The summer of 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest on record for numerous cities across the U.S. and globally, with temperatures reaching unprecedented levels.&nbsp;



Even in Antarctica, which is currently in the middle of its winter, temperatures soared more than 50°F above the July average in some areas. This extreme weather event is part of a broader trend of intensifying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-experienced-the-most-intense-heat-wave-ever-recorded/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heat waves </a>fueled by climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-delicate-ecosystems-of-antarctica-nbsp">Delicate ecosystems of Antarctica&nbsp;</h2>



A recent study published on July 31 in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2023EF004306" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth’s Future</a> explores how such heat waves, particularly during Antarctica’s cold seasons, may impact the continent’s delicate ecosystems.



The research, led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Colorado Boulder</a>, focuses on how these heat waves could disrupt the lives of the animals and organisms that inhabit the coldest and driest places on Earth. 



The findings illustrate that climate change-driven extreme weather could have profound and long-lasting effects on the fragile ecosystems of Antarctica, particularly for its resilient yet vulnerable inhabitants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-intense-heat-wave-on-earth">Most intense heat wave on Earth</h2>



In March 2022, Antarctica experienced the most intense heat wave ever recorded on Earth. This unprecedented event occurred just as the region’s organisms were preparing for the long, harsh winter ahead.&nbsp;



Temperatures soared more than 70°F above the average in parts of the continent, leading to rapid melting of glaciers and snow, even in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a region known for being one of the coldest and driest places on the planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microscopic-organisms-in-soils-nbsp">Microscopic organisms in soils&nbsp;</h2>



As part of a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project, researchers studied the impact of this sudden heat wave on the McMurdo Dry Valleys, where they found that the extreme weather likely disrupted the life cycles of many organisms.&nbsp;



In particular, the rapid melting followed by an equally rapid refreeze appeared to have killed a significant number of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invertebrate-extinction-cause-concern/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">invertebrates</a>, such as roundworms, which are well-adapted to the harsh conditions of the polar desert.



“It's important that we pay attention to these signals, even if they're coming from microscopic organisms in soils in a polar desert,” said Michael Gooseff, senior author of the study and a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at CU Boulder.&nbsp;



“They're the early responders to changes that could cascade up to larger organisms, the landscape, and even us, far away from Antarctica.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extreme-temperature-rise-nbsp">Extreme temperature rise&nbsp;</h2>



Gooseff, a fellow at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/instaar/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research</a> (INSTAAR), has led the LTER project at the McMurdo Dry Valleys for the past decade, regularly traveling to the southern region during the Antarctic summer to study the unique ecosystem. 



In November 2021, when Gooseff arrived in Antarctica, the landscape appeared much like it had for the past two decades. 



However, by March 2022, when the research team had already left the continent, an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/consecutive-atmospheric-rivers-cause-far-more-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">atmospheric river</a> - a massive storm carrying moist air over long distances - brought about the most extreme heat wave ever recorded there. 



The event caused temperatures in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to rise more than 45°F above normal, with air temperatures that typically hover around -4°F in March rising above freezing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disrupted-life-cycles">Disrupted life cycles</h2>



Satellite imagery and stream discharge measurements confirmed that the sudden warming caused an unusual wetting of the valleys’ soil, occurring more than two months after the typical summer thaw.&nbsp;



This was a critical period when organisms in the region were preparing for the upcoming winter, shutting down their biological processes to conserve energy.&nbsp;



The rapid rise and subsequent fall in temperatures, as the heat wave passed and the soil refroze, likely disrupted the delicate timing of these organisms’ life cycles.



“These animals invest a significant amount of energy in preparing and shutting down for the winter,” Gooseff explained. “When things start to warm up the following summer, they use energy to become active again.”&nbsp;



“One of our major concerns with unusual weather events like this heat wave is that these animals might start using a lot more energy, thinking it's summer, only to have to shut down again two days later. How many times can they go through that cycle before they exhaust their energy reserves?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-false-start-to-the-summer">A false start to the summer</h2>



When Gooseff and his team returned to Antarctica in December 2022, they sampled the soil and compared the organisms in areas that had become wet during the heat wave with those in areas that had stayed dry.&nbsp;



The findings revealed a 50% decrease in the population of Scottnema, a common <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/roundworms-travel-backwards/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">roundworm</a> species that is highly adapted to the extreme cold and dryness of the McMurdo Dry Valleys.



“The heat wave made the environment appear warm enough for things to get wet, creating a false start to summer. Some of the biology responding to these temperatures might be seriously disrupted by this,” Gooseff said.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-food-webs">Implications for food webs</h2>



While species like Scottnema suffered, other organisms, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discovered-a-16-million-year-old-tardigrade-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tardigrades</a> (also known as water bears), which are more tolerant of moisture, were likely less affected. 



This shift in species populations could have wide-ranging implications for the region's food webs and nutrient cycling.



Changes in the populations of organisms like Scottnema can have a significant impact on the ecosystem. Previous research has shown that Scottnema is responsible for about 10% of the carbon processing in the Dry Valleys’ soil ecosystem.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-large-species-affected-by-heat-waves-in-antarctica">Large species affected by heat waves in Antarctica </h2>



As extreme weather events become more frequent due to climate change, larger species in Antarctica are also being affected. 



In 2013, an unusual rainfall event along the Adélie Coast of East Antarctica killed all of the Adélie penguin chicks in the region, and in July 2024, temperatures in parts of East Antarctica climbed 50°F above the usual winter average.



Gooseff and his team plan to continue monitoring the effects of extreme weather events on Antarctica’s ecosystems. 



As Gooseff noted, what happens in Antarctica does not stay in Antarctica. “The loss of ice shelves has pretty dramatic impacts on the mass balance of our oceans, and it affects us even thousands of miles away,” he concluded.



-----



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



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



-----

How are intense heat waves affecting life in Antarctica? 

The summer of 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest on record for numerous cities across the U.S. and globally, with temperatures reaching unprecedented levels.&nbsp; Even in Antarctica, which is currently in the middle of its winter, temperatures soared more than 50°F above the July average in some areas. This extreme weather event is part of a broader trend of intensifying heat waves fueled by climate change. Delicate ecosystems of Antarctica&nbsp; A recent study published on July 31 in the journal Earth’s Future explores how such...

Feds Give Royal Dutch Shell Final Permit To Drill For Arctic Ocean Oil. The federal government on Monday gave Royal Dutch Shell the final permit it needs to drill for Arctic Ocean oil off Alaska's northwest coast for the first time in more than two decades.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced that it approved the permit to drill below the ocean floor after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fruit-eating-mammals-fertilize-the-soil-in-tropical-forests/">oil</a> giant brought in a required piece of equipment to stop a possible well blowout. Feds Give Royal Dutch Shell Final Permit To Drill For Arctic Ocean Oil
The agency previously allowed Shell to begin drilling only the top sections of two wells in the Chukchi Sea because the key equipment, called a capping stack, was stuck on a vessel that needed repair in Portland, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=oregon&amp;cvid=c954a8b9e6e144a69938646cc05215e7&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Oregon</a>.
Because the vessel arrived last week, Shell is free to drill into oil-bearing rock, estimated at 8,000 feet below the ocean floor, for the first time since its last exploratory well was drilled in 1991.
"Activities conducted offshore Alaska are being held to the highest safety, environmental protection, and emergency response standards," agency Director Brian Salerno said in a statement Monday. "We will continue to monitor their work around the clock to ensure the utmost safety and environmental stewardship."
The Polar Pioneer, a semi-submersible drilling unit that Shell leases from Transocean Ltd., began work July 30 at Shell's Burger J site. It completed what's called a mud-line cellar, a 20-by-40-foot hole at the top of the well that will hold a blowout preventer, and continued drilling into rock above the petroleum-bearing zone.
Smith said it's possible Shell will complete a well this summer. But he declined to say how deep the Polar Pioneer has drilled or exactly when drill bits might enter the petroleum-bearing zone.
"It's information that we consider proprietary and therefore not something we would release," Smith said. He added safe operations will determine progress.
Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling, saying industrial activity will harm polar bears, Pacific walrus, ice seals and threatened whales already vulnerable from climate warming and shrinking summer sea ice. They say oil companies have not demonstrated that they can clean up a spill in water choked by ice.
Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said in a statement that President Obama's decision to grant Shell the final drilling permits goes against science, the will of the people and common sense.
"Granting Shell the permit to drill in the Arctic was the wrong decision, and this fight is far from over," he said. "The people will continue to call on President Obama to protect the Arctic and our environment."
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that U.S. Arctic waters hold 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil, and Shell is eager to explore in a basin that company officials say could be a game-changer for domestic production.
Shell bid $2.1 billion on Chukchi Sea leases in 2008 and has spent upward of $7 billion on exploration there and in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast.
Shell hopes to drill two exploration wells during the short 2015 open-water season. It has until late September, when all work must stop. It has two drill vessels and about 28 support vessels in the Chukchi Sea.
The permit to drill deep into the ocean hinged on the arrival of a capping stack, which is a roughly 30-foot device that can be lowered over a wellhead to act like a spigot to stop a blowout. The government requires Shell to have the device ready to use within 24 hours of a blowout.
The capping stack sits on a 380-foot icebreaker that suffered hull damage July 3 as it left Dutch Harbor, a port in the Aleutian Islands. The vessel named the Fennica was repaired in Portland, Oregon, and briefly delayed from leaving July 30 by Greenpeace protesters in climbing gear hanging from a bridge over the Willamette River.
The Fennica reached the drill site 70 miles off Alaska's northwest coast on Aug. 11.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Feds Give Royal Dutch Shell Final Permit To Drill

Feds Give Royal Dutch Shell Final Permit To Drill For...

New California Laws Fail To Boost Clean Energy Jobs. Three years after California voters passed a ballot measure to raise taxes on corporations and generate clean energy jobs by funding energy-efficiency projects in schools, barely one-tenth of the promised jobs have been created, and the state has no comprehensive list to show how much work has been done or how much energy has been saved.
Money is trickling in at a slower-than-anticipated rate, and more than half of the $297 million given to schools so far has gone to consultants and energy auditors. The board created to oversee the project and submit annual progress reports to the Legislature has never met, according to a review by The Associated Press.New California Laws Fail To Boost Clean Energy Jobs.
Voters in 2012 approved the Clean Energy Jobs Act by a large margin, closing a tax loophole for multistate corporations. The Legislature decided to send half the money to fund clean energy projects in schools, promising to generate more than 11,000 jobs each year.
Instead, only 1,700 jobs have been created in three years, raising concerns about whether the money is accomplishing what voters were promised.
"Accountability boards that are rubber stamps are fairly common, but accountability boards that don't meet at all are a big problem," said Douglas Johnson, a state government expert at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California.
The State Energy Commission, which oversees Proposition 39 spending, could not provide any data about completed projects or calculate energy savings because schools are not required to report the results for up to 15 months after completion, spokeswoman Amber Beck said.
Still, she said she believes the program is on track.
Not enough data has been collected for the nine-member oversight board of professors, engineers and climate experts to meet, she said.
The AP's review of state and local records found that not one project for which the state allocated $12.6 million has been completed in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has nearly 1,000 schools. Two schools were scheduled this summer to receive lighting retrofits and heating and cooling upgrades, but no construction work has been done on either site, LAUSD spokeswoman Barbara Jones said.
The office of Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, previously estimated LAUSD would save up to $27 million a year on energy costs; projects proposed by the district so far would save only $1.4 million.
De Leon, the primary booster of Proposition 39 in the state Legislature, was not available to comment, spokeswoman Claire Conlon said, noting that the program is working as planned.
"We encouraged local districts to allow their funds to build up so they can make bigger, more comprehensive investments," Conlon said.
School district officials around the state say they intend to meet a 2018 deadline to request funds and a 2020 deadline to complete projects. They say the money will go to major, long-needed projects and are unconcerned schools have applied for only half of the $973 million available so far, or that $153 million of the $297 million given to schools has gone for energy planning by consultants and auditors.
"If there's money out there, we're going for it," said Tom Wright, an energy manager for the San Diego Unified School District. Unlike many other districts, SDUSD has received $9.5 million of its available $9.7 million.
Leftover money would return to the general fund for unrestricted projects of lawmakers' choosing.
The proposition is also bringing in millions less each year than initially projected. Proponents such as de Leon and billionaire investor and philanthropist Tom Steyer, who funded the ballot measure with a personal $30 million, told voters in 2012 that it would send up to $550 million annually to the Clean Jobs Energy Fund. But it brought in just $381 million in 2013, $279 million in 2014 and $313 million in 2015.
There's no exact way to track how corporations reacted to the tax code change, but it's likely most companies adapted to minimize their tax burdens, nonpartisan legislative analyst Ken Kapphahn said. He also said the change applies to a very small number of corporations.
Steyer's office declined to make him available for an interview or to comment on the lower revenue figures.
"Proposition 39 has already accomplished its goal of protecting California jobs and employers by closing a corporate tax loophole for companies that ship California jobs to other states," Steyer said in a statement. His team sought to distance Steyer from the measure's implementation, saying the billionaire wanted to respect the process of the Legislature.
It's undeniable that Proposition 39 has created a disappointing number of jobs, said Kirk Clark, vice president of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tule-fog-across-californias-central-valley/">California</a> Business Roundtable, which opposed the measure but did not aggressively lobby against it.
"We've got a long track record in California of over-promising green jobs and under-delivering," said Clark, who also expressed concern that most of the jobs created so far appear to be consulting positions.
Neither the Energy Commission nor Tim Rainey, director of the California Workforce Investment Board, could identify the types of jobs created by Proposition 39 projects. They said that information would be available when the oversight board meets for the first time, likely in October or November.
Clark also noted that nearly half the approved projects have been lighting retrofits, which don't create as many jobs as work-intensive projects such as replacing heating and air conditioning systems.
Schools often prioritize lighting projects because they work well with the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=energy&amp;cvid=e62c6c63da92480790e1b422a83645d6&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Energy</a> Commission's formula, which requires schools to save at least $1.05 on energy costs for every dollar spent. The Energy Commission said its jobs number is based on dollars spent and doesn't take the type of project into account.
Johnson said the slow results show the oversight board should have gotten involved much earlier.
"They should have been overseeing all stages of this project, not just waiting until the money's gone and seeing where it went," Johnson said.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

New California Laws Fail To Boost Clean Energy Jobs

New California Laws Fail To Boost Clean Energy Jobs. Three...

Rethinking The Cost Of Climate Change. From the environment to the economy, climate change affects various facets of our everyday lives.

Now a new statistical framework makes it possible to understand the cost of climate change -- just how much climate change impacts markets across the globe.

A newly released paper, published in the journal Nature <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate+change&amp;cvid=f180226be8d441e28b05c8c11e0077fb&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Climate Change</a>, outlines methodology for using historical climate and economic data to predict how climate change will affect gross domestic product, a common economic performance measure, of countries around the world. Rethinking The Cost Of Climate Change

"A Top-Down Approach to Projecting Market Impacts of Climate Change," is co-authored by Derek Lemoine, assistant professor of economics in the UA Eller College of Management, and Sarah Kapnick, physical research scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.

"If you want to think about the economics of climate change, one of the major questions is 'What are the costs of climate change?'" Lemoine said. "The worse it is, the more we should be doing about it."

As a result of Lemoine and Kapnick's research, two primary insightful findings were revealed.

First, data shows that nearer-term climate change could raise the average rate of economic growth in more affluent countries, while reducing the growth rate in poorer countries.

"Nearer-term climate change may not be that bad — in terms of GDP — for richer countries," Lemoine said. "What countries should be asking is, 'How much do we care about inequality around the world?'"

The second major finding was the correlation between climate variability and economic variability in many countries. When climate change makes weather in regions across the globe more variable, the variability of economic growth also increases.

"As the world warms ... that can actually make GDP more variable, which is a largely unexplored consequence of climate change," Lemoine said.

Rather than using the standard, bottom-up approach of analyzing and aggregating individual sectors, the new prediction framework utilizes a top-down, macroeconomic approach. Kapnick said this offers a new, credible avenue for estimating climate impacts.

"It frees us from making various assumptions about individual sectors of the economy for each country," she said. "This new methodology can be applied to any climate model output. It allows for an independent assessment of economic impacts of climate change from current methods (and) provides another tool in our toolbox for estimating climate change impacts."

Lemoine explained that while the framework uses historical temperature and rainfall data, it does not account for factors such as ecological disruptions or rising sea levels, which could end up being more important than the types of GDP impacts they focus on. For this reason, he envisions that their framework could be used as a starting point on which additional assumptions can be added to develop thorough climate change models and influence climate change policies.

"The major benefit is that we are not introducing a lot of new assumptions," Lemoine said. "With that baseline, anybody else can layer on whatever assumptions they want to make it more comprehensive or long-term."

Uncovering the true costs of climate change is a complicated challenge, but using historical data to predict future impacts offers an empirically grounded model to approaching the task, Lemoine said.

"It's a really hard question because there are a lot of links in the system," he said. "We are really just letting the data speak and projecting that forward to predict near-term climate change impacts."

---

<a href="http://www.arizona.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Arizona</a>

Rethinking The Cost Of Climate Change

Rethinking The Cost Of Climate Change. From the environment to...

Feds Give Royal Dutch Shell Final Permit To Drill For Arctic Ocean Oil. The federal government on Monday gave Royal Dutch Shell the final permit it needs to drill for<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-moon-controls-methane-emissions-from-the-arctic-ocean/"> Arctic Ocean</a> oil off Alaska's northwest coast for the first time in more than two decades.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced that it approved the permit to drill below the ocean floor after the oil giant brought in a required piece of equipment to stop a possible well blowout.Feds Give Royal Dutch Shell Final Permit To Drill For Arctic Ocean Oil
The agency previously allowed Shell to begin drilling only the top sections of two wells in the Chukchi <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=sea&amp;cvid=53c0887f4e814c969f9a6da21ba0b40e&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Sea</a> because the key equipment, called a capping stack, was stuck on a vessel that needed repair in Portland, Oregon.
Because the vessel arrived last week, Shell is free to drill into oil-bearing rock, estimated at 8,000 feet below the ocean floor, for the first time since its last exploratory well was drilled in 1991.
"Activities conducted offshore Alaska are being held to the highest safety, environmental protection, and emergency response standards," agency Director Brian Salerno said in a statement Monday. "We will continue to monitor their work around the clock to ensure the utmost safety and environmental stewardship."
The Polar Pioneer, a semi-submersible drilling unit that Shell leases from Transocean Ltd., began work July 30 at Shell's Burger J site. It completed what's called a mud-line cellar, a 20-by-40-foot hole at the top of the well that will hold a blowout preventer, and continued drilling into rock above the petroleum-bearing zone.
Smith said it's possible Shell will complete a well this summer. But he declined to say how deep the Polar Pioneer has drilled or exactly when drill bits might enter the petroleum-bearing zone.
"It's information that we consider proprietary and therefore not something we would release," Smith said. He added safe operations will determine progress.
Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling, saying industrial activity will harm polar bears, Pacific walrus, ice seals and threatened whales already vulnerable from climate warming and shrinking summer sea ice. They say oil companies have not demonstrated that they can clean up a spill in water choked by ice.
Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said in a statement that President Obama's decision to grant Shell the final drilling permits goes against science, the will of the people and common sense.
"Granting Shell the permit to drill in the Arctic was the wrong decision, and this fight is far from over," he said. "The people will continue to call on President Obama to protect the Arctic and our environment."
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that U.S. Arctic waters hold 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil, and Shell is eager to explore in a basin that company officials say could be a game-changer for domestic production.
Shell bid $2.1 billion on Chukchi Sea leases in 2008 and has spent upward of $7 billion on exploration there and in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast.
Shell hopes to drill two exploration wells during the short 2015 open-water season. It has until late September, when all work must stop. It has two drill vessels and about 28 support vessels in the Chukchi Sea.
The permit to drill deep into the ocean hinged on the arrival of a capping stack, which is a roughly 30-foot device that can be lowered over a wellhead to act like a spigot to stop a blowout. The government requires Shell to have the device ready to use within 24 hours of a blowout.
The capping stack sits on a 380-foot icebreaker that suffered hull damage July 3 as it left Dutch Harbor, a port in the Aleutian Islands. The vessel named the Fennica was repaired in Portland, Oregon, and briefly delayed from leaving July 30 by Greenpeace protesters in climbing gear hanging from a bridge over the Willamette River.
The Fennica reached the drill site 70 miles off Alaska's northwest coast on Aug. 11.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Feds Give Royal Dutch Shell Final Permit To Drill For Arctic Ocean Oil

Precipitation In The Central Andes To Fall By 30 Percent. Seasonal water shortages already occur in the Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia. By the end of the century, precipitation could fall by up to 30% according to an international team of researchers led by the University of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=zurich&amp;cvid=5be5feb3af524761a52888f20a05ad09&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Zurich</a>. In a first for this region, the team compared current climate data with future climate scenarios and data extending back to pre-Inca times.

The population in the Central Andes already faces water shortages today. Now geographers at the University of Zurich have collaborated with Swiss and <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/earth-from-space-the-amazon-river/">South American</a> researchers to show that precipitation in the rainy season could drop noticeably - and this could happen within the next twenty years.Precipitation In The Central Andes To Fall By 30 Percent

In contrast to conventional research projects, which often look at climate forecasts in isolation, the UZH scientists compared data taken from tree rings and ice cores from the past 1,000 years with model calculations for the future. Their research found that current precipitation is within the normal fluctuation range for recent centuries. But this is projected to change dramatically by the end of the century: «Our model simulations suggest that the probability of dry years between 2071 and 2100 will be four times higher than in the pre-industrial era», says lead author Raphael Neukom.

Stronger westerly winds lead to more aridity

It is difficult to realistically simulate precipitation in mountainous regions using current global climate models, which forced researchers to use alternative methods. They capitalised on the fact that precipitation in the tropical Andes is strongly influenced by wind speeds in the higher air layers. «These winds can be simulated much more reliably than the precipitation itself», says Raphael Neukom. «It is highly probable that the increase in greenhouse gases will strengthen the westerly winds over the Central Andes. But stronger westerly winds in the upper troposphere reduce the inflow of humid air from the Amazon region into the Andes and thus lead to greater aridity.»

Clear long-term trend

Although almost all model simulations point to a decline in precipitation, the scientists note that the model and climate scenarios still present some uncertainties. Nevertheless, «although short-term predictions can be impacted by fluctuations that go against the overall trend, our data clearly shows that over the long term, i.e. through to the end of the century, the trend towards greater aridity in the Andes is unambiguous», explains UZH glaciologist Christian Huggel. Moreover, other factors such as the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and lower levels of glacial meltwater could exacerbate the trend.

According to Christian Huggel, there is therefore an urgent need to introduce affordable and low-risk measures that will adapt the region to the new climate conditions. Peruvian-Swiss projects are testing such measures, which include, for example, the collection of rainwater in artificial ponds. «The results of the basic research are coming at just the right time for deliberations on the dimensions of such ponds», concludes Christian Huggel.
###
Literature

Raphael Neukom, Mario Rohrer, Pierluigi Calanca, Nadine Salzmann, Christian Huggel, Delia Acuña, Duncan A Christie and Mariano S Morales. Facing unprecedented drying of the Central Andes? Precipitation variability over the period AD 1000-2100. Environmental Research Letters. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/084017

South America-Swiss cooperation

The study was partially financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (DEZA) as part of the project «Anpassung an den Klimawandel in Peru» [Adapting to Climate Change in Peru]. In addition to concrete adaptation and development measures, this project also examines the scientific bases of climate change in the Peruvian Andes. The extraordinary collaboration between Swiss researchers from the universities of Zurich, Fribourg and Bern, the federal institute Agroscope, Meteodat GmbH and South American researchers from Peru, Argentina and Chile brings together paleoclimatologists with experts in the field of instrumental climate measurement. The aim is to quantify past, present and future climate conditions with the greatest possible precision. It is important to study medium- and long-term climate changes as precisely as possible in order to enable adaptation measures to be planned effectively. To that end, DEZA, Peruvian governmental institutions, the scientific community and NGOs are working together closely in this project.

---

<a href="http://www.uzh.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Zurich</a>

Precipitation In The Central Andes To Fall By 30 Percent

Precipitation In The Central Andes To Fall By 30 Percent....

Rethinking The Cost Of Climate Change. From the environment to the economy, climate change affects various facets of our everyday lives.

Now a new statistical framework makes it possible to understand the cost of climate change -- just how much climate change impacts markets across the globe.

A newly released paper, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, outlines methodology for using historical climate and economic data to predict how climate change will affect gross domestic product, a common economic performance measure, of countries around the world.

"A Top-Down Approach to Projecting Market Impacts of Climate Change," is co-authored by Derek Lemoine, assistant professor of economics in the UA Eller College of Management, and Sarah Kapnick, physical research scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.

"If you want to think about the economics of climate change, one of the major questions is 'What are the costs of climate change?'" Lemoine said. "The worse it is, the more we should be doing about it."

As a result of Lemoine and Kapnick's research, two primary insightful findings were revealed.

First, data shows that nearer-term climate change could raise the average rate of economic growth in more affluent countries, while reducing the growth rate in poorer countries.

"Nearer-term climate change may not be that bad — in terms of GDP — for richer countries," Lemoine said. "What countries should be asking is, 'How much do we care about inequality around the world?'"

The second major finding was the correlation between climate variability and economic variability in many countries. When climate change makes weather in regions across the globe more variable, the variability of economic growth also increases.

"As the world warms ... that can actually make GDP more variable, which is a largely unexplored consequence of climate change," Lemoine said.

Rather than using the standard, bottom-up approach of analyzing and aggregating individual sectors, the new prediction framework utilizes a top-down, macroeconomic approach. Kapnick said this offers a new, credible avenue for estimating climate impacts.

"It frees us from making various assumptions about individual sectors of the economy for each country," she said. "This new methodology can be applied to any climate model output. It allows for an independent assessment of economic impacts of climate change from current methods (and) provides another tool in our toolbox for estimating climate change impacts."

Lemoine explained that while the framework uses historical temperature and rainfall data, it does not account for factors such as ecological disruptions or rising sea levels, which could end up being more important than the types of GDP impacts they focus on. For this reason, he envisions that their framework could be used as a starting point on which additional assumptions can be added to develop thorough climate change models and influence climate change policies.

"The major benefit is that we are not introducing a lot of new assumptions," Lemoine said. "With that baseline, anybody else can layer on whatever assumptions they want to make it more comprehensive or long-term."

Uncovering the true costs of climate change is a complicated challenge, but using historical data to predict future impacts offers an empirically grounded model to approaching the task, Lemoine said.

"It's a really hard question because there are a lot of links in the system," he said. "We are really just letting the data speak and projecting that forward to predict near-term climate change impacts."

---

<a href="http://www.arizona.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Arizona</a>

Precipitation In The Central Andes To Fall By 30 Percent. Seasonal water shortages already occur in the Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia. By the end of the century, precipitation could fall by up to 30% according to an international team of researchers led by the University of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=zurich&amp;cvid=5be5feb3af524761a52888f20a05ad09&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Zurich</a>. In a first for this region, the team compared current climate data with future climate scenarios and data extending back to pre-Inca times.

The population in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/springtime-in-the-central-andes-mountains/">Central Andes</a> already faces water shortages today. Now geographers at the University of Zurich have collaborated with Swiss and South American researchers to show that precipitation in the rainy season could drop noticeably - and this could happen within the next twenty years. Precipitation In The Central Andes To Fall By 30 Percent

In contrast to conventional research projects, which often look at climate forecasts in isolation, the UZH scientists compared data taken from tree rings and ice cores from the past 1,000 years with model calculations for the future. Their research found that current precipitation is within the normal fluctuation range for recent centuries. But this is projected to change dramatically by the end of the century: «Our model simulations suggest that the probability of dry years between 2071 and 2100 will be four times higher than in the pre-industrial era», says lead author Raphael Neukom.

Stronger westerly winds lead to more aridity

It is difficult to realistically simulate precipitation in mountainous regions using current global climate models, which forced researchers to use alternative methods. They capitalised on the fact that precipitation in the tropical Andes is strongly influenced by wind speeds in the higher air layers. «These winds can be simulated much more reliably than the precipitation itself», says Raphael Neukom. «It is highly probable that the increase in greenhouse gases will strengthen the westerly winds over the Central Andes. But stronger westerly winds in the upper troposphere reduce the inflow of humid air from the Amazon region into the Andes and thus lead to greater aridity.»

Clear long-term trend

Although almost all model simulations point to a decline in precipitation, the scientists note that the model and climate scenarios still present some uncertainties. Nevertheless, «although short-term predictions can be impacted by fluctuations that go against the overall trend, our data clearly shows that over the long term, i.e. through to the end of the century, the trend towards greater aridity in the Andes is unambiguous», explains UZH glaciologist Christian Huggel. Moreover, other factors such as the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and lower levels of glacial meltwater could exacerbate the trend.

According to Christian Huggel, there is therefore an urgent need to introduce affordable and low-risk measures that will adapt the region to the new climate conditions. Peruvian-Swiss projects are testing such measures, which include, for example, the collection of rainwater in artificial ponds. «The results of the basic research are coming at just the right time for deliberations on the dimensions of such ponds», concludes Christian Huggel.
###
Literature

Raphael Neukom, Mario Rohrer, Pierluigi Calanca, Nadine Salzmann, Christian Huggel, Delia Acuña, Duncan A Christie and Mariano S Morales. Facing unprecedented drying of the Central Andes? Precipitation variability over the period AD 1000-2100. Environmental Research Letters. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/084017

South America-Swiss cooperation

The study was partially financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (DEZA) as part of the project «Anpassung an den Klimawandel in Peru» [Adapting to Climate Change in Peru]. In addition to concrete adaptation and development measures, this project also examines the scientific bases of climate change in the Peruvian Andes. The extraordinary collaboration between Swiss researchers from the universities of Zurich, Fribourg and Bern, the federal institute Agroscope, Meteodat GmbH and South American researchers from Peru, Argentina and Chile brings together paleoclimatologists with experts in the field of instrumental climate measurement. The aim is to quantify past, present and future climate conditions with the greatest possible precision. It is important to study medium- and long-term climate changes as precisely as possible in order to enable adaptation measures to be planned effectively. To that end, DEZA, Peruvian governmental institutions, the scientific community and NGOs are working together closely in this project.

---

<a href="http://www.uzh.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Zurich</a>

Warmer Arctic May Reduce Methane In The Atmosphere. In addition to melting icecaps and imperiled wildlife, a significant concern among scientists is that higher Arctic temperatures brought about by climate change could result in the release of massive amounts of carbon locked in the region's frozen soil in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. Arctic permafrost is estimated to contain about a trillion tons of carbon, which would potentially accelerate global warming. Carbon emissions in the form of methane have been of particular concern because on a 100-year scale methane is about 25-times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.

However, new research led by Princeton University researchers and published in The ISME Journal in August suggests that, thanks to methane-hungry bacteria, the majority of Arctic soil might actually be able to absorb methane from the atmosphere rather than release it. Furthermore, that ability seems to become greater as temperatures rise.

The researchers found that Arctic soils containing low carbon content -- which make up 87 percent of the soil in permafrost regions globally -- not only remove methane from the atmosphere, but also become more efficient as temperatures increase. During a three-year period, a carbon-poor site on Axel Heiberg Island in Canada's Arctic region consistently took up more methane as the ground temperature rose from 0 to 18 degrees Celsius (32 to 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The researchers project that should Arctic temperatures rise by 5 to 15 degrees Celsius over the next 100 years, the methane-absorbing capacity of "carbon-poor" soil could increase by five to 30 times.

The researchers found that this ability stems from an as-yet unknown species of bacteria in carbon-poor Arctic soil that consume methane in the atmosphere. The bacteria are related to a bacterial group known as Upland Soil Cluster Alpha, the dominant methane-consuming bacteria in carbon-poor Arctic soil. The bacteria the researchers studied remove the carbon from methane to produce methanol, a simple alcohol the bacteria process immediately. The carbon is used for growth or respiration, meaning that it either remains in bacterial cells or is released as carbon dioxide.

First author Chui Yim "Maggie" Lau, an associate research scholar in Princeton's Department of Geosciences, said that although it's too early to claim that the entire Arctic will be a massive methane "sink" in a warmer world, the study's results do suggest that the Arctic could help mitigate the warming effect that would be caused by a rising amount of methane in the atmosphere. In immediate terms, climate models that project conditions on a warmer Earth could use this study to more accurately calculate the future methane content of the atmosphere, Lau said.

"At our study sites, we are more confident that these soils will continue to be a sink under future warming. In the future, the Arctic may not have atmospheric methane increase as much as the rest of the world," Lau said. "We don't have a direct answer as to whether these Arctic soils will offset global atmospheric methane or not, but they will certainly help the situation."

The researchers want to study the bacteria's physiology as well as test the upper temperature threshold and methane concentrations at which they can still efficiently process methane, Lau said. Field observations showed that the bacteria are still effective up to 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and can remove methane down to one-quarter of the methane level in the atmosphere, which is around 0.5 parts-per-million.

"If these bacteria can still work in a future warmer climate and are widespread in other Arctic permafrost areas, maybe they could regulate methane for the whole globe," Lau said. "These regions may seem isolated from the world, but they may have been doing things to help the world."

&nbsp;

---

<a href="http://www.princeton.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Princeton University</a>

Warmer Arctic May Reduce Methane In The Atmosphere

Warmer Arctic May Reduce Methane In The Atmosphere. In addition...

Central Asia's Glaciers Are Shrinking Rapidly. With temperatures rising, Central Asia's glaciers are relinquishing more and more meltwater.

The glaciers of Central Asia, which supply clean water to billions, are shrinking.

According to a new study, the ice sheets of Central Asia's largest mountain range, <a class="tpstyle" title="Tien Shan" href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Tien_Shan/">Tien Shan</a>, have lost 27 percent of their mass and 18 percent of their surface area over the last half-century. A team of researchers from France and Germany suggest half the region's glaciers could be gone by 2050.Central Asia's Glaciers Are Shrinking Rapidly

The health of Tien Shan's ice reserves are vital for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and parts of China, which rely on the glacier meltwater to supply their population with clean water.

Despite the region's importance, Tien Shan's glaciers haven't been closely monitored in recent decades. Researchers have attempted to account for the lack of information by reconstructing the evolution of Central Asian glaciers.

"We combined various methods based on satellite gravimetry, laser altimetry and glaciological modeling," lead study author Daniel Farinotti, researcher at GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, explained in a press release.

"This way, we were able to reconstruct the evolution of every single glacier," Farinotti added. "Currently, the Tien Shan is losing ice at a pace that is roughly twice the annual water consumption of entire Germany."

The new research was published <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2513.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in the journal Nature Geoscience</a>.

Meltwater is especially important for regions with long dry seasons. Glaciers serve as bank in which precipitation can be stored for later use. This is Central Asia's model for local water supply, and one under increasing climatic pressure.

With temperatures rising, Central Asia's glaciers are relinquishing more and more meltwater during the hot months. And they're also failing to replenish themselves.

"Since the winter months in the region are very dry and the mountains are that high, glaciers receive most of their snowfalls during summer," Farinotti said. "This means that an increased temperature contributes to both increased melt and reduced glacier nourishment -- and obviously, both contribute to glacier wastage."

A diminished water supply could have negative effects on China's northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. The area's coal, oil and gas industries are an important part of the Chinese economy.

"If water resources really will decline there in the future, there is a big potential for conflicts," Farinotti told Live Science.

---

Credit: UPI

Central Asia's Glaciers Are Shrinking Rapidly

Central Asia's Glaciers Are Shrinking Rapidly. With temperatures rising, Central...

Warmer Arctic May Reduce Methane In The Atmosphere. In addition to melting icecaps and imperiled wildlife, a significant concern among scientists is that higher Arctic temperatures brought about by climate change could result in the release of massive amounts of carbon locked in the region's frozen soil in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. Arctic permafrost is estimated to contain about a trillion tons of carbon, which would potentially accelerate global warming. Carbon emissions in the form of methane have been of particular concern because on a 100-year scale methane is about 25-times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.

However, new research led by Princeton University researchers and published in The ISME Journal in August suggests that, thanks to methane-hungry bacteria, the majority of Arctic soil might actually be able to absorb methane from the atmosphere rather than release it. Furthermore, that ability seems to become greater as temperatures rise.Warmer Arctic May Reduce Methane In The Atmosphere

The researchers found that Arctic soils containing low carbon content -- which make up 87 percent of the soil in permafrost regions globally -- not only remove methane from the atmosphere, but also become more efficient as temperatures increase. During a three-year period, a carbon-poor site on Axel Heiberg Island in Canada's Arctic region consistently took up more methane as the ground temperature rose from 0 to 18 degrees Celsius (32 to 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The researchers project that should Arctic temperatures rise by 5 to 15 degrees Celsius over the next 100 years, the methane-absorbing capacity of "carbon-poor" soil could increase by five to 30 times.

The researchers found that this ability stems from an as-yet unknown species of bacteria in carbon-poor Arctic soil that consume methane in the atmosphere. The bacteria are related to a bacterial group known as Upland Soil Cluster Alpha, the dominant methane-consuming bacteria in carbon-poor Arctic soil. The bacteria the researchers studied remove the carbon from methane to produce methanol, a simple alcohol the bacteria process immediately. The carbon is used for growth or respiration, meaning that it either remains in bacterial cells or is released as carbon dioxide.

First author Chui Yim "Maggie" Lau, an associate research scholar in Princeton's Department of Geosciences, said that although it's too early to claim that the entire Arctic will be a massive methane "sink" in a warmer world, the study's results do suggest that the Arctic could help mitigate the warming effect that would be caused by a rising amount of methane in the atmosphere. In immediate terms, climate models that project conditions on a warmer Earth could use this study to more accurately calculate the future methane content of the atmosphere, Lau said.

"At our study sites, we are more confident that these soils will continue to be a sink under future warming. In the future, the Arctic may not have atmospheric methane increase as much as the rest of the world," Lau said. "We don't have a direct answer as to whether these Arctic soils will offset global atmospheric methane or not, but they will certainly help the situation."

The researchers want to study the bacteria's physiology as well as test the upper temperature threshold and methane concentrations at which they can still efficiently process methane, Lau said. Field observations showed that the bacteria are still effective up to 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and can remove methane down to one-quarter of the methane level in the atmosphere, which is around 0.5 parts-per-million.

"If these bacteria can still work in a future warmer climate and are widespread in other Arctic permafrost areas, maybe they could regulate methane for the whole globe," Lau said. "These regions may seem isolated from the world, but they may have been doing things to help the world."

&nbsp;

---

<a href="http://www.princeton.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Princeton University</a>

California Plans To Acquire Land For Massive Water Tunnels. State contractors have readied plans to acquire as many as 300 farms in the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=california&amp;cvid=fa8003994f834220b7e7f3edfbfced51&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">California</a> delta by eminent domain to make room for a pair of massive, still-unapproved water tunnels proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to documents obtained by opponents of the tunnels.
Farmers whose parcels were listed and mapped in the 160-page property-acquisition plan expressed dismay at the advanced planning for the project, which would build 30-mile-long tunnels in the delta formed by the San Joaquin and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/screen-time-is-a-top-concern-among-parents-during-pandemic/">Sacramento</a> rivers. California Plans To Acquire Land For Massive Water Tunnels
"What really shocks is we're fighting this and we're hoping to win," said Richard Elliot, who grows cherries, pears and other crops on delta land farmed by his family since the 1860s. "To find out they're sitting in a room figuring out this eminent domain makes it sound like they're going to bully us ... and take what they want."
Officials involved in the project defended planning so far ahead regarding the tunnels.
"Planning for right-of-way needs, that is the key part of your normal planning process," said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the water agencies that would benefit from the twin tunnels.
The district serves 17 million people in Southern California as well as large farms and businesses.
Brown's administration said re-engineering water flows of the delta - the largest estuary on the West Coast - is essential to undoing mistakes of past water projects and to supplying water to Southern California.
Brown has pushed for a massive delta makeover since his first stint as governor in the 1970s and 1980s. In May, he told critics of the tunnels to "shut up."
Opponents say the tunnels would jeopardize delta farming and destroy vital wildlife habitat.
"If these reports are correct, then we have further confirmation that the tunnels project has been a forgone conclusion," state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who chairs a committee on the delta, said in an email Monday.
The environmental review, "which should be used to choose a project, is simply being used to justify the favored project," she wrote.
Through October, the project officially is in a period of public comment on the environmental impact of the tunnels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which opposed an earlier version of the project, also must still weigh in.
Restore the Delta, a group of farmers, fishing associations, environmental groups and other opponents, released the property plan that was obtained with a request made under the state open records law. The plan targets public and private land in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties to be acquired for the project.
Under the plan, landowners would have 30 days to consider and negotiate a one-time state offer, while officials simultaneously prepare to take the land by forced sale if owners declined to sell. "Negotiations to continue in parallel with eminent domain proceedings," the plan notes.
Contractors also appear to call for minimal public input.
"All transactions are conducted, reviewed and approved internally by DCE staff and managers to maintain control and avoid unnecessary delays to schedule," the property plan outlines. "DCE shall seek to minimize external review and approval requirements."
DCE is short for Delta Conveyance Facilities Design and Construction Enterprise, a private-contractor group embedded within the state Department of Water Resources to work on the proposed tunnels.
In a June interview, Neil Gould, an attorney for the Department of Water Resources, said planning for the proposed tunnels was no more than 10 percent complete and had focused on assessing the environmental impact.
Asked if planning the process of eminent domain was warranted as part of the project's environmental review, Department of Water Resources spokeswoman Nancy Vogel said Monday in an email, "identification of properties that may be within the project area is necessary ... as DWR needs to estimate the proposed project's potential impacts to those properties."
Public water agencies paid for the property acquisition plan, Vogel said. Those include water agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California, as well as Southern California, she said.
Patterson, with the Metropolitan Water District, said the latest revisions to the overall tunnels project laid out using more public land and less private land.
Osha Meserve, an attorney for some of the delta farmers fighting the project, said the latest plans still proposes taking roughly the same land as before.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

California Plans To Acquire Land For Massive Water Tunnels

California Plans To Acquire Land For Massive Water Tunnels. State...

California Plans To Acquire Land For Massive Water Tunnels. State contractors have readied plans to acquire as many as 300 farms in the California delta by eminent domain to make room for a pair of massive, still-unapproved water tunnels proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to documents obtained by opponents of the tunnels.
Farmers whose parcels were listed and mapped in the 160-page property-acquisition plan expressed dismay at the advanced planning for the project, which would build 30-mile-long tunnels in the delta formed by the San Joaquin and <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=california&amp;cvid=fa8003994f834220b7e7f3edfbfced51&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Sacramento</a> rivers. California Plans To Acquire Land For Massive Water Tunnels
"What really shocks is we're fighting this and we're hoping to win," said Richard Elliot, who grows cherries, pears and other crops on delta land farmed by his family since the 1860s. "To find out they're sitting in a room figuring out this eminent domain makes it sound like they're going to bully us ... and take what they want."
Officials involved in the project defended planning so far ahead regarding the tunnels.
"Planning for right-of-way needs, that is the key part of your normal planning process," said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the water agencies that would benefit from the twin tunnels.
The district serves 17 million people in Southern California as well as large farms and businesses.
Brown's administration said re-engineering water flows of the delta - the largest estuary on the West Coast - is essential to undoing mistakes of past water projects and to supplying water to Southern California.
Brown has pushed for a massive delta makeover since his first stint as governor in the 1970s and 1980s. In May, he told critics of the tunnels to "shut up."
Opponents say the tunnels would jeopardize delta farming and destroy vital wildlife habitat.
"If these reports are correct, then we have further confirmation that the tunnels project has been a forgone conclusion," state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who chairs a committee on the delta, said in an email Monday.
The environmental review, "which should be used to choose a project, is simply being used to justify the favored project," she wrote.
Through October, the project officially is in a period of public comment on the environmental impact of the tunnels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which opposed an earlier version of the project, also must still weigh in.
Restore the Delta, a group of farmers, fishing associations, environmental groups and other opponents, released the property plan that was obtained with a request made under the state open records law. The plan targets public and private land in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties to be acquired for the project.
Under the plan, landowners would have 30 days to consider and negotiate a one-time state offer, while officials simultaneously prepare to take the land by forced sale if owners declined to sell. "Negotiations to continue in parallel with eminent domain proceedings," the plan notes.
Contractors also appear to call for minimal public input.
"All transactions are conducted, reviewed and approved internally by DCE staff and managers to maintain control and avoid unnecessary delays to schedule," the property plan outlines. "DCE shall seek to minimize external review and approval requirements."
DCE is short for Delta Conveyance Facilities Design and Construction Enterprise, a private-contractor group embedded within the state Department of Water Resources to work on the proposed tunnels.
In a June interview, Neil Gould, an attorney for the Department of Water Resources, said planning for the proposed tunnels was no more than 10 percent complete and had focused on assessing the environmental impact.
Asked if planning the process of eminent domain was warranted as part of the project's environmental review, Department of Water Resources spokeswoman Nancy Vogel said Monday in an email, "identification of properties that may be within the project area is necessary ... as DWR needs to estimate the proposed project's potential impacts to those properties."
Public water agencies paid for the property acquisition plan, Vogel said. Those include water agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California, as well as Southern <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/brutal-fire-season-continues-in-california/">California</a>, she said.
Patterson, with the Metropolitan Water District, said the latest revisions to the overall tunnels project laid out using more public land and less private land.
Osha Meserve, an attorney for some of the delta farmers fighting the project, said the latest plans still proposes taking roughly the same land as before.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



---



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



---



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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



Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



---



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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



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

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



---



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



---



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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