constraints of current technology would require building new planes to reach the altitudes necessary for SAI. 

The researchers also say in their new study that any high-altitude aircraft would be easily detected and an SAI operation would be impossible to keep secret. 

The study was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters where the researchers examined the potential costs and technology necessary for SAI. 

After analyzing different methods for SAI, the team created a hypothetical solar geoengineering SAI plan that could start as soon as 2033. 

“Solar geoengineering is often described as 'fast, cheap, and imperfect,” said Gernot Wagner, a co-author of the study. “While we don't make any judgement about the desirability of SAI, we do show that a hypothetical deployment program starting 15 years from now, while both highly uncertain and ambitious, would be technically possible strictly from an engineering perspective. It would also be remarkably inexpensive, at an average of around $2 to 2.5 billion per year over the first 15 years.”

The researchers used data from aerospace engineering companies to help calculate future costs of what they call SAI lofter (SAIL), and the results align with cost projections made in earlier studies. 

However, the team found that these studies claimed existing aircraft could be used for SAI which is not true. 

“I became intrigued by the engineering questions around SAI and the many studies that purport to show that modified existing planes could do the job,” said Wake Smith, a fellow co-author of the study. “Turns out that is not so. It would indeed take an entirely new plane design to do SAI under reasonable albeit entirely hypothetical parameters. No existing aircraft has the combination of altitude and payload capabilities required.”

For SAIl, the researchers say that it would require an entirely new kind of aircraft. 

“We developed the specifications for SAIL with direct input from several aerospace and engine companies,” said Smith. “It's equivalent in weight to a large narrow body passenger aircraft. But to sustain level flight at 20 kms, it needs roughly double the wing area of an equivalently sized airliner, and double the thrust, with four engines instead of two.”

The projected cost of building the new plane would be less two billion for the airframe and 350 million for the engines. 

According to the study, a fleet of eight SAIL planes could be built in the first year and complete 4,000 missions. Hypothetically, the number of planes could reach under 100 within 15 years of the program with a schedule of 60,000 missions per year. 

The researchers discovered that a future project like this would not only be possible but also somewhat affordable. 

“Given the potential benefits of halving average projected increases in radiative forcing from a particular date onward, these numbers invoke the ‘incredible economics’ of solar geoengineering,” said Wagner. “Dozens of countries could fund such a program, and the required technology is not particularly exotic.”

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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

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Is a geoengineering program to battle global warming really possible?

One of the more outside-the-box solutions for combating climate change...

When President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, it drew widespread concern over what the decision would mean for the future of climate mitigation in the US and worldwide. 

Despite the President’s decree that he was elected to represent the citizens “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/06/despite-trump-pittsburghs-working-on-slowing-climate-change-so-are-many-other-cities-and-states/?utm_term=.894c5fad16ee">Pittsburgh, not Paris,”</a> the mayor of Pittsburgh himself commented that the city would remain committed to the Paris Agreement. 

And he’s not the only Mayor to do so. In 2017, a committee of mayors, city leaders, state governors, and business leaders announced plans to submit a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/american-cities-climate-standards.html">climate plan to reduce emissions to the United Nations.</a>

More and more cities are tackling climate change and taking the lead on climate change mitigation policy despite the Trump administration’s unwillingness to reduce emissions or even accept the realities of climate change. 

Can nations and cities strike a balance in enacting environmental policies? 

Helmut Philipp Aust, a law professor from the <a href="https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/index.html">Freie Universität Berlin</a>, delves into this question in a new article published in the journal Review of European, Comparative &amp; International Environmental Law. 

Aust teaches public law and internalization of the legal system, and his most recent article discusses the shifting role of cities as climate change mitigating becomes more and more of a concern. 

“It is more uncertain than ever how the relationship between states and cities will evolve,” said  Aust. “In the climate change context, but also with respect to migration, cities no longer automatically accept the authority of national governments. This raises difficult questions for international law and politics.” 

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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>

With no help from Trump, can cities lead the climate change battle?

When President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States...

Lake Erie is the 4th largest of the Great Lakes and is surrounded by both the United States and Canada. The lake supplies drinking water to 11 million people and it is a crucial natural resource. 

Unfortunately, Lake Erie is also prone to harmful algal blooms during the summer months, sometimes growing so large as to make drinking water unsafe. 

These algal blooms are driven by nutrient runoff from agricultural operations, but other factors can contribute to the blooms such as water temperature and precipitation. 

A new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://umich.edu/">the University of Michigan</a> has discovered that the blooms are triggered by specific cyanobacteria cells that lay dormant over the winter in <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/sediment-swirling-lake-erie/">sediment</a> at the bottom of the lake. 

Algal blooms are made of Microcystis, a type of cyanobacteria, and in the spring, the overwintering cells emerge from the bottom. 

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, helps explain why algal blooms are so prevalent in the beginning summer months. 

“The study suggests that the initial buildup of blooms can happen at a much higher rate and over a larger spatial extent than would otherwise be possible, due to the broad presence of viable cells in sediments throughout the lake,” said Christine Kitchens, a lead author of the study. “These overwintering cells can quickly be entrained within the water column--particularly after a storm event--and start actively growing.”

Previous studies have shown that overwintering Microcystis cells can survive harsh conditions as well as “seed” seasonal algal blooms, but it was not known if the cells were behind blooms in the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie. 

To find out, the researchers collected sediment-core samples at 16 sites across 145 square miles of Lake Erie over a two year period. 

After the samples were collected, the researchers conducted a series of lab tests to see if Microcystis cells can survive over winter and how many of the cells produce toxic bacteria. 

The researchers found that the cells could still grow after spending a winter in the water and toxic strains of the bacteria grew faster than non-toxic strains. 

The study explains why the percentage of toxic cells is higher in the early summer months, which is something the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's</a> Lake Erie monitoring program first observed. 

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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

Toxic cells survive winter and trigger algal blooms in Lake Eerie

Lake Erie is the 4th largest of the Great Lakes...

In northeastern Brazil, there exists an expansive network of millions of termite mounds so large you can see them from space using Google Earth. 

The still-inhabited mounds cover an area about the size of Great Britain, and each cone-shaped formation is approximately 8 feet tall and around 30 feet wide. 

What’s remarkable about the termite mounds is that they were formed by a single species of termite and team researchers recently discovered that the mounds are nearly 4,000 years old. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.salford.ac.uk/">University of Salford</a> in the UK and the <a href="http://www.uefs.br/">Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana</a> conducted a study examining the mounds in hopes of uncovering more about the origins of the structures and termites that made them. 

The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

[caption id="attachment_1862061" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/mounds.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1862061" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/mounds-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /></a> Image Credit: Roy Funch[/caption]

The termite mounds are not <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fairy-circles-cause-revealed/">nests</a> but instead are the result of years and years of depositing soil while excavating networks of interconnected underground tunnels. 

“These mounds were formed by a single termite species that excavated a massive network of tunnels to allow them to access dead leaves to eat safely and directly from the forest floor,” said 
Stephen Martin, the lead author of the study. “The amount of soil excavated is over 10 cubic kilometers, equivalent to 4,000 great pyramids of Giza, and represents one of the biggest structures built by a single insect species.”

The researchers collected soil samples from the centers of eleven of the mounds, and after dating the samples, it was determined that the mounds were filled 690 to 3,820 years ago. 

It’s a discovery that matches the age of the oldest known termite mounds in the world which are located in Africa. 

“This is apparently the world's most extensive bioengineering effort by a single insect species," adds Roy Funch of Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana in Brazil. “Perhaps most exciting of all--the mounds are extremely old--up to 4,000 years, similar to the ages of the pyramids.”
After dating the soil samples, the researchers were curious about the regular spatial pattern of the mounds and wanted to know if it was the result of competing or aggressive termite interactions. 

The team conducted behavioral tests with the termites in nearby and farther apart mounds and found that the termites were not aggressive with their neighbors. 

Instead, the researchers hypothesize that the pattern and layout are driven by food availability and where leaves fall in the forest where the mounds are located. 

The termite mounds have created more questions than answers, and the researchers say that further studies are needed, but the fact that the same termite species still inhabit the area offers an impressive research opportunity. 

“It's incredible that, in this day and age, you can find an ‘unknown’ biological wonder of this sheer size and age still existing, with the occupants still present,” said Martin. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Roy Funch

4,000 year-old termite mounds in Brazil are visible from space

In northeastern Brazil, there exists an expansive network of millions...

Peatlands, areas of carbon-dioxide-rich soil, are some of the Earth’s most efficient carbon sinks. Forests and oceans are also known for their carbon storage abilities, but peat can store more carbon than all of the world’s vegetation combined.

Unfortunately, this means that peatlands are also just massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/peatlands-store-carbon/">carbon reservoirs</a> waiting to be released. 

As deforestation and climate change deteriorate more and more peatlands, there’s a risk of a dangerous carbon snowball effect with peatland carbon emissions further driving climate change. 

Drained and deforested peatland can release nearly 6 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions annually. 

A new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University</a> has found that both increases in precipitation and temperature will likely drive carbon loss from peatlands in South America. 

“Global peatlands cover only about 3 percent of global land area, but hold around 30 percent of the earth's soil organic carbon,” said Qianlai Zhuang, a member of the research team for the study. “Peatlands act like a ‘terrestrial ocean’ because of their sequestering carbon, but will this large amount of peat carbon be released under a warmer climate, causing further warming?”

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers focused on peatlands in the Peruvian Amazon and used a model of the Earth’s systems spanning 12,000 years ago to 2100 AD. 

According to the model, the Amazon area studied could lose 500 million tons of carbon by the end of the century, which is equivalent to five percent of current global annual CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. 

The researchers also found that as temperatures and precipitation increase in South America due to climate change, it will increase carbon loss from peatlands as well. 

Unlike in Canada or Southeast Asia, Peru’s peatlands are still intact and free from deforestation, but the researchers fear that this won’t be the case for long. 

“If the area we looked at could represent the whole Amazonia or tropical peatlands, the loss of peat carbon to the atmosphere under future climate scenarios should be of great concern to our society,” said Zhuang. “Agricultural intensification and increasing land-use disturbances, such as forest fires, threaten the persistence of peat carbon stocks. These peatland ecosystems may turn into carbon sources instead of sinks unless necessary actions are taken.”

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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 

Image Credit: Arizona State University/Samantha Lloyd

Peatlands: Carbon sinks on the brink of becoming carbon emitters

Peatlands, areas of carbon-dioxide-rich soil, are some of the Earth’s...

To see global warming in action, you don’t have to travel far. All over the world, regional climates and ecosystems are rapidly changing due to increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions and warming temperatures. 

However, very few places on Earth are experiencing intensified climate change like the Arctic. Record low <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/loss-of-ice-in-the-arctic-over-the-last-three-decades/">Arctic sea ice coverage</a>, declines in biodiversity, and increases in surface warming are all evidence of what researchers call Arctic amplification. 

Arctic amplification refers to the intensified warming of the Arctic Ocean, Canada, Siberia, and Alaska compared to global temperature rises. 

While many models and studies consistently show that Arctic amplification is a problem, what’s driving the increases in warming compared to other regions on Earth has remained a mystery. 

Some studies have hypothesized that tropical climate changes have contributed to the intensified warming in the Arctic. But an international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ibs.re.kr/eng/sub02_07_01.do">Center for Climate Physics at the Institute for Basic Science</a> in Busan, South Korea have found that local drivers, not global changes, are responsible Arctic amplification.

[caption id="attachment_1862051" align="aligncenter" width="667"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/warming-arctic.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1862051" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/warming-arctic.jpg" alt="" width="667" height="721" /></a> Image Credit: Institute for Basic Science (IBS)[/caption]

The research was published in the journal Nature Climate Change. 

“Our study clearly shows that local carbon dioxide forcing and polar feedbacks are most effective in Arctic amplification compared to other processes,” said Malte Stuecker, the corresponding author and project leader for the study. 

Local processes can amplify the impacts of atmospheric CO2 emissions, but the researchers used computer simulations to study local and tropical CO2 emissions and climate processes to see which was more influential for Arctic warming. 

Tropical warming, as well as wind, ocean and current changes, were used to model potential drivers of Arctic warming and Arctic amplification. 

“By comparing simulations with only Arctic CO2 changes with simulations that apply CO2 globally, we find similar Arctic warming patterns,” said Cecilia Bitz, the co-author of the study. “These findings demonstrate that remote physical processes from outside the polar regions do not play a major role, in contrast to previous suggestions.”

The simulations highlighted the effects of decreased reflectivity through melting snow and ice in the Arctic which allows more sunlight exposure to the soils and surface of the ocean and increases warming. 

Heat is also more easily trapped and transported in the Arctic compared to the tropics. The unstable atmosphere of the tropics means that air easily moves to higher altitudes and a lot of that energy is lost to space. 

In the Arctic though, vertical air movement is hindered, and so the surface is exposed to more radiation and warming. Heat is also easily transported by Arctic winds, and ocean currents exacerbate Arctic Ocean warming. 

“Our computer simulations show that these changes in the vertical atmospheric temperature profile in the Arctic region outweigh other regional feedback factors, such as the often-cited ice-albedo feedback,” said Stuecker.

Understanding the drivers of Arctic amplification is important for calculating accurate future climate projections, and this study shows how sensitive the Arctic and Antarctic are to global warming. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Institute for Basic Science (IBS)

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Local drivers are intensifying warming in the Arctic

To see global warming in action, you don’t have to...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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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"

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

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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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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://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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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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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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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



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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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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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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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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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