From coastlines to capital cities, healthcare workers are warning about the immediate need for a treaty to end plastic pollution.



The danger of a global health disaster is at its highest level as United Nations-led negotiations to form a plastic treaty continue to remain dead-locked due to ongoing disputes.



Plastic pollution not only endangers human health, but threatens to harm our planet itself. Without decisive action, the consequences could be irreversible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-treaty-negotiations">Plastic treaty negotiations</h2>



At the forefront of this urgent plea for action are researchers from the Revolution Plastics Institute at the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Portsmouth</a>.



The experts recently spotlighted the matter in an article published by the British Medical Journal, following their participation in the plastic treaty negotiations in Busan last December.



The negotiations concluded without any agreement being reached, and this pushed further discussions into 2025.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skyrocketing-plastic-production">Skyrocketing plastic production</h2>



With global annual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-production-increases-create-identical-plastic-pollution-increase/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plastic production</a> currently at an alarming 400 million tonnes and expected to double by 2040, the scientists see health care professionals playing an increasingly crucial role.



The need of the hour, they say, is for more robust scientific evidence showing the impact of plastic pollution on human health. 



Such data will fortify the treaty process and guide the creation of targeted policies to reduce human exposure to plastic pollution.



"The treaty to end plastic pollution represents a historic opportunity to protect human health. If the treaty is to meet this challenge, its text must include specific measures to mitigate the health effects of plastic pollution, human health targets and metrics to measure progress towards improved health outcomes," noted Professor Steve Fletcher, the director of the Revolution Plastics Institute.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-health-versus-plastic-pollution">Human health versus plastic pollution</h2>



The article focuses on two critical health concerns linked to plastic pollution. 



First, there are the omnipresent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-are-infiltrating-the-human-body-even-the-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microplastics</a> - tiny particles found in the air we breathe, waterways, polar ice, soil, and in our food.



Humans are constantly ingesting, inhaling, and absorbing these particles. They have been detected in numerous organs and tissues, from the brain and blood to the placenta and liver. Microplastics have even been found in breast milk and semen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-open-burning-of-plastic-waste">Open burning of plastic waste</h2>



The other critical issue is the harmful health effects of inhaled <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-can-make-other-pollutants-more-toxic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">toxic pollutants</a> that are released from the open burning of plastic waste. This danger is particularly acute in areas with deficient waste management systems.



The emissions from such open burns, which are loaded with toxic chemicals, particulate matter, and microplastics, are associated with serious health conditions. These include respiratory infections, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/steep-rise-in-cardiovascular-disease-expected-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular diseases</a>, and chronic conditions like COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).



Dr. Cressida Bowyer, the Deputy Director of the Revolution Plastics Institute, has extensively studied the perils of open burning of plastic waste. 



"With 16% of global municipal waste burned openly, rising to 40–65% in low-and middle-income countries, vulnerable populations bear the brunt of this crisis. The toxic fumes from burning plastic are a silent but deadly contributor to global health burdens. Urgent action is needed to eliminate this dangerous practice and protect public health," she warned.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vulnerable-populations-are-affected-the-most">Vulnerable populations are affected the most</h2>



The longer the world waits to finalize a binding plastic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-plastics-treaty-countries-with-nothing-to-lose-delayed-progress/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">treaty</a>, the more devastating the health impacts of plastic pollution will become.



Studies show that vulnerable populations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, are disproportionately exposed to the harmful effects of plastics. 



This disparity is most apparent in regions with inadequate waste management systems, where open burning of plastic waste is rampant and environmental contamination intensifies daily.



Beyond its environmental toll, plastic pollution worsens global health inequalities. Microplastics and toxic chemicals from mismanaged plastic waste seep into the food chain, water sources, and also into the air.



Toxic emissions, especially in urban areas, have been linked to respiratory diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treaty-needed-to-end-plastic-pollution">Treaty needed to end plastic pollution</h2>



Health experts warn that without the necessary steps of action, these health crises will intensify and spread aggressively, straining health systems and threatening the health of future generations.



But dealing with plastic pollution is not just an environmental issue; it is an important step to ensuring the global public's health.



The message is clear. As responsible stewards of the planet and protectors of human health, it's time for all health professionals to take a determined stand against the harms of plastic pollution.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.q2890" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">British Medical Journal</a>.



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Plastic treaty is a 'historic opportunity' to stop a human health crisis

From coastlines to capital cities, healthcare workers are warning about the immediate need for a treaty to end plastic pollution. The danger of a global health disaster is at its highest level as United Nations-led negotiations to form a plastic treaty continue to remain dead-locked due to ongoing disputes. Plastic pollution not only endangers human health, but threatens to harm our planet itself. Without decisive action, the consequences could be irreversible. Plastic treaty negotiations At the forefront of this urgent plea for action are researchers from the...

Researchers at <a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University</a> set out to determine if heat causes people to be less cooperative. The researchers found that summer heat makes people grouchy, exhausted, and not as willing to help out.

Liuba Belkin is the lead author of the study. In an interview with <a href="https://qz.com/">Quartz</a>, Belkin explained that this study is unprecedented in providing data that establishes a connection between ambient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beaver-dams-cold-water-fish/">temperature</a> and a lack of prosocial behavior.

“The point of our study is that ambient temperature affects individual states that shape emotional and behavioral reactions, so people help less in an uncomfortable environment,” said Belkin.

In the first experiment of the three-part study, the team evaluated data from a Russian retail chain to gain insight into how employees are impacted by their work environment. The analysis showed people working in hot temperatures were 50 percent less likely to actively listen to customers or assist them in making selections.

For the next part of the study, participants were paid to take a survey. Half of the individuals were asked to recall a time they were hot. All participants were then asked if they were willing to take a second survey for which they would not be compensated. 

Out of the group who was asked to remember an uncomfortably hot situation, only 34 percent were willing to take the unpaid survey. 74 percent of the participants who were not asked about heat were ready and willing to help out with the second survey. 

For the last part of the study, the researchers asked people sitting a hot room and a cool room to participate in a questionnaire. Only 64 percent of those in the heat were willing to answer the questions, while 95% of people sitting in the comfortable room were cooperative.

The research also revealed that those filling out the questionnaire in a pleasant temperature were six times more helpful with the quality and length of their answers than those who were in the heat.  

Previous research has shown that heat can actually make people aggressive and violent, and crime rates go up in the summertime. Scientists believe this is due to the fact that exhaustion and dehydration make people irritable and short-fused.

The three-part study is published in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0992">European Journal of Social Psychology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University</a>

Study: Summer heat causes people to get grouchy

Researchers at Northwestern University set out to determine if heat...

The arrival of millions of tiny sea pickles off the western coast of the United States has fisherman frustrated and scientists fascinated. 

Pyrosomes are cylinder-shaped colonies that contain thousands of organisms. Also known as sea pickles, pyrosomes are most commonly found in the surface layers of tropical waters.

They were first spotted off the coast of Oregon, and have now reached as far north as Sitca, Alaska. University of Oregon graduate student Olivia Blondheim is part of a new research team set up to study the phenomenon. 

“Right now we are scrambling to learn as much as possible while we have the opportunity,” Blondheim told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/">The Guardian</a>. “If we continue to see this many, what impact will it have on the ecosystems here, and what economic impact on the fisheries? There are so many unknowns at this point, it really is a remarkable bloom.”

The researchers also want to determine what has caused the sudden appearance of sea pickles far from their tropical habitats. Warmer ocean temperatures as a result of climate change, unusual currents, or shifting animal diets are all potential influences of this unprecedented migration.  

“One of the things we are figuring out is have these guys been off the coast and we haven’t seen them? Are they moving inshore for a different reason?” said Blondheim.

The jellylike tubes can actually become as large as 60 feet, although the zooids that they are made up of are only a few millimeters in size. The zooids are connected by tissue and move as one entity. The colony is bioluminescent and glows in the dark. 

These unique organisms are asexual and clone themselves in a reproductive process known as budding. They reproduce and form new colonies very rapidly.

The pyrosomes first showed up off America’s west coast in the spring, and have become a major àggravation for the fisherman who encounter them. They prevent other fish from reaching the shore, and get caught in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fishermen-at-odds-over-new-fishing-laws-and-regulations/">fishing</a> nets and on hooks.

With reports from fisherman that the pyrosomes stretch “as far as the eye can see,” there is no telling when this rare event will end.  

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/">The Guardian</a>

Millions of sea pickles mysteriously appear on U.S. west coast

The arrival of millions of tiny sea pickles off the...

Climate change is putting many small island nations in a desperate position and America's exit from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-decision-paris-climate-agreement/">Paris Climate Agreement</a> is making the situation even more dire. 

Small islands have already <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/climate-change-just-caused-five-islands-to-disappear-in-the-pacific">sunk</a> into the Pacific Ocean, and rapidly rising sea levels are putting many more islands at <a href="http://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/countries-risk-disappearing-climate-change/#2">risk</a>. Among those threatened are developed islands that have unique cultures and traditions that could vanish along with the land. 

As the second largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world, emission cuts by the United States would make a huge impact on the state of global warming. The decision by Donald Trump to leave the climate pact came as a blow to countries worldwide, but the concern may be felt most deeply by small island and low-lying coastal countries. 

In 2009, world leaders created a climate policy that aimed to prevent global warming from exceeding 2 degrees Celsius. It was also determined the ideal temperature cap would be at 1.5 degrees Celsius, particularly for those living in areas at the mercy of the sea. 

According to the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a>, “When Trump announced he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris treaty, scientists said that made the 2 degree goal close to unachievable and the 1.5 degree goal even more out of reach. Promised American pollution cuts were about one-fifth of the pledged global reductions hoped for in the accord.”

Kenrick Leslie, executive director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, told the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a>, "We are pushing the 1.5 (as a goal) but realistically I think we have passed the point that it can be achieved.” Leslie said Trump’s withdrawal from the climate agreement has "thrown it right out the window."

The <a href="http://aosis.org/">Alliance of Small Island States</a> (AOSIS) is an alliance of small island and coastal nations that face the same challenges of global climate change. Their campaign is called “1.5 to stay alive.” Amjad Abdullah is the AOSIS chief negotiator.

“Already, at just one degree of warming, our small island states are feeling the effects of climate change – deadly, and life-altering impacts – and they will only get worse as the world warms. Our future depends on everybody accepting that 2 degrees is too much for us,” said Abdulla.

The current state of global warmth is causing major issues for island states as it is. Extreme tropical storms, coastal erosion, seawater intrusion, and marine habitat deterioration may cause irreparable damage regardless of the future of global warming.

With the odds mounting against them, island leaders still remain hopeful. Global climate goals are encouraging, despite the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Treaty. 

Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine told the <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a>, "I cannot give up on my people and my country and my culture. It's very important for us to be optimistic.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.ap.org/en-us/">Associated Press</a>

Small island nations may face extinction due to climate change

Climate change is putting many small island nations in a...

The mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey is stepping down to focus on climate change after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-decision-paris-climate-agreement/">Paris climate accord</a>.

Dawn Zimmer announced on Tuesday that she won’t seek a third term. Zimmer, a Democrat, said she wants to "take a new role working more directly” on climate change after Trump’s decision on the Paris accord.

As mayor, Zimmer has focused on projects to protect Hoboken from storms. Hoboken is just across the Hudson River from New York and was heavily damaged by storm surge during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Zimmer said she has no position lined up yet. She endorsed Hoboken councilman Ravinder Bhalla to replace her in this fall's election.

Trump says leaving the climate agreement was "a reassertion of America's sovereignty."

Zimmer is the first female mayor of Hoboken and was elected in a special election held in November 2009. In November 2013, she was re-elected for another 4-year term.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MAYOR_TRUMP_ENVIRONMENT_NJOL-?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2017-06-20-15-03-19">AP</a>

New Jersey mayor steps down to focus on climate change

The mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey is stepping down to...

In cities across the globe, rats are considered to be major pests that seem to be everywhere you turn. These rodents are known to spoil food, spread disease, and even start fires.

Despite these problems, a new study has found that rats are actually the least studied wildlife in New York City. “The most difficult challenge of urban rat research is finding suitable research sites (e.g. municipal businesses and dwellings) to obtain access to rats long enough to generate robust science,” explain the study’s authors in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jue">Journal of Urban Ecology</a>.

In order to conquer this challenge, the researchers have offered rather significant incentives to property owners in order to study the rats on their premises. These perks include free and confidential extermination services – after the rats have been studied, of course – and up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to research sites in Manhattan.

With greater access to private residences or businesses, researchers would be able to set up their expensive equipment and monitor the rats’ activity privately. Because rats are so perfectly adapted to their environment, they’re incredibly difficult to research without the proper set up. They can easily hide and avoid human contact.

The researchers believe that a better understanding of the ecology of city rats could lead to improvements in pathogen and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mathematical-fight-plant-diseases/">disease</a> surveillance, as well as a better understanding of their population distribution.

“We neglect to study them at our own peril,” says Michael Parsons, lead author of the study. “No war has ever decimated 1/3 of the human population. Rats have.”

Whether or not another black plague is in the future (let’s hope for “not”), studying these pests that inhabit many of the areas where we live and work can only help us to better understand them. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jue">Journal of Urban Ecology</a>, The Daily Mail

Why rats in major cities aren’t even being monitored

In cities across the globe, rats are considered to be...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rampant-overfishing-gulf-california/">Overfishing</a> has devastating effects on aquatic species, and some fish stocks never recover. Scientists collected commercial whaling records to evaluate the devastating impact extreme fishing had on whale populations in the 20th century. The analysis will be used to prevent other marine populations from meeting the same fate. 

Decades of over harvesting whales for blubber, oil, and meat in the 20th century led to large collapses in the numbers of whale populations. 

Previous studies indicated that a sharp decline in population numbers can be expected when the group demonstrates a shift in body size or an irregular rise and fall in numbers. However, this research was conducted using experimental systems and had not been established in the wild. 

The research team examined data on the number and size of whales to see if signs of a rapidly declining whale population were present before the collapse was documented. Ecologist Christopher Clements of the <a href="http://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> led the team.

"We looked at data on blue, fin, sei and sperm whales and found significant declines in body size, with sperm whales taken in the 1980s four metres shorter on average than those in 1905,” Clements explained. "This means that warning signals were detectable up to 40 years before a population collapse.”

The findings of this study provide further evidence that a shift in the average body size of a marine population is a signal that the population is at risk of collapsing.

"Our technique could be used to help provide other species of conservation concern. Moreover, it could allow interventions to be put in place to stop this happening,” said Clements.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="http://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a>

How collapsing whale populations can help save other species

Overfishing has devastating effects on aquatic species, and some fish...

In a world where national leadership is backing away from environmental protection, the private sector will need to drive much of the conversation around climate change. Have you ever wondered about the environmental impact of taking your flight to your summer vacation? Airplanes have become 80 percent more fuel efficient than they were in the 1950’s, but getting up in the air is still an emission intensive endeavor. 

Luckily for our personal carbon footprint and the environment, big airline companies have a huge vested interest in making planes as fuel efficient as possible. 

Most are probably less driven out of fear for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/republican-party-denial-climate-change/">climate change</a> and more motivated by the effect of fuel costs on the company’s bottom line. Nonetheless, the result has been the United States leading the world in the production of some of the most fuel efficient airliners to date. 

Between changing how planes are made of to what is used to fuel them, many aviation companies are making groundbreaking strides towards increasing the efficiency of flying. 

Notably, last year Alaska Airlines operated its first commercial jet powered by forest biomass and it has been using RNP technology that uses satellites to help guide planes over tough terrain trying to utilize as much wing power as possible, lowering fuel consumption. Virgin Atlantic is trialing ATJ (alcohol to jet) powered jets. EasyJet is working on what they call a hybrid plane. And Boeing sales have taken off in recent years due to their new planes ability to reduce fuel consumption by 20 percent. 

However, the technology that is already here and very much increasing the per-person efficiency of planes is airlines increased capacity for fitting as many people as possible on flights with new plane layouts in conjunction with their ability to keep as many flights as possible full, much to the consumers dismay. 

Efficiency is the key to keeping America in the ring against climate change. The airline industry is one example of the private sector making decisions (no matter the reason) that will benefit the environment and keep American airline companies on the cutting edge of technology innovations. 

If you’re looking for ways to support these initiatives, don’t forget that we do not just vote by turning in ballots but we also vote and make our voices heard with how we spend our dollars. Airlines also say that if consumers cut just 5 pounds from their luggage they would be saving thousands of gallons of fuel and would decrease carbon emissions by hundreds of thousands pounds each year. You may want to keep this in mind the next time you are packing your bag for a summer vacation! 

---

Original Feature By <a href="mailto:bianca@earth.com">Bianca Vierra</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Earth.com presents: How fuel efficient are commercial airlines?

In a world where national leadership is backing away from...

Aerosols released in a spectacular volcanic eruption in Iceland had a cooling effect on the climate, a new study found. 

The findings that <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/spotlight-clouds/">cloud</a> systems are “well buffered” against atmospheric changes from aerosol could significantly reduce uncertainties in future climate change projections from human industrial emissions, the authors said.

“The huge volcanic eruption provided the perfect natural experiment in which to calculate the interaction between aerosols and clouds,” said lead author Florent Malavelle, of the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. "We know that aerosols potentially have a large effect on climate, and particularly through their interactions with clouds. However the magnitude of this effect has been uncertain.”

The new study “not only gives us the prospect of ending this uncertainty but, more crucially, offers us the chance to reject a number of existing climate models, which means we can predict future climate change far more accurately than ever before," said Malavelle.

An international team of climate scientists studied the effects that the 2014-15 eruption at Holuhraun, Iceland had on cloud formations in the surrounding region.

They found that the 2014-15 Holuhraun fissure eruption, the largest since Laki which erupted for eight months in 1783-4, emitted sulphur dioxide at a higher rate than all 28 European countries added together causing a massive plume of sulphate aerosol particles over the North Atlantic.

Aerosols play a pivotal role in determining the properties of clouds as they act as the nuclei on which water vapour in the atmosphere condenses to form clouds.

Sulphate aerosol has long been recognized as the most significant atmospheric aerosol from industrial sources, but other natural sources of sulphate aerosol also exist, including that formed from sulphur dioxide release as a result of volcanic eruptions.

The 2014-15 Holuhraun eruption is thought to have emitted between 40,000-100,000 tons of sulphur dioxide each day during its eruptive phase. Using state-of-the-art climate system models, combined with detailed satellite retrievals supplied by <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> and the <a href="http://www.ulb.ac.be/">Université libre de Bruxelles</a>, the research team was able to study the complex nature of the cloud cover formed as a result of the eruption.

They found that the size of the water droplets produced in clouds was reduced, which in turn led to cloud brightening. This results in an increased fraction of incoming sunlight being reflected back into space and, ultimately, providing a cooling effect on the climate.

The aerosols had no discernible effect on many other cloud properties, including the amount of liquid water that the clouds hold. The team believe the research shows that cloud systems are "well buffered" against aerosol changes in the atmosphere.

Previously, the 1991 explosive eruption of Pinatubo was the “go to” event for improving model  simulations of the impact of explosive volcanic eruptions on the climate, said study coauthor Jim Haywood of the University of Exeter.

“Without a doubt, the effusive eruption at Holuhraun will become the go-to study in this regard,” he added.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>

How aerosols emitted from volcanoes can cool the climate

Aerosols released in a spectacular volcanic eruption in Iceland had...

Rotating crops, controlling insects, and using virus-free purchased seed are the most effective tools in combating plant diseases that threaten global food security, a new study concludes.

A team of researchers at the <a href="http://www.nimbios.org/">National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis</a> used mathematical modeling to better understand the dynamics of a disease called maize lethal necrosis, which is ravaging one of the sub-Saharan Africa’s region's preferred crops for food, feed, and income.

The study focuses on Kenya where plant diseases cause corn plants to die prematurely, drastically reducing the yield. Most of the nation's maize supply comes from small to medium-size farms, which are less able to withstand threats to their food production than large resource-rich farms.

For both types of <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/maryland-farmers-cover-crops/">farmers</a>, synchronized management over large areas would be needed to provide long-term, sustainable control, the study found.

However, this management strategy is usually only available to large commercial maize farms with sufficient resources to afford agrochemicals and purchased seed.

The results emphasize the value of mathematical modeling in informing management of an emerging disease especially when epidemiological information is sparse, the authors said.

"Mathematical modeling can play an important role in integrating what biological information is available with reasonable assumptions on what is missing to give at least a first indication of the potential effectiveness of disease control options,” the authors wrote. “Modeling can also indicate and help prioritize some key research questions that need to be addressed in seeking long-term sustainable control options." 

The research was a result of efforts of the <a href="http://www.nimbios.org/workinggroups/WG_plantviruses">NIMBioS Working Group on Multiscale Vectored Plant Viruses</a>, which included mathematicians, ecologists, plant pathologists, and evolutionary biologists who met over several years to develop novel mathematical methods for the study of plant pathology. The Working Group was established following the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop on Vectored Plant Viruses, held in March 2014.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.nimbios.org/">National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis</a>

Researchers use mathematical modeling to fight plant diseases

Rotating crops, controlling insects, and using virus-free purchased seed are...

It’s more valuable to grow corn for food than biofuel, according to a new study.

The net social and economic worth of food corn production in the U.S. is $1,492 per hectare, versus a $10 per hectare loss for biofuel corn production, according to the study by the <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a>.

Researchers inventoried the resources required for corn production and processing, then determined the economic and environmental impact of using these resources. All factors were defined in terms of energy available and expended, and normalized to cost in U.S. dollars.

The team accounted for numerous factors in their analysis, including assessing the energy required to prepare and maintain the landscape for agricultural production for corn and its conversion to biofuel. Then, they quantified the environmental benefits and impacts including the effects on the atmosphere, water quality, and corn's societal value, both as food and fuel.

Renewable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biofuel-compete-oil/">biofuels</a> can come with hidden economic and environmental issues, and the question of whether corn is better utilized as food or as a biofuel has persisted since ethanol came into use, the study said.

As part of a <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> project to study the environmental impact of agriculture in the United States, the Illinois group introduced a comprehensive view of the agricultural system, called critical zone services, to analyze crops' impacts on the environment in monetary terms.

"The critical zone is the permeable layer of the landscape near the surface that stretches from the top of the vegetation down to the groundwater," said University of Illinois Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Praveen Kumar, who authored<a href="http://cee.illinois.edu/directory/profile/kumar1"> the study along with graduate student Meredith Richardson.</a> "The human energy and resource input involved in agriculture production alters the composition of the critical zone, which we are able to convert into a social cost."

Although corn appears to be an easy path to renewable energy, ”this research shows that the environmental costs are much greater, and the benefits fewer, than using corn for food,” said  Richard Yuretich, National Science Foundation program director for Critical Zone Observatories. 

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2328-4277/">Earth's Future</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a>

Corn more valuable as a food than as a fuel

It’s more valuable to grow corn for food than biofuel,...

Researchers now have a snapshot of an event that took place 8,200 years ago in California that ushered in wet and stormy weather for 150 years.

The so-called  "8.2 ka event" coincides with a climate anomaly in <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/thinning-ice-sheets-greenland/">Greenland</a> ice cores and brought intense winter storms.

Jessica Oster, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/">Vanderbilt University</a>, directed the study and discovered a stalagmite from White Moon Cave in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The stalagmite was growing rapidly just before, during, and after the 8.2 ka event.

By analyzing the oxygen and carbon isotope ratios and the concentrations of the trace elements phosphorus and magnesium in the mineral layers formed from 6,900 to 8,600 years ago, Oster and her collaborators extracted a considerable amount of information about what was going on in the prehistoric California atmosphere. 

"The new record suggests that the 8.2 ka event was associated with a brief period of wetter conditions, potentially arising from increased storminess, and demonstrates a near synchronous climate response to this event on both sides of the Pacific,” the study said.

Climatologists are particularly interested in the “8.2 ka event” because it can provide insight into what would happen if global warming reaches a point where glaciers in Greenland and other parts of the globe melt rapidly enough to dump large amounts of fresh water into the ocean. In 2003, for example, the Office of Net Assessment at the U.S. Department of Defense produced a study of prospective climate change specifically based on this event.

Before the "8.2 ka event" was discovered, scientists thought the world's climate had been unusually stable during the Holocene, the geological epoch that covers the last 11,700 years of Earth's history.

Since then, researchers have linked a distinctive, 3.3-degree Celsius temperature dip in the Greenland ice cores with a catastrophic event. The drainage of two giant glacial lakes (Lake Ojibway and Lake Agassiz) located in northeastern North America was caused by the collapse of massive ice sheet that covered much of the continent during the last ice age. 

The two lakes dumped enough melt water into the North Atlantic to disrupt the world's oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns and raise the sea level by somewhere between 2 to 10 feet. The tremendous freshwater flood has been associated with an extended cold snap in Europe, increased drought in Africa, weakened monsoons in Asia, and strengthened monsoons in South America.

"This is the first high-resolution evidence of the response of the coastal California climate to the most distinctive event in the Holocene,” Oster said. “Although the effects appear to have been less severe than in other parts of the world, it provides us with new information about the nature of this global climate event." 

The study is published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/">Vanderbilt University</a>

8,200 years ago, California was anything but sunny

Researchers now have a snapshot of an event that took...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/125-million-dinosaur-fossil-found-spain/">dinosaur</a> age was likely ushered in by huge pulses of volcanic activity which triggered the Triassic mass extinction, according to a new study.

The Triassic extinction approximately 200 million years ago was one of the largest mass extinctions of animal life on record with a casualty list that included large crocodile-like reptiles and several marine invertebrates, the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> study said. It is still a mystery why dinosaurs survived, but they filled the vacancies left by the now extinct wildlife species, alongside early mammals and amphibians.

The extinction has long been linked to a large and abrupt release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but the exact source of this emission has been unknown.

The discovery of volcanic rocks of the same age as the extinction suggested volcanic carbon dioxide emissions as an important contributor to the extinction event. 

Researchers from the Oxford University Department of Earth Science worked with the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter </a>and<a href="http://www.southampton.ac.uk/"> Southampton University</a> to trace the global impact of major volcanic gas emissions and their link to the end of the Triassic period. The findings link volcanoes to the repeated large emissions of carbon dioxide. 

Volcanoes emit mercury gas emissions, which spread globally through the atmosphere, before being deposited in sediments. Any sediments left during a large volcanic event would be expected to have unusually high mercury content.

The new research analyzed mercury levels from six sediment deposits from the United Kingdom, Austria, Argentina, Greenland, Canada and Morocco. Five of the six showed a large increase in mercury content beginning at the end-Triassic extinction horizon, with other peaks observed between the extinction horizon and the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, which occurred about 200,000 thousand years later.

Elevated mercury emissions also coincided with previously established increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, indicating CO2 release from volcanic degassing.

“These results strongly support repeated episodes of volcanic activity at the end of the Triassic, with the onset of volcanism during the end-Triassic extinction,” said Lawrence Percival, lead author and geochemistry graduate student at Oxford University. “These results strongly support repeated episodes of volcanic activity at the end of the Triassic, with the onset of volcanism during the end-Triassic extinction.”

The research “enhances our understanding of this event, and potentially of other climate change episodes in Earth's history,” Percival added.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford </a>

Study: Volcanic activity led to dawn of dinosaurs

The dinosaur age was likely ushered in by huge pulses...

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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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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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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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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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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...