Few sights can be as awe-inspiring as New Zealand's legendary "walking tree," a towering ancient giant that stands like a sentinel from a fantasy world.



This extraordinary tree remains unmatched, as though it has stepped right out of the imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-champion-of-the-forest">Champion of the forest</h2>



The "walking tree" is no ordinary one. It recently won the title of New Zealand's Tree of the Year with ease, claiming 42% of the public vote and leaving five other finalists behind. The contest was organized by the <a href="https://www.nzarb.org.nz" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Zealand Arboricultural Association</a>.



The tree that seems to be on a stroll is not just unique in its appearance; it carries a rich legacy that stretches back centuries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-journey-of-the-walking-tree">Journey of the walking tree</h2>



The tree - a northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta) - has its roots on the west coast of South Island, near Karamea.



Reaching heights of up to 105 feet (equal to a seven-story building), it exists as a remarkable symbol of nature's ingenuity and endurance. The tree stands by a cemetery, the lone survivor of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest</a> that was cleared about 150 years ago.



Brad Cadwallader, organizer of the Tree of the Year competition, told Radio New Zealand that during the voting, the walking tree "strode out into the lead right from the very start."



"The farming family back then clearly thought it was special because they left it," noted Cadwallader.



This tree has been described as an "exceptional feature" and a "prime example of the remarkable trees that we, as New Zealanders, are fortunate to experience," said NZ Arb president Richie Hill in a statement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tale-of-growth-and-survival">A tale of growth and survival</h2>



Northern rātā trees are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/epiphytes-are-increasingly-threatened-by-forest-disturbances/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">epiphytes</a>, a type of tree that starts growing on the surface of a host tree before growing aerial roots that reach to the ground.



This walking tree likely lived, initially, high up in the canopy of its host, surviving on air and rainwater before it finally grounded itself.



Its unusual root layout is probably due to how it grew around its host tree, which probably died off centuries ago.



“That <a href="https://www.earth.com/search-results/?search=host%20tree&amp;start=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">host tree</a> has now gone," said Cadwallader. "Maybe the tree was either very, very big, or there may have been another tree that fell and lent against the host tree, and that's why the roots have split near the ground and given it that walking appearance.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plight-of-the-northern-rata">Plight of the northern rātā</h2>



Unfortunately, the majestic northern rātā is under significant threat. Once common in New Zealand's forests, these trees are now listed as nationally vulnerable.



Multiple factors, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-deforestation-crisis-how-can-we-stop-massive-forest-losses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deforestation</a> and the invasive common brushtail possums, which wreak havoc by devouring the leaves and gnawing at the roots, pose significant threats.



The trees face danger from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scrub-mint-almost-extinct-lived-earth-millions-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hybridization</a> with the closely related pōhutukawa trees. They are also susceptible to myrtle rust, a pathogenic fungus that is native to South America but was detected in New Zealand for the first time in 2017.



As we appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the "walking tree," it’s crucial to take note of the environmental challenges these giants face. Although the trees are evidence of nature's resilience, they also serve as a stark reminder of our responsibility to protect and preserve them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-and-ecological-legacy-of-the-walking-tree">Cultural and ecological legacy of the walking tree</h2>



The walking tree is more than just a botanical marvel; it serves as a living emblem of New Zealand's deep connection to its natural world.



For the indigenous Māori people, trees like the northern rātā are taonga, or treasures, woven into cultural myths, rituals, and traditions.



The rātā, with its crimson flowers, is often associated with strength, endurance, and renewal - qualities that are certainly epitomized by this lone survivor near Karamea.



Ecologically, the northern rātā plays a critical role in its environment. Its towering canopy provides shelter and sustenance for native birds like the tūī and kererū, while its roots stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.



The walking tree, standing alone and surrounded by cleared land, reminds us of what has been lost - and what still needs to be preserved.



As New Zealanders rally around this extraordinary tree, it becomes a symbol of hope and a call to action for conservation efforts. 



Protecting such iconic species ensures that future generations will not only learn about them in stories but also experience their majesty firsthand.



Image Credit: Gareth Andrews



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New Zealand’s 'walking tree': The final remains of a lost forest

Few sights can be as awe-inspiring as New Zealand's legendary "walking tree," a towering ancient giant that stands like a sentinel from a fantasy world. This extraordinary tree remains unmatched, as though it has stepped right out of the imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. Champion of the forest The "walking tree" is no ordinary one. It recently won the title of New Zealand's Tree of the Year with ease, claiming 42% of the public vote and leaving five other finalists behind....

Scientists at the <a href="http://naturalhistory.si.edu/">Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History</a> are rewriting the history of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/corn-industry-fertilizer-efficiency/">corn</a>, one of the world's most important crops. Based on genetic and archaeological evidence, the researchers have determined that a predecessor of today's corn plants was brought to South America from Mexico more than 6,500 years ago.

According to the new study, farmers in Mexico and the southwestern Amazon improved corn over thousands of years until it was fully domesticated in each region. The findings are providing scientists with new insight into the shared history of humans and corn plants. Study lead author Logan Kistler explained that this understanding is critical for managing our fragile relationships with the plants that feed us.

“It's the long-term evolutionary history of domesticated plants that makes them fit for the human environment today,” said Kistler. “Understanding that history gives us tools for assessing the future of corn as we continue to drastically reshape our global environment and increase our agricultural demands on land around the globe.”

Microscopic pollen and resilient plant remains found in ancient sediments indicate a history of fully domesticated maize use by around 6,500 years ago in the southwest Amazon and coastal Peru. Initially, the experts assumed the fully domesticated plant was carried there by people who were migrating south.

“As far as we could tell before conducting our study, it looked like there was a single domestication event in Mexico and that people then spread it further south after domestication had taken place,” said Kistler.

When geneticists sequenced the DNA of 5,000-year-old maize found in Mexico, however, it turned out that the story was not so simple. The genes were a mixture of those found in corn’s wild ancestor called teosinte and those of the domesticated plant.

“But you've got continuous cultivation of maize in the southwest Amazon from 6,500 years ago all the way up through European colonization,” said Kistler. “How can you have this flourishing, fully domesticated maize complex in the southwest Amazon, and meanwhile, near the domestication center in Mexico the domestication process is still ongoing?”

To investigate, the team reconstructed the plant's evolutionary history by conducting a genetic comparison of more than 100 varieties of modern maize that grow throughout the Americas, including 40 varieties that have just recently been sequenced. The genomes of 11 ancient corn plants were also included in the analysis. 

After mapping out the genetic relationships between the plants, several distinct lineages were identified, proving that the final stages of corn domestication happened more than once in more than one place.

“This work fundamentally changes our understanding of maize origins,” said study co-author Robin Allaby from the University of Warwick. “It shows that maize did not have a simple origin story, that it did not really form the crop as we know it until it left its homeland.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

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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

Image Credit: Fabio de Oliveira Freitas

Corn was domesticated more than once in different regions

Scientists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History are...

Biofuels are often proposed as a solution to help reduce fossil fuel emissions and combat climate change. But while renewable energy is important for future climate change mitigation, a new study shows that expanding the production of crops like oil palm and corn could have drastic consequences on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-key-measure-success/">biodiversity</a>. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/">Durham University</a>, the <a href="http://www.bik-f.de/root/index.php?page_id=57">Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre</a> and the <a href="https://www.tum.de/en/">Technical University of Munich</a> found that setting aside large amounts of land for bioenergy crops could be just as harmful to vertebrate biodiversity as climate change. 

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Climate change, habitat degradation, and human activities have already caused sharp declines in biodiversity and studies have shown that we are in the midst of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warning-imminent-mass-extinction/">sixth mass extinction</a>. 

If bioenergy crops pose a threat to global biodiversity, then it’s crucial for researchers and policymakers to consider these risks before investing in biofuel production.

“We found that the combination of climate change and large-scale expansion of bioenergy crops would together threaten about 36% of the habitats of all global vertebrate species, including many that are already the subject of significant conservation work,” said Stephen Willis, an author of the study. “While bioenergy is clearly an important tool for climate change mitigation, the potential impacts on biodiversity must not be ignored.”

For the study, the researchers compared to two climate scenarios. One scenario projected warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100 with biofuels being used to their fullest extent, and the second scenario had warming of three degrees by 2100 but very little biofuel use. 

While the first scenario had less warming, the researchers discovered that even expanding bioenergy crop production would not be enough to compensate for the losses in biodiversity. 

The researchers found that expanded bioenergy crop production under the first scenario would result in significant species declines.

For example, the hedgehog could undergo 44 percent population loss, the red squirrel would experience 46 percent population loss, and the common starling would suffer 15 percent population loss.

[caption id="attachment_1863682" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Biodiversity-could-suffer-if-bioenergy-crop-production-grows.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1863682" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Biodiversity-could-suffer-if-bioenergy-crop-production-grows-1024x768.jpeg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /></a> Hedgehog, Image Credit: Professor Stephen Willis, Durham University[/caption]

Bioenergy crop production is already impacting biodiversity across the world with oil palm plantations damaging local ecosystems in tropical regions, and expanding corn production in temperate regions leading to habitat declines for birds and other farmland mammals. 

The study shows that biodiversity needs to be considered in the bioenergy discussion and other alternatives for reducing emissions must be found. 

“A strong reliance on bioenergy to combat climate change could result in outcomes for biodiversity that are little better than would occur if we didn't implement bioenergy strategies, despite the consequent climate change implications,” said Willis. “Instead, we should be thinking about how to swiftly and significantly reduce energy consumption if biodiversity is to be protected.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Christian Hof

Paid for by Earth.com

Biodiversity could suffer if bioenergy crop production grows

Biofuels are often proposed as a solution to help reduce...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.jic.ac.uk/">John Innes Centre</a> are providing new insight into how catnip produces the substance known as nepetalactone that sends <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cats-ineffective-rat-numbers/">cats</a> into a state of ecstasy. The research could ultimately give experts easier and faster access to cancer fighting medications.

According to the research team, understanding the series of events that leads to the production of nepetalactone could be particularly useful in helping to identify how plants synthesise other chemicals like vinblastine, which is used for chemotherapy.


Nepetalactone belongs to a class of organic compounds known as terpenes, which are typically formed by a single enzyme in plants. The researchers have discovered that terpenes are produced in catnip through a two-step system. In this process, an enzyme activates a precursor compound which is then obtained by a second enzyme to produce the terpenes.

This is the first time that this two-step process has ever been observed, and the scientists believe that a similar process is responsible for the synthesis of the anti-cancer drugs vincristine and vinblastine.

Dr. Benjamin Lichman, who conducted the work while he was a postdoctoral researcher at John Innes Centre, is now a lecturer at the University of York.

“We have made significant progress in understanding how catnip makes nepetalactone, the chemicals that sends cats crazy,” said Dr. Lichman. “Catnip is performing unusual and unique chemical processes, and we plan to use these to help us create useful compounds that can be used in treatment of diseases such as cancer.” 

“We are also working to understand the evolution of catnip to understand how it came to produce the cat-active chemicals."

Study co-author Professor Sarah O'Connor added, “Nepetalactones have potential use in agriculture as they participate in certain plant-insect interactions. In future work we will explore the roles that these compounds have in plants.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nchembio/">Nature Chemical Biology</a>.

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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

Catnip may give experts insight into cancer fighting treatments

Researchers at the John Innes Centre are providing new insight...

Experts at the <a href="http://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) have unveiled a houseplant that can actually guide itself to receive <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sunlight-kill-harmful-bacteria/">sunlight</a> whenever necessary. The “cybernetic lifeform,” which is referred to as Elowan, can literally roll itself toward the sunlight.

Sensors in the form of electrodes placed in the plant's stems and also in the ground can be used to monitor the needs of Elowan, and can intensify the natural inclination of the plant to extend its leaves in the direction of the light. Any weak signals transmitted from the electrodes are amplified to send signals to the cyborg, which subsequently moves itself to a more optimal position. 

According to Elowan's creator, Sareen Harpreet, humans robots will not be the only cyborgs of the future. He suggests that “cyborg botany” is potentially more important, as plants could be equipped with technology to help them thrive. 

“As humans, we rely on technological augmentations to tune our fitness to the environment,” Harpreet said on his website. “However, the acceleration of evolution through technology needs to move from a human centric to a holistic nature-centric view.”

The mobile houseplant is likely just the first of many more technologically advanced plants to come. 

“Elowan is an attempt to demonstrate what augmentation of nature could mean,” said Harpreet. “Elowan’s robotic base is a new symbiotic association with a plant. The agency of movement rests with the plant based on its own bio-electrochemical signals, the language interfaced here with the artificial world.”

“These in turn trigger physiological variations such as elongation growth, respiration, and moisture absorption.”

A detailed overview of the project from the MIT media lab can be found <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/elowan-a-plant-robot-hybrid/overview/">here</a>.

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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 

Image Credit: MIT

New houseplant can guide itself toward sunlight when necessary

Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled...

A new study by <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> scientists in collaboration with the <a href="http://naturalareasnyc.org/">Natural Areas Conservatory</a> found that native tree species still make up about 82% of New York City’s “forested natural areas,” which are areas that look and feel like lush woods and forests. This contradicts previous assessments that concluded native trees and non-native trees, such as those planted on streets, co-dominate the cityscape. 

Researchers calculated that about 5 million native trees exist within these natural areas, whereas only 660,000 non-native trees line city streets and grow in city parks.

Furthermore, the study’s findings, published December 5th in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19395582">Ecological Applications</a>, show that, of the 57 unique forest types within <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-yorkers-heavier-sleep/">New York City</a>, 81% are native forest types commonly found in regions like New York’s Catskills and other rural areas within the state.

The study’s lead author, Clara Pregitzer, a doctoral candidate at the <a href="http://environment.yale.edu/">Yale School of Forestry &amp; Environmental Studies (F&amp;ES)</a>, confirmed that forests are still alive and well within the country’s largest city. She also noted that, with this new information, officials can better focus on conservation strategies that hone in on the natural species and move beyond planting individual trees.

"You can create and design spaces that increase biodiversity or tree canopy by planting a lot of different trees," Pregitzer said. "But it's not the same as having these natural spaces. And if you don't have information on them, if you don't collect the data, then you can't properly value or care for them."

"What we've found is that there is a huge opportunity for conservation in urban forests,” she continued. “And now that we know what we have we can begin to manage them with a new perspective."

Pregitzer and the research team spent two years collecting data on native tree species in New York City. Their data collection took them through 53 parks, and the team measured forest structure and composition of over 1,200 forest plots, in which they measured over 40,000 individual trees.

The team’s data also shows that, without investing in forest-management programming, the population of native trees in forested areas could decline in the coming decades. Thus, these findings are important for New York City officials to pay attention to in order to keep the native species alive and thriving.

“Having this information you can begin to say, 'OK, if we do want to build a ball field, where should we do it? This other piece of property might be better and let us protect some of our original forest,’” Pregitzer concluded.

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New York City is still highly populated with native tree species

A new study by Yale University scientists in collaboration with...

Plants have built-in defense systems that help them cope with the pests and insects that feed on their leaves, fruit, stems, roots, and saps. Studying the underlying mechanisms of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-growth-suffers-defense/">plant defenses</a> is important for understanding plant biology. 

When a plant is threatened, it can produce substances called benzoxazinoids that help with resistance to larvae or indirectly guards against aphids. 

Maize plants have a switch that determines whether the plant releases a more toxic form of benzoxazinoids to guard against caterpillars or whether it produces less toxic benzoxazinoids that help induce the production of carbohydrates called callose that block cell walls so aphids can’t feed on sap. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="http://www.unibe.ch/index_eng.html">University of Bern</a> in Switzerland and the <a href="https://www.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute</a> set out to see if benzoxazinoids acted the same way in wheat as they do in maize. 

The researchers were able to characterize the different functions of benzoxazinoids in wheat including the regulation of the toxic and less toxic forms of the substance. 

The team identified that much like maize, a switch determined which defense method was used and found that the switch is an enzyme called methyltransferase enzyme. 

Both maize and wheat contain the methyltransferase enzyme, but this enzyme evolved differently in the two cereal crops according to the results of the study. 

The study was published in the journal Science Advances. 

“Our approach was to introduce the maize switch into wheat and to permanently activate it. Together with our colleagues from the <a href="https://www.ipk-gatersleben.de/en/institute/about-us/">Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research,</a> we made transgenic wheat plants which were no longer able to choose between toxin production and defense regulation, but constantly produced the toxic form of the benzoxazinoids. This enabled us to elucidate the functions of benzoxazinoids in wheat in detail,” said Tobias Köllner, a member of the research team. 

After analyzing the different forms of toxin production, the researchers found that maize and wheat likely evolved the ability to produce benzoxazinoids independently of each other, which is called convergent evolution.

“Convergent evolution is widespread in nature and results from the fact that different species evolve a solution for the same problem independently from each other,” said Matthias Erb. a co-author of the study. “It is remarkable that two grasses which produce the same specialized defensive substances evolved the corresponding switch for their use independently of each other.” 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Beibei Li / University of Bern, Switzerland

Wheat plants can switch chemical defenses to guard against pests

Plants have built-in defense systems that help them cope with...

A new study published December 4th in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2006841">PLOS Biology</a> proves that, as humans alter local environments for their own use, local iconic species are lost and replaced with more common species.

The study, led by Tim Newbold from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> and Andy Purvis from the <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum in London</a>, used data from 81 countries provided by more than 500 researchers around the world. Newbold and Purvis found that when humans modify an environment for farming, housing, or urbanizing purposes, we negatively affect the naturally-occurring species in that area. 

Those lost unique animals and plants are soon replaced with species that are able to populate modified environments — species that can be found in many different places globally, like pigeons within cities and rats on farming land.

"As humans, we place great value on animals and plants that are confined to particular locations," said Newbold. "We travel around the world to see animals like tigers in Asia or rhinoceroses in Africa, and animals and plants are often our national emblems."

However, Newbold notes that as humans continue to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/freshwater-bodies-increasingly-polluted/">change and shape environments</a> that hosted unique species, we are actually favoring the development and spread of common species while losing animals and plants that make global environments so unique.

Newbold and Purvis’ findings show how important wildlife conservation is and how humans need to be more aware of how specific animals and plants play into their ecosystem function. The researchers hope to use this new revelation and apply it to their understanding of how human-caused climate change may also be lending a hand in the disappearance of local iconic species and the spread of cosmopolitan ones.

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

With human interference, local species are replaced by common ones

A new study published December 4th in the journal PLOS...

While the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is a powerful tool for species conservation, getting just one single species on the list is a huge undertaking that involves expensive and highly specialized research. But now, a newly developed method using machine learning will make it much easier to predict species that could be eligible for the IUCN list. 

Currently, there is a large number of species that have not been formally assessed by the IUCN. For example, only around five percent of all known plant species appear on Red List in any of its five at-risk categories.

Anahí Espíndola is an assistant professor of Entomology at the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> who is helping to develop a system that taps into the potential of machine learning and open-access data to identify <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sharing-information-threatened-species/">threatened species</a>. 

In one of the largest-ever assessments of conservation risk, the research team has created a machine learning algorithm and evaluated more than 150,000 species of plants from across the planet. The results of the modeling revealed that at least 10 percent of these species are extremely likely to qualify for the IUCN endangered list.

[caption id="attachment_1863326" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/threatened-species-map.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1863326" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/threatened-species-map-1024x444.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="304" /></a> Map revealing the predicted levels of risk to more than 150,000 species of plants located worldwide. Image Credit: Anahí Espíndola and Tara Pelletier[/caption]

“Our method isn't meant to replace formal assessments using IUCN protocols. It's a tool that can help prioritize the process, by calculating the probability that a given species is at risk,” explained Professor Espíndola. “Ultimately, we hope it will help governments and resource managers decide where to devote their limited resources for conservation. This could be especially useful in regions that are understudied.”

The predictive model was designed using open-access data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the TRY Plant Trait Database. Study lead author Professor Tara Pelletier from Radford University collaborated with Professor Espíndola to perform the machine learning.

According to Professor Espíndola, some of the most threatened regions flagged by the model have not received enough attention from researchers in the past. She hopes that this method can help identify regions and species that need to be evaluated.

“Let's say you wanted to assess every species of wild bee on one continent. So you do the assessment and find that only one species is at risk. Now you've used all those resources to identify an area with low risk, which is still helpful, but not ideal when resources are limited. We want to help prevent that from happening,” said Professor Espíndola. 

“Our analysis was global, but the model can be adapted for use at any geographic scale. Everything we've done is 100 percent open access, highlighting the power of publicly-available data. We hope people will use our model--and we hope they point out errors and help us fix them, to make it better.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

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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

Machine learning will make it easier to identify threatened species

While the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/">University of Liverpool</a> are reporting that prescribed burning, if managed properly, is not as harmful to peat growth as previously believed. In fact, prescribed burning can lead to multiple positive outcomes if the technique is sensibly rotated, according to the study. 

Prescribed burning is a highly controversial technique where fires are set intentionally to manage the land. While the method is used around the world, it is met with criticism by conservationists who believe that prescribed burning stops <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/peatlands-carbon-sinks-emit/">peat growth</a>, reduces carbon capture, and reduces the amount of peat-forming species such as Sphagnum mosses.

For their investigation into the effects of using this method, the scientists analyzed data from a long-term ecological experiment at Moor House National Nature Reserve. The reserve contained areas of moorland that either only been burned in 1954 or had been burned every ten or twenty years since 1954. These regions were compared with control areas that had not been burned since the 1920s.

The study was led by Emeritus Professor Rob Marrs from the University's Department of Earth, Oceans &amp; Ecological Sciences.

“The research, which was truly interdisciplinary and combined several scientific approaches, centred on a long-term, replicated experiment at Moor House National Nature Reserve,” said Professor Marrs. “As part of that experiment the moorland was subjected to four burning treatments to determine the change in composition of the main species. The value of long-term experiments is that they allow new hypotheses can be tested which were unforeseen at the start.”

The analysis of changes in vegetation composition showed that regions which had not been exposed to any prescribed burns were dominated by low-level peat-forming species with less useful species such as Sphagnum mosses and cotton grasses that promote peat growth.


Study co-author Professor Chiverrell led the team in collecting stratigraphical data on the rate of peat and carbon accumulation. The experts measured numerous peat profiles sampled from the different prescribed burn areas.


“This is first time that stratigraphical techniques have been used within the structure of a designed experiment,” said Professor Chiverrell. “Our data show only limited reduction of peat and carbon accumulation with increased burning treatments. Crucially, there was continued peat and carbon accumulation even in the areas that had undergone the regime of most frequent burning.”

When the researchers modeled how prescribed burning may influence the potential damage caused by severe wildfires, they found that the proper implementation of this technique can reduce fire fuel loads, protect against more severe ecosystem damage, allow better access for fighting wildfires, and promote faster recovery after a wildfire event. 

“Our study produced surprising results that are the opposite of what many conservationists had previously thought,” said Professor Marrs. “It showed that the areas which had not been burnt since 1954 ended up with more heather and less peat forming species but the most frequently burned treatment had more of these species and did not stop carbon accumulation. We advise that prescribed burning be used in some areas within a moorland management plan to minimize fuel loads.”

“This work is unique because it uses stratigraphical methods, usually used to measure change over millennia, to assess recent environmental changes within a relatively long-term manipulative field experiment.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo">Nature Geoscience</a>.

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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

Prescribed burns can help peatlands when managed properly

Researchers at the University of Liverpool are reporting that prescribed...

Snowpack refers to the accumulation of snow over the winter months that gets “packed down” by its own weight, and it plays an important role in insulating forest trees from freezing temperatures.

In mountainous regions, snowpack replenishes <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/fresh-water-stored-snowpack/">local watersheds</a> in the spring, but warmer winters due to climate change are causing less and less snowpack accumulation each year. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.asrc.cuny.edu/">Advanced Science Research Center at the City University of New York</a> conducted a five-year study and found that future climate change could reduce snowpack in hardwood forests by 95 percent at the end of the 21st century. 

Without sufficient snowpack cover, trees are unable to store carbon dioxide as effectively or take up nutrients from the soil. 

The study was published in the journal Global Change Biology and the results show how detrimental snowpack loss will be for hardwood forests in the northeastern United States. 

“We know global warming is causing the winter snowpack to develop later and melt earlier,” Andrew Reinmann, the first author of the study. “Our study advances our understanding of the long-term effects of this trend on northern hardwood forests--which are critical to North America's environmental health and several industries. The experiments we conducted suggest snowpack declines result in more severe soil freezing that damages and kills tree roots, increases losses of nutrients from the forest and significantly reduces growth of the iconic sugar maple trees.”

The researchers analyzed six decades of snowpack data and conducted a five-year-long field experiment in Hubbard Brook’s Forest, a research forest in New Hampshire that spans 7,800 acres. 

Every year between 2008 and 2012, a team of researchers would remove snowpack from several designated plots during the first four to six weeks of winter. 

The researchers would then monitor and compare tree growth, nutrient levels in the soil, and soil temperatures near the removed snowpack plots and areas that had been left alone. 

Frost was able to penetrate deep within the soil, reaching depths of 30 centimeters or more, where the snowpack had been removed. In the areas where snowpack was left to accumulate, soil frost only measured five centimeters deep. 

The loss of insulating snow damaged tree roots, reduced nutrient uptake by the trees and resulted in stunted tree growth. There was also less nitrogen and insect diversity in the soil itself compared to the control plots. 

Tree growth near the areas where snowpack had been removed declined by over 40 percent, and when the researchers let the snowpack resume its normal accumulations, the trees were still unable to recover. 

“These experiments demonstrate the significant impact that changes in winter climate have on a variety of environmental factors, including forest growth, carbon sequestration, soil nutrients and air and water quality,” said Reinmann. “Left unabated, these changes in climate could have a detrimental impact on the forests of the region and the livelihoods of the people who rely on them for recreation and industries such as tourism, skiing, snowmobiling, timber and maple syrup production.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Pamela Templer

Lighter snowpack can hinder tree growth, limit carbon storage

Snowpack refers to the accumulation of snow over the winter...

A team of experts at the European Commission’s <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/joint-research-centre_en">Joint Research Centre</a> set out to get a better understanding of co-extinctions, which occur when the disappearance of a host species endangers other species that depend on it. The researchers found that climate change will greatly increase the risk of an “extinction domino effect” that could ultimately wipe out every species on our planet. 

While co-extinction may be contributing to the escalating <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/protecting-biodiversity-political-action/">biodiversity</a> crisis, the phenomenon is difficult to examine or analyze. The researchers simulated 2,000 virtual versions of Earth, linking various animal and plant species in a global food web.

The virtual Earths were then exposed to simulations of extreme climate change that involved either global warming or a “nuclear winter,” which is a time of progressive cooling that would follow a nuclear detonation or an asteroid impact. 

Next, the experts tracked the loss of species diversity under two different scenarios all the way up to the total annihilation of life on Earth. 

In the first scenario, they only considered extinctions that resulted from temperatures that were too hot for species to survive. In the second scenario, they took into account the loss of species from high temperatures, as well as the co-extinctions that would result.

The team compared the outcomes of both scenarios and found that by not accounting for interdependencies among species, the mass extinctions that could result from climate change are greatly understated.

Study co-author Professor Bradshaw of <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> explained, “What we were trying to test is whether the variable tolerances to extreme global heating or cooling by different species are enough to explain overall extinction rates.”

“But because all species are connected in the web of life, our paper demonstrates that even the most tolerant species ultimately succumb to extinction when the less-tolerant species on which they depend disappear.”

“Failing to take into account these co-extinctions therefore underestimates the rate and magnitude of the loss of entire species from events like climate change by up to 10 times.”

According to the researchers, the end of life on Earth is the worst case scenario, but cascading co-extinctions will dramatically increase the dangers of climate change. They determined that just 5 to 6 degrees of warming could be enough to destroy most species. 

Study lead author Dr. Giovanni Strona said, “Even the most resilient species will inevitably fall victim to the synergies among extinction drivers as extreme stresses drive ecosystems to collapse.”

The researchers concluded, “By comparing scenarios of extinctions based only on species’ environmental tolerances with others accounting also for co-extinctions, we show that neglecting to consider the cascading effect of biodiversity loss leads to a large overestimation of the robustness of planetary life to global change.”

--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Climate change could trigger a cascade of extinctions domino effect

A team of experts at the European Commission’s Joint Research...

A new report from the <a href="https://ciat.cgiar.org/">Center for Tropical Agriculture</a> (CIAT), a global research organization based in Colombia, had found that many of the plants most commonly used for food, medicine, shelter, fuel, and other valuable purposes are at risk. 

These include wild populations of firs used for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/environmentally-friendly-christmas-tree/">Christmas trees</a>, kitchen-cupboard staples like vanilla, chamomile, cacao, and cinnamon, and non-cultivated plants used by bees to make honey. The indicator finds that less than three percent of the 7,000 evaluated species are presently classified as “low priority” or “sufficiently conserved.”

“This indicator underscores the urgency to protect the world's useful wild plants,” said study lead author Colin Khoury. “The indicator not only helps us measure where countries and the world stand with regard to safeguarding this natural and cultural heritage, but it provides actual information per species that can be used to take action to improve their conservation status.”

The Useful Plants Indicator was developed by CIAT in collaboration with the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and also with several universities and conservation organizations.
The scale ranks around 7,000 useful plants from 220 countries on a scale of 1-100, with 100 meaning fully protected.

Although the researchers expected lower results for plants in natural settings, they warned that relying on plant preservation strictly in natural protected areas is no longer a safe bet. According to the study authors, rapid climate change can force species to shift out of their ranges, and the edges of many protected areas are subjected to unchecked habitat destruction.

"The indicator shows that the network of protected areas around the world is doing something significant for useful plants," said Khoury. “But if we want to get serious about protecting these species, especially the ones that are vulnerable, we have a long way to go before they are fully protected.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-indicators">Ecological Indicators</a>.

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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

Christmas trees and other valuable plants aren’t protected globally

A new report from the Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT),...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image 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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image 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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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



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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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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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.

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



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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Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&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.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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 the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



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.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; 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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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



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.

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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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.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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