A recent study presents a new curve of global mean surface temperature, revealing that Earth's temperature has varied more than previously thought over much of the Phanerozoic Eon -- a period marked by the diversification of life, colonization of land, and multiple mass extinctions. 



The curve also confirms that Earth's temperature is strongly correlated with the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-the-temperature-of-earth-s-past">Studying the temperature of Earth's past</h2>



The Phanerozoic Eon began approximately 540 million years ago with the Cambrian Explosion, a time when complex, hard-shelled organisms first appeared in the fossil record.&nbsp;



Although researchers can create simulations dating back to this era, the temperature curve in the study focuses on the last 485 million years due to limited geological temperature data from earlier periods.



“It's hard to find rocks that are that old and have temperature indicators preserved in them - even at 485 million years ago we don't have that many. We were limited with how far back we could go,” said study co-author Jessica Tierney, a paleoclimatologist at the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-developing-the-temperature-curve">Developing the temperature curve</h2>



The researchers developed the temperature curve using an approach called data assimilation. This method allowed them to combine data from the geologic record and climate models to create a more cohesive understanding of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-climate-change-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient climates</a>.



“This method was originally developed for weather forecasting,” said Emily Judd, lead author of the paper and a former postdoctoral researcher at the <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History</a> and the University of Arizona. 



“Instead of using it to forecast future weather, here we're using it to hindcast ancient climates.”



Refining scientists' understanding of how Earth's temperature has fluctuated over time provides crucial context for understanding modern climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-way-back-to-predict-the-future">Looking way back to predict the future</h2>



Study co-author Scott Wing is a co-author on the paper and a curator of paleobotany at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.&nbsp;



“If you're studying the last couple of million years, you won't find anything that looks like what we expect in 2100 or 2500,” said Wing.



“You need to go back even further to periods when the Earth was really warm, because that's the only way we're going to get a better understanding of how the climate might change in the future.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-co2-is-the-biggest-driver-of-temperature-nbsp">CO2 is the biggest driver of temperature&nbsp;</h2>



The new curve reveals that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-global-temperature-exceeded-2c-for-the-first-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">temperatures</a> varied more significantly during the past 485 million years than previously thought.&nbsp;



Over this period, global temperatures ranged from 52 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Periods of extreme heat were most often linked to elevated levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.



“This research illustrates clearly that carbon dioxide is the dominant control on global temperatures across geological time,” Tierney said. “When CO₂ is low, the temperature is cold; when CO₂ is high, the temperature is warm.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rapidly-warming-temperatures-on-earth">Rapidly warming temperatures on Earth</h2>



The findings also show that Earth's current global temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit is cooler than it has been over much of the Phanerozoic.&nbsp;



However, greenhouse gas emissions from human-caused climate change are currently warming the planet at a much faster rate than even the fastest warming events of that eon, the researchers say.&nbsp;



This rapid warming poses risks to species and ecosystems worldwide and is causing a swift rise in sea levels. Some other episodes of rapid climate change during the Phanerozoic have sparked mass <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greater-temperature-changes-linked-to-worse-extinction-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extinctions</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humans-evolved-in-a-colder-climate">Humans evolved in a colder climate</h2>



Rapidly moving toward a warmer climate could spell danger for humans, who have mostly lived within a 10-degree Fahrenheit range for global temperatures, compared to the 45-degree span over the last 485 million years.



“Our entire species evolved to an 'ice house' climate, which doesn't reflect most of geological history,” noted Tierney. 



“We are changing the climate into a place that is really out of context for humans. The planet has been and can be warmer - but humans and animals can't adapt that fast.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-global-temperature-across-the-phanerozoic-nbsp">Earth's global temperature across the Phanerozoic&nbsp;</h2>



The collaboration between Tierney and researchers at the Smithsonian began in 2018. 



The team aimed to provide museum visitors with a curve that charted Earth's global temperature across the Phanerozoic, which began around 540 million years ago and continues into the present day.



The researchers collected more than 150,000 estimates of ancient temperatures calculated from five different chemical indicators preserved in fossilized shells and other types of ancient organic matter.&nbsp;



Their colleagues at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a> created over 850 model simulations of what Earth's climate could have looked like at different periods in the distant past, based on continental positions and atmospheric composition.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-accurate-curve-of-earth-s-temperature-variation">Accurate curve of Earth's temperature variation</h2>



By combining these two lines of evidence, the team created the most accurate curve of how Earth's temperature has varied over the past 485 million years.



Another significant finding from the study pertains to climate sensitivity, a metric of how much the climate warms with the doubling of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/good-news-plants-are-absorbing-more-human-produced-co2-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carbon dioxide</a>.



“We found that carbon dioxide and temperature are not only really closely related, but related in the same way across 485 million years. We don't see that the climate is more sensitive when it's hot or cold,” Tierney concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adk3705" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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How Earth’s temperature has changed over the past 500 million years

A recent study presents a new curve of global mean surface temperature, revealing that Earth's temperature has varied more than previously thought over much of the Phanerozoic Eon -- a period marked by the diversification of life, colonization of land, and multiple mass extinctions.  The curve also confirms that Earth's temperature is strongly correlated with the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Studying the temperature of Earth's past The Phanerozoic Eon began approximately 540 million years ago with the Cambrian Explosion, a time when complex, hard-shelled...

In response to recent cold weather, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-trump-tweets/">tweeted</a> that that we “could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming.”  There are many fallacies in that little tweet.  

First it’s implied that climate change could be a good thing for some.  In the long run, there will be evolutionary winners and losers but it’s unlikely that humans as a species will benefit.  The humans who will suffer the most from climate change are also likely to be the poorest people living in the poorest countries.  The rich of course will have the means to move or invest in personal infrastructures to allay the negative impacts of climate change.  Those living in rich countries can hope that their nations likewise will invest in infrastructures such as dams to protect their citizens.  That may seem a distant hope in face of the catastrophes hurricanes have caused in the US but compared to the horrors of poorer Haiti, we’ve done relatively well.  

Secondly and more to the point, the president is implying that climate change/global warming is a hoax because the weather is cold now.  This is obviously wrong.  There were many places during the last ice age that were untouched by glaciers but no one doubts it was colder on average than today.  There is a problem in understanding climate change stemming often from hype and hype on both sides of the debate.  

My partner Erin studied conservation biology at a rather good school in New York.  Erin told me recently about footage of a male polar bear eating a baby polar bear.  The photo was used as evidence for the bear’s hunger and it was implied, the bear was hungry due to climate change.  The problem as Erin’s professor pointed out is that male polar bears have eaten babies for a long time.  Male polar bears have exhibited infanticide behavior occasionally for as long as people have observed them.  There are also photos everywhere of bears on tiny pieces of ice or dying of starvation; the internet’s full of these images.  By itself, a picture of a starving polar bear means nothing.  The arctic is and has always been a hard place to live.  Hundreds of muskox have died in a single winter because ice covered vegetation and they couldn’t eat but this doesn’t suggest a global problem.  

I’m not saying climate change isn’t a real problem.  I’m suggesting the problem is incredibly complex and oversimplifying it risks alienating large amounts of people.  You shouldn’t expect one hot summer or one cold winter to indicate an overall trend.  The earth’s been around for 4.6 billion years or so, you shouldn’t expect weather in the short term to be very useful in predicting large changes.  A lot of the data climate scientists use is things like ice core drillings from Antarctica where atmospheric gases over centuries can be analyzed.  Things like long term pollen distribution can be useful as well or growth rings on redwoods.  These are things that have been correlated to current weather and levels of carbon in the atmosphere.  

Weather is the temperature, wind, precipitation, etc. in the short term.  Climate is the same thing in the longer term, influenced by atmosphere, the tilt and wobble of earth, ground cover, etc.  The claim of climate change is that the earth’s climate is gradually changing, long term averages not short term weather is shifting.  The second claim is that this shift is being caused or boosted by human activity.  Most scientists agree these two things are true.  There isn’t as much consensus as to exactly what this will mean.  It’s likely that the weather will be more erratic; more hurricanes are likely the new norm.  Places like Tucson where I’m currently living or California are likely to have more droughts.  This doesn’t mean every drought or forest fire is definitively caused by climate change.  

The climate feedback of the earth reacting to human actions is very complex but the data that we’re causing problems is sound.  We know with certainty that carbon in the atmosphere has been rising due largely to burning of fossil fuels but also other smaller scale burning.  Deforestation and destruction of marine environments also plays an impact.  With less organisms to uptake carbon more is in the air.  The rise of carbon is jagged, showing in the northern hemisphere less input in the summer when plants are using carbon.  The same pattern for different months is evident in the southern hemisphere as well.  

The important thing to consider when it comes to climate change is the scale.  We should think in terms of a geological time scale, not a normal short term scale of human history.  It will be the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren that stand to lose the most from ‘global warming’.        

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Donald and the difference between climate and weather

In response to recent cold weather, President Donald Trump tweeted...

Two interconnected whirlpools have been witnessed in the ocean for the first time between Australia and New Zealand. A single whirlpool, or an eddy, is a common occurrence in the ocean, but a pair of whirlpools was something that was only a myth until now.

For decades, scientists have believed that a pair of whirlpools, which is known as a modon, was possible. Oceanographer Chris Hughes from the <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/">University of Liverpool</a> is the first person to ever spot a modon.

“Ocean eddies almost always head to the west, but by pairing up they can move to the east and travel ten times as fast as a normal eddy, so they carry water in unusual directions across the ocean,” explained Hughes.

“What we found was a pair of eddies spinning in opposite directions and linked to each other so that they travel together all the way across the Tasman Sea, taking six months to do it.”

While examining satellite images of the ocean's surface, Hughes noticed a region of the water that was behaving unusually. He told <a href="https://www.popsci.com/">Popular Science</a>, “Almost all these eddies drift slowly westwards, but this little feature was going quickly eastwards.”

The experts established that this was, in fact, a modon. Based on this evidence, they looked at previous satellite imagery and identified nine other modons, which dated back to 1993. All of the previous events had taken place around Australia, while one double whirlpool was detected in the Atlantic Ocean.

The experts believe that this phenomenon takes place when two whirlpools collide in the ocean. The powerful motion of the whirlpools causes nutrients to rise to the surface of the ocean from the deeper, colder waters below. 

The scientists theorize that these double whirlpools have enough force to suck up and transport minerals, heat, water, or even organisms to other parts of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oceans-buffer-greenhouse-gas/">ocean</a>.

"My thinking is that these linked, fast moving eddies could 'suck-up' small marine creatures and carry them at high speed and for long distances across the ocean," said Hughes.

The study is published in <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-8007/">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Double whirlpools spotted in the ocean for the first time

Two interconnected whirlpools have been witnessed in the ocean for...

In response to cold temperatures on the east coast, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that the area could use some “global warming.”  

“In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year's Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against," <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/946531657229701120">Trump tweeted</a>. "Bundle up!"

Trump’s thoughts on global warming have always been clear, having called it an <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/408977616926830592?lang=en">“expensive hoax”</a> back in 2013. Earlier this year, he announced the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, calling it a bad deal for Americans.

The problem is that Trump, like many climate change deniers, is confused about the basic science, ignoring overall trends by just looking at daily weather reports.

Global warming refers instead to a general pattern of increasing ocean and global temperatures overall. According to the <a href="https://www.wmo.int/">World Meteorological Organization</a> (WMO), 2016 was in fact the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2016-hottest-year-record/">hottest year</a> on record.

And that is just one part of the equation, as climate change also includes drastic changes in weather (both hot and cold temperatures), increases in precipitation, and more active hurricane seasons. 

Climate change is wide-reaching, and a cold winter day does not simply disprove the extensive research backing its existence.

Arctic ice sheet melt, changes in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution levels and precipitation all point to how climate change is impacting the planet. 

President Trump’s opinions that climate change appear to be a costly gimmick, where the United States will lose money and his feelings that a brisk cold snap needs some “global warming,” are wholly off the mark. 

In fact, ignoring climate change actually costs taxpayers significantly more money in damages.

“The Government Accountability Office released a report in October that said the US government has spent more than $350 billion over the past decade in response to extreme weather and fire events and estimated that the US would incur far higher costs as the years progress if global emission rates don't go down,” Dan Merica of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/">CNN</a> reported. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

East Coast needs a little “global warming,” Trump tweets

In response to cold temperatures on the east coast, President...

An annual review by the <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/">National Trust</a> has found that “haywire seasons” are confusing for wildlife. The conservation agency explains that new weather patterns are helpful to some species yet harmful to others.

Ecologist and conservationist Matthew Oates has been at the National Trust since 1990. Oates pointed out that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-california-climate-change/">climate change</a> is narrowing the divide between winter and summer.

“At times, it feels like the seasons are becoming less distinctive, and that makes it extremely difficult to predict how nature will react,” said Oates. 

“Certain species are good at adapting, which is great, whereas others are struggling – some of them badly. We need to give wildlife the space, time and, where necessary, the support it needs, not only to survive, but to thrive.”

After 10 years of research, the experts are noticing certain patterns. Winters are milder, and summers are often stormier and wetter. Spring is arriving too early, and wildflowers, bees, and other species are emerging too soon as well.

“The impact on wildlife has been enormous, and at a time when many species are declining sharply as farming as other land uses intensify,” said Oates.

Oates explained that this “blurring of the seasons” means that new measures are needed to support habitats and their wildlife as they learn to cope with climate change.

“It’s hard to put any single event down to climate change but overall impact is quite staggering,” said Oates.

“It’s not just on land, it’s sea, it’s the ocean warming and what turns up here on our shores, Portuguese man o’ war, jellyfish, bluefin tuna, minke whales, which also suggests it’s not just a terrestrial issue.”

Oates is recommending that citizens adopt local monitoring strategies to keep scientists informed on what changes are taking place in their own backyards.

Experts at the National Trust say they will do everything they can to reverse population declines in nature. The organization plans to dedicate 62,000 acres of land to wildlife conservation by 2025.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Unusual, blurred seasons are confusing wildlife across the globe

An annual review by the National Trust has found that...

<a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> undergraduate student Annie Opel developed a study to demonstrate the value of reviving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hurricanes-damage-coral-reefs/">coral reefs</a>. Her research shows that the restoration of coral reefs has a positive impact on local fish populations, and the benefits can be seen almost immediately.

“Reefs are not only biologically important - more than 4,000 species of fish rely on these ecosystems - but they're also really important for humans,” said Opel. “We depend on them for commercial and recreational fisheries, they provide protection for coastal communities and they bring in a great deal of money through tourism.”

Opel explained that the health of coral reefs is threatened by pollution and climate change.

"Coral reefs have experienced bleaching and mass mortality all over the world, causing ecosystem degradation that affects the marine life that rely on the reefs to survive,” she said.

Restoration projects have been underway in some regions where corals are grown in underwater nurseries and then transplanted to damaged reefs. Opel said that the outcome of this type of restoration project has not yet been thoroughly examined on Caribbean reefs.

“In St. Croix, they've been restoring corals since 2009," said Opel. "But no one is really looking at what's happening after the fact...so no one knows if this is an efficient way to restore those reef systems.”

Opel’s investigation produced dramatic results. Just one week after creating experimental coral beds, the researcher noted significantly more fish and a greater diversity of species. The study also revealed that the fish community changed over time as additional species appeared at the sites.

"Overall, it's a success story - we out-planted corals and there were more fish," said Opel. "That's really exciting and something people took for granted in these restoration projects, but no one had quantified it before. I think it's going to be interesting for future studies to use this as a benchmark to know what's going on after transplanting corals."

The study is published in the December issue of <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/227">Marine Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="about:blank">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Restoring coral reefs benefits entire ecosystems and economies

Harvard University undergraduate student Annie Opel developed a study to...

Britain is transitioning away from coal and toward renewable energy, and so far their progress is very impressive. The UK’s gradual switch to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melbourne-tram-network-solar/">solar</a>, wind, and hydropower is a huge success, as they have set 13 new clean energy records in the process.

The British government has a goal of eliminating all coal power stations by 2025 to meet the country's climate change commitments. 

Statistics from the <a href="https://www.nationalgridus.com/">National Grid</a> have revealed that 2017 was the UK’s greenest year in the power sector. According to <a href="http://www.mygridgb.co.uk/">MyGridGB</a>, more power was generated by renewable energy sources than coal for 90 percent of the year. 

The UK had its first completely coal-free day since the Industrial Revolution back in April, and days without coal will become more and more common as the fossil fuel is phased out. 

Britain also set a new record for the longest time period without coal power when the country went completely coal-free for 40 hours and 35 minutes in October.

Wind farms in the UK powered the country more than three out of every four days this year, leading to record low carbon emissions. In addition, the cost of offshore wind power dropped below the cost of nuclear energy generation for the first time ever.

Duncan Burt is the Acting Director of Operations at National Grid. 

“2017 marked a new era of grid operation,” said Burt. “We now have significant volumes of renewable energy on the system which poses an exciting challenge for us in ensuring the supply and demand is matched second by second.”

Mr. Burt said that National Grid planned for these changes in the generation and transmission of power, and that the company will continue to evolve alongside the energy system.

“We have worked with the industry to ensure we have the right tools and services in place to continue operating the grid safely and reliably,” he said. “I'm sure there will be more records broken in 2018 and we're ready and excited to play our part.”

--

By <a href="about:blank">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Britain breaks 13 clean energy records in 2017

Britain is transitioning away from coal and toward renewable energy,...

A potentially hazardous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/skull-shaped-asteroid/">asteroid</a> blasted past the Earth today, traveling at a speed of 21,500 miles per hour. The space rock was on a trajectory that is closer to the planet than the moon, which is unusually close.

The asteroid, 2017 YZ4, was just discovered three days ago by scientists at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lemmon_Survey">Mount Lemmon Survey Observatory</a> in Arizona on Christmas Day. The experts reported that 2017 YZ4 measured between 27 and 49 feet in diameter.

The asteroid was only 139,433 miles away from the Earth when it approached, which is close enough to be considered a “near miss” by scientists. For example, NASA describes a “near Earth object" as any object that passes within six million miles of the Earth.

A representative of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> told <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news">The Express</a>,“This is the first known asteroid to flyby Earth within one lunar distance since two such asteroids flew past us 35 minutes apart on November 21, and the 52nd this year.”

“As of December 24, there are 17,495 known Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) around our planet; 17,389 are asteroids,” said the spokesman. “This year, we discovered 1,985 new near Earth asteroids. There were 1888 such objects discovered in 2016 and 1,571 in 2015.”

2017 YZ4 is one of the Apollo series of asteroids, which approach the Earth on a regular basis. The group was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930’s and named after the first of the series, the 1862 Apollo asteroid.

--

By <a href="mailto:chrissydsexton@gmail.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Asteroid that blew past the Earth today was a “near miss”

A potentially hazardous asteroid blasted past the Earth today, traveling...

The northern part of the United States will be ringing in the new year with freezing temperatures, wind chill advisories, and in some states, record <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/erie-pennsylvania-snow/">snowfall</a>. 

During the winter months, colder weather typically doesn’t phase residents of the midwest or northeast United States. But things may get chillier in the coming years as scientists are predicting a mini-ice age with temperatures dropping in 2021, all thanks to the sun’s solar cycle. 

The Earth has faced similar conditions from 1646 to 1715, when a phenomenon called the Maunder Minimum caused temperatures to drop, and even resulted in the Thames River in England freezing over. 

Now, researchers from Britain and Russia say the Thames could freeze over again in 2030. The recent study used mathematical models of the sun’s magnetic activity and solar cycles. 

The models show that two of the sun’s magnetic waves will decrease and become out of sync starting in 2021. As a result, the solar cycles will end up canceling each other out, sending the world into a mini-ice age that will last 33 years. 

In order to create the accurate models, the researchers analyzed magnetic field observations from the <a href="http://wso.stanford.edu/">Wilcox Solar Observatory</a> in California and reviewed three solar cycles of activity dating from 1976 to 2008.  

The Maunder Minimum, which was the last recorded time when the world faced similar conditions, saw a period of solar inactivity where sunspots were rare. 

Professor Valentina Zharkova from<a href="https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/"> Northumbria University</a> led the research and said that the models are extremely accurate, but because of global warming, the research should not serve as hard proof that a small ice-age will occur. 

“I hope global warming will be overridden by this effect, giving humankind and the Earth 30 years to sort out our pollution," Zharkova told <a href="https://news.sky.com/">Sky News</a>. “We have to be sorted by that time and prepare everything on Earth for the next big solar activity,” she said.

By 2050, the magnetic waves will fall back in sync, and solar activity will increase ending the colder period

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Are we headed for a mini ice age after decreased solar activity?

The northern part of the United States will be ringing...

In 2017, <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria/">Hurricanes Maria</a> and Irma caused millions of dollars in damage in the Caribbean and Florida, but that’s just above the surface. 

Ocean ecosystems also suffered damage brought on by storm surges, strong currents, and high winds. 

Coral reefs in the U.S Virgin Islands were hit particularly hard. But a research team that had already been studying the area’s corals for years has found that the hurricanes, while devastating to the corals, also presented a unique opportunity to monitor how corals recover from major harm. 

The image above shows before and after views of a coral reef just off the coast of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The team was led by Howard Lasker, a professor of Geology at the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo</a>, and Peter Edmunds, a biology professor from <a href="https://www.csun.edu/">California State University, Northridge</a>.

“It's an interesting natural experiment,” Lasker said. “You could not, in good conscience, conduct such an experiment on your own as a scientist, and it is sad to see these beautiful places in the ocean damaged so severely. But we can learn from this -- it gives us the chance to better understand the process of recovery.” 

The research team spent two weeks observing the corals while aboard the F.G. Walton Smith research vessel.

The coral colonies told a sad story, with some colonies lacking branches, other coral had infestations of bacteria and harmful algae, and in some parts of the reef whole colonies of coral had been wiped out. 

"Hurricanes generate huge waves. The effect is like sandblasting -- the waves carry sand and debris, such as bits of broken coral, onto the reefs, striking them over and over again," said Lasker.

Even though the damage was apparent and widespread, the researchers were encouraged by how much of the reef remained. 

Lasker and Edmunds plan to observe the reef over time and monitor its rate of recovery. 

Coral reefs are a major part of the ecosystem and many tourism-driven economies. However, reefs are facing staggering bouts of bleaching and losses due to climate change, warming ocean waters, ocean acidification, and fishing operations. 

Understanding how quickly reefs recover, and determining if injured colonies simply die off or grow back, will better help researchers grasp the scope of climate change and its impact on the ecosystem. 

“These are magnificent ecosystems,” said Lasker, “and we really know very little about how they change and recover after disasters.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Credit: Howard Lasker

Despite hurricane damage, coral reefs remain resilient

In 2017, Hurricanes Maria and Irma caused millions of dollars...

The life of a salmon is not an easy one. Salmon make cyclical migrations, spawning in freshwater streams and migrating to the oceans, only to return to their hatching grounds several years later. 

It’s a life cycle that covers hundreds of miles, but with California’s recent drought, thousands of Chinook salmon may never back it back to their hatchery. 

In 2014 and 2015, California’s five-year drought put a strain on Chinook salmon migration and hatchery managers decided to drive the salmon to the ocean. The salmon made their 280 mile migration carried in tanker trucks. 

It was a tough decision to make at the time, either risk the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salmon-industry-sea-lice-problem/">salmon</a> not making their migrations or risk the salmon never coming back. 

Now, the Coleman hatchery that decided to truck their salmon to the ocean are facing severely depleted numbers of adult salmon able to spawn at their hatching grounds. 

According to the <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article191351274.html">Sacramento Bee</a>, in a normal year 143,000 salmon make their way back to the hatchery, but in 2017, there were only 3,000 adults who made the voyage back. 

The reason behind the loss is that because the fish were not able to migrate naturally, they became disoriented and couldn’t navigate their way back.

Some of the Coleman hatchery salmon did make their way to another hatchery, and those eggs were transported back to Coleman, but the hatchery is still millions short of their goals for fertilized eggs. 

Salmon are important to the ecosystem, providing a crucial source of food for many predators, and are also important to many state economies, including California. 

Time will tell if this loss affects future generations, or if dry conditions will make truck runs or alternative methods of moving salmon a necessity. 

As it stands, salmon and salmon hatcheries are crucial, and the strain put on salmon migration through dams, drought, overfishing, and human activities is threatening many species of salmon. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

California hatchery loses thousands of salmon after drought

The life of a salmon is not an easy one....

Since 2013, there have been hundreds of earthquakes in Oklahoma recorded at a 3.0 magnitude or higher. 

But now, those numbers are decreasing, largely because the <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/induced/myths.php">United States Geological Survey </a>(USGS) identified what was inducing the earthquakes in the first place. 

It was thought that fracking might be the cause, but the USGS identified that wastewater disposal was the catalyst for the increase in seismic activity in Oklahoma.

The researchers report that one to two percent of all earthquakes in Oklahoma are caused by fracking, while the rest are induced by wastewater disposal. 

Wastewater disposal is the process when wastewater, typically produced through oil and gas extraction, is injected into wells deep into the Earth in porous sandstone or limestone.

“Wastewater disposal wells typically operate for longer durations and inject much more fluid than hydraulic fracturing, making them more likely to induce earthquakes,” the <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/induced/myths.php">USGS</a> explained.

Once the real cause of the earthquakes in Oklahoma was identified, policy was put in place to regulate injection wells across the state, and thankfully, their efforts have been successful. 

2016 and 2017 saw a decline in seismic activity, differing from the increasing trend of past years. In 2016 there were 624 total earthquakes, and in 2017 that number dropped to 294. 

However, even with regulatory measures in place, the USGS warns that Oklahoma is still in danger of experiencing more seismic activity than is typical for the state. 

“The 2017 forecasted seismic rates are lower in regions of induced activity due to lower rates of earthquakes in 2016 compared to 2015, which may be related to decreased wastewater injection, caused by regulatory actions or by a decrease in unconventional oil and gas production,” the agency says. “Nevertheless, the 2017 forecasted hazard is still significantly elevated in Oklahoma compared to the hazard calculated from seismicity before 2009.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wastewater injection regulation helped limit Oklahoma earthquakes

Since 2013, there have been hundreds of earthquakes in Oklahoma...

A record-breaking storm dumped over 5 feet of snow in Erie, Pennsylvania, between Sunday and Tuesday, and there is more snow in the forecast. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shape-lake-ontario-snowstorms/">lake-effect</a> snowstorm buried the city in 62.9 inches of snow, and that total is expected to approach 70 inches by the time the system moves out of the area.

Erie’s all-time daily snowfall record of 20 inches, which was set in 1956, was broken on Christmas Day when 34 inches of snow fell. The two-day snowfall total of 58.5 inches was the most ever recorded in the entire state of Pennsylvania, according to the <a href="http://www.weather.gov/">National Weather Service</a>.

Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper signed a declaration of disaster emergency on Tuesday. As crews worked to clear the main roads, the fresh snow piled up in the streets right behind them. David Mulvihill, the city’s director of public works, said that dozens of vehicles had been abandoned in the streets.

On Facebook, the Erie Police Department wrote, “Roads are dangerous and impassable. This is an incredible amount of snow that we're trying to move and we appreciate resident cooperation. Residents should stay off of City of Erie streets until it stops snowing, and we can get the roads open.”

Lake-effect snow occurs when a cold air mass moves over a warmer lake. Water vapor is pulled up into the colder air above and produces snowfall which is blown to shore. 

The city of Erie currently remains under a Lake Effect Snow Warning issued by the National Weather Service until 4:00 PM. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Photo Credit: Samantha Moore, pictured: Andrew Bargh

Lake-effect storm buries Erie, Pennsylvania in 5 feet of snow

A record-breaking storm dumped over 5 feet of snow in...

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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 



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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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



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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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

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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



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Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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