The ocean isn’t just a vast expanse of blue - it’s alive, constantly shifting, breathing, churning, and now weakening in critical ways. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a colossal conveyor belt of warm and cold water, keeps weather patterns in check, stabilizes temperatures, and even dictates rainfall in distant corners of the world.



But now, this large system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean is weakening and slowing down. And that could spell disaster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-delicate-balancing-act">A delicate balancing act</h2>



Think of the AMOC as Earth’s natural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/critical-ocean-current-may-be-more-stable-than-previously-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate regulator</a>. It moves warm water from the tropics up toward Europe, keeping winters there milder than they otherwise would be. 



Meanwhile, colder water flows back south, helping maintain equilibrium. This system is ancient, powerful, and - until recently -remarkably reliable. Now, something is shifting. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unsettling-signs-of-weakening-ocean-currents">Unsettling signs of weakening ocean currents </h2>



Scientists have observed an unusual cooling area in the North Atlantic, often called a "cold blob." This is unexpected because, as the planet warms, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/collapse-of-main-atlantic-ocean-circulaton-current-amoc-is-already-happening/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean</a> temperatures should generally rise, not drop.



This cold patch suggests a deeper problem linked to the Gulf Stream, which is a key part of the AMOC. The Gulf Stream normally carries warm water northward, but if it slows down or weakens, less warm water reaches the region, causing unexpected cooling.



The effects of this disruption go beyond the ocean. It can change wind patterns, shift where and how much rain falls, and make extreme weather - like storms, droughts, and heatwaves - more frequent and severe. 



These changes can impact agriculture, infrastructure, and daily life worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-price-of-a-weakening-amoc">Price of a weakening AMOC</h2>



A team of researchers from the University of Hamburg's Cluster of Excellence for Climate Research (<a href="https://www.cliccs.uni-hamburg.de" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICCS</a>) and the <a href="https://mpimet.mpg.de/en/homepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute for Meteorology</a> has taken a closer look at the potential consequences. 



Their conclusion? The economic toll of a weakened AMOC could run into trillions of euros by the end of the century.



This isn’t just about changes in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/atlantic-current-system-may-collapse-by-2037/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean temperature</a>. A sluggish AMOC means more heatwaves, longer droughts, fiercer storms. Infrastructure will buckle, food systems will strain, and insurance costs will skyrocket.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-behind-ocean-current-weakening">Science behind ocean current weakening</h2>



The AMOC relies on the sinking of dense, salty water in the North Atlantic to keep its cycle going. 



But as Arctic ice melts, massive amounts of freshwater pour into the ocean. This dilutes the salt levels, making the water less dense. When that happens, the sinking slows, and so does the AMOC.



And it’s not just about the ocean’s movement. With less water being pulled into the depths, more carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere. That means more heat trapped leading to more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/atlantic-and-arctic-mixing-is-crucial-for-earths-climate-stability/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate chaos</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flawed-assumptions-costly-mistakes">Flawed assumptions, costly mistakes</h2>



For years, some economic models suggested that a weaker AMOC might actually help cool the Northern Hemisphere, acting as a counterweight to global warming. That assumption no longer holds.



"Our findings indicate that previous studies on AMOC weakening most likely underestimated the economic impacts," noted Felix Schaumann, a climate economist and co-author of the study.



In other words, what seemed like a potential silver lining is, in reality, another storm cloud forming on the horizon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicting-the-future">Predicting the future</h2>



To understand what’s coming, the researchers used climate and economic models to simulate different scenarios. They compared a world where the AMOC stays strong to one where it weakens at various rates.



The results weren’t encouraging. The weaker the AMOC, the less carbon the ocean absorbs, and the faster climate change accelerates. The cost of inaction? Staggering.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chain-reaction-of-consequences">Chain reaction of consequences</h2>



A weakened AMOC doesn’t just affect temperatures. It throws entire ecosystems off balance.



Fisheries that rely on predictable ocean currents could collapse. Crops accustomed to steady rainfall patterns may wither under unexpected droughts. Coastal communities will face rising sea levels, while storms become more violent and erratic.



Each of these effects compounds the next. The economy, already under pressure from rising global temperatures, will strain even further.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-crossroads-for-policy">A crossroads for policy</h2>



There’s no easy fix. But there are choices to be made.



Slowing carbon emissions is the most immediate step. Investing in renewable energy, strengthening coastal defenses, and improving climate resilience in vulnerable regions are no longer optional - they’re essential.



The AMOC has existed for thousands of years, shaping life as we know it. If it falters, the world will feel the consequences. The question now is whether we act before it's too late.



The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation isn’t just another <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/disastrous-climate-changes-of-the-last-ice-age-could-happen-again/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate variable</a>. It’s the backbone of the planet’s climate system. If AMOC weakens, the effects will be widespread, costly, and potentially irreversible.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2419543122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



Image Credit: CEN Climate Visualization Laboratory



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Weakening ocean currents could cost trillions of dollars

The ocean isn’t just a vast expanse of blue - it’s alive, constantly shifting, breathing, churning, and now weakening in critical ways. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a colossal conveyor belt of warm and cold water, keeps weather patterns in check, stabilizes temperatures, and even dictates rainfall in distant corners of the world. But now, this large system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean is weakening and slowing down. And that could spell disaster. A delicate balancing act Think of the AMOC as Earth’s natural climate...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">NASA's Terra satellite provided an infrared view of Tropical Storm Mindulle that showed thunderstorm development was strongest in the southern quadrant of the storm. Mindulle was formerly known as Tropical Depression 10W before it strengthened into a tropical storm. Guam has posted a high-surf advisory as the storm approaches. Southern side of Tropical Storm Mindulle is strongest storm.</div>
On Aug. 19 at 9:05 a.m. EDT (13:05 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">UTC</a>), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite read cloud top temperatures in Tropical Storm Mindulle as it moved through the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Animated enhanced infrared satellite imagery showed the bulk of strongest thunderstorms and convection (rising air that forms the thunderstorms that make up the tropical cyclone) associated with the system were south of the center. The MODIS data showed cloud top temperatures south of the center were between minus 70 degrees and minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees and minus 62.2 degrees Celsius).Southern side of Tropical Storm Mindulle is strongest

In other quadrants of the storm, thunderstorm development had subsided between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC and 1500 UTC). The Joint <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/typhoon-lingling-moves-through-the-yellow-sea/">Typhoon</a> Warning Center noted that despite the weakening of thunderstorm development, Mindulle was not showing any evidence of significant disorganization. Satellite imagery also showed that a weak band of thunderstorms were wrapping in from the north and an area to the south with stronger convection.

The infrared temperature data enables scientists to learn where the strongest storms are located within a typhoon. The colder the cloud tops, the higher they are in the troposphere and the stronger the storms. NASA data has shown that cloud tops that are at least as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) have the ability to generate heavy rainfall.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) Mindulle's maximum sustained winds were near 51.7 mph (45 knots/83.3 kph). Mindulle was moving to the north-northwest at 9 knots (10.3 mph/16.6 kph). It was centered near 19.5 degrees north latitude and 141.0 degrees east longitude about 354 nautical miles south of Iwo To Island, Japan.

The National Weather Service in Guam issued a high-surf advisory until 6 p.m. CHST (local time) on Saturday, Aug. 20. The advisory states: "Along west facing reefs...hazardous surf of 8 to 10 feet will fall to between 7 and 9 feet on Saturday. Surf should fall below hazardous levels by Saturday evening. Along south facing reefs...surf will be hazardous up to 9 feet through tonight... then likely fall below hazardous levels to between 6 and 8 feet on Saturday."

Mindulle is forecast to move north and pass just west of Iwo To Island, Japan, on Aug. 20. The storm is then expected to continue northward and approach typhoon strength as it nears Tokyo two days later.


</div>
<div></div>

Southern side of Tropical Storm Mindulle is strongest

NASA's Terra satellite provided an infrared view of Tropical Storm...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Southwesterly wind shear was affecting Tropical Storm Fiona An image from NASA's Aqua satellite showed that southwesterly wind shear was affecting Tropical Storm Fiona, pushing clouds to the northeast of the center.</div>
On August 18 at 12:05 p.m. EDT (16:05 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">UTC</a>) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite provided a visible light image Fiona. The image showed that strong thunderstorms and deep convection (rising air that forms them) circled the center and were being pushed to the northeast of the center. Also Southwesterly wind shear was affecting Tropical Storm Fiona causing massive damage.

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/future-hurricanes-wetter-and-windier/">National Hurricane Center (</a>NHC) reported microwave data suggest the center is near or south of the main area of thunderstorms, which is a sign of the ongoing southwesterly shear.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on Aug. 19 the center of Tropical Storm Fiona was located near 17.6 degrees north latitude and 42.7 degrees west longitude. That's about 1,240 miles (1,995 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands. Also you can see these strong storms causing a lot of damage due to strong winds and excessive amounts of rain.

Fiona was moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 kph), and this general motion with some increase in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 millibars.

NHC forecaster Blake said that "Little significant change is expected with Fiona's intensity today due to gradually increasing shear. The storm should weaken over the weekend as the shear further increases, along with the likely entrainment of drier mid-level air."


</div>
<div></div>

Southwesterly wind shear was affecting Tropical Storm Fiona

Southwesterly wind shear was affecting Tropical Storm Fiona An image...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Storm Dianmu makes landfall in Northeastern Vietnam. NASA's Terra satellite saw Tropical Storm Dianmu after making landfall in northeastern Vietnam. Also the landfall taken place in this strong storm has taken off more than expected. Therefore causing the storm to extend.</div>
On Aug. 19 at 3 a.m. EDT (07:00 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">UTC</a>), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite provided a visible light image Dianmu. The image showed Dianmu's center in northern Vietnam with associated clouds and showers extending into southern China, Laos and Thailand.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on Aug. 19, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their final warning on Dianmu. At that time the center of Tropical Storm Dianmu was located near 20.8 degrees north latitude and 106.5 degrees east longitude. That's about 36 nautical miles east-southeast of Hanoi, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/vietnam-trans-pacific/">Vietnam</a>. Maximum sustained winds were near 46 mph (40 knots/74 kph). Therefore this storm has caused massive damage to the country. Also the surrounding areas will be affected greatly too, causing issues for the agriculture community.

Fiona was moving toward the west-northwest near 13.8 mph (12 kph/22.2 kph). The storm is expected continue moving in a west-northwestern direction and dissipate.

For updated warnings from the Vietnam Hydrometeorological Service, visit: <a href="http://www.nchmf.gov.vn/web/en-US/43/Default.aspx#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nchmf.gov.vn/web/en-US/43/Default.aspx#</a>.


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<div></div>

Tropical Storm Dianmu makes landfall in Northeastern Vietnam

Tropical Storm Dianmu makes landfall in Northeastern Vietnam. NASA's Terra...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Storm Lionrock was moving south of Japan when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Terra satellite passed overhead and looked at the large storm in infrared light.</div>
On Aug. 19 at 9:10 a.m. EDT (13:10 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite read cloud top temperatures in Tropical Storm Lionrock as it moved through the northwestern <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dust-asia-fertilizes-north-pacific/">Pacific Ocean.</a> The infrared data showed Lionrock has a large low-level center with shallow and weak bands of thunderstorms wrapping into an ill-defined center

The infrared satellite imagery showed the bulk of strongest thunderstorms and convection (rising air that forms the thunderstorms that make up the tropical cyclone) associated with the system were northeast of the center. The MODIS data showed the coldest cloud top temperatures were near minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 51.1 degrees Celsius).

On Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) Tropical Storm Lionrock, formerly Tropical Storm 12W had maximum sustained winds near 46 mph (40 knots/74 kph). It was centered near 32.7 degrees north latitude and 141.2 degrees east longitude, about 173 nautical miles south-southeast of Yokosuka, Japan. Lionrock was moving to the west-southwest at 14.9 mph (13 knots/24.0 kph).

Animated enhanced infrared satellite imagery continues to depict an exposed low-level circulation center with deep convection flaring near the center. Strongest winds were occurring in the northern quadrant of the storm.

Lionrock is expected to have direct interaction with nearby Tropical Storm Mindulle on Aug. 22 and 23, when the two system centers approach to within 300 nautical miles of each other. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said that encounter is expected to produce an erratic, slow southwestward to south-southwestward drift and slight weakening trend.

Lionrock is expected to remain south of Japan. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects that the storm will slowly intensify to about 55 knots by Aug. 24.


</div>
<div></div>

Tropical Storm Lionrock is moving south of Japan

Tropical Storm Lionrock was moving south of Japan when NASA's...

110873423

Groups: Judge was wrong to ban fracking A federal judge in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming">Wyoming</a> was wrong to block rules for hydraulic fracturing on federal land, a group of law professors and lawyers for the federal government said in new court documents.
U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl of Casper ruled in June that the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/infectious-diseases-seasonal/">U.S</a>. Bureau of Land Management lacks the authority to regulate fracking - a technique of injecting materials underground to increase energy production. Groups: Judge was wrong to ban fracking
The agency released rules last year that could require energy companies to disclose the materials they inject to free up the surrounding oil and gas. The BLM said it was acting in response to public concern that fracking could cause contamination of groundwater.
The Obama administration filed a brief last week with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver arguing the BLM has the power to regulate fracking. John Powell, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Wyoming, declined to comment on the case Thursday.
In the ruling, Skavdahl pointed to an article by Florida State University law professor Hannah Wiseman, saying it supported his conclusion that Congress removed fracking from federal regulation in 2005.
Wiseman and 35 other law professors from around the country filed a brief with the appeals court Wednesday saying they disagree with the judge's ruling and claiming it "fundamentally misinterprets the article."
Wiseman said it should be a slam-dunk for the BLM to get the ruling overturned.
"The agency clearly has the authority - indeed, a duty - to regulate hydraulic fracturing under several of its enabling statutes," she said in a statement.
Skavdahl's decision came in response to legal challenges to the federal rules from Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, Utah and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah. A number of environmental groups also joined the case to argue in favor of the rules.
Wyoming Attorney General Peter Michael said Thursday that he has not yet reviewed the new filings. The state and others must file their responses in mid-September.
"Obviously, we're always confident when we've won below," Michael said of the lower-court ruling.
John Robitaille, vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said oil and gas producers are already regulated by the state and that the BLM rules amounted to unnecessary and duplicative oversight.
Some 90 percent of new oil and gas wells use hydraulic fracturing techniques to improve production, said Robitaille, whose group supported the state's legal challenge.
"The use of hydraulic fracturing ... has really opened up a lot of opportunity for our business," he said Thursday. "And it's something that we expect to continue well into the future."
© 2016 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.

Groups: Judge was wrong to ban fracking

Groups: Judge was wrong to ban fracking A federal judge...

<div>This year's melt season in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas started with a bang, with a record low maximum extent in March and relatively rapid ice loss through May. The melt slowed down in June, however, making it highly unlikely that this year's summertime sea ice minimum extent will set a new record.</div>
<div>

"Even when it's likely that we won't have a record low, the sea ice is not showing any kind of recovery. It's still in a continued decline over the long term," said Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/flash-flooding-devastates-maryland/">Maryland</a>. "It's just not going to be as extreme as other years because the weather conditions in the Arctic were not as extreme as in other years."

"A decade ago, this year's sea ice extent would have set a new record low and by a fair amount. Now, we're kind of used to these low levels of sea ice - it's the new normal."

This year's Arctic sea ice cover of the Barents and Kara seas north of Russia opened up early, in April, exposing the surface ocean waters to the energy from the sun weeks ahead of schedule. By May 31, the extent of the Arctic sea ice cover was comparable to end-of-June average levels. But the Arctic weather changed in June and slowed the sea ice loss. A persistent area of low atmospheric pressure, accompanied by cloudiness, winds that dispersed ice and lower-than-average temperatures, didn't favor melt.

The rate of ice loss picked up again during the first two weeks of August, and is now greater than average for this time of the year. A strong cyclone is moving through the Arctic, similar to one that occurred in early August 2012. Four years ago, the storm caused an accelerated loss of ice during a period when the decline in sea ice is normally slowing because the sun is setting in the Arctic. However, the current storm doesn't appear to be as strong as the 2012 cyclone and ice conditions are less vulnerable than four years ago, Meier said.

[ooyala code="xqN3NmNTE6FJZsztMN9ULD1REPj2ni7r" player_id="ce75157bc770441eaf5e849ae4d1d21f"]

"This year is a great case study in showing how important the weather conditions are during the summer, especially in June and July, when you have 24 hours of sunlight and the sun is high in the sky in the Arctic," Meier said. "If you get the right atmospheric conditions during those two months, they can really accelerate the ice loss. If you don't, they can slow down any melting momentum you had. So our predictive ability in May of the September minimum is limited, because the sea ice cover is so sensitive to the early-to-mid-summer atmospheric conditions, and you can't foresee summer weather."

As scientists are keeping an eye on the Arctic sea ice cover, NASA is also preparing for a new method to measure the thickness of sea ice - a difficult but key characteristic to track from orbit.

"We have a good handle on the sea ice area change," said Thorsten Markus, Goddard's cryosphere lab chief. "We have very limited knowledge how thick it is."

Research vessels or submarines can measure ice thickness directly, and some airborne instruments have taken readings that can be used to calculate thickness. But satellites haven't been able to provide a complete look at sea ice thickness in particular during melting conditions, Markus said. The radar instruments that penetrate the snow during winter to measure thickness don't work once you add in the salty water of the melting sea ice, since the salinity interferes with the radar.

The Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, will use lasers to try to get more complete answers of sea ice thickness. The satellite, slated to launch by 2018, will use a laser altimeter to measure the heights of Earth's surface.

In the Arctic, it will measure the elevation of the ice floes, compared to the water level. However, only about one-tenth of sea ice is above the water surface; the other nine-tenths lie below.

To estimate the entire thickness of the ice floe, researchers will need to go beyond the above-water height measurements, and perform calculations to account for factors like the snow on top of the ice and the densities of the frozen layers. Scientists are eager to see the measurements turned into data on sea ice thickness, Markus said.

"If we want to estimate mass changes of sea ice, or increased melting, we need the sea ice thickness," he said. "It's critically important to understanding the changes in the Arctic."


</div>
<div></div>

The new normal for Arctic sea ice melt

This year's melt season in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">'Ecosystem canaries' provide early warning signals of catastrophic changes New research, led by the University of Southampton, demonstrates that 'ecosystem canaries' can provide early warning signals of large, potentially catastrophic, changes or tipping points in ecosystems.</div>
Like canaries that coal miners used to check for poisonous gasses deep underground, 'ecosystem canaries' are species that are often the first to disappear from a stressed ecosystem. Their vanishing can be linked to changes in the functioning of ecosystems, which can serve as a warning that a tipping point is approaching .'Ecosystem canaries' provide early warning signals of catastrophic changes

Co-author Dr James Dyke, from Geography and Environment at the University of Southampton, said: "Conservation often focuses on the big, enigmatic animals - tigers, polar bears, whales. There are many reasons to want to save these species from extinction. But what about the vast majority of life that we barely notice? The bugs and grubs that can appear or vanish from ecosystems without any apparent impact.

"Our study shows that vital information about the overall health or resilience of an ecosystem may be lurking in data about what could be considered to be inconsequential species."

The research, published (in press) in the journal Ecology, uses ecosystem canaries to show early warning signals of tipping points in three lake ecosystems in China. There is potential to apply this new technique to many other habitats, to increase our understanding of how they respond to human impacts such as overfishing, deforestation and climate change.

[caption id="attachment_2411024" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2411024" src="http://cff1.greenatom.earth/uploads/2016/08/18191208/cff1.greenatom.earthuploads20160818191206media.eurekalert.orgmultimedia_prodpubweb122121_web-e9c11034c457cc57afe99a3838a3319aeb089681-7448b778a687a1e9b19e416b87fa85707afbdc95-150x150.jpg" alt="Enlou Zhang collecting a sediment core in Lake Erhai" width="150" height="150" /> Enlou Zhang collecting a sediment core in Lake Erhai[/caption]

The study used data collected from lakes that showed changes in the abundance of species from algae (diatom) and aquatic midges (chironomid) communities as they compete for resources under environmental pressures. From this data it was possible to identify three types of organism: slowly-replicating but strongly competitive 'keystone' species; weakly-competitive but fast-replicating 'weedy species'; and slowly-replicating and weakly-competitive 'canary' species.

As environmental degradation impacts on the ecosystem, keystones initially prevail through competitive dominance over others, resulting in the early demise of canary species. With continuing degradation affecting all species, this leads to the eventual collapse of the keystone species as they are replaced by the weedy species. The loss of keystones puts the ecosystem into a critical transition - the point at which a system tips into an alternate state which can be very hard to recover from. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a>

The vulnerability of canary species suggests a role for this group as a sensitive indicator of environmental forcing, yet it is often assumed their presence or absence has no useful ecological information.

Professor Patrick Doncaster, from Biological Sciences at the University of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/southern-ocean-carbon-dioxide/">Southampton</a> and lead author of the study, said: "We identified an early warning signal of these changes in the relationship between compositional disorder, which is roughly equivalent to how jumbled up a community of species is, and biodiversity, which measured the total amount of species in a community. How these populations change over time reveals statistically significant signals of an approaching tipping point.

"We were able to detect a clear signal of an approaching tipping point in our selected Chinese lake ecosystems, through the analysis of multi-decadal data of fossilised diatoms and chironomids. In some cases we could detect an early warning signal up to three decades before the actual tipping point."

Dr Dyke added: "Global environmental change presents a clear need for improved indicators of critical transitions. Our study demonstrates the potential role of changing species composition in the lead-up to ecosystem tipping points. To help ecosystem management, future research needs to develop models that can simulate critical transitions as a result of environmental factors."
###
The study, which was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and The National Basic Research Program of China 973, involved researchers from the University of Southampton (UK), University of Nice (France), State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment at Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology (China) and Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (Denmark).

</div>

'Ecosystem canaries' provide early warning signals of catastrophic changes

'Ecosystem canaries' provide early warning signals of catastrophic changes New...

Algae blooms are accelerating the Greenland ice sheet melt Rising temperatures can’t fully explain the ongoing melting of the Greenland ice sheet. A new project looks at how microorganisms are changing the reflectivity of the ice sheet, helping it warm and melt.

ONE SUMMER, ABOUT four years ago, Martyn Tranter, a biogeochemist at the University of Bristol in the U.K., was working on the margins of the Greenland ice sheet with a group of new students and postdocs when he sat down to take a break. The glacier goggles Tranter usually wore to protect his eyes from the sunlight were broken, so he was wearing his cycling glasses instead. As Tranter looked across the ice surface, eating his sandwich and drinking a cup of tea, he realized the ice in front of him was tinted mauve.

“It was everywhere I looked,” he said. “I turned to the guys and said ‘I think this rotten [melting] ice is full of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/soil-microbes-disease-resistance/">microbes</a>.’ And they all just burst out laughing.” But shortly afterward, microbiologist Marian Yallop, also from the University of Bristol, found pigmented algae at the site, confirming Tranter’s suspicions.

The discovery launched a £3 million ($4 million) Black and Bloom project to examine the role that microbes might have in darkening the Greenland ice sheet – and boosting its melt.

Greenland is one of the world’s largest pieces of melting ice. It loses ice to the ocean as icebergs peel off the glaciers that run into the sea and when water runs off the melting surface. The winter snowfall adds ice back onto the ice sheet, but over the past several years, Greenland has been shedding more ice than it has gained.

The scale of the ice loss is staggering. Since, 2002 the Greenland ice sheet has lost an estimated 3,500 billion tonnes (3,860 billion tons) of ice, an average of 270 billion tonnes (300 billion tons) per year – equivalent to a little less than 1mm of sea level rise annually. For the most part, the erosion has been steady, but in 2012 more than 600 billion tonnes (660 billion tons) of ice were jettisoned in a single year. If fully melted, it would add about 7m (23ft) to global sea levels.

In addition to raising sea levels, the meltwater can swell nearby rivers and put communities and infrastructure at risk. In July 2012, meltwater overflowed the banks of the Watson River near Kangerlussuaq, which hosts the island’s busiest airport, and washed out roads and bridges.

Lately, surface melting has become a major contributor to Greenland’s ice loss. “Usually it is split 50-50,” says Marco Tedesco, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">geophysicist</a> at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, in Palisades, New York. “But it is becoming 60 to 70 percent – in 2012 you have a huge loss from surface melting.” Tedesco, who spoke at an event sponsored by SEARCH (Study of Environmental Arctic Change) in July, says that as much as 12 percent more of its surface is melting today than it did in 1979. “That’s roughly the size of Kansas.”

Rising temperatures can’t fully explain the increased melt. Over time, the surface of the Greenland ice sheet has become darker and less reflective. Soot and mineral dust that settle on the surface are among the culprits. So too is the melting ice itself, which creates pools of water that absorb more solar energy than the ice. But only in recent years have scientists also discovered that vast algae blooms covering the ice sheet are also darkening it.

The algae form colorful quilts across the ice surface, in hues that range from greens to purples to reds and browns. Preliminary studies suggest that ice dusted with these pigmented algae has a reduced reflectivity of 10 to 20 percent, says Tranter. “But it may not be all because of the algae. They might be attached to particulates and black carbon, and they might be trapping dust at the surface,” he says. Part of the Black and Bloom project is to understand what these blooms contain, as well as what controls their growth.

The Black and Bloom team will spend six weeks on the ice sheet this summer, focused on the “dark zone” of the Greenland ice sheet – an area in the southwest margin that has been darkening for the past 15–20 years, and has been previously studied by the Dark Snow group, led by Jason Box, a professor with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

“We are trying to unpick the dominant factor that is causing the darkening. My guess is that it is a combination of factors, and that it just might be that the dust helps fertilize greater algal growth,” says Tranter. They’ll also send unmanned aerial vehicles across the surface to measure the albedo (“whiteness”) from different altitudes.

That data will ultimately be fed into models to make better predictions about the future of the Greenland ice sheet. “At the moment, the ice sheet is the biggest mass contributor to sea level rise, and it looks like the rate of melt is accelerating,” says Tranter. “If you want to predict 30 to 40 years into the future, you need to know the mechanisms and processes that are driving that melt.”

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Arctic Deeply/UPI

Algae blooms are accelerating the Greenland ice sheet melt

Algae blooms are accelerating the Greenland ice sheet melt Rising...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Study: Cloth masks don't protect against air pollution. Results of a new study by environmental health scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest that inexpensive cloth masks worn by people who hope to reduce their exposure to air pollution vary widely in effectiveness and could be giving users a false sense of security, especially in highly <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=polluted&amp;cvid=f065dc821daa421884143f0a139a0132&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">polluted</a> areas.</div>
Researchers Richard Peltier, Kabindra Shakya and colleagues believe theirs is the first study to rigorously test disposable surgical masks and washable cloth masks, which are widely used in Asia and Southeast Asia for personal protection against airborne particulate matter. Their study shows that "wearing cloth masks reduced the<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exposure-to-fine-particle-pollution-linked-to-higher-risk-of-dementia/"> exposure</a> to some extent," but "the most commonly used cloth mask products perform poorly when compared to alternative options available on the market." Study: Cloth masks don't protect against air pollution

"This has clear public health risk," they add. Peltier says that particularly in the developing world, users should not assume that such masks convey protection, "especially if an individual makes personal choices not to avoid high concentration environments because they assume they are protected from these contaminants." Study details appear in the current Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

It was during an earlier air quality research project in Kathmandu, Nepal, and other travel in Asia that Peltier and Shakya were struck by how many people wore surgical or reuseable cloth masks on the street. Kathmandu has poor air quality because high polluting gasoline and diesel engines are common, as is burning tires and garbage. A poor air quality day in Los Angeles may see 100 micrograms of particulates per cubic meter (PM10), while in Kathmandu the level can be 800-900, Peltier says.

"We found ourselves wondering how effective these masks are. I was shocked that we couldn't find any research studies investigating them," he says, while the standard industrial hygiene mask known as the N95 is well tested. But such masks are not readily available in most developing countries, and at $3 or $4 each would be too expensive for most consumers. By contrast, reuseable cloth masks cost 10-15 cents and can be washed and worn for months.

In a series of experiments with an experimental mannequin, Peltier, Shakya and two undergraduate assistants tested four masks: one pleated surgical type, two cloth and one cone-shaped cloth with exhalation flaps. They tested for several variables and effectiveness in filtering out five different synthetic aerosol particle sizes plus three particle sizes of diluted whole diesel exhaust, which simulated real-world conditions. Among the cloth masks, the one with exhaust valves performed fairly well, removing 80-90 percent of synthetic particles and about 57 percent of diesel exhaust.

Plain cloth masks were "only marginally beneficial" they say, in protecting people from particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, often considered more harmful than larger particles because they can penetrate the lungs more deeply. The least expensive cloth masks removed just 39-65% of standard particles of 30-, 100-, and 500-nanometers, and 1- and 2.5-micrometers. All masks performed worse for diesel combustion particles compared to monodispersed particles, the researchers report.

Filtration efficiency of cloth masks for particles emitted from diesel combustion ranged 15 to 57 percent for total particle concentrations (for 30-, 100-, and 500-nm) and 13 to 40 percent for total particulate mass. Cloth masks did offer measurable reduction in particle counts, but results were highly variable. The cloth mask with exhalation valve performed better than those without. The two worst performing masks performed better for larger particle size, but poorly on the more harmful smaller particle sizes.

"Unfortunately, the least effective two mask types are also inexpensive, reusable and are widely used in developing countries, implying they are a popular consumer choice where pollution mitigation is warranted," the authors note.

They found that mask shape and ability to mold to the face boosted effectiveness. The cone-shaped cloth mask and snug-fitting surgical masks performed better than looser-fitting masks.

Peltier says this study has implications well beyond Nepal, because these masks are very common in China and India, and across much of southeast and southwest Asia. "What became clear to us is that millions of people probably wear these masks and feel safer, but we worry that this is potentially making things worse, if they stand next to a diesel truck and think they are protected by the mask, for example," he points out.

Shakya, who is from Kathmandu and has family there, says he hopes these results will help to further inform people who are already aware that air pollution poses a serious health risk. On World Environment Day this year, June 5, hundreds of people protested poor air quality in Nepal by donning face masks and laying down in the streets. "This study shows that people should know there is a limit to protection you can get from these cloth masks," he points out, "but also that something is better than nothing."


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Study: Cloth masks don't protect against air pollution

Study: Cloth masks don't protect against air pollution. Results of...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over Tropical Storm Fiona as it was being weakened by wind shear in the Central <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/phytoplankton-blooms-persist-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean/">Atlantic Ocean</a>.Tropical Storm Fiona is weakening from wind shear causing massive damage.</div>
On Aug. 22 at 12:10 p.m. EDT (16:10 UTC) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a>-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Tropical Storm Fiona before it weakened into a tropical depression. At the time of the image, Forecaster Daniel Brown of the National Hurricane Center noted that "strong westerly shear continues to take a toll on Fiona." The Suomi NPP image showed the bulk of Fiona's clouds pushed to the east.Tropical Storm Fiona is weakening from wind shear

"After becoming devoid of convection overnight, new convective cells have developed around the small circulation, but there is not much organization to the thunderstorm activity," Brown said. "Besides, the clouds tops are already being sheared eastward by strong upper-level westerly flow."

The tropical storm weakened into a depression at 11 p.m. EDT on Aug. 21 (0300 UTC, Aug. 22).

By 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on Aug. 22, the center of Tropical Depression Fiona was located near 24.4 degrees north latitude and 58.4 degrees west longitude. That's about 525 miles (855 km) northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands.

Fiona was moving toward the west-northwest near 18 mph (30 kph) and the National Hurricane Center expects a continued west-northwestward motion with a gradual decrease in forward speed today, Aug. 22 and Tuesday, Aug. 23. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 millibars.

Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph (55 kph). Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours, but Fiona could become a post-tropical remnant low pressure area in the next day or two.

For updated forecasts on Fiona, visit: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>

Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center


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Tropical Storm Fiona is weakening from wind shear

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over Tropical Storm Fiona as...

<div>Emissions from thawing permafrost could significantly increase global warming . Also A University of Alaska <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/smoke-in-fairbanks-and-interior-alaska/">Fairbanks-</a>led research project has provided the first modern evidence of a landscape-level permafrost carbon feedback, in which thawing permafrost releases ancient carbon as climate-warming greenhouse gases.</div>
<div>

The study was published today in the journal Nature Geoscience. Emissions from thawing permafrost could significantly increase global warming

The project, led by UAF researcher Katey Walter Anthony, studied lakes in<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=alaska&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=4bc1d1bdc9df46ef8d87ad04c2672d1a&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;elv=AXK1c4IvZoNqPoPnS%21QRLOPIoNehwT*BZsBaH8EUV3qrBqZyGDM7Z0AtPqzDHp2dwuEmbHLE%21Ud2O21%21CzHXN7VOFTbHYpvWxao3LbSO7HIl&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS"> Alaska,</a> Canada, Sweden and Siberia where permafrost thaw surrounding lakes led to lake shoreline expansion during the past 60 years. Using historical aerial photo analysis, soil and methane sampling, and radiocarbon dating, the project quantified for the first time the strength of the present-day permafrost carbon feedback to climate warming. Although a large permafrost carbon emission is expected to occur imminently, the results of this study show nearly no sign that it has begun.

The study used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of methEmissions from thawing permafrost could significantly increase global warming ane emitted from expansion zones, where Arctic lakes have recently grown to consume and thaw terrestrial permafrost. The age of that methane mirrors that of the ancient permafrost soil thawing alongside and beneath the lakes, and provides the largest known dataset of radiocarbon dated methane emissions.

The data is important for climate change models, since the emissions released by thawing permafrost could significantly affect levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Old carbon isn't part of that equation if it remains trapped in frozen soil, but it's released as methane and carbon dioxide when permafrost soils thaw and decompose.

Walter Anthony said the billions of tons of carbon stored in permafrost are about twice the amount that is currently in the atmosphere. Many researchers are concerned that if old carbon begins to cycle it could create a feedback loop -- its emissions contribute to warming, which again contributes to the thawing of more permafrost.

"If you open the freezer door, you thaw permafrost soil that's been frozen for a long time, and the organic matter in it is decomposed by microbes," Walter Anthony said.

Grosse, a co-author of the study from the German Alfred Wegener Institute, said climate change researchers are increasingly concerned about how fast that thaw and release of carbon may happen, and whether the process has already accelerated in recent years.

The new study found the rate of old carbon released during the past 60 years to be relatively small. Model projections conducted by other studies expect much higher carbon release rates -- from 100 to 900 times greater -- for its release during the upcoming 90 years. This suggests that current rates are still well below what may lay ahead in the future of a warmer Arctic.

Determining the rate of old carbon release from permafrost had been a challenge for researchers, since vegetation that grows in thawed permafrost in forest and tundra systems releases its own modern organic carbon into soils, which readily decomposes and dilutes the "old carbon" signal from thawing permafrost soils. The research team led by Walter Anthony focused on methane emissions from lakes, where permafrost thaws much deeper than on land. Methane that forms in deeply thawed soils beneath lakes generates bubbles that rapidly rise to escape from lakes without mixing with younger surface carbon.
###
UAF researchers Peter Anthony and Chien-Lu Ping also contributed to the study. Other researchers on the project included Ronald Dannen, Alaska Department of Natural Resources; Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology; and Jeffrey P. Chanton, Florida State University.

CONTACT: Katey Walter Anthony, <a href="mailto:kmwalteranthony@alaska.edu">kmwalteranthony@alaska.edu</a>

</div>

Emissions from thawing permafrost could significantly increase global warming

Emissions from thawing permafrost could significantly increase global warming ....

<div>Study: Owning a water well promotes environmental awareness. Kansans who own water wells show more awareness of state water policy issues than those who rely on municipal water supplies, according to a study that could have implications for groundwater management and environmental policies.</div>
<div>

Brock Ternes, a University of Kansas doctoral student in sociology, found that well owners prioritized issues related to the depletion of the High Plains Aquifer -- which is the underground reservoir of freshwater beneath much of the western half of the state. Study: Owning a water well promotes environmental awareness

Based on a survey he conducted of 864 Kansans, Ternes discovered that well owners were significantly more aware of water supplies and water-related policies and agencies, including the Kansas Water Office, Groundwater Management Districts, and the Governor's Long-Term Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas.

"The people who use private wells for water are more likely to hear about water-related policy issues and pay attention to them," said Ternes, who will present his study at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

For example, he found that well owners also tended to be more aware of the Kansas Aqueduct proposal, an $18 billion undertaking that would divert water from the Missouri River to western Kansas. Non-well owners were less familiar with this enormous waterworks project.

Like so many regions suffering from recent droughts, rural Kansas has been particularly hard-hit by the scarcity of water. The High Plains Aquifer has been over-pumped for its valuable irrigation water, and researchers estimate that unless pumping is curtailed, the aquifer will no longer support irrigation wells in portions of southwestern Kansas within 25 years, Ternes said.

"Sociological studies are imperative for understanding the mindsets of well owners, who are a distinct group of Kansans who will continue to influence the availability of groundwater," Ternes said.

As part of his survey, Ternes found that private well owners highly prioritize conserving water for the future.

"Most well owners believe securing water is one of the top political challenges facing Kansas, and water policies are more likely to influence their vote in local and state elections than Kansans who don't own wells," said Ternes. In this study, he coins the term "groundwater citizenship," which emphasizes the stewardship of aquifers and deliberate water conservation in order to conserve supplies of groundwater.

"My data suggest that well owners have different political priorities than non-well owners and conserve water with the hopes of extending their supply, which makes them a unique type of citizen," he said.

This research could be valuable for policymakers and water officials in Kansas as they seek to examine possible solutions for protecting the High Plains Aquifer. If they understand the importance of engaging well owners who are passionate about these issues, it can help bring water conservation more to the public forefront.

"Water supply infrastructure is clearly connected to how in-tune people are with their natural resources, which is profoundly important for environmental policymaking and survival in the Anthropocene," Ternes said.

The study has broader implications for environmental stewardship as many states grapple with vulnerability to drought, he added.

"Technologies might grant us access to natural resources and make them seem more readily available when they are in reality much more scarce," Ternes said. "This is why we need to analyze the systems that provide access to finite resources like water."
###
About the American Sociological Association

<a href="http://www.asanet.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The American Sociological Association</a>, founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the contributions to and use of sociology by society.

The paper, "'Groundwater Citizenship' and Water Supply Awareness: Investigating Water-Related Infrastructure, the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=kansa&amp;cvid=00b2d8dca8324311b514793053d2eb45&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Kansas</a> Aqueduct, and Well Ownership," will be presented on Monday, Aug. 22, at 8:30 a.m. PDT in Seattle at the American Sociological Association's 111th Annual Meeting.

To obtain a copy of the paper; for assistance reaching the study's author(s); or for more information on other ASA presentations, members of the media can contact Daniel Fowler, ASA Media Relations Manager, at (202) 527-7885 or <a href="mailto:pubinfo@asanet.org">pubinfo@asanet.org</a>. During the Annual Meeting (Aug. 20-23), ASA Public Information Office staff can be reached in the on-site press office, located in Room 601 of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/mount-rainier-in-washington/">Washington</a> State Convention Center, at (206) 219-4513 or (914) 450-4557 (cell).

George Diepenbrock, Public Affairs Officer &amp; Executive Speechwriter, University of Kansas wrote this press release. For more information about the study, members of the media can also contact Diepenbrock at (785) 864-8853 or <a href="mailto:gdiepenbrock@ku.edu">gdiepenbrock@ku.edu</a>.

Papers presented at the ASA Annual Meeting are typically working papers that have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals.

</div>

Study: Owning a water well promotes environmental awareness

Study: Owning a water well promotes environmental awareness. Kansans who...

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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

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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



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Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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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



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

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



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



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



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



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

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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