Every time we wash our clothes, rinse our faces, or flush waste down the drain, we trust that water treatment systems will clean what we send their way. These infrastructures purify billions of gallons of wastewater globally. 



But beneath this efficiency lies a troubling reality. Microplastics - fragments no larger than five millimeters in diameter - are evading the water filtration systems designed to keep our environment safe.



Emerging research from scientists at <a href="https://www.uta.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The University of Texas at Arlington</a> reveals that despite the best efforts of wastewater treatment plants, these tiny plastic particles continue to leak into our soil, rivers, and oceans.



Their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-in-the-brain-alarming-new-details-revealed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">impact</a> extends beyond the water itself, touching human health and disrupting ecological stability in ways we are only beginning to understand.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastics-persist-in-wastewater-systems">Plastics persist in wastewater systems</h2>



Plastics have become an indispensable part of modern life. Their affordability, durability, and versatility mean they are present in nearly everything - from food packaging and electronics to personal care products and textiles.



But their greatest strength is also their greatest danger. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-chewing-gum-may-be-full-of-microplastics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plastics</a> do not biodegrade; they break into smaller pieces, creating what we call microplastics.



“What our systematic literature review found is that while most wastewater treatment facilities significantly reduce microplastics loads, complete removal remains unattainable with current technologies,” said Un-Jung Kim, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at UT Arlington, and senior author of the study.



As these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alarming-levels-of-microplastics-found-in-every-major-european-river/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">particles</a> travel through wastewater, they often carry harmful chemicals like bisphenols, PFAS, and antibiotics.



“These microplastics and organic pollutants would exist in trace level, but we can get exposure through simple actions like drinking water, doing laundry or watering plants, leading to potential long-term serious human health impacts such as cardiovascular disease and cancer,” Kim added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-microplastics-in-water">Key microplastics in water</h2>



The review, authored by Jenny Kim Nguyen and colleagues, investigated the specific types of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-may-cause-premature-aging-at-a-cellular-level/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microplastics</a> that are dominating wastewater systems, namely microfibers and microbeads. These shapes, though often overlooked, form the core of plastic pollution in water.



Microfibers (MFs), the most common type found in wastewater, are released from synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, and acrylic. Laundry is their biggest release mechanism.



Once detached, these thread-like particles carry dyes and chemical additives that can leach into aquatic ecosystems. Synthetic microfibers, in particular, are durable, non-biodegradable, and prone to long-distance travel in water.



Microbeads (MBs), while less prevalent today due to bans on their use in personal care products, still persist in wastewater. Typically made from polyethylene or polystyrene, these spherical particles once replaced natural exfoliants like oatmeal and sugar in cleansers. 



Although regulations have curbed their use, their historical presence remains significant in treatment systems, offering benchmarks for research and detection methods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-technology-gaps-and-research-limitations">Technology gaps and research limitations</h2>



“We found that the effectiveness of treatments varies depending on the technology communities use and how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/airborne-microplastics-where-they-come-from-and-where-they-go/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microplastics</a> are measured to calculate the removal rates,” said Nguyen. 



She began this research as an undergraduate in Kim’s Environmental Chemistry Lab and is now pursuing her master's at UT Arlington, working on standardized testing methods for microplastics in air and water.



Nguyen’s review highlights the lack of uniformity in how microplastics are studied. Sampling and detection methods differ widely, which can skew the understanding of how much is truly removed during treatment.



Without standard definitions for particle size, especially when distinguishing between fragments, beads, and fibers, efforts to compare studies and build effective solutions remain incomplete.



The researchers stress the need for methods that consistently capture and classify microplastics in wastewater. Current tools often miss the smallest particles or fail to identify specific polymers. As a result, data on microplastic concentrations vary depending on the treatment stage, region, and water source.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microplastics-carry-harmful-chemicals">Microplastics carry harmful chemicals</h2>



Beyond their physical presence, microplastics interact with other pollutants in alarming ways. Their surface chemistry enables them to absorb and transport contaminants such as flame retardants, surfactants, and plasticizers. 



These particles, once inside the environment or living organisms, can leach these absorbed toxins, intensifying their harmful effects.



MPs often act like sponges, absorbing chemicals through hydrophobic partitioning and surface interactions. Once inside water systems, they entangle with organic matter, sediments, and other particles. This complex behavior reduces their detectability and complicates removal during treatment processes. 



Researchers are now calling attention to these interactions to better understand the role of microplastics in bioaccumulation and toxicity.



“This work helps us understand the current microplastics problem, so we can address its long-term health impacts and establish better mitigation efforts,” said Karthikraj Rajendiran, a co-author of the study and assistant professor of research from UTA’s Bone Muscle Research Center.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-effects-remain-elusive">Health effects remain elusive</h2>



While aquatic ecosystems have received the bulk of microplastic research, human health effects are only starting to come into focus. 



Current findings show that microplastics can enter the body through ingestion or inhalation and potentially accumulate in tissues. However, the long-term impacts on organs, hormonal balance, and cell function are still under investigation.



In wastewater systems, MFs and MBs behave differently from other microplastic forms. Their size, density, and shape influence how far they travel and what materials they entangle with. 



Microfibers, with their high length-to-width ratio, form dense matrices in treatment sludge, reducing filtration effectiveness. Microbeads, with their smooth surfaces, evade capture and persist in treated water.



The lack of studies that focus specifically on these two shapes is a barrier. By addressing this gap, researchers hope to clarify how these particles behave, what risks they pose, and how best to target them for removal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solutions-awareness-and-regulation">Solutions, awareness, and regulation</h2>



Public behavior can help reduce the release of microplastics. Consumers are urged to choose fabrics and personal care products free of plastic polymers whenever possible.



“While communities must take steps to improve microplastic detection and screening at the wastewater and water quality monitoring, consumers can already make a difference by choosing to buy clothing and textiles with less plastics whenever feasible, knowing that microfibers are the most common microplastic continually released through wastewater,” said Kim.



Mindful laundry habits, such as reducing wash frequency and using fabric filters, also help. Policy-level actions must follow. Governments can regulate production, enforce labeling, and promote biodegradable alternatives in fashion and cosmetics. 



Education campaigns can inform the public about how everyday choices impact the microplastic loads carried in wastewater.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-action-on-microplastics-in-water">Action on microplastics in water</h2>



The review by Nguyen and colleagues is the first to focus specifically on microfibers and microbeads in wastewater; it combines field data, laboratory analysis, and chemical interaction studies.



It highlights the urgency of developing targeted removal technologies and crafting legislation that considers the diversity of microplastics present.



Their work received funding from UTA’s Research Enhancement Program, which is designed to support interdisciplinary teams in launching new research directions.



With increasing awareness and strategic intervention, both scientific and social, we can begin to contain microplastic pollution before its consequences become irreversible.



The particles may be microscopic, but the challenge is massive. This research pushes the conversation forward - toward cleaner water, healthier communities, and a better understanding of the unseen pollutants in our daily lives.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004896972500453X" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science of the Total Environment</a>.



-----



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Microplastics are escaping from water treatment plants

Every time we wash our clothes, rinse our faces, or flush waste down the drain, we trust that water treatment systems will clean what we send their way. These infrastructures purify billions of gallons of wastewater globally. But beneath this efficiency lies a troubling reality. Microplastics - fragments no larger than five millimeters in diameter - are evading the water filtration systems designed to keep our environment safe. Emerging research from scientists at The University of Texas at Arlington reveals that despite the best efforts of wastewater...

Global Tension In Latest Round Of UN Climate Talks. African countries on Sunday dismissed an early draft of a U.N. climate accord as "unbalanced" and demanded amendments to even consider it at the final negotiating session before a <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/central-italy-from-space/">landmark</a> conference in Paris.
The move by the African bloc came on the eve of week-long talks in Bonn, Germany, on what's envisioned to become the most ambitious agreement ever to fight global warming. Global Tension In Latest Round Of UN Climate Talks
Delegates on Monday were supposed to start line-by-line editing a 20-page draft that contains multiple options on how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are warming the planet.
But the African countries, many of which are among the most vulnerable to climate impacts such as desertification and sea level rise, said the draft "cannot be used as a basis for negotiation, as it is unbalanced, and does not reflect the African Group positions, and crosses the group's redlines."
Group spokesman Seyni Nafo told The Associated Press that the African countries want more emphasis on financial support to help poor countries cope with <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate+change&amp;cvid=2c806419f248480abd97bdeedbff525c&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">climate</a> change.
Nafo said the group was confident that it would be allowed to make additions to the text before negotiations get underway.
"Our position is not to delay work, but to ensure that there's a fair basis for all," he said.
Some 150 countries - including top emitters China, the United States, the European Union and India - have already made voluntary pledges to cut or curb their emissions after 2020, when the deal is supposed to take effect.
But several analyses show those pledges won't be enough to prevent levels of warming that many consider dangerous, so a key element of the Paris deal would be a mechanism to raise those commitments over time.
"We don't want to make a picture, we want to make a movie," Netherlands climate envoy Michel Rentenaar said, insisting that the Paris agreement cannot freeze the current level of ambition on climate action.
The U.N. talks have made significant strides since a 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen failed to live up to expectations. For the first time all countries now agree they need to act against climate change, which scientists say is already transforming the planet through melting glaciers, rising sea levels, intensifying heat waves and warmer, more acidic oceans.
Though major sticking points remain, including how to spell out the different responsibilities of nations in various stages of development, rich and poor countries have moved closer in recent years.
"We have gone very far from the Copenhagen atmosphere," said Pa Ousman Jarju, Gambia's environment minister.
It would be a major setback if some countries reject the draft in Bonn, leaving negotiators with little time to come up with a new one before Paris.
Several delegates said they didn't expect that to happen, though the African move on Sunday underscored how easily the process, which is based on consensus, can be slowed down.
One of the most contentious issues is money. Rich countries have promised to provide $100 billion annually by 2020 to help poor countries reduce their emissions and deal with unavoidable impacts of climate change. But they are reluctant to make any commitments beyond that and say the most advanced developing nations should also chip in.
The World Resources Institute, a Washington-based environmental think tank, said negotiators must be prepared to get "their hands dirty" in Bonn and deal with the sticky issues before the Paris summit begins on Nov. 30.
"What happens in Bonn can pave the way for a universal agreement in Paris that can be the turning point on climate action that the world needs," the group said.
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Global Tension In Latest Round Of UN Climate Talks

Global Tension In Latest Round Of UN Climate Talks. African...

Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global . The Dalai Lama on Tuesday urged strong global action to limit global warming and to protect fragile environments, including the Himalayan glaciers and Tibetan plateau.
Calling climate change a "problem which human beings created," the 80-year-old Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said all of humanity was now responsible for taking action. But instead, he said, "we are relying on praying to God or to <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=buddha&amp;cvid=16c6da95d7b141678137b9e19639b35c&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Buddha</a>. Sometimes I feel this is very illogical."
He issued his plea in a pre-taped video released as part of a campaign launched by the Tibetan government-in-exile in the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala, where the Dalai Lama has been based since fleeing a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/carbon-pricing-will-help-achieve-net-zero-emissions/">Chinese</a> military crackdown in Tibet. Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global Warming
The government-in-exile said the campaign would continue through this year's U.N. climate change talks, where nations hope to conclude a new treaty for limiting climate-warming gas emissions. The exiled government will also send its own delegate to the talks, which start Nov. 30 in Paris, though it will not have a vote of its own.
"This is not a question of one nation or two nations. This is a question of humanity. Our world is our home," the Dalai Lama said. "There's no other planet where we may move or shift."
Acknowledging his advanced years, the Dalai Lama appealed to younger generations to "take a more active role in protecting this planet, including the Tibetan plateau."
Temperatures for Tibet's high-altitude plateau - referred to as the Roof of the World - are rising about three times faster than the global average, and are 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than they were 50 years ago. The Himalayas are also called the Third Pole, referring to the fact that they are covered in snow and ice and are particularly susceptible to climate change, like the North and South poles.
The government-in-exile also argued that Tibetans should be restored as the "true stewards" of the plateau, which has been under Chinese rule for decades and where Tibetans accuse Beijing of mining indiscriminately while forcing nomadic communities to move elsewhere.
"Tibetans must have a say on what happens on their land," said the exiled government's prime minister, Lobsang Sangay. "Tibetan nomads are the expert custodians of the alpine pastures, and their knowledge and experience must be recognized."
China has long understood the plateau's environmental importance and vulnerability, with some 40 percent of the world's fresh water locked into the frozen Himalayan glaciers and feeding seven major rivers that run through China, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences studies environmental and climate change from its Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research in the region - a 2.5 million-square-kilometer (966,000-square-mile) area that includes the Tibetan Autonomous Region as well as most of China's Qinghai province, parts of Sichuan and the southern Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang.
Up to 70 percent of the plateau is covered in permafrost, with large reserves of both carbon dioxide and methane trapped within the ice. Scientists say thawing could release long-stored emissions of both greenhouse gases. Methane can be 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping Earth's heat.
---
Associated Press writer Ashwini Bhatia contributed to this report.
---
Follow Katy Daigle on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/katydaigle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/katydaigle</a>
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global

Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global . The Dalai...

European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Down 23 Percent. The European Union, the world's No. 3 greenhouse gas polluter, says its emissions fell 4 percent last year, meaning the 28-nation bloc has already surpassed its target for 2020.
A report by the EU's <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/environmental-era-of-pandemics/">environment</a> agency on Tuesday said 2014 emissions were 23 percent lower than in 1990. The EU's goal is to achieve 20 percent reductions by 2020, but the report said the bloc is headed for 24-25 percent cuts with current measures to fight climate change. European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Down 23 Percent
It said the drop in 2014 "was partly due to an unusually warm year, which lowered energy demand."
EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete called the results "a strong signal" ahead of a December climate conference in Paris that "Europe stands by its commitments and that our <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-change">climate</a> and energy policies work."Climate change, periodic modification of <a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth">Earth</a>’s <a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-meteorology">climate</a> brought about as a result of changes in the <a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/atmosphere">atmosphere</a> as well as interactions between the atmosphere and various other geologic, chemical, biological, and geographic factors within the Earth system.
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European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Down 23 Percent

European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Down 23 Percent. The European...

New understanding of changes in North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years could lead to better global climate models

An unprecedented analysis of North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years has found that sea ice formation in coastal regions is a key driver of deep ocean circulation, influencing climate on regional and global scales. Coastal sea ice formation takes place on relatively small scales, however, and is not captured well in global climate models, according to scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who conducted the study.

A paper on the new findings will be published in a future issue of the journal Paleoceanography and is currently available online.

"We have identified an important process that current global climate models don't adequately capture. Coastal sea ice formation may be important to future climate change because the arctic and subarctic regions are warming at twice the rate of other parts of the world," said first author Karla Knudson, a graduate student in Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz. Coastal Sea Ice Drives Ocean Circulation And Climate

When sea ice forms, it expels salt into the surrounding water, increasing the density of the water and causing it to sink, carrying oxygenated surface water into the depths. One result is a flow of cold deep water toward the equator and warm surface water toward the poles, and this "overturning circulation" plays a crucial role in moving heat around the globe.

"It helps to modulate the climate by transferring heat from the equator to the poles," said coauthor Christina Ravelo, professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

This process (also called "thermohaline circulation") has received less attention in the North Pacific than in the North Atlantic, where the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water is a powerful driver of global ocean circulation and climate. In the North Pacific, overturning circulation driven by formation of the North Pacific Intermediate Water is not as strong as in the North Atlantic, but it plays a major role in the region's climate.

In 2009, when Ravelo led an expedition of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) to the Bering Sea (with co-chief scientist Kozo Takahashi of Kyushu University, Japan), one of her main goals was to investigate the role of the North Pacific Intermediate Water in climate change. The expedition drilled sediment cores from the floor of the Bering Sea that preserve records of the regional climate and ocean circulation covering the past 1.2 million years, much longer than any other oceanographic records from that region. By analyzing these records, Knudson and Ravelo found that the strength of the overturning circulation in the North Pacific is inherently linked to global climate changes, but not in the way scientists had previously thought.

The sediment cores used in this study cover a period when the planet went through many climate cycles driven by variations in Earth's orbit, from extreme glacial periods such as the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, when massive ice sheets covered the northern parts of Europe and North <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/earth-from-space-the-amazon-river/">America</a>, to relatively warm interglacial periods with climates more like today's.

Previous studies based on global climate models indicated that the overturning circulation in the North Pacific and North Atlantic responded in opposite ways to major shifts in global climate. During glacial periods, sea level falls as water gets locked up in the ice sheets, and in extreme cases the Bering Strait connecting the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean closes and becomes a land bridge. This shuts off the flow of relatively fresh North Pacific water into the saltier North Atlantic, leading to increased salinity in the North Atlantic and stronger overturning circulation there.

At the same time, the thinking went, a fresher North Pacific would have weaker circulation. This oceanic "seesaw" would result in a cooling effect in one ocean and a warming effect in the other. But that's not what the sediment cores revealed. "We found that the overturning circulation actually strengthens in both oceans when the Bering Strait is closed," Knudson said.

What the climate models were missing, she said, was the strong brine production from sea ice formation in the Bering Sea. The global climate models do a good job of simulating the process of sea ice formation over large areas in the open ocean. But the critical coastal process, which actually generates more of the deep water, occurs on smaller scales and is only captured in high-resolution regional climate models, Knudson said.

The Bering Sea is less important during warm periods like today, when wintertime sea ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk generates most of the North Pacific Intermediate Water. But the same process of sea ice formation and brine production along coastal shelves plays a critical role wherever it occurs.

"These small-scale processes might be important to understanding the full impact of climate change," Ravelo said. "As the climate gets warmer, we could see reduced sea ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Arctic. So it would be nice for the climate models to have sufficient resolution to be able to predict the impact of changes in coastal sea ice."

Knudson and Ravelo based their findings on an analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate shells of tiny marine organisms called foraminifera, which are preserved in seafloor sediments. Chemical signatures of the ocean water the organisms lived in are locked into the composition of their shells, and researchers can analyze them for evidence of past water temperatures and other oceanographic conditions.

---

<a href="http://www.ucsc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of California Santa Cruz</a>

Coastal Sea Ice Drives Ocean Circulation And Climate

New understanding of changes in North Pacific ocean circulation over...

Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global Warming. The Dalai Lama on Tuesday urged strong global action to limit global warming and to protect fragile environments, including the Himalayan glaciers and Tibetan plateau.
Calling climate change a "problem which human beings created," the 80-year-old Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said all of humanity was now responsible for taking action. But instead, he said, "we are relying on praying to God or to Buddha. Sometimes I feel this is very illogical."
He issued his plea in a pre-taped video released as part of a campaign launched by the Tibetan government-in-exile in the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala, where the Dalai Lama has been based since fleeing a Chinese military crackdown in Tibet.
The government-in-exile said the campaign would continue through this year's U.N. climate change talks, where nations hope to conclude a new treaty for limiting climate-warming gas emissions. The exiled government will also send its own delegate to the talks, which start Nov. 30 in Paris, though it will not have a vote of its own.
"This is not a question of one nation or two nations. This is a question of humanity. Our world is our home," the Dalai Lama said. "There's no other planet where we may move or shift."
Acknowledging his advanced years, the Dalai Lama appealed to younger generations to "take a more active role in protecting this planet, including the Tibetan plateau."
Temperatures for Tibet's high-altitude plateau - referred to as the Roof of the World - are rising about three times faster than the global average, and are 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than they were 50 years ago. The Himalayas are also called the Third Pole, referring to the fact that they are covered in snow and ice and are particularly susceptible to climate change, like the North and South poles.
The government-in-exile also argued that Tibetans should be restored as the "true stewards" of the plateau, which has been under Chinese rule for decades and where Tibetans accuse Beijing of mining indiscriminately while forcing nomadic communities to move elsewhere.
"Tibetans must have a say on what happens on their land," said the exiled government's prime minister, Lobsang Sangay. "Tibetan nomads are the expert custodians of the alpine pastures, and their knowledge and experience must be recognized." Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global Warming
China has long understood the plateau's environmental importance and vulnerability, with some 40 percent of the world's fresh water locked into the frozen Himalayan glaciers and feeding seven major rivers that run through China, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences studies environmental and climate change from its Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research in the region - a 2.5 million-square-kilometer (966,000-square-mile) area that includes the Tibetan Autonomous Region as well as most of China's Qinghai province, parts of Sichuan and the southern Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang.
Up to 70 percent of the plateau is covered in permafrost, with large reserves of both carbon dioxide and methane trapped within the ice. Scientists say thawing could release long-stored emissions of both greenhouse gases. Methane can be 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping Earth's heat.
---
Associated Press writer Ashwini Bhatia contributed to this report.
---
Follow Katy Daigle on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/katydaigle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://twitter.com/katydaigle</a>
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global Warming

Dali Lama Urges Strong Action Against Global Warming. The Dalai...

September 2015 Was Hottest Month In Recorded History. This past September 2015 was the hottest ever worldwide - the seventh monthly record set this year.
The National <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=oceanic&amp;cvid=82a080e4eb604fe191c4ccdcd839ccee&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Oceanic</a> and Atmospheric Administration calculated a global temperature for September of 60.62 degrees (15.9 degrees Celsius), beating the record set in 2014.
Seven of the nine months this year have broken monthly global heat records, tying 1998 for the most monthly heat records broken. This year, only January and April did not surpass records going back to 1880. September 2015 Was Hottest Month In Recorded History
Climate scientists blame man-made global warming and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coral-cores-el-nino-events/">El Nino.</a>
This is has been the hottest first nine months of any year. NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden said it would take a highly unlikely cold stretch the rest of the year for 2015 not to pass 2014 as the hottest on record.September 2015 had the largest departure of temperature from average of any month among all 1629 months in the record that began in January 1880, said NOAA's <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/global/201509">National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)</a> on Wednesday. (Note that since July and August are typically the warmest months globally in absolute terms, September was not Earth's warmest month in that regard.) <a href="http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt">NASA</a> rated September 2015 slightly cooler, as the 2nd warmest September on record, falling below September 2014's mark.
© 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.

September 2015 Was Hottest Month In Recorded History

September 2015 Was Hottest Month In Recorded History. This past...

Coastal Sea Ice Drives Ocean Circulation And Climate. New understanding of changes in North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years could lead to better global climate models

An unprecedented analysis of North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years has found that sea ice formation in coastal regions is a key driver of deep ocean circulation, influencing climate on regional and global scales. Coastal sea ice formation takes place on relatively small scales, however, and is not captured well in global climate models, according to scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who conducted the study.

A paper on the new findings will be published in a future issue of the journal Paleoceanography and is currently available online.

"We have identified an important process that current global climate models don't adequately capture. Coastal sea ice formation may be important to future climate change because the arctic and subarctic regions are warming at twice the rate of other parts of the world," said first author Karla Knudson, a graduate student in Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

When sea ice forms, it expels salt into the surrounding water, increasing the density of the water and causing it to sink, carrying oxygenated surface water into the depths. One result is a flow of cold deep water toward the equator and warm surface water toward the poles, and this "overturning circulation" plays a crucial role in moving heat around the globe.

"It helps to modulate the climate by transferring heat from the equator to the poles," said coauthor Christina Ravelo, professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

This process (also called "thermohaline circulation") has received less attention in the North Pacific than in the North Atlantic, where the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water is a powerful driver of global ocean circulation and climate. In the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/benefits-of-sea-otters-in-the-north-pacific-greatly-outweigh-costs/">North Pacific</a>, overturning circulation driven by formation of the North Pacific Intermediate Water is not as strong as in the North Atlantic, but it plays a major role in the region's climate.

In 2009, when Ravelo led an expedition of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) to the Bering Sea (with co-chief scientist Kozo Takahashi of Kyushu University, Japan), one of her main goals was to investigate the role of the North Pacific Intermediate Water in climate change. The expedition drilled sediment cores from the floor of the Bering Sea that preserve records of the regional climate and ocean circulation covering the past 1.2 million years, much longer than any other oceanographic records from that region. By analyzing these records, Knudson and Ravelo found that the strength of the overturning circulation in the North Pacific is inherently linked to global climate changes, but not in the way scientists had previously thought.

The sediment cores used in this study cover a period when the planet went through many climate cycles driven by variations in Earth's orbit, from extreme glacial periods such as the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, when massive ice sheets covered the northern parts of Europe and North America, to relatively warm interglacial periods with climates more like today's.

Previous studies based on global climate models indicated that the overturning circulation in the North Pacific and North Atlantic responded in opposite ways to major shifts in global climate. During glacial periods, sea level falls as water gets locked up in the ice sheets, and in extreme cases the Bering Strait connecting the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean closes and becomes a land bridge. This shuts off the flow of relatively fresh North Pacific water into the saltier North Atlantic, leading to increased salinity in the North Atlantic and stronger overturning circulation there.

At the same time, the thinking went, a fresher North Pacific would have weaker circulation. This oceanic "seesaw" would result in a cooling effect in one ocean and a warming effect in the other. But that's not what the sediment cores revealed. "We found that the overturning circulation actually strengthens in both oceans when the Bering Strait is closed," Knudson said.

What the climate models were missing, she said, was the strong brine production from sea ice formation in the Bering Sea. The global climate models do a good job of simulating the process of sea ice formation over large areas in the open ocean. But the critical coastal process, which actually generates more of the deep water, occurs on smaller scales and is only captured in high-resolution regional climate models, Knudson said.

The Bering Sea is less important during warm periods like today, when wintertime sea ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk generates most of the North Pacific Intermediate Water. But the same process of sea ice formation and brine production along coastal shelves plays a critical role wherever it occurs.

"These small-scale processes might be important to understanding the full impact of climate change," Ravelo said. "As the climate gets warmer, we could see reduced sea ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Arctic. So it would be nice for the climate models to have sufficient resolution to be able to predict the impact of changes in coastal sea ice."

Knudson and Ravelo based their findings on an analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate shells of tiny marine organisms called foraminifera, which are preserved in seafloor sediments. Chemical signatures of the ocean water the organisms lived in are locked into the composition of their shells, and researchers can analyze them for evidence of past water temperatures and other oceanographic conditions.

---

<a href="http://www.ucsc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California Santa Cruz</a>

Coastal Sea Ice Drives Ocean Circulation And Climate. New understanding...

Coastal Sea Ice Drives Ocean Circulation And Climate. New understanding of changes in North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years could lead to better global climate models

An unprecedented analysis of North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years has found that sea ice formation in coastal regions is a key driver of deep ocean circulation, influencing climate on regional and global scales. Coastal sea ice formation takes place on relatively small scales, however, and is not captured well in global climate models, according to scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who conducted the study.

A paper on the new findings will be published in a future issue of the journal Paleoceanography and is currently available online.

"We have identified an important process that current global climate models don't adequately capture. Coastal sea ice formation may be important to future climate change because the arctic and subarctic regions are warming at twice the rate of other parts of the world," said first author Karla Knudson, a graduate student in Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

When sea ice forms, it expels salt into the surrounding water, increasing the density of the water and causing it to sink, carrying oxygenated surface water into the depths. One result is a flow of cold deep water toward the equator and warm surface water toward the poles, and this "overturning circulation" plays a crucial role in moving heat around the globe.

"It helps to modulate the climate by transferring heat from the equator to the poles," said coauthor Christina Ravelo, professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

This process (also called "thermohaline circulation") has received less attention in the North Pacific than in the North Atlantic, where the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water is a powerful driver of global ocean circulation and climate. In the North Pacific, overturning circulation driven by formation of the North Pacific Intermediate Water is not as strong as in the North Atlantic, but it plays a major role in the region's climate.

In 2009, when Ravelo led an expedition of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) to the Bering Sea (with co-chief scientist Kozo Takahashi of Kyushu University, Japan), one of her main goals was to investigate the role of the North Pacific Intermediate Water in climate change. The expedition drilled sediment cores from the floor of the Bering Sea that preserve records of the regional climate and ocean circulation covering the past 1.2 million years, much longer than any other oceanographic records from that region. By analyzing these records, Knudson and Ravelo found that the strength of the overturning circulation in the North Pacific is inherently linked to global climate changes, but not in the way scientists had previously thought.

The sediment cores used in this study cover a period when the planet went through many climate cycles driven by variations in Earth's orbit, from extreme glacial periods such as the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, when massive ice sheets covered the northern parts of Europe and North America, to relatively warm interglacial periods with climates more like today's.

Previous studies based on global climate models indicated that the overturning circulation in the North Pacific and North Atlantic responded in opposite ways to major shifts in global climate. During glacial periods, sea level falls as water gets locked up in the ice sheets, and in extreme cases the Bering Strait connecting the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean closes and becomes a land bridge. This shuts off the flow of relatively fresh North Pacific water into the saltier North Atlantic, leading to increased salinity in the North Atlantic and stronger overturning circulation there.

At the same time, the thinking went, a fresher <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/benefits-of-sea-otters-in-the-north-pacific-greatly-outweigh-costs/">North Pacific</a> would have weaker circulation. This oceanic "seesaw" would result in a cooling effect in one ocean and a warming effect in the other. But that's not what the sediment cores revealed. "We found that the overturning circulation actually strengthens in both oceans when the Bering Strait is closed," Knudson said.

What the climate models were missing, she said, was the strong brine production from sea ice formation in the Bering Sea. The global climate models do a good job of simulating the process of sea ice formation over large areas in the open ocean. But the critical coastal process, which actually generates more of the deep water, occurs on smaller scales and is only captured in high-resolution regional climate models, Knudson said.

The Bering Sea is less important during warm periods like today, when wintertime sea ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk generates most of the North Pacific Intermediate Water. But the same process of sea ice formation and brine production along coastal shelves plays a critical role wherever it occurs.

"These small-scale processes might be important to understanding the full impact of climate change," Ravelo said. "As the climate gets warmer, we could see reduced sea ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Arctic. So it would be nice for the climate models to have sufficient resolution to be able to predict the impact of changes in coastal sea ice."

Knudson and Ravelo based their findings on an analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate shells of tiny marine organisms called foraminifera, which are preserved in seafloor sediments. Chemical signatures of the ocean water the organisms lived in are locked into the composition of their shells, and researchers can analyze them for evidence of past water temperatures and other oceanographic conditions.

---

<a href="http://www.ucsc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California Santa Cruz</a>

Poll: 76 Percent Of Americans Believe Climate Change Is Happening. The latest results reveal the largest consensus since political scientists at Texas started polling on the subject in 2012.

Slowly but surely, attitudes about global warming among the American public are beginning to more closely reflect those held by scientists.

The latest results from the University of <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/earth-from-space-houston-texas/">Texas</a>, Austin Energy Poll show that more than three out of every four Americans think "climate change is happening" -- 76 percent of respondents. Even the majority of Republicans now acknowledge global warming, with 59 percent saying the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change">climate</a> is changing.Poll: 76 Percent Of Americans Believe Climate Change Is Happening

The latest results reveal the largest consensus since political scientists at Texas started polling on the subject in 2012 -- and a 68 percent increase since last year.

"This groundbreaking public opinion poll measures and reports biannually (October and April) on consumer opinions and attitudes toward energy consumption, pricing, development and regulation," researchers write on the homepage explaining the Energy Poll.

Among the drivers of climate change implicated by believers, deforestation, coal, oil and natural gas beat out natural forces (not man made), indicating that the majority of respondents acknowledge climate change as at least partially anthropogenic.

The percentage of Americans who deny climate change flat out also dropped in the latest findings, from 22 percent in 2012 to 14 percent.

---

Credit: UPI

Poll: 76 Percent Of Americans Believe Climate Change Is Happening

Poll: 76 Percent Of Americans Believe Climate Change Is Happening....

September 2015 Was Hottest Month In Recorded History. This past September 2015 was the hottest ever worldwide - the seventh monthly record set this year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculated a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/global-temperatures-work-productivity/">global temperature</a> for September of 60.62 degrees (15.9 degrees Celsius), beating the record set in 2014.
Seven of the nine months this year have broken monthly global heat records, tying 1998 for the most monthly heat records broken. This year, only January and April did not surpass records going back to 1880.September 2015 Was Hottest Month In Recorded History
Climate scientists blame man-made <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=global+warming&amp;cvid=3fd0dba4d2e448f39d3052045b7e8c23&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">global warming</a> and El Nino.
This is has been the hottest first nine months of any year. NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden said it would take a highly unlikely cold stretch the rest of the year for 2015 not to pass 2014 as the hottest on record.That human activity has caused climate change is not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing.The largest driver has been the emission of greenhouse gases, of which more than 90% are <a title="Carbon dioxide" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> (CO
2) and <a title="Methane" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane">methane</a>. <a title="Fossil fuel" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel">Fossil fuel</a> burning for <a title="World energy consumption" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_consumption">energy consumption</a> is the main source of these emissions, with additional contributions from <a title="Agriculture" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture">agriculture</a>, <a title="Deforestation" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation">deforestation</a>, and <a title="Industrial processes" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_processes#Chemical_processes_by_main_basic_material">industrial processes</a>. Temperature rise is accelerated or tempered by <a title="Climate change feedback" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_feedback">climate feedbacks</a>, such as loss of <a title="Albedo" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albedo">sunlight-reflecting snow and ice cover</a>, increased <a title="Water vapor" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_vapor">water vapour</a> (a greenhouse gas itself), and changes to <a title="Carbon sink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sink">land and ocean carbon sinks</a>.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Poll: 76 Percent Of Americans Believe Climate Change Is Happening. The latest results reveal the largest consensus since political scientists at Texas started polling on the subject in 2012.

Slowly but surely, attitudes about global warming among the American public are beginning to more closely reflect those held by scientists.

The latest results from the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/manatees-may-have-been-permanent-texas-residents-during-the-last-ice-age/">University of Texas</a>, Austin Energy Poll show that more than three out of every four Americans think "climate change is happening" -- 76 percent of respondents. Even the majority of Republicans now acknowledge global warming, with 59 percent saying the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change">climate</a> is changing. Poll: 76 Percent Of Americans Believe Climate Change Is Happening

The latest results reveal the largest consensus since political scientists at Texas started polling on the subject in 2012 -- and a 68 percent increase since last year.

"This groundbreaking public opinion poll measures and reports biannually (October and April) on consumer opinions and attitudes toward energy consumption, pricing, development and regulation," researchers write on the homepage explaining the Energy Poll.

Among the drivers of climate change implicated by believers, deforestation, coal, oil and natural gas beat out natural forces (not man made), indicating that the majority of respondents acknowledge climate change as at least partially anthropogenic.

The percentage of Americans who deny climate change flat out also dropped in the latest findings, from 22 percent in 2012 to 14 percent.

---

Credit: UPI

Study: Global Warming Hurts The World Economy. With each upward degree, global warming will singe the economies of three-quarters of the world's nations and widen the north-south gap between rich and poor countries, according to a new economic and science study.
Compared to what it would be without more global warming, the average global income will shrivel 23 percent at the end of the century if heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution continues to grow at its current trajectory, according to a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature.
Some countries, like Russia, Mongolia and Canada, would see large economic benefits from global warming, the study projects. Most of Europe would do slightly better, the United States and China slightly worse. Essentially all of Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East would be hurt dramatically, the economists found.
"What climate change is doing is basically devaluing all the real estate south of the United States and making the whole planet less productive," said study co-author Solomon Hsiang, an economist and public policy professor at the University of California Berkeley. "Climate change is essentially a massive transfer of value from the hot parts of the world to the cooler parts of the world."
"This is like taking from the poor and giving to the rich," Hsiang said.
Lead author Marshall Burke of Stanford and Hsiang examined 50 years of economic data in 160 countries and even county-by-county data in the United States and found what Burke called "the goldilocks zone in global temperature at which humans are good at producing stuff" - an annual temperature of around 13 degrees Celsius or 55.4 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take a degree.
For countries colder than that economic sweet spot, every degree of warming heats up the economy and benefits. For the United States and other countries already at or above that temperature, every degree slows productivity, Burke and Hsiang said.
The 20th-century global average annual temperature is 57 degrees, or 13.9 degrees Celsius, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last year - the hottest on record - was 58.24 degrees and this year is almost certain to break that record, according to NOAA. Burke and Hsiang use different population-weighted temperature figures than NOAA calculates.
But the U.S. economy is humming despite the heat. When asked how that can be so, Burke said there were many factors important for growth beyond just temperature. He said one year's temperature and economic growth in one nation isn't telling. Instead, he and Hsiang looked at more than 6,000 "country-years" to get a bigger picture. Study: Global Warming Hurts The World Economy
Burke compared the effect of global warming on economies to a head wind on a cross-country airplane flight. The effects at any given moment are small and seemingly unnoticeable but they add up and slow you down.
While it is fairly obvious that unusual high temperatures hurt agriculture, past studies show hot days even reduce car production at U.S. factories, Burke said.
"The U.S. is really close to the global optimum," Burke said, adding that as it warms, the U.S. will fall off that peak. The authors calculate a warmer U.S. in 2100 will have a gross domestic product per person that's 36 percent lower than it would be if warming stopped about now.
But because the U.S. is now at that ultimate peak, there's greater uncertainty in the study's calculations than in places like India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Nigeria and Venezuela where it's already hot and there's more certainty about dramatic economic harm, Hsiang said.
The authors' main figures are based on the premise that carbon dioxide emissions will continue to rise at the current trajectory. But countries across the world are pledging to control if not cut carbon pollution as international leaders prepare for a summit on climate change in Paris later this year. If the current pledges are kept, the warming cost in 2100 will drop from 23 percent to 15 percent, Burke said.
Gary Yohe, an environmental economist at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, praised the study as significant and thorough, saying Burke and Hsiang "use the most modern socio-economic scenarios." But Richard Tol, an economist at the University of Sussex in England, dismissed the study as unworthy to be published in an economics journal, saying "the hypothesized relationship is without foundation."
Other experts found good and bad points, with MIT's John Reilly saying it will spark quite a debate among economists.
---
Online:
Nature: <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nature.com/nature</a>
Stanford website on the study: <a href="http://web.stanford.edu/~mburke/climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://web.stanford.edu/~mburke/climate/</a>
---
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Study: Global Warming Hurts The World Economy

Study: Global Warming Hurts The World Economy. With each upward...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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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



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

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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



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



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



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



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



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



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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