Krill may be small, but their role in carbon storage is monumental. Beneath Antarctica's icy waters, these tiny crustaceans are emerging as unexpected heroes in the fight against atmospheric carbon.



While the significance of blue carbon habitats like mangroves, seagrasses, and saltmarshes is well-known, recent research highlights the vital contribution of Antarctic krill and their impressive carbon storage capacity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-unsung-heroes-of-carbon-capture">The unsung heroes of carbon capture</h2>



When we think of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mountains-both-carbon-sinks-and-carbon-sources/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carbon sinks</a> - the vital natural systems that absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere - we might not consider the role of small crustaceans.



The new findings reveal that Antarctic krill store amounts of carbon that are comparable to critical blue carbon habitats like mangroves, seagrasses, and saltmarshes.



Despite <a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/antarctic-krill_store-huge-amounts-carbon_credit-Imperial-College_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">their minute size</a>, these krill contribute significantly to carbon cycling, thanks to their enormous combined populations.



"A key player in the biological carbon pump is the Antarctic krill,&nbsp;Euphausia superba, whose faecal pellets, moults and carcasses can completely dominate Southern Ocean carbon fluxes to the ocean’s interior in the Austral growth season," wrote the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-krill-in-carbon-cycling">The role of krill in carbon cycling</h2>



Krill are often viewed as merely being food for larger animals. Whales, seals, and penguins relish these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-deep-sea-crustacean-species-discovered-in-the-bahamas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crustaceans</a>, and humans also fish them for bait, aquaculture, and dietary supplements. 



However, the value of krill extends far beyond the food chain.



“For the past decade we have been piecing together the role krill have in carbon cycling, finally resulting in this amazing finding that krill, and their poo, store similar amounts of carbon as some coastal marine plants," explained Dr. Emma Cavan, one of the lead authors from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Imperial College London</a>.



Protection for these vital creatures is an urgent matter. 



"I hope this means we can now work towards conserving krill and their valuable Southern Ocean ecosystem with the same gumption as we are seagrasses and mangroves," Cavan continued.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-carbon-storage-in-ocean-systems">Carbon storage in ocean systems</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-impacting-marine-life-more-than-we-realized/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marine life</a> plays a pivotal role in locking carbon away from the atmosphere in ocean systems. The term "blue carbon" was coined over a decade ago to describe the crucial role <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/native-aquatic-plants-could-help-clean-coastal-waters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coastal marine plants</a> play in this process. 



Yet, the ocean has other storage methods far from the coast through animals like krill. These creatures feed on phytoplankton - microscopic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/good-news-plants-are-absorbing-more-human-produced-co2-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plants that absorb carbon</a> during photosynthesis.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/antarctic-krill_store-huge-amounts-carbon_illustration_credit-Imperial-College_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/antarctic-krill_store-huge-amounts-carbon_illustration_credit-Imperial-College_1s.webp" alt="Illustration of Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Credit: Glynn Gorick/Imperial College" class="wp-image-1945051"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Illustration of Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Credit: Glynn Gorick/Imperial College</figcaption></figure>



When krill excrete or shed their exoskeletons, the carbon they've consumed sinks to the ocean depths, where it remains for a long time. 



This process could lock away at least 20 million tons of carbon annually, which is the equivalent of up to $46 billion worth of carbon storage.



“Antarctic krill are well known for being at the center of the unique Southern Ocean ecosystem and supporting an important fishery. But this study paints another picture of krill -- on their key role in storing carbon," noted study co-author Professor Angus Atkinson from <a href="https://pml.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth Marine Laboratory</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-krill-swarms">The power of krill swarms</h2>



The massive populations of krill make them effective carbon storers. Swarms can contain up to 30 trillion individuals, producing a deluge of carbon-rich waste products.



“One of the amazing things about krill is that they form massive swarms, which can be over a kilometer in length," said Dr. Anna Belcher, a co-author from the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a>. 



"This drives a huge 'rain' of krill poo after feeding, making krill globally important for locking carbon away from the atmosphere."



The study also reveals that the depth needed to secure carbon storage effectively is surprisingly shallow, with an average of 381 meters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-krill-for-carbon-storage">Protecting krill for carbon storage </h2>



Antarctic krill are under increasing threat from rapid polar climate change, which is drastically altering their habitat. These krill are also targeted by an expanding fishery that further depletes their populations.



The combined pressures make the carbon storage capacity of krill an urgent and vital area for protection. 



Preserving this crucial carbon sink is essential for maintaining the delicate balance of the Southern Ocean ecosystem, and for meeting global climate goals.



The research highlights the need to integrate carbon considerations into broader conservation policies.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52135-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Tiny Antarctic krill store enormous amounts of carbon

Krill may be small, but their role in carbon storage is monumental. Beneath Antarctica's icy waters, these tiny crustaceans are emerging as unexpected heroes in the fight against atmospheric carbon. While the significance of blue carbon habitats like mangroves, seagrasses, and saltmarshes is well-known, recent research highlights the vital contribution of Antarctic krill and their impressive carbon storage capacity. The unsung heroes of carbon capture When we think of carbon sinks - the vital natural systems that absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere - we might...

Polar bears, the poster-child for climate change, are among the animals most affected by the seasonal and year-to-year changes in Arctic sea ice, because they rely on this surface for essential activities such as hunting, traveling and breeding.

A new <a href="http://www.washington.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Washington</a> study, with funding and satellite data from NASA, finds a trend toward earlier sea ice melt in the spring and later ice growth in the fall across all 19 polar bear populations, which can negatively impact the feeding and breeding capabilities of the bears. The paper, published Sept. 14 in The Cryosphere, is the first to quantify the sea ice changes in each polar bear subpopulation across the entire Arctic region using metrics that are specifically relevant to polar bear biology.

"This study shows declining sea ice for all subpopulations of polar bears," said co-author Harry Stern, a researcher with the UW's Polar Science Center. "We have used the same metric across all of the polar bear subpopulations in the Arctic so we can compare and contrast, for example, the Hudson Bay region with the Baffin Bay region using the same metric."

The analysis shows that the critical timing of the sea ice break-up and sea ice freeze-up is changing in all areas in a direction that is harmful for polar bears.

Nineteen separate polar bear populations live throughout the Arctic, spending their winters and springs roaming on sea ice and hunting. The bears have evolved mainly to eat seals, which provide necessary fats and nutrients in the harsh Arctic environment. Polar bears can't outswim their prey, so instead they perch on the ice as a platform and ambush seals at breathing holes or break through the ice to access their dens.

"Sea ice really is their platform for life," said co-author Kristin Laidre, a researcher at the UW's Polar Science Center. "They are capable of existing on land for part of the year, but the sea ice is where they obtain their main prey."

The new study draws upon 35 years of satellite data showing sea ice concentration each day in the Arctic. NASA scientists process the data, stored at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

The center also reports each fall the yearly minimum low for Arctic sea ice. This August saw the fourth lowest in the satellite record.

Across all 19 polar bear populations, the researchers found that the total number of ice-covered days declined at the rate of seven to 19 days per decade between 1979 and 2014. Sea ice concentration during the summer months -- an important measure because summertime is when some subpopulations are forced to fast on land -- also declined in all regions, by 1 percent to 9 percent per decade.

The most striking result, researchers said, is the consistent trend across all polar bear regions for an earlier spring ice melt and a later fall freeze-up. Arctic sea ice retreats in the springtime as daylight reappears and temperatures warm. In the fall months the ice sheets build again as temperatures drop.

"These spring and fall transitions bound the period when there is good ice habitat available for bears to feed," Laidre said. "Those periods are also tied to the breeding season when bears find mates, and when females come out of their maternity dens with very small cubs and haven't eaten for months."

The researchers found that on average, spring melting was three to nine days earlier per decade, and fall freeze-up was three to nine days later per decade. That corresponds to a roughly 3 ½ week shift at either end -- and seven weeks of total loss of good sea ice habitat for polar bears -- over the 35 years of Arctic sea ice data.

"We expect that if the trends continue, compared with today, polar bears will experience another six to seven weeks of ice-free periods by mid-century," Stern said.

The trend appears to be linear and isn't accelerating or leveling off, Stern added. The researchers recommend that the National Climate Assessment incorporate the timing of spring ice retreat and fall ice advance as measures of climate change in future reports.

The study's results currently are used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Polar Bear Specialist Group, which completes assessments of polar bears and issues the species' conservation status. Specifically, the group used the sea ice metric as a measure of polar bear habitat in the IUCN Red List assessment of polar bears. The researchers plan to update their findings each year as new ice coverage data are available.

"It's nice to see this work being used in high-level conservation goals," Laidre said.

Polar bears across the Arctic are facing much shorter sea ice seasons

Polar bears, the poster-child for climate change, are among the...

How will we feed our growing population in the face of increasingly extreme climate change? Many experts suggest the answer lies in breeding novel crop varieties that can withstand the increases in drought, heat, and extreme rainfall events predicted in the not-too-distant future. But breeding is only part of the equation, according to new research from the <a href="http://aces.illinois.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Illinois</a> and several collaborating institutions across the Midwest.

"It might not be necessary to put all the stress of climate adaptation and mitigation on new varieties. Instead, if we can manage agroecosystems more appropriately, we can buffer some of the effects of climate instability," says U of I and USDA Agricultural Research Service ecologist Adam Davis.

To find the management tool that could ameliorate the effects of climate instability, Davis and his collaborators had to go beyond the traditional field-scale experiment. "We had to think at a much broader spatial scale," he notes.

The team obtained weather, soil, and yield data from every county in four states--Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania--across a span of 15 years. They then used a new analytical approach, which borrowed from economic concepts, to determine the effects of weather and soil properties on maize yield.

"The things that were most effective at buffering against the different forms of yield instability were soil organic matter and water holding capacity," Davis says. This pattern was true across all years and all study locations.

Greater water holding capacity, which increases with more soil organic matter, gives crops an advantage in hot, dry climates. They can continue to take up water from the soil, which means continued growth and strong yields even in adverse climates.

The good news for farmers is that they may be able to manage for improvements in water holding capacity, giving them a potential tool to support novel maize varieties. "In locations with coarse soils, you can see really quick and gratifying responses to soil organic matter amendments," Davis says.

Davis suggests a number of practices to increase soil organic matter, including using cover crops, avoiding excessive soil disturbance, increasing crop rotation length, and adding composted manures. He points out that cover crops might be the best choice for some farmers.

"Cover crops are a great way for improving soil organic matter; even small amounts of cover crop biomass seem to have soil organic matter benefits," Davis explains. "They also can have weed suppressive benefits, so cover crops may represent a win-win scenario."

No matter which amendment practice farmers choose, he says, "soil organic matter amendments are an important place to start building a cropping system resilient to climate change."

Soil management can save corn production from climate change

How will we feed our growing population in the face...

Typhoon Chaba intensifies into a super typhoon As Typhoon Chaba moved to the western Pacific Ocean south of Okinawa over the past few days wind speeds have increased. <a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA</a> satellites got a look inside and outside of the storm as it intensified into a super typhoon. Typhoon Chaba intensifies into a super typhoon

The GPM or Global Precipitation Measurement mission core observatory satellite flew directly above Chaba's eye on Oct. 2, 2016 at 4:26 p.m. EDT (2026 UTC). GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments showed that Chaba was dropping extremely heavy precipitation. Some precipitation in the typhoon's small eye wall was measured by GPM's radar falling at a rate of more than 234 mm (9.2 inches) per hour.

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/flash-flooding-devastates-maryland/">Maryland</a> GPM's Radar (DPR Ku Band) data were used to create a 3-D shape of precipitation inside typhoon Chaba. Some towering storm tops in Chaba's eye wall were found by DPR to reach to almost 17 km (10.5 miles).

Warm sea surface temperatures and low vertical wind shear are two factors that helped Chaba become a Super Typhoon on Oct. 3. That's when the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a stunning visible image of Super Typhoon Chaba. Chaba was moving through the Philippine Sea when Aqua passed overhead on Oct. 3 at 12:45 a.m. EDT (04:45 UTC). The MODIS image showed a clear eye surrounded by powerful thunderstorms.

By 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) Chaba's maximum sustained winds were near 167 mph (145 knots/268,5 kph).That makes Chaba a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Typhoon-force winds extended 25 nautical miles from the center, but tropical storm-force winds extended 105 miles from the center.

Chaba was just 100 miles south-southwest of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, centered near 20.5 degrees north latitude and 127.0 degrees east longitude. According to the KAB Facebook page on Oct. 3, "The 18th Wing Vice Commander has declared Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness (TCCOR) 1-Emergency for Okinawa, Japan effective (6:12 p.m.) 2212L on Oct. 3."

Chaba was moving to the north-northwest at 14 mph (12 knots/22 kph) and is expected to take a more northerly direction, curving to the northeast by Oct. 4 as it approaches the South Korean island of Jeju in the Korea Strait. Chaba is forecast to move between Jeju Island and the big island of Kyushu, Japan as it heads into the Sea of Japan.

[ooyala code="9xZ204NjE6jKlR43guAus9qdJDH-CFtw" player_id="ce75157bc770441eaf5e849ae4d1d21f" auto="true" width="896" height="504"]

Typhoon Chaba intensifies into a super typhoon

Typhoon Chaba intensifies into a super typhoon As Typhoon Chaba...

Just over a month ago, Miami Beach Botanical Garden was home to over 2,000 colorful, water-trapping bromeliads, some featuring red flowers that burst like fireworks from dark green spirals. Identified as breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry Zika, they've all been pulled out, leaving shallow depressions in flower beds and exposing irrigation lines.
Walking through the quiet haven in South Beach recently, executive director Sandy Shapiro pointed to where spiky yellow leaves once topped a block of stone at the entrance gate and where thick leaves with purple speckles would have served as camouflage for a 3-foot iguana sunbathing at the edge of a small pool. Only mulch fills those spaces now.
"It's been disastrous," Shapiro said at a meeting she hosted Sept. 20 to calm gardeners and growers angry about recommendations to uproot bromeliads to stop the spread of Zika.
City officials pulled all bromeliads from the 2.6-acre garden in South Beach, as well as from medians and parks, at the end of August. They also recommended all Miami Beach residents and businesses do the same, because mosquitoes can breed in water trapped by bromeliads' cylindrical centers, formed by leaves growing out in spiral patterns. Residents elsewhere in South Florida also have followed suit.
The garden is within the large portion of Miami Beach, a 7-mile-long barrier island, that Florida health officials believe is the only current area of active Zika transmission.
The state's bromeliad-growing community has reacted with dismay, saying bromeliads have been scapegoated and that instead of fueling Zika fears, the city could be adjusting landscaping practices to make bromeliads less hospitable to mosquitoes.
Bromeliads aren't the only plants that trap water in their leaves, and growers say debris like lawn clippings that fall into gutters, flower pots or other items that collect water are as much to blame for providing organic materials that mosquito larvae eat.
"It's heartbreaking to have bromeliads ripped out when they're not the main culprit," said Jenessa Kauth, an employee at Bullis Bromeliads in Princeton, Florida.
City officials say they're targeting mosquitoes, not bromeliads, to stop the spread of a virus that can cause severe brain-related birth defects, including disastrously small heads, when pregnant women become infected. Zika can also be sexually transmitted, but in a Sept. 23 report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention primarily blamed mosquitoes for the cluster of Zika infections in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood.
"We were made aware by the Florida Department of Health of this ideal breeding ground, and upon meticulous inspection of our own plant inventories, we found the existence of mosquito breeding to be frequent. Our top priority is to keep Miami Beach residents and visitors safe," Melissa Berthier, spokeswoman for the city manager, said in an email.
Growers worry bromeliads could face a similar fate as hundreds of thousands of orange, grapefruit and key lime trees in Florida. State agriculture officials cut down even healthy trees between 2000 and 2006 to try eradicating a bacterial disease threatening Florida's citrus industry.
Elsewhere in Miami-Dade County, officials recommend treating bromeliads with bacterial pesticides and regular hosings to flush out mosquito larvae, but suburban homeowners apparently are listening to officials in Miami Beach and uprooting bromeliads from their yards, according to Alex Bello, incoming president of the Bromeliad Society of South Florida.
"Driving around, I have been seeing landscapers ripping everything out," Bello said. "I'm picking bromeliads out of the trash that are worth $75 to $100."
Florida sales of bromeliads for indoor and patio use totaled $38.8 million in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2014 Census of Horticultural Specialties. Bromeliad sales for outdoor landscaping add roughly $7.8 million more, according to Ben Bolusky, CEO of the Florida Nursey, Growers and Landscape Association.
Brandon Cornejo, a design staff member at the Miami landscape architecture firm Raymond Jungles Inc., said that instead of removing bromeliads from designs, as the company did with citrus trees, the firm recommends ways to keep them mosquito-free: plant them where they can easily be flushed with a hose to remove larvae and faded blooms, tree leaves or other decaying material.
Miami Beach, however, will replace its bromeliads with different plants.
The city-owned botanical garden was one of five South Beach locations where Zika-infected mosquitoes were caught in traps. County officials say the number of mosquitoes that can transmit Zika has dropped in the garden since mid-August.
Insects in the garden didn't seem affected by pesticide spraying throughout South Beach that riled residents concerned about the potential health and environmental costs of aggressive mosquito control. During Shapiro's stroll through the garden after the Sept. 20 meeting, monarch butterflies flitted among the milkweed and bees darted in and out of a hive in a 100-year-old banyan tree.
Outdoor yoga, meditation classes and a farmers' market in the garden have continued, but ticket sales for an Oktoberfest-themed fundraiser Sept. 23 were slow and three upcoming events booked at the garden canceled, Shapiro said.
"Concerns about the Zika," she said.
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Bromeliads are to blame for the zika virus in Miami

Just over a month ago, Miami Beach Botanical Garden was...

Megalolamna paradoxodon is the name of a new extinct shark described by an international research team who based their discovery on fossilized teeth up to 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) tall found from the eastern and western United States (California and North Carolina), Peru and Japan.

The newly identified fossil shark lived during the early Miocene epoch about 20 million years ago and belongs to a shark group called Lamniformes, which includes the modern-day great white and mako sharks.

More specifically, it belongs to Otodontidae, which contains the iconic extinct superpredator 'megalodon' or the 'megatoothed' shark, and as an otodontid, Megalolamna paradoxodonrepresents a close cousin of the megatoothed lineage, said Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiologist at <a href="http://www.depaul.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DePaul University</a> and research associate at the Sternberg Museum in Kansas.

Certain dental features suggest its otodontid affinity, but in many other aspects, teeth of the new fossil shark look superficially like over-sized teeth of the modern-day salmon shark that belongs to the genus Lamna -- hence the new genus Megalolamna, the researchers noted. The new species name 'paradoxodon,' or paradoxical teeth, comes from the fact that the shark appears to emerge suddenly in the geologic record with a yet unresolved nearly 45-million-year gap from when Megalolamna possibly split from its closest relative Otodus.

Although smaller than members of the megatoothed lineage containing 'megalodon' that reached well over 10 meters (33 feet), Megalolamna paradoxodon is still an impressive shark estimated to be minimally equivalent to the size of a typical modern-day great white, roughly 4 meters (13 feet) in length. Living in the same ancient oceans megatoothed sharks inhabited,Megalolamna paradoxodon had grasping-type front teeth and cutting-type rear teeth likely used to seize and slice medium-sized fish.

"It's quite remarkable that such a large lamniform shark with such a global distribution had evaded recognition until now, especially because there are numerous Miocene localities where fossil shark teeth are well sampled," said Shimada, lead author of the study.

In classifying the new fossil shark, the research team also came to a conclusion that members of the megatoothed lineage, including 'megalodon,' ought to be classified into the genusOtodus, and not to its traditional genus Carcharocles.

"The idea that megalodon and its close allies should be placed in Otodus is not new, but our study is the first of its kind that logically demonstrates the taxonomic proposition," Shimada noted. Because the megatoothed shark lineage simply represents a subset of Otodus, excluding megatoothed sharks would not reflect a full lineage for Otodus -- an uncomfortable taxonomic condition referred to as 'non-monophyletic.' The inclusion of megatoothed sharks into Otodus would make the genus a much preferred complete lineage referred to as a 'monophyletic group' that is considered to be a next of kin to the new genus Megalolamna.

The new study, "A new elusive otodontid shark (Lamniformes: Otodontidae) from the lower Miocene, and comments on the taxonomy of otodontid genera, including the 'megatoothed' clade," will appear in the forthcoming issue of the international scientific journal Historical Biology and online on Oct. 3. In addition to Shimada, other authors include Richard Chandler, North Carolina State University; Otto Lok Tao Lam, The University of Hong Kong; Takeshi Tanaka, Japan; and David Ward, The Natural History Museum, London.

Megalolamna paradoxodon: New extinct shark discovered

Megalolamna paradoxodon is the name of a new extinct shark...

NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured an image of Hurricane Matthew in the central Caribbean Sea early on Oct. 2.

On Oct. 2, many watches and warnings were in effect as Matthew moves to the northwest. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Jamaica, Haiti, the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma, and Las Tunas. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Cuban province of Camaguey;  Southeastern Bahamas, including the Inaguas, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, and Ragged Island and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Dominican Republic from Barahona westward to the border with Haiti. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the Dominican Republic from Puerto Plata westward to the border with Haiti.

The NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland created an image of Hurricane Matthew. The image showed a small eye surrounded by bands of powerful thunderstorms wrapping around it. The image also revealed powerful thunderstorms in fragmented bands on the western and eastern side of the storm.

At 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Hurricane Matthew was located near latitude 14.1 North, longitude 74.3 West.  Matthew is moving toward the northwest near 5 mph (7 kph).  This general motion is expected to continue today, followed by a turn toward the north tonight.  On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will approach southwestern Haiti and Jamaica on Monday, Oct. 4

NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, Matthew's maximum sustained winds were near 150 mph (240 kph) with higher gusts.  Matthew is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.  Some fluctuations in intensity are possible during the next couple of days, but Matthew is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through Monday night.

For updated forecasts, visit the NHC website: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>.

Hurricane Matthew barrels through the Caribbean

NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured an image of Hurricane Matthew in...

INDIA FESTIVAL

India, which accounts for about 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change Sunday at the United Nations, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet had given its approval Wednesday to ratify the Paris agreement on Oct. 2, coinciding with the birth anniversary of India's independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, who believed in a minimum carbon footprint.
India's U.N. Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin handed over the official documents on ratification of the Paris agreement to the chief of the U.N. Treaty Section, Santiago Villalpando, in the chamber of the U.N. Economic and Social Council at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sunday, according to India's U.N. Mission.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted that India had kept "its promise" to ratify the deal.
The U.N. welcomed India's move. "India's leadership builds on the continued strong political momentum from Paris for urgent global action on climate change," the U.N. spokesman's office said in a statement.
The Paris agreement will come into force when 55 countries contributing to at least 55 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions ratify it.
Including India, 62 countries have so far deposited their instruments of ratification, accounting for roughly 52 percent of global emissions, according to the U.N.
The Paris agreement was adopted by 185 nations in December. It asks both rich and poor countries to take action to curb the rise in global temperatures that is melting glaciers, raising sea levels and shifting rainfall patterns. It requires governments to present national plans to reduce emissions to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
India has committed that by 2030, at least 40 percent of its electricity will be generated from non-fossil sources. This includes 175 gigawatt renewable energy capacity by 2022.
Manish Bapna, executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute, said that India "has one of the boldest renewable energy targets in the world, making it destined to be a major player in solar and wind markets."
Money will be a big challenge for India, which says it will require over $2.5 trillion to meet all of its targets. It says it will achieve the targets only if other countries give it money and discounts on new technology.
---
Associated Press writer Edith Lederer in New York contributed to this report.
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India ratifies Paris Agreement on climate change

India, which accounts for about 4.5 percent of global greenhouse...

Almost four years after Superstorm Sandy pummeled his neighborhood so badly that Britain's Prince Harry had to stop by for a look at the damage, Paul Jeffrey is ready to sleep soundly again.
His Ortley Beach community in Toms River, New Jersey called itself ground zero of the 2012 storm that washed entire neighborhoods off the map and in some cases, into the bay.
It is among shore towns in a 14-mile stretch of coast that will soon be getting protective sand dunes as part of a $150 million project that has been repeatedly delayed by litigation from some property owners. New Jersey officials solicited bids this week for the project, which Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said should begin in the spring.
"It actually lets people sleep at night," said Jeffrey, president of the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association. "When these storms come through, people have trouble sleeping. They don't know if they're going to wake up to water pouring through their homes. This is a stress-reliever."
But for homeowners fighting against the plan, it is a nightmare. The state has obtained nearly 350 easements from oceanfront property owners who voluntarily gave permission for the dunes to be built on part of their land. But 149 others are fighting the state's condemnation proceedings court: 83 in Bay Head; 53 in Point Pleasant Beach; nine in Berkeley, and four in Mantoloking.
Some don't want to lose their ground-floor oceanfront views. Others object to the government seizing private property, and still others, including a group in Bay Head that has spent millions of dollars of their own money on a rock wall between their homes and the ocean, say it's simply not needed.
Many of the foes also question the federal government's commitment to constantly replenishing the sand as it washes away every few years for the next half-century. Thom Ammirato, a spokesman for some of the Bay Head objectors, said the dunes won't be finished until after Republican Gov. Chris Christie's administration leaves office in 2018, and questioned whether future federal and state governments will keep paying to maintain the project.
"How does Bob Martin expect to pay for this?" Ammirato asked. "Is he just dumping it on the next administration, or does he still believe in the fairy tale that the federal government is going to pay for New Jersey beaches for the next 50 years? Residents along the beach will be making life-altering decisions on the promise made by Martin and Gov. Christie. That could be foolish."
The dunes will stretch from Point Pleasant Beach to Island Beach State Park, which includes areas that were hit the worst by Sandy. Mantoloking was cut in half by the storm, Route 35 - the state's second-busiest north-south coastal highway - was smashed to pieces and virtually every one of the town's 521 buildings was either damaged or destroyed; entire neighborhoods were washed away, including houses that ended up atop a bridge, or in a nearby bay.
And the Ortley Beach section of Toms River still struggles to recover nearly four years later. It was one of the places Britain's Prince Harry saw during a 2013 tour of storm-damaged areas.
Martin commended the homeowners who voluntarily signed their easements, calling them "the real heroes here." Since a state judge ruled in favor of New Jersey's condemnation efforts for the dune plan in March, the state has pressed its efforts in court while negotiating with others, including the owners of the privately owned Jenkinson's Beach in Point Pleasant Beach, one of the state's main summer tourist spots.
---
Follow Wayne Parry at <a href="http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC.">http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC.</a>
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Many New Jersey residents are fighting the EPA over sand dunes

Almost four years after Superstorm Sandy pummeled his neighborhood so...

Canada geese are loud, aggressive and annoying, but worst of all they poop everywhere - a messy problem vexing cities across the country trying to keep their parks clean and safe.
"Geese and their waste ruin youth sports and picnics, make it unpleasant for the elderly who like to walk in the parks, and the waste gets all over dogs' paws," said Annissa Essaibi George, a Boston city councilor who this week introduced a measure to drive the messy pests from the city's parks, playgrounds, ballfields, golf courses and waterways.
The goose poop can make humans sick and pollute waterways, said the first-term councilor, a mother of four whose family trips to the park have been ruined by goose poop.
Communities large and small across the nation are dealing with the goose problem, said Paul Curtis, an associate professor of wildlife science and management at Cornell University. The National Park Service last year hired a contractor to keep Canada geese off the National Mall. The city of Ithaca, New York, home of Cornell, last year launched a goose control project, he said.
Two years ago, after plastic coyotes didn't do the trick, frustrated officials in Columbus, Ohio, used laser beams and explosives in efforts to keep geese from fouling the banks of the Olentangy River.
The geese causing the problems were thought to be near extinction not so long ago, so they were protected, and the population grew virtually unchecked, said Curtis, who specializes in human/animal conflict.
"We sort of brought this on ourselves," he said.
They are not the migratory geese seen flying south in a V-formation every fall.
The geese that force people to keep their eyes on the ground and dance around little cylinders of poop are called resident geese. They stay year-round, tend to be bigger than migratory geese, live longer and have more young. They eat grass voraciously, and each adult can produce a pound or more of feces per day, Curtis said.
They have few predators and are not hunted as much as migratory geese because they tend to gather in urban areas.
Andrew Helger, owner of Arlington, Massachusetts-based Southern New England Goose Patrol, is on the front lines of the goose problem.
He and his two border collies have been hired by towns, business parks, apartment complexes and golf courses to get rid of geese. The collies, using their herding instincts, scare the birds away but don't harm them.
"I've been doing this seven or eight years now, and every year it gets worse," Helger said.
Essaibi George's measure will be discussed at a future meeting of the City Council's Committee on Parks and Recreation, where experts and members of the public will get a chance to speak.
She said all humane options are on the table. That could include the use of dogs, bright lights and noisemakers, relocation or egg sterilization. The city parks department already uses an egg sterilization program, but it's apparently not enough.
"Our park system is important to me," Essaibi George said. "We invest $250 million a year in our parks. I want to protect that investment."
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Cities across America are dealing with an odd problem: Goose poop

Canada geese are loud, aggressive and annoying, but worst of...

Newly recovered fossils confirm that Drepanosaurus, a prehistoric cross between a chameleon and an anteater, was a small reptile with a fearsome finger. The second digit of its forelimb sported a massive claw.

Scientists analyzed 212-million-year-old Drepanosaurus arm fossils that were discovered at the Hayden Quarry in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. The researchers describe their findings in a paper in the Sept. 29 edition of the journal Current Biology.

Drepanosaurus is neither a dinosaur nor a lizard. It is a one- to two-foot long reptile from an extinct group of animals called drepanosaurs, and shares a common ancestry with lizards, crocodiles, and dinosaurs. The only other known Drepanosaurus fossil was a badly crushed skeleton found in northern Italy more than 30 years ago.

“This animal stretches the bounds of what we think can evolve in the limbs of four-footed animals,” said Adam Pritchard, a postdoctoral researcher at Yale and first author of the study. “Ecologically, Drepanosaurusseems to be a sort of chameleon-anteater hybrid, which is really bizarre for the time. It possesses a totally unique forelimb.”

Four-limbed animals with a backbone are called tetrapods. In nearly all tetrapods, the forearm is made up of two, elongate and parallel bones — the radius and the ulna. These bones connect to a series of much shorter, wrist bones at the base of the hand.

Drepanosaurus, however, has radius and ulna bones that are not parallel. Instead, the ulna is a flat, crescent-shaped bone. Also, the two wrist bones that meet the end of the ulna are long rather than short. They are longer than the radius, in fact.

“The bone contacts suggest that the enlarged claw of Drepanosaurus could have been hooked into insect nests,” Pritchard said. “The entire arm could then have been powerfully retracted to tear open the nest. This motion is very similar to the hook-and-pull digging of living anteaters, which also eat insects.”

Drepanosaurus also had grasping feet and a claw-like structure at the tip of its tail. The finding suggests that tetrapods developed specialized, modern ecological roles more than 200 million years ago.

Pritchard is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Bhart-Anjan Bhullar in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale. Co-authors of the study were Alan Turner of Stony Brook University, Randall Irmis of the University of Utah, Sterling Nesbitt of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Nathan Smith of the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

The research was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation. Other funding was provided by the National Geographic Society Committee for Research &amp; Exploration. Fieldwork was conducted with the permission and support of the Ghost Ranch Conference Center.

--

<a href="http://www.yale.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yale University</a>

Drepanosaurus: A prehistoric cross between a chameleon and an anteater

Newly recovered fossils confirm that Drepanosaurus, a prehistoric cross between...

Scientists working in the mid-Atlantic and south-west Indian Ocean have found evidence of microfibers ingested by deep sea animals including hermit crabs, squat lobsters and sea cucumbers, revealing for the first time the environmental fallout of microplastic pollution.

The UK government recently announced that it is to ban plastic microbeads, commonly found in cosmetics and cleaning materials, by the end of 2017. This followed reports by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee about the environmental damage caused microbeads. The Committee found that a single shower can result in 100,000 plastic particles entering the ocean.

Researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford, working on the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Cook at two sites, have now found evidence of microbeads inside creatures at depths of between 300m and 1800m. This is the first time microplastics – which can enter the sea via the washing of clothes made from synthetic fabrics or from fishing line nets – have been shown to have been ingested by animals at such depth.

The results are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Laura Robinson, Professor of Geochemistry in Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, said: “This result astonished me and is a real reminder that plastic pollution has truly reached the furthest ends of the Earth.”

[caption id="attachment_87800" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-87800" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/hermit-crab-zoanthid_1big-UBristol-150x150.png" alt="Hermit crab colonised by zoanthid" width="150" height="150" /> Hermit crab colonised by zoanthid[/caption]

Microplastics are generally defined as particles under 5mm in length and include the microfibres analysed in this study and the microbeads used in cosmetics that will be the subject of the forthcoming Government ban.

Among the plastics found inside deep-sea animals in this research were polyester, nylon and acrylic. Microplastics are roughly the same size as ‘marine snow’ – the shower of organic material that falls from upper waters to the deep ocean and which many deep-sea creatures feed on.

Dr Michelle Taylor of Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, and lead author of the study, said: “The main purpose of this research expedition was to collect microplastics from sediments in the deep ocean – and we found lots of them. Given that animals interact with this sediment, such as living on it or eating it, we decided to look inside them to see if there was any evidence of ingestion. What’s particularly alarming is that these microplastics weren’t found in coastal areas but in the deep ocean, thousands of miles away from land-based sources of pollution.”

The animals were collected using a remotely operated underwater vehicle. The study, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), was a collaboration between The University of Oxford, the University of Bristol, the Natural History Museum in London, and Staffordshire University’s Department of Forensic and Crime Science, which made sure the results were robust and the study was free from potential contamination.

Dr Claire Gwinnett, Associate Professor in Forensic and Crime Science at Staffordshire University, said: “Existing forensic approaches for the examination of fibres are tried and tested for their robustness and must stand up to the scrutiny of the courts of law. These techniques were employed in this research in order to effectively reduce and monitor contamination and therefore provide confidence in the fact that the microplastics found were ingested, and not from the laboratory or other external contaminant.

“Using forensic laboratory techniques, we have identified that microplastics are present in ingested material from deep sea creatures. Forensic science is still a fairly new science, but we are delighted that our work and techniques are starting to inform other sciences and important environmental research such as this.”

--

<a href="http://www.bris.ac.uk" target="_blank">University of Bristol</a>

First evidence that deep sea animals are ingesting plastics

Scientists working in the mid-Atlantic and south-west Indian Ocean have...

A team of explorers say they have revealed an underwater cave to be the world's deepest, at 404 meters (1,325 feet) down, near the eastern Czech town of Hranice.
Polish explorer Krzysztof Starnawski, who led the team, told The Associated Press Friday he felt like a "Columbus of the 21th century" to have made the discovery.
Starnawski, 48, determined Tuesday that the flooded limestone Hranicka Propast, or Hranice Abyss, which divers have explored for decades, was at least 404 meters deep. He scuba dived to a narrow slot at 200 meters' depth and let through a remotely operated underwater robot, or ROV, that went to the depth of 404 meters, or the length of its cord, but still did not seem to hit the bottom.
In 2015, Starnawski himself passed through the slot and went to 265 meters' depth without reaching the cave's bottom. After diving that far down, Starnawski had to spend over six hours in a decompression chamber. To explore the cave further, he needed a robot.
Speaking on the phone from his home in Krakow, southern Poland, Starnawski said Tuesday's discovery makes Hranice Abyss the world's deepest known underwater cave, beating the previous record-holder, a flooded sinkhole in Italy called Pozzo del Merro, by 12 meters (39 feet.)
The Czech Speleological Society said it thinks the cave is even deeper and will yield additional records.
On Tuesday, when the robot was 404 meters deep, "it was as deep as its rope could go, but the bottom was still nowhere in sight," the society said in a statement.
Diving in the cave is a challenge because of muddy areas and a water temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit.) The water's mineral composition also damages equipment and hurts any exposed skin, Starnawski said.
"But that is the only price to be paid for this discovery, and it was worth paying," he said.
On Saturday, he plans to dive to 200 meters again to bring the robot back through the narrow passage. The device was made especially for the expedition and operated by a Polish firm, GRALmarine.
He said National Geographic, which <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/activities/caving-and-canyoneering/deepest-underwater-cave-discovered/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first reported the discovery</a> , covered some of the expedition's cost.
---
This story has been corrected to show that the water temperature in the cave is 15 degrees Celsius, not 7 degrees.
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Explorers find the world's deepest underwater cave

A team of explorers say they have revealed an underwater...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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

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

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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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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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

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