The world watches as the Great Salt Lake, one of Earth's largest saline lakes, deteriorates. 



Over the past 30 years, the lake has lost a staggering 15 billion cubic yards (11.4 billion cubic meters) of water. It has grown shallower at the rate of 4 inches (10 cm) each year.



This rapid depletion isn't a natural mystery. Decades of unsustainable water diversion, combined with increasing demand and a changing climate, have pushed the lake to a breaking point.



Agriculture is a major contributor to this dire situation, particularly in the case of livestock feed crops.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rapid-depletion-of-great-salt-lake">Rapid depletion of Great Salt Lake </h2>



A recent study published in the journal Environmental Challenges reveals a shocking statistic. Approximately 62% of the river water heading towards Great Salt Lake gets diverted for human usage.



Agricultural activities are the primary culprits, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the water diverted.



“The research highlights the alarming role of water consumption for feeding livestock in driving the lake’s rapid depletion," explained William Ripple, a professor of ecology at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a> and co-author of the study.



Almost 80% of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agricultural-water-scarcity-is-about-to-get-much-worse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agricultural water</a> use is for irrigating alfalfa and hay crops - the primary feed for livestock.



This level of diversion not only depletes the lake's vital inflows but also raises questions about the long-term sustainability of current agricultural practices in the region.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-great-salt-lake">Significance of Great Salt Lake</h2>



The importance of Great Salt Lake extends far beyond its beauty or agricultural use.



As one of the world's largest saline lakes, it plays important ecological, economic, cultural, and spiritual roles - all of which are in grave danger due to the dramatic <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/the-great-salt-lake-has-reached-historically-low-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decline in lake levels</a> during the past decades.



Data from the Utah Division of Water Resources shows a disturbing trend. From 1989 to 2022, consumption and evaporation consistently outpaced inflows from river water and precipitation.



This imbalance has created an annual deficit of approximately 500 million cubic yards (380 cubic meters), which has further accelerated the lake's decline.



The water budget has faced a persistent deficit for most of the past century. The situation has been exacerbated by the growing impacts of climate change and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-drought-has-caused-crisis-levels-of-food-and-water-scarcity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prolonged drought</a>, according to the researchers.



“Abnormally large <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snowmelt-changes-may-greatly-affect-farmers-in-western-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">snowmelt</a> inflow during the 1980s and 1990s served to temporarily obscure the long-term decline in lake levels, and the lake actually reached its highest level in more than a century in 1987,” explained Professor Ripple. “But it has been dropping by roughly 4 inches per year on average since then.”



Great Salt Lake is the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere and ranks eighth globally. Its 21,000-square-mile drainage basin, which includes the Wasatch Mountains, relies heavily on snowfall for water replenishment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-threats-from-declining-lake-levels">Threats from declining lake levels</h2>



Great Salt Lake is also a biodiversity hotspot, hosting over 10 million migrating birds and an estimated 350 different species of birds. These habitats are threatened by declining lake levels.



In addition, the lake creates $2.5 billion in annual economic activity. Recreation, mining, and the harvesting of brine shrimp support more than 9,000 jobs. As salinity levels increase, however, brine shrimp experience extreme stress.



Human health also suffers as the Lake shrinks, with wind-carried <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-salt-lake-drying-up-causing-major-dust-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dust from the exposed saline lakebed</a> causing a range of pulmonary problems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-great-salt-lake">Saving Great Salt Lake</h2>



To halt this alarming trend and start refilling the lake, a 35% reduction of human water consumption in the Great Salt Lake watershed by 35% has been proposed.



This includes a significant cut in irrigated alfalfa production, a fallowing of much of the region’s irrigated grass hay fields, and taxpayer-funded compensation for affected farmers and ranchers.



Conservation measures such as crop shifting, reducing municipal and industrial use, and leasing water rights from irrigators have also been proposed.



The impacts of these changes will be significant, and will affect as many as 20,000 farmers and ranchers in the basin. However, the situation presents an opportunity to set a precedent for addressing water scarcity globally.



“The economic and cultural adjustments required are significant but not insurmountable. With the right policies and public support, we can secure a sustainable future for the Great Salt Lake and set a precedent for addressing water scarcity globally,” concluded Professor Ripple.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2667010024002312" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Challenges</a>.



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Great Salt Lake: Agriculture is draining a natural wonder

The world watches as the Great Salt Lake, one of Earth's largest saline lakes, deteriorates. Over the past 30 years, the lake has lost a staggering 15 billion cubic yards (11.4 billion cubic meters) of water. It has grown shallower at the rate of 4 inches (10 cm) each year. This rapid depletion isn't a natural mystery. Decades of unsustainable water diversion, combined with increasing demand and a changing climate, have pushed the lake to a breaking point. Agriculture is a major contributor to this dire situation,...

Greenhouse gases that are more powerful than carbon dioxide are the focus of a global gathering this week in Africa. Experts say cutting hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, is the fastest way to reduce global warming. The United States is among the countries that want the world to quickly phase out the use of HFCs, and Secretary of State John Kerry is arriving Thursday to encourage a deal. Here's a look at a potential global climate agreement that has been described by the National Resources Defense Council as "the world's biggest climate protection achievement in the year after Paris."
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It's not about the ozone layer
The ozone layer has been healing for a while, thanks to the global agreement known as the Montreal Protocol. In 1987, countries alarmed by the discovery of a huge hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica signed the treaty to eventually end the use of chlorofluorocarbons, which at the time were used in refrigerators and aerosols like hair spray. HFCs were introduced to replace CFCs, and scientists realized only later that they have a strong effect on global warming. Although HFCs don't harm the ozone layer, their ability to trap the heat radiating off the Earth is hundreds or thousands of times more potent than that of carbon dioxide. The U.N. Environment Program says that reducing HFCs under the treaty could reduce global warming by .5-degree Celsius by the end of this century and environmental groups say the step is essential to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
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Where the US and China agree
The United States and China have their difficult issues, but the world's two worst polluters have pushed to fight climate change. The two heavyweights agreed in 2013 to pursue a deal to phase out HFCs, which are used in air conditioners, refrigerators and insulating foams. The U.S. and China are urging the countries gathered this week in Kigali, Rwanda, to extend the Montreal Protocol to include HFCs. They also want agreement on an "early freeze date" for when countries must cap their use of them. The U.S. and India, the world's third worst polluter, also have agreed to try to use the treaty to phase out the chemical.
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A threat as urgent as terrorists
HFCs have been called the world's fastest-growing climate pollutants, though they are less plentiful than carbon dioxide. The growth comes as more people in developing countries make enough money to buy appliances. Last month, Kerry said HFCs currently emit as much pollution as 300 coal-fired power plants. At an international climate meeting in July for state parties to the Montreal Protocol, Kerry stressed the urgency of fighting climate change, saying it is as dangerous as the threat posed by the Islamic State and other extremist groups, if not more so.
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African, island states in a hurry
Small island states and other countries, including many in Africa, that say they face the biggest threat from climate change are urging action on HFCs, and soon. At the July meeting by states parties to the treaty, many countries favored capping the growth of HFCs in 2021. China was said to prefer later in the decade, with India aiming at the end of it or beyond. Whatever the timing, less-developed countries are seeking help from richer ones to help them implement the treaty.
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Hydrofluorocarbons: Greenhouse gases more powerful than carbon dioxide

Greenhouse gases that are more powerful than carbon dioxide are...

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A new study by Stanford researchers has captured the de-greening of Central Asia over the last 23 million years, becoming one of the most arid regions on the planet. These findings illustrate the dramatic climatic shifts caused by the rise of new mountain ranges over geologic time.

Researchers have long cited the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan Mountains around 50 million years ago for blocking rain clouds' entry into central Asia from the south, killing off much of the region's plant life.

The new study, published online in the journal Geology, paints a more nuanced picture of Central Asia's desertification. It suggests that the relatively recent rise of lesser-known mountain ranges, such as the Tian Shan and the Altai, further sealed off moisture from the west and north. As a result, great stretches of what we now consider western China, southwestern Mongolia and eastern Tajikistan became barren earth or laced by sand dunes.

"While Central Asia was probably never lush and verdant, it was certainly greener 23 million years ago and probably even greener in the more distant past," said Jeremy Kesner Caves, the lead author of the study and a doctoral student at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy &amp; Environmental Sciences.

"One way to think about this change is that when viewed from space today, Central Asia appears very brown because of its expansive deserts," Caves said. "If viewed from space 23 million years ago, though, Central Asia would have looked somewhat darker, simply due to there being considerably more leaves and vegetation."

Reading carbon

Caves and his co-authors arrived at their conclusions after measuring the carbon isotope values in buried, ancient soil samples. A particular isotope, or version, of carbon found in the samples speaks to the dryness of conditions at the time of the soil's deposition. Wetter, rainier conditions allow for greater numbers of organisms, including plants and soil-dwelling bacteria, to thrive and pull carbon out of their surroundings to fuel their growth and metabolism, leaving telltale carbon isotopes in their environment.

[caption id="attachment_89329" align="alignleft"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-89329" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/hangay-mountains-central-mongolia_1big_Stanford-150x150.jpg" alt="Hangay mountain range in Mongolia" width="150" height="150" /> Hangay mountain range in Mongolia[/caption]

Previously, scientists had relied on these sorts of soil sample measurements primarily to study plant types and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Caves and colleagues instead looked at samples over extensive geographic and temporal spans in order to draw a fuller portrait of the climatic changes influencing soil composition.

"Our paper is the first-ever attempt to present maps of carbon isotopes over a geologic time frame of more than a million years," Caves said.

He and several co-authors traveled to Mongolia, eastern Kazakhstan and northern China to collect the bulk of 171 new soil samples, while Russian co-authors collected samples near Lake Baikal. The new specimens were considered alongside more than 2,200 previously collected samples. Because most of those existing samples originated from the Tibetan Plateau, the research team plugged a gap in the geographical coverage by going to little-studied northern central Asia.

The samples themselves "are honestly pretty boring," Caves admitted. "Basically, they look and feel like dirt." But the rocky outcrops exposing the old, hardened soil chunks can dazzle. "The outcrops are striped deep purple, red and green, and they often erode in crazy patterns," Caves said. "Imagine Badlands National Park in South Dakota or the Painted Desert in Arizona."

Asia's de-greening

Overall, the samples were well-distributed from 23 million to 2.6 million years ago during a geological period known as the Neogene. The Earth's climate cooled off substantially as the Neogene wore on, setting the stage for an Ice Age when glaciers crept from polar regions into lower latitudes.

Upon analysis, the samples' carbon isotope values revealed an exceptionally arid region deep in Asia's interior going back 23 million years, initially ringed by areas of higher rainfall. Starting about five million years ago, however, that dry region expanded to the north and west, as new mountain ranges reached heights sufficient to block westerly winds from delivering moisture.

The findings will help researchers disentangle how much of Central Asia's de-greening occurred in response to localized geological changes versus global shifts happening during the Neogene.

Investigating North America

With this compelling demonstration of using ancient soil samples as proxies for regional climate in Asia, Caves now plans to extend his investigations elsewhere on the globe. "I hope to be able to apply this method to other continents, such as North America, where there are large datasets of carbon isotopes," Caves said.

Doing so could illuminate impacts on western North America's climate due to the uplift of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California, as well as the Rocky Mountains further east, which reached near their present elevations around 40 million and 50 million years ago, respectively.

"Only by making these continental-scale maps, like Jeremy has done for Central Asia, can you further understand how the uplift of mountain ranges controlled rainfall patterns against this backdrop of global cooling in the Neogene," said Page Chamberlain, co-author of the study and a professor of Earth system science at Stanford. "North America is really ripe for this kind of research."

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Credit: <a href="http://www.stanford.edu" target="_blank">Stanford University</a>

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Rising mountain ranges have turned Central Asia into an arid wasteland

A new study by Stanford researchers has captured the de-greening...

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<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Cyclones sometimes reform after the become remnant low pressure areas, but it's not all that common. When NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite flew over the South China Sea, it captured an image of reborn tropical cyclone Aere and the "Zombie storm" is headed for landfall in central Vietnam.</div>
On Oct. 13 at the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of the storm that showed the center just east of Vietnam. Thunderstorms were flaring to the east and west of the center. Bands of thunderstorms extended east of the center and into the South China Sea including Hainan Island, China.

On Oct. 13 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) Aere had maximum sustained winds near 28/7 mph (25 knots/46.3 kph). It was centered just 54 nautical miles northeast of Da Nang, Vietnam near 16.6 degrees north latitude and 108.6 degrees east longitude. Aere was moving to the west at 14 knots.

Aere is expected to make landfall north of Hue, Vietnam later on Oct. 13 and move west over Laos and Thailand. Once it makes landfall it is again expected to weaken and "die" yet again into a remnant low pressure area.


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<div>Credit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a></div>

Reborn Tropical Cyclone Aere headed for Vietnam

Tropical Cyclones sometimes reform after the become remnant low pressure...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Depression 24W formed on Oct. 12 and continued to move west toward the Philippines on Oct. 13, 2016.</div>
On Oct. 13 at 1:25 a.m. EDT (0525 UTC), NASA's Aqua satellite passed over 24W and analyzed the storm in infrared light to show temperatures. The MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite revealed cloud top temperatures north of the center as cold or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius). NASA research indicates very cold cloud tops with the potential to generate very heavy rainfall.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) Tropical depression 24W, known in the Philippines as Karen was located near 13.3 degrees north latitude and 129.4 degrees east longitude. That's about 495 miles east of Manila, Philippines. 24W was moving to the northwest at 6 knots (7 mph/11 kph) and had maximum sustained winds near 30 knots (34.5 mph/55.5 kph).

24W is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. It is then expected to make landfall in eastern Luzon, the northern Philippines late on Oct. 15 or early on Oct. 16.


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<div>Credit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a></div>

Tropical Depression 24W seen moving toward Philippines

Tropical Depression 24W formed on Oct. 12 and continued to...

<div>Primates claim the highest proportion of endangered species among all mammals, according to the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/" target="_blank">IUCN Red List</a>. Yet, the substantial conservation interference from humans, which is already in place, could itself lead to even greater losses.</div>
<div>

Plenty of studies have proven that while researchers and ecotourists raise vital for ape conservation knowledge and funds, it is actually human presence that compromises primates' well-being due to extremely similar genetics and, thereby, easily transmittable diseases, ranging from common cold to human tuberculosis and Ebola fever.

In a paper published in the open access journal <a href="http://biorisk.pensoft.net/" target="_blank">BioRisk</a>, Rhiannon Schultz, <a href="http://www.miamioh.edu/" target="_blank">Miami University</a>, seeks the golden mean between giving ape species a hand and keeping safe distance. To showcase the impact human have on primates, the scientist makes example of the Mountain gorilla, an endangered species living in the montane forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.

Simply being in close proximity to endangered primates, humans can easily transmit a wide range of diseases to the animals, including intestinal parasites, hepatitis, tuberculosis, Typhoid fever, Cholera, and Ebola fever. The transmission can occur as easily as having the two species breathing the same air, or the people leaving a banana peel behind.

Furthermore, threats to the gorilla species are also posed by the humans destroying the primates' habitats. The result is overlapping populations, where a disease is much easier to transmit among the small gorilla populations. For example, normally an ill individual would be put under a 'natural quarantine', which is impossible when the habitat has already been reduced.

In the meantime, banning people, both tourists and scientists, from gorilla habitat is not an option, since knowledge about the populations' dynamics is essential for the conservation of all primate species. On the other hand, ecotourism is what raises a great part of the resources need for conservation work. Income from gorilla trekking is enough to support the Ugandan Wildlife Authority, while also contributing a significant part to the country's national budget.

The key, Rhiannon Schultz concludes, is to, firstly, promote understanding of the risk for interspecies disease transmission as a conservation threat, and then, improve on current protocols and regulations.

"It may be difficult to ask tourists to wear masks while visiting animals in the wild, and it may be expensive to maintain a veterinary program for wild populations and to improve healthcare systems for local people, but making these improvements could be the key to preventing disease transmission to not only Mountain gorillas but also to other apes," sums up the scientist.

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Credit: <a href="http://www.miamioh.edu" target="_blank">Miami University</a>

</div>

Humans should keep a safe distance while helping endangered primates

Primates claim the highest proportion of endangered species among all...

<div>Despite the many disastrous impacts of climate change, there are some regions of the globe that might benefit from hotter temperatures.</div>
<div>

A team of researchers from Virginia Tech have predicted that water availability in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia may increase in coming decades due to global climate change. It could also lead to increased crop production, spur massive hydroelectric power projects, and foster irrigation development in the region.

"For all the catastrophic impacts of climate change, there are some silver linings," said Zach Easton, associate professor of biological systems engineering. "The sad irony is that climate change may be the catalyst Ethiopia needs to become a food-exporting country."

The research team used a suite of climate and hydrologic models to predict the impact of climate change on water availability and sediment transport in the Blue Nile. Most previous Nile Basin climate impact studies have only focused on water availability, but the study conducted by the team at Virginia Tech was a first of its kind to to assess sediment transport, a big problem in the basin where some of the highest erosion rates in the world have been measured.

The findings of the study were recently published in the journal Climatic Change.

"Ethiopia could experience increased water accessibility making growing seasons longer and potentially allowing for two crops to be grown per year," said Moges Wagena, from Assosa, Ethiopia. Wagena is first author on the paper and also associated with the Abay Basin Authority, a water resource management entity for one of Ethiopia's 12 water basins. Wagena is one of Easton's doctoral candidates in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, housed in both the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering. The team also included Andrew Sommerlot, another of Easton's doctoral candidates; Daniel Fuka, a post-doctoral student working with Easton; researchers from the University of Maryland; and the International Water Management Institute, Nile Basin Office. The work was funded by the World Bank and the International Water Management Institute.

The team coupled hydrologic models with bias-corrected and downscaled Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 models, known as CMIP5, for the project. Previously, studies that looked only at temperature and precipitation from the climate models found an increased rate of water availability of just 10 percent, where Easton and Wagena found potentially 20 to 30 percent more streamflow available in the region in the coming decades.

One potential problem that the analysis identified was increased sediment transport in the rivers due to increased water flow. The increased sediment has the potential to reduce the capacity of reservoirs and dams, making massive hydroelectric projects like Ethiopia's largest dam currently under construction, the Grand Renascence Dam, less efficient in storing the 65 billion cubic meters of water that could potentially turn its turbines.

"Greater water availability is certainly a positive outcome, but this is countered by more sediment. One way to combat that is through installing conservation practices on farms, for instance using cover crops and low- and no-till planting methods to make the soil healthier, more stable, and reduce erosion," said Easton.

While climate change is and will continue to cause untold problems, nuances in climate-induced weather events could benefit the Blue Nile Basin with increased rainfall in the area.

"It's interesting, because much of the Blue Nile Basin is well above 5,000 feet in elevation, giving it pretty much an ideal climate for agriculture with low humidity, low disease and pest pressure, and potentially great water availability, which could spur development," said Easton.


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<div style="text-align: left;">Credit: <a href="http://www.vt.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virginia Tech University</a></div>

Some regions of the globe may benefit from climate change

Despite the many disastrous impacts of climate change, there are...

<div>As they grow, corals are bathed in a sea of marine microbes, such as bacteria, algae, and viruses. While these extremely abundant and tiny microorganisms influence coral communities in a variety of ways, a new study by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) reveals that corals also have an impact on the microbes in waters surrounding them.</div>
<div>

In novel lab observations of interactions between corals and planktonic bacteria, known as picoplankton, researchers found that corals are selectively feeding on specific types of bacteria--the same bacteria whose growth is promoted by organic matter and nutrients that are released by the corals.

"We've known that marine microbes play major roles in moving nutrients and recycling matter into forms that are more usable to the corals," says WHOI microbiologist Amy Apprill, one of the authors of the paper published Oct. 12, 2016, in the journal Limnology and Oceanography. "But this study demonstrates for the first time that corals are having some control on the production of microbes around them, and that the corals are using that to benefit their own growth."

Corals secrete a protective surface layer of mucus, which also support an active community of microbes. In order to better understand how corals and coral mucus might be interacting with microbes in surrounding reef waters, Apprill, and her colleagues Sean McNally and Rachel Parsons at BIOS, set up aquaria-based experiments using colonies of the coral P. astreoides obtained from three Bermudian reefs.

A total of nine tanks of seawater were utilized in the 12-day experiment. The research team counted microbes in the seawater so they could track the different populations and how they were responding to different treatments. Three of the tanks were used as "controls" and received no additions, while researchers added mucus obtained from P. astreoides corals into three of the tanks. In the remaining three tanks, corals were introduced and then later removed so researchers could observe their effects on microbes in the seawater.

"When we put the corals in the tanks, the microbes in the sea water were drastically reduced in numbers," Apprill says. "We observed that the corals were selectively feeding on several types of bacteria--Rhodobacteraceae, Synechococcus, and SAR11, which are most abundant groups of bacteria in the ocean. We then took the corals out of the sea water tanks, and we observed a strong increase in these microbes."

The increase was partially a result of the microbes replenishing themselves since the corals were no longer feeding on them, the researchers say. But the team also observed something surprising: extremely fast rates of microbial growth.

"The growth rates were quite high, especially in the case of SAR11, which was one of the fastest rates of growth ever documented," Apprill adds. "It suggests that the microbes are growing on something that the corals leave behind in the tank. For the first time, we're observing important influences that the corals are having on the total surrounding microbial community."

One of the other key things the research team observed happening in the tanks with corals as a result of the bacteria grazing was a remineralization of nitrogen in the water. In healthy coral reef ecosystems, concentrations of ammonia--a toxic waste product produced by most animals--are close to zero. The reason is that microbes are constantly converting ammonia to different and less toxic forms, such as nitrate, returning nitrogen back to the water. While researchers were aware of this detoxifying process in reef ecosystem, the source of the microbes responsible was a mystery.

"Until now, it wasn't known exactly where the process was occurring, whether it was happening in the sand or in the water column or in association with corals," explains Alyson Santoro, a microbiologist at UCSB and coauthor. "This study shows that this detoxifying process is directly and physically associated with the corals."

In the tanks containing mucus but no corals, the research team didn't observe the drastic changes like those in the coral tanks. They noted small increases in microbes upon the initial addition of mucus.

"It's not just the mucus that's causing the microbes in the water to become more active," says Apprill. "It's actually what the coral is releasing, which is still an undefined group of compounds."

"This study shows that corals do in fact influence the picoplankton community by selecting specific lineages of picoplankton for removal and also by potentially using the complex carbon compounds excreted by the coral to promote the growth of these lineages," adds Rachel Parsons, a microbial oceanographer at BIOS and coauthor of the paper.

Coral reefs, which support diverse communities of fish and other marine life, are declining globally at unprecedented rates due to human-caused impacts, such as warming waters and ocean acidification. Researchers say that there is an urgent need to uncover how specific coral picoplankton interactions contribute to these threatened ecosystems.

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Credit: <a href="http://www.ucsb.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California, Santa Barbara</a>

</div>

Corals and marine microbes work together shaping reefs

As they grow, corals are bathed in a sea of...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Efforts by the Brazilian government over the past 15 years to curb Amazon deforestation have been a widely celebrated success, but a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12310/full" target="_blank">new study</a> finds that there's more deforestation happening in Brazil than official accounts suggest.</div>
The study, led by researchers from Brown University, compared data from Brazil's official Monitoring Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by Satellite Project (PRODES) with two independent satellite measures of forest cover. The study found that about 9,000 square kilometers of forestland not included in PRODES monitoring were cleared from 2008 to 2012. That's an area roughly the size of Puerto Rico.

"PRODES has been an incredible monitoring tool and has facilitated the successful enforcement of policies," said Leah VanWey, co-author of the research and senior deputy director at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. "But we show evidence that landowners are working around it in ways that are destroying important forests."

The research is published in the journal Conservation Letters.

PRODES has been a key part of Brazil's effort to curb deforestation, an effort that has had significant success. In 2003, 25,000 square miles of Amazon rainforest were lost to deforestation. That dropped to an average of 5,300 square miles between 2009 to 2013, according to the PRODES monitoring system.

[caption id="attachment_2419803" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2419803" src="http://cff1.greenatom.earth/uploads/2016/10/12143031/cff1.greenatom.earthuploads20161012143029media.eurekalert.orgmultimedia_prodpubweb124606_web-0ca83f0ed942abbe3523de8a8afcb39cb4f4e83d-aa19054e180c2396c1b39d58ffee6771aae25323-150x150.jpg" alt="Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, blue regions indicate deforestation" width="150" height="150" /> Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, blue regions indicate deforestation[/caption]

The problem, the researchers say, is that PRODES monitors only primary Amazon rainforest. It excludes dry forests, another critical biome in the region, as well as secondary forests -- land that was cleared many years ago and has since become reforested. PRODES also excludes discreet forest plots smaller than 6.25 hectares (about 15.4 acres).

"PRODES essentially masks out these regions and treats them as non-forest," VanWey said. "We wanted to compare the PRODES maps with satellite sources that just look at canopy cover, without those exclusions. We showed that while deforestation in large plots of primary rainforests has declined, it has expanded in these areas not tracked by PRODES."

The independent measures of forest loss used in the study came from the Global Forest Change project and the Fire Information for Resource Management Systems.

The 9,000 square kilometers of untracked deforestation that the study found could have ramifications beyond the loss of critical forests. Brazil uses PRODES to calculate how much greenhouse gas the country emits through the burning of forest biomass. This study suggests that Brazil's deforestation-related greenhouse gas emissions are nearly twice as high as PRODES estimates.

"Brazil recently ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, which mandates substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels," VanWey said. "By missing so much deforestation in PRODES measurements, Brazil is overestimating their emissions reductions."

VanWey and her colleagues say their results show that Brazil needs to update its detection and enforcement strategy to better reflect the realities of land use on the ground.

"There's been a transformation in the way people do agriculture," VanWey said. "At the same time, the landscape has changed with emergence in recent decades of these secondary forests. We suggest that enforcement and monitoring regimes need to be updated for that new reality of land management."

VanWey stressed, however, that the news from this research isn't all bad. The study verified that Brazil's efforts to curb deforestation have been successful, albeit with important caveats.

"In some ways this is an optimistic story because it shows that the enforcement activities through PRODES were incredibly effective in protecting primary forest," she said. "But these other forest areas are important as well, and they're worth protecting."
 --

</div>
Credit: <a href="http://www.brown.edu" target="_blank">Brown University</a>

More Amazon deforestation is happening than officially documented

Efforts by the Brazilian government over the past 15 years...

<div>Hurricane Nicole continues to strengthen as it heads toward Bermuda and a satellite image showed the storm's large eye.</div>
<div>

The NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland created an image of Hurricane Nicole at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 UTC) on Oct. 12 that showed it had a large eye.

The storm was well-rounded with feeder bands of thunderstorms wrapped tightly around the eye and from a band east of the center. NOAA manages the GOES series of satellites and the NASA/NOAA GOES Project creates images and animations from the data.

On Oct. 12 a Hurricane Warning is in effect for Bermuda. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that a Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), the large eye of Hurricane Nicole was located near about 295 miles (480 km) south-southwest of Bermuda near 28.4 degrees north latitude and 66.9 degrees west longitude. Nicole was moving toward the north near 7 mph (11 kph), and the NHC expects a northward motion with some increase in forward speed is expected today, Oct. 12. A turn toward the north-northeast is forecast tonight, followed by a northeast turn on Thursday with an additional increase in forward speed. On the forecast track, the core of Hurricane Nicole will pass near or over Bermuda on Thursday, Oct. 13.

The latest minimum central pressure reported by an Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft is 969 millibars.

Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph (155 kph) with higher gusts. Some strengthening is possible during the next 24 hours, and Nicole could be near major hurricane strength when it approaches Bermuda.

For updated forecasts, visit the NHC website at: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>


</div>
--

Credit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a>
<div></div>

Hurricane Nicole continues to gain strength

Hurricane Nicole continues to strengthen as it heads toward Bermuda...

Inside the archival depths of The Field Museum, primitive members of a ‘beardog’ family have been laying in wait. Until now. Their recent resurrection made headlines in the Royal Society Open Science publication and has paleontologists excited and on the run. With no living family members, rounding up a new family for the pack of grizzly canine carnivores, discovered and described decades ago, turned out to be a happy accident for The Field’s post-doctoral scholar, Susumu Tomiya.

"We've known about these curious little critters for 30 years, but couldn't tell exactly what kind of carnivores they were," explains lead author Susumu Tomiya, a postdoctoral scholar at The Field Museum. Tomiya recently re-identified the 38-million-year-old descendants of the Chihuahua sized ‘amphicyonids’ in the Museum's collections. Subtle dental feature differences in the jaw bones of these former what-is-now-known-as-Texas-natives, gave Tomiya reason to track down their real family branch. And make yet another discovery.

Sometime after the dawn of ‘beardog,’evolution, early stages of the dog branch diversified. Tomiya and co-author, Jack Tseng of the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Buffalo</a>, digitized a reconstruction of a largely intact skull of what was originally named ‘Miacis australis.’ Flat surfaces on some of these beardogs teeth indicated it wasn’t just a meat eater. Like its namesake, this beardog most likely also ate berries and insects which led Tomiya and Tseng down a new path of nomenclature. Finding a new family name for this branch of beardogs turned into a 3-D experience for the team.

A CT scan revealed useful characteristics for reconstructing carnivore species relationships. New light shed by the results inspired Tomiya and Tseng to believe that the southern region of North America may have played a more vital role in mammalian history than was previously thought.

"Studying how the diversity of beardogs waxed and waned over time could tell us about larger patterns in carnivore evolution,” noted Tomiya. Beardogs ranged in size from larger than modern day lions to bite-sized carnivores. The larger the beardog the more space it took up, the more food it needed to survive and produced fewer offspring. Smaller beardogs had to deal with ‘size matters’ when it came to finding food and keeping it. Larger animals face extinction sooner which means smaller might be better when it comes to living large and evolving.

Big changes to landscape, forests and climate meant big changes in carnivore evolution to adapt, survive and evolve. Beardog evolution gives us a broader view of how climate effects evolution and what kinds of animals thrived in a changing environmental context. Current relatives and cousins evolving from the beardog branch include dogs, wolves, fox, bear, sea lion, and weasel.

The importance of museum collections and studies like Tomiya’s reminds us how much history is embedded in their fossilized dens. As he notes ‘all biodiversity research is contingent on good understanding of what species lived where and when in the past, and how they are related to one another. Museum collections are vital to building and continually refining such fundamental data sets.”

********************

Susumu Tomiya is a postdoctoral scholar at The Field Museum in Chicago; he did his graduate work at the University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley. Jack Tseng is an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo and was previously at the American Museum of Natural History.

Author: Suzanne Johnson

Beardog discovery offers new clues on canine evolution

Inside the archival depths of The Field Museum, primitive members...

<div>Australian scientists have good news for frog conservation -- there may be longer than expected time to intervene before climate change causes extinction of some species.</div>
<div>

The scientists used new methods for modelling the threat of climate change on frogs in tropical north-eastern Australia and showed that, at least for some species, there is likely to be more time than earlier thought before expected climate shifts and associated habitat loss drive them to extinction.

The study, published today in the scientific journal Biology Letters, shows that as many as four species of frogs in the protected Wet Tropics of Queensland UNESCO World Heritage Area face extinction by 2080 due to human-induced climate change. However, the research also shows that for at least three species, there might be sufficient time for conservation managers to intervene successfully.

The researchers, from the University of Adelaide, the University of Tasmania and James Cook University, used the latest biodiversity modelling techniques to show that extinctions from climate change can occur after substantial time lags.

[caption id="attachment_89168" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-89168" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/green-eyed-tree-frog-Litoria-serrata_1big_UAdelaide-150x150.jpg" alt="the green-eyed tree frog (Litoria serrata)." width="150" height="150" /> the green-eyed tree frog (Litoria serrata).[/caption]

Lead author Dr Damien Fordham, ARC Future Fellow with the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute, says: "This is a rare example of good news for conservation because it means that for some frog species there is likely to be more time than expected for on-ground management intervention.

"For example, our research shows that the window of time between impact and extinction might be adequate for successful translocation programs to be established."

Co-author Professor Barry Brook, Professor of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Tasmania, says this may also mean good news for other flora and fauna.

"By showing that extinction delays can exceed decades for short-lived animals such as frogs, it follows that the time lags for extinction might be even larger for long-lived species, such as large vertebrates and trees," Professor Brook says.

This study also has important implications for 'triage'-based conservation prioritisation, which is the idea that conservation managers should actively decide on which species have a reasonable prospect of being saved, and then direct precious conservation resources accordingly.

"If long time scales for extinction lags exist for some species, the likelihood that these extinctions can be averted through active on-ground management increases," says Dr Fordham. "Furthermore, it means that other species in more immediate need could be targeted for early conservation intervention."


</div>
--

Credit: <a href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Adelaide</a>
<div></div>

Scientists: More time than we thought to save frogs from climate change

Australian scientists have good news for frog conservation -- there...

<div>In pictures, the Arctic appears pristine and timeless with its barren lands and icy landscape. In reality, the area is rapidly changing.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Scientists are working to understand the chemistry behind these changes to better predict what could happen to the region in the future. One team reports in ACS' Journal of Physical Chemistry A that sea salt could play a larger role in the formation of local atmospheric pollutants than previously thought.</div>
<div>

The Arctic's wintertime ice hit a record low this year, and its air is warming, according to NASA. Previous research has shown that pollutants, including gaseous nitrogen oxides and ozone, have at times been recorded at levels similar to those one would see in more populated areas. Nitrogen oxides are air pollutants that, in sunlight, lead to the formation of ozone, the main component in smog normally associated with cities. The gases can be processed in the atmosphere and be deposited on Earth as nitrates, which can get trapped in snow.

In sunlight, snow can act as a reactor in which nitrates may be transformed back to nitrogen oxide gases. In the Arctic, sea ice and snow contain salt and other impurities that can possibly alter the efficiency of this process. James Donaldson, Karen Morenz and colleagues took a closer look at how salt and nitrate content in snow could affect the levels of nitrogen oxides in the air during sunny conditions.

The researchers tested lab-made snow containing nitrate alone or nitrate and salt. They found that under simulated sunlight, about 40 to 90 percent more nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was reformed from the snow with low levels of salt at environmentally relevant concentrations than snow with no salt. Researchers observed the greatest effect when they used realistic sea salt in the experiment. The results suggest that sea ice and salty snow, which previously have not been considered as factors in the balance of ozone-forming chemicals in the atmosphere, should be a part of future models.


</div>
--

Credit: <a href="http://www.acs.org" target="_blank">American Chemical Society</a>
<div></div>

Sea ice and salty snow impact air pollution in the Arctic

In pictures, the Arctic appears pristine and timeless with its...

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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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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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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

[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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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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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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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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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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