A long-standing enigma surrounding the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star at the center of the Crab Nebula, may have been unraveled by a theoretical astrophysicist from the University of Kansas.&nbsp;



The study, led by Professor Mikhail Medvedev and recently published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.205201" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physical Review Letters</a>, explains the origins of the pulsar’s unique “zebra” pattern, a peculiar banding in high-frequency radio waves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-powerful-emission-from-the-crab-nebula">Powerful emission from the Crab Nebula</h2>



At the heart of the Crab Nebula, 6,000 light years from Earth, lies the Crab Pulsar, a 12-mile-wide neutron star emitting powerful electromagnetic radiation.



“The emission, which resembles a lighthouse beam, repeatedly sweeps past Earth as the star rotates,” said Medvedev, professor of physics and astronomy at the <a href="https://www.ku.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Kansas</a>.&nbsp;



“We observe this as a pulsed emission, usually with one or two pulses per rotation. The specific <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pulsars-are-helping-astronomers-pinpoint-dark-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pulsar</a> I'm discussing is known as the Crab Pulsar.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zebra-pattern-in-the-crab-nebula">Zebra pattern in the Crab Nebula</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unraveling-the-mysterious-origins-of-the-crab-nebula/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nebula</a> itself is the remnant of a supernova documented in 1054, with historical records from China describing an unusually bright star in the sky.&nbsp;



However, unlike other pulsars, the Crab Pulsar exhibits a zebra pattern in its high-frequency emissions, making it a singular case in the study of neutron stars.



“This is the only object we know of that produces the zebra pattern, and it only appears in a single emission component from the Crab Pulsar,” Medvedev noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-puzzle-decades-in-the-making">A puzzle decades in the making</h2>



Since its discovery in 2007, the zebra pattern has stymied researchers. The band spacing in its electromagnetic spectrum, along with its high polarization and stability, defied explanation.&nbsp;



“Researchers proposed various emission mechanisms, but none have convincingly explained the observed patterns,” said Medvedev.



The zebra pattern occurs within the pulsar’s high-frequency interpulse, a range between 5 and 30 gigahertz - frequencies akin to those of a microwave oven. Using innovative techniques, Medvedev’s research links the phenomenon to the plasma surrounding the pulsar.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decoding-the-crab-nebula-s-zebra-pattern">Decoding the Crab Nebula's zebra pattern </h2>



Medvedev’s breakthrough came from studying the Crab Pulsar’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secrets-of-jupiters-magnetosphere-will-help-us-predict-space-weather/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetosphere</a>, a region filled with plasma composed of charged particles like electrons and positrons.&nbsp;



By applying wave optics, Medvedev connected the zebra pattern in the Crab Nebula to diffraction effects caused by the pulsar’s plasma.



“If you have a screen and an electromagnetic wave passes by, the wave doesn’t propagate straight through,” Medvedev explained.&nbsp;



“Wave optics introduces a different behavior - waves bend around obstacles and interfere with each other, creating a sequence of bright and dim fringes due to constructive and destructive interference.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plasma-diffraction-patterns-in-the-crab-pulsar">Plasma diffraction patterns in the Crab Pulsar </h2>



In the Crab Pulsar, these diffraction patterns vary based on the plasma’s density and the radio wave’s frequency.



“A typical diffraction pattern would produce evenly spaced fringes if we just had a neutron star as a shield,” Medvedev said. “But here, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neutron-stars-may-hold-the-key-to-understanding-dark-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neutron star</a>’s magnetic field generates charged particles constituting a dense plasma, which varies with distance from the star.”&nbsp;



“Low frequencies reflect at large radii, casting a bigger shadow, while high frequencies create smaller shadows, resulting in different fringe spacing.”



This plasma diffraction creates the zebra pattern, with the fringe spacing reflecting variations in the density of the plasma.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-pulsar-s-magnetosphere">Mapping the pulsar’s magnetosphere</h2>



“This model is the first one capable of measuring those parameters,” Medvedev said. “By analyzing the fringes, we can deduce the density and distribution of plasma in the magnetosphere.”&nbsp;



“It’s incredible because these observations allow us to convert fringe measurements into a density distribution of the plasma, essentially creating an image or performing tomography of the neutron star’s magnetosphere.”



Medvedev’s findings not only clarify the zebra pattern but also open the door to understanding the intricate structure of the Crab Pulsar’s plasma environment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-future-research">Implications for future research</h2>



The study provides a framework for further investigation of the Crab Pulsar and other neutron stars. With additional data collection and refinements to account for gravitational and polarization effects, the method could yield insights into other young and energetic pulsars.



“The Crab Pulsar is somewhat unique - it’s relatively young by astronomical standards, only about a thousand years old, and highly energetic,” Medvedev said. “But it’s not alone; we know of hundreds of pulsars, with over a dozen that are also young.”



The method may even be applied to binary pulsars, which were instrumental in confirming Einstein’s theory of general relativity. “Known binary pulsars can also be explored with the proposed method,” Medvedev added.&nbsp;



“This research can indeed broaden our understanding and observation techniques for pulsars, particularly young, energetic ones.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-leap-forward-in-astrophysics">A leap forward in astrophysics</h2>



By identifying the role of plasma diffraction in the Crab Pulsar’s zebra pattern, Medvedev’s work bridges a critical gap in astrophysics.&nbsp;



The study not only explains a unique phenomenon but also establishes a technique for probing the magnetospheres of pulsars, advancing our understanding of these extraordinary objects.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)



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Mysterious signals from Crab Nebula form a zebra pattern

A long-standing enigma surrounding the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star at the center of the Crab Nebula, may have been unraveled by a theoretical astrophysicist from the University of Kansas.&nbsp; The study, led by Professor Mikhail Medvedev and recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters, explains the origins of the pulsar’s unique “zebra” pattern, a peculiar banding in high-frequency radio waves. Powerful emission from the Crab Nebula At the heart of the Crab Nebula, 6,000 light years from Earth, lies the Crab Pulsar, a 12-mile-wide neutron...

Life on Mars has always been a major topic of discussion when considering if alien lifeforms could exist – or ever once existed sometime in the past. A new study has found that far back in Mars’ history, the planet may have been home to the right conditions to make life underground a possibility.

In a study published in <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/earth-and-planetary-science-letters/">Earth and Planetary Science Letters</a>, researchers from <a href="https://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a> report that enough chemical energy may have flowed through Mars’ subsurface region to support the existence of microbial colonies similar to the ones that thrive here on Earth. 

Even though sunlight may not have been able to reach this area, the researchers suggest that it contained plenty of dissolved hydrogen, which would act as an “electron donor” to allow subterranean microbes to live.

“We showed, based on basic physics and chemistry calculations, that the ancient Martian subsurface likely had enough dissolved hydrogen to power a global subsurface biosphere,” says Jesse Tarnas, a graduate student at Brown. “Conditions in this habitable zone would have been similar to places on Earth where underground life exists.”

Areas where microbes exist underground on Earth are known as SLiMES (subsurface lithotrophic microbial ecosystems). These microbes don’t get their energy from the sun, instead they “peel” electrons from the molecules in their environment. In many cases, dissolved molecular hydrogen is the source for this fuel. This new study suggest that the process of radiolysis could have created hydrogen below the surface of ancient Mars.

“The question then becomes: What was the nature of that subsurface life, if it existed, and where did it get its energy,” says Jack Mustard, a professor in Brown’s Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences. “We know that radiolysis helps to provide energy for underground microbes on Earth, so what Jesse did here was to pursue the radiolysis story on Mars.”

The researchers assessed data from the gamma ray spectrometer on NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft for their study, determining the quantities of radioactive elements such as thorium and potassium. Through this process, they were able to determine the abundance of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/study-new-form-uranium/">uranium</a> as well. The decay of these radioactive elements drives the radiolytic breakdown of water. So the researchers could estimate how much water would have been available, which revealed that there likely would have been plenty running through the crust’s porous rocks. 

Geothermal and climate models were also used in the study to figure out where microbes may have been able to live – which helped the scientists find a supposed habitable zone several kilometers thick. 

Ultimately, the research team believes this study could help guide the search for ancient life on Mars.

“The mission of the 2020 rover is to look for the signs of past life,” explains Mustard. “Areas where you may have remnants of this underground habitable zone – which may have been the largest habitable zone on the planet – seem like a good place to target.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The best place to look for ancient life on Mars may be underground

Life on Mars has always been a major topic of...

Monitoring your exposure to UV radiation is important for a number of reasons beyond just <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunscreen-protectio/">avoiding getting sunburned. </a>

For some people, Vitamin D deficiency can weaken the immune system and cause depression, so monitoring sun exposure can help balance Vitamin D levels.

For other people, just limiting sun exposure isn’t enough to combat harmful UV radiation, because not all UV wavelengths impact the skin equally, and current sensors don’t differentiate between the three types of UV radiation, UVA, UVB, and UVC. 

Excessive UV radiation/sun exposure can also lead to skin cancer, blindness, sunburn and causes the skin to age prematurely. 

This is what inspired Vipul Bansal, a professor at <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/">RMIT University </a>in Melbourne, Australia to develop a wearable, color changing sensor that tracks vitamin absorption and UV radiation exposure to the skin.  

What’s more, the sensors come in six variations to meet the needs of different skin types from fair to dark. 

The sensors can provide people with an accurate measure of how much UV their skin has been exposed to throughout the day. 

Monitoring UV exposure is no small feat because everyone’s personal needs are so different and what’s healthy for one skin type may not be enough for another. 

Bansal's sensor measures UV exposure for the six skin types from Type 1 (fair skin) to Type VI (dark skin).

This aspect is crucial because Type 1 can only tolerate one-fifth of the UV exposure that Type VI can before incurring skin damage.  The sensors will be able to tell an individual when they’ve had too much UV exposure or if they need more sun to help with Vitamin D levels. 

“We are excited that our UV sensor technology allows the production of personalized sensors that can be matched to the specific needs of a particular individual,” said Bansal. “The low cost and child-friendly design of these UV sensors will facilitate their use as educational materials to increase awareness around sun safety. We can print our ink on any paper-like surface to produce cheap wearable sensors in the form of wristbands, headbands or stickers for example.” 

Bansal and his research team also note that the sensors can be used for other purposes besides monitoring skin exposure such as helping improve the lifetime of industrial and consumer products that wear down in the sun. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: RMIT University

Wearable UV sensors could help reduce sun damage to the skin

Monitoring your exposure to UV radiation is important for a...

A new study published by the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a> has demonstrated that some of the patterns generated by the brain's electrical activity during <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-increases-car-crash-risk/">sleep</a> are driven by genetics, while others are shaped by our environment.

Identifying how an individual's biology or personal experience contributes to sleep neurophysiology could ultimately be used to develop new therapies for psychiatric disorders which notably alter the brain's activity while the body is at rest.

The study was designed to allow the researchers to distinguish between the influence of genetic and environmental factors during the most crucial phases of sleep. 

A research team led by Leila Tarokh used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the brain activity of 11- to 14-year-old pairs of identical and fraternal twins throughout two consecutive nights of sleep at home. 

During stage 2 of light sleep, sudden bursts of brain activity occur that are referred to as sleep spindles because of how they look when printed out on an EEG reading. Stage 2 sleep, which usually lasts about 20 minutes, is characterized by a decrease in heart rate and in temperature as the body prepares itself for deep sleep.

The next phase of sleep is known as slow-wave sleep (SWS), the deepest phase of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Phase 3 sleep is considered to be important for memory consolidation, and is characterized by delta waves on an EEG reading. 

The experts discovered that both hereditary and environmental factors influenced slow waves and spindles among the study participants. The extent of the impact of genes or the environment on electrical activity depended on the brain region being monitored. Frontal regions were found to be under strong environmental influence, while regions toward the back of the brain were strongly influenced by genetics. 

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Brain activity during sleep is affected by experiences, genetics

A new study published by the Society for Neuroscience has...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.bnl.gov/">U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory</a> have uncovered new details about the oil production process in plant cells. The discovery could ultimately lead to new methods of modifying plants to produce massive of amounts of oil that could be used as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/europe-biofuel-deforestation-warming/">biofuels</a>.

A previous study led by Brookhaven Lab biochemist John Shanklin demonstrated a clear association between a sugar-signaling molecule called KIN10 and another protein that initiates oil production known as WRINKLED1. 

The researchers expanded upon this finding and discovered that by increasing sugar accumulation in plant leaves they could also boost oil production. The current study provides a better understanding of the link between sugar signaling and oil production by identifying the exact molecules underlying this connection. 

“If you were a cell, you'd want to know if you should be making new compounds or breaking existing ones down,” said Shanklin. “Making oil is demanding; you want to make it when you have lots of energy - which in cells is measured by the amount of sugar available. By understanding how the availability of sugar drives oil production, we hope to find ways to get plants to boost the priority of making oil.”

In the follow-up investigation, study first authors Zhiyang Zhai and Jantana Keereetaweep set out to determine how different molecular components interact to drive up oil production when sugar is abundant. The team used a new technique called microscale thermophoresis, which measure the strength of molecular interactions with great precision using fluorescent dyes and heat.

“You label the molecules with a fluorescent dye and measure how they move away from a heat source,” said Shanklin. “Then, if you add another molecule that binds to the labeled molecule, it changes the rate at which the labeled molecule moves away from the heat.”

Shanklin said the application of this emerging technique was the key to solving this particular research problem.

The levels of a molecule known as trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) rise and fall with those of sugar. The study revealed that T6P interacts directly with the KIN10, and this binding interferes with KIN10's ability to shut off oil biosynthesis.

“By measuring the interactions among many different molecules, we determined that the sugar-signaling molecule, T6P, binds with KIN10 and interferes with its interaction with a previously unidentified intermediate in this process, known as GRIK1, which is needed for KIN10 to tag WRINKLED1 for destruction. This explains how the signal affects the chain of events and leads to increased oil production,” said Shanklin. “It's not just sugar but the signaling molecule that rises and falls with sugar that inhibits the oil shut-off mechanism.”

In order to apply this knowledge for increasing oil production, further research is required to get a closer look at the interaction of T6P with its target protein, KIN10. With the help of Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), the team will use extremely bright x-rays to reveal exactly how the interacting molecules fit together.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.plantcell.org/">The Plant Cell</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Boosting oil production in plants can help produce biofuels

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory...

Global warming can in part be attributed to <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/the-greenhouse-effect/">the greenhouse effect</a>, where an increase in greenhouse gas emissions traps heat in the atmosphere and this heat warms the planet.

The Earth releases heat both from its surface and atmosphere, but researchers have observed a linear relationship between the Earth’s surface temperature and its outgoing heat despite the complex climate processes on Earth.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) conducted a study to better understand this linear relationship and the results could help improve climate modeling and future projections for atmospheric CO2.

The results of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

As the Earth emits heat into space from its surface and atmosphere, the increase in greenhouse gas emissions traps the heat in the atmosphere because the air can hold more water vapor.

The researchers found that the water vapor feedback cancels the rate of heat emissions from the atmosphere, even though the atmosphere is holding more heat. This helps explain why the heat released from the Earth has maintained such a linear relationship.

For the study, the researchers developed a radiation code that showed how the Earth emits heat into space. Earth is visualized as a vertical column and the researchers were able to calculate the amount of radiation that escapes from the column thanks to the code.

Once they had the code developed, the researchers then tackled what processes were driving the release of radiation.

“So the radiation code gave us what Earth actually does,” said Daniel Koll, a co-author of the study. “Then I started digging into this code, which is a lump of physics smashed together, to see which of these physics is actually responsible for this relationship.”

The researchers programmed various climate components into the code such as convection, humidity and water vapor, increasing and decreasing the levels of each to see how it impacted heat release.

The team had to break down the entire spectrum of infrared radiation into 350,000 wavelengths to see which wavelengths were being absorbed by water.

Water vapor absorbs heat at certain wavelengths even though the Earth is getting hotter and more heat should be released.

“It's like there's a window, through which a river of radiation can flow to space,” said Koll. “The river flows faster and faster as you make things hotter, but the window gets smaller, because the greenhouse effect is trapping a lot of that radiation and preventing it from escaping.”

The researchers also found that the direct relationship between heat release, and if global surface temperatures go above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes harder and harder for the Earth to release heat at the same rate the surface is warming.

If the Earth’s surface temperature were to reach temperatures of 152 degrees, the planet would start to look an awful lot like Venus, something that global warming wouldn’t be able to cause on its own, according to the researchers.

The researchers say the results shed light on how the Earth releases heat and could help improve climate change models as well our understanding of the varied climates of ancient Earth.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How Earth’s surface temps correlate with how much heat it emits

Global warming can in part be attributed to the greenhouse...

A new study describes how geoengineering projects could be used to slow down glacial melt and limit sea-level rise. The investigation was focused on the Thwaites Glacier in the Amundsen Sea, which is retreating at an accelerated rate.

Thwaites is one of the widest glaciers in the world and is predicted to be the largest individual source of future <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-rise-islands-uninhabitable/">sea-level rise</a>. 

“If (glacial geoengineering) works there then we would expect it to work on less challenging glaciers as well,” explained the study authors. 

The researchers found that an intervention the size of existing civil engineering projects may have only about a 30 percent chance of success, but that a more targeted approach would have better odds.  

Study co-author John Moore is a scientist at <a href="http://english.bnu.edu.cn/">Beijing Normal University</a> in China and a professor of Climate Change at the University of Lapland in Finland. “Doing geoengineering means often considering the unthinkable,” said Professor Moore.


Glacial geoengineering involves making changes to the geometry of the seafloor to form an ice shelf near glaciers that flow into the ocean, which could prevent them from melting further. Like the Thwaites ice stream, many glaciers are rapidly retreating and the impacts will affect millions of people living along the world’s coastline.

“Thwaites could easily trigger a runaway (West Antarctic) ice sheet collapse that would ultimately raise global sea level by about 3 meters,” explained study co-author and <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> researcher Michael Wolovick.

“The most important result (of our study) is that a meaningful ice sheet intervention is broadly within the order of magnitude of plausible human achievements.”

The team evaluated two glacial-geoengineering methods. One idea is to construct a massive underwater wall to prevent warm water from reaching the base of an ice shelf, which is very sensitive to melting. 

A simpler concept involves building artificial mounds or columns on the seafloor. The mounds would not block warm water but could help the glacier re-strengthen and re-develop by supporting it and holding it back.

“In either case, we were imagining very simple structures, simply piles of sand or gravel on the ocean floor,” said Wolovick.

Computer simulations demonstrated that even the least complex of the designs could slow down the rate of glacial melt, providing coastal communities with more time to adapt to rising sea levels. 

“We all understand that we have an urgent professional obligation to determine how much sea level rise society should expect, and how fast that sea level rise is likely to come,” said Dr Wolovick.

“However, we would argue that there is also an obligation to try to come up with ways that society could protect itself against a rapid ice-sheet collapse.”

While glacial geoengineering could work to hold off ice-sheet collapse, the study authors strongly emphasize that reducing greenhouse-gas emissions remains the number one priority in the fight against climate change.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.the-cryosphere.net/">The Cryosphere</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Construction of underwater walls may help slow the sea-level rise

A new study describes how geoengineering projects could be used...

When it comes to preparing for earthquakes, it’s not only important to find ways to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-warning-system-earthquake/">better predict seismic events</a> but also to gauge the potential impacts to rural and urban areas in highly active earthquake-prone regions.  

Preparing for earthquakes based on potential risk factors is challenging for aid agencies who have limited resources at their disposal, especially when there are so many unknowns in risk reduction planning. 

But now, researchers from <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/">Durham University</a> have developed a new way to model this seismic risk in a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

The new method developed by the researchers is called ensemble modeling and involves examining multiple earthquake scenarios to see if there are certain risks specific to one region or if the risks are common across the board regardless of magnitude or geographic location. 

What’s different about ensemble modeling versus traditional earthquake risk modeling and projections is that helps put worst case scenarios in perspective and focuses on the impacts of multiple potential earthquake scenarios. 

“Our method provides critical information on the likelihood, and probable scale, of impacts in future earthquakes,” said Tom Robinson, a member of the research team. “We hope this can help better inform how governments and aid agencies direct limited disaster mitigation resources, for example how they distribute resources geographically.” 

The researchers used Nepal as a case study for their ensemble modeling in collaboration with the<a href="http://www.nset.org.np/"> Nepal National Society of Earthquake Technology.</a>

The team modeled fatalities from 90 different earthquake scenarios in Nepal to see if the impacts were region or magnitude specific. 

“Our results also showed that the most at-risk districts are predominantly in rural western Nepal and that there are around 9.5 million Nepalese people who live in districts that are at a higher seismic risk than the capital, Kathmandu,” said Robinson. “Disaster risk reduction planning therefore needs to focus on rural, as well as urban, communities, as our modeling shows they are at higher risk.”

The researchers hope their new modeling method will help improve risk reduction planning for earthquake-prone regions and show where aid workers and policymakers need to focus their efforts. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/">Durham University</a>

New earthquake modelling method could improve risk assessment

When it comes to preparing for earthquakes, it’s not only...

Over the past several days, the<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-iceland-sells-risky-seismic-activity-tourist-attraction/"> highly active Icelandic volcano</a> Katla has received considerable media attention questioning whether or not an eruption is imminent. 

However, it turns out that many have misunderstood the results of a new study that found that Katla is emitting huge quantities of CO2, which can be a precursor to an eruption event.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">Leeds University</a> recently conducted the pioneering study examining CO2 emissions of the volcano, and the results could help with predicting volcanic eruptions in the future.

The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and it’s one of the few to measure CO2 emissions from a volcano covered by glacial ice, which Katla is. 

Katla, which means Kettle, is one of Iceland's most active and largest volcanos with a history of erupting twice per century, although by those standards the volcano is now long overdue for its next eruption. 

Part of what makes Katla so interesting and difficult to study is that it’s partially buried under a glacier and the last eruption to break through its glacial cap occurred in 1918.  

Although volcanoes are a key source of CO2 emissions and a volcanic eruption of Katla would have a major impact on a global scale, emitting high ash plumes and potential tidal waves, it was previously assumed that Katla was a minor gas emitter according to the study. 

The researchers used high-precision airborne measurements and atmospheric modeling to better understand Katla’s emissions. 

What the researchers discovered was that not only is Katla not a minor emitter of CO2, Katla is responsible for up to four percent of all global non-erupting volcanic emissions. 

In other words, Katla is one of the largest volcanic sources of CO2 on Earth. 

While some media outlets have misinterpreted the study as pointing to an imminent eruption because the CO2 measurement could indicate that the volcano’s magma chamber is quickly filling up, the researchers and other volcano experts say otherwise. 

“There is no way of telling when it will erupt, just that it will,” Sarah Barsotti, co-ordinator for volcanic hazards at the <a href="http://en.vedur.is/">Icelandic Meteorological Office</a>, told <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/">the Sunday Times</a>. 

The lead author of the study, Dr. Evgenia Ilyinskaya of the University of Leeds, took to Twitter to clear up the confusion:

“Our new study on Katla #volcano in Iceland has received significant interest of the #media, which is great,” she tweeted. “However, an unwanted side effect is that the media can misrepresent and exaggerate scientific results. In our <a href="https://t.co/FzeyQsLuMo">study</a>, we discovered something extraordinary and unexpected about Katla. But we did NOT show whether or not it is building up to an #eruption.”

<a href="http://earthice.hi.is/institute_earth_sciences">Iceland’s Institute for Earth Sciences</a> recently released a statement on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/earthice.UI/">Facebook page </a>stating that the new research does not actually predict any future eruptions, but the study is no less noteworthy. 

But the research could help with predicting volcanic eruptions in the future and adds to our understanding of volcanic CO2 emissions.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Is the Icelandic volcano Katla about to erupt?

Over the past several days, the highly active Icelandic volcano...

An international team of neuroscientists led by the <a href="https://www.dpz.eu/en/home.html">German Primate Center</a> has conducted studies on epilepsy patients to determine where and how the brain stores a memory that keeps everything from going dark when we blink our eyes. The experts have identified a region of the brain that is very important for the process of perceptual memory. 

Somehow, we manage to maintain a stable, uninterrupted picture of our environment throughout the process of blinking or moving our head and eyes. 

The researchers theorized that a specific <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brain-lazy-conserve-energy/">brain</a> region known as the medial prefrontal cortex, which plays an important role in short-term memory and decision-making, may be critical to our visual perception. 

The investigation was focused on this region of the brain in patients with epilepsy. The neural activity in the prefrontal cortex was recorded as the participants observed two separate dot lattices on a screen and were asked to indicate their perception of the orientation of each, such as horizontal or vertical. 

If both orientations were reported as being the same, this was an indication that the subjects used the information from the first round to perceive the second round of dots. A section of the superior frontal gyrus had been previously removed due to illness in one of the participants, and the team discovered that she was unable to store the visual information.

“Our research shows that the medial prefrontal cortex calibrates current visual information with previously obtained information and thus enables us to perceive the world with more stability, even when we briefly close our eyes to blink,” explained study first author Caspar Schwiedrzik.

“Even when we see a facial expression, this information influences the perception of the expression on the next face that we look at.”


Schwiedrzik said that the research demonstrates the important role of the prefrontal cortex in perception and in context-dependent behavior. Next, the researchers want to investigate the role that confidence in one's own perception plays in perceptual memory.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why blinking doesn’t interrupt the stability of our vision

An international team of neuroscientists led by the German Primate...

Personal odors provide information about many aspects of a person's identity, including the status of their health. A new study from the <a href="https://www.monell.org/">Monell Center</a> has revealed that, when animals are around others who are unhealthy, the odors of the healthy individuals actually shift to become more like the odors of the sick animals. 

The findings of the research suggest that odor cues associated with sickness can cause changes in healthy individuals, which could potentially impact social contacts and the patterns of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cooking-wood-coal-respiratory-disease/">disease</a> spread.

“Exposure to the odors of sick individuals may trigger protective or preparative responses in their social partners to minimize the risk of impending infection,” explained study lead author and chemical ecologist Dr. Stephanie Gervasi.

The Monell team has demonstrated in previous work that inflammation leads to bodily odor changes, suggesting that immune-activated odors may signal the risk of disease to other members of a group.

For the current investigation, the researchers injected mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a non-infectious bacterial toxin that causes inflammation, immune system activation, and other symptoms associated with illness. The LPS-injected animals were then placed in cages with healthy animals.

Next, mice trained to differentiate between urine odors indicated that the healthy cage partners of sick animals smelled more like sick animals than healthy ones. An analysis of urinary odor compounds confirmed the findings of the “sniffer" mice, classifying odor compounds from healthy mice as being sick when the healthy mice had been housed with sick animals.

“This work shows not only that odors signal disease but that they can have strong effects on individuals that detect them,” said study senior author Dr. Gary Beauchamp. “This is a remarkable transfer of information via olfaction that specifically alters physiology and could play a role in disease transfer among individuals in many species.”

Dr. Bruce Kimball, who was also a senior author of the paper, added: “This knowledge that healthy animals can emit odors associated with sickness may inform our efforts to use bodily odors to understand how pathogens are transmitted within a population of animals.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</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

Odors of healthy animals change when they’re around sick animals

Personal odors provide information about many aspects of a person's...

Unfortunately, most people find about their genetic predispositions towards certain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wealthier-countries-higher-cancer/">cancers</a> only after a family member has been diagnosed. 

A new study conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> shows just how prevalent genetic risk factors for cancers are, and the results call for more effective DNA screening for everyone. 

The study was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

“As a colleague said, it usually takes a tragedy for people to get tested,” said Michael Murray, the senior author of the study. “Our reliance on a documented personal or family history as a trigger to offer testing is not working. Hopefully, one day we can change that with effective DNA-based screening for everyone.”

Data on more than 50,000 people who had undergone genetic screening showed that over 80 percent of the people screened carried a cancer-associated gene variant in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. This variance increases the risk of breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancers. 

The average age of the people in the study was 60, and 267 out of the test group were diagnosed with a BRCA-associated cancer. 

Very few of the study participants both with and without a BRCA association cancer knew they possessed a genetic risk factor. 

Understanding your risk for certain cancers is important because it can lead to early diagnosis and better treatment and prevention methods compared to someone who is diagnosed with a later stage of cancer. 

“Once risk is identified, we can apply proven tools for early diagnosis and prevention, and we believe that the 31% difference in cancer incidence in these two groups is a window into an opportunity to decrease cancer and cancer deaths through genomic screening approaches,” said Murray. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

80 percent of people with genetic cancer risk don’t know it

Unfortunately, most people find about their genetic predispositions towards certain...

Earth’s spin axis, an imaginary line that runs through the North and South Poles, shifts a little bit each year. For the first time, NASA scientists have identified three processes that are contributing to this “polar motion.”


During the 20th century, the spin axis drifted about four inches each year, totaling more than 11 yards over the course of the century. 

The NASA team analyzed observational and model-based data, and determined that glacial rebound, mantle convection, and contemporary mass loss were all responsible for the polar motion of the 20th century. 

Study first author Surendra Adhikari is an expert at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“The traditional explanation is that one process, glacial rebound, is responsible for this motion of Earth's spin axis. But recently, many researchers have speculated that other processes could have potentially large effects on it as well,” said Adhikari. 

“We assembled models for a suite of processes that are thought to be important for driving the motion of the spin axis. We identified not one but three sets of processes that are crucial - and melting of the global cryosphere (especially Greenland) over the course of the 20th century is one of them.”

Glacial rebound refers to a shift in the Earth's surface as heavy <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/glaciers-living/">glaciers</a> lose mass and less pressure is placed on the underlying depressions. The land begins to return to the state it was in prior to the last ice age.

While researchers have previously identified glacial rebound as the primary cause of the drifting spin axis, the NASA scientists have found that glacial rebound is only responsible for about a third of the polar drift in the 20th century.

The redistribution of our planet's mass, such as changes to ice sheets, land, or mantle flow, has its own influence on Earth's rotation. Temperatures rose throughout the 20th century, which reduced ice mass in Greenland. 

During this time period, about 7,500 gigatons of Greenland's ice melted into the ocean. The experts say that Greenland's location makes it a more significant contributor to polar motion.

“There is a geometrical effect that if you have a mass that is 45 degrees from the North Pole - which Greenland is -- or from the South Pole (like Patagonian glaciers), it will have a bigger impact on shifting Earth's spin axis than a mass that is right near the Pole,” said study co-author Eric Ivins.


Mantle convection is the third contributor to polar motion, according to the study. This process is the slow movement of material in the mantle caused by heat from Earth's core.

An interactive simulation of how these three natural processes contribute to Earth's wobbling spin axis is available here: <a href="https://vesl.jpl.nasa.gov/sea-level/polar-motion/">https://vesl.jpl.nasa.gov/sea-level/polar-motion/</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why Earth wobbles as it spins on its axis

Earth’s spin axis, an imaginary line that runs through the...

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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

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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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from 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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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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

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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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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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



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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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 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



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 Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&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.

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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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

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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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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.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" 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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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...