Antarctica’s winter sea ice usually forms a bright lid over millions of square miles. So when a massive, black patch was spotted by NASA scientists for the first time, satellite operators were taken aback, to say the least.



Then roughly a year later, the situation got even stranger. The gap, called a polynya, swelled to the size of Switzerland and stayed open for weeks.



Only after it refroze did researchers start piecing together how such an enormous opening in the ice could appear hundreds of miles from the nearest shoreline - right above a submerged plateau named Maud Rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-polynyas-the-basics">Understanding polynyas - the basics</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-storage-mystery-emerges-in-the-southern-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Southern Ocean</a> is normally a layer cake. A thin cap of cold, relatively fresh water floats over saltier, warmer layers, and that slight density difference keeps the column from churning. 



A mid‑ocean polynya needs the cake to collapse. Salt must slip into the surface, make the top layer heavier, and flip the stack. 



Once that happens, convection kicks in, the lid fractures, heat pours skyward, and the ocean “breathes” gases.



Coastal versions manage something similar each year because fierce winds shove ice away from land. Out on the high seas, though, the phenomenon is much less common.



<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_Rise" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Maud Rise</a>, a 4,600‑foot‑tall seamount, may provide the missing ingredient by diverting currents and trapping water in tight spirals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stubborn-patch-over-maud-rise">Stubborn patch over Maud Rise</h2>



History backs that hunch. Between 1974 and 1976, a much larger hole lingered over Maud Rise each winter. 



The Maud Rise polynya was discovered in the 1970s, when remote‑sensing satellites capable of observing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rapid-antarctic-sea-ice-loss-is-causing-severe-storms-around-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sea ice</a> over the Southern Ocean were first launched. 



It persisted through consecutive winters from 1974 to 1976, and oceanographers at the time assumed it would become an annual occurrence. But since the 1970s, it has occurred only sporadically and for brief intervals.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/antarctica_sea-ice-hole_Maud-Rise-polynya_switzerland-size_blue-ice_credit-NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/antarctica_sea-ice-hole_Maud-Rise-polynya_switzerland-size_blue-ice_credit-NASA_1s.webp" alt="An arial view of the Maud Rise polynya. Scientists were baffled as to how this formed but now have an explanation. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory" class="wp-image-1966649" style="width:300px;height:auto"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An arial view of the Maud Rise polynya. Scientists were baffled as to how this formed but now have an explanation. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory</figcaption></figure>



“2017 was the first time that we've had such a large and long‑lived polynya in the Weddell Sea since the 1970s,” said Aditya Narayanan of the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a>, lead author of the study in Science Advances. 



He joined colleagues to probe the comeback with robotic floats, tagged elephant seals, and a high‑resolution <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrinking-sea-ice-what-record-lows-tell-us-about-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean model</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-salt-storms-and-a-hidden-conveyor">Salt, storms, and a hidden conveyor</h2>



During those winters, the clockwise Weddell Gyre sped up. That spin drew a deep layer of warm, salty water nearer the surface, softening ice from below. Yet the meltwater should have freshened the lid and shut down mixing.



"This upwelling helps to explain how the sea ice might melt. But as sea ice melts this leads to a freshening of the surface water, which should in turn put a stop to the mixing," explained Fabien Roquet, a Professor in Physical Oceanography at the <a href="https://www.gu.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Gothenburg</a> and co-author of the research. 



"So, another process must be happening for the polynya to persist. There must be an additional input of salt from somewhere."



Roaring extratropical storms supplied part of that punch. Their swirling winds flung sea ice outward and dragged briny water toward Maud Rise. 



Atmospheric rivers - plumes of moist air stretching a thousand miles - added warmth from above, helping strip away stratification.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ekman-transport-as-the-missing-shove">"Ekman transport" as the missing shove</h2>



A final push came from physics first described a century ago. When wind blows across the ocean, Earth’s rotation deflects the surface flow roughly 90 degrees, a process called <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/04currents4.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ekman transport</a>. 



The model showed this flow steering salt‑laden water onto the northern flank of Maud Rise, exactly where the 2017 hole opened. 



“Ekman transport was the essential missing ingredient that was necessary to increase the balance of salt and sustain the mixing of salt and heat towards the surface water,” said co‑author Alberto Naveira Garabato, also from the University of Southampton.



The storms didn’t just move ice; they herded the right water into the right spot, letting convection roar. By late September, the opening had vented more than twenty times the heat that normally seeps through unbroken ice before finally freezing again.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-polynyas-have-a-global-impact">Polynyas have a global impact</h2>



A hole in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/southern-ocean-absorbs-more-co2-than-previously-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southern Ocean</a> sea ice may look local, yet its fingerprints show up far away. 



“The imprint of polynyas can remain in the water for multiple years after they've formed," noted Professor Sarah Gille from University of California San Diego (<a href="https://www.ucsd.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UCSD</a>), another co-author of the research



"They can change how water moves around and how currents carry heat toward the continent. The dense waters that form here can spread across the global ocean.” 



Deep convection hauls carbon‑rich water upward, where it can release CO₂, and sends newly formed, oxygen‑rich brine sliding along the seafloor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



That heavy brine eventually feeds the global conveyor belt of currents that helps regulate climate. Because the Maud&nbsp;Rise mechanism hinges on a stronger gyre and stormier skies, its future frequency could ride on winds already shifting as the planet warms.



“For the first time since observations began in the 1970s, there's a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/record-low-antarctic-sea-ice-and-rapid-melting-pace-stuns-climate-scientists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">negative trend in sea ice</a> in the Southern Ocean, which began around 2016. Before then, it had remained somewhat stable," Professor Gille concluded.



The same rise of warm, salty water that primed the 2017 hole now seems to be thinning ice across Antarctica’s fringe.



Scientists will watch the next few winters closely. Whether the polynya returns or not, its story shows that the frozen edge of the world can still spring surprises - and that what happens far south seldom stays there, for the wider planet.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj0777" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Massive hole the size of Switzerland appeared in the Antarctica sea ice, now we know why

Antarctica’s winter sea ice usually forms a bright lid over millions of square miles. So when a massive, black patch was spotted by NASA scientists for the first time, satellite operators were taken aback, to say the least. Then roughly a year later, the situation got even stranger. The gap, called a polynya, swelled to the size of Switzerland and stayed open for weeks. Only after it refroze did researchers start piecing together how such an enormous opening in the ice could appear hundreds of miles from...

California Drought

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

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

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

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

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

Obama's Carbon Dioxide Emissions Plan Is Squeezing Democrat Governors

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

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

Oregon's Coos Bay historically has avoided serious hypoxic conditions

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

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

Argonne carbon coating shows surprising potential to improve wind power

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

Biodiversity protects fish from climate change. Fish provide protein to billions of people and are an especially critical food source in the developing world. Today marine biologists confirmed a key factor that could help them thrive through the coming decades: biodiversity. Communities with more fish species are more productive and more resilient to rising temperatures and temperature swings, according to a new study from the Smithsonian's Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and other international institutions.

The accelerating loss and rearrangement of species all over the globe have troubled scientists and the public for decades. But the question of whether biodiversity offers practical value--for humans and ecosystems--remained controversial. The new study, published May 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers the most thorough proof yet that preserving marine biodiversity can benefit people as much as it benefits the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-oceans-absorb-much-more-carbon-than-previously-thought/">oceans</a>.

"Biodiversity is more than a pretty face," said lead author Emmett Duffy, director of the Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and senior scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. "Preserving biodiversity is not just an aesthetic or spiritual issue--it's critical to the healthy functioning of ecosystems and the important services they provide to humans, like seafood."

The discovery came out of the Reef Life Survey, a comprehensive program that has conducted surveys of more than 3,000 fish species in 44 countries around the world. Many of the surveyors were volunteer citizen scientists, about a third of whom had no scientific background. Volunteer divers from 11 countries received training from the program's lead scientists at the University of Tasmania to collect data using standardized methods.

"This study is based on more than 4,000 underwater surveys," said co-author Rick Stuart-Smith of the University of Tasmania. "It was only possible with the enthusiastic contributions of highly trained volunteer divers in the Reef Life Survey program, which allowed us to achieve this comprehensive coverage of the world's reefs, from tropical to polar waters."

Armed with the most comprehensive global dataset on marine biodiversity involving standardized counts, the researchers tracked how 11 different environmental factors influenced total fish biomass on coral and rocky reefs around the world. Surprisingly, one of the strongest influences was biodiversity: The number of species (species richness) and the variety in how they use their environment (functional diversity) enhanced fish biomass. The boost in fish resources provided by biodiversity was second only to that of warm temperatures.

Temperature had a more complex relationship with fish biomass: Warmer ocean temperatures tended to boost fish biomass on average, while wider temperature fluctuations hindered it. But biodiversity made fish communities more resilient against changing climate. In communities with only a few species, fish biomass tended to increase with rising temperatures until seas warmed above 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)--at which point biomass started to fall. But communities with many species remained stable at these higher temperatures.

The researchers found a similar buffering effect of diversity against temperature swings. While both high- and low-diversity communities were less productive under fluctuating temperatures, high-diversity communities suffered only half as much as low-diversity ones. The researchers suspect communities with more species are better equipped to handle temperature changes because they have more of their bases covered. When temperatures fluctuate, a community with numerous species has better odds that at least a few species can thrive in the new normal.

"This work is a critical step forward in linking insights from experiments in buckets and garden plots to the larger world," said co-author Jonathan Lefcheck of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, referring to earlier biodiversity experiments done with plants and small animals in gardens or greenhouses. "It shows that experimental ecologists have in fact been on the right track for 20 years, and that biodiversity is paramount to how natural systems work."

"Results demonstrate that preserving local biodiversity is not only an ethical directive with aesthetical and genetic insurance value, but that it is an imperative for human life," said co-author Sergio Navarrete of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

---

<a href="http://www.si.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Smithsonian Institute</a>

Biodiversity protects fish from climate change

Biodiversity protects fish from climate change. Fish provide protein to...

Polluted dust can impact ocean life thousands of miles away. As climatologists closely monitor the impact of human activity on the world's oceans, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found yet another worrying trend impacting the health of the Pacific Ocean.

A new modeling study conducted by researchers in Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences shows that for decades, polluted dust drifting from East Asia out over the world's largest ocean has kicked off a chain reaction that contributed to oxygen levels falling in tropical waters thousands of miles away.

"There's a growing awareness that oxygen levels in the ocean may be changing over time," said Taka Ito, an associate professor at Georgia Tech. "One reason for that is the warming environment - warm water holds less gas. But in the tropical Pacific, the oxygen level has been falling at a much faster rate than the temperature change can explain." Polluted dust can impact ocean life thousands of miles away

The study, which was published May 16 in Nature Geoscience, was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, a Georgia Power Faculty Scholar Chair and a Cullen-Peck Faculty Fellowship.

In the report, the researchers describe how air pollution from industrial activities had raised levels of iron and nitrogen - key nutrients for marine life - in the ocean off the coast of East Asia. Ocean currents then carried the nutrients to tropical regions, where they were consumed by photosynthesizing phytoplankton.

But while the tropical phytoplankton may have released more oxygen into the atmosphere, their consumption of the excess nutrients had a negative effect on the dissolved oxygen levels deeper in the ocean.

"If you have more active photosynthesis at the surface, it produces more organic matter, and some of that sinks down," Ito said. "And as it sinks down, there's bacteria that consume that organic matter. Like us breathing in oxygen and exhaling CO2, the bacteria consume oxygen in the subsurface ocean, and there is a tendency to deplete more oxygen."

That process plays out in all across the Pacific, but the effects are most pronounced in tropical areas, where dissolved oxygen is already low.

Athanasios Nenes, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech who worked with Ito on the study, said the research is the first to describe just how far reaching the impact of human industrial activity can be.

"The scientific community always thought that the impact of air pollution is felt in the vicinity of where it deposits ," said Nenes, who also serves as Georgia Power Faculty Scholar. "This study shows that the iron can circulate across the ocean and affect ecosystems thousands of kilometers away."

While evidence had been mounting that global climate change may have an impact on future oxygen levels, Ito and Nenes were spurred to search for an explanation for why oxygen levels in the tropics had been declining since the 1970s.

To understand how the process worked, the researchers developed a model that combines atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemical cycles, and ocean circulation. Their model maps out how polluted, iron-rich dust that settles over the Northern Pacific gets carried by ocean currents east toward North America, down the coast and then back west along the equator.

In their model, the researchers accounted for other factors that can also impact oxygen levels, such as water temperature and ocean current variability.

Whether due to warming sea waters or an increase in iron pollution, the implications of growing oxygen-minimum zones are far reaching for marine life.

"Many living organisms depend on oxygen that is dissolved in seawater," Ito said. "So if it gets low enough, it can cause problems, and it might change habitats for marine organisms."

Occasionally, waters from low oxygen areas swell to the coastal waters, killing or displacing populations of fish, crabs and many other organisms. Those "hypoxic events" may become more frequent as the oxygen-minimum zones grow, Ito said.

The increasing phytoplankton activity is a double-edged sword, Ito said.

"Phytoplankton is an essential part of the living ocean," he said. "It serves as the base of food chain and absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide. But if the pollution continues to supply excess nutrients, the process of the decomposition depletes oxygen from the deeper waters, and this deep oxygen is not easily replaced."

The study also expands on the understanding of dust as a transporter of pollution, Nenes said.

"Dust has always attracted of a lot of interest because of its impact on the health of people," Nenes said. "This is really the first study showing that dust can have a huge impact on the health of the oceans in ways that we've never understood before. It just raises the need to understand what we're doing to marine ecosystems that feed populations worldwide."

<hr />

<a href="http://www.gatech.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia Tech University</a>

Polluted dust can impact ocean life thousands of miles away

Polluted dust can impact ocean life thousands of miles away....

Thinning out the carbon capture viscosity problem. RICHLAND, Wash. -- To make "clean" fossil fuel burning a reality, researchers have to capture carbon dioxide out of the exhaust gases that rise from coal or natural gas power plants and store or reuse it. For the capturing feat, researchers are studying special scrubbing liquids that bind and release the gas, but some of the most promising ones thicken up to a cold honey consistency when binding carbon dioxide, rendering them inefficient and expensive to use.

Now, researchers have used computer modeling to design these liquid materials so that they retain a low viscosity after sponging up carbon dioxide, based on a surprise they found in their explorations. Although the chemists still have to test the predicted liquid in the lab, being able to predict viscosity will help researchers find and design cheaper, more efficient carbon capture materials, they report in Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters March 28. Thinning out the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/warming-of-2c-would-unleash-230-billions-tons-of-soil-carbon/">carbon</a> capture viscosity problem

"We're hoping to drive down the operational costs," said chemist Roger Rousseau of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "With a lower viscosity, we can run the process at lower, optimal temperatures, and the cost to implement drops astronomically."

Carbon Sponge

Coal and natural gas power plants currently emit substantial quantities of global greenhouse gases, but carbon capture and storage technologies provide one promising potential path to reduce those emissions.

To separate the gas, researchers are designing materials that can reversibly -- and only -- bind carbon dioxide. Exhaust fumes are mixed with the material in some way, the material collects the greenhouse gas like a sponge, and then other processes would, figuratively, squeeze the sponge to get the carbon dioxide back out -- for storage out of the atmosphere or reuse in fuels or chemicals production.

A frontrunner for such materials are liquids known as carbon dioxide binding organic liquids, or CO2BOLs for short (pronounced co-balls). CO2BOLs have an advantage over many technologies -- they are not water-based. Water-based materials that collect carbon dioxide require a lot more energy to pull the carbon dioxide back out, because the process involves heating.

Researchers have studied CO2BOLs for many years, but had trouble overcoming a thickening problem. The CO2BOLs by themselves are similar in viscosity to water, but once they bind carbon dioxide, they become thick like cold honey. The more carbon dioxide they collect, the thicker they get.

The high viscosity is a drawback in many respects: Pumping thick liquids through pipes to a facility to collect the carbon dioxide requires a lot of energy and pulling the gas out of the liquid requires a lot of heat. Also, operators cannot collect as much carbon dioxide as the CO2BOL will hold; they have to keep the viscosity thin enough to pump the fluid. Economic calculations suggest using CO2BOLs inefficiently like this would be expensive.

"The high viscosity would significantly increase the cost compared to conventional carbon capture technology," said PNNL chemist Dave Heldebrant, a coauthor on the study who is leading the chemical synthesis part of the team.

Calculated Visc

Not willing to give up on a promising technology, Rousseau and his colleague Vassiliki-Alexandra "Vanda" Glezakou took to the computer. They decided to see if they could predict the viscosity of a molecule with molecular simulations. That would allow them to design low-viscosity CO2BOLs that could then be tested in the lab.

They started by seeing what was going on with a simple CO2BOL and carbon dioxide. They chose a molecule called IPADM and simulated its binding with carbon dioxide. In doing so, the computer program must keep track of the position and movement of many thousands of atoms in the simulation.

They found that a neutral carbon dioxide molecule landed on a particular place on the neutral IPADM, forming IPADM-CO2. When this happened, the electrons shuffled around between atoms. This created a spot within the IPADM-CO2 with a positive charge and another spot with a negative charge. The result is an overall neutral molecule that has separated positive and negative charges, what chemists call a zwitterion.

Glezakou, Rousseau and colleagues performed multiple simulations, but mixed (computationally) an increasing percentage of carbon dioxide into the IPADM molecules. They saw a relation between how the charges moved around on the molecules and their viscosity. This allowed them to develop an equation that could calculate viscosity from various chemical characteristics of their CO2BOLs. They validated their equation by comparing calculated viscosities of different CO2BOLs with known values.

Their analysis also showed them that the zwitterion is what ramps up the viscosity. The internal positive and negative charges can interact with such charges on other IPADM-CO2 molecules, preventing them from freely moving around. Without the -CO2, the IPADM is thin as water. With it, honey.

Z to A

Could the researchers get rid of those charges? In other zwitterions, the researchers knew that protons often moved around, sometimes forming a neutral molecule. They wondered if they could force CO2BOLs to do this as well by changing the molecular scaffold to push back the proton to the negative part of the molecule once it captured carbon dioxide, resulting in a neutral acid.

"The minute we saw that the acid form was more stable for some CO2BOLs, we knew instantly that we could change the molecular structure of candidate CO2BOLs to make that happen more often," said Glezakou. "Nobody was considering the neutral acid form for these systems before. The conventional idea was that CO2BOLs would always be an ionic liquid, but clearly it doesn't have to be. But the trick is to have the two parts of the molecule that receive the proton in close proximity and able to share the proton."

If this idea panned out, viscosity would no longer be an issue for a non-ionic carbon capture solvent systems.

They team simulated IPADM binding to carbon dioxide again, but they included two variations on IPADM. The two variations included small chemical changes to IPADM that would influence where electrons traveled through the bound structure.

They simulated 25 percent of the CO2BOLs binding carbon dioxide and determined how easily the neutral acids formed. The team saw that, unlike IPADM, the other two CO2BOLs unexpectedly formed the neutral acid easily, almost as easily as it formed the zwitterion. One called EODM, especially, was about 50 percent zwitterion and 50 percent neutral acid.

Reality check

The scientists then determined what form IPADM-CO2 took in real life. Comparing the values of calculated viscosities with experimentally determined viscosities, the chemists concluded that IPADM-CO2 most commonly forms the zwitterion.

But what would happen to IPADM-CO2's viscosity if the neutral acid formed? The chemists calculated the predicted viscosity of IPADM-CO2 and its two variations. For all three, the predicted viscosity dropped by more than half.

Armed with what they now know has to happen to their CO2BOLs, the chemists are shifting their focus towards molecules that keep the charged parts near each other and that are more likely to form the neutral acid variation. Some initial measurements in the lab confirmed the findings, with more to come.

"If we could cut the viscosity by 50 percent or more, CO2BOLs would be acting in their optimal range and be far more efficient," said Heldebrant.

"This is a fine example of how fundamental science and molecular level insights can accelerate technology in real time", said Glezakou. "And this was possible through the unique integration of cutting-edge theory and experiment."
###
This work was supported by the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy.

Reference: David C. Cantu, Juntaek Lee, Mal-Soon Lee, David J. Heldebrant, Phillip K. Koech, Charles J. Freeman, Roger Rousseau, and Vassiliki-Alexandra Glezakou. Dynamic Acid/Base Equilibrium in Single Component Switchable Ionic Liquids and Consequences on Viscosity, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., March 28, 2016, doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00395. <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00395" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://pubs. acs. org/ doi/ abs/ 10. 1021/ acs. jpclett. 6b00395</a>

Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. As the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Thinning out the carbon capture viscosity problem

Thinning out the carbon capture viscosity problem. RICHLAND, Wash. --...

Carbon Dioxide

DC appeals court to rule on Obama's carbon-cutting plan. The full appeals court in Washington will hear arguments in the legal fight over President Barack Obama's carbon-cutting plan, potentially accelerating the case's path to the Supreme Court.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-sea-sponge-discovered-in-british-columbia/">Columbia</a> Circuit issued an order Monday scheduling oral arguments on the legality of the Clean Power Plan for September 27.
A three-judge panel had been scheduled to hear the case June 2, but whichever side lost was considered likely to seek a review by the full appeals court. By using its discretion to skip a step, the appeals judges are potentially shaving months off the time before the case could be heard by the high court.
It is rare for an appeals court to hold such an "en banc" review prior to the smaller panel's decision, but procedural rules allow it when the case at issue "involves a question of exceptional importance."
About two dozen mostly GOP-led states sued the Environmental Protection Agency over the new carbon-cutting regulations, which aim to slow climate change by reducing power-plant emissions by one-third by 2030. More than 100 conservative advocacy groups, electric utilities and coal mining companies have also filed suit.
If the Clean Power Plan were to be struck down in court, it would become more difficult for the United States to meet its goals for cutting carbon emissions under the landmark international climate treaty signed in Paris at the end of last year. The U.S. is the world's largest emitter of harmful greenhouse gases.
Of the 11 active judges on the DC Circuit, Chief Judge Merrick Garland and Judge Cornelia Pillard recused themselves from hearing arguments on the Clean Power Plan.
Garland, who is Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court seat vacated by the February death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, has been recusing himself from active cases. The court's order gave no explanation for Pillard's recusal.
Even without them, the court's makeup could favor Obama. Of the nine remaining judges, five were appointed by Democratic presidents.
Environmental groups cheered the court's move.
"The court's order may well speed up final resolution of the case," said David Doniger, director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We look forward to our day in court - and remain confident that the Clean Power Plan will prevail over efforts by polluters and their allies to block climate action."
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 earlier this year to delay implementation of the plan until the legal challenges are resolved, but that vote was taken prior to Scalia's death.
Republicans leaders in the U.S. Senate have promised not to vote on Garland's nomination until after a new president is elected in November, leaving the Supreme Court split 4-4 between conservatives and the more moderate and liberal justices. If a ninth justice is not appointed before the high court takes up the Clean Power Plan, then the appeals court's decision would stand in the event of a tie.
Opponents of the plan reiterated Monday that the outcome of the case is still far from certain. They have portrayed the Obama Administration's move to use the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions as an illegal power grab.
"So much about the Clean Power Plan has defied precedent," said Scott Segal, a lawyer representing the pro-coal Electric Reliability Coordinating Council. "When it comes to the Clean Power Plan, it is best to expect the unexpected."
---
Associated Press report Sam Hananel in Washington contributed to this report.
---
Follow Michael Biesecker on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/mbieseck" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/mbieseck</a> and find his work at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/michael-biesecker" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/michael-biesecker</a>.org/content/michael-biesecker
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DC appeals court to rule on Obama's carbon-cutting plan

DC appeals court to rule on Obama's carbon-cutting plan. The...

New study shows rate at which New Orleans is sinking. New Orleans is sinking and surrounding areas continue to sink at highly variable rates due to a combination of natural geologic and human-induced processes, finds a new NASA/university study using NASA airborne radar.

The observed rates of sinking, otherwise known as subsidence, were generally consistent with, but somewhat higher than, previous studies conducted using different radar data.

The research was the most spatially-extensive, high-resolution study to date of regional subsidence in and around New Orleans, measuring its effects and examining its causes. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California; UCLA; and the Center for GeoInformatics at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, collaborated on the study, which covered the period from June 2009 to July 2012.

[caption id="attachment_2390418" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2390418" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2016/05/17093035/new-orleans-sinking-map_3big_nasa-150x150.jpg" alt="Subsidence rates around Norco, Louisiana" width="150" height="150" /> Subsidence rates around Norco, Louisiana[/caption]

The highest rates of sinking were observed upriver along the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/the-ever-changing-mississippi-river/">Mississippi River</a> around major industrial areas in Norco, and in Michoud, with up to 2 inches (50 millimeters) a year of sinking. The team also observed notable subsidence in New Orleans' Upper and Lower 9th Ward, and in Metairie, where the measured ground movement could be related to water levels in the Mississippi. At the Bonnet Carré Spillway east of Norco -- New Orleans' last line of protection against springtime river floods overtopping the levees -- research showed up to 1.6 inches (40 millimeters) a year of sinking behind the structure and up to 1.6 inches (40 millimeters) a year at nearby industrial facilities.

While the study cites many contributing factors for the regional subsidence, the primary contributors were found to be groundwater pumping and dewatering (surface water pumping to lower the water table, which prevents standing water and soggy ground).

JPL scientist and lead author Cathleen Jones said study results will be used to improve models of subsidence for the Mississippi River Delta that decision makers use to inform planning.

"Agencies can use these data to more effectively implement actions to remediate and reverse the effects of subsidence, improving the long-term coastal resiliency and sustainability of New Orleans," Jones said. "The more recent land elevation change rates from this study will be used to inform flood modeling and response strategies, improving public safety."
<div>

Subsidence on the Gulf Coast: Old Problem, New Challenges

[caption id="attachment_2390419" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2390419" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2016/05/17093051/new-orleans-sinking-map_2big_nasa-150x150.jpg" alt="Subsidence rates in New Orleans as measured by NASA's UAVSAR instrument " width="150" height="150" /> Subsidence rates in New Orleans as measured by NASA's UAVSAR instrument[/caption]

Around the world, the loss of delta lands due to subsidence and associated increases in flood risk are major issues facing coastal communities, especially in the face of ongoing and possibly accelerating global sea level rise. The Mississippi River delta is losing its natural coastal barriers -- the delta wetlands and barrier islands -- increasing flood risk across the area. In response, the region has increased investment in infrastructure and restoration activities to protect human populations and areas of high economic value.

The landscape of Southeast Louisiana was built upon a coastal delta created by the Mississippi River during the past 8,000 years as sea level rise due to glacial melting in the last ice age slowed. Before humans intervened, natural subsidence was offset by a combination of sediments deposited during Mississippi River floods and organic soil produced from the decay of wetland vegetation. Construction of flood control levees to protect the Gulf Coast economy and local populations interrupted the sediment supply, leading to a net increase in land subsidence.

In Greater New Orleans, local geology plays a major role in flooding and subsidence. The city lies along the current path of the Mississippi River and is built on modern and past natural levees and buried or artificially drained swamps and marshes. It is located in an area that has received sediments from multiple lobes of the Mississippi River delta over time.

</div>
To fully and accurately measure and predict future subsidence in and around New Orleans, it's necessary to better understand the various natural and human-produced processes contributing to the sinking. Those include withdrawal of water, oil and gas; compaction of shallow sediments; faulting; sinking of Earth's crust from the weight of deposited sediments; and ongoing vertical movement of land covered by glaciers during the last ice age. Jones said the comprehensive subsidence maps produced by this study, with their improved spatial resolution, help scientists differentiate these processes.

The maps were created using data from NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR), which uses a technique known as interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). InSAR compares radar images of Earth's surface over time to map surface deformation with centimeter-scale precision. It measures total surface elevation changes from all sources -- human and natural, deep seated and shallow. Its data must be carefully interpreted to disentangle these phenomena, which operate at different time and space scales. UAVSAR's spatial resolution makes it ideal for measuring subsidence in New Orleans, where human-produced subsidence can be large and is often localized.

Jones said another key advantage of this study is that UAVSAR enabled better resolution of small-scale features than previous studies. "We were able to identify single structures or clusters of structures subsiding or deforming relative to the surrounding area," she said.

In addition to the UAVSAR data, researchers from the Center for GeoInformatics (C4G) at Louisiana State University provided up-to-date GPS positioning information for industrial and urban locations within southeast Louisiana. This information helped establish the rate of ground movement at these specific points. C4G maintains the most comprehensive network of GPS reference stations in the state. The Louisiana network consists of more than 50 Continuously Operating Reference Stations, or CORS sites, which acquire the horizontal and vertical coordinates at each station every second of every day. The CORS sites are part of the National Geodetic Survey network.

CORS data pin InSAR data down to specific, local points on Earth. The LSU research team derived the positional time series using precise point positioning software developed by JPL.

"We define all the parameters to reduce the ambiguities. This enables us to distill a location down to millimeter-level precision," said Joshua Kent, Geographic Information System manager at C4G. "A wide range of people rely on the CORS data, from geoscientists to surveyors, engineers and farmers."

The study is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

NASA uses the vantage point of space to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

UAVSAR was developed and is managed by JPL and flies on a C-20A research aircraft based at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center facility in Palmdale, California. Developed to test new technologies and study Earth surface dynamics, UAVSAR data are informing the design and planning for a future spaceborne radar mission, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), which is planned to image Earth's surface at least once every 12 days.

For more information on UAVSAR, visit:

<a href="http://uavsar.jpl.nasa.gov/">http://uavsar.jpl.nasa.gov/</a>

For more information on NISAR, visit:

<a href="http://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/">http://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/</a>

For more information on NASA's Earth science activities, visit:

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/earth">http://www.nasa.gov/earth</a>

New study shows rate at which New Orleans is sinking

New study shows rate at which New Orleans is sinking....

Global temperature records blown away again Latest monthly figures add to string of recent temperature records and all but assure 2016 will be hottest year on record

Last month was the hottest April on record globally – and the seventh month in a row to have broken global temperature records.

The latest figures smashed the previous record for April by the largest margin ever recorded.

It makes three months in a row that the monthly record has been broken by the largest margin ever, and seven months in a row that are at least 1C above the 1951-80 mean for that month. When the string of record-smashing months started in February, scientists began talking about a “climate emergency”.

Figures released by Nasa over the weekend show the global temperature of land and sea was 1.11C warmer in April than the average temperature for April during the period 1951-1980.

It all but assures that 2016 will be the hottest year on record, and probably by the largest margin ever.

The new record broke the previous one by 0.24C, which was set in 2010, at 0.87C above the baseline average for April. That record itself broke one set three years earlier at 0.75C above the baseline average for April.

The current blast of hot air around the globe is being spurred by a massive El Niño, which is a release of warm water across the Pacific Ocean. But it’s not the biggest El Niño on record and that spike in temperatures is occurring over a background of rapid global warming, pushing temperatures to all-time highs.

“The interesting thing is the scale at which we’re breaking records,” said Andy Pitman, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “It’s clearly all heading in the wrong direction.

“Climate scientists have been warning about this since at least the 1980s. And it’s been bloody obvious since the 2000s. So where’s the surprise?” said Pitman.

Pitmans said the recent figures put the recent goal agreed in Paris of just 1.5C warming in doubt. “The 1.5C target, it’s wishful thinking. I don’t know if you’d get 1.5C if you stopped emissions today. There’s inertia in the system. It’s putting intense pressure on 2C,” he said.

The record temperatures were wreaking havoc with ecosystems around the world. They’ve triggered the third recorded global coral bleaching, and in Australia 93% of the reefs have been affected by bleaching along the 2,300km Great Barrier Reef. In the northern parts of the reef, it’s expected the majority of coral is dead, and on some reefs over 90% of the coral is dying.

A recent analysis showed the bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef was made 175 times more likely because of climate change, and the conditions that caused it would be average in fewer than 20 years.

The April figures come as the symbolic milestone of CO2 concentrations of 400 parts per million (ppm) have been broken at the important Cape Grim measuring station in Tasmania, Australia.

Reflecting on the CO2 concentrations, Pitman said: “The thing that’s causing that warming, is going up and up and up. So the cool ocean temperatures we will get with a La Niña are warmer than we’d ever seen more than a few decades ago … This is a full-scale punching of the reef system on an ongoing basis with some occasionally really nasty kicks and it isn’t going to recover.”

---

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA</a>

<a href="http://www.theguardian.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>

Global temperature records blown away again

Global temperature records blown away again Latest monthly figures add...

India Drought

Study: Poor countries will bear the brunt of climate change. Poor countries to bear brunt of climate change despite emitting least CO2

Many of the world's poorest countries are expected to experience daily heat extremes due to climate change sooner than wealthier nations - according to research from an international team including the University of East Anglia.

New findings published today in Environmental Research Letters show that the poorest fifth of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-glaciers-face-a-triple-threat-from-global-warming/">global</a> population will be the first to experience more frequent heat extremes - despite cumulatively emitting the least amounts of CO2.

Countries including those in the Horn of Africa and West Africa are likely to be worst affected.

The study is the first to examine the link between cumulative CO2 emissions and more frequent hot days.

Dr Manoj Joshi from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences said: "Many of the poorest people in the world live in tropical latitudes, while many of the world's wealthiest people live in mid-latitude climates.

"We know that low latitude regions have much less variability in day-to-day temperatures when compared with the mid-latitudes, which means the 'signal' of climate change emerges quite quickly, and because of this, the frequency of extreme hot days increases rapidly too."

Lead author Luke Harrington, a PhD student at the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=new+zealand&amp;cvid=c39ddf4ff10a47e585629f46488c6023&amp;pglt=43&amp;FORM=ANNTA1&amp;PC=HCTS">New Zealand</a> Climate Change Research Institute (NZCCRI), said: "Previous studies have shown a link between rising global temperatures and increases in the frequency of local heat extremes, while others have shown a clear relationship between the total amount of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere and rising temperatures.

"This study is the first to use climate models to simulate the end-to-end link between cumulative CO2 emissions and people experiencing more frequent hot days."

The team used state-of-the-art climate models to estimate cumulative CO2 emissions and subsequent changes to extreme local daily temperatures over the 20th and 21st century.

An extreme hot day was defined as occurring 0.1 per cent of the time in model simulations of the pre-industrial climate.

Dr Chris Jones from the Met Office Hadley Centre said: "Our results show much fewer cumulative emissions are required for the poorest fifth of the global population to experience a robust increase in the number of extreme hot days, when compared with the wealthiest population quintile."

These results help to clarify how the wealthiest and poorest fractions of the global population will experience different emergent increases in extreme heat with continued climate change.

"We also know the wealthiest countries will be able to cope with the impacts more easily than poorer nations," said Dr Erich Fischer of ETH Zurich. Study: Poor countries will bear the brunt of climate change

"What our research shows is that heat extremes do not increase evenly everywhere, but are becoming much more frequent more quickly for countries nearer the equator - these happen to be disproportionately poorer nations, including those in the Horn of Africa and <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/guinea-bissau-in-west-africa/">West Africa</a>.

"In fact, this pattern was robust even when we considered future projections of population and income."

Dr Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading said: "Most importantly, this disparity in exposure to more frequent temperature extremes between the global rich and poor only becomes more pronounced as cumulative CO2 emissions continues to rise. This result is yet another piece of evidence demonstrating that limiting cumulative CO2 emissions over the 21st century will help avoid these impacts."

'Poorest countries experience earlier anthropogenic emergence of daily temperature extremes' is published in Environmental Research Letters on May 17.

<hr />

<a href="http://comm.uea.ac.uk/press" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of East Anglia</a>

Study: Poor countries will bear the brunt of climate change

Study: Poor countries will bear the brunt of climate change....

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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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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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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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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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