Researchers from Japan and Thailand have found that microplastics are invading all three parts of coral anatomy - the exterior mucus, tissue, and skeleton. This alarming discovery may offer new clues about the "missing plastic problem."



A whopping 70% of the plastic litter that has entered the oceans has vanished without a trace. The researchers propose that corals may be the unsuspecting culprits, absorbing microplastics from the oceans, acting as a "plastic sink."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enormous-issue-of-plastic-pollution">Enormous issue of plastic pollution</h2>



We can’t deny, plastics have made our lives easier. But <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-are-infiltrating-the-human-body-even-the-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">at what cost</a>? The repercussions of our reliance on plastics are becoming evident, damaging ecosystems in ways that are still being unearthed. 



Picture this - an estimated total of 4.8 to 12.7 million tons of plastics make their way into marine environments each year.



Study lead author Suppakarn Jandang is a professor at <a href="https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kyushu University</a>’s Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (<a href="https://www.riam.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/index-e.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RIAM</a>) in Japan.



“In Southeast Asia, plastic pollution has become a significant issue. Collectively, nearly 10 million tons of plastic waste are dumped annually, equivalent to 1/3 of the world’s total,” said Professor Jandang.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extracting-microplastics-from-corals">Extracting microplastics from corals</h2>



To battle plastic pollution, RIAM partnered with Thailand's <a href="https://www.chula.ac.th/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chulalongkorn University</a> in 2022, initiating the Center for Ocean Plastic Studies. 



Led by Professor Atsuhiko Isobe from RIAM, the research team set out to explore the impact of microplastics on local coral reefs. The experts focused on the coast of Si Chang Island in the Gulf of Thailand, known for its reef flats and anthropological study potential.



Each coral has three anatomical parts: surface mucus on the outside, tissue on the inside, and a skeleton made of calcium carbonate deposits. The researchers developed a simple yet effective way to extract and identify microplastics from corals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-identifying-microplastics-in-corals">Identifying microplastics in corals</h2>



The team collected 27 coral samples, discovering 174 microplastic particles which were mostly the width of a human hair.



Among these particles, 38% were found in the surface mucus, 25% in the tissue, and a shocking 37% in the coral skeleton. 



The most common microplastics were nylon, polyacetylene, and PET. The findings suggest that corals might be playing a role in the missing plastic problem. 



“Since coral skeletons remain intact after they die, these deposited microplastics can potentially be preserved for hundreds of years. Similar to mosquitos in amber,” explained Professor Jandang.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-threat-to-marine-life">Threat to marine life</h2>



The infiltration of microplastics into coral anatomy represents a grave threat to marine biodiversity. As primary ecosystems in tropical waters, coral reefs support a vast array of organisms. 



However, when microplastics invade these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-seeding-increases-resistance-to-extreme-heatwaves/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">corals</a>, the repercussions ripple through the food chain. Fish that depend on coral for shelter and sustenance may inadvertently consume these plastics, leading to bioaccumulation. 



This process not only adversely affects marine health but also poses a threat to human populations reliant on seafood. The delicate balance of these ecosystems is at risk, highlighting the urgency for targeted interventions aimed at mitigating plastic pollution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-action-is-needed">Global action is needed</h2>



Recognizing the profound implications of their findings, the research team advocates for stronger global initiatives to combat the proliferation of microplastics. 



Efforts to reduce plastic production and enhance waste management systems are imperative. On this front, international cooperation is essential for enacting regulations and fostering sustainable practices. 



Innovations in biodegradable materials and increased recycling rates could curtail further environmental degradation.



By emphasizing education and awareness campaigns, the scientific community can rally public support for policies aimed at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-process-converts-microplastics-into-valuable-graphene-wonder-material/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preserving our oceans</a>. Continued research will be pivotal in devising sustainable solutions to safeguard marine biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-our-oceans">Future of our oceans</h2>



While the results are eye-opening, the team agrees that more global studies on an array of coral species are needed for a comprehensive understanding. 



“We also do not know the health effects of microplastics on coral and the larger reef community. There is still much to be done to accurately evaluate the impact of microplastics on our ecosystem,” said Professor Isobe.



The story of plastic's invasion in the oceans is still unfolding, and the role of corals in this narrative is just beginning to be understood.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969724063666?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science of The Total Environment</a>.



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Microplastics found in the tissue and skeletons of corals

Researchers from Japan and Thailand have found that microplastics are invading all three parts of coral anatomy - the exterior mucus, tissue, and skeleton. This alarming discovery may offer new clues about the "missing plastic problem." A whopping 70% of the plastic litter that has entered the oceans has vanished without a trace. The researchers propose that corals may be the unsuspecting culprits, absorbing microplastics from the oceans, acting as a "plastic sink." Enormous issue of plastic pollution We can’t deny, plastics have made our lives easier....

According to researchers at the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a>, precipitation variability over the past century has significantly affected 49 percent of the world's grazing lands. Yearly changes in rainfall are limiting the ability of vegetation to support large herds of farm animals.

Across the globe, 800 million people depend on livestock for income and food security. Grasses and plants cannot flourish in a dry season and animals suffer as well, subsequently impacting the people who depend on these agricultural systems.

The researchers used climate data from 1901 to 2014 to map the progression of precipitation variability across the globe. Their model showed that some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/increased-livestock-grazing-panda/">grazing</a> lands had experienced gradual decreases in rainfall variability, but the predominant trend was found to be an increase in short-term rainfall fluctuations.

Lindsey Sloat is a postdoctoral research associate with IonE's Global Landscapes Initiative and the study's lead author.

“Visualizing precipitation variability trends allows us to identify grazing lands that have undergone large changes - and to learn from those places where people have managed to adapt well despite increased variability,” said Sloat.

Grazing lands already tend to be unsuitable for crops because they are either too dry or have poor soils, and some grazing lands are more inhospitable than others.

Study co-author Paul West explained that even small changes in rainfall patterns put these vulnerable grazing lands further at risk.

The researchers determined that regions with high year-to-year precipitation variability support lower livestock densities. They also found the most precipitation variability in areas where grazing is critical for food security.

In addition, the study revealed that global grazing lands endure 25 percent more year-to-year rainfall variability than the average global surface land area.

“This study is showing us that grazing is potentially highly vulnerable to climate change, right across the world, from Australia to Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas,” said co-author Mario Herrero.

The research is published in in <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.

[caption id="attachment_1018568" align="aligncenter" width="791"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/163289.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1018568 size-large" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/163289-791x1024.jpg" alt="" width="791" height="1024" /></a> Areas where livestock grazing is important, economically or for food security, are mapped globally (a), summarized by country (b), and between-year precipitation variability trends between 1901 and 2014 are analyzed for each region (c). The importance of pastured livestock is defined by combining information on the area devoted to pasture and market influence. Overall between-year precipitation variability is highest in areas where livestock grazing is economically important (dark red), but it has increased the most over the past century in areas where livestock grazing is suspected to be important for local food access (dark blue). Image Credit: Nature Climate Change[/caption]

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Grazing lands are extremely vulnerable to climate change

According to researchers at the University of Minnesota, precipitation variability...

Until now, it had been widely believed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-protect-heat-stress/">plants</a> first colonized the planet 420 million years ago, creating lush, green spaces across the continents that would later become suitable habitats for land animals.

But now, new research has found that plants actually spread across the Earth 100 million years earlier, calling into question our knowledge of early Earth and the evolution of its biosphere. 

Previous theories of plants first appearing on land came from studies of the oldest plant fossils, which dated back 420 million years. 

However, researchers from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>,<a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/"> Cardiff University,</a> and the <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> used molecular clock dating methods to find that these fossils are not proof of the first on Earth. 

“The fossil record is too sparse and incomplete to be a reliable guide to date the origin of land plants,” said Mark Puttick, a lead author of the study. “Instead of relying on the fossil record alone, we used a 'molecular clock' approach to compare differences in the make-up of genes of living species - these relative genetic differences were then converted into ages by using the fossil ages as a loose framework.”

Their findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Molecular clock methodology combines evidence on the genetic differences between both fossils and living species. 

By examining the genetic data, the researchers were able to pinpoint an evolutionary timeline based on shared ancestors of fossils and living plant species today. 

The researchers also examined atmospheric data to understand how early plant species shaped the Earth’s climate.

“Previous attempts to model these changes in the atmosphere have accepted the plant fossil record at face value - our research shows that these fossil ages underestimate the origins of land plants, and so these models need to be revised,” said Jennifer Morris, a lead co-author of the study. 

Taking all these factors into consideration, the more accurate estimate shows that plants likely first colonized Earth 520 million years ago.

The research team made sure to test if different relationships between early land plants changed their origin timeline.

"We used different assumptions on the relationships between land plants and found this did not impact the age of the earliest land plants,” said  Philip Donoghue and Harald Schneider, leaders of the research.

“Any future attempts to model atmospheric changes in deep-time must incorporate the full range of uncertainties we have used here.”

The results show that land plants likely formed on Earth much earlier than previously thought and sheds new insight into Earth’s early climate and biosphere. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Plants first began covering the Earth 520 million years ago

Until now, it had been widely believed that plants first...

Biodiversity loss is occurring faster than ever due to habitat loss caused by human activity and anthropogenic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beetles-shrinking-climate-change/">climate change</a>. In fact, one 2016 study found that biodiversity loss is reaching <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6296/220">unsafe levels. </a>

Biodiversity loss can cause a snowball effect where the extinction of one species leads to the extinction of others. This effect is known as an extinction cascade because one extinction can cause more due to the gap in the ecosystem. 

Now, new research has found that extinction cascades have a higher likelihood of happening in areas where the loss of a species can’t be substituted by any others at the same level of the food chain. In other words, no other species can fill the empty slot. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> conducted the study, and their findings show that even if one species loss doesn’t snowball into a cascade effect, the loss of biodiversity creates a higher risk of extinctions.

“Interactions between species are important for ecosystem (a community of interacting species) stability,” said Dirk Sanders, an author of the study. “And because species are interconnected through multiple interactions, an impact on one species can affect others as well.”

This new study shows that loss of one species through human activities isn’t the only concern, but that one species loss could lead to more.

The researchers wanted to see if more complex food webs provided a buffer against extinction cascades. 

“It has been predicted that more complex food webs will be less vulnerable to extinction cascades because there is a greater chance that other species can step in and buffer against the effects of species loss,” said Sanders. “In our experiment, we used communities of plants and insects to test this prediction.”

For the study, the researchers removed a species of wasp from their plant and insect ecosystem. 

The loss of the wasps led to other species’ loss. The results showed that smaller webs were more acutely affected compared to complex food webs. 

“Our results demonstrate that biodiversity loss can increase the vulnerability of ecosystems to secondary extinctions which, when they occur, can then lead to further simplification causing run-away extinction cascades,” said Sanders. 

It’s a dangerous snowball effect that could wreak havoc on crucial ecosystems. This study shows the necessity of preserving biodiversity and trying to reduce the instances of species loss during a time when extinction is peaking higher than ever. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Biodiversity loss can cause snowball extinction effect

Biodiversity loss is occurring faster than ever due to habitat...

The soil around volcanoes is some of the most fertile on Earth. When ash and sediment erupt from a volcano in a pyroclastic flow, these deposits can quickly break down in the surrounding soil and form mineral-rich dirt that is ideal for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crops-confuse-global-warming/">crops</a>. 

Now, new research has found that it’s possible to mimic this mineral-rich effect and also soak up carbon dioxide by adding crushed rocks to farmland. As the rocks dissolve in the soil, they release vital nutrients and create ideal conditions for agriculture. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield</a> along with an international team of scientists and is the first of its kind to suggest mineral rich soils as a solution to help mitigate carbon emissions. 

Their findings were published in the journal Nature Plants. 

"Human societies have long known that volcanic plains are fertile, ideal places for growing crops without adverse human health effects, but until now there has been little consideration for how adding further rocks to soils might capture carbon,” said David Beerling, the lead author of the study. 

The key, according to the study, lies in adding fast-acting silicate rock deposits, such as crushed basalt, to farmlands and soil. The minerals would add a barrier against pests and disease and aid in carbon capture. 

Some added benefits of using this method, which is called enhanced rock weathering, are that it wouldn’t take away possible croplands or put a strain on water resources. 

The silicate rocks could be added to any soils, but the study suggests that arable lands capable of being plowed for crops is the optimal place to start. 

Several arable farms already put crushed limestone in the soil, so the materials and equipment needed to try enhanced rock weathering are already in place. 

Enhanced rock weathering could help ensure future global food security and provide a new outlet for soaking up carbon. 

“The magnitude of future climate change could be moderated by immediately reducing the amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere as a result of energy generation,” said Beerling. “Adopting strategies like this new research that actively remove CO2 from it can have a massive impact and be adapted very quickly.”

The researchers are hopeful their methods could be used to create nutrient soil that helps in mitigating the effects of climate change. 

“Strategies for taking CO2 out of the atmosphere are now on the research agenda, and we need realistic assessment of these strategies, what they might be able to deliver, and what the challenges are,” said James Hansen from the <a href="http://earth.columbia.edu/">Earth Institute at Columbia University</a>, 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

Farming with crushed rocks can help soak up carbon

The soil around volcanoes is some of the most fertile...

A troubling new study has found plastic particles in 73 percent of deep sea fish in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

The study was performed by researchers at the <a href="http://www.nuigalway.ie/">National University of Ireland in Galway</a> and examined 233 fish up to a depth of 1,970 feet below the surface. 

The researchers noted that a large proportion of the fish studied were smaller fish found between 640 and 3,300 feet deep. When these fish are eaten by larger fish, such as mackerel or tuna, the plastic particles are passed along.

Plastic particles that seep into the environment, also known as microplastics, can be very harmful to fish and cause severe internal damage, inflammation, and impact their ability to eat. But the trouble doesn’t stop there. Microplastics can then be passed along to humans who consume the fish.

“Deep-water fish migrate to the surface at night to feed on microscopic plankton and this is likely when they are exposed to the microplastics,” explained Alina Wieczorek of the <a href="http://www.nuigalway.ie/">National University of Ireland in Galway</a> and lead author of the study.

“Microplastic pollution has been in the news recently, with several governments planning a ban on microbeads used in cosmetics and detergents. The high ingestion rate of microplastics by mesopelagic fish we observed has important consequences for the health of marine ecosystems and bio-geochemical cycling in general.”

The widespread impact of plastic pollution continues to be felt around the world. As we <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/whales-ingest-plastic/">reported</a>, another recent study found that whales and filter feeders ingest 171 plastic items per day.

Last month, British Prime Minister Theresa May <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/theresa-may-plastic-plan/">announced</a> an ambitious plan to make the UK free of plastic waste over the next 25 years.

What remains clear is that the issue of plastic pollution will only continue to worsen until an organized and concerted effort is made to eradicate humans’ plastic dependency. 

“We recorded one of the highest frequencies of microplastics among fish species globally,” Wieczorek said.

--

By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Rory Arnold</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Plastic found in 73 percent of northwest Atlantic deep sea fish

A troubling new study has found plastic particles in 73...

<a href="http://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Institute of Technology</a> researcher Nicholas Hud says that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-blew-past-earth/">asteroids</a> are essentially time capsules that show us which molecules originally existed in our solar system. By investigating what the conditions were like on early Earth, scientists can get a better understanding of what led to life on the planet.

“We can look to the asteroids to help us understand what chemistry is possible in the universe,” said Hud. 

“It's important for us to study materials from asteroids and meteorites, the smaller versions of asteroids that fall to Earth, to test the validity of our models for how molecules in them could have helped give rise to life. We also need to catalog the molecules from asteroids and meteorites because there might be compounds there that we had not even considered important for starting life.”

Hud explained that research by NASA scientists, such as the analysis of compounds found in asteroids, gives experts an idea of what may have been present when the Earth itself was formed.

According to Hud, life could have gotten started with molecules that are less efficient than what we see today, and the molecules could have evolved over time.

"What we find is that these compounds can form molecules that look a lot like modern peptides, except in the backbone that is holding the units together," said Hud. 

"The overall structure can be very similar and would be easier to make, though it doesn't have the ability to fold into as complex structures as modern proteins. There is a tradeoff between the simplicity of forming these molecules and how close these molecules are to those found in contemporary life."


The gradual progression of molecules may have occurred at different rates in different locations. For example, different components of cells may have developed separately where conditions favored them before they ultimately came together.

“There are probably a lot more clues in the asteroids about what molecules were really there,” said Hud. “We may not even know what we should be looking for in these asteroids, but by looking at what molecules we find, we can ask different and more questions about how they could have helped get life started.”

Hud will be a panelist at a press briefing “Asteroids for Research, Discovery, and Commerce” at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Austin, Texas.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Asteroids may reveal how life started on Earth

Georgia Institute of Technology researcher Nicholas Hud says that asteroids...

Researchers have discovered that the rumbling of active volcanoes could help to predict explosive eruptions. The experts are monitoring infrasound - sound waves with frequencies too low for humans to hear.

Study co-author Eric Dunham is an associate professor in the Department of Geophysics of the <a href="https://earth.stanford.edu/">Stanford School of Earth, Energy &amp; Environmental Sciences</a>.

“Volcanoes are complicated and there is currently no universally applicable means of predicting eruptions. In all likelihood, there never will be,” said Dunham. 

“Instead, we can look to the many indicators of increased volcanic activity, like seismicity, gas emissions, ground deformation, and - as we further demonstrated in this study - infrasound, in order to make robust forecasts of eruptions.”


The researchers analyzed infrasound detected by monitoring stations on the slopes of the Villarrica volcano in southern Chile, which is one of the most active <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supervolcanoes-future-electric-energy/">volcanoes</a> in the world. 

The experts found that changes in these low-frequency sound waves represented a sudden rise in the lake level and rapid motions in the lake near the crater's rim just before a major eruption in 2015.


The researchers said that tracking infrasound and combining it with other data such as seismic readings may help to alert people when an eruption is about to take place.

“Our results point to how infrasound could aid in forecasting volcanic eruptions,” said study co-author Leighton Watson. “Infrasound is potentially a key piece of information available to volcanologists to gauge the likelihood of an eruption hours or days ahead.”

Infrasound monitoring stations at Villarrica, which were set up just two months before the 2015 eruption, captured its sonic activity before and after the event. The research team closely examined this data and found that the pitch of the infrasound increased just ahead of the eruption, while the duration of the signal decreased. 

The changes in the volcano's lava lake had been documented by aircraft flyovers. This enabled the researchers to investigate the relationship between the height of the lava lake and sound generation.

Before an eruption, seismic activity in the form of tremors and small earthquakes almost always increases. Future research will be focused on the correspondence between predictors of eruptions, such as this heightened seismic activity, and infrasound generation.

The study is published the journal <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-8007/">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sounds produced by volcanoes could help predict eruptions

Researchers have discovered that the rumbling of active volcanoes could...

It was over five years ago but it seems so very recent.  I spent the Fourth of July in a small boat out on the ocean with the other man who was monitoring fishing in a small bay on Afognak Island in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-alaskan-hunters-advanced/">Alaska</a>.  We sat in the small boat with an even smaller outboard motor, sipped beer and just took in our surroundings.  The weather was cold for those used to Fourth of July further south but it was pleasant.  All around us, the air and sea were full of life.  

Puffins took off from the water with frantically beating wings, skimming the sea surface even longer than a duck on a pond.  Puffin wings are tiny, an evolutionary compromise between swimming and flying.  To me, puffins with their bright beaks and manic flapping always resemble clowns on the wing.  Puffins can administer surprisingly nasty bites though.  I remember from my time helping with sea bird research on Middleton Island in Alaska, researchers fear of the bird’s beak. 

Gulls seemed to be flying everywhere on that preternaturally bright, cool summer day, flying with more grace and noise than the puffins.  Most people have memories of gulls from childhood.  I know I was encouraged to feed gulls pieces of bread on the beach as a kid (a practice I think shouldn’t be encouraged as it’s not good for birds).  There is more than one gull in Alaska and other northern regions, including Black-legged Kittiwakes, Red-Legged Kittiwakes, Glaucous-Winged Gulls, and Ring-Billed Gulls.  I’m certainly no expert on gulls but I have personal experience working with black-legged kittiwakes and glaucous-winged gulls.

The kittiwakes were part of a research project which involved feeding a portion of the nesting population fish additional to those they caught.  Surprisingly, the chicks which benefited from extra fish, took longer to grow and leave the nest, not being rushed into finding their own food by necessity.  Generally the kittiwakes were pretty ruthless, fighting over nest spots and pushing off other bird’s eggs and chicks to fall great distances just to lay their own eggs.  In one case I watched a new pair of birds force parents with a chick nearly fledged off their nest.  It seemed like the chick was doomed to death until the interlopers started feeding the chick as if she were their own.  

I have no such nice story for the glaucous-winged gull.  As a volunteer I collected data on nesting glaucous-wings on a rocky beach spotted with ferns and short bushes.  The glaucous-winged gulls are exceedingly territorial and will kill a chick or adult that strays unknowingly into another bird’s territory.  I was told that once a volunteer was taking measurements on a large glaucous-wing chick when the chick vomited another chicks disembodied leg onto the volunteer’s boot.  The leg still had a band placed on its ankle for research.  However violent and uncaring the glaucous-winged gull may appear though, it’s important to note that their violence has a lot more desperate purpose than our own.  It’s hard to imagine any gull killing another for religion, money or a fit of anger but solely for the cold reality of survival of the fittest.  

Murres are a little-known arctic and subarctic bird.  The name Murre actually comes from the French word for penguin.  It’s a strange comment on the history of exploration that the southern penguins would be known by the French before the northern Murre but the name appears apt.  Murres are black backed and white bellied.  Common Murres and Thick-billed Murres are hard to discriminate between, being so similar in appearance.  Murres seem so fragile, laying their single egg directly on cliffs with no plants to pad them.  Indeed many times hungry gulls will pull the nesting Murre off egg or chick to relentlessly feed.  Later in the summer one can see Murre father teaching their single chicks to swim and fish.  If a Murre isn’t taught these vital skills by his/her father, they won’t survive.  

Throughout Alaska and the northern oceans as a whole there is an abundance of amazing avian forms.  There are snake-necked Pelagic Cormorants with stubby webbed feet and lovely diving abilities found in Alaskan waters.  Rhinoceros Auklets are similar to puffins with smaller bills topped in a tiny ‘horn’, burrowing into soft cliffs by the sea where they nest.  There is the exotic beauty of the red-necked phalarope.  To those from Minnesota it might come as a surprise that the Pacific Loon winters sometimes on the open ocean; the same is true of Common Loons.  Black Oyster Catchers with their telltale long orange bills forage along rocky coasts where they nest.  Ducks include the bright Harlequin Duck, more monochromatic Bufflehead and the Long-Tailed Duck. 

The oceans of the north are chock full of abundance, a writhing mass of life in summer and seemingly empty in the winter.  Birds, fish and mammals move together in complex patterns, eating and being eaten by microbes and each other.  Life in the north seems to live in bursts, birds you watched hatch from eggs are fledging in what seems a breathlessly short period.  The demands of weather demand much but on that Fourth of July, when I luxuriated in a boat, life was good for bird and man. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Earth.com exclusive: Sea birds of the north

It was over five years ago but it seems so...

The Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-poles-flip/">magnetic field</a> is an important barrier that protects us all from harmful solar radiation. Charged particles from solar wind bombard the Earth on a daily basis, but the strong force of the magnetic field keeps them at bay.

The <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency’s</a> (ESA) Swarm mission was first launched in 2013 with the objective of better understanding the magnetic field, which is generated by currents of molten iron from the Earth’s outer core. The field carries about one terawatt of power through its electric currents. 

The goal of Swarm is to shed light on the mysteries of the magnetic field and the inner workings using a trio of satellites. 

Now, researchers are gaining insight into the complex relationship between the magnetic field and solar radiation. 

The satellites have allowed the team to closely examine field-aligned currents (FACs) across different scales. 

“We have a good understanding of how these currents exchange energy between the ionosphere and the magnetosphere at large scales, so we assumed that smaller-scale currents behaved in the same way...” said Ryan McGranaghan from <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a>. “Swarm has allowed us to effectively zoom in on these smaller currents and we see that, under certain conditions, this is not the case.”

McGranaghan detailed his findings in a paper that was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 

Despite their size, smaller currents still carry a lot of energy and impact the ionosphere and magnetic field  differently than large-scale FACs.

Colin Forsyth from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London,</a> a co-author of the Geophysical Research paper, notes the new findings were important for several reasons. 

“Since electric currents around Earth can interfere with navigation and telecommunication systems, this is an important discovery,” said Forsyth. “This new knowledge can be used to improve models so that we can better understand, and therefore, ultimately, prepare for the potential consequences of solar storms.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

How Earth’s magnetic field protects us from solar radiation

The Earth’s magnetic field is an important barrier that protects...

Submarine landslides have the potential to be much more powerful and destructive than those on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-landslides/">land</a>. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.geomar.de/en/">Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel</a> have identified one potential cause of underwater landslides.

“Searching for the causes of such landslides is much more difficult underwater than on land due to their inaccessibility,” explained the study authors.

The researchers referenced the Storegga landslide, which took place 8,150 years ago off the coast of Norway. The event triggered an enormous tsunami wave up to 60 feet tall that slammed into Norway and the Shetland Islands at a speed of around 80 miles per hour.

The authors reported that the massive landslide “affected an area larger than Scotland, and the material today covers hundreds of kilometers on the seabed.”

The team focused its investigation on a submarine landslide that took place off the coast of Mauritania in Northwest Africa. The experts compared seismic data with sediment samples obtained by the Ocean Drilling Program. They determined that a specific sequence of seafloor layers was to blame for at least one of the slides in this region.

“The combination of this drilling and seismic data showed that the slope was slipping just where a clay layer overlies ooze made up of the remains of fossil planktonic organisms,” the researchers explained.

“When a layer gives way, all overlying layers move down the slope. It is difficult to determine the composition of this particular layer because it is destroyed with the landslide.”

The landslide off the Mauritanian Cap Blanc had a maximum slope of 2.8 degrees, which is much more severe than the 1.6-degree slope in the area of the Storegga slide.

“Submarine landslides happen on very shallow slopes, often with gradients as low as one or one-and-a-half degrees,” explained lead author Dr. Morelia Urlaub. “Displacement of large amounts of sediment underwater can cause devastating tsunamis."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://geology.com/">Geology</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

Underwater landslides can trigger mega tsunamis

Submarine landslides have the potential to be much more powerful...

Researchers have found that few aftershocks take place where faults slipped a great deal during the initial earthquakes. The study supports the common assumption that areas of fault line are relatively safe for some time after an earthquake.

Study lead author Thorne Lay is a professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>.

“This intuition has been challenged by statistical treatments of seismic data that indicate that, based on the clustering of earthquakes in space and time, the area that has just slipped is actually more likely to have another failure,” said Lay. 

“The truth appears to be more nuanced. Yes, the area that slipped a lot is unlikely to slip again, as the residual stress on the fault has been lowered to well below the failure level, but the surrounding areas have been pushed toward failure in many cases, giving rise to aftershocks and the possibility of an adjacent large rupture sooner rather than later.”

The research team analyzed 101 major <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earthquakes-phases-moon/">earthquakes</a> that occurred along the Pacific Ring of Fire between 1990 and 2016. 

When the experts investigated the locations of aftershocks, they found that few occurred along the regions of fault line that had just experienced a large amount of slip. Instead, most of the activity following the mainshock had taken place on the margins of areas that had slipped.

“This produces a halo of aftershocks surrounding the rupture and indicates that the large-slip zone is not likely to have immediate rerupture,” said Lay.

The results of the study suggest that the pressure relieved during a major earthquake leads to a prevalent reduction of stress over the large slip zone on the surface of the fault. The pressure will gradually build up again, but it is a slow process.

According to the study authors, regional clustering of earthquakes is likely to occur outside the main slip zone due to increased stress. The experts also emphasized, however, that intense aftershock activity within the high-slip zone means that another large earthquake is possible.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</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

Pressure released during earthquakes makes recurrence less likely

Researchers have found that few aftershocks take place where faults...

Scientists at <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> have found that most of the large storm surges in the northeastern United States are not caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hurricane-harvey-global-warming/">hurricanes</a>, but by extratropical cyclones.

The researchers pointed out that it is important to understand the climatology of storm surges driven by extratropical cyclones to better evaluate future risks, especially as sea-level rise continues.

“We wanted to understand the large-scale atmospheric circulation associated with storm surges,” said study lead author Arielle J. Catalano. “It's an atmospheric approach to the surge-producing storms.”

Mid-latitude cyclones, including nor'easters and other non-tropical storms, are capable of generating massive storm surges. The researchers discovered some interesting trends while looking for similarities, or clusters, among extratropical cyclones. 

“The clusters are like rough police artist sketches of what surge-producing storms look like,” said Professor Anthony J. Broccoli. “Like facial recognition software, clustering is trying to find storms that look like one another.”


The investigation was focused on the 100 largest storm surges driven by extratropical cyclones at Sewells Point in Virginia, the Battery in southern Manhattan, and in Boston, Massachusetts. Hybrid systems that shifted from tropical to non-tropical storms like Superstorm Sandy were excluded from the analysis.

The experts examined tide gauge records from the early 20th century through 2010. They took a close look at atmospheric circulation during storms to find clusters, and studied climate variability patterns that influenced circulation in the Northeast.

The scientists determined that the biggest storm surges develop when low pressure systems, or slow-moving extratropical cyclones, encounter high pressure systems. This collision causes a tighter pressure gradient and longer-lasting onshore winds.

The study revealed that extratropical cyclones caused 88 out of the 100 largest storm surges recorded at The Battery. The largest of these surges was 7.9 feet, which is only 20 percent smaller than The Battery’s biggest surge that was generated by Superstorm Sandy.

The highest surge at Sewells Point was 5.4 feet, while the highest surge in Boston was nearly 6.3 feet. Extratropical cyclones were found to be responsible for 71 percent of the largest surges at Sewells Point and 91 percent of those in Boston.

“The elephant in the room is sea-level rise,” said Broccoli. “That will likely matter more than how storms may change in the future, but what happens will be a combination of the two factors.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/loi/apme">Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">NOAA</a>

Largest storm surges in the northeast aren’t caused by hurricanes

Scientists at Rutgers University have found that most of the...

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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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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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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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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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



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

[sendtonews key="sFFhiK9OOn-1720418-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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

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