Legends about a boiling, scalding river that roasts anything that falls inside may sound like fiction. Yet nestled in the Peruvian rainforest, a curious waterway <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/andres_ruzo_the_boiling_river_of_the_amazon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proves</a> these stories are far from mythical.



Its waters can reach 210°F, a temperature that can cause severe burns within seconds. For decades, local communities spoke of a place so hot that small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cold-shocks-in-the-amazon-how-do-wild-animals-respond/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animals perish</a> upon touching its surface.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-boiling-river-in-peru">The "Boiling River" in Peru</h2>



The "Boiling River" is located in the Mayantuyacu region of central Peru. The river’s length is around 4 miles, and it can be up to about 20 feet wide in some sections.



A team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.rileyfortier.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Riley Fortier</a>, a graduate student at the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Miami</a>, surveyed 70 sites along this tributary. 



"It really provides us a window into the future because the Amazon will get hotter whether we like it or not, so this allows us to understand what increases in temperature will do to the forest composition," said Riley Fortier, lead author on a study of the site published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gcb.17555" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Change Biology</a>, and a graduate student in professor Kenneth Feeley's <a href="https://www.junglebiology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jungle Biology lab</a>.



The team wanted to see how extreme heat shapes the surrounding forest.



By mapping the tree and plant species from cooler upstream areas down to the scalding heart of the river, they discovered a startling drop in biological variety. 



Findings <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gcb.17555" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">showed</a> an 11% decline in biodiversity for each 1.8°F rise in average temperature.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-boiling-river-boils">Why the boiling river boils</h2>



Geoscientists attribute the heat to fault-fed activity, where underground water channels meet Earth’s geothermal energy. 



A fault is a <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-fault-and-what-are-different-types" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">large fracture</a> in the crust that provides a direct path for scorching fluid to surge toward the surface.



Researchers believe that rainwater infiltrating sedimentary rock becomes superheated below ground. It then emerges as a system of hot springs converging with the main watercourse, creating a natural cauldron.



“You stick your hand in, and you will see second or third degree burns in a matter of seconds,” said Ruzo, who first measured the river’s peak heat. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-signs-of-changing-forests">Signs of changing forests</h2>



Many local inhabitants regard the site with deep respect because anything that wanders too close risks a painful encounter.



Certain plants thrive on the fringes, but most large creatures struggle with the sweltering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-microbes-in-amazon-peatlands-help-balance-the-global-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environment</a>. Adaptations are limited for organisms facing water that can reach coffee-brewing temperatures.



"Overall, the tree community is less diverse, so we see fewer species in hotter spots," Fortier said. "And forest composition was also more homogenous in the warmest locations, whereas in cooler forest plots, there was more plant diversity."



Botanical surveys from cooler sections toward the hotter stretches revealed how tree diversity narrows. In place of thick canopies, the research team documented more scrubby <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rainforest-trees-use-rivers-as-highways-for-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vegetation</a>.



"Over the course of dozens of miles, you might expect to see dramatic changes like that, but in the small sampling area that we had, you typically wouldn't see such a clear change in composition," Fortier added.



Small species adapted to drought-like conditions gained ground as the mercury rose. Larger, slower-growing trees faded away, reflecting how intense heat reshapes even lush ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boiling-rivers-and-future-climate">Boiling rivers and future climate</h2>



Fortier’s data suggest that as worldwide temperatures climb, similar shifts could spread across other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-amazon-rainforest-is-approaching-widespread-collapse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lowland rainforests</a>.



Changes may include declines in species that cannot handle additional heat and a rise in those more comfortable with higher temperatures.



Scientists note that an environment featuring fewer tree varieties will likely support fewer types of animals too. The loss of one group often sends ripples through the entire food web.



The boiling tributary, known locally as <a href="https://shanaytimpishka.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shanay-Timpishka</a>, meaning “boiled with the heat of the sun,” stands as a stark example of what could happen if average temperatures continue to climb. 



Areas that were once rich in wildlife may morph into simpler, drier landscapes. Observers hope that studying this natural hotspot will inspire careful planning to protect sensitive habitats. 



Even though the river is unique, it signals what may lie ahead for places currently seen as safe havens for biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ongoing-investigations">Ongoing investigations</h2>



Researchers plan to gather long-term data and explore whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nearly-40-of-climate-critical-amazon-rainforest-is-unprotected/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flora and fauna</a> can adapt to persistently higher temperatures. They will also watch for signs of any species shifting to cooler pockets.



Some scientists are examining whether the warming patterns near this location might parallel broader trends in tropical zones. 



They predict that more forests around the globe could face intense thermal stress, forcing communities to adapt or relocate.



Feeley's lab will continue its research of the boiling river, since it is such a unique place that could portend much about our natural world.



"You can't heat a whole forest, at least not artificially, which is one of the coolest aspects of the boiling river," Fortier added.



The study is published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gcb.17555" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Change Biology</a>.



-----



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.&nbsp;



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.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

One river in the Amazon rainforest is so hot that it literally boils, destroying nearby biodiversity

Legends about a boiling, scalding river that roasts anything that falls inside may sound like fiction. Yet nestled in the Peruvian rainforest, a curious waterway proves these stories are far from mythical. Its waters can reach 210°F, a temperature that can cause severe burns within seconds. For decades, local communities spoke of a place so hot that small animals perish upon touching its surface. The "Boiling River" in Peru The "Boiling River" is located in the Mayantuyacu region of central Peru. The river’s length is around 4...

Keystone XL Pipeline Review Drags On. For six and a half years, the White House has had a quick comeback to questions about its yet-to-be-announced decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline: Talk to the State Department.
Under a George W. Bush-era executive order, oil pipelines crossing U.S. borders require a presidential permit, setting off a government-wide review that the<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/how-did-covid-19-spread-so-extensively-in-the-united-states/"> State Department</a> coordinates. President Barack Obama, in no rush to anger either environmentalists or energy advocates, has deflected criticism about the long-delayed decision by arguing that his administration is merely carrying out his Republican predecessor's directive in the ordinary way. Keystone XL Pipeline Review Drags On
But an Associated Press review of every cross-border pipeline application since 2004 shows that the Keystone review has been anything but ordinary.
Since April 2004, when Bush signed his order, the federal government has taken an average of 478 days to give a yes or no to all other applications - less than a year and a half. The company hoping to build Keystone has been waiting for a decision for nearly 7 years - or more than five times the average.
And while the State Department does bear responsibility for reviewing potential pipelines, former Bush White House officials who helped craft the policy say it was never intended that the final decision would be outsourced. After all, it's called a presidential permit. The revamped process Bush created was intended to speed up, not slow down, permits for major infrastructure projects, those officials said.
"It was seen as the most routine, boring thing in the world," Robert McNally, Bush's senior energy adviser at the time, said of approving pipeline permits.
For whatever reason, Keystone emerged as a political flashpoint, elevated by supporters and opponents alike into a proxy battle over climate change and U.S. energy policy. Republicans and energy advocates have pressed Obama to approve the $8 billion project, but environmentalists say it would promote dirty tar sands oil and risk dangerous spills.
The company first applied in September 2009 for a permit to build the 1,179-mile pipeline, which would connect Canada's tar sands with crude oil refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. When Congress in 2012 gave Obama a deadline to make a decision, he rejected the permit on grounds he didn't have enough time to thoroughly review it, but allowed TransCanada Corp. to reapply.
The administration has declined to say what's taking so long, or to offer insight into the deliberations.
"This is under a review process at the State Department. That particular process is a process that predates this administration, so I'm not going to have any update for you from here," White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters recently. With a flat "yes," though, he did promise a decision sometime before Obama leaves office.
Under Bush's executive order, the State Department receives permit applications and circulates them to agencies like the Commerce Department, Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. Those agencies have 90 days to offer their opinions. If the State Department decides to grant approval, it notifies other agencies, which have 15 days to object before a permit is issued.
The final call comes down to whether the project is in the nation's interest. In a major climate change speech in 2013, Obama established a litmus test, saying Keystone wouldn't move forward if it was shown to significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions - a matter still hotly contested.
More than 16 months have passed since the State Department's 30-day public comment period closed. The State Department hasn't disclosed whether any federal agencies have objected to the pipeline, but has said it's continuing to review the application "in a rigorous, transparent, and objective manner."
The process doesn't typically drag on for so long. The first permit issued after Bush revised the process in 2004 took less than four months from application to signature. Express Pipeline, L.L.C., was expanding a crude 785-mile pipeline crossing the Canadian border from Hardisty, Alberta - the same town where the proposed Keystone XL would start.
Even the pipeline that took the longest to approve - the 435-mile Vantage Pipeline Project, approved during Obama's tenure - took fewer than three years, despite requiring complex negotiations with multiple Native American tribes concerned about historical preservation. The 1,000-mile Alberta Clipper Project, which drew legal challenges from Earthjustice and other groups, took 25 months to approve.
"When we brought the Alberta Clipper suit, nobody was really paying attention to pipelines," said Sarah Burt, an Earthjustice attorney. "It hadn't become this big bargaining chip, this symbolic ask of the administration that Keystone became."
Not including Keystone XL, eight applications for new or significantly upgraded petroleum pipelines have been processed since April 2004. The AP's review excluded permits reissued for existing pipelines due to change of ownership.
Piecing together the record of presidential permits is complex because there is no single repository for applications and pipeline decisions. To come up with an average processing time, the AP culled data from the Federal Register, State Department records, congressional correspondence, Congressional Research Service reports and data provided by pipeline owners.
---
Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a>
© 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.

Keystone XL Pipeline Review Drags On

Keystone XL Pipeline Review Drags On. For six and a...

Japan Committed To Nuclear Power Despite Fukushima Disaster. With the pull of a lever, control rods were lifted Tuesday from the reactor core at a plant in southern Japan, ending a ban on nuclear power following meltdowns at Fukushima in the northeast that forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes, most of them for good.
Crowded, energy-scarce Japan remains committed to nuclear power despite the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant and its messy aftermath, for economic, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=environmental&amp;cvid=f8c198ab53dd42469f865101953724a5&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">environmental</a> and political reasons. Japan Committed To Nuclear Power Despite Fukushima Disaster
Polls show that most Japanese don't want nuclear power, but public opinion has been trumped by leaders who say keeping the country's 43 workable reactors offline forever would be too damaging economically.
Though two other nuclear reactors briefly resumed operations after the Fukushima meltdowns, Japan has gone completely without nuclear power for nearly two years under tighter new regulations. Reactors remained idle pending safety inspections.
Nuclear plants had provided nearly a third of power generation before they were taken offline, so Japan ramped up use of coal, oil and gas to compensate. That has increased energy costs and slowed Japan's progress toward reducing emissions. Utility companies, meanwhile, face mounting costs from keeping nuclear plants idle.
Nuclear power is "indispensable," industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa said Tuesday, pledging to put safety first as the Sendai No. 1 reactor resumed operations.
"It would be impossible to achieve all these three things simultaneously: Keep nuclear plants offline, while also trying to curb carbon dioxide and maintain the same electricity costs," he said. "I hope to gain the public's understanding of the situation."
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan was in office at the time of the 2011 Fukushima accident, which was triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people. On Tuesday, he stood shouting outside the gates of the Sendai plant, along with about 300 other protesters.
"Accidents are unpredictable; that's why they happen. And certainly not all the necessary precautions for such accidents have been taken here," Kan said.
The Fukushima disaster, the worst since the 1986 Chernobyl explosion, revealed dire problems within the nuclear industry, including lax contingency planning and inadequate precautions against tsunami, earthquakes and other natural disasters at some plants.
Water is still being pumped into the Fukushima reactors to prevent further meltdowns, and huge amounts of it, now radioactive, have leaked out of the damaged containment chambers and into other parts of the buildings. Some has leaked outside and into the sea. Meanwhile, removal of melted fuel from three of the plant's six reactors - the most challenging part of the 30-to-40-year cleanup process - will not begin until 2022.
Japan's 126 million people live smack on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a seismically active region studded with volcanos and riven with major geologic faults.
But the country invested heavily in nuclear power to help alleviate its nearly complete reliance on imported fuel, and many communities rely on tax revenues and jobs associated with the plants. Though its nuclear fuel recycling program at Rokkasho, on the northern tip of the main island of Honshu, is stalled by technical problems, Japan also faces pressure to use up its stockpile of more than 40 tons of weapons-grade plutonium - enough to make thousands of nuclear weapons.
After taking office in late 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rolled back a pledge by his predecessor's government to phase out nuclear power by 2030. The government's goal is to have nuclear power meet more than a fifth of Japan's energy needs by 2030, a target that would require 30 working reactors. Up to 18 reactors are needed to burn the plutonium stockpile.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority, itself restructured after Fukushima, affirmed the safety of the Sendai reactor and one other at the same plant last September, under stricter safety rules. The reactor that restarted Tuesday is expected to start generating power on Friday and reach full capacity next month. The second Sendai reactor is due to restart in October pending final approval.
Utilities are seeking approvals for restarts of 23 other reactors, including the second at Sendai. Two others are under construction. But many communities don't want their reactors back online, and experts say idled plants deteriorate quickly.
Even with little to no nuclear power, Japan has managed to avoid power rationing and blackouts. Industries have moved aggressively to avoid disruptions by installing backup generators and shifting to new sources, such as solar power.
Ultimately, nuclear power is a stopgap, medium-term solution for Japan's energy needs. Even if more nuclear plants are allowed to restart, many will soon reach their 40-year operating limits, with a maximum potential extension to 60 years, raising the issue of whether and how they will be replaced. Meanwhile, the disposal and security of nuclear waste are issues yet to be resolved.
While Abe and other officials say Japan's new safety requirements are the world's toughest, critics say this is untrue because evacuation plans are not mandatory requirements.
Tomas Kaberger, chairman of the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation, notes that the peak output of Japan's nuclear power industry was in 1998. Power companies have since pulled back from major new investments in atomic power due to rising costs and technical difficulties in operating the reactors, though Japanese manufacturers are eager to sell their nuclear equipment and expertise overseas.
"The problems for the Japanese nuclear industry started long before the Fukushima accident," he said.
---
This story has been corrected to say Japan's plutonium stockpile is enough to make thousands of nuclear weapons, not 50.
© 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.

Japan Committed To Nuclear Power Despite Fukushima Disaster

Japan Committed To Nuclear Power Despite Fukushima Disaster. With the...

Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Polar Bear Habitat. A federal plan designating a huge swath of the U.S. Arctic as critical polar bear habitat should be upheld over the objections of the state of Alaska, petroleum industry groups and communities along Alaska's north coast, a Justice Department lawyer told an appeals court Tuesday. Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Polar Bear Habitat
Robert Stockman acknowledged that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan designating an area larger than <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=california&amp;cvid=7b137be075c2465f8198e59aabb1cc28&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">California</a> as critical habitat lacked specifics, such as the exact sites where polar bears establish dens. But the agency acted based on the best data available from polar bear experts as is required by endangered species law, he said.
"The service had to make a judgment call based on limited data," Stockman said.
Polar bears, a marine mammal, were declared a threatened species in 2008 under former President George W. Bush because of diminishing sea ice brought on by global climate warming. Polar bears use sea ice to breed and hunt ice seals.
An endangered species listing requires the agency overseeing the species to develop a plan to help the population recover. The designation of a species' critical habitat does not automatically block development, but it requires federal officials to consider whether a proposed action would interfere with the recovery of a threatened population.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service habitat plan designating 187,000 square miles of polar bear critical habitat drew lawsuits from the state of Alaska, petroleum trade associations, local governments and Alaska Native businesses with interests in the Alaska <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/the-complex-behavior-of-melting-ice-sheets/">arctic</a>. The state and the trade associations said the designation would cost millions and to lead to delays in projects, additional consultations with layers of government and litigation for development projects.
About 95 percent of the polar bear habitat plan covers ocean. In considering the combined lawsuits, U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline in 2013 found no problem with the marine portion of the habitat plan.
The remaining 5 percent covered barrier islands along the coast and land used by female polar bears for creating dens and giving birth. Beistline concluded the agency had not shown that the geographical features needed by bears were present on much of the coastal land designated as critical habitat.
Attorney Jeffrey Leppo of Seattle, representing the state and the trade associations, told the three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the agency had shown the presence of birthing dens on just 0.2 percent of the land portion of the habitat designation and had arbitrarily chosen additional swaths along the Alaska coast.
"We're saying there is no science to support these decisions," he said.
Stockton, however, said that even the limited data showed polar bears traveling up to 50 miles inland. Not all dens could be documented, he said, and birthing females could not be expected to take direct paths to prime den sites. It could have been argued, he said, that the protected habitat designation on land was too small.
Rebecca Noblin, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, which intervened with other environmental groups in the case, said that when there are uncertainties in data, the law requires decisions in favor of protecting the threatened species. Polar bears will largely disappear unless greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced to halt the continued loss of summer sea ice, experts say.
"If we want them to survive long enough for that to happen, we have to throw everything we've got at protecting them from other threats," Noblin 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.

Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Polar Bear Habitat

Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Polar Bear Habitat. A...

Winds Across The Greenland Ice Sheet Are Driving Soil Erosion. Strong winds blowing off the Greenland Ice Sheet are eroding soil and vegetation in the surrounding tundra, making it less productive for caribou and other grazing animals, carbon storage and nutrient cycling, a Dartmouth College study finds.

Arctic soils are a critical but fragile ecological resource threatened by wildfire, permafrost degradation and other climate-related disturbances that are well studied. But wind-driven soil erosion has not been well documented, especially in western Greenland where it poses the greatest threat to soil stability.

The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00045608.2015.1059176#abstract" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">findings</a> appear in the journal Annals of the Association of American Geographers. A PDF is available on request.

"Understanding the current distribution of wind-eroded patches is a first step toward a more complete picture of regional wind erosion and its ecological impacts, especially as the Arctic continues to experience rapid environmental change and warming temperatures," says lead author Ruth Heindel, a Ph.D. student in Dartmouth's Department of Earth Sciences and a fellow in the IGERT Polar Environmental Change program.

The researchers used satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques to analyze wind erosion in the Kangerlussuaq region of western Greenland, where bare ground patches around the ice sheet are much less productive than the surrounding landscape. The region's soils have developed on a layer of loess, or loose sediment that is easily eroded by the wind.

The researchers wanted to know if soil erosion is controlled by proximity to the ice sheet or by the lay of the land, including the direction and steepness of nearby hillsides. In addition, they considered whether bare patches near the ice sheet are similar in size, distribution and denudation as those farther away since wind patterns, vegetation and climate all vary with distance from the ice sheet. Winds blowing off the ice sheet tend to be drier and colder than those coming off the fjord.

Results showed that bare patches covered 22 percent of the land in the study area, ranging in size from about 100 square feet to more than 1,000 square feet. The bare patches were more widespread near the ice sheet but restricted to steep south-facing slopes farther away from the ice sheet. This pattern suggests that strong downslope winds blowing off the ice sheet are responsible for the soil erosion. In addition, the eroded patches close to the ice sheet contain less vegetation than those farther away.

The vegetation around the eroded areas is a mixture of shrubs and grasses, but grasses dominate within the eroded patches. Across the Arctic, shrub species are expanding into grass habitat, but the new findings show how wind erosion may limit the spread of shrubs by providing better habitat for grasses or an environment dominated by lichens, mosses, cyanobacteria and microfungi.

The findings are a snapshot of current soil erosion in western Greenland rather than an analysis of changes over time, which the researchers are currently conducting. The Greenland Ice Sheet has experienced record melting in recent years, but it is relatively stable in western Greenland. If the ice sheet retreats in this region, soil erosion is expected to be more restricted to steep south-facing slopes, but the already bare patches could remain denuded for a long time.

---

<a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dartmouth College</a>

Winds Across The Greenland Ice Sheet Are Driving Soil Erosion

Winds Across The Greenland Ice Sheet Are Driving Soil Erosion....

Chinese Cave Graffiti Tells Climate Change Story. An international team of researchers, including scientists from the University of Cambridge, has discovered unique Chinese cave graffiti on the walls of a cave in central China, which describes the effects drought had on the local population over the past 500 years.

The information contained in the inscriptions, combined with detailed chemical analysis of stalagmites in the cave, together paint an intriguing picture of how societies are affected by droughts over time: the first time that it has been possible to conduct an in situ comparison of historical and geological records from the same cave. The results, published in the journalScientific Reports, also point to potentially greatly reduced rainfall in the region in the near future, underlying the importance of implementing strategies to deal with a world where droughts are more common. Chinese Cave Graffiti Tells Climate Change Story

The inscriptions were found on the walls of Dayu Cave in the Qinling Mountains of central China, and describe the impacts of seven drought events between 1520 and 1920. The climate in the area around the cave is dominated by the summer monsoon, in which about 70% of the year's rain falls during a few months, so when the monsoon is late or early, too short or too long, it has a major impact on the region's ecosystem.

"In addition to the obvious impact of droughts, they have also been linked to the downfall of cultures - when people don't have enough water, hardship is inevitable and conflict arises," said Dr Sebastian Breitenbach of Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences, one of the paper's co-authors. "In the past decade, records found in caves and lakes have shown a possible link between climate change and the demise of several Chinese dynasties during the last 1800 years, such as the Tang, Yuan and Ming Dynasties."

According to the inscriptions in Dayu Cave, residents would come to the cave both to get water and to pray for rain in times of drought. An inscription from 1891 reads, "On May 24th, 17th year of the Emperor Guangxu period, Qing Dynasty, the local mayor, Huaizong Zhu led more than 200 people into the cave to get water. A fortune-teller named Zhenrong Ran prayed for rain during the ceremony."

Another inscription from 1528 reads, "Drought occurred in the 7th year of the Emperor Jiajing period, Ming Dynasty. Gui Jiang and Sishan Jiang came to Da'an town to acknowledge the Dragon Lake inside in Dayu Cave."

While the inscriptions are business-like in tone, the droughts of the 1890s led to severe starvation and triggered local social instability, which eventually resulted in a fierce conflict between government and civilians in 1900. The drought in 1528 also led to widespread starvation, and there were even reports of cannibalism.

"There are examples of things like human remains, tools and pottery being found in caves, but it's exceptional to find something like these dated inscriptions," said Dr Liangcheng Tan of the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Xi'an, and the paper's lead author. "Combined with the evidence found in the physical formations in the cave, the inscriptions were a crucial way for us to confirm the link between climate and the geochemical record in the cave, and the effect that drought has on a landscape."

The researchers removed sections of cave formations, or speleothems, and analysed the stable isotopes and trace elements contained within. They found that concentrations of certain elements were strongly correlated to periods of drought, which could then be verified by cross-referencing the chemical profile of the cave with the writing on the walls.

When cut open, speleothems such as stalagmites frequently reveal a series of layers that record their annual growth, just like tree rings. Using mass spectrometry, the researchers analysed and dated the ratios of the stable isotopes of oxygen, carbon, as well as concentrations of uranium and other elements. Changes in climate, moisture levels and surrounding vegetation all affect these elements, since the water seeping into the cave is related to the water on the surface. The researchers found that higher oxygen and carbon isotope ratios, in particular, corresponded with lower rainfall levels, and vice versa.

The researchers then used their results to construct a model of future precipitation in the region, starting in 1982. Their model correlated with a drought that occurred in the 1990s and suggests another drought in the late 2030s. The observed droughts also correspond with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. Due to the likelihood that climate change caused by humans will make ENSO events more severe, the region may be in for more serious droughts in the future.

"Since the Qinling Mountains are the main recharge area of two larger water transfer projects, and the habitat for many endangered species, including the iconic giant panda, it is imperative to explore how the region can adapt to declining rain levels or drought," said Breitenbach. "Things in the world are different from when these cave inscriptions are written, but we're still vulnerable to these events - especially in the developing world."

---

<a href="http://www.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Cambridge</a>

Chinese Cave Graffiti Tells Climate Change Story

Chinese Cave Graffiti Tells Climate Change Story. An international team...

Winds Across The Greenland Ice Sheet Are Driving Soil Erosion. Strong winds blowing off the Greenland Ice Sheet are eroding soil and vegetation in the surrounding tundra, making it less productive for caribou and other grazing animals, carbon storage and nutrient cycling, a Dartmouth College study finds.

Arctic soils are a critical but fragile ecological resource threatened by wildfire, permafrost degradation and other climate-related disturbances that are well studied. But wind-driven soil erosion has not been well documented, especially in western Greenland where it poses the greatest threat to soil stability.

The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00045608.2015.1059176#abstract" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">findings</a> appear in the journal Annals of the Association of American Geographers. A PDF is available on request.Winds Across The Greenland Ice Sheet Are Driving Soil Erosion

"Understanding the current distribution of wind-eroded patches is a first step toward a more complete picture of regional wind erosion and its ecological impacts, especially as the Arctic continues to experience rapid environmental change and warming temperatures," says lead author Ruth Heindel, a Ph.D. student in Dartmouth's Department of Earth Sciences and a fellow in the IGERT Polar Environmental Change program.

The researchers used satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques to analyze wind erosion in the Kangerlussuaq region of western Greenland, where bare ground patches around the ice sheet are much less productive than the surrounding landscape. The region's soils have developed on a layer of loess, or loose sediment that is easily eroded by the wind.

The researchers wanted to know if soil erosion is controlled by proximity to the ice sheet or by the lay of the land, including the direction and steepness of nearby hillsides. In addition, they considered whether bare patches near the ice sheet are similar in size, distribution and denudation as those farther away since wind patterns, vegetation and climate all vary with distance from the ice sheet. Winds blowing off the ice sheet tend to be drier and colder than those coming off the fjord.

Results showed that bare patches covered 22 percent of the land in the study area, ranging in size from about 100 square feet to more than 1,000 square feet. The bare patches were more widespread near the ice sheet but restricted to steep south-facing slopes farther away from the ice sheet. This pattern suggests that strong downslope winds blowing off the ice sheet are responsible for the soil erosion. In addition, the eroded patches close to the ice sheet contain less vegetation than those farther away.

The vegetation around the eroded areas is a mixture of shrubs and grasses, but grasses dominate within the eroded patches. Across the Arctic, shrub species are expanding into grass habitat, but the new findings show how wind erosion may limit the spread of shrubs by providing better habitat for grasses or an environment dominated by lichens, mosses, cyanobacteria and microfungi.

The findings are a snapshot of current soil erosion in western Greenland rather than an analysis of changes over time, which the researchers are currently conducting. The Greenland Ice Sheet has experienced record melting in recent years, but it is relatively stable in western Greenland. If the ice sheet retreats in this region, soil erosion is expected to be more restricted to steep south-facing slopes, but the already bare patches could remain denuded for a long time.

---

<a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dartmouth College</a>

Toxic Blue-Green Algae Blooms Threatening US Waters. A report concludes that blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, are a poorly monitored and underappreciated risk to recreational and drinking water quality in the United States, and may increasingly pose a global health threat.

Several factors are contributing to the concern. Temperatures and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-carbon-dioxide-sink/">carbon dioxide</a> levels have risen, many rivers have been dammed worldwide, and wastewater nutrients or agricultural fertilizers in various situations can cause problems in rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

No testing for cyanobacteria is mandated by state or federal drinking water regulators, according to scientists from Oregon State University, nor is reporting required of disease outbreaks associated with algal blooms. But changes in climate and land use, and even increasing toxicity of the bacteria themselves, may force greater attention to this issue in the future, the researchers said.Toxic Blue-Green Algae Blooms Threatening US Waters

An analysis outlining the broad scope of the problem has been published in Current Environmental Health Reports, by scientists from OSU and the University of North Carolina. The work was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Science Foundation.

The researchers also noted that problems with these toxins reach their peak during the heat of summer - as they are doing right now.

In 2015, drought and low snow pack throughout the West has led to large and toxic algal blooms earlier than in previous years. Toxic blooms have occurred for the second consecutive year in the Willamette River near Portland, Ore., and Upper Klamath Lake and most of the Klamath River have health warnings posted.

In a related marine concern, all along the West Coast many shellfish harvests are closed due to an ongoing event of domoic acid shellfish poisoning, producing what is thought to be the largest algal bloom in recorded history.

Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous around the world, and a 2007 national survey by the EPA found microcystin, a recognized liver toxin and potential liver carcinogen, in one out of every three lakes that were tested. Some of the toxic strains of cyanobacteria can also produce neurotoxins, while most can cause gastrointestinal illness and acute skin rashes.

Exposure to cyanobacteria is often fatal to pets or wildlife that drink contaminated water, and there have been rare cases of human fatalities. Last year the drinking water supply was temporarily shut down in Toledo, Ohio, a city of 500,000 people, due to cyanobacterial contamination of water taken from Lake Erie.

"The biggest health concern with cyanobacteria in sources of drinking water is that there's very little regulatory oversight, and it remains unclear what level of monitoring is being voluntarily conducted by drinking water utilities," said Tim Otten, a postdoctoral scholar in the OSU Department of Microbiology, and lead author on the study.

"At this point we only have toxicology data for a handful of these toxins, and even for those it remains unclear what are the effects of chronic, low-dose exposures over a lifetime," Otten said. "We know some of the liver toxins such as microcystin are probable carcinogens, but we've really scratched only the surface with regard to understanding what the health effects may be for the bioactive metabolites produced by these organisms."

Otten referred to the "precautionary principle" of protecting human health before damage is done.

"In my mind, these bacteria should be considered guilty until proven innocent, and in drinking water treated as potential pathogens," he said. "I think cyanobacteria should be approached with significant caution, and deserve better monitoring and regulation."

The issue is complex, because not all cyanobacteria are a problem, and in fact they play many positive roles as primary producers in oceans and fresh waters. They are among Earth's oldest life forms, and more than two billion years ago helped produce much of the oxygen that made much other life on Earth possible, including humans. But various strains of them have likely always been toxic.

Scientists said a concern is that nutrient over-enrichment may select for the more toxic populations of these bacteria, creating a positive feedback loop that makes the problem even worse.

Researchers said in their analysis that modern water treatment does a reasonably good job of making drinking water safe, but the lack of required or widespread monitoring remains a problem. No one should drink untreated surface water that may be contaminated by cyanobacteria, and another serious concern is recreational exposure through swimming or other water sports.

Cyanobacteria-associated illnesses are not required to be reported under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines, as most pathogens are. This makes accurate assessments of the incidence and severity of adverse health outcomes difficult to determine.

A recent study identified 11 freshwater lake, algal-bloom associated disease outbreaks, and 61 illnesses from 2009-10, based on reports from New York, Ohio, and Washington. The most common symptoms were skin rashes and gastroenteritis. There were no fatalities.

Many large, eutrophic lakes such as Lake Erie are plagued each year by algal blooms so massive that they are visible from outer space. Dogs have died from drinking contaminated water, and sea otter deaths in Monterey Bay have been attributed to them eating shellfish contaminated with microcystin that came from an inland lake.

Until better monitoring standards are in place, the researchers note, an unfortunate indicator of toxic algal bloom events will be illness or death among pets, livestock and wild animals that drink contaminated water.

One cannot tell visually if an algal bloom will be toxic or not, Otten said, and traditional microscopic cell counting and other approaches to assess risk are too slow for making time-sensitive, public health decisions. But the future holds promise. New DNA-based techniques can be used by experts to estimate health risks faster and cheaper than traditional methods.

Cyanobacterial toxins are not destroyed by boiling. However, individuals concerned about the safety of their drinking water may use regularly-changed point-of-use carbon filtration devices that are effective in reducing these health risks.

People should also develop an awareness of what cyanobacteria look like, in a natural setting appearing as green, paint-like surface scums. They should avoid water recreation on a lake or river that has these characteristics, researchers said.

---

<a href="http://www.orst.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oregon State University</a>

Toxic Blue-Green Algae Blooms Threatening US Waters

Toxic Blue-Green Algae Blooms Threatening US Waters. A report concludes...

Scientists Learn How Greenhouse Gases Enter Streams And Rivers. All freshwater streams and rivers actually release carbon dioxide, but the source of those emissions has for years been unclear to scientists.

Now, researchers have shown that the greenhouse gas appears in streams by way of two different sources -- either as a direct pipeline for groundwater and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/peatlands-could-release-more-than-100-billion-tons-of-carbon-this-century/">carbon</a>-rich soils, or from aquatic organisms releasing the gas through respiration and natural decay.

CO2's origins -- land or life -- depend largely on the size of the stream or river, according to a paper published Aug. 10 in Nature Geosciences. These findings shed light on the role freshwater rivers play in the global carbon cycle.

"This paper validates that in certain systems, a lot of the carbon dioxide is coming from terrestrial systems, but as you get to larger rivers, that connection to the land becomes less and less strong. This is the first broad study to show that," said co-author David Butman, a University of Washington assistant professor of environmental and forest sciences and of civil and environmental engineering.

The researchers found that smaller streams usually carry carbon dioxide that is produced by plants on land and then transferred to the water by way of soil and groundwater. That happens because at its headwaters, a small stream often is surrounded by trees and other plants that pull carbon out of the atmosphere and store or "sink" it in soils and biomass.

But in larger streams, most CO2 emissions are produced directly in the water itself. More plants and animals are present in larger rivers, and they use available oxygen and convert organic carbon to carbon dioxide through respiration.

Understanding how carbon dioxide ends up in streams and rivers will improve predictions of how changes to river systems affect the efficiency of terrestrial ecosystems at removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, researchers say.

"It is very important to know the sources of carbon dioxide in running waters as well as the processes controlling respiration and emissions if we are to understand what happens when the environment changes," said lead author Erin Hotchkiss, who completed the research while at Umeå University in Sweden.

Butman and Hotchkiss, along with other collaborators at Umeå University and the University of Wyoming, began working together about two years ago to see if they could pinpoint where the carbon dioxide measured in rivers and streams was coming from.

The researchers looked at long-term U.S. Geological Survey data from about 1,400 freshwater streams and rivers across the U.S., as well as data collected from more than 180 river monitoring sites. Their models showed that aquatic plants and animals produced about 30 percent of the carbon dioxide found in streams and rivers in the U.S. on average, and that number ranged from only 14 percent in the smallest streams to near 40 percent in large rivers.

The main takeaway, Butman said, is that rivers and streams don't all behave the same way with regard to putting out carbon dioxide. This study is one of the first attempts to identify the source of carbon in freshwater river systems at a very large scale, helping to further our understanding of the role streams and rivers play in the global carbon cycle.

"Figuring out how these streams fit into the larger carbon cycle is most important," he said.

The next step is to take the research beyond modeling and do actual broad-scale measurements of CO2 along entire networks of streams, Butman added.

---

<a href="http://www.washington.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Washington</a>

Scientists Learn How Greenhouse Gases Enter Streams And Rivers

Scientists Learn How Greenhouse Gases Enter Streams And Rivers. All...

Toxic Blue-Green Algae Blooms Threatening US Waters. A report concludes that blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, are a poorly monitored and underappreciated risk to recreational and drinking water quality in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/severe-fire-threat-continues-in-the-western-united-states/">United States,</a> and may increasingly pose a global health threat.

Several factors are contributing to the concern. Temperatures and carbon dioxide levels have risen, many rivers have been dammed worldwide, and wastewater nutrients or agricultural fertilizers in various situations can cause problems in rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Toxic Blue-Green Algae Blooms Threatening US Waters

No testing for cyanobacteria is mandated by state or federal drinking water regulators, according to scientists from Oregon State University, nor is reporting required of disease outbreaks associated with algal blooms. But changes in climate and land use, and even increasing toxicity of the bacteria themselves, may force greater attention to this issue in the future, the researchers said.

An analysis outlining the broad scope of the problem has been published in Current Environmental Health Reports, by scientists from OSU and the University of North Carolina. The work was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Science Foundation.

The researchers also noted that problems with these toxins reach their peak during the heat of summer - as they are doing right now.

In 2015, drought and low snow pack throughout the West has led to large and toxic algal blooms earlier than in previous years. Toxic blooms have occurred for the second consecutive year in the Willamette River near Portland, Ore., and Upper Klamath Lake and most of the Klamath River have health warnings posted.

In a related marine concern, all along the West Coast many shellfish harvests are closed due to an ongoing event of domoic acid shellfish poisoning, producing what is thought to be the largest algal bloom in recorded history.

Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous around the world, and a 2007 national survey by the EPA found microcystin, a recognized liver toxin and potential liver carcinogen, in one out of every three lakes that were tested. Some of the toxic strains of cyanobacteria can also produce neurotoxins, while most can cause gastrointestinal illness and acute skin rashes.

Exposure to cyanobacteria is often fatal to pets or wildlife that drink contaminated water, and there have been rare cases of human fatalities. Last year the drinking water supply was temporarily shut down in Toledo, Ohio, a city of 500,000 people, due to cyanobacterial contamination of water taken from Lake Erie.

"The biggest health concern with cyanobacteria in sources of drinking water is that there's very little regulatory oversight, and it remains unclear what level of monitoring is being voluntarily conducted by drinking water utilities," said Tim Otten, a postdoctoral scholar in the OSU Department of Microbiology, and lead author on the study.

"At this point we only have toxicology data for a handful of these toxins, and even for those it remains unclear what are the effects of chronic, low-dose exposures over a lifetime," Otten said. "We know some of the liver toxins such as microcystin are probable carcinogens, but we've really scratched only the surface with regard to understanding what the health effects may be for the bioactive metabolites produced by these organisms."

Otten referred to the "precautionary principle" of protecting human health before damage is done.

"In my mind, these bacteria should be considered guilty until proven innocent, and in drinking water treated as potential pathogens," he said. "I think cyanobacteria should be approached with significant caution, and deserve better monitoring and regulation."

The issue is complex, because not all cyanobacteria are a problem, and in fact they play many positive roles as primary producers in oceans and fresh waters. They are among Earth's oldest life forms, and more than two billion years ago helped produce much of the oxygen that made much other life on Earth possible, including humans. But various strains of them have likely always been toxic.

Scientists said a concern is that nutrient over-enrichment may select for the more toxic populations of these bacteria, creating a positive feedback loop that makes the problem even worse.

Researchers said in their analysis that modern water treatment does a reasonably good job of making drinking water safe, but the lack of required or widespread monitoring remains a problem. No one should drink untreated surface water that may be contaminated by cyanobacteria, and another serious concern is recreational exposure through swimming or other water sports.

Cyanobacteria-associated illnesses are not required to be reported under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines, as most pathogens are. This makes accurate assessments of the incidence and severity of adverse health outcomes difficult to determine.

A recent study identified 11 freshwater lake, algal-bloom associated disease outbreaks, and 61 illnesses from 2009-10, based on reports from New York, Ohio, and Washington. The most common symptoms were skin rashes and gastroenteritis. There were no fatalities.

Many large, eutrophic lakes such as Lake Erie are plagued each year by algal blooms so massive that they are visible from outer space. Dogs have died from drinking contaminated water, and sea otter deaths in Monterey Bay have been attributed to them eating shellfish contaminated with microcystin that came from an inland lake.

Until better monitoring standards are in place, the researchers note, an unfortunate indicator of toxic algal bloom events will be illness or death among pets, livestock and wild animals that drink contaminated water.

One cannot tell visually if an algal bloom will be toxic or not, Otten said, and traditional microscopic cell counting and other approaches to assess risk are too slow for making time-sensitive, public health decisions. But the future holds promise. New DNA-based techniques can be used by experts to estimate health risks faster and cheaper than traditional methods.

Cyanobacterial toxins are not destroyed by boiling. However, individuals concerned about the safety of their drinking water may use regularly-changed point-of-use carbon filtration devices that are effective in reducing these health risks.

People should also develop an awareness of what cyanobacteria look like, in a natural setting appearing as green, paint-like surface scums. They should avoid water recreation on a lake or river that has these characteristics, researchers said.

---

<a href="http://www.orst.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oregon State University</a>

Scientists Determine How Last Ice Age Ended. The build-up and subsequent release of warm, stagnant water from the deep Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas played a role in ending the last Ice Age within the Arctic region, according to new research led by a UCL<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/scientists-use-genomic-testing-to-trace-the-history-of-corn/"> scientist</a>.

The study, published today in Science, examined how the circulation of the ocean north of Iceland - the combined Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas, called the Arctic <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Mediterranean&amp;cvid=e2ed5c07df8d42d5be68dd96e6cae6d0&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Mediterranean</a> - changed since the end of the last Ice Age (~20,000-30,000 years ago).Scientists Determine How Last Ice Age Ended

Today, the ocean is cooled by the atmosphere during winter, producing large volumes of dense water that sink and flush through the deep Arctic Mediterranean. However, in contrast to the vigorous circulation of today, the research found that during the last Ice Age, the deep Arctic Mediterranean became like a giant stagnant pond, with deep waters not being replenished for up to 10,000 years.

This is thought to have been caused by the thick and extensive layer of sea ice and fresh water that covered much of the Arctic Mediterranean during the Ice Age, preventing the atmosphere from cooling and densifying the underlying ocean.

Dr David Thornalley (UCL Geography) said: "As well as being stagnant, these deep waters were also warm. Sitting around at the bottom of the ocean, they slowly accumulated geothermal heat from the seafloor, until a critical point was reached when the ocean became unstable.

"Suddenly, the heat previously stored in the deep Arctic Mediterranean was released to the upper ocean. The timing of this event coincides with the occurrence of evidence for a massive release of meltwater into the Nordic Seas. We hypothesize that this input of melt water was caused by the release of deep ocean heat, which melted icebergs, sea-ice and surrounding marine-terminating ice sheets."

This study highlights the important impact that changes in ocean circulation can have on climate, due to the ocean's capacity to redistribute vast quantities of heat around the globe. For example, scientists are currently concerned that ongoing changes in ocean circulation may result in warmer subsurface water that will cause enhanced melting and retreat of certain ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

Dr Thornalley added: "To help predict the role of the ocean in future climate change, it is useful to investigate how ocean circulation changed in the past and what the associated climate effects were."

In this study, researchers from UCL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and other partner institutions analysed the composition of calcite shells of small single-celled organisms (called foraminifera) that are found in ocean floor sediment. The shells of these organisms record the chemistry of the deep ocean at the time they were living, enabling the researchers to reconstruct past changes in ocean circulation.

By measuring the radiocarbon content of these shells, the research team was able to determine how rapidly deep water was being formed in the Arctic Mediterranean. A number of different techniques were then used to constrain past temperature changes, including measuring the ratio of magnesium and calcium, and the arrangement of isotopes of carbon and oxygen within the calcite shells of the foraminifera, both of which vary according to the temperature of the water in which the foraminifera grew.

A warmer, deep Arctic Mediterranean during glacial times has been suggested in previous studies, too. As summarized by co-author Dr Henning Bauch (GEOMAR/Germany) "It is good to see that new, independent proxy data would give strong support now to these former hypotheses."

---

<a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>

Scientists Determine How Last Ice Age Ended

Scientists Determine How Last Ice Age Ended. The build-up and...

Greenpeace Activists Fined For Royal Dutch Shell Icebreaker Protests. Two more Greenpeace protesters accused of trying to stop a Royal Dutch Shell icebreaker from leaving Portland, Oregon, for an Arctic oil-drilling operation were fined $5,000 by the Coast Guard, officials said Friday.
A total of seven protesters have now been fined for interfering with the safe operations of a vessel, Petty Officer 1st Class George Degener said. <a href="http://www.earth.com/organizations/greenpeace-international/">Greenpeace</a> Activists Fined For Royal Dutch Shell Icebreaker Protests
They can either pay the mandatory minimum fine or pursue an appeal before a hearing officer.
The icebreaker Fennica was leaving Portland last month when 13 protesters suspended themselves from St. Johns Bridge over the Willamette River to try to block its departure to the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=arctic&amp;cvid=99fa432df45b4d34b1bf1d7a00341103&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Arctic</a>. Activists in kayaks also blocked the ship.
Portland police and the U.S. Coast Guard eventually cleared a path for the ship.
Greenpeace spokeswoman Cassady Sharp said the organization has not been officially notified about the fines and was working with an attorney to confirm them.
"Greenpeace was totally prepared to face the legal consequences of the protest in Portland," Sharp said. "So we completely stand by our actions to stop Shell from drilling in the Arctic."
The Fennica has joined other vessels in the Shell flotilla as the company searches for oil in the Arctic.
Earlier this month, Shell applied to amend its federal exploratory drilling permit to allow drilling into oil-bearing rock. The company had been banned from such drilling until equipment was not on hand to handle a possible well blowout.
That equipment was on the Fennica, which was repaired in Portland after it sustained hull damage July 3 in the Aleutians Islands.
Arctic offshore drilling is strongly opposed by environmental groups that say the industrial activity will harm wildlife and delay a transition to renewable energy.
© 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.

Greenpeace Activists Fined For Royal Dutch Shell Icebreaker Protests

Greenpeace Activists Fined For Royal Dutch Shell Icebreaker Protests. Two...

500,000 Abandoned Mines In US Are Like Ticking Time Bombs. It will take many years and many millions of dollars simply to manage and not even remove the toxic wastewater from an abandoned mine that unleashed a 100-mile-long torrent of heavy metals into Western rivers and has likely reached <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=lake+powell&amp;cvid=9a1c161d2f1448fea48f271c66ce82de&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Lake Powell</a>, experts said.
Plugging Colorado's Gold King Mine could simply lead to an eventual explosion of poisonous water elsewhere, so the safest solution, they said Thursday, would be to install a treatment plant that would indefinitely clean the water from Gold King and three other nearby mines. It would cost millions of dollars, and do nothing to contain the thousands of other toxic streams that are a permanent legacy of mining across the nation.
Federal authorities first suggested a treatment plant for Gold King more than a decade ago, but local officials and owners of a nearby mine were reluctant to embrace a federally-sponsored cleanup.
"They have been not pursuing the obvious solution," said Rob Robinson, a retired abandoned mines cleanup coordinator for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. "My hope is this has embarrassed the hell out of them and they're going to finally take it seriously." 500,000 Abandoned Mines In US Are Like Ticking Time Bombs
The Gold King delay illustrates a problem dwarfing the 3 million-gallon waste plume accidentally released by contractors working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: There are about 500,000 abandoned mines nationwide, and only a fraction have been dealt with, despite decades of effort.
EPA has estimated the cost of cleaning up abandoned mines nationwide, not including coal mines, at between $20 billion and $54 billion. 500,000 Abandoned Mines In US Are Like Ticking Time Bombs
Many of the abandoned mines - including in the Silverton area where Gold King is located - were developed after an 1872 federal mining law encouraged development and allowed people to lay claim to minerals beneath public lands.
They've since become legacies of the industry's boom-bust cycles, in which companies fold up operations when metals prices fall, leaving behind sources of toxic wastewater that chronically leave rivers barren and taint drinking water supplies.
Of the abandoned mines in the U.S., more than 48,000 had been inventoried through the BLM's Abandoned Mine Lands program, which began after new federal laws focused on environmental protection in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.
But only about one in five of the inventoried mines is being cleaned up or requires no more action. More than 38,000 await further analysis or work, according to the bureau.
Under the federal Clean Water Act, the mine owner is supposed to control discharges, but Gold King's landowner, Todd Hennis, is not considered legally responsible for the cleanup because the mine stopped operating in 1923, long before the modern era of environmental protection.
"A lot of these are Mom and Pops, they've inherited the property or they bought it years ago before the environmental laws were passed, and they just don't have the resources," said Doug Jamison, with the hazardous materials division at Colorado's state health department.
In Colorado alone, there are hundreds, possibly thousands of abandoned mines discharging acid rock drainage, Jamison said. The potent stew of heavy metals accumulates as chemical reactions brew up sulfuric acid at concentrations high enough to dissolve steel, and leach poisons down mountainsides and into groundwater decades after mines close.
The EPA announced Thursday that surface-water testing in Colorado revealed very high levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium and other heavy metals in the middle of the sickly yellow plume released on Aug. 5. These metals far exceeded government exposure limits for aquatic life and humans in the hours after the spill.
The EPA said its analysis shows the heavy metals quickly returned to "pre-event levels" once the plume passed through the area it tested, on the Animas River between Silverton and the municipal water intake for Durango, a downstream city of 16,000.
Utah officials said Thursday that the plume had likely reached Lake Powell, although it has been diluted on the 300-mile journey to the reservoir and lost the bright yellow color seen closer to the site. Authorities could not immediately confirm the presence of heavy metals and other contaminants close to the lake and said tests on Utah river water suggest the spill has dissipated enough that the water is safe to drink and officials aren't expecting to see fish dying off at the lake.
The state continued to warn people not to use it for irrigation or livestock water, however, Utah Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Donna Spangler.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who took full responsibility and promised that the agency will pay for any damage, said Thursday that these results show the river is "restoring itself." She also announced that the EPA has released $500,000 to help supply clean water for crop irrigation and livestock in northwestern New Mexico.
Absent technological breakthroughs, the EPA expects to be treating water at abandoned mines for generations.
"Mine sites continually produce more waste," said John Hillenbrand, remedial project manager with the EPA's Superfund program in <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tule-fog-across-californias-central-valley/">California</a>.
California's 150-year-old Iron Mountain mine discharged six tons of toxic sludge a day before a clean-up by the EPA, which declared it a Superfund site in 1983, 20 years after it shut down. The sludge caused massive fish kills in the Sacramento River system, which supplies a fifth of the state's water, more than 30 times. Authorities now spend $5 million a year to remove poisons, and expects to keep at it forever.
At Montana's Berkeley Pit, meanwhile, an acid lake created when Atlantic Richfield Co. turned off the pumps at its copper mine in 1982 grows by millions of gallons every day. The EPA made it a Superfund site, too, planning to keep acid spills from Butte Valley waterways. Meanwhile, the notorious pit grows in infamy: In 1995, an entire flock of migrating snow geese perished after setting down in the water.
While active mines are regulated under existing law, inactive mines like Gold King are not, and viable parties are rarely available to conduct cleanup or provide the necessary resources. Non-profit groups and other so-called Good Samaritans that might try such work on their own are hobbled by federal laws that render them liable for whatever pollution comes out.
Costs also are a major hurdle: Robinson, the former BLM official, said a treatment plant capable of cleaning up the stream of toxins spewing from Gold King and other nearby mines into the Animas River basin would take up to $5 million to build, and much more to operate.
"We're now 25 years down the road of trying to get the Animas cleaned up," he said. "It's time to stop dinking around with the problem and get on with it."
The EPA tested for 24 metals in the spill; One of the most dangerous, lead, was found below Silverton's 14th Street bridge at more than 200 times higher than the acute exposure limit for aquatic life, and 3,580 times higher than federal standards for human drinking water. Levels of arsenic were more than 24 times the exposure limit for fish and 823 times the level for human ingestion. Cadmium was found at more than six times the aquatic limit, 33 times that for humans.
The plume has since dissipated, its heavy metals settling into riverbeds, during the waste's 300-mile journey toward Lake Powell, where the flow joins the Colorado River that supplies water to the Southwest. McCarthy promised a long-term plan to address riverbed contamination, but offered no specifics. The EPA also promised free water testing for homeowners with wells close to the river, but it's unclear how long that offer stands.
---
Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco, Ivan Moreno in Denver and Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City contributed to this story. Biesecker reported from Washington, D.C.; Brown from Billings, Montana; and Banda from Silverton, Colorado.
© 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.

500,000 Abandoned Mines In US Are Like Ticking Time Bombs

500,000 Abandoned Mines In US Are Like Ticking Time Bombs....

<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...