The scorching heatwaves we experience, the wildfires that rage across nations, and the invisible carbon dioxide that fills the air are severely impacting our planet.



In 2023, the world saw extreme heatwaves that fueled substantial wildfires and induced severe droughts across the globe. 



What's more, these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fast-wildfires-are-gaining-even-more-speed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">adverse conditions</a> significantly weakened the land's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon. 



The result? A notable surge in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, growing the scale of concern about accelerating climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heat-and-atmospheric-carbon">Heat and atmospheric carbon </h2>



Data from Hawaii's <a href="https://gml.noaa.gov/obop/mlo/aboutus/aboutus.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mauna Loa Observatory</a> showed that atmospheric carbon concentrations skyrocketed by an alarming 86% in 2023 compared to 2012. This increase sets a new record high since tracking of these levels began in 1958.



Interestingly, the rise in carbon dioxide levels cannot solely be pointed towards fossil fuel emissions. These, it seems, only rose by roughly 0.6 percent.



So, what's the primary culprit behind the spike in emissions? It's likely due to weakened <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-fire-risk-has-grown-exponentially-in-a-hotter-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carbon absorption</a> by natural ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-weakened-carbon-sink">Weakened carbon sink </h2>



An international team of scientists backed by the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Extreme_heat_weakens_land_s_power_to_absorb_carbon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a> Science for Society Near-Realtime Carbon Extremes project - along with the Climate Change Initiative RECCAP-2 project - set out to investigate the root causes of this event.



The experts used global vegetation models and satellite data to expedite a carbon budget report for 2023.



Land typically absorbs about one-third of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions. However, in 2023, this absorption capacity fell to a mere one-fifth of its usual level, marking the weakest performance by land carbon sink in two decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extreme-heat-and-carbon-storage-capacity">Extreme heat and carbon storage capacity </h2>



“Our research shows that 30% of this decline was driven by the extreme heat of 2023, which fueled massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ultrafine-particles-in-wildfire-smoke-change-weather-patterns/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wildfires</a> that ravaged vast areas of Canadian forest and triggered severe drought across parts of the Amazon rainforest," said Philippe Ciais, a scientist from France’s Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences.



"These fires and droughts led to substantial vegetation loss, weakening the land ecosystem’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide. This was further compounded by a particularly strong El Niño, which historically reduces the carbon absorption capacity in the Tropics." 



The situation was made worse by a particularly potent El Niño, which historically reduces carbon absorption capacity in the tropics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-carbon-emitted-from-wildfires">Carbon emitted from wildfires</h2>



Widespread wildfires across Canada and droughts in the Amazon in 2023 released nearly the same amount of carbon to the atmosphere as North America's total fossil fuel emissions. 



This finding highlights the severe impact of climate change on natural ecosystems.



The Amazon rainforest, one of the planet's most essential carbon sinks, is showing signs of long-term distress. Some regions of the Amazon that no longer absorb carbon have shifted into net sources of carbon emissions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-declining-capacity-to-absorb-carbon">Earth's declining capacity to absorb carbon </h2>



The declining capacity of Earth's land ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide may signify that these natural carbon sinks are nearing their limits. 



They won't be able to continue to provide the mitigation service of absorbing half of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions.



"Consequently, achieving safe global warming limits will require even more ambitious emission reductions than previously anticipated," Ciais adds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-earth-s-carbon-cycle">Saving Earth's carbon cycle</h2>



The study also highlights that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-models-underestimate-sea-ice-melt-and-global-warming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">current climate models</a> might be underestimating the pace and impact of extreme events such as droughts and fires on the degradation of these crucial carbon reservoirs.



"Understanding the knock-on effects of climate change on the carbon cycle is imperative, and the two ESA study projects demonstrate the importance of Earth observation in developing methodologies to provide rapid assessment of these impacts globally," said Stephen Plummer, <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a> Earth Observation Applications Scientist.



"These results are particularly alarming, especially considering the difficulty the world is having limiting warming to 1.5°C, as laid out in the Paris Agreement," noted Clement Albergel, ESA’s Acting Head of the Actionable Climate Information Section.



Given these alarming revelations, it's vital that we ask ourselves: how can we contribute to mitigating these effects? Can we consume less, recycle more, and seek out greener alternatives in our daily lives? The need for climate action could not be more urgent.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwae367/7831648?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Science Review</a>.



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Extreme heat of 2023  weakened Earth's carbon storage capacity

The scorching heatwaves we experience, the wildfires that rage across nations, and the invisible carbon dioxide that fills the air are severely impacting our planet. In 2023, the world saw extreme heatwaves that fueled substantial wildfires and induced severe droughts across the globe. What's more, these adverse conditions significantly weakened the land's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon. The result? A notable surge in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, growing the scale of concern about accelerating climate change. Heat and atmospheric carbon Data from Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory showed...

Climate change could make leafy greens, veggies less available. With both global temperatures and demand for food set to to increase in the coming years, while water resources grow more strained, the impacts on agriculture and crops could cause catastrophic food scarcity.

A new study led by researchers from the <a href="https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/">London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine </a>reveals how climate change will affect the production and nutritional quality of vegetables and legumes.

Leafy greens, vegetables like tomatoes, and legumes are a crucial part of a healthy diet, however, these crops have been largely left out of climate change and agriculture studies.

Instead, the majority of research on crops show that increases in temperature and water scarcity will significantly change staple yields of rice and wheat.  

The study, which was the first of its kind to address this gap in climate change and agriculture research, was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

The researchers reviewed studies published since 1975 that investigated the impacts of environmental changes on vegetable and legume crop yields.

After examining all the past experiments and studies, the researchers then estimated how increases in greenhouse gases and water scarcity would impact future yields and nutritional quality.

The results show that if nothing is done to mitigate climate change and reduce emissions, vegetable crop yields could be reduced by 35 percent, and legumes by nine percent towards to the end of the century.

“Our study shows that environmental changes such as increased temperature and water scarcity may pose a real threat to global agricultural production, with likely further impacts on food security and population health,” said Pauline Scheelbeek, the study’s lead author.

Vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet, and many health experts and climate studies urge people to increase their consumption of leafy greens and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-and-seafood-production-have-a-high-environmental-cost/">reduce red meat in their diets</a> to lower their environmental impact.

However, this research shows that vegetable and legumes may soon be less readily available which could impact population health worldwide.

“Our analysis suggests that if we take a 'business as usual' approach, environmental changes will substantially reduce the global availability of these important foods,” said Alan Dangour, the study’s senior author. “Urgent action needs to be taken, including working to support the agriculture sector to increase its resilience to environmental changes and this must be a priority for governments across the world.”

The researchers emphasize the importance of improving agricultural innovations as well as reducing emissions and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

“This excellent review highlights that some of the most important foods, and some of the world's most vulnerable people, are at highest risk. This research is a wake-up call, underlining the urgency of tackling climate change and of improving agricultural practices,” said Howie Frumkin, head of Our Planet, Our Health Program part of the <a href="https://wellcome.ac.uk/home">Wellcome Trust</a>, which funded the study.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change could make leafy greens, veggies less available

Climate change could make leafy greens, veggies less available. With...

Scientists underestimated how quickly oceans are losing oxygen. The world’s oceans are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-deoxygenation-history-repeating/">losing oxygen</a>, but the technology to model this loss and project future rates of deoxygenation is insufficient, according to a new study. 

Recent research has found that the oceans have already lost two percent of their oxygen content worldwide in the past fifty years, and deoxygenation is expected to increase in the future. 

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.geomar.de/en">GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel</a> shows how current methods to measure deoxygenation and identify drivers of oxygen loss need improvement. 

The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience, and the research shows why current models for deoxygenation are limited while also listing several drivers of oxygen loss that previous research had underestimated. 

“The comparison with our observation data reveals various inadequacies of the models and gives us indications in which direction we must concentrate our research efforts,” said Peter Brandt, the study’s co-author.

Global warming driver of ocean deoxygenation, but because there are so many different processes at work in the world’s oceans, it is difficult to accurately illustrate the full scope of how warming affects these different processes. 

“We often lack the data or the knowledge about many processes that interact in the ocean's response to global warming,” said Andreas Oschlies, the lead author of the study. “Our study shows that previous models significantly underestimate the effects of this interaction, at least on the oxygen distribution.”

One way that warmer temperatures affect ocean oxygenation is through oxygen solubility in the water. As the surface layers of the ocean warm up, fewer gases are able to be stored in the water. 

This process explains around 20 percent of deoxygenation in the ocean so far and models are able to efficiently represent solubility.  

However, models are less able to show how warmer temperatures affect the patterns of global ocean circulation which consists of both deep and shallow currents that supply oxygen to different layers of the ocean. 

“Many models have problems to describe this effect realistically because transport processes are often not resolved well enough or reproduced incorrectly,” said Lothar Stramma, a fellow co-author of the research. 

If climate change is a major driver of oxygen loss, it will impact both oxygen and carbon storage in the world’s oceans in the future. 

“We need multidisciplinary process studies to better understand the delicate balance of oxygenation and oxygen consumption in the ocean,” said Oschlies. “therefore, international initiatives such as the Global Ocean Oxygen Network are helpful. Oxygen is ideal for calibrating models that calculate the uptake of carbon dioxide by the ocean. So, at the same time, we would improve our knowledge of the carbon cycle.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists underestimated how quickly oceans are losing oxygen

Scientists underestimated how quickly oceans are losing oxygen. The world’s...

Pope warns oil execs climate change could destroy civilization. During a Vatican conference on Saturday, Pope Francis warned top oil execs that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> could result in a catastrophe that could destroy humanity, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-vatican-conference-pope/pope-warns-energy-bosses-of-global-destruction-without-fuel-shift-idUSKCN1J50BD">Reuters</a>.

“Civilization requires energy but energy use must not destroy civilization,” Pope Francis said. 

The pope called for less dependence on fossil fuels and a transition to renewable energy. 

The closed-door conference was organized by the <a href="https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a> and executives from Asset Manager Blackrock, British Petroleum, Equinor, and other oil and energy companies had been invited to attend, <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/391470-pope-warns-oil-executives-climate-change-may-destroy-civilization">The Hill</a> reported.

Pope Francis has made his thoughts on the dangers of climate change very clear, having written <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pope-francis-calls-for-urgent-action-on-environment/">a papal encyclical </a>on the impacts of human-caused climate change. An encyclical is a formal letter issued by the pope regarding the church’s stance on a given subject. 

The 183-page call to action urged world leaders to do more, and President Trump himself was even given a personal copy of the encyclical when he met with Pope Francis last year. 

“There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy,” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-environment-excerpts-idUSKBN0OY17320150618">Pope Francis wrote</a>. 

During this latest conference, which took place nearly a year after Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Accord, Francis spoke to top oil executives about the dangers of climate change. 

Francis emphasized the issue of meeting energy demand while still reducing emissions, but he said that it was something that had to be done. 

“We know that the challenges facing us are interconnected. If we are to eliminate poverty and hunger ... the more than one billion people without electricity today need to gain access to it,” said Pope Francis, according to Reuters. “But that energy should also be clean, by a reduction in the systematic use of fossil fuels,” he added. “Our desire to ensure energy for all must not lead to the undesired effect of a spiral of extreme climate changes due to a catastrophic rise in global temperatures, harsher environments and increased levels of poverty.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pope warns oil execs climate change could destroy civilization

Pope warns oil execs climate change could destroy civilization. During...

Meat and seafood production have a high environmental cost.  Researchers have taken a comprehensive approach to evaluating the environmental impacts of different types of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-higher-methane-emissions/">animal production</a>. Overall, they found that the production of beef and farmed catfish have the greatest impacts, while wild-caught fish and the farming of mollusks have the least environmental impacts.

Study lead author Ray Hilborn is a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>.

“From the consumer's standpoint, choice matters,” said Professor Hilborn. “If you're an environmentalist, what you eat makes a difference. We found there are obvious good choices, and really obvious bad choices.”


For their analysis, the experts reviewed hundreds of assessments focused on different types of animal protein production. Also known as a “cradle-to-grave” analysis, the assessments accounted for the environmental impacts generated by every stage of a product's life.

The researchers used four metrics to compare the effects of various animal production methods including aquaculture, livestock farming, and seafood caught in the wild. The experts accounted for energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, the potential to release excess nutrients, and the potential to contribute to acid rain.Meat and seafood production have a high environmental cost


The results of the analysis clearly showed that the lowest environmental impacts across all measures were generated by farmed shellfish; capture fisheries such as sardines, mackerel, and herring; and mollusks, such as oysters and scallops. 


The research also clearly identified the range of environmental consequences associated with various production practices, and the differences were striking.

Overall, catfish aquaculture and beef production result in 20 times more greenhouse gases than farmed mollusks, small capture fisheries, or farmed salmon and chicken. 

Farmed catfish, shrimp, and tilapia used the most energy, primarily for the constant water circulation required for these systems.


Regarding excess nutrients, capture fisheries consistently scored the best because no fertilizer is used. Mollusk aquaculture actually absorbs excess nutrients that are harmful to ecosystems, while livestock and beef production rated poorly in this measure.

Livestock emit methane in their manure, giving them a poor score in the acid rain category. Farmed mollusks were rated the highest again, with small capture fisheries and salmon aquaculture scoring very high as well.


“I think this is one of the most important things I've ever done,” said Professor Hilborn said. “Policymakers need to be able to say, ‘There are certain food production types we need to encourage, and others we should discourage.’”

The researchers advise that consumers must decide what environmental impacts are the most important to them while making their food selections.


The research is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15409309/">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Meat and seafood production have a high environmental cost

Meat and seafood production have a high environmental cost.  Researchers...

Thinking twice about your grocery shopping can reduce emissions. Eating less red meat is often cited as one of the many ways people can reduce their carbon footprints and help decrease the world’s carbon emissions. 

As we’ve reported, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-consumption-climate-change/">methane from cows and the emissions from the beef industry</a>, from raising livestock to processing meat, are a major source of greenhouse gases. 

However, what is less understood is how dietary changes and purchasing low carbon food choices can reduce emissions and help mitigate climate change. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.uconnruddcenter.org/">UConn Rudd Center</a>, <a href="http://www.zwickcenter.uconn.edu/">the Zwick Center</a>, <a href="https://www.tufts.edu/">Tufts University</a>, the <a href="https://missouri.edu/">University of Missouri</a>, and the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/">U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service</a> sought to correct this and conducted an in-depth investigation into how food purchases impact carbon emissions.  

The results, published in the journal Food Policy, provide one of the most comprehensive estimates of greenhouse gas emissions generated by food purchases from U.S consumers.

The study found that purchasing and consuming less meat could have a significant impact on reducing emissions.

In the United States, food purchases accounted for 16 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2013, whereas commercial and residential activity only accounted for 12 percent of US carbon emissions. 

“We found that households that spend more of their weekly food budget on beef, chicken, pork and other meats are generating more greenhouse gas emissions. Our study shows that encouraging consumers to make food choices that are lower in greenhouse gas emissions can make a real difference addressing climate change,” said Rebecca Boehm, the study's lead author. 

The researchers collected data on food purchases in the United States and used this to calculate greenhouse gas emissions from every stage of food production and distribution. 

After completing their calculations, the researchers found that meat industries produce the largest amount of emissions compared to other food production.  However, even though beef, pork, and other red meat generated 21 percent of emissions from grocery spending, dairy products only accounted for seven percent. 

Those households that had the highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions from food purchases also had more resources and higher incomes. 

“It's striking that many of the opportunities for environmentally-friendly dietary changes are with the households that have the most resources,” said Sean B. Cash, senior author of the study. “Changes in food consumption in these households could reduce greenhouse gases by a disproportionate amount.”

The study shows how food purchases, distribution, and production impact greenhouse gas emissions and shows that reducing red meat consumption is an easy way to lower a household’s carbon footprint. 

“For the first time, our study shows the association between the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the food system, household food spending patterns, and sociodemographic characteristics,” said Boehm. “These findings can inform the debate on which diets and food spending patterns can best mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the food system while informing educational efforts to encourage low-carbon diets among the U.S. population.”Thinking twice about your grocery shopping can reduce emissions

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Thinking twice about your grocery shopping can reduce emissions

Thinking twice about your grocery shopping can reduce emissions. Eating...

Climate change is slowing down hurricanes, making them stronger. In 2017, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hurricane-harvey-intensified-ocean-heat/">Hurricane Harvey</a> hit the eastern part of Texas – including the city of Houston – resulting in chaos and devastation across the state. Much of the destruction was caused by massive flooding, which only got worse as up to 50 inches of rain fell over the course of several days. The cause of this historic rainfall was due to the fact that the hurricane stalled over eastern Texas, rather than dissipate as it moved over land, as most hurricanes do. Researchers now believe this stalling action may have been a result of the increase in global temperature, which is causing hurricanes to move more slowly.

In a study comparing data from 1949 to 2016 for worldwide hurricane tracking and intensity – known as best-track data – researcher James Kossin of the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/climate">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Weather and Climate</a> found that hurricane translational speeds have averaged a 10 percent slow down over time. 

The destructive winds that hurricanes bring to coastal regions play a large part in the damage done to people and property, but Kossin says that the speed at which hurricanes track along their paths – the translational speed – also plays a part in how much damage they cause. This is because their movement is a factor in how much rain falls in the areas they affect.

“Just a 10 percent slowdown in hurricane translational speed can double the increase in rainfall totals caused by 1 degree Celsius of global warming,” says Kossin. However, the degree to which hurricanes have slowed depends on where they occur. “There is regional variation in the slowdown rates when looking at the 10 percent global average across the same time frame,” Kossin explains. Climate change is slowing down hurricanes, making them stronger

The most significant slowdown was found along the Western North Pacific Region, where hurricanes decreased their speed by as much as 20 percent. But through further analysis of hurricane speeds over land, Kossin found that they slowed by as much as 30 percent over land in the Western North Pacific. 

In the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/">Nature</a>, Kossin says that these changes are a result of climate change. Hurricanes travel through the strength of environmental steering winds, but as the Earth’s atmosphere warms, these winds may weaken. This weakening is particularly significant in places like the tropics, where hurricanes frequently occur. Furthermore, a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more water vapor, which can increase the amount of rain that hurricanes bring with them.

Previous studies by Kossin have found that hurricanes are reaching their maximum intensities as they move further from the tropics and closer to the poles. These changes can bring hurricanes to areas that have not historically dealt with major storms before, including heavily populated coastal regions.

“The rainfalls associated with the ‘stall’ of 2017’s Hurricane Harvey in the Houston, Texas, area provided a dramatic example of the relationship between regional rainfall amounts and hurricane translation speeds,” says Kossin. “In addition to other factors affecting hurricanes, like intensification and poleward migration, these slowdowns are likely to make future storms more dangerous and costly.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change is slowing down hurricanes, making them stronger

Climate change is slowing down hurricanes, making them stronger. In...

May saw some of the hottest average temps in at least 124 years.  A new report from the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) has revealed that last month was the hottest May in the continental United States since weather was first recorded 124 years ago. The temperatures even exceeded the record-breaking heat experienced during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

The average temperature of May 2018 was 65.41 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 5.21 degrees above the month’s average temperature between the years 1901 and 2000.

There was no point in time last month where any state was colder than average. In fact, eight states broke heat records for the month of May including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia.

Across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-americans-want-the-us-to-remain-leader-in-space-exploration/">United States</a>, more than 8,590 May warmth records were also broken or tied at individual weather stations, according to NOAA. The number of cold temperature records broken or tied at individual weather stations was only around 450.

In addition, many states experienced more extreme precipitation than usual last month. Maryland and Florida recorded their wettest May months in well over a century.

In the Mid-Atlantic, many states dealt with both extreme precipitation and extreme temperatures. For example, North Carolina had its third-wettest and third-warmest May in recorded history, while Virginia's hottest-ever month of May was combined with its sixth-wettest.

As rain was drenching the East, drought conditions persisted in the southwest and the Great Plains.

The May warming trend, however, did not extend to states beyond the lower 48. NOAA reports that San Juan, Puerto Rico, saw its coolest May since 2011 and conditions were relatively dry for this time of year.

One of the most notable climate events during the month of May was Subtropical Storm Alberto. Arriving three days before hurricane season officially started, Alberto made landfall in the Florida Panhandle with 65 mile-per-hour winds, and moved slowly across many regions of the South while dumping heavy rainfall.

NOAA’s climate report for the month of May can be found <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/news/contiguous-us-had-its-warmest-may-on-record">here</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

May saw some of the hottest average temps in at least 124 years

May saw some of the hottest average temps in at...

More and more countries are investing in solar and wind power as a means to keep up with energy demands while reducing emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. 

Solar and wind power jobs are projected to be some of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/renewable-energy-creating-jobs/">fastest growing in the United States</a>, and in the United Kingdom, 15 percent of its power was supplied by wind turbines last year. 

But what happens when calm weather and wind shortages cause wind turbines to come to a standstill? 

This was the case recently in the UK, according to a report from the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5812811/Wind-turbines-standstill-wind-disappears-thew-UK.html">Daily Mail </a>, and it’s causing a steep drop in the amount of power supplied by renewables. 

A longer than usual “wind drought” due to high-pressure systems over the UK has drastically reduced the amount of power that wind turbines in the country currently supply. 

Over the course of the last week, low winds have resulted in wind turbines generating less than two percent of the country’s power this month, the lowest amount of power supplied through wind energy in more than two years. 

Unfortunately, the winds are not projected to pick up until later in June, the Daily Mail reports, and the low energy production calls into question the reliability of dependence on renewables. 

This past weekend, only 1 to 2 percent of the UK’s power was supplied by wind turbines, however, when wind conditions were favorable earlier in March, that number jumped to over 30 percent. 

If the UK were completely dependent on renewables, a wind drought could cause major power shortages. 

“The renewable energy family continues to perform well, powering over 30 percent of Britain's commercial and domestic needs over the last year,” Frank Gordon from the <a href="https://www.r-e-a.net/">Renewable Energy Association</a> told the Daily Mail. “Advances in energy storage technologies ensure energy stability to the grid, storing excess energy produced by renewables such as wind and solar for periods when we experience less wind or sun.”

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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

What happens to wind power when there’s no wind?

More and more countries are investing in solar and wind...

Gulf of Mexico dead zone growing into the size of Connecticut.  A team of scientists led by <a href="http://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a> (LSU) has predicted that a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gulf-mexico-dead-zone/">dead zone</a> in the Gulf of Mexico will grow larger than the state of Connecticut by the end of next month. The dead zone will stretch out across 6,620 square miles off the coast of Louisiana and Texas, according to the forecast.

Across the globe, there are over 500 dead zones, which are hypoxic areas that have little or no oxygen in the deepest waters. These regions develop from factors such as excessive nutrient pollution from human activities. Once the oxygen is depleted, the ocean can no longer sustain marine life in bottom water.

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is the second largest human-caused coastal hypoxic area in the world, and is about three and a half times larger than the goal outlined by the Hypoxia Action Plan.

The LSU team conducts an annual research cruise to take new measurements of the dead zone. The data is used to predict how large the dead zone will become each summer.


Study co-author Eugene Turner is a professor in LSU’s Department of Oceanography &amp; Coastal Sciences.

“The oceans warm a little more each year and currents change, making new observations a necessity. Model calibration is not a fixed phenomenon,” said Professor Turner.

Nutrients from the Mississippi River watershed such as nitrogen and phosphorus fertilize the Gulf of Mexico's surface waters, creating excessive amounts of algae. When the algae decomposes in the deepest parts of the ocean, it causes low oxygen conditions that are threatening to marine life including shrimp, crabs, and fish.

 “This means that the impacts of water quality changes upstream in the Midwest affect our coast - directly,” explained Professor Nancy Rabalais.

While the dead zone exists year-round, it is most persistent and severe in the spring and summer. Various computer models use the amount of nitrogen in the Mississippi River in May to predict the size of the dead zone in late July. 


In addition to other models, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used data from the LSU team’s computer models to generate its own prediction for the mid-summer size of the dead zone, which is 5,830 square miles.

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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

Gulf of Mexico dead zone growing into the size of Connecticut

Gulf of Mexico dead zone growing into the size of...

Engineers are pulling carbon out of the air to make gas and fuels. In the future, gasoline may originate from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-capture-profitable-business/">carbon dioxide</a> pulled straight out of the sky rather than from oil pumped out of the ground. In fact, engineers at a facility in British Columbia are already successfully capturing carbon and turning it into fuel.

<a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> Professor David Keith is the founder and chief scientist of <a href="http://carbonengineering.com/">Carbon Engineering</a>, a Canadian CO2-capture and clean fuels enterprise.

“The carbon dioxide generated via direct air capture can be combined with sequestration for carbon removal, or it can enable the production of carbon-neutral hydrocarbons, which is a way to take low-cost carbon-free power sources like solar or wind and channel them into fuels that can be used to decarbonize the transportation sector,” explained Professor Keith.

Direct air capture technology uses giant fans to bring air into contact with an aqueous solution that strains out and traps carbon dioxide. Through heating and several chemical reactions, the filtered carbon dioxide is re-extracted and ready for further use, such as making valuable chemicals like fuels.


Professor Keith and his colleagues have implemented one of the first scalable and cost-effective working systems for direct air capture. 

The team has estimated that using their system on an impactful scale will cost roughly $94 to $232 per ton of carbon dioxide captured, which is drastically less than previous estimates of the cost of direct air capture that have ranged up to $1,000 per ton. 

“Electricity from solar and wind is intermittent; we can take this energy straight from big solar or wind installations at great sites where it's cheap and apply it to reclaim and recycle carbon dioxide into new fuel,” said Professor Keith. “Making fuels that are easy to store and transport eases the challenge of integrating renewables into the energy system.”


Hundreds of years of carbon emissions from human activities can provide an essentially unlimited stock of CO2 to be transformed into new fuels, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

“We are not going to run out of air anytime soon,” said Carbon Engineering CEO Steve Oldham. “We can keep collecting carbon dioxide with direct air capture, keep adding hydrogen generation and fuel synthesis, and keep reducing emissions through this <a href="http://carbonengineering.com/about-a2f/">AIR TO FUELSTM</a> pathway.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/home">Joule</a>.

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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

Image Credit: Carbon Engineering

Engineers are pulling carbon out of the air to make gas and fuels

Engineers are pulling carbon out of the air to make...

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New way to estimate how fast magma is building under Yellowstone.  The Yellowstone supervolcano has been the focus of news stories, conversation, and speculation, as according to several experts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption/">it's overdue for the next mega-eruption.</a>

The big question then is, when will Yellowstone erupt? 

Unfortunately, geologists and volcanologists are not yet able to pinpoint exactly when the volcano will erupt, but a new study has provided a technique for measuring how quickly magma is building up beneath of the supervolcano. 

The study was conducted by researchers from <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> and helps provide a better foundation for understanding the inner workings of one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes. 

Magma building up in chambers beneath a volcano, a process called recharging, is a key part of an eruption and could lead to accurate predictions for Yellowstone. 

“It is the coal in the furnace that's heating things up,” said Peter Larson, the study’s co-author. “It's heating up the boiler. The boiler is what explodes. This tells us what is heating the boiler.”

Once Yellowstone’s magma chambers have refilled, an eruption could be imminent so it's important to understand how quickly the volcano is recharging. 

For the study, the researchers focused on rhyolite, the volcanic rock that causes such explosive eruptions. 

The rate that rhyolite is being heated from magma plumes below the supervolcano can give researchers a better understanding of how much magma is recharging according to Larsen. 

Larsen and his colleagues placed the stable radioactive isotope deuterium into hot springs in Yellowstone that were linked to hydrothermal vents. 

The researchers then recorded temperatures of the springs and calculated how much water was leaving the springs. 

Much more water than had been previously thought is flowing through Yellowstone's hot springs as the calculations showed, and the researchers were able to estimate how much magma was involved in the recharging process. 

 If Yellowstone’s supervolcano erupts, it could cause untold devastation with long-lasting impacts worldwide, which is why so many researchers are working to understand its driving mechanisms  and predict its next potential eruption. 

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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

New way to estimate how fast magma is building under Yellowstone

&nbsp; New way to estimate how fast magma is building...

UN report calls for ban on single-use plastics.  Plastic pollution has now even reached protected marine areas <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-galapagos-islands/">as far as the Galapagos Islands</a>, a wildlife reserve which is mostly off limits to humans, and as deep as the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the world’s oceans. 

Finding plastic in these remote corners of the globe shows just how damaging and widespread our plastic problem is. 

The pollution from plastic bags and bottles to microfibers are harmful to habitats as they can be accidentally ingested or become tangled around wildlife. 

Now, the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a> (UN) released a report that found that less than one-tenth of all the world’s plastic has been recycled and calls for immediate government intervention to ban or tax single-use plastic bags and food packaging. 

The report was published on World Environment Day, and is the most comprehensive review of government action to curb single-use plastics. 

UN researchers discovered that 5 trillion plastic bags are used every year and that a majority of the world’s plastic waste ends up in landfills or the ocean. 

Even though many countries have implemented taxes or banned single-use plastic bags, the UN report shows that many of these policies have not been enforced or if they have, little research exists to show if those efforts have been successful in curbing plastic pollution. 

“The scourge of plastic has reached every corner of the Earth,” Erik Solheim, the head of UN Environment said in the report. “Only nine percent of the nine billion tonnes of plastic the world has ever produced has been recycled.”

Plastic pollution is such a common problem now that the report found in South Africa plastic litter is referred to as the “new national flower.” 

As far as the biggest offenders of plastic production, use, and waste, China is in the lead, but per capita, the United States produces the most plastic pollution. 

The best course of action, as the UN suggests, is to crack down on single-use plastic bags and food containers. 

“Targeted levies and bans - where properly planned and enforced - have been among the most effective strategies to limit overuse of disposable plastic products,” the report said.

Of the more than 60 countries that currently ban or tax plastic, 30 percent found plastic use was reduced a year after restrictions were imposed.

The report not only calls for more countries to restrict single-use-plastics but also for more research to better assess the success of plastic taxes and bans. 

It can’t be denied that more has to be done worldwide to tackle plastic pollution, and the UN calls for improved recycling, incentives for not using plastic, and promoting reusable packaging and products. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

UN report calls for ban on single-use plastics

UN report calls for ban on single-use plastics.  Plastic pollution...

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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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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