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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Extreme heat of 2023  weakened Earth's carbon storage capacity

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

An expedition currently underway off the coast of New Zealand could provide important information for understanding certain types of earthquakes and tsunamis as well as aid in early detection. 

The mission’s goal is to study plate movements in the Hikurangi subduction zone, which is located by New Zealand’s North Island in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-stuck-pacific-ocean/">Pacific Ocean</a>. 

Scientists from <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> and <a href="https://www.gns.cri.nz/">GNS Science</a> are leading the expedition which was funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF).

Two sub-seafloor observatories with equipment will be lowered 1,641 feet below the seafloor into the subduction zone thanks to the scientific drillship JOIDES Resolution. 

The equipment will monitor movements, temperatures, and record any changes that occur in the subduction zone for five to ten years. 

“This expedition will yield information that's key to understanding why destructive tsunamis happen after shallow earthquakes and after underwater landslides,” said James Allan, a program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences. 

The reason the Hikurangi subduction zone was chosen is the potential to study the little-understood phenomenon of slow-slip earthquakes which happen in the area every 12-24 months at shallow depths. 

Slow-slip earthquakes occur as a result of movement among tectonic plates over a long period, but they have the same impact and effect that typical earthquakes do and can cause major tsunamis. 

The <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=244653&amp;WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&amp;WT.mc_ev=click">National Science Foundation</a> noted that the subduction zone is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and could be capable of creating earthquakes greater than magnitude eight. 

“We don't yet understand the slow-slip processes that cause faults to behave in this way, and we don't know very much about their relationship to large subduction zone earthquakes,” said Demian Saffer, the co-leader of the expedition. 

Studying slow-slip earthquakes could help with early earthquake detection, and according to the NSF, better understanding this type of earthquakes is the missing puzzle piece to understanding how the world’s faults work.

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Monitoring seabed earthquakes could aid in early detection

An expedition currently underway off the coast of New Zealand...

California’s Current Ecosystem, which includes marine life off the Pacific coast, is now just beginning to recover from a two-year marine heatwave that caused population declines in many species including salmon. 

The recent recovery rates were reported by the <a href="https://swfsc.noaa.gov/">Southwest Fisheries</a> and <a href="https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/">Northwest Fisheries Science Centers</a>, two marine laboratories that are part of the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA).

The annual <a href="https://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/F1a_NMFS_Rpt1_2018_IEA_SoCC_FINAL_main_Mar2018BB.pdf">"California Current Ecosystem Status Report</a>" is important to the <a href="https://www.pcouncil.org/">Pacific Fishery Management Council</a> for making informed decisions about ecosystem management and preservation.

“The report gives us an important glimpse at what the science is saying about the species and resources that we manage and rely on regarding our West Coast economy,” said Phil Anderson, the Council Chair. “The point is that we want to be as informed as we can be when we make decisions that affect those species, and this report helps us do that.”

The report discussed the two-year extreme heat wave that lasted from 2014 to 2016, starting with warm ocean temperatures called “the Blob” that covered a lot of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-wetlands/">west coast</a>. 

These temperatures combined with a strong El Nino pattern in 2015 caused many species to travel outside of their traditional range to feed. 

Although the report notes that some areas and species are recovering, the impact of “the Blob” will still be felt, particularly among salmon populations, in the coming years. 

Some of the other highlights of the report include improved feeding conditions for California sea lions and seabirds, and vital plankton species shifting back to fat-rich, cool-water species that help aid in the survival of salmon. 

The report also notes that even though areas are recovering, adult salmon populations will still be lower than normal for the next few years, and whale entanglements are becoming increasingly common as the whales have been forced closer to shore to follow prey. 

In 2017, parts of the west coast had low snowpack levels, indicating possible future drought conditions for 2018. This would pose further risk to salmon populations as they rely on river systems to spawn. 

All in all, the California Current Ecosystem is slowly recovering from the extreme rise in marine temperatures, but it will be a few years before some species’ populations, such as salmon, completely bounce back. 

“These changes occur gradually, and the effects appear only with time,”  said Chris Harvey, a d coauthor of the report. “The advantage of doing this monitoring and watching these indicators is that we can get a sense of what is likely to happen in the ecosystem and how that is likely to affect communities and economies that are closely tied to these waters.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Adam Obaza/West Coast Region/<a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">NOAA</a> Fisheries

West coast marine ecosystems recovering from 2 year heatwave

California’s Current Ecosystem, which includes marine life off the Pacific...

After the eruption of the super volcano Mount Toba in Indonesia around 74,000 years ago, plants and trees were struggling to survive under the drastic conditions of rapid climate change. Scientists have found evidence that early modern humans on the coast of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cape-town-day-zero/">South Africa</a> were not only surviving, but thriving, after this catastrophic event.

In 1816, there was a year without summer. Experts believe that a volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia was to blame, as crops failed across North America and Eurasia and mass migrations occurred. The impact of volcanic activity at nearby Mount Toba, however, was around 100 times more intense.

The Toba eruption devastated some ecosystems more than others, and likely created areas called refugia, in which some human populations were more successful than others throughout the event. The blast at Mount Toba violently shot out fire, smoke, and microscopic pieces of glass that spread across the planet’s atmosphere like wildfire.

In the 1990s, scientists began arguing that this eruption of Mount Toba, the most powerful in the last two million years, caused a long-lived volcanic winter that may have caused humans to nearly become extinct.

Panagiotis Karkanas is the director of the <a href="http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/Wiener-Laboratory/">Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science</a> at the American School of Classical Studies in Greece. He examined a single shard of glass from this explosion that was encased in resin and dated back 74,000 years. The shard had been recovered on the coast of South Africa.

“It was one shard particle out of millions of other mineral particles that I was investigating. But it was there, and it couldn't be anything else,” said Karkanas.

The scientists found a distinct chemical signature that could be used to learn more about the massive eruption.


“Many previous studies have tried to test the hypothesis that Toba devastated human populations,” explained study co-author Curtis Marean. “But they have failed because they have been unable to present definitive evidence linking a human occupation to the exact moment of the event.”


While previous  studies have confirmed that extreme climate change was caused by the explosion at Mount Toba, this study is the first to provide evidence of how people were impacted. Along the food-rich coastline of southern Africa, people not only survived but actually thrived through this historic eruption. 

Photorealistic 3D models were developed based on samples and fossils removed from the dig site of ancient humans on the South African coast. Erich Fisher is an associate research scientist with the <a href="https://iho.asu.edu/">Institute of Human Origins</a> who constructed the digital models.


“These models tell us a lot about how people lived at the site and how their activities changed through time,” said Fisher. “What we found was that during and after the time of the Toba eruption people lived at the site continuously, and there was no evidence that it impacted their daily lives.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

South Africans survived super volcano that could’ve ended humans

After the eruption of the super volcano Mount Toba in...

New research from the <a href="https://www.isglobal.org/en">Barcelona Institute for Global Health</a> (ISGlobal) has revealed a connection between prenatal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-crime-behavior/">air pollution</a> exposure and altered brain development. 

The study authors observed a lack of inhibitory control in school-aged children, such as hyperactivity and impulsive behavior, that can likely be attributed to air pollution vulnerability before birth.

Exposure to fine particles has been linked to the development of a thinner brain cortex in several regions of both hemispheres. These structural changes in the brain appear to contribute to impaired cognitive function including difficulty with inhibitory control.

The research team investigated the residential pollution levels of 783 unborn babies, and tracked the subjects from their fetal lives into childhood. Brain imaging was used when the children were between 6 and 10 years old for the experts to assess brain development.

The average residential levels of fine particle pollution were found to be well below the levels that are considered unsafe, and the average levels of nitrogen dioxide were right at the safe limit.

Despite finding relatively low amounts of air pollution, the team discovered that the relationship between fine particle exposure, structural changes in the brain, and inhibitory control was still present.


This research adds to a growing collection of studies that have linked acceptable air pollution levels with health complications and fetal growth development. 

“Therefore, we cannot warrant the safety of the current levels of air pollution in our cities,” said lead author Dr. Mònica Guxens.

“Although specific individual clinical implications of these findings cannot be quantified, based on other studies, the observed cognitive delays at early ages could have significant long-term consequences such as increased risk of mental health disorders and low academic achievement, in particular due to the ubiquity of the exposure.”

The study is published in <a href="http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/">Biological Psychiatry</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fetal exposure to air pollution linked to cognitive impairment

New research from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)...

Facing an uncertain future, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oil-companies-climate-change/">oil</a> and gas industry giants are expressing the need to take action and respond to the rising challenge of climate change. 

Executives from some of the world's largest oil and gas companies have agreed that the best climate mitigation strategy is a solution known as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). 

In this process, carbon waste is captured at fossil fuel plants and transported to sites where it can be stored underground, preventing harmful emissions from reaching the atmosphere. 

According to the <a href="http://www.ccsassociation.org/">Carbon Capture and Storage Association</a>, CCS technology can capture up to 90 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by fossil fuel use.

<a href="http://time.com/">Time</a> magazine reports that there was widespread support for CCS at the annual energy conference known as CERAWeek by IHS Market. Those in favor of the climate solution included Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser and International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“The oil projections that we have, they are definitely not in line with the Paris climate goals,” Birol said at the conference. “Unless we make use of one technology which is critical for the use of fossil fuels, which is carbon capture utilization and storage.”

A bill that was passed in the United States last month includes a hefty tax credit for carbon capture and underground storage. 

Critics of the technology say that it is too expensive to implement without knowing the real benefits, while some environmentalists believe that carbon capture and storage tax breaks are only promoting more oil and gas production.

Energy industry leaders attending the conference were not all completely sold on the idea of CCS technology either, but the one thing everyone did agree on is that a solution is urgently needed.

“The energy landscape is changing fast. So we must change, where change is what the world needs,” said Shell CEO Ben van Beurden.

“There may not be total unity behind the Paris Agreement any longer, but there is no other issue with the potential to disrupt our industry on such a deep and fundamental level.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Oil and gas companies discuss carbon capture climate solution

Facing an uncertain future, oil and gas industry giants are...

Desert landscapes are extremely sensitive to both climate changes and human activities. Just a small change can have a major impact on arid desert environments, which makes sediment records in deserts excellent indicators of past climate change.

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.uu.se/en">Uppsala University</a> in Sweden examined the Loess Plateau in China and created a model that accurately dates the geological and climate history of the area. 

The Loess Plateau consists of large parts of central China that are covered by fine-grained soil (loess) which was carried to the area by winds during the Ice Age. The fertile soils that formed on the Plateau have been crucial to agriculture and development. 

The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, emphasize the influence that ice volume had on seasonal monsoons and desertification thousands of years ago. 

“We have conducted the most detailed dating of the loess to date, which has enabled us to identify changes in the monsoon and desertification processes in more detail and with much greater accuracy than previously possible,” said Thomas Stevens, the study’s first author. “We can now compare these changes to other known climate changes such as variation in ice volume, sea level, and even the Earth's orbit during the Ice Age.” 

The study contradicts the commonly held chronostratigraphie, or the dating of rock layers, of the <a href="http://www.stratigraphy.org/">International Commission on Stratigraphy</a> (ICS). 

The researchers used luminescence dating to show that the ICS records for the Loess Plateau are inaccurate. Luminescence dating involves studying the amount of energy stored in certain rocks and soils. 

The researchers took samples of loess sediments from the Plateau and found indicators for different climate phenomena like sea level changes and ice volume that affected the monsoons and desertification in the region. 

“We can now show that when ice volume decreased and sea level rose, the summer monsoon rainfalls in East Asia intensified and spread further inland, while sandy deserts in China retreated,” said Stevens.

The study not only shows how ice volume and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-bay-area/">sea level</a> impacted monsoon rains and desertification, but the results could also be used to predict how climate changes will impact the region in the future. 

Sea level is rising and researchers have recorded substantial <a href="http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card">sea ice loss</a>, and these changes could affect future agriculture and development especially in sensitive areas like the Loess Plateau.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Thomas Stevens

How ice and sea level impacted monsoon rains and desertification

Desert landscapes are extremely sensitive to both climate changes and...

Goodyear Oxygene concept

Tire titan Goodyear has announced the company’s new eco-friendly concept tire “Oxygene” at the <a href="https://www.gims.swiss/en/">Geneva International Motor Show</a> in Switzerland. 

Oxygene is a tire with moss embedded in the inside of an open tread outer rubber casing. The open tread will allow the tire to absorb water from the road which will water the moss on the inside of the tire. The moss will then be able to convert <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/co2-emissions-energy-costs/">CO2</a> into oxygen using photosynthesis. 

Goodyear claims that in a city the size of Paris with 2.5 million cars, the new moss tires could remove more than 4,0000 tons of carbon dioxide and produce 3,000 tons of oxygen each year. 

Besides being eco-friendly, Goodyear says the rubber tread casing will have better wear and tear than other tire models on the market today, and the open design will provide better traction on slippery roads. 

The Oxygene tire will also be puncture proof. Other features include electronic sensors powered by photosynthesis that communicate with other cars on the road at the speed of light. The cars and tires would also have smart capabilities. 

Goodyear, like many other companies, is working to find innovative ways to stay ahead of the race to mitigate climate change and combat emissions. 

“Smarter, greener infrastructure and transport will be crucial in addressing the most pressing challenges of urban mobility and development,” said Chris Delaney, the president of Goodyear Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

It may be some time before Oxygene becomes commercially available or even goes into production, but Goodyear’s new tire could motivate other companies to create similar solutions to the world’s emissions and transportation problems. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: PRNewsfoto/Goodyear

Goodyear reveals eco-friendly tires that absorb carbon dioxide

Tire titan Goodyear has announced the company’s new eco-friendly concept...

2017 was a record year for fires all over the world. Forest fires swept through the western United States, and parts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-southern-california/">California</a> were particularly devastated. 

Europe also faced one of its worst years on record for fires, and over 800,000 hectares of land was burnt in Portugal, Italy, and Spain. 

Heatwaves and drought prompted by climate change have created prime conditions for widespread fires around the Mediterranean. But a new study has found that unless action is taken to combat emissions and warming, all of Europe could face an increased risk of wildfires. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/joint-research-centre_en">European Commission Joint Research Centre </a>conducted a study to predict the extent of fire risk in Europe under several different climate scenarios. 

The study predicted outcomes based on a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, and one that limited global warming to two degrees Celsius (in line with the Paris Accord). 

Unless swift action is taken to mitigate climate change, increases in temperature will cause hot and dry weather extremes, raising the risk of forest fires in the Mediterranean. 

This dryness, according to the study, will move further north and put even greater areas of land at risk, even those regions that are considered safe such as the Alpine Mountains. 

The researchers suggest that coming up with effective adaptive strategies as well as identifying fire risks outside of climate change are key to minimizing future potential fire damage. 

For example, the <a href="http://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/">European Forest Fire Information System </a>shows that nearly all forest fires in Europe start due to human activity. 

While climate change may create peak conditions, the study notes that finding ways to increase awareness of human-caused fires would help reduce the risk of fires. 

Human activity, vegetation and agricultural land management, and sustainable forest management were all included in the study as key risks to consider. 

The European Commission has already taken measures to strengthen defenses against fires in the European Union, and this new report shows the importance of looking at both natural and social factors in order to effectively combat and prevent forest fires due to climate change. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Risk of wildfires in Europe will increase due to climate change

2017 was a record year for fires all over the...

According to research from the <a href="https://uci.edu/">University of California, Irvine</a>, climate change could drive fishery yields down by 20 percent across the world ocean and by 60 percent in the North Atlantic before the year 2300.

The decline is primarily linked to a lack of ocean mixing. When the surface layer of ocean water is warm, it prevents the nutrients that have built up in the deep waters from rising to the surface. 

The study authors explained that significant changes in ocean mixing would ultimately drive a decline in fish populations near the surface.

Many studies have confirmed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-oceans-fisheries-fish/">fisheries</a> will be significantly less productive by the end of this century, but little research has investigated the fate of fisheries beyond 2100.

A team led by J. Keith Moore used modeling to predict the effects of climate change on fisheries under the condition that the rate of carbon emissions remains the same as it is today.

Currently, the Southern Ocean has such a successful amount of mixing that nutrients abundantly flow into other oceans. 

But now, model simulations produced by the current study indicate that changing wind patterns and warmer ocean surface layers will cause an increased portion of nutrients to sink into the deeper layer of the ocean and become trapped there. The model showed that phosphate, for example, will become 41 percent less abundant.

The steep decline of mixing in the Southern Ocean will also be facilitated by a polar shift of nutrient upwelling into the Antarctic. 

The study authors also established that ocean mixing will be particularly reduced in the North Atlantic. They explained that the long-term impact of these changes in ocean mixing will reduce fishery yields for at least a thousand years.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate changes will significantly reduce fishery yields

According to research from the University of California, Irvine, climate...

Scientists have discovered that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-permafrost-thaw-carbon/">Arctic</a> just experienced its warmest winter ever documented, causing sea ice to hit record lows. As a result, there is now a large area of open water that is normally covered with thick sea ice. 

This unprecedented weather is heavily influenced by global warming and will also tip the scales toward extreme weather events in other regions of the planet in a “vicious cycle,” according to the experts.

Mark Serreze is the director of the <a href="https://nsidc.org/">National Snow and Ice Data Center</a> in Boulder, Colorado, and has been studying conditions across the Arctic since 1982. 


“It's just crazy, crazy stuff,” said Serreze. “These heat waves, I've never seen anything like this.”

At the weather station closest to the North Pole in Greenland, the temperature had only briefly exceeded freezing twice in the month of February prior to this year. This past season, however, the station recorded over 60 hours of temperatures above freezing in February.

Across the entire Arctic Circle, regions averaged temperatures around five degrees warmer than usual this year. Climate scientist Ruth Mottram of the <a href="http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icecover.uk.php">Danish Meteorological Institute</a> said that Cape Morris Jesup, the northernmost point of mainland Greenland, experienced record temperatures that felt more like May than February.

The Ice Data Center reported this week that Arctic sea ice covered an area of around 62,000 square miles less than the record low that was recorded last winter. This year, Arctic sea ice coverage was around 521,000 square miles short of the  30-year average, which is a loss that is equivalent to almost twice the area of the state of Texas.

“The extended warmth really has kind of staggered all of us,” said Mottram. She explained that unseasonably warm air has made its way north into a region of the Atlantic Ocean that usually has thick sea ice.

Some scientists believe that, when warm weather limits sea ice formation in the north, the climate is then altered south of the Arctic and triggers weather events such as nor’ easters in the United States and extreme snowfall in Europe. 


Jennifer Ann Francis is a research professor at Rutgers University's <a href="https://marine.rutgers.edu/">Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences</a> who supports this theory. She pointed out that a weaker jet stream causes storms to stall and hover over the same region for days at a time.

“If you look at the whole picture, the whole jet stream around the northern hemisphere, it's had these very large excursions north and south and that's led to all of the wacky weather,” said Francis. She added that the underlying problem of man made climate change is continuing to get worse, and that “these are just the symptoms.”
--
By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Record high temperatures cause record low sea ice in the Arctic

Scientists have discovered that the Arctic just experienced its warmest winter...

It seems likely that long-term changes within a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/river-flooding-climate-change/">river</a> and its landscape would be primarily caused by the amount of water that is flowing through the channel. However, researchers at the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> have confirmed that the transformation of a river is not always linked to its volume or size.

The experts have established that the composition of river beds has the most influence on how rivers shift over time. The study has revealed that significant changes to a river and its surroundings are mostly affected by the type of rock and other material forming in the river bed.

The research team conducted lab tests based on a scale model of a river. The framework included a waterfall, so that the experts could examine how these drops in a river are influenced by both water flow and riverbed content.

Waterfalls tend to migrate upstream over time, and the scientists discovered that this upstream movement was caused mainly by the composition of the river bed rather than by water flow.


The team found that, when the water flow changed, the subsequent channel adjusted its shape to accommodate the new current and did not significantly affect the position of the waterfall. On the other hand, material found in the riverbed had a notable impact on how rapidly the waterfall shifted upstream.

The findings of this investigation may help explain what researchers have previously found while studying rivers around the world. For example, small waterfalls in Scotland may migrate faster than the Niagara falls in North America.

“Accurately modelling how rivers change is important for understanding landscape evolution in the past, present and future,” said study co-author Dr. Mikael Attal.  

“The nature of the rock on the river bed plays a more important role than the size of flow in influencing how rivers evolve, and ongoing studies should take this into account.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</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: Mikael Attal

River foundation impacts movement of waterfalls

It seems likely that long-term changes within a river and...

In the last few years, the development and implementation of widespread <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fracking-sites-health-newborns/">fracking</a> in the U.S. has produced billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. This has led to a transformation in the global energy sector, and undercut fossil fuel markets in Saudi Arabia and Russia. Now, according to a leading global energy agency, U.S. natural gas is primed to unleash a “major second wave” of fracking, as reported in <a href="http://time.com/">TIME</a>.

In a new energy forecast this week, the <a href="https://www.iea.org/">International Energy Agency</a> (IEA) announced that growth in U.S. oil production would cover 80% of new global demand for oil over the next three years. Overall, U.S. oil production is anticipated to rise almost 30% by 2023, with much of the growth coming from oil produced as a result of fracking in West Texas.

“Non-OPEC supply growth is very, very strong, which will change a lot of parameters of the oil market in the next years to come,” says Fatih Birol, the head of the IEA. “We are going to see a major second wave of U.S. shale production coming.”

Although Republican politicians and policymakers are seeking to take credit for this development, analysts say that the growth in U.S. production is more a result of market factors than Republican policy. According to the IEA, higher oil prices and increased demand from China and India will trigger increased U.S. output in order to make up the gap. Along with overall demand for oil, the IEA also predicts that demand for petrochemicals used in plastic will increase as well. 

The implications that come as a result of this second rise in U.S. oil production are far ranging, and touch on more than just fossil fuel supply and demand. In terms of geopolitics, the U.S. supply of oil and natural gas has contributed to political upheaval in the Middle East and in Russia, creating new competition for oil exports and natural gas supply. “In a shale revolution world, no country is an island,” warns Birol. “Everyone will be affected.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

U.S. to unleash “major second wave” of fracking on the world

In the last few years, the development and implementation of...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NTU...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="sFFhiK9OOn-1720418-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="yPSXGZek1I-2312529-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EPdZexVR30-1731237-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="EPdZexVR30-1731237-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="uwirCufwYv-2012371-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JrMLDXHmjl-1911953-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="JrMLDXHmjl-1911953-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="u0TYxxqfF7-2186404-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...