A new study from the Silent Spring Institute reveals a troubling reality: almost one-third of Americans have been exposed to unregulated contaminants in their drinking water.&nbsp;



These harmful chemicals, not covered by current federal safety rules, could affect people’s health.&nbsp;



The study also shows that Hispanic and Black communities are more likely to face unsafe levels of these pollutants, often living closer to sources of pollution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extent-of-contaminated-water-nbsp">Extent of contaminated water&nbsp;</h2>



The researchers analyzed data from the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) collected between 2013 and 2015. The team looked at 4,815 public water systems across the country.&nbsp;



The study revealed that 27% of these systems - serving about 97 million people - had detectable levels of at least one unregulated chemical.



Public water systems are required by law to test for nearly 100 specific <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/u-s-drinking-water-often-contains-unsafe-levels-of-toxic-contaminants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">contaminants</a>. These tests ensure that dangerous levels of those substances do not enter our taps.&nbsp;



However, thousands of other chemicals are not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. These unregulated chemicals can slip into groundwater and surface water, sometimes reaching the water we drink.



“We know there are thousands of other harmful chemicals that are not regulated that make their way into groundwater and surface waters, and some of these chemicals can ultimately end up in drinking water supplies,” explained Laurel Schaider, a senior scientist at the <a href="https://silentspring.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Silent Spring Institute</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-which-chemicals-are-in-our-water">Which chemicals are in our water?</h2>



Among the harmful substances found in drinking water are:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>1,4-dioxane: A solvent that is considered a probable human carcinogen. It can also be found in everyday consumer products.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-filtration-system-removes-forever-chemicals-from-water/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PFAS</a> (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances): Chemicals used to make non-stick coatings and water-resistant fabrics. They are linked to various health issues, including cancer and thyroid problems.</li>



<li>Chlorodifluoromethane (Freon 22): A gas once used in refrigeration and manufacturing products like Teflon.</li>



<li>1,1-dichloroethane: A chemical used in making paints, plastics, and pesticides, which is also associated with cancer.</li>
</ul>



These chemicals are not regularly monitored by water systems, which means their levels could rise without triggering safety actions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disproportionate-impacts-across-communities">Disproportionate impacts across communities</h2>



The study found that communities with higher percentages of Hispanic and Black residents are more likely to have drinking water with these unregulated chemicals.&nbsp;



These communities often live closer to places that release pollution, such as industrial sites, waste treatment plants, airports, and military areas.



“Our findings show that the percentage of Hispanic and Black residents in a community is a consistent predictor of poorer water quality,” said Aaron Maruzzo, lead author of the study and a scientist at Silent Spring Institute.



This situation cannot be explained by income or socioeconomic status alone. The researchers suggest that systemic issues like racism and the historical practice of redlining - which led to placing industrial facilities near communities of color - contribute to the unequal distribution of pollution and contaminated water.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contaminated-water-across-the-nation-nbsp">Contaminated water across the nation&nbsp;</h2>



<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0442-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Past research</a> by Silent Spring Institute has shown that Hispanic residents are more likely to drink water with high nitrate levels, which can lead to health problems like colorectal and bladder <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trained-dogs-can-detect-bladder-cancer-in-other-dogs/">cancer</a>.&nbsp;



Other studies found that community water systems serving majority Hispanic and Black populations often have higher PFAS levels.



The new study is notable because it examines disparities in exposure to PFAS and other unregulated contaminants across all U.S. states, Tribal lands, and territories, offering a comprehensive look at nationwide water quality issues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-growing-pfas-problem">The growing PFAS problem</h2>



PFAS chemicals are more widespread in drinking water than previously thought. As recent tests reveal, many more people may be affected by these substances than the data from 2013 to 2015 indicated.&nbsp;



This makes the study’s estimate of 97 million residents likely an undercount, highlighting an even larger problem.



In April 2024, the EPA set new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strict-pfas-limits-will-make-drinking-water-safer-for-100-million-americans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">drinking water</a> standards for six PFAS chemicals, marking a step forward. However, the study underscores a larger need for federal action: regulating more harmful contaminants and addressing the disproportionate exposure that communities of color face.



“Ultimately, we need to do a better job at protecting source waters and reducing discharges of pollutants into water bodies that feed into our drinking water supplies,” Schaider emphasized.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-toward-safer-and-fairer-water-quality-nbsp">Moving toward safer and fairer water quality&nbsp;</h2>



The researchers hope that by making their inventory of unregulated contaminants publicly available, policymakers will be better equipped to create realistic plans for preventing and mitigating water contamination.&nbsp;



This data can guide efforts to ensure safe drinking water for everyone, especially those most at risk.



The study casts a spotlight on a critical public health issue: the uneven burden of contaminated drinking water on minority communities. 



Addressing this challenge involves not only setting stricter regulations for a wider range of chemicals but also tackling the environmental injustices that place these populations at higher risk. 



By improving source water protection and reducing pollution, society can work toward equitable access to safe drinking water for all Americans.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP14721" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Health Perspectives</a>.



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Nearly 100 million Americans exposed to contaminated drinking water

A new study from the Silent Spring Institute reveals a troubling reality: almost one-third of Americans have been exposed to unregulated contaminants in their drinking water.&nbsp; These harmful chemicals, not covered by current federal safety rules, could affect people’s health.&nbsp; The study also shows that Hispanic and Black communities are more likely to face unsafe levels of these pollutants, often living closer to sources of pollution. Extent of contaminated water&nbsp; The researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collected between 2013 and 2015. The...

Air quality is an issue that is demanding increasing attention from both public and scientific communities across the globe. Air quality is obviously affected by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-delhi/">pollution</a>, but is also largely influenced by weather conditions such as wind, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. 

Researchers at the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> are describing how tropical cyclones (TCs) have a major impact on the air quality in Hong Kong. To investigate this association, the experts used 16 years of global meteorological data, local pollutant concentrations, and tropical cyclone data. 

The team analyzed how the different locations of TCs impact pollution levels, including east of Hong Kong near Taiwan, southeast of Hong Kong, and south or west of Hong Kong. The researchers found that the air pollution level in Hong Kong is primarily influenced by these various locations.

The experts also determined that PM10 particulate matter pollution and ozone pollution in Hong Kong are not affected in the same way by tropical cyclones.

“Northerly wind is dominant when TCs are located east of Hong Kong near Taiwan, with the concentration of PM10 generally reaching serious levels of pollution,” explained co-author Dr. Eric C.H. Chow.

“When TCs are located southeast of Hong Kong, the concentration is generally high, associated with northeasterly coastal wind. And when TCs are south or west of Hong Kong, the wind direction is generally easterly and the air quality generally good.”

Study co-author Dr. Richard C. Y. Li pointed out that tropical cyclones are one of the strongest forms of atmospheric convective activity. While the landfall and subsequent rainfall of TCs favor the dispersion of pollutants, the descending motion in the outer periphery of TCs favor the accumulation of pollutants. 

Study co-author Wen Zhou is an associate professor at the <a href="http://www.cityu.edu.hk/">City University of Hong Kong</a>.

“When a TC is located southwest of Taiwan, the descending motion moves to the north of Hong Kong, as compared to the presence of a TC over Taiwan, reducing the deposition of ozone and its precursors from remote coastal regions," explained Professor Zhou.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/earth+sciences+and+geography/atmospheric+sciences/journal/376">Advances in Atmospheric Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tropical cyclones have a major influence on air quality in Asia

Air quality is an issue that is demanding increasing attention...

This past winter, parts of the United States experienced record-breaking cold temperatures, prompting the question: how cold can it get on planet Earth?

A new study found that valleys near the top of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/east-antarctica-seismically-active/">Antarctica's</a> ice sheet regularly see record-breaking temperatures that are nearly -144 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest recorded temperatures anywhere on the Earth’s surface. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Boulder Colorado</a> discovered the low temperatures after analyzing data from several Earth-observing satellites rather than relying on weather stations. 

The findings, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, shed insight on how temperatures over -100 degrees Fahrenheit are possible and the processes at work. 

Previously, the coldest recorded temperature on Earth was -128 degrees Fahrenheit, which was measured by a weather station in Russia’s Vostok station in 1983. 

However, weather stations are not always reliable because they can’t measure temperatures over an expansive area. 

This led researchers in 2013 to scour through data from satellites, and while initially they thought they they found new record-breaking temperatures of -125 degrees Fahrenheit, this most recent study shows that it gets even colder than that. 

The team collected data from the Southern Hemisphere’s winter season between 2004 and 2016. Nearly every winter temperatures dropped below -130 degrees Fahrenheit at an area 11,000 feet above sea level. 

Almost 100 locations around this region in the Antarctic saw temperatures at -144 degrees Celsius with less than .2 millimeters of precipitable water above the surface. 

The new study also found out how such cold temperatures are possible, again building on the previous 2013 research. 

Not only are clear skies and light winds necessary for temperatures to drop to nearly -100 degrees Celsius, but the University of Boulder Colorado researchers discovered that the air must also be persistently dry. 

Water vapor blocks heat loss from snow, and so dry bouts allow the snow to cool enough to reach the record-breaking temperatures, 

“In this area, we see periods of incredibly dry air, and this allows the heat from the snow surface to radiate into space more easily," said Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder and the study's lead author.

If conditions were to last for several weeks it could hypothetically cause even lower temperatures, but the researchers say this is unlikely. 

The team also created instruments specifically designed to operate in these bitterly cold regions and take both snow and air temperature measurements which will help further our understanding of the Antarctic. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Ted Scambos/NSIDC/CU Boulder

New data reveals the coldest place on Earth

This past winter, parts of the United States experienced record-breaking...

The <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) is one of the United State’s first line of defenses in the fight against climate change. 

Data from the NOAA has been crucial for climate change studies, and observations from previous NOAA missions and satellites show just how much temperatures, climate, sea levels, and polar ice have changed in the past few decades. 

The mission of the NOAA reflects its goals for understanding the fundamentals of climate change. The mission reads as follows: “Understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts. To share that knowledge and information with others and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”

However, that mission may change under the suggestions of Timothy Gallaudet, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere for the Department of Commerce in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Gallaudet was assigned as the secretary of commerce in October of 2017, and at a recent Department of Commerce summit, the proposed a new mission statement for the NOAA.

The new mission would completely reshape the NOAA’s stance on climate change, according to the <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/news/press-release/noaa-mission-statement#.WzGJoNJKhPb">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>. 

At the summit, Gallaudet suggested that the NOAA change its mission to: “To observe, understand and predict atmospheric and ocean conditions. To share that knowledge and information with others, and to protect lives and property, empower the economy, and support homeland and national security.”

“This is a shocking change in the mission of one of the nation’s premier scientific agencies,” Andrew Rosenberg, Director of the Center for Science and Democracy at UCS said in a recent statement. “Axing its focus on climate change and resource conservation is foolhardy. Understanding the changing climate is becoming more critical by the day, as the effects of global warming mount, and it’s essential to protecting our economy and security, as the work of NOAA has shown time and again.”

Under the new administration, there have been concerns that the president and his cabinet do not <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-admin-ignore-climate-change/">value climate change science</a> or any significant plans to reduce climate change. 

After <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/trump-paris-climate-agreement.html">pulling out the Paris Accord</a>, the president has been very clear about his priorities when it comes to climate change, and now with this new statement, Gallaudet seems to be echoing the current cabinet’s aim to minimize the realities of global warming. 

But although the new suggestion does change some crucial wording of the current NOAA mission, Gallaudet acknowledges that it in no way is final. 

In a statement Monday, Gallaudet said that his proposal “was not intended to exclude NOAA's important climate and conservation efforts, which are essential for protecting lives and the environment. Nor should this presentation be considered a final, vetted proposal,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/06/25/noaa-wont-drop-climate-and-conservation-its-mission-agency-says/731304002/">USA Today</a> reported.

Gallaudet stressed that he supports the efforts to understand climate change and protect and manage vital ecosystems. 

Time will tell if Gallaudet means to keep his word or if the Union of Concerned Scientists were right to raise the alarm. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandett@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

NOAA won’t remove climate from mission despite worrying remarks

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is one of...

A new study from <a href="https://www.engagedtracking.com/">Engaged Tracking</a> suggests that electric Tesla vehicles are not as environmentally friendly as previously reported. Despite being promoted as some of the greenest cars in the world, the analysts have found that the energy used across the entire life cycle of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tesla-solar-roof-tiles/">Tesla</a> has been underestimated.

The researchers determined that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions which result from Teslas are are not much different from those generated by vehicles running on gasoline or diesel. 

The shift to electric cars is greatly beneficial to the climate in regions where there has also been a large shift to clean energy sources. For charging stations that are used in many regions such as Britain, however, much of the electricity is still being generated by coal-fired power plants.

The total amount of emissions from any vehicle depends on the specific model. The investigation conducted by Jonathan Harris and his team at Engaged Tracking, a company that specializes in carbon-related data, was focused on the Tesla Model S.

“Teslas are not cleaner to run than the average car in the UK,” Harris told the Sunday Times. “The annual emissions of a UK car is 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide, based on an average of 7,800 miles a year.”

“Both the Tesla Model S vehicles we analyzed have the same emissions as an ordinary petrol car of 1.5 tons of CO2 per year.”

According to the study, the BMW i3 electric car had an annual emission equivalent of 1.3 tons of CO2, making it more efficient than the Tesla Model S. 

On the other hand, Tesla said the research by the London-based firm is inaccurate, particularly the comparison between the Tesla Model S and smaller cars.

“The Engaged Tracking data has been cherry-picked, and is not a valid analysis to demonstrate the cleanliness and efficiency of the Model S,” said a representative for Tesla.

“It makes no sense to compare Model S to the average annual emissions figure for cars in the UK, because that average includes a lot of smaller models that are dissimilar to Model S.”

“Any fair analysis shows that electric vehicles like Model S and Model 3 generate far less CO2 per mile than any comparable gas-powered car.”

As energy becomes cleaner, electric vehicles across the world will continue to meet their potential to pump out far less pollution than gasoline vehicles - even on a life cycle basis.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Electric Teslas are not as green when it comes to their full life

A new study from Engaged Tracking suggests that electric Tesla...

What happens if population increases and food demand result in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-fashion-rayon/">mass deforestation</a> across an entire region? If whole forests disappeared, how would it impact climate, temperatures, and precipitation? 

Researchers from the<a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/"> Norwegian University Science and Technology</a> and<a href="http://www.uni-giessen.de/welcome"> the Justus-Liebig University Giessen</a> in Germany tackled these questions by using a regional climate model to project the impacts that deforestation across Europe would have on temperature and local communities. 

The researchers ran simulations on complete deforestation and what would happen if cropland in Europe were converted to forests. 

Climate models are not without their limits, and often times global climate models underestimate the impacts of climate change at the regional levels which are much more extreme than the models account for. 

The results were published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

“We wanted to perform a quantitative analysis of how much land cover changes can affect local climate. Important transitions in the land use management sector are envisioned in near future, and we felt important to benchmark the temperature response to extreme land cover changes,” said Francesco Cherubini, the study’s first author. 

Models that accurately assess the effects that environmental and climate changes will have on an area are crucial for implementing policies that curb emissions, manage and conserve vital resources, and combat global warming. 

“Decisions regarding land uses are frequently taken at a subnational level by regional authorities, and regional projections of temperature and precipitation effects of land cover changes can help to maximize possible synergies of climate mitigation and adaptation policies, from the local to the global scale,” said Cherubini.

Land use is going to be an important part of the climate change conversation as projected increases in population will, in turn, increase the demand for food and cropland. 

The researchers wanted to see how major changes in land use would affect Europe and to resolve contradictions found in past studies that show that deforestation could either cool surface temperature or cause an increase in hot, dry, summers. 

After running their model to project the impacts of complete deforestation, the researchers discovered that it would create a slight cooling over the region, but would have bigger impacts at local levels. 

The model showed that bare ground would decrease temperatures by .06 degrees Celsius overall, but in some areas, cooling could be as much one degree. 

Even with the cooler temperatures in northern and eastern Europe, the models also showed an increase in temperatures in western and central Europe as well as more extreme summer seasons. 

“Regional cooling from deforestation might look counter-intuitive, but it is the outcome of the interplay among many different physical processes,” said Bo Huang, a co-author of the study. “For example, trees tend to mask land surface and increase the amount of solar energy that is not reflected back to space but it is kept in the biosphere to warm the climate.”

Conversely, when the researchers used their model to show what would happen if cropland were converted to forests, it resulted in a warming trend over Europe by .15 Degrees Celsius with evergreen forests and .13 Degrees Celsius with deciduous forests.

This thought experiment in deforestation shows just how much local and regional areas are impacted by huge differences in climate and vegetation. 

The researchers say that understanding how local communities will be impacted by changes in vegetation cover is important for land management policies.

“It is important to increase our knowledge of land-climate interactions, because many of our chances to achieve low-temperature stabilization targets are heavily dependent on how we manage our land resources,” said Cherubini. “We need more research to further validate and improve the resolution of regional climate change projections, since they are instrumental to the design and implement the best land management strategies in light of climate change mitigation or adaptation.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How large-scale deforestation would alter Europe

What happens if population increases and food demand result in...

City parks, trails, and urban green spaces are essential to combating pollution and providing habitable spaces for a range of animals. 

Studies have shown that walking in non-polluted areas has a positive effect on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-exercise-seniors/">lung capacity and heart health</a>, but how effective are these important green spaces in absorbing carbon? 

New research conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London </a>found that urban forests can store as much carbon as tropical rainforests. 

The results were published in the journal Carbon Balance and Management and highlight the crucial role that urban green spaces can play in combating climate change. 

For the study, the researchers used public LiDAR, Light Detection and Ranging, data combined with a pioneering new technique of ground-based LiDAR measurements to create carbon storage maps across the London Borough of Camden. 

LiDAR builds detailed 3D pictures of trees by using millions of laser pulses. The accurate tree images can then be used to measure how much carbon has been absorbed through the tree’s lifespan. 

The map showed the carbon storage abilities of 85,000 trees in the area, and the researchers discovered that some urban forests could store up to 178 tons of carbon per hectare. Comparatively, most tropical rainforests average 190 tons of carbon per hectare. 

“Urban trees are a vital resource for our cities that people walk past every day,” said Phil Wilkes, the lead author of the study. “We were able to map the size and shape of every tree in Camden, from forests in large parks to individual trees in back gardens. This not only allows us to measure how much carbon is stored in these trees but also assess other important services they provide such as habitat for birds and insects.” 

Urban forests provide shade, wetlands around urban cities help combat flooding, and urban green spaces filter pollution and offer habitable spaces for birds and other animals. 

The importance of urban forests and green spaces can’t be understated, and it was estimated by <a href="http://www.treeconomics.co.uk/">Treeconomics</a> that urban forests provide 1.33 million pounds worth of services. 

The results show that urban forests have many benefits but are also effective carbon sinks and can store as much carbon as rainforests. 

“An important outcome of our work was to highlight the value of urban trees, in their various and very different settings. The approach has been really successful so far, so we're extending it across London, to other cities in the UK and internationally,” said Mat Disney, a co-author of the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Urban forests can store as much CO2 as tropical rainforests

City parks, trails, and urban green spaces are essential to...

Animals that live in dry and sometimes barren landscapes rely on watering holes where everyone from massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/african-elephants-recovering-poaching/">elephants</a> and hippos to gazelles and antelope goes to drink. 

For some animals, watering holes are not just a place get hydrated, but they can also be prime hunting spots because of how many other animals congregate in one place. 

Now, a new study found that these conditions can increase the spread of disease, and sick animals in dry landscapes behave differently from species in other less water deprived environments. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://www.izw-berlin.de/welcome.html">German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research</a>, and published in the journal British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology.

When an animal is sick, it typically causes lethargy and isolation, where the individual sleeps more and eats less. Because of this lethargy, the animal doesn’t come in as much contact with healthy animals and so the disease doesn’t become widespread. 

However, in dry environments where water is scarce, diseases could have the opposite effect in individuals and actually, cause sickness to spread. 

“For this purpose, we simulated a population of virtual animals living in dry landscapes in which they regularly visit a single waterhole for drinking,” said Mathias Franz, a member of the research team. We observed that sick individuals, who we assumed to be more lethargic, stayed closer to the waterhole. Because healthy individuals also visit the waterhole regularly, we found that lethargy leads to an increase in encounters between sick and healthy individuals.”

Unlike in areas with ample sources of water, dry environments drive the spread of disease because sick individuals have more contact with healthy individuals. 

The results are important not just for estimating the spread and evolution of pathogens in areas with limited drinking water, but also for assessing how droughts and water shortages caused by climate change could trigger diseases to spread and cause declines in animal populations. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dry environments cause disease to spread more quickly

Animals that live in dry and sometimes barren landscapes rely...

Even if successful emission strategies were implemented and carbon emissions reduced worldwide, there’s still all the remaining CO2 lingering in the atmosphere that has to be dealt with to limit global warming. 

If the goals of the Paris Accord are to be met, it will require both limiting emissions <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-removal-climate-goals/">and removing CO2 </a>with negative emissions technologies. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://ims.ucsc.edu/">Institute of Marine Sciences at UC Santa Cruz</a> conducted a new study evaluating the potential of an electrogeochemical process that removes carbon from the atmosphere, generates hydrogen for fuel, and counters ocean acidification. 

The results were published in the journal Nature Climate and found that the electrogeochemical technology could be a more energy efficient and cost-effective alternative to other popular negative emissions options being developed. 

Ocean acidification is one of the major drivers of coral bleaching, and electrogeochemistry could restore alkalinity to the world’s oceans by using electricity produced from saline water to generate hydrogen and oxygen. 

The process would also absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and balance ocean pH. 

“It not only reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide, it also adds alkalinity to the ocean, so it's a two-pronged benefit,” said Greg Rau, the first author of the study. “The process simply converts carbon dioxide into a dissolved mineral bicarbonate, which is already abundant in the ocean and helps counter acidification.”

Currently, the most popular option for negative emissions is "biomass energy plus carbon capture and storage" or BECCS, which involves growing biomass like trees to capture emissions. 

However, the resulting emissions from BECCS would have to be buried underground, and it’s not as effective as electrogeochemistry, according to Rau. 

The study found that electrogeochemistry could increase carbon removal and energy production more than 50 times what BECCS could do and at a much a lower cost. 

Because more investment and time has been put in BECCS, the biomass method is quicker to being implemented in the real-world and some biomass plants are already under operation. 

Electrogeomechsty, on the other hand, has only been tested in a lab scenario and the researchers note that more work is necessary before it can be considered as a feasible option for negative emissions. 

“It's early days in negative emissions technology, and we need to keep an open mind about what options might emerge,” said Rau. “We also need policies that will foster the emergence of these technologies.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

New process can capture CO2 while countering ocean acidification

Even if successful emission strategies were implemented and carbon emissions...

Mosquitoes are known to host some of the world’s most dangerous viruses, but a team of scientists say they could soon be used to eradicate malaria. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/malaria-india-mosquitoes-cattle/">Malaria</a> kills roughly 830,000 people every year, and according to the <a href="http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/">World Health Organization</a>, nearly half of the world’s population is at risk from Malaria. 

The UK group <a href="https://www.oxitec.com/oxitec-to-apply-new-generation-of-self-limiting-mosquito-technology-to-malaria-spreading-mosquitoes/">Oxitec</a>, which previously developed a bioengineered mosquito that could potentially stop the spread of the Zika and dengue fever in South America, have now created a second generation “friendly mosquito” whose purpose is eradicating malaria. 

According to <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/engineered-mosquitoes-backed-bill-and-melinda-gates-wipe-out-malaria-990338">Newsweek</a>, Oxitec is creating a kind of vector control by using engineered male mosquitoes whose female offspring will die before reaching adulthood. 

Male mosquito offspring will live into adulthood and pass on the gene to other female mosquitoes, causing their female offspring to die and so on. Only female mosquitoes require a blood meal and thereby pass on diseases to humans when feeding. 

Oxitec created self-limiting gene technology which was successfully proven to reduce the spread of dengue fever, and now the company recently announced that it will be expanding its friendly mosquito to target malaria. 

A four million dollar donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation makes the new Oxitec project possible. 

“With the support and partnership of the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Oxitec is entering the fight against malaria with a powerful, innovative vector control technology,” said Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec. “We’ve built a strong, proven biological engineering platform capable of developing self-limiting mosquito strains that can be used to combat specific disease-spreading species. We’re now leveraging that platform to contribute to the fight against mosquitoes that transmit malaria.” 

The Gates have been dedicated to eradicating malaria and have donated billions to improving global healthcare and reducing poverty, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/15/bill-gates-charity-donation-microsoft-shares-foundation">the Guardian. </a>

Oxitec will begin field trials in 2020, although the company has already faced pushback from local communities in the Florida Keys who banned trials in their areas due to concerns about genetic modification. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Could genetically engineered mosquitoes eradicate malaria?

Mosquitoes are known to host some of the world’s most...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> has found that the earliest forms of life on Earth grew larger as a means of species distribution. The experts found that the most successful complex organisms living more than half a billion years ago did not get bigger as a means of competing, but grew larger so that they were able to expand their colonies across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-underestimated-how-quickly-oceans-are-losing-oxygen/">ocean</a>.

During the Ediacaran period, which ended around 541 million years ago, organisms appeared for the first time that were larger than microscopic in size. Some of these complex organisms, such as rangeomorphs, grew as tall as two meters. 

Rangeomorphs may have been some of the first animals to exist, but they did not have organs or mouths or any method of mobility. This means that they most likely depended on absorbing nutrients in the water around them.

Today, plants get bigger as a result of intense competition for resources such as light, and taller trees or plants have an obvious advantage. 

“We wanted to know whether there were similar drivers for organisms during the Ediacaran period,” said study lead author Dr. Emily Mitchell. “Did life on Earth get big as a result of competition?”

The investigation was focused on fossils from Mistaken Point in southeastern Newfoundland, which is one of the richest sites of Ediacaran fossils in the world.


Early research assumed that there was heavier competition for nutrients at different water depths. The current study has demonstrated, however, that the Ediacaran oceans were very well-stocked with food.

“The oceans at the time were very rich in nutrients, so there wasn't much competition for resources, and predators did not yet exist,” said Dr. Mitchell. “So there must have been another reason why life forms got so big during this period.”

The researchers used spatial analysis techniques to analyze entire populations of Ediacaran organisms. They found that there was no correlation between height and competition for food.

“If they were competing for food, then we would expect to find that the organisms with stems were highly tiered,” explained study co-author Dr. Charlotte Kenchington. “But we found the opposite: the organisms without stems were actually more tiered than those with stems, so the stems probably served another function.”

The researchers believe that the stems grew longer to enable the greater dispersion of offspring, which rangeomorphs produced by expelling small propagules. The tallest individuals were surrounded by the largest clusters of offspring, indicating that the benefit of height was the development of bigger colonies.

“While taller organisms would have been in faster-flowing water, the lack of tiering within these communities shows that their height didn't give them any distinct advantages in terms of nutrient uptake,” said Dr. Mitchell. “Instead, reproduction appears to have been the main reason that life on Earth got big when it did.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</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: Emily Mitchell

First complex life on Earth grew larger in order to spread out

A new study led by the University of Cambridge has...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.pik-potsdam.de/pik-frontpage">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</a> (PIK) have found that the amount of coal power still being used across the globe is likely to put the climate targets established in Paris out of reach, regardless of the expanse of clean energy. 

Across many industries, decarbonization is not as simple as it is in others. This investigation is the first to focus on those sectors whose systems are not as easily transformed to clean forms of power.

Study co-author Shinichiro Fujimori is a researcher at the <a href="http://www.nies.go.jp/index-e.html">National Institute for Environmental Studies</a> (NIES) and Kyoto University in Japan.

“We wanted to decipher what really makes the difference in terms of carbon budgets and residual emissions,” explained Fujimori.

“To identify crucial decarbonization bottlenecks towards 1.5-2°C stabilization, we focused on the role of fossil fuel emissions that originate in industries like cement or steel making, fuel our transport sector from cars to freight to aviation and goes into heating our buildings.”

“These sectors are much more complicated to decarbonize than our energy supply, as there are no such obvious options available as wind and solar electricity generation.”


These are the activities that ultimately affect estimates of how much carbon dioxide will be emitted within this century, how much the world will have to rely on negative emissions, and if the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/paris-agreement-climate-goals/">Paris climate targets</a> will be feasible.

According to the study, to stay within the 1.5°C target limit, the remaining cumulative carbon budget could be as low as 200 gigatons of CO2 between now and the end of this century. However, at the current rate, 4.000 gigatons of CO2 will be emitted by 2100. The researchers concluded that negative emissions have now become mandatory.

“We found that even with enormous efforts by all countries, including early and substantial strengthening of the intended nationally determined contributions (the NDCs), our calculations show that residual fossil carbon emissions will remain at about 1000 Gigatons of CO2,” explained study lead author Gunnar Luderer from the PIK. 

“This seems to be a lower end of what can be achieved with even the most stringent climate policies, because much of the residual emissions are already locked-into the system due to existing infrastructures and dependencies on fossil fuels.” 

“To aim for the ambitious 1.5°C target for end-of-century warming would mean that an incredibly huge amount of at least 600 Gigatons of CO2 removal was required. So negative emissions are no longer a choice but rather a necessity.”

Study co-author Elmar Kriegler said that climate mitigation is a complex problem that, in the end, boils down to simple math.

“If the Paris targets are to be met, future CO2 emissions have to be kept within a finite budget,” said Kriegler. “The more the budget is overrun, the more relevant will carbon dioxide removal technologies become, and those come with great uncertainties.” 

“While it may still be difficult to determine the exact remaining CO2 budget for 1.5°C, one thing is very clear: Ambitions to reduce fossil fuel emissions have to be ramped up substantially and soon to keep doors open to meet the Paris targets.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</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

Carbon removal will be needed to meet global climate goals

Researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)...

Wilderness is a quickly disappearing place and the wild a quickly vanishing experience.  The Amazon is becoming <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amazon-deforestation-happening-officially-documented/">deforested</a>, tourists are overrunning American National Parks, even nominally wild animals are often radio collared and tracked.  What is left for those loving wild places and wild things? Where can we turn for the experience of the wild?

Venturing into wilder places and locales far from the comforts of home can be perilous, especially in the tropics, the area with the largest abundance of biodiversity.  I met a researcher in the rainforests of Equatorial Guinea who was diagnosed with ulcers. For years she took ulcer medicine until the diagnosis changed, it turned out she had a parasite the whole time.  My fiancé Erin told me of an epidemiologist college professor of hers who diagnosed herself with malaria. The doctors in the U.S. wouldn’t believe she had Malaria. 

I have my own tale.  A couple years back, Erin and I co-managed a nature reserve in the cloud forest of Ecuador.  One night after using the toilet, I found that something resembling an earth worm had come out of me.  I spent a sleepless night tossing and turning, imagining worms wriggling in my gut. The next day I hiked into town and got into a free clinic where they diagnosed me with a parasitic amoeba.  A week on antibiotics and I was again fine. Recently I drank high elevation untreated water in Mexico, filtered through a cave system, the water should be exceedingly clean but who knows what new organism could be growing inside me now?           

Your body is teeming with life and most of it is not your own.  Recently, I read an interview with ecosophist Jack Turner in The Sun Magazine, and when asked what exactly Turner meant by ‘wild’ he responded eloquently, saying it’s the opposite of control and then elaborated with examples:

“You can see wildness in the movement of glaciers, or you can track it in star-forming regions in the Orion Nebula. Wildness is everywhere. It starts with microscopic particles, and it goes more than 13 billion light-years into the cosmos. It’s in the soil and in the air, it’s on our hands, it’s in our immune systems, it’s in our lungs — where there are two thousand bacteria per square centimeter! In a certain respect, much of what we consider us is in fact not us. We breathe, and wildness comes in. We don’t control it.”   

According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikipedia</a>, earlier estimations found that there were ten times as many non-human cells as human cells in the body.  Newer and presumably more accurate estimations peg the number lower at three non-human cells to each human cell or perhaps about an equal number of each.  Either way, it’s clear there are many, many other organisms living in the bodies we call our own. We are in fact ecosystems as much as we are organisms. 

Most of us have probably had the experience of finding a tick on their skin.  Recently in the Mexican rainforest, I picked 15 of the blood suckers off myself in one day, and luckily none of them had attached themselves yet.  Leeches are also a common and easily recognized external parasite; there are however, unnoticed around a thousand species of bacteria living on your skin.  Most of the bacteria on your skin aren’t parasitic though, many are actually beneficial. The normal bacteria of your skin can actually prevent pathogens from colonizing your skin instead.  Imagine the porous, textured skin you take for granted, punctuated by the eruption of enormous hair follicles as a sort of forest or perhaps a desert sparsely planted but very much inhabited by strange creatures.  Interestingly, it seems that each part of your body may be a different microhabitat with a different set of bacteria living on it. The bacteria on your head are probably not the same bacteria on your feet. 

According to an article in <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>, there are 100,000 billion bacteria in our guts.  The bacteria we host inside us are mostly organisms we have a long evolutionary history with, many help us.  Bacteria are essential to digesting food. There are at least three types of ecosystems found in the human digestive tract.  The differences in the ecology of different people’s guts may explain things like how individual bodies react to diseases or drugs. 

The different microbes living on and within us mostly maintain themselves in a harmonious balance, fitting exactly with Jack Turner’s definition of wildness, 

“…something that is self-willed, autonomous, self-organized. Basically it’s the opposite of controlled.”      

We don’t control the life inside us any more than we can ride wild grizzly bears.  I remember a slideshow I sat through when taking an undergraduate mycology class. It highlighted the many fungal infections a human can suffer.  It’s possible to get a yeast infection on your face. The weird thing about this is that there are any fungi on and in the human body all the time.  One study found 14 genera of fungi living between the toes of 100 adults. Our lungs inhale fungi all the time, if you don’t believe it get a petri dish with a medium fungi like to grow on, sterilize it and let it sit out anywhere.  Fungi will grow on the medium just by floating down on it from the surrounding air, within 24 hours you’re guaranteed to find something. It’s even more sure than finding pigeons in a park. If the ecosystem of your body becomes imbalanced, if your immune system is weak, then you can have problems.  Fungi infections to the degree I saw in that slide show are mostly rare because the ecosystem of our bodies regulates itself amazingly well. 

The level of control we exert on places like national forests, with their manicured trails, populations of deer closely monitored and trees replanted like crops in a farm hasn’t yet been reached in the human body.  Much of what we know about our deep symbiosis with bacteria, fungi and other microbes is very new and not deeply understood. What’s important is how our own lives and our definition of life should be rethought. We are in the habit of thinking of ourselves as distinct organisms and Homo sapiens as a distinct species.  It’s clear that there are actually no distinct species; everything from the tiniest of microbes to whales is part of a complex, thriving system and humans are no different.  The idea makes one think about things as big as the Gaiea Hypothesis, the idea that the whole planet is one super organism. To me it’s a comfort to think of myself not alone but enmeshed in a vast fabric of living and non-living things that make up not only the world but the entire cosmos.  In his book On Trails, Robert Moor describes well the amazing beauty of the human wilderness:

“I suddenly became aware of my own complexity: a riverine inner landscape swimming with cells both native and foreign; varied tissues clinging to and pulling against an architecture of bone; a digestive tract breaking down a bolus of plant material; two feet pressed against the earth; two nostrils sucking and spouting air; and in between, a branching network of nerves flickering with electricity in a furious effort to make sense of it all.  Inside the human body lies a realm of perpetual darkness and riotous life, much of it still unexplored. We are, each of us, wild to our marrow.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The internal wilderness: Your body as a habitat for organisms

Wilderness is a quickly disappearing place and the wild a...

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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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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



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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



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

[sendtonews key="u0TYxxqfF7-2186404-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA’s...