Greenland,Glacier,Melting:,A,Consequence,Of,Global,Warming.

Greenland’s Ice Sheet is cracking open at the seams, literally falling apart at speeds indicative of the brutal and accelerating impact of global climate change. In just five years, 930 million cubic meters of crevasses opened up in the Greenland ice sheet.



A recent, large-scale study from the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Florida</a> highlights how this vast, frozen expanse - the world’s second-largest ice sheet - is fracturing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-lakes-in-greenland-have-crossed-a-tipping-point/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">faster than expected</a>.



The findings suggest that the ice sheet’s response to warming is intensifying. This essential discovery was born out of an effective collaboration with scientists from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durham University, UK</a>.



Their detailed analysis of the ice sheet over the critical period between 2016 and 2021 revealed that the crevasses - wedge-shaped fractures in the ice - have increased alarmingly in both size and depth.



These ice fractures typically appear where the ice <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/speed-of-greenland-ice-melt-confirmed-to-be-rapidly-increasing-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">starts to flow faster</a>.



The data revealed that the ice sheet's response to climate changes is accelerating the formation of broader and deeper crevasses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cracks-in-greenland-s-ice-sheet">Cracks in Greenland’s ice sheet</h2>



The researchers point out that these rapid changes observed in Greenland's ice sheet crevasses can, in turn, speed up the mechanisms that have resulted in the ever-quickening pace of this devastating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-ice-loss-tracked-by-new-gps-system-on-a-daily-basis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ice loss</a>.



The team hopes their findings will help fellow scientists incorporate the consequences of ice damage and crevassing into future predictions related to the behavior of the Greenland Ice Sheet.



Throughout the years, Greenland has been one of the most important contributors to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-sea-levels-threaten-groundwater-global-cities-underground-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rise of sea levels</a>. Since 1992, about 14mm of sea level rise can be attributed to ice flow off Greenland.



This is a direct result of the melting of the ice surface, which is related to the presence of warmer air and sea temperatures, along with the increased flow of ice into the ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-greenland-s-ice-sheet-is-important">Why Greenland's ice sheet is important</h2>



As this massive ice sheet loses ice, it adds freshwater to the ocean, causing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-will-cost-coastal-cities-over-1-trillion-in-damages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sea levels to rise</a>. Even small increases can lead to bigger storm surges, more coastal flooding, and make some places unlivable. 



Millions of people in low-lying areas could be forced to relocate, and cities like New York and Miami could see major impacts. 



The melting also speeds up itself - less ice means less sunlight is reflected, which warms the planet even more.



If all the ice sheet in Greenland were to melt, we could see a potential rise of seven meters (23 feet) in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-linked-to-the-rise-and-fall-of-early-human-societies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sea levels</a> around the world.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/greenland-ice-sheet_cracking_Store-Glacier_drone-view_Durham-university_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/greenland-ice-sheet_cracking_Store-Glacier_drone-view_Durham-university_1s.webp" alt="Crevasses at Store Glacier, a marine-terminating outlet glacier of the western Greenland Ice Sheet. Credit: Tom Chudley (Durham University)" class="wp-image-1959025"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Crevasses at Store Glacier, a marine-terminating outlet glacier of the western Greenland Ice Sheet. Credit: Tom Chudley (Durham University)</figcaption></figure>



But, as bad as that sounds, it’s not just about sea levels. Greenland’s ice melt messes with ocean currents that help regulate the climate. 



The freshwater pouring into the Atlantic can slow down the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/collapse-of-main-atlantic-ocean-circulaton-current-amoc-is-already-happening/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AMOC</a>), a system that moves warm water from the tropics toward Europe. 



If that weakens, Europe could face colder winters, hurricanes could get stronger, and weather patterns worldwide could shift in unpredictable ways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-satellite-imagery-of-greenland-s-ice-sheet">Satellite imagery of Greenland’s ice sheet</h2>



In their innovative study, the researchers from Durham University used over 8,000 3-D surface maps, that had been created using high-resolution satellite imagery.



“You can’t do it in person, because crevasses are dangerous. It’s hard to study by hand using satellite data. Automated approaches are needed to determine this at an ice-sheet scale,” said Emma MacKie, Ph.D., a professor of geological sciences at the University of Florida, co-author of the study, and expert in machine learning techniques.



This allowed them to identify cracks on the ice surface and to track the evolution of crevasses across Greenland during the period of 2016 to 2021.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/greenland-ice-sheet_cracking_Anorituup-Kangerlua-fjord_2016-2021-comparison_Durham-university_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/greenland-ice-sheet_cracking_Anorituup-Kangerlua-fjord_2016-2021-comparison_Durham-university_1s.webp" alt="Using the newly developed method, researchers extracted crevasses from digital elevation models of the ice sheet surface. The maps show how crevasses changed between 2016 and 2021 over glaciers at the head of Anorituup Kangerlua fjord, Greenland. Credit: Tom Chudley (Durham University)" class="wp-image-1959023"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Using the newly developed method, researchers extracted crevasses from digital elevation models of the ice sheet surface. The maps show how crevasses changed between 2016 and 2021 over glaciers at the head of Anorituup Kangerlua fjord, Greenland. Credit: Tom Chudley (Durham University)</figcaption></figure>



Their findings showed that, in the areas where large <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-glaciers-offer-a-glimpse-of-our-harsh-climate-reality/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glaciers</a> meet the sea, accelerations in glacier flow were associated with significant increases in the volume of crevasses.



A fascinating discovery was that the overall change in crevasses across the entire ice sheet ultimately balanced out due to a temporary slowdown in movement at <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1149/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sermeq Kujalleq</a>, the fastest-flowing glacier in Greenland.



Nevertheless, the flow speed of Sermeq Kujalleq has started increasing again, indicating that the period of balance between crevasse growth and closure might be over.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-higher-temperatures-faster-ice-melt">Higher temperatures = faster ice melt</h2>



"In a warming world, we would expect to see more crevasses forming," shared study lead author Dr. Tom Chudley, a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Geography, Durham University, UK. 



"This is because glaciers are accelerating in response to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-warming-broke-records-for-450-straight-days/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warmer ocean temperatures</a>, and because meltwater filling crevasses can force fractures deeper into the ice. However, until now we haven’t had the data to show where and how fast this is happening across the entirety of the Greenland Ice Sheet."



With this dataset, the scientists can see that it’s not just that crevasse fields are extending into the ice sheet, as previously observed. 



Instead, the current state of Greenland's ice sheet change is dominated by existing crevasse fields getting larger and deeper.



Notably, these developments have the potential to expedite the loss of ice from Greenland. 



“Crevasses can induce accelerated ice flow, leading to more crevassing. So there are these potential positive feedback loops caused by crevassing,” MacKie said. “This mechanism should be considered in Greenland ice sheet models that we’re using to project future sea level rise.”



It's a domino effect that could drive the loss of ice from Greenland at a much faster pace, pointed out study co-author, Professor Ian Howat, who is Director of the Byrd Polar &amp; Climate Research Center at <a href="https://www.osu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Ohio State University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discerning-eye-on-the-arctic">Discerning eye on the Arctic</h2>



The high-resolution imagery for the research was provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (<a href="https://www.nga.mil" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NGA</a>) and National Science Foundation (<a href="https://www.nsf.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NSF</a>) public-private initiative, ArticDEM project.



"The ArcticDEM project will continue to provide high-resolution Digital Elevation Models until at least 2032. This will allow us to monitor glaciers in Greenland and across the wider Arctic as they continue to respond to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-earth-energy-imbalance-temperature-rise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate change</a>," Professor Howat added.



This invaluable information will reveal areas that are experiencing faster rates of warming than any other place in Earth, preparing us with information we need to mitigate the effect of climate change and protect the future of our planet.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01636-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Greenland's ice sheet is cracking and literally falling apart at a very alarming rate

Greenland’s Ice Sheet is cracking open at the seams, literally falling apart at speeds indicative of the brutal and accelerating impact of global climate change. In just five years, 930 million cubic meters of crevasses opened up in the Greenland ice sheet. A recent, large-scale study from the University of Florida highlights how this vast, frozen expanse - the world’s second-largest ice sheet - is fracturing faster than expected. The findings suggest that the ice sheet’s response to warming is intensifying. This essential discovery was born out...

Deforestation Diminishes Amazon Basin Rainfall. Continued deforestation of the Amazon rainforest could diminish the amount of rain that falls in the Amazon River basin, finds a new study. These declines in rainfall could potentially alter the region's climate, disrupting rainforest ecosystems and impacting local economies, according to the study's authors.

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon started on a large scale in the 1970s and peaked in 2004 before government restrictions curbed land clearing practices there. But <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/affordable-healthcare-can-help-slow-deforestation/">deforestation</a> has increased in other Amazonian countries in recent years, and Brazil is now facing pressure to convert more forest to pasture and crop land, according to the study's authors. Deforestation Diminishes Amazon Basin Rainfall

New research predicts that by the middle of the century annual rainfall in the Amazon could be less than the yearly amount of rain the region receives during drought years if deforestation rates revert back to pre-2004 levels.

Essentially, drought years could become the norm for the Amazon by 2050 if deforestation rates rebound, said Dominick Spracklen, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment, United Kingdom, and lead author of the new study published today in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

This significant drop in rainfall could affect ecosystems and wildlife throughout the entire Amazon basin, which covers roughly 40 percent of South America, Spracklen said. The Amazon rainforest plays an important role in the global carbon cycle, so changes to Amazonian climate could affect global climate and weather, according to the study's authors.

Recent droughts in the Amazon in 2005 and 2010 showed that sustained reductions in rainfall could have massive consequences for Brazil's economy, according to Spracklen. Less rain could affect agriculture, which currently generates $15 billion a year for Brazil's economy, and hydropower, which generates 65 percent of Brazil's electricity, he said.

"Maintaining low deforestation rates in the Amazon is essential to ensure survival of the Amazon forest," Spracklen said.

The tipping point

The opening of the Trans-Amazonian Highway in 1972 made the interior of the Amazon accessible for the first time, sparking a blast of forest clearing to create space for cattle ranching and agriculture. Deforestation rates in Brazil, home to two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest, accelerated throughout the following decades until reaching a peak in 2004. That year, Brazil cleared 2.7 million hectares (6.7 million acres) of forest - the equivalent of 7,400 hectares (18,300 acres) a day, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). At that rate, researchers estimated nearly half of the original forest cover would be gone by 2050.

After hearing these predictions, Brazil enacted laws to preserve the country's remaining rainforest. Deforestation began to decline in 2005, and by 2010, forest clearing rates had dropped to about 25 percent of 2004 levels, according to INPE.

During the same time period, however, deforestation in other Amazonian countries increased, according to Spracklen. With a high global demand for increased beef and soy production, it's likely these countries will continue clearing forest and possible Brazil will relax its forest protection laws to meet those demands, Spracklen said.

"I think one of the big environmental success stories of the past decade has been the reduction in deforestation in the Amazon, within Brazil," Spracklen said. "But I think at the moment we're at a kind of cusp, where there's continued pressure within Brazil to relax some of the forest laws."

Modeling deforestation

Forests mediate the exchange of water, energy and gases between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere. As a result, clearing forests can affect local temperature, humidity and rainfall, but these effects can be difficult to quantify, said Luis Garcia-Carreras, a research fellow at the University of Leeds Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science and a co-author of the new study.

Researchers use atmospheric models to simulate this process in the Amazon. Many of these simulations show an association between forest cover and rainfall, but every model is different and makes different assumptions. In the new study, researchers analyzed the results of 96 existing climate models to see if there was any consensus among them.

"We wanted to make a comprehensive assessment using all of the information that was available until now to give us the best estimate of what the impact of deforestation would be on rainfall," Garcia-Carreras said.

Performing a meta-analysis of the 96 models, the study found that if deforestation rates return to pre-2004 levels, annual rainfall in the Amazon will decrease 8 percent by 2050 - a larger decline than would be seen with natural variability alone.

"We found a very consistent picture that deforestation is going to drive a reduction in rainfall, and that was consistent virtually across all models and all studies that we analyzed," Garcia-Carreras said. "And we found a picture that increasing deforestation drove larger reductions in rainfall."

Existing models suggest the current extent of deforestation should reduce rainfall, but researchers have not yet observed the decline, according to the study's authors. Spracklen and Garcia-Carreras show through their analysis that deforestation has reduced rainfall, but the reduction is currently smaller than the natural variability in the system.

"It can't be detected at present day because the signal, the decrease in rainfall, is small compared to the interannual variability in rainfall," said Gordon Bonan, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, who was not connected to the study. "But by 2050, the signal becomes larger and larger, and is detectable.

"Through their analysis, [the authors] showed that the decrease in rainfall is actually very robust across all models," Bonan continued. "I think it is very significant for our understanding of effects of deforestation on the climate of Amazonia."

Deforestation Diminishes Amazon Basin Rainfall

Deforestation Diminishes Amazon Basin Rainfall. Continued deforestation of the Amazon...

Ice Sculpture Festivals Are Being Cancelled Due To Warm Weather. Ice sculptures really aren't cut out for this kind of balmy November weather.
Just a few weeks ahead of global climate change talks in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/inconsistent-paris-agreement-pledges/">Paris</a>, ice sculpture festivals in Western Europe are feeling the impact of an unusually warm November.
In Bruges, at the Ice Sculpture Festival, it means soaring energy bills to keep temperatures at minus 16 degrees Celsius (3 Fahrenheit), while outside, people are soaking up the sun at 16 C (61 Fahrenheit) instead of previous monthly averages of 10 degrees less. For the artists, the temperature shocks have meant sniffles and colds.Ice Sculpture Festivals Are Being Cancelled Due To Warm Weather
"The winter is coming later and later," said Ice Magic's managing director Francis Vandendorpe, who has been organizing the festival since 1999.
Scientists say the global average temperature has risen by about 0.8 degrees Celsius since the industrial revolution and new weather records in most European countries - precipitation or temperatures, by month or years - keep being set. The issue will be discussed at a major U.N. climate conference in Paris that opens Nov. 30.
In Belgium, tourists are still enjoying warm sunshine on the restaurant terraces of Bruges deep in November. One famed brewer has had to postpone beer production because of the balmy weather, and a chocolate maker was hampered in his attempt to break the world record for the biggest chocolate coin because the paste won't harden fast enough.
"People are expecting winter, but they don't get winter," said Vandendorpe. His 12 cool compressors in his special thermo-isolated hall are working overtime as sculptors from several nations chip, chisel and saw away ahead of the Nov. 20 opening. "Now we can't give them a break because the outside temperature is too high."
Vandendorpe said his energy bill is expected to be close to 40,000 euros (US$ 43,000) for the six-week festival, almost 10,000 euros more than he anticipated. He said a similar festival in Metz, France faced the same problem.
Inside the hall, artist Kim Arents was working on huge slabs of ice to turn them into something recognizable for a festival that will feature anything from Vikings to bumble bees and even an ice-cold super-king-size bed that will be available for 500 euros a night. Like many others, the frequent hot-cold-hot trips inside and out have affected him.
"You get sick from it. People are getting runny noses and it's pretty hard going. Outside it is too warm, working inside it's too cold," he said.
---
Video journalist Mark Carlson contributed to this report.
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Ice Sculpture Festivals Are Being Cancelled Due To Warm Weather

Ice Sculpture Festivals Are Being Cancelled Due To Warm Weather....

Tension Builds Before Paris Climate Talks. It's the elephant in the negotiating room that few officials want to acknowledge: Whatever international deal comes out of Paris climate talks, it likely won't be a treaty that needs ratification by a reluctant Republican U.S. Congress.
That's not the only complication in Paris. China, the U.S. and India don't want the international community dictating their carbon dioxide emissions, but they do want to do something about ever escalating greenhouse gas levels and the rising temperatures they cause. So they have to come up with an agreement that doesn't dictate binding, internationally set targets or require<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/releasing-a-virus-is-not-the-solution-to-australias-invasive-carp-problem/"> U.S. Senate</a> approval - and yet gets the job done. At least partly.Tension Builds Before Paris Climate Talks
To do so, they must reach a pact that has as many twists and turns as a pretzel.
"It's a reality that the world is coming to grips with," former Vice President Al Gore said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday. "The design of the Paris negotiation is really driven in large part by the desire to get an agreement that does not have to go through the treaty ratification process. It's all perfectly legal."
Earlier this month at a press briefing a few blocks from the White House, U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres was asked about Republican opposition to possible Paris climate agreements. Her response was a shrug and a dismissive, "Yeah, fine."
But on Thursday, the carefully crafted dance to avoid the Senate exploded into a bit of international confusion.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told The Financial Times that the agreement was "definitely not going to be a treaty" and there was "not going to be legally binding reduction targets." That prompted French president Francois Hollande to object and say "if the deal is not legally binding, there is no accord."
And here's the twist: Both Kerry and Hollande can be right, said Nigel Purvis, an international lawyer who was a top environmental diplomat and international negotiator for Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. It's an issue of definitions and the way an agreement is framed, said Purvis, who is president of the non-governmental organization Climate Advisers.
The U.S. Constitution and the rest of the world have different definitions of the word "treaty," Purvis said. Elsewhere, a treaty is a binding agreement. But in the U.S., there are several types of international agreements and only 6 percent of them end up being formal treaties that require Senate approval, he said. The last international, Senate-approved treaty was in 2010.
The climate treaty, Purvis said, is likely to end up as an "executive agreement" like the 1945 Yalta Accord at the end of World War II. This requires only presidential approval.
"If you can end World War II, I think you can do a climate agreement where the only obligation is to inform the international community what you are doing and demonstrate to them that you are doing it," Purvis said.
Experts expect different layers of agreements. The key is that more than 100 nations have already made pledges of what they would do, including the U.S. promise to cut emissions by about 28 percent. In addition, there will likely be an agreement that nations will do what they promise, meet again to ratchet up their emission cuts and set up a monitoring and verification system for those pledges.
Purvis said it probably will hinge on a 1992 international treaty, signed by President George H.W. Bush and approved by the Senate, that promised to do something about climate change; a decades-old U.S. air pollution law; a U.S. Supreme Court decision that said the air pollution law applies to carbon dioxide; and presidential executive action.
And it involves diplomacy that explains how non-binding international agreements can still be binding domestically, because the president is enforcing the Clean Air Act, Purvis said.
"Getting an international binding agreement is in the cards; what is then binding inside that agreement is what's up for debate," said Jennifer Morgan, global director of climate program for World Resources Institute.
Confused?
"The beauty of diplomacy is that you could interpret things in different ways," said John Reilly, co-director of MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.
---
Matthew Lee and Donna Cassata in Washington, Angela Charlton in Paris and Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.
---
Online:
The Paris climate summit: <a href="http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en</a>
---
Follow Seth Borenstein at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a> and his work can be found at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein</a>
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of an occasional series focusing on the science, the costs and the challenges of climate change around the world ahead of a critical summit in Paris.
© 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.

Tension Builds Before Paris Climate Talks

Tension Builds Before Paris Climate Talks. It's the elephant in...

Zachariae Isstrom: Another Major Glacier In Greenland Comes Undone. It's big. It's cold. And it's melting into the world's ocean.

It's Zachariae Isstrom, the latest in a string of Greenland glaciers to undergo rapid change in our warming world. A new <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/nasa-helps-assess-impacts-of-extreme-weather/">NASA</a>-funded study published today in the journal Science finds that Zachariae Isstrom broke loose from a glaciologically stable position in 2012 and entered a phase of accelerated retreat. The consequences will be felt for decades to come.

The reason? Zachariae Isstrom is big. It drains ice from an area of 35,440 square miles (91,780 square kilometers). That's about 5 percent of the Greenland Ice Sheet. All by itself, it holds enough water to raise global sea level by more than 18 inches (46 centimeters) if it were to melt completely. And now it's on a crash diet, losing 5 billion tons of mass every year. All that ice is crumbling into the North Atlantic Ocean.

"North Greenland glaciers are changing rapidly," said lead author Jeremie Mouginot, an assistant researcher in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. "The shape and dynamics of Zachariae Isstrom have changed dramatically over the last few years. The glacier is now breaking up and calving high volumes of icebergs into the ocean, which will result in rising sea levels for decades to come."

Mouginot and his colleagues from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California; and the University of Kansas, Lawrence, set out to study the changes taking place at Zachariae Isstrom.

[caption id="attachment_2386484" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/11/13113028/glacier-iceland-Zachariae-Isstrom_2big_nasa.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2386484" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/11/13113028/glacier-iceland-Zachariae-Isstrom_2big_nasa-150x150.jpg" alt="Aerial photo of all of lower Zachariae Isstrom glacier taken from aboard a NASA Falcon jet on Sept. 30, 2015. " width="150" height="150" /></a> Aerial photo of all of lower Zachariae Isstrom glacier taken from aboard a NASA Falcon jet on Sept. 30, 2015.[/caption]

The team used data from aerial surveys conducted by NASA's Operation IceBridge and satellite-based observations acquired by multiple international space agencies (NASA, ESA, CSA, DLR,JAXA and ASI) coordinated by the Polar Space Task Group. The NASA satellite data used are from the joint NASA/USGS Landsat program. The various tools used -- including a highly sensitive radar sounder, gravimeter and laser profiling systems, coupled with radar and optical images from space -- monitor and record changes in the shape, size and position of glacial ice over long time periods, providing precise data on the state of Earth's polar regions.

The scientists determined the bottom of Zachariae Isstrom is being rapidly eroded by warmer ocean water mixed with growing amounts of meltwater from the ice sheet surface. "Ocean warming has likely played a major role in triggering [the glacier's] retreat," Mouginot said, "but we need more oceanographic observations in this critical sector of Greenland to determine its future."

"Zachariae Isstrom is being hit from above and below," said the study's senior author Eric Rignot, Chancellor's Professor of Earth system science at UCI, and Joint Faculty Appointee at JPL. "The top of the glacier is melting away as a result of decades of steadily increasing air temperatures, while its underside is compromised by currents carrying warmer ocean water, and the glacier is now breaking away into bits and pieces and retreating into deeper ground."

Adjacent to Zachariae Isstrom is another large glacier, Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden, which is also melting rapidly but is receding at a slower rate because it's protected by an inland hill. The two glaciers make up 12 percent of the Greenland ice sheet and would boost global sea levels by more than 39 inches (99 centimeters) if they fully collapsed.

The sector where these two glaciers reside is one of three major marine-based basins in Greenland, along with Jakobshavn Isbrae in central west Greenland and the Petermann-Humboldt sector in central north Greenland. The latter two sectors hold enough water to raise global sea level by 2 feet (0.6 meters) each, and both are also undergoing significant changes at present. The authors conclude it is likely that Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden and Petermann-Humboldt glaciers will lose their ice shelves in coming years, further increasing Greenland's future contributions to global sea level rise.

"Not long ago, we wondered about the effect on sea levels if Earth's major glaciers in the polar regions were to start retreating," Rignot noted. "We no longer need to wonder; for a couple of decades now, we've been able to directly observe the results of climate warming on polar glaciers. The changes are staggering and are now affecting the four corners of Greenland."

In 2015, NASA kicked off a new six-year field campaign, Oceans Melting Greenland, which will examine ocean conditions around Greenland affecting the Ice Sheet. For more information on OMG, visit:
<a href="https://omg.jpl.nasa.gov/portal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://omg.jpl.nasa.gov/portal/</a>
Ongoing research into the health of ice sheets and glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica is supported by funding from <a href="http://ice.nasa.gov/NASAsRole/?CFID=11351208&amp;CFTOKEN=77969915" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA's Cryospheric Sciences Program</a>.

For more information on the study, visit:

<a href="http://news.uci.edu/research/massive-northeast-greenland-glacier-is-rapidly-melting-uci-led-team-finds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://news.uci.edu/research/massive-northeast-greenland-glacier-is-rapidly-melting-uci-led-team-finds/</a>

Zachariae Isstrom: Another Major Glacier In Greenland Comes Undone

Zachariae Isstrom: Another Major Glacier In Greenland Comes Undone. It's...

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Algae Threatens To Cancel Dungeness Crab Season. San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf typically bustles this time of year as workers prepare to haul millions of pounds of Dungeness crab that are a tradition at Thanksgiving and other holiday meals.
But crab pots are sitting empty on docks, boats are idled and fishermen are anxiously waiting for California authorities to open the lucrative Dungeness crab season.
California has delayed the Nov. 15 start of its commercial crab season after finding dangerous levels of a toxin in crabs. Officials in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/unequal-treatment-protestors/">Oregon</a> and Washington are testing crab samples and will decide soon whether to open its coastal season by Dec. 1 as planned.Algae Threatens To Cancel Dungeness Crab Season
A massive bloom of microscopic algae - which produced a natural toxin called domoic acid that is harmful to wildlife and fish - in the Pacific Ocean is threatening the crab industry during a time when many fishing outfits make their most money. It's also roiling coastal tourism and marine ecosystems.
A closure along the entire West Coast would be a blow to the industry, which harvested nearly $170 million worth of Dungeness crab in 2014.
"Everybody is counting on crab to make it, so this is pretty disappointing," said Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association. "Whenever they test clean, we'll go get them. I'm very hopeful that it's sooner than later."
Experts say the warm conditions that set up the toxic algae bloom - while not attributed to climate change - does offer a picture of what's to come as ocean temperatures are projected to warm. Already, warmer ocean temperatures off New England have shaken up fisheries there, contributing to the collapse of the region's cod fishery and the shift northward in the lobster population, studies have found.
"I don't have a crystal ball, but I think we're being given a warning here," said Vera Trainer, who manages the marine biotoxin program at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. "We're being shown what the future is going to look like. This is more of what we can expect."
Razor clams, for now, have been taken off menus in Oregon and Washington. Shellfish managers have closed recreational digs after finding dangerous levels of domoic acid in the bivalves. Those closures have cost an estimated $22 million in tourism-related spending, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Crabbing was also closed along parts of the Washington coast over the summer, though crabbing continued in the Puget Sound.
Matt Hunter, shellfish project leader with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said crabbing is huge fishery in the state and any closure will have "trickle-down effect on the economy, not only on the coastal communities."
Crab can still be found in many restaurants and stores, including San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, and health officials say crabs sold in stores are safe to eat. Some crab on the market now may have been harvested months ago and frozen for later; commercial crab fishing is currently open in some parts of Alaska, Oregon and Puget Sound.
In California, crab fisherman are bracing for a tough season.
"Needless to say, this is devastating," said Steve Fitz, who owns Mr. Morgan Fisheries in Half Moon Bay. Crab represents the bulk of annual income for many in the fishing community, he said. Still, he's optimistic that toxin levels will go down and the season will open soon.
Restaurants and customers say they'll adjust their habits.
"It's a disappointment because we really look forward to it every November," said Matt Watson, manager of Woodhouse Fish Co. in San Francisco, which will do its best to get whole crab at a reasonable price from other states.
Kris Ducker, who grew up in California, looks forward to her family's holiday tradition: eating crab served ice cold, cracked, with a side of sourdough bread. Even though she now lives in Texas, she still tries to find fresh Dungeness crab.
"We're looking forward to having Dungeness crab for Christmas Eve. We could move on to something else. It wouldn't kill us, but we would be sad," she said.
Scientists say the warm waters that fostered the massive toxic algae bloom off the West Coast this year is more likely a short-term climate event than one attributed to climate change.
"Whether this warming itself is a direct function of climate change or not, we can't say," said Mark Wells, an oceanography professor in the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine. However, the climate change models project warming along the coastlines over the next several decades, so "this type of event probably is going to become much more frequent in the future."
On the Northeast coast, scientists have documented shifts in species as the result of warmer waters and that's meant some changes in what is caught and where.
"We see lots of shifting going on," said Richard Merrick, NOAA Fisheries chief science adviser. Significant fish stocks have been shifting northward and deeper into cooler waters along the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, he noted. The New England cod fishery collapsed but haddock fishing has gone up as fishermen switched, he said.
Another study found that warming seas will likely send West Coast fish species northward by about 20 miles a decade, and some species probably will disappear from southern ranges off California and Oregon.
---
Associated Press photojournalist Eric Risberg contributed to this report from San Francisco.
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Algae Threatens To Cancel Dungeness Crab Season

Algae Threatens To Cancel Dungeness Crab Season. San Francisco's Fisherman's...

In the Arctic Methane Cycle, Sea Ice Plays a Pivotal Role. The ice-covered Arctic Ocean is a more important factor concerning the concentration of the greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere than previously assumed. Experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) report on the newly discovered interactions between the atmosphere, sea ice and the ocean in a recent online study in the journal Nature's Scientific Reports.

Sea ice forms a natural barrier on the Central <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/sea-ice-escapes-the-arctic-ocean/">Arctic Ocean</a>, limiting gas exchange between water and atmosphere. Over the past several years, the summer sea ice cover in the Arctic has rapidly decreased. "We're investigating how the changed conditions are affecting the geochemical interaction between the ocean, ice and atmosphere," explains Dr Ellen Damm, the first author of the study and a biogeochemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute. "We were able to confirm that the surface water in the central Arctic contains higher methane concentrations than the atmosphere, which means the Arctic Ocean is a potential source of atmospheric methane. That makes it fundamentally different from oceans in lower latitudes, which - except for a few sporadic sources - are considered methane sinks."

For the study, Damm and her colleagues from the AWI, the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the University of Bremen analysed geochemical and oceanographic data gathered during a 2011 expedition to the Arctic with the research icebreaker Polarstern. They measured methane levels in both the sea ice and in the water directly below it, and in deeper seawater entirely unaffected by the ice. "Our study shows that there are previously overlooked feedbacks between ice melting and formation, the atmosphere, and the seawater influenced by ice," says Damm. Among other factors, they analysed the salt solution, i.e. the brine, which is constitutes concentrated seawater resulting during the formation of sea ice. They found that the brine had a thousand times higher concentration of methane than the atmosphere - proof that sea ice can be a source of methane.

As a result of the melting and freezing processes, methane in the brine channels can be released into the seawater. Further, the water remains in stable layers, due to the different densities of freshwater and saltwater. As such, the methane from the brine channels remains in the uppermost water layer throughout the summer. When autumn storms set in and it gets colder, different water layers become mixed (convection), which can release the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. At that time of year the sea ice cover is fragmented and the "lid" on the ocean has almost disappeared, conditions that are conducive to the release of methane into the atmosphere. The convection-based mixing continues in the winter, and methane continues to escape through the leads between ice floes.

The stable water layers prevent the methane from mixing to greater depths of the Arctic Ocean; the significantly lower methane concentrations (compared to the atmosphere) in the lower layer unaffected by the ice, verify this process. This has two effects: firstly, the newly discovered and as such not previously accounted for near-surface feedback mechanism can lead to the direct release of methane from the sea ice and ocean into the atmosphere. Secondly, the exchange between atmosphere and the deeper Arctic Ocean is reduced, which also limits the Arctic Ocean's capacity to act as a methane sink. Co-author and AWI oceanographer Prof Ursula Schauer summarises the study's importance as follows: "The role of sea ice in gas exchange and gas flux is much more complex than previously assumed, and the processes at work in the Northern Ocean differ greatly from those in lower latitudes. These aspects have to be kept in mind in future climate models." Further, she points out, the study raises the question on where the methane originates. Conceivably, methane could be produced in sea ice as it drifts through the Arctic, or methane trapped in sea ice could be transported from other regions.

---

<a href="http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/">Alfred Wegener Institute</a>

In the Arctic Methane Cycle, Sea Ice Plays a Pivotal Role

In the Arctic Methane Cycle, Sea Ice Plays a Pivotal...

NASA Targets 'Other Half' Of Carbon And Climate Equation. NASA and university scientists will discuss new insights, tools and agency research into key carbon and climate change questions, as the agency ramps up its efforts to understand how Earth's ocean, forest, and land ecosystems absorb nearly half of emitted carbon dioxide today -- the other half of the carbon and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-have-outlined-the-top-ten-climate-insights-of-2020/">climate</a> equation.

Carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities influences the amount of the sun's energy trapped by Earth's atmosphere. These emissions are the subject of a United Nations climate conference in Paris later this month. To improve the information available to policymakers on this issue, scientists are grappling with the complex question of whether Earth's oceans, forests and land ecosystems will maintain their capacity to absorb about half of all human-produced carbon dioxide emissions in the future. NASA Targets 'Other Half' Of Carbon And Climate Equation

"NASA is at the forefront of scientific understanding in this area, bringing together advanced measurement technologies, focused field experiments, and cutting-edge research to reveal how carbon moves around the planet and changes our climate," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division. "Understanding how the planet responds to human carbon emissions and increasing atmospheric CO2 levels will position our nation to take advantage of the opportunities and face the challenges that climate changes present."

Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels recently surpassed a concentration of 400 parts per million (ppm) -- higher than at any time in at least 400,000 years -- and continue to increase at about 2 ppm per year. Levels of the even more potent heat-trapping gas methane -- also carbon-based -- now exceed pre-industrial amounts by about 2.5 times. Calculations show that, on average, only about half of the carbon emitted by human activities remains in the atmosphere.

This "other half" of the carbon problem -- how and where it is absorbed on land and sea -- is a priority for carbon cycle scientists at NASA and around the world. Scientists are investigating how Earth's warming environment will affect the ability of ecosystems around the world to absorb carbon naturally, and what changes in those ecosystems could mean for future climate. It's a major research question involving several NASA satellite missions, multi-year field campaigns and new instruments that will fly on the International Space Station in coming years.

Scientists discussed the ongoing analysis of the first year-plus of satellite data from NASA's recently launched Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 -- the agency's first satellite designed to measure carbon dioxide from the top of Earth's atmosphere to its surface.

"As carbon dioxide is the largest human-produced driver of our changing climate, having regular observations from space is a major step forward for our ability to understand and predict climate change," said Annmarie Eldering, OCO-2 deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "Precisely measuring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been one of the most difficult observations to make from space."

OCO-2 already is demonstrating the accuracy, precision and coverage needed to provide the first complete picture of both human and natural sources of carbon dioxide and the places where they are being absorbed. While the mission gives scientists new, near-global data on atmospheric carbon dioxide, satellite data cannot directly observe the processes by which the gas is absorbed on the land and ocean. To better understand these processes, NASA scientists will use satellite data and detailed field experiments in concert with super-high-resolution computer models. Scientists need this integrated approach in order to continue to more accurately predict how carbon-absorbing ecosystems will respond to a warming climate.

"The land and the ocean are really doing us a big favor," said Lesley Ott, an atmospheric scientist in the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Otherwise you would have carbon building up in the atmosphere twice as fast as it does now."

Also causing concern is the potential for the ocean's rate of carbon absorption to change as ocean temperatures rise and phytoplankton communities show signs of change. NASA's North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) launched ship and airborne studies last week to the North Atlantic Ocean, where satellites have documented surprising phytoplankton behavior in recent years.

"We will be studying an ocean region that every year exhibits one of the largest natural phytoplankton blooms on Earth," said Mike Behrenfeld, NAAMES principal investigator from Oregon State University in Corvallis. "Phytoplankton are not only influenced by climate, but they also influence climate. That's why we're out here in the North Atlantic in the middle of November."

Forest and other land ecosystems are also changing in response to a warmer world. Some ecosystems -- such as thawing permafrost in the Arctic and fire-prone forests -- could begin emitting more carbon than they currently absorb. Next fall, NASA's Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment will begin a 10-year investigation into the fate of carbon stores in rapidly warming regions of Alaska and Canada.

The scientists also outlined several other upcoming NASA carbon missions and field campaigns, including:

• ACT-America, which will fly over the eastern U.S. beginning in 2016 to study the atmospheric movement of carbon emissions;

• Coral Airborne Laboratory mission, which will fly over coral reefs around the world beginning in 2016 to observe how reefs are responding to changing ocean pH levels caused by the absorption of carbon dioxide;

• The Pre-Aerosol, Clouds and Ocean Ecosystem satellite, now in early development, will provide a revolutionary way of measuring phytoplankton from orbit; and,

• Two instruments that will fly on the International Space Station in coming years -- Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation and ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station, which will provide crucial observations of plants and forests;

To learn more about NASA's efforts to better understand the carbon and climate challenge, visit:

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/carbonclimate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.nasa.gov/carbonclimate</a>

NASA Targets 'Other Half' Of Carbon And Climate Equation

NASA Targets 'Other Half' Of Carbon And Climate Equation. NASA...

California Drought

California Extends Water-Saving Measures. Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday extended his executive order requiring Californians to conserve water as the state prepares for a fifth year of drought.
The move gives state water officials expanded authority to take new water-saving measures to deal with the parched conditions and cope with potential storms from an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-cores-el-nino-events/">El Nino</a> weather pattern.
Brown, a Democrat, has ordered communities throughout the state to reduce water use by 25 percent this year. State water regulators set individual targets for local agencies to meet, but those cuts will expire in February.
"We're going to need to continue it past February because we will not know the state of the drought until later in the season," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=state&amp;cvid=dd653549eb5d48e39e06ee50716e4e54&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">State</a> Water Resources Control Board, which imposes the water-savings targets.
Friday's order allows emergency water conservation measures to continue through October 2016 if California still faces a drought this January.
The order also extends the suspension of some environmental rules, expedites permits to rebuild power plants that were damaged by wildfires, and allows some Californians to capture more water.
"The goal of this is not necessarily to deal with next year, but to recognize the fact that we may well be in our own millennial drought," Marcus said. "The problem of this drought is it's beyond anything in our experience."
She said the water board is meeting with local officials and residents statewide to discuss what has worked and what has not worked in the conservation efforts.
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California Extends Water-Saving Measures

California Extends Water-Saving Measures. Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday extended...

Companies hope to build wind farms off Hawaii coast. As Hawaii pushes to meet its aggressive renewable energy goals, two companies have proposed offshore wind turbine projects for federal waters off Oahu.
Their plan would use technology that floats the massive turbines in deep waters miles offshore. The offshore turbine proposals are in the early stages, and would face years of environmental reviews and community meetings before possible approval. Companies hope to build wind farms off Hawaii coast
The federal Bureau of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arctic-rivers-heat-up-the-ocean-and-shrink-sea-ice/">Ocean</a> Energy Management, the agency that would decide whether to approve ocean leases for the projects, held a meeting about the proposals Monday.
Two companies are proposing offshore wind farms. A.W. Hawaii Wind, a Texas company that's a subsidiary of Denmark-based Alpha Wind Energy, is proposing two offshore floating wind farms, each generating about 400 megawatts of energy with 50 turbines. One is proposed for the northwest side of Oahu 12 miles off the coast of Kaena Point, in waters about a half-mile deep. The company also is proposing a wind farm in waters 17 miles south of Diamond Head.
A second company, Progression Hawaii Offshore Wind, is proposing a 400 megawatt wind farm using 40 to 50 floating turbines off Oahu's South Shore, in waters that are also about a half-mile deep.
Hawaii has set a goal for its utilities to use 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2045. Offshore wind farms could help the state meet that goal, said Mark Glick, energy administrator for the Hawaii State Energy Office.
"We have to figure this out together, because the low-hanging fruit has been collected, and essentially the tougher decisions are before us...the next steps are going to be crucial," Glick said.
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Companies hope to build wind farms off Hawaii coast

Companies hope to build wind farms off Hawaii coast. As...

Obama's Carbon Dioxide Emissions Plan Is Squeezing Democrat Governors. Democratic governors are being squeezed by the mandate in President Barack Obama's climate change plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions - perhaps none more than<a href="http://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/montana-valley-and-foothill-grasslands/"> Montana's</a> Steve Bullock, the one governor in a coal-producing state who faces re-election next year.
The Obama plan puts a big target on Bullock's back as he tries to avoid the fate of other Democrats tossed on the slag heap in the nation's coal belt.
Republicans control most of the states where <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=obama&amp;cvid=00971345d78041f0871bf6a8115c7140&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Obama's</a> Clean Power Plan is a major issue, but Democrats in Montana hold most statewide offices, including governor.
"The Clean Power Plan may be the single biggest threat to Bullock's chances for re-election," Carroll College political scientist Jeremy Johnson said Friday. "Presumably, Republicans will relentlessly focus on the issue during the gubernatorial campaign." Obama's Carbon Dioxide Emissions Plan Is Squeezing Democrat Governors
The emissions rule was an issue in this month's gubernatorial election in Kentucky, where Attorney General Jack Conway lost to Republican Matt Bevin, despite Conway joining a 27-state lawsuit seeking to block the rule.
Many Democratic governors who don't face an election in 2016 unequivocally support the Obama administration plan. In Colorado, Gov. John Hickenlooper is taking Attorney General Cynthia Coffman to the state Supreme Court over whether Coffman had the authority to join the lawsuit to block the Environmental Protection Agency's emission reduction targets.
Bullock's approach is more ambivalent: The plan is not fair because it imposes the biggest cuts on Montana, but it has to be done.
In contrast to Hickenlooper, Bullock appears to support the move by Montana Attorney General Tim Fox to join the 27-state lawsuit, saying it's important for the courts to clarify many questions about the plan. But, Bullock said Thursday, the state must create a plan to meet the targets or risk the federal government doing it for Montana.
"Even though I do not believe that the final EPA rules are fair for our state, I do believe that there are many choices that Montanans may make to keep our state's energy destiny in our own hands," Bullock said.
It's a tough needle for Bullock to thread. Montana's target emission rate cuts are the steepest in the nation at 47 percent by 2030. The state is a major coal producer and has several coal-fired power plants, including the Colstrip plant, the second-largest west of the Mississippi River.
A likely Bullock opponent in 2016, Republican entrepreneur Greg Gianforte, was headed to Colstrip on Friday to speak with families who are concerned the federal plan could mean the end of the power plant and their jobs. Gianforte was critical of Bullock's response to the Obama plan, saying he should have come out more strongly against it.
"I would have expected more leadership," he said. "It seems like we're waving the white flag."
Bullock had been largely silent about the plan until Thursday, when he released an executive order forming an advisory council to make recommendations ahead of a September 2016 deadline. Then, the state will be required to either submit its plan to the EPA for meeting the cuts or request an extension to 2018.
A close look at Bullock's executive order shows that one of the council's main duties is to justify requesting the two-year extension, which would allow Bullock to avoid releasing a plan at the peak of his re-election campaign.
The advisory council serves a dual role, Johnson said: To kick the issue down the road, preferably beyond the 2016 election, and to hope it comes up with ideas that could help lessen the blow to the state.
Bullock will need to do more to avoid the issue becoming a pitfall in the election, Johnson added.
"Bullock will need to attempt to change the conversation to other subjects, particularly his own plans to help the Montana economy," he said.
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Obama's Carbon Dioxide Emissions Plan Is Squeezing Democrat Governors

Obama's Carbon Dioxide Emissions Plan Is Squeezing Democrat Governors. Democratic...

Oregon's Coos Bay historically has avoided serious hypoxic conditions. A study of the 15-mile length of Coos Bay, from the ocean to the city of the same name, finds the bay is free of toxic levels of reduced oxygen that often affect other Oregon locations.
<div>

The narrow offshore continental shelf combines with the deep-dredged ship channel to help maintain safe oxygen levels during summertime wind changes and reduced rainfall that curtails freshwater discharge from the Coos River, says Dave Sutherland, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences. Oregon's Coos Bay historically has avoided serious hypoxic conditions

The research is good news for today's fishing industry in the region, said Sutherland, the study's lead author. More importantly, he added, the study provides a foundation for monitoring and projecting how changing climate conditions may raise the chances of oxygen depletion, or hypoxia, in the future.

"This region of the coast is understudied," said Sutherland, who leads the UO's coastal oceanography research group. "This research was really about getting a wealth of baseline information so that we can figure out what is happening now and use it to help us prepare for what may happen in the future. The system is working now but could change based on weather conditions. "

The study -- published in the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science -- was based on almost two years of monthly water samples gathered in the estuary and reviews of 50 years of similar records (1957-2007) kept by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Data gathered included acidity, salinity, temperature and levels of dissolved oxygen.

The UO study also incorporated measurements taken since 2002 by the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and since 2011 by the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Suislaw Indians.

Lowest readings of dissolved oxygen were found in late summers, as is the case in other estuaries along the Oregon coast, when incoming salty seawater settles longer in the estuary and warmer, drier conditions reduce the amount of fresh water from the Coos River.

With stagnant seawater, biological processes become important as microscopic organisms known as phytoplankton, which consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen, die off, Sutherland said.

"As phytoplankton die, they sink to the bottom where all the oxygen gets depleted and you get low-bottom hypoxia," he said. That leads to stress on cool-water fish such as salmon. Bottom dwellers -- crabs, oysters, worms, clams, sponges and rockfish -- face potentially lethal effects.

Early in the summer, upwelling occurs: Prevailing winds blow the ocean's surface water away from shore and cold, nutrient-rich but low-oxygen deep water rises, making for the chilly summertime wind.

"At the end of summer, the Coos River and other rivers along the coast that feed the estuaries generally dry up," Sutherland said. "Without precipitation, there is little flushing of the estuaries from the rivers, and there is little net exchange besides tidal movements."

In Oregon coastal estuaries to the north of Coos Bay, the offshore shelf is much wider. Combined with the wind, seawater remains longer in the shallower estuaries as the summers get dry, making for stagnant conditions, less flushing and more lethal hypoxic conditions.

"Despite recent alarm about inner-shelf hypoxia on the Oregon coast, there appears to be no hypoxia currently in the main channel of Coos Bay, and there is little evidence of past hypoxia in the estuary," Sutherland and co-author Molly A. O'Neill wrote in their conclusion.

That could change, however, if climate change makes the region hotter and drier and chokes off the flushing action of fresh water from the river, Sutherland said.

The study began as a graduate thesis for O'Neill, who earned her master's degree in 2014. Together, she and Sutherland collected their monthly samples from Coos Bay from a small research vessel made available for the UO's Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, located in Charleston just inside the ocean end of the bay.

Sutherland expanded that effort and continues to study the region. The research, which will be featured in a five-panel display dedicated to UO research in the new Charleston Marine Life Center, provides basic data that could help feed mitigation efforts to battle hypoxia in the region and elsewhere.
###
Oregon Sea Grant, via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Sea Grant Program, supported the study by way of a grant routed to Sutherland through his membership in the UO's Environmental Science Institute. The Oregon Legislature and National Science Foundation also provided funding.

Source:

Dave Sutherland
assistant professor of geological sciences
541-346-8753
<a href="mailto:dsuth@uoregon.edu">dsuth@uoregon.edu</a>

Note: The UO is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. There also is video access to satellite uplink and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.

Links:

Paper: <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272771416300427" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www. sciencedirect. com/ science/ article/ pii/ S0272771416300427</a> DOI:10.1016/j.ecss.2016.01.042

<a href="http://geology.uoregon.edu/profile/dsuth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sutherland faculty page</a>

<a href="http://pages.uoregon.edu/dsuth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oceanography lab</a>

<a href="http://geology.uoregon.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Department of Geological Sciences</a>

<a href="http://esi.uoregon.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UO Environmental Science Institute</a>

</div>
<div>

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

</div>

Oregon's Coos Bay historically has avoided serious hypoxic conditions

Oregon's Coos Bay historically has avoided serious hypoxic conditions. A...

Argonne carbon coating shows surprising potential to improve wind power. Despite the rigors of scientific inquiry and the methodical approaches of the world's most talented researchers, sometimes science has a surprise in store.
<div>

Such was the case when a group of researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Akron discovered that a particular form of carbon coating not necessarily designed for wind turbines may indeed prove a boon to the wind industry--a serendipitous finding that was recently <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301679X16000931" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">highlighted</a> in the journal Tribology International.

Due to the strenuous environment inherent in wind turbine drivetrains, key components such as actuators, bearings and gears are prone to failure, meaning turbines require regular maintenance that helps drive up the price of wind energy. Prolonging the life of these components could greatly reduce the cost of wind power, the fastest growing source of energy in the world, thereby making it an even more attractive energy source.

These failures are often due to a phenomenon known as micropitting in which the repeated rolling and sliding cycles in the gears and bearings of turbines lead to cracks on the surface of drivetrain components. Further contact only exacerbates the cracking once it begins, chipping away at the metal and increasing the severity of the existing cracks until costly maintenance is necessary or, even worse, the drivetrain fails.Argonne carbon coating shows surprising potential to improve wind power

Enter Argonne's Tribology and Thermal-Mechanics Section and its Surface and Lubrication Interaction, Discovery and Engineering (SLIDE) initiative, which investigates how lubricants and materials interact and develops novel lubrication and coating concepts that reduce friction, and therefore micropitting, prolonging component life across a range of energy technologies.

And sometimes they get a little lucky. Such was the case when SLIDE researchers applied this "diamond-like" (some of the carbon-to-carbon bonding in the coating is similar to that of diamonds) coating to wind turbine components, which was not the intended use.

"We felt that if it was working under other sliding conditions, it might work in wind turbine drivetrains as well," said SLIDE's Ali Erdemir, an Argonne Distinguished Fellow. "Initially, our expectations were low, as we thought the coating would wear out due to the high stresses inherent in wind turbines, but that didn't happen."

So far the coating, named N3FC, has proven its worth through more than 100 million testing cycles with no appreciable micropitting. Erdemir admits that they don't know exactly how far it could go, as it has surpassed the time limit of SLIDE's benchtop micropitting test rig. If the coating performs similarly under real-world conditions, it could mean huge savings in terms of maintenance and prevention of failure in wind turbines nationwide--to the tune of millions of dollars, said Erdemir.

But first, he added, they need to learn exactly why it works.

"We don't yet understand the exact mechanism," said Erdemir. "The general belief is that component wear life extension requires a much harder coating, as more hardness reduces wear. But in this case the coating has less hardness than the base steel, so conventional thought doesn't apply."

The team is now eager to work with companies and see how N3FC performs in the field. Until then, they will stay busy trying to discover the mechanism behind this surprising scientific development. "We would love to get to the bottom of this and design even better coatings," said Erdemir.

The team is also testing the coating in sealing applications for compressors. As a low-friction surface coating, it may also prove beneficial in natural gas and hydrogen environments. "It appears to have multiple capabilities in terms of performance," said Erdemir.

While much of the work was done in Argonne's tribology laboratory, Raman spectroscopy (which uses monochromatic light, usually from a laser) was performed at the laboratory's Center for Nanoscale Materials, a DOE Office of Science User Facility.
###
The research was funded by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency &amp; Renewable Energy (Vehicles Technologies Office and Wind and Hydropower Technologies Office).

Team members include Argonne researchers Giovanni Ramirez, Osman Eryilmaz and Aaron Greco, as well as Gary Doll of the University of Akron and Harpal Singh of both Argonne and the University of Akron.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by <a href="http://www.uchicagoargonnellc.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UChicago Argonne, LLC</a> for the <a href="http://science.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science</a>.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the <a href="http://science.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Office of Science website</a>.

</div>

Argonne carbon coating shows surprising potential to improve wind power

Argonne carbon coating shows surprising potential to improve wind power....

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

[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

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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