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....

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deadly-heatwaves-rise-emission/">Heat stress</a> can have a devastating effect on plant growth and development, and can greatly reduce crop yields. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> set out to gain a better understanding of how plants sense and respond to heat stress.

Plants respond to heat differently during the day compared to night time, and plants have a much better chance of survival when they are exposed to heat during the day. This is because they have adapted a cycle of resistance that helps them to endure the hottest hours of the day.

Plants use their sense of temperature to activate the production of protective heat shock proteins (HSP), yet the signaling process involved in this activation process is a mystery. Previous research has indicated that heat resistance is triggered in plants when they are exposed to light and then deactivated in the darkness.

“I was quite interested in how plants respond to their environment and was surprised that there was so much to be learned about how plants sense and respond to temperature,” said study co-author Patrick Dickinson. “There is a lot known about how plant and animal cells respond to extreme heat stress, but not much was known about their response to ambient heat or how they regulate their response to heat between day and night."

Dr. Dickinson found that chloroplast genes are linked to plant stress response. He discovered that the chloroplast sends a signal in response to light, and this signal activates gene expression in the nucleus which protects the plant from heat stress.

“There is some sort of signal coming initially from the photosynthetic electron transport chain, which is communicated to the nucleus to activate the gene expression, but what that signal is is not clear yet,” explained Dr. Dickinson.

“It could possibly be hydrogen peroxide because that has been shown to move from the chloroplast to the nucleus to initiate signalling, but there is still a lot more that needs to be looked at to confirm the nature of the signalling.”

Study supervisor Dr. Phil Wigge stressed the importance of identifying the genes that are involved in the heat resistance of plants.

“Many of the crops being grown around the world today are already being grown at the top of their comfort zone in terms of temperature,” said Dr. Wigge. “There is actually an estimate that for major crops like wheat, rice and maize, that every degree Celsius rise in temperature above current temperatures could potentially decrease crop yields by between 3-7% due to thermal stress.”

“The contribution that we are trying to make in the lab is to understand the molecules and the underlying mechanisms that control how a plant senses temperature and the genes that are required for a plant to adapt to higher temperatures. And we hope that we can then use that information to discover the same genes in crop plants and see if those genes can be used to make crop plants more resilient to heat stress."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home">Cell Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How plants protect themselves from heat stress

Heat stress can have a devastating effect on plant growth...

A new study has found that contrary to many previous climate studies, lightning strikes will occur much less frequently even under the worst case climate change scenarios where temperatures increase by five degrees Celsius by the year 2100. 

Researchers from the Universities of <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">Edinburgh</a>, <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/">Leeds</a>, and <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster</a> found that many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worst-case-climate-unlikely/">climate change</a> studies that project an increase in lightning strikes don’t take into account the decrease in cloud ice. 

Climate change is predicted to increase storms and extreme weather events, cause drought, wildfires, heat waves, and sea level rise as well as habitat degradation and coastal flooding. 

However, in a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the researchers found that decreased cloud ice due to increased temperatures will likely lead to a 15 percent decrease in lightning strikes. 

As tiny ice particles form and move within the clouds, it builds up an electrical charge in the particles. When it rains or storms, the release of the particles causes the electrical charge to create lighting and thunder.

For the study, the researchers created a method that calculated cloud ice and factored in the cloud ice relationship on future lightning strikes under worst-case scenario conditions. 

Fewer lightning strikes mean fewer natural wildfires and damage to power lines and buildings. 

According to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5381867/Global-warming-reduce-lightning-strikes.html">Daily Mail</a>, in the US alone lightning strikes cause anywhere between $5 to $6 billion in damage each year.

The results show how worst-case scenarios and climate change projections, while important to understanding the effects of warming temperatures, don’t always consider all the factors that should be accounted for. 

“'In previous studies of the impact of climate change on lightning, researchers often didn't include consideration of changes in cloud ice,” Declan Finney, a member of the researcher team, told <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5381867/Global-warming-reduce-lightning-strikes.html">Daily Mail</a>.  “This research questions the reliability of previous projections of lightning, and encourages further study into the effects of climate change on cloud ice and lightning.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change will decrease the number of lightning strikes

A new study has found that contrary to many previous...

In an effort to combat <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/china-air-pollution-years/">air pollution</a> and climate change, China is planning to construct the world's first city that is made up of vertical forests. Every building in the Liuzhou Forest City including houses and schools will be covered entirely in plants and trees.

The forest will include almost a million plants of 100 species and tens of thousands of trees. Nearly 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 57 tons of pollutants will be absorbed by the massive collection of greenery, while approximately 900 tons of oxygen will be generated.

The city will be north of Liuzhou in a mountainous region of southern China along the Liujiang river. It will cover around 342 acres with over 70 buildings. 

Around 30,000 residents will have electricity provided by solar panels and air conditioning powered by geothermal energy. Forest City will also have a fast rail line that connects to Liuzhou for electric cars.

The green city was designed at <a href="https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/">Stefano Boeri Architetti</a>, a Milan-based studio of architecture founded by Stefano Boeri. In addition to curbing air pollution, the abundant vegetation is expected to reduce noise pollution, promote cooler temperatures, and improve biodiversity in the region.

Stefano Boeri explained: “For the first time in China and in the world, an innovative urban settlement will combine the challenge for energy self-sufficiency and for the use of renewable energy with the challenge to increase biodiversity and to effectively reduce air pollution in urban areas - which is really critical for present-day China - thanks to the multiplication of vegetable and biological urban surfaces.”

The Liuzhou Municipality Urban Planning Bureau has approved the plan, and construction will begin in the year 2020.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Stefano Boeri Architetti

China is set to construct the world’s greenest city

In an effort to combat air pollution and climate change,...

Experts at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado at Boulder</a> are reporting that sea level rise is steadily accelerating every year. The researchers analyzed 25 years of satellite data and estimated that this rate is climbing by about 0.08 mm annually.

“This acceleration, driven mainly by accelerated melting in Greenland and Antarctica, has the potential to double the total sea level rise by 2100 as compared to projections that assume a constant rate--to more than 60 cm instead of about 30,” said lead author Steve Nerem. 

“And this is almost certainly a conservative estimate. Our extrapolation assumes that sea level continues to change in the future as it has over the last 25 years. Given the large changes we are seeing in the ice sheets today, that's not likely.”

At the current rate, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cities-sea-levels-rise/">sea level</a> would rise 26 inches by the end of the century. Increasing air and ocean temperatures cause land ice to melt, which contributes to sea level rise. In addition, warmer water expands and the researchers found that this thermal expansion is responsible for about half of the global sea-level rise that has occurred over the last 25 years.

Estimating the acceleration of sea level rise is challenging, primarily because the rate can fluctuate as a result of ENSO cycles and volcanic eruptions. For example, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 significantly decreased the global mean sea level. The team used climate models to account for these influences.

The experts also used data from the GRACE satellite gravity mission, which revealed that the acceleration is largely being driven by melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica.

“This study highlights the important role that can be played by satellite records in validating climate model projections,” said co-author John Fasullo. “It also demonstrates the importance of climate models in interpreting satellite records, such as in our work where they allow us to estimate the background effects of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo on global sea level.”

The researchers plan to expand upon this study using a longer time frame. They will also examine regional sea level rise in order to make better predictions on how specific coastal areas will be impacted.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sea level rise is steadily accelerating every year

Experts at the University of Colorado at Boulder are reporting...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.jic.ac.uk/">John Innes Centre</a> in England set out to examine how changing environmental conditions affect seed dispersal in plants. They found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2017-second-hottest-year-2/">rising temperatures</a> will cause many species of crops in the cabbage and mustard family to prematurely release seeds, which is detrimental to the reproductive process.

“In many crops, such as oilseed rape, premature seed dispersal is one of the major causes of crop loss. In the context of climate change, this could become increasingly severe,” explained co-author Vinod Kumar. “This study exposes the potential vulnerabilities of crop production in the warming world and paves the way for addressing this problem.”

Plants adjust their cycles according to a range of environmental conditions. They endure daily changes in weather and temperature, yet remain aligned with the seasons.

“Seed dispersal is also a key trait that must be controlled when domesticating plants for food production,” said co-senior author Lars Ostergaard. “With the prospect of climate change affecting crop performance, we wanted to understand how environmental signals such as temperature affect seed dispersal.”

The team focused its investigation on Arabidopsis plants, which belong to the mustard or cabbage family. When the researchers exposed the plants to temperatures elevated from 22 degrees Celsius to 27 degrees Celsius, they found that the plants opened their seed pods earlier and released seeds.

The experts determined that the rise in temperature had promoted the expression of the INDEHISCENT gene, which is known to regulate the development of seed pod tissue and promote fruit opening.

“We speculate that such mechanisms have evolved to facilitate proper seasonal timing of dispersal to ensure that seeds are released under conditions that are both timely and climatically optimal for germination,” said study first author Xin-Ran Li. “There could perhaps be a selective advantage in early maturation and dispersal in the wild."

The researchers plan to further investigate the mechanisms involved when seed dispersal is altered by elevated temperatures.

“We are hopeful that by understanding this in detail, we will be better equipped to devise strategies to breed for crop resilience to climate change,” said Ostergaard.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/molecular-plant/home">Molecular Plant</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

These crops will confuse global warming with change of season

Researchers at the John Innes Centre in England set out...

Climatologists rely on future climate projections and emission levels to assess how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> will impact the globe and what conditions will look like if emissions are not reduced. 

These projections rely on past data from the known climate record and current and future estimates of energy use. The climate scenarios also show a stark and sobering future if more is not done to mitigate climate change and reduce carbon emissions. 

As it stands today, there are four main scenarios that climatologists use for their research. These  scenarios are based on Representative Concentration Pathways, or RCPs, that measure possible concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions.

However, researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> found that the methods for estimating future climate conditions and emissions are somewhat of an exaggeration and the popular RCPs are inaccurate. 

Instead, we may actually be closer to achieving the mandates set by the Paris Accord than we think. 

RCPs look at emissions from coal, and many climate scenarios are based on coal consumption estimates that are much higher than any realistic measurement. 

According to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-09/climate-change-just-got-a-little-less-terrible">Bloomberg</a>, the most extreme worst case scenario estimates that coal consumption would increase to such an extent that it would account for 94 percent of the world’s energy supply, but in 2015 coal only accounted for 28 percent of the world’s energy supply. 

“Climate change modeling relies on projections of future greenhouse gas emissions and other phenomena leading to changes in planetary radiative forcing,” the researchers write. “However, outlooks for forcing from fossil energy combustion can also be presented and defined in terms of two essential components: total energy use this century and the carbon intensity of that energy.” 

In other words, the researchers outline a method for matching carbon emissions with energy consumption that more accurately depicts future climate projections based on the world’s energy needs. 

The results show that we may be closer to reducing carbon emissions to the levels set by the Paris Accord, which could mean that government policies could implement even stricter emissions standards to continue to combat climate change.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Experts: Most extreme worst case climate change outcome unlikely

Climatologists rely on future climate projections and emission levels to...

A new study has found that using smart technology in national parks could have many benefits including helping conservation efforts, keeping visitors safe, and cutting emissions from motor traffic. 

Edward Truch and his colleagues from <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/">Lancaster University Management School</a> were commissioned by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/lake-district-national-park-authority">Lake District National Park Authority</a> to look into integrating smart technologies into national parks. 

The Lakes District is a collection of scenic lakes in the Northwest regions of England and is a popular tourist destination that offers hiking, boating, and sightseeing opportunities for its many visitors.   

Their report outlined several innovative ways that smart technology could be used in parks. 

Some of the suggestions include having recycling and garbage bins send alerts when they are full to avoid unnecessary garbage collections, monitoring trail conditions and the impacts of climate change with sensors,  and sending alerts to hikers’ phones when they are tired and near a rest stop. 

“National Parks are under increasing pressure to deliver more for less and with population booms, visitor numbers are increasing - putting greater strain on the natural environment,” said Truch. “This report sets out business models and revenue streams for National Parks right across the world to consider, that can help address the gaps in budgets caused by cuts in public sector spending.”

“Smart parks” could bring innovations in safety and conservation. The researchers note that consumers are already making use of apps and websites that can book hotel rooms and help people get around. 

Bringing these technologies into parks would not be a difficult feat and might make parks even more popular and attract new visitors. 

As more and more technologies and products sync up to the internet, and population growth brings more and more traffic to the world’s parks, it only makes sense to have parks integrated with smart technologies. 

Truch’s report offers a solution to the problem many nations are facing where budget cuts often make <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-parks-trump-ghost-teddy-roosevelt/">national parks</a> low on the list of priorities.

“The report offers a very new look at how designated natural areas and other green spaces, and the people that visit them, can benefit from the latest innovations in modern technology,” said Chris Mahon, Chief Executive of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Committee UK and Development Director of World Heritage UK, “It's about new ways of delivering conservation as well as visitor convenience and experience enhancement.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Smart technology could make parks a priority despite budget cuts

A new study has found that using smart technology in...

In 2016, leaders in Mexico, Canada and the United States promised to cut methane emissions from their gas and oil industries.

Despite that promise, levels of methane in the atmosphere have continued to rise globally. As an added challenge, the U.S. government moved to suspend a new regulation to curb methane “flaring” that took effect in January 2017, though a court order has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-regulation-methane/trump-administration-plans-to-delay-methane-controls-on-oil-gas-idUSKBN1C92LI">kept the new regulation in place</a>. 

Now, a team of researchers is advocating for the U.S. to uphold to its pledge to curtail methane emissions, arguing that it’s not too late to reverse rising atmospheric levels.

"It is critical – for both the development of the sector and the environment – that decision-makers in government and industry rely not only on politics and economics, but also scientific evidence," co-author Dr. Sarah Marie Jordaan of <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> said in a press release. "We have developed a coherent framework that integrates science and policy to help decision-makers to do just that, in support of both economic and environmental goals."

The team of researchers pointed to gaps in how methane emissions are reported throughout the U.S. Without consistent and accurate reporting, it’s impossible to set a baseline, the team noted. Without a baseline, it’s difficult to estimate how much the U.S. needs to cut methane emissions.

"Agencies and industry can tackle methane emissions more effectively by monitoring technological advances in this field, and generating data for future research," said Kate Konschnik of <a href="https://www.duke.edu/">Duke University</a>, the article’s lead author.

If methane leaks are too high, they cancel out the environmental benefits of using natural gas to generate electricity instead of coal, she pointed out – and without careful monitoring and reporting of leaks, it’s hard to tell if they’ve reached that threshhold. 

The article’s authors suggest that the U.S. join Canada and Mexico in creating a North American Methane Reduction Framework to compare what steps the three countries are taking to reduce emissions and how they can work together to be more effective.

The paper has been published in the journal <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2018.1427538">Climate Policy</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Methane emissions are up, but it's not to late to reverse the trend

In 2016, leaders in Mexico, Canada and the United States...

Rising surface temperatures around the globe would lead to rising sea levels, and the ocean would swamp low-lying island nations like Tuvalu.

At least, that’s how many scientists thought things would happen. 

But while global temperatures are up – <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2017-second-hottest-year-2/">2017 was the second hottest year on record</a> – and sea levels in the Pacific are rising, Tuvalu isn’t shrinking. In fact, it’s getting bigger, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-02954-1">Nature Communications</a>.

“Results highlight a net increase in land area in Tuvalu of 73.5 ha (2.9%), despite sea-level rise, and land area increase in eight of nine atolls,” the team wrote.

The study looked at all 101 atolls that make up the island nation, and found that 74 percent grew over the past four decades in spite of rising sea levels. The remainder of the islands shrunk as expected.

"We tend to think of Pacific atolls as static landforms that will simply be inundated as sea levels rise, but there is growing evidence these islands are geologically dynamic and are constantly changing," co-author Dr. Paul S. Kench of the <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html">University of Auckland</a> said in a press release. "The study findings may seem counterintuitive, given that (the) sea level has been rising in the region over the past half century, but the dominant mode of change over that time on Tuvalu has been expansion, not erosion."

The land gains appear to have come from a combination of new sedimentation and wave processes, the scientists found.

Although the study confirmed that climate change is a challenge that Pacific islands will face in the coming decades, the study shows that there is still plenty to learn about how Pacific atolls gain and lose land. 

In the meantime, residents of Tuvalu can begin planning for a future that doesn’t include the forced migration foreseen by climate scientists. Still, changes in the land and its resources may require some shifts in how the island nation’s population sustains itself, the researchers warned.

“[W]hile we recognise habitability rests on an additional set of factors, loss of land is unlikely to be a factor in forcing depopulation of islands or the entire nation,” the scientists wrote. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Despite rising sea levels, Tuvalu isn't sinking

Rising surface temperatures around the globe would lead to rising...

Water in the desert: the secret that holds a delicate net of life in its grasp.  

According to the definition of the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">USGS</a>, Piñon-Juniper ecosystems are not technically <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/10-largest-deserts-world/">deserts</a> but at 10-15 inches of rain annually, they are quite dry, and locals commonly refer to it as a desert.

When I was studying Biology in college, I would go hiking in the arid piñon-juniper woodlands of the Colorado plateau.  On these hikes I collected bits of dry moss gathered on rocks here and there.

Back in the lab, I put the moss I put the moss into petri dishes with a little distilled water and let it sit overnight.  Under a microscope, the change was amazing.  What seemed like a dead piece of plant became a forest teeming with microscopic wild life.  

Rotifers; nightmare creatures in miniature beat the cilia of their wheel like heads, pulling unwary prey into jaws that mash like a beating heart.  The cilia actually create a vortex in the surrounding water, pulling food into their mouths like a whirlpool.  The rotifer ‘jaws’ (called trophi) are almost continuously moving to crush food particles.  The whole body of the rotifers telescope, making the animal seem larger or smaller depending on how stretched it is.  Rotifers are a group, making up phylum Rotifera, consisting of about 1750 species in three separate classes.  Rotifers are found almost anywhere there is a bit of water and even can remain dormant in the desert, clinging to dry moss as I found them.  

Nematodes were also found in the moss, elegant, round worms related to hookworms, the nematodae I found were mostly harmless.  There are 25,000 species of nematode described with estimates as high as 40,000 species existing worldwide.  The nematodes move like eels through the water.  These tiny creatures are found everywhere from soil to water all over the world.  Nematodes (along with other microbes) are important in the breakdown of waste and recycling of nutrients vital to plant and animal life.  

The creature I was looking for under the microscope, the object of my research was the legendary water bear of the phylum Tardigrada.  Eight-legged Tardigrades lumber through the scene of microscopic forest moving much like their namesake: bears.  Most tardigrades eat plants or bacteria but some prey upon smaller species of tardigrade.  

Much has been made of the toughness of tardigrades and for good reason.  Water bears have the ability to enter a dormant ‘tun’ state in which they appear dead and can remain for years.  Tardigrades found in moss that was dried out for museum collections over 120 years old have claimed to be revived with added water.  Tardigrades have been blasted into space on satellites and many of them survived, some females even laying eggs that hatched healthy young.  Tardigrades were put into liquid air at -200 °C for 21 months and sprang back to life with added water at normal temperatures.  The lowest recorded natural temperature on earth was -89.2 °C for context.  In fact water bears can survive almost absolute zero and have also been boiled in alcohol.

As long as a tardigrade is in its tun state, there is very little these tiny creatures can’t survive.  The amazing thing about tardigrades is the bizarreness of something that’s nearly everywhere.  Just like all the strange creatures I saw under the microscope, you’ve drank a water bear or two in your life, swam with them, had them stick to your skin, without ever being aware.

Water bears, rotifers and nematodes along with whole hosts of other microscopic or near microscopic (you can just barely see some of these with the naked eye but they’re really never noticed) have a strange similarity.  There is little pigment in the outer membrane of these animals and the effect is of looking at what appears to be an illustrated animal.  Small organs, even food being consumed or digested can be seen within the animal with a microscope.  This is partly with the rotifers ever moving jaws are so eerie, they look like a beating heart within the body and you can watch food particles crushed within.  Watching microscopic creatures is disorienting, you’re introduced to a world omnipresent but never noticed, like stepping into another dimension.  

The microscopic world all around us was so hard to accept at its discovery that van Leeuwenhoek, the Dutch microscope builder and first to describe microscopic ‘animalcules’ as he called them was widely mocked.  Anthony van Leeuwenhoek was a tradesman that originally used microscopes to study the structure of textiles and accidentally found his animalcules swimming in rain water.  A letter he sent to the British Royal Society was responded to quite rudely with utter disregard to the gravity of his discovery:

“Your letter of October 10th has been received here with amusement. Your account of myriad ‘little animals’ seen swimming in rainwater, with the aid of your so-called ‘microscope’ caused the members of the society considerable merriment when read at our most recent meeting. However, a vote having been taken among the members (accompanied, I regret to inform you, by considerable giggling) it has been decided not to publish your communication in the Proceedings of this esteemed society. However, all here wish your ‘little animals’ health, prodigality and good husbandry by their ingenious ‘discoverer’ “

In the long run of course, Leeuwenhoek has been vindicated and the world of miniscule creatures around us is known to far surpass the world of visible organisms in sheer numbers, as well as being some of the first organisms on earth and their ability to live everywhere.                   

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Microscopic organisms in the driest places

Water in the desert: the secret that holds a delicate...

Saguaros are big… very big for cacti.  That’s one of the first impressions one is likely to get about the plants of the Sonoran Desert, the only place the iconic cactus lives naturally.  

Looking closely at a Saguaro, one gets the impression that the cactus has a hard life.  It’s clear that needles and a generally unappealing (at least for food) nature doesn’t make the plant’s life problem-free.  Of course there are the physical limitations to living in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/10-largest-deserts-world/">Sonoran Desert</a>, things such as lack of water and high summer temperatures but there are also scars on saguaros.  Scars on saguaros sometimes come from cold temperatures that leave a pinched look on some of the cactus.  There are also cactus that I am convinced were shot, possible by inebriated college kids looking for senseless fun.  There are holes clearly made by insects, small but still probably somewhat damaging and then there are bigger holes.

Other cacti have a lot of holes as well.  Some holes are caused by insects but javelina (often thought a pig, javelina are actually peccaries) and desert tortoise take bites from various species of prickly pear.  Spines don’t mean that no one will eat you.  Cactus fruit are also a big source of food and some Native American groups improvised many culinary uses for saguaro (and other cacti) fruit as well as fruit gathering ceremonies.  Saguaro fruit can even be made into wine.         

Woodpeckers leave holes in saguaros for their homes but not all woodpecker holes are the same.  Gilded Flickers, (Colaptes chrysoides) a beautiful woodpecker eats insects but unlike non-desert species also eats cactus fruit.  The gilded flicker also uses saguaros for a home.  The flicker hammers through to the center of saguaro cactus and above their holes you sometimes see the rest of the plant leaning over sharply, drooping due to a loss of its structural integrity.

Gila Woodpeckers (Melanerpes uropygialis) also make their homes inside of saguaros but with a different method.  Gila Woodpeckers break through only the outside layer of a cactus.  The cactus is allowed to heal, creating a pocket of scar tissue.  Sometimes these pockets of scar tissue (called boots) were collected by Native Americans to use for carrying water.  Since the Gila Woodpecker doesn’t damage the saguaro’s hard wooden interior, the cactus stands strong still, with just superficial damage when compared to that done by Gilded Flickers.      

The advantages of nesting in cacti are obvious if you consider them for a bit.  A bird can reach a cactus rather easily by flying to it but imagine being a hungry cat trying to climb the plant to catch a bird.  Cactus Wrens nest in Cholla cactus, building tubes of needles and sticks to raise eggs in.  Sometimes Cactus Wrens also build dummy nests to lure would be predators to the wrong nest.

Life in the desert seems exceedingly hard, and there is less biodiversity than in some places, but all it really requires is a bit of innovation and natural selection is an amazing innovator.  

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Cacti, birds, and life in the Sonoran Desert

Saguaros are big… very big for cacti.  That’s one of...

In a new interview, Scott Pruitt, the head of the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency </a>(EPA), has suggested that global warming could be beneficial to humans.

Speaking with Gerard Ramahlo from <a href="http://news3lv.com/news/local">News 3</a> in Nevada, Pruitt said:

“Do we really know what the ideal surface temperature should be in the year 2100, in the year 2018? It’s fairly arrogant for us to think we know exactly what it should be in 2100. No one disputes the climate changes, is changing, that’s, we see that, that’s constant. We obviously contribute to it; we live in the climate, right?…Now measuring that with precision, Gerard, I think is more challenging than is let on at times but I think the bigger question is…is it an existential threat? Is it something that is unsustainable or what kind of effect or harm is this going to have? I mean, we know that humans have most flourished during times of what, warming trends. I mean, so, so, I think there’s assumptions made that because the climate is warming that that necessarily is a bad thing.”

Last month, all mention of climate change was removed from federal websites. Not long after, it was revealed the Pruitt personally oversaw the removal of climate change information from the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">EPA’s</a> website.

As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scott-pruitt-doubts-global-warming/">we reported</a> last year, Pruitt previously told <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/09/epa-chief-scott-pruitt.html">CNBC’s</a> Joe Kernen, “I would not agree that [CO2] is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see. I believe that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do, and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact.”

What’s puzzling is that despite Pruitt and President Trump’s consistent opposition to the facts of climate change, the government still released a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">report</a> confirming that humans are in fact driving climate change.

And as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-costing-billions/">we’ve reported</a>, extreme weather caused by climate change will cost the United States over $350 billion, according to a report from the <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/687465.pdf">U.S Government Accountability Office</a> (GAO).

--

By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Rory Arnold</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

EPA head actually thinks global warming could be a good thing

In a new interview, Scott Pruitt, the head 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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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

[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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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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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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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