PanoRadar marks a breakthrough in the ever-advancing world of robotics, addressing the challenge of providing effective perception systems for robots that can function in severe weather and unfavorable conditions. 



Unlike traditional sensors, PanoRadar uses radio waves to penetrate smoke, fog, and even certain materials, offering a robust alternative to light-based systems. 



This innovative approach paves the way for more resilient robotic applications, from autonomous vehicles to rescue missions in hazardous environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limitations-of-traditional-sensors">Limitations of traditional sensors</h2>



Current sensor systems, such as cameras or LiDAR, rely on light, which limits their effectiveness in conditions like heavy smoke or fog. Alternatively, they may rely on traditional radar which can 'see' through walls and other obstacles, but which produce images lacking in detail.



Nature, however, shows us that perception need not rely solely on light. Bats use <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soundwaves-can-be-used-to-move-objects/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sound wave</a> echoes for navigation, while sharks detect electrical fields from their prey's movements. 



These examples highlight alternative perception methods that can inform technological innovations, like radio wave-based sensing.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-radio-waves-disrupt-the-magnetic-compass-of-migratory-birds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Radio waves</a>, with their longer wavelengths, can penetrate challenging conditions and even certain materials, surpassing the limitations of human vision and conventional sensors. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-panoradar-a-new-era-of-robot-vision">PanoRadar: A new era of robot vision</h2>



Enter researchers from the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pennsylvania</a> School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering). They have initiated a new era in robot vision with their creation, the PanoRadar.



This novel invention enables robots to perceive their surroundings in three dimensions with incredible detail, by transforming simple radio waves into detailed, 3-D images of the environment.



"Our initial question was whether we could combine the best of both sensing modalities - the robustness of radio signals, which is resilient to fog and other challenging conditions, and the high resolution of visual sensors," explained Mingmin Zhao, assistant professor of computer and information science.



The birth of PanoRadar is the novel answer to this complex challenge. It has opened new possibilities for robotic perception in environments where traditional systems fail.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-does-panoradar-work">How does PanoRadar work?</h2>



Think about how a lighthouse works. It sweeps its beam in a circle, scanning the entire horizon, revealing the presence of ships and coastal features. That's how the PanoRadar operates. 



It consists of a rotating vertical array of antennae that scan the surroundings. These antennae send out radio waves and listen for their reflections from the environment.



But PanoRadar is not just a simple scanner. It intelligently combines measurements from all rotation angles, enhancing its imaging resolution. 



"The key innovation is in how we process these radio wave measurements. Our signal processing and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/machine-learning-reveals-how-to-prevent-covid-19-from-ever-returning/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">machine learning</a> algorithms are able to extract rich 3D information from the environment," explained Zhao.



This novel approach allows PanoRadar to achieve imaging resolution comparable to that of LiDAR, but at a fraction of the cost.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comprehending-and-interpreting-complex-data">Comprehending and interpreting complex data</h2>



Implementing high-resolution imaging while the robot is moving presented a significant challenge. The team needed to combine measurements from various positions with sub-millimeter accuracy.



"Even small motion errors can significantly impact the imaging quality," said Haowen Lai, lead author of the paper.



In addition, they had to train their system rigorously to comprehend and interpret the complex data it receives, to ensure that it could accurately identify and understand various objects and environmental features in real time.



"Indoor environments have consistent patterns and geometries. We leveraged these patterns to help our AI system interpret the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radar-imaging-will-help-protect-polar-bears-from-human-disturbances/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radar</a> signals, similar to how humans learn to make sense of what they see," explained Gaoxiang Luo.



Thanks to machine learning algorithms, the model was able to improve its understanding against reality using LiDAR data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-radio-waves-and-robot-vision">Radio waves and robot vision</h2>



PanoRadar’s capabilities extend beyond what traditional sensors can perceive.



"Our field tests across different buildings showed how radio sensing can excel where traditional sensors struggle," said Liu. "The system maintains precise tracking through smoke and can even map spaces with glass walls."



This advantage comes from the ability of radio waves to pass through airborne particles with ease, allowing the system to detect elements that LiDAR often misses, such as glass surfaces. 



Additionally, PanoRadar's high resolution enables it to identify people accurately, an essential capability for applications like autonomous vehicles and rescue operations in challenging environments.



These attributes make PanoRadar a game-changer for robots operating in difficult conditions, where reliability and precision are paramount.



The research will be presented at the 2024 International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking (<a href="https://search.app?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sigmobile.org%2Fmobicom%2F2024%2F&amp;utm_campaign=aga&amp;utm_source=agsadl2%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MobiCom</a>).



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Giving robots 'superhuman' vision through radio waves

PanoRadar marks a breakthrough in the ever-advancing world of robotics, addressing the challenge of providing effective perception systems for robots that can function in severe weather and unfavorable conditions. Unlike traditional sensors, PanoRadar uses radio waves to penetrate smoke, fog, and even certain materials, offering a robust alternative to light-based systems. This innovative approach paves the way for more resilient robotic applications, from autonomous vehicles to rescue missions in hazardous environments. Limitations of traditional sensors Current sensor systems, such as cameras or LiDAR, rely on light, which...

Photos by Alastair Fyfe

Prehistoric women who lived during the Neolithic Era and the Bronze Age performed considerable physical labor, from tilling the soil for crops to grinding grain into flour by hand.

A new study has revealed that life was so labor intensive during these times that prehistoric women had stronger arms than today’s top female rowing athletes. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> and published in the journal Science Advances. 

It’s the first study of its kind to compare the bone strength in prehistoric women to modern women. Previous studies have made similar comparisons but usually to men, and male bones show wear and strain differently. 

“By interpreting women's bones in a female-specific context we can start to see how intensive, variable and laborious their behaviours were, hinting at a hidden history of women's work over thousands of years,” said Alison Macintosh, the lead author. 

The researchers analyzed arm and leg bones of female participants using a small CT scanner. The participants represented a wide range of physical fitness and sedentary lifestyles. 

Among the participants were members of the <a href="http://cuwbc.org.uk/">Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club</a>, who trained twice a day and rowed an average of 120 kilometers a week. 

The CT scans were compared to bones scans of women from early eras when agriculture and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farming-changes-greenhouse-gases/">farming</a> were a prominent part of daily life. 

The reason the researchers chose to analyze bone strength is that bones can tell a great deal about the physical strains they’ve been subjected to. 

“It can be easy to forget that bone is a living tissue, one that responds to the rigours we put our bodies through,” said Macintosh. “Physical impact and muscle activity both put strain on bone, called loading. The bone reacts by changing in shape, curvature, thickness and density over time to accommodate repeated strain.” 

The researchers found that Neolithic women from 7,000 years ago had arms bones that were 11 to 16 percent stronger than the rowers. 

Women in the Bronze Age had arm bones that were nine to thirteen percent stronger than the rowers. 

The differences in arm strength make sense, even when you factor in the physical stamina of today’s rowing athletes. Prehistoric women spent much of their time tilling the soil by hand, taking care of livestock, and grinding grain into flour for hours at a time. 

“We can't say specifically what behaviours were causing the bone loading we found. However, a major activity in early agriculture was converting grain into flour, and this was likely performed by women,” said Macintosh.

The study gives a more accurate picture of what life was like for prehistoric women, fairly demonstrating their contribution to day to day work thousands of years ago. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Alastair Fyfe for the University of Cambridge

Prehistoric women had stronger arms than today’s rowing athletes

Prehistoric women who lived during the Neolithic Era and the...

The rise of sea-levels as a result of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> carries many consequences, particularly for coastal areas and those living in them. But the wide-scale flooding that appears imminent in our future won’t just impact our present, it will also destroy some of our past.

According to a study published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>, sea-level rise may impact a great number of archaeological and historic sites, cemeteries, and landscapes on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the southeastern United States. 

David Anderson of the <a href="https://www.utk.edu/">University of Tennessee</a> and his colleagues estimated the impact of sea-level rise on archaeological sites by analyzing data from the Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINNA). DINAA pulls together archaeological and historical data sets from numerous sources developed over the past century. This provides a comprehensive window into the history of human settlement for both research communities and the general public today.

The results of the study show that if projected trends in sea-level rise continue, over 13,000 recorded archaeological sites in the southeast alone may be submerged in the next 100 years. This includes over 1,000 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places as important cultural properties – not to mention how many sites will be lost that have yet to be discovered.

Studies such as this – which rely on large linked data sets like DINAA – are essential to developing plans for sampling, triage, and mitigation efforts across entire regions. The data that is gathered and analyzed is essential for forecasting our future and making public policy decisions about the consequences of man-made climate change. “Developing informatics capabilities at regional and continental scales like DINAA is essential if we are to effectively plan for, and help mitigate, this loss of human history,” explains Anderson.

Now that we have access to this data and the scientists to analyze it, the push for action and results should be the logical next step.

[caption id="attachment_966117" align="aligncenter" width="273"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/archaeological-sites.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-966117" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/archaeological-sites-273x300.jpg" alt="" width="273" height="300" /></a> Image Credit: Anderson et al., 2017[/caption]

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sea-level rise may destroy over 13,000 U.S. archaeological sites

The rise of sea-levels as a result of climate change...

Although dinosaurs have long been extinct, their relatives live on amongst us – many even as pets. That’s because birds are a direct descendant of a group of feathered, carnivorous dinosaurs known as paravians. Now, a new study has discovered previously unknown details about dinosaur feathers, allowing scientists to build possibly the most accurate depiction of any dinosaur species ever.

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> analyzed an exceptionally preserved fossil of a crow-sized paravian dinosaur known as Anchiornis. At high resolution, the scientists compared fossilized feathers to those of other dinosaurs and extinct bird species. They found that the feathers around the body of Anchiornis – which are known as contour feathers – showed a primitive and now extinct feather form. This form consists of a short quill with long, flexible, independent barbs jutting from the quill at low angles to form two vanes and a forked feather shape. 

The researchers believe that these feathers would have given the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-dinosaurs/">dinosaur</a> a “fluffy” appearance compared to the streamlined bodies of modern flying birds. While modern birds have tightly-zipped vanes forming continuous surfaces, Anchiornis’s unzipped feathers could have affected the species’ ability to repel water and control its body temperature. Furthermore, the more fluffy plumage would have also increased drag when the Anchiornis glided and would have hindered the feather’s ability to form a lift surface.

It was also observed that Anchiornis had four wings, as did some other paravians. They had long feathers on their legs as well as their arms, and elongated feathers that formed a fringe around their tail. These extra feathers increased surface-area, likely allowing for gliding before powered flight ever evolved.

In order to reconstruct an accurate depiction of this extinct species, the researchers called upon scientific illustrator Rebecca Gelernter to draw the animal as it would’ve appeared while alive. The resulting piece represents a major shift in dinosaur depictions and incorporates previous research as well.

“The novel aspects of the wing and contour feathers, as well as fully-feathered hands and feet, are added to the depiction,” says Evan Saitta of the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences and School of Biological Sciences. “Overall, our study provides some new insight into the appearance of dinosaurs, their behavior and physiology, and the evolution of feathers, birds, and powered flight.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Rebecca Gelernter

Birds are the descendants of fluffy, feathered dinosaurs

Although dinosaurs have long been extinct, their relatives live on...

Based on geological records from the last 100,000 years, scientists have determined that volcanic “super-eruptions” occur much more frequently than previously realized. These massive explosions are capable of producing over 1,000 gigatons of mass, covering entire continents with ash, and changing weather patterns for decades.

Scientists from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> set out to calculate how many thousands of years separate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption/">super-eruptions</a> based on their occurrence in the past. They determined that the average time between these events is not much longer than 12,000 years, the known age of our civilization.

"The previous estimate, made in 2004, was that super-eruptions occurred on average every 45 - 714 thousand years, comfortably longer than our civilization,” said study co-author Jonathan Rougier. "But in our paper just published, we re-estimate this range as 5.2 - 48 thousand years, with a best guess value of 17 thousand years."

The researchers found that the two most recent super-eruptions happened somewhere between 20 and 30 thousand years ago.

"On balance, we have been slightly lucky not to experience any super-eruptions since then,” said Rougier. "But it is important to appreciate that the absence of super-eruptions in the last 20 thousand years does not imply that one is overdue. Nature is not that regular.”


Rougier does warn, however, that volcanoes pose more of a threat to civilization than what has been expected. Regardless, there is is not an urgent need to prepare for a super-eruption with so many other issues that need to be addressed.

Rougier says that this study will have a positive influence on how future investigations of past extreme events are conducted. 

"As well as improving our understanding of global volcanism, our paper develops relatively simple techniques to analyse incomplete and error-prone geological and historical records of rare events,” said Rougier.”These difficulties are ubiquitous in geohazards, and we expect our approach will be used for reappraising other types of hazard, such as earthquakes."

The study is published in <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/earth-and-planetary-science-letters">Earth and Planetary Science Letters</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Image Credit: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

The next volcano super-eruption could happen sooner than expected

Based on geological records from the last 100,000 years, scientists...

With today's changing climate conditions, certain species of animals will be pushed into extinction if trophy hunting and other activities which target strong males are not properly managed.

Researchers from <a href="http://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> (QMUL) predict that the harvesting of even five percent of robust males may be enough to lead to extinction.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunting-reduces-populations/">Hunters</a> target male animals with extravagant features such as large horns or antlers. These individuals are often equipped with the healthiest genes, which are removed from the population once they are killed.

"This demonstration that trophy hunting can potentially push otherwise resilient populations to extinction when the environment changes is concerning,” said lead author Dr. Rob Knell. “Because these high-quality males with large secondary sexual traits tend to father a high proportion of the offspring, their 'good genes' can spread rapidly, so populations of strongly sexually selected animals can adapt quickly to new environments. Removing these males reverses this effect and could have serious and unintended consequences.”

Dr. Knell explained, "We found that 'selective harvest' has little effect when the environment is relatively constant, but environmental change is now a dangerous reality across the globe for considerable numbers of species."

In Sub-Saharan Africa, more land is conserved for hunting than is protected in national parks. Trophy hunting is an important industry that is thought to have little impact on animal populations. But now, the researchers have shown that damage caused by this recreational sport may be irreparable in a changing environment.

The research team used computer simulation to forecast the outcome of selectively targeting males and to examine how the climate influences this outcome. Based on their findings, the authors recommend restricting hunting to older males who have already reproduced.

"Our results clearly show that age restrictions on harvest which allow males to breed before they are taken is effective at reducing the impact of selective harvest on adapting populations,” said Dr. Knell. "When properly regulated trophy hunting can be a powerful force for conservation which is why we're suggesting a different management approach as opposed to calling for a ban."

The study appears in <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.
--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Trophy hunting amidst climate change can wipe out entire species

With today's changing climate conditions, certain species of animals will...

When researchers set out to gain a better understanding of how American gun owners perceive firearm ownership, they found that white men who are financially stressed are more likely to cling to their guns for moral support.

A research team at <a href="https://www.baylor.edu/">Baylor University</a> analyzed data on gun owners from across the United States and established a link between economic stress and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/higher-suicide-rates-rural-areas/">gun</a> ownership. White males who feel that their financial security is threatened often develop an emotional attachment to their firearms.

In addition, the experts determined that this particular group of white males is more likely to consider violence against the United States government as being justified.

Paul Froese is a Sociology professor at Baylor and co-author of the study.

“This speaks to the belief in some ‘dark state’ within the government which needs fighting,” said Froese. “What’s paradoxical is that white male gun owners in the U.S. see themselves as hyper-patriotic, but they are the first to say, ‘If the government impedes me, I have the moral and almost patriotic right to fight back.’”

Nonwhite gun owners, however, place much less value on their guns in times of financial hardship, according to the study authors. Nonwhites are also less inclined to justify violence against the government.

Froese explains that these individuals have most likely “developed different coping mechanisms” to deal with economic stress.

The researchers used data from a Gallup poll of 1,572 Americans in January 2014, which included 577 gun owners. The participants were asked about the types of guns they owned, why they owned firearms, their attitudes toward gun policies, and their feelings on violence against the government.

The research team identified differences between gun owners and non-owners. They found that gun owners were more likely to be white, male, married, older, earn more, and live in rural areas. In addition, gun owners reported being more conservative, attending church regularly, and feeling more alienated from society compared to those individuals who did not own guns.

There were also notable differences among the gun owners when it came to their sense of authority.

“Simply owning a gun does not predict an individual will express anti-gun control opinions, but rather whether the person feels empowered by the gun,” said Froese. “The emotional and moral connection explains variation within the population of gun owners.”

The findings of the study are published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/socpro">Social Problems</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

White American men cling to guns out of economic hardship

When researchers set out to gain a better understanding of...

A recent study reveals that marriage may actually lower a person's risk of getting dementia, while widowers and single adults are at a higher risk of developing the chronic disorder.

Researchers collected data from 15 relevant studies published through 2016. The experts analyzed the reports, which were based on over 800,000 participants from Europe, North and South America, and Asia, to determine whether there was a link between marital status and dementia risk.


After accounting for age and gender, the study showed that lifelong single adults were 42 percent more likely to develop <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dementia-expensive-families/">dementia</a>. The researchers pointed out that this single group has poorer overall health, which may help to explain the heightened risk.

However, studies based on single people born after 1927 showed that dementia risk was just 24 percent higher. This indicated that the health risk lessened across single adults over time, but the researchers have not identified the reason for this.

Widowers were found to be 20 percent more prone to dementia than married people, and the experts believe this may be partially attributed to the heightened stress levels caused by bereavement. These stress levels are linked to impaired nerve signaling and cognitive functioning.

According to the researchers, the connection between lower dementia risk and marriage strengthened as the study became more in depth. The team believes that married couples engage in healthier lifestyles, such as eating well and exercising more, which are associated with a lower risk of dementia.

While the findings of the study suggest that there are factors which reduce the chance that a person will develop dementia, the researchers pointed out that dementia is still not easily prevented.

"Therefore, ways of destigmatising dementia and producing dementia-friendly communities more accepting and embracing of the kinds of disruptions that dementia can produce should progress alongside biomedical and public health programs," said the study authors.

The research is published online in the <a href="http://jnnp.bmj.com/">Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery &amp; Psychiatry</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Marriage could lessen your chances of developing dementia

A recent study reveals that marriage may actually lower a...

Around the time that urban societies were developing in Egypt and Mesopotamia between 5,300 and 3,300 years ago, the Indus Civilization was also evolving. Scientists have long believed that the settlements of this era sprung up along the banks of a thriving river, but new evidence shows that a major Himalayan river central to the Indus Civilization was no longer active.

The Ghaggar-Hakra River in northwest <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/smoke-fog-northern-india/">India</a> and Pakistan is believed to have dried up due to changes in the climate or shifting tectonic plates. But, prior to this study, scientists did not know exactly when the river ceased. It was assumed that the Indus settlements depended on the river and developed around it.

However, a research team from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> and the <a href="https://www.iitk.ac.in/">Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur</a> has now provided surprising evidence that the Ghaggar-Hakra was no longer flowing at the time the settlements of the Indus Civilization emerged. The findings of the study suggest that ancient urban societies did not depend exclusively on an active, flowing river system to flourish.

"The findings challenge our current understanding of how urbanization in many ancient civilizations began and grew in relation to natural resources,” said lead author Professor Sanjeev Gupta. “Contrary to current belief, it was the departure of a large river, rather than its arrival, that triggered the growth of Indus urban centers."

The researchers discovered that a major Himalayan river, the Sutlej River, once flowed in the tracks of the Ghaggar-Hakra River, but abruptly changed course about eight thousand years ago. By the time the Indus people settled into the region, there was only an abandoned large river valley.

The large impression in the ground left behind from the the Sutlej River collected water seasonally from monsoons, providing the Indus settlements with a temporary source of water.

"We now know that, given the right conditions, valleys that have lost their rivers can still serve as a water source,” said study co-author Rajiv Sinha. “The civilization would also not have been threatened by the risk of devastating floods that living next to a big river brings."

Since most previous research has been focused on the link between rivers drying up and the abandonment of ancient urban centers, the team believes this study may encourage archaeologists to take a new look at the development of settlements in early civilizations. The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ancient societies did not all need active rivers to thrive

Around the time that urban societies were developing in Egypt...

Scientists have been working to combat atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, which are set to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-co2-emissions-rise/">continue to rise</a> in 2017. Biofuels, electric cars, and renewable energy sources are becoming more and more mainstream, all in the hopes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. 

Now, new research has discovered a way to convert carbon dioxide emissions into fuel for cars, trucks, and planes.

The system was developed by <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> researchers and could be used to turn carbon dioxide emissions from power plants into fuel while filtering out oxygen. 

The fuel could work in all manner of vehicles and would also help stop the influx of carbon levels in the atmosphere. Turning carbon dioxide emissions into fuel and chemicals is part of a group of technologies called carbon capture, utilization, and storage. 

The MIT team created a membrane-based system that is made of a compound of lanthanum, calcium, and iron oxide. The membrane filters out oxygen from carbon dioxide leaving behind carbon monoxide which can then be used a source of fuel. 

The researchers created an energy efficient method of pulling the oxygen away by using hydrogen or methane which draws oxygen through the membrane. Once separate, the oxygen can’t recombine with the carbon monoxide. 

The MIT team are confident that their system works and are continually monitoring oxygen flow rates across the membrane.  

The membrane is suited for any level of carbon dioxide, but the higher the concentration, the better.

The new system presents exciting alternatives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by essentially recycling CO2 and turning it into fuel. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New system turns carbon dioxide emissions into fuel

Scientists have been working to combat atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions,...

A new study out of the <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> has found that shrinking glaciers in Iceland caused by climate change could lead to increased volcanic activity.

The study, published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology">Geology</a>, discovered that there was significantly less volcanic activity in Iceland when glacier cover was more extensive. As the glaciers melted, volcanic eruptions increased due to corresponding changes in surface pressure. Changes in surface pressure can cause stress on shallow chambers where magma builds up below the surface.

“Climate change caused by humans is creating rapid ice melt in volcanically active regions,” says Dr. Graeme Swindles of the School of Geography at Leeds. “In Iceland, this has put us on a path to more frequent volcanic eruptions."

In this study, the researchers examined Icelandic volcanic ash preserved in peat deposits and lake sediments, identifying a period of greatly reduced volcanic activity between 5,500 and 4,500 years ago. This decreases corresponded with a significant drop in global temperature, which led to glacier growth in <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/nighttime-iceland/">Iceland</a>.

The data showed a time lag of about 600 years between the climate event and a corresponding decrease in the prevalence in volcanic eruptions. The authors postulate that a similar time lag may be expected after the recent increase in global temperatures.

Swindles explains, “The human effect on global warming makes it difficult to predict how long the time lag will be but the trends of the past show us more eruptions in Iceland can be expected in the future.”

Obviously, an increase in volcanic eruptions in Iceland would not be ideal. It’s imperative that actions be taken as soon as possible to reverse the effects of man-made climate change, and volcanic eruptions are only one of many reasons.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Shrinking glaciers could cause more volcano eruptions

A new study out of the University of Leeds has...

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living ecosystems on Earth, comprised of more than 3,800 individual reefs that are even visible from space.

Despite its status as a <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/">UNESCO World Heritage</a> site and its protected state within <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/">Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park</a>, the reef has still undergone severe bleaching events over the last two years and is under constant threat of coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish. 

Researchers have been studying the adaptability of coral reefs to global climate change to see how well they can acclimate to changing conditions. Now, a new study has found that a small portion of the Great Barrier Reef could help boost widespread reef recovery and regeneration.

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a>, the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/">Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, </a>the <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/">Australian Institute of Marine Science</a>, and the<a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/"> University of Sheffield</a> and was published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2003355">PLOS Biology.</a>

The researchers discovered that 100 reefs within the<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-barrier-protected-zones/"> Great Barrier Reef</a> are better suited to withstand coral bleaching and could potentially supply coral larvae to other reefs. 

“Finding these 100 reefs is a little like revealing the cardiovascular system of the Great Barrier Reef,” said Peter Mumby, one of the study's lead authors. “Although the 100 reefs only make up 3% of the entire GBR, they have the potential to supply larvae to almost half (45%) of the entire ecosystem in a single year.” 

The 100 reefs are located in cool areas and in ideal locations for sending coral larvae on ocean currents to other parts of the reef. 

Even though these 100 reefs could help with regeneration for almost half of The Great Barrier Reef, conservation and protection should still be a priority for the UNESCO site. 

“Indeed, the fact that the study only identified around a hundred of these reefs across the entire 2300km length of the massive Great Barrier Reef emphasises the need for both effective local protection of critical locations and reduction of carbon emissions in order to support this majestic ecosystem,” said Dr.  Karlo Hock, the lead author. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a><a href="https://www.earth.com/">, Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Image Credit: Peter J. Mumby

Key part of the Great Barrier Reef could boost wider regeneration

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living...

Researchers believe that a major fault line which was dormant for many years has been awakened by an earthquake that struck in 2016, and the impacts could be devastating for New Zealand.

The Kaikoura earthquake brought the Hikurangi subduction zone back to life. This is a volatile region where two tectonic plates are engaged, with one over top of the other. As a result of the disturbance, New Zealand could experience powerful earthquakes and tsunamis, according to researchers from <a href="https://www.gns.cri.nz/">GNS Science</a>.

After the deadly Kaikoura earthquake, the zone began shifting. The trench, which runs from the South Island north to Gisborne, is capable of producing severe earthquakes and subsequent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-first-tsunami-victim/">tsunamis</a> that can strike in a matter of minutes.

GNS scientist Ursula Cochran told <a href="http://www.fairfax.ca/">Fairfax</a>, “We need to think Japan 2011 basically, because if our whole plate boundary ruptured it would be a magnitude-9 earthquake.”

When tectonic plates are lunged over top of one another, the result is a violent earthquake. An earthquake of this magnitude causes traumatic events like the Boxing Day tsunami, when coastal communities along the Indian Ocean were wiped out by waves as high as 100 feet and 250,000 people were killed.

“One thing about reflecting on the Kaikoura earthquake is we don't want people to think this is the big one,” said Cochran.


According to Cochran, the entire east coast of the North Island would be impacted by an earthquake along the Hikurangi subduction zone, and some regions in the South would be affected as well.

Cochran said, “We know from tsunami modelling (of) the Hikurangi subduction zone that the travel times could be very short, so seven minutes for some of the south Wairarapa coast.”

Various other regions of the South Island could be inundated with water in as little as ten minutes, and the first moments following the earthquake would be critical. 

The experts recommend identifying higher ground that could be sought out immediately after an earthquake, and planning the fastest route to get there.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New Zealand could see huge earthquake after fault line is awoken

Researchers believe that a major fault line which was dormant...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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.

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



---



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...