An asteroid impact on Mars 11 million years ago sent fragments of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these pieces eventually crashed into Earth, making its way to Purdue University and becoming known as the Lafayette Meteorite.&nbsp;



This rare find has been instrumental in unlocking secrets of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/manganese-discovery-ancient-mars-earth-like-water-lake-habitable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars</a>’ watery past, with new research recently published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7185/geochemlet.2443" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geochemical Perspective Letters</a> that provides insight into the timing and nature of Mars’ ancient water activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-mars-watery-past">Tracing Mars’ watery past</h2>



Scientists have long known that the Lafayette Meteorite interacted with liquid water on Mars, but the exact timing of this event was uncertain.&nbsp;



Dr. Marissa Tremblay, an assistant professor at Purdue University’s <a href="https://www.eaps.purdue.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences</a> (EAPS), led an international research team to determine the age of the water-altered minerals in the meteorite, pinpointing it to 742 million years ago.



“Dating these minerals can therefore tell us when there was liquid water at or near the surface of Mars in the planet's geologic past,” Tremblay explained.&nbsp;



The findings suggest that while liquid water wasn’t abundant on the surface at this time, it likely came from melting subsurface ice, or permafrost, caused by intermittent volcanic activity - a phenomenon still observed on Mars today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preserving-a-moment-in-mars-geological-timeline">Preserving a moment in Mars’ geological timeline</h2>



The study not only identified when water interacted with the meteorite but also established that the dating was unaffected by events after the meteorite left Mars.&nbsp;



“The age could have been affected by the impact that ejected the Lafayette Meteorite from Mars, the heating it experienced during the 11 million years it was floating in space, or the heating when it fell to Earth,” Tremblay said.&nbsp;



However, the team confirmed that none of these factors altered the age, validating the timeline of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-lost-most-of-its-water-but-where-did-it-go/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water</a> interaction.



Study co-author and Purdue EAPS researcher Ryan Ickert applied heavy isotope analysis to further verify that previous data on the meteorite’s water-rock interaction had likely been skewed by other geological processes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This meteorite uniquely has evidence that it has reacted with water. The exact date of this was controversial, and our publication dates when water was present,” said Ickert.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mysterious-journey-of-the-meteorite">Mysterious journey of the meteorite </h2>



The Lafayette Meteorite’s journey to Purdue is something of a mystery. It was found in a university drawer in 1931, though how it got there remains unknown.&nbsp;



In previous research, Tremblay and her team used crop disease markers from organic contaminants found on the meteorite to narrow down when it might have fallen to Earth.



Once the meteorite was ejected from Mars, it endured constant cosmic ray bombardment in space, which produced certain isotopes, offering clues to its time of impact on Earth.&nbsp;



“Many meteoroids are produced by impacts on Mars and other planetary bodies, but only a handful will eventually fall to Earth,” Tremblay said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planetary-time-capsules">Planetary time capsules</h2>



Meteorites like Lafayette serve as planetary time capsules, offering invaluable data on the geological and environmental history of their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-meteorites-can-be-traced-to-three-asteroid-families/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">home worlds</a>. With their dense structure, metallic content, and magnetic properties, meteorites are often distinguishable from Earth rocks.&nbsp;



“We can identify meteorites by studying what minerals are present in them, their mineral relationships, and by checking for a fusion crust formed during entry into Earth’s atmosphere,” Tremblay explained.&nbsp;



By analyzing these traits and their chemical signatures, scientists can often determine a meteorite’s planetary origin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complex-history-of-meteorites">Complex history of meteorites</h2>



This research marks a significant milestone for the team, which included scientists from institutions across the globe, such as the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center (SUERC), the University of St. Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Bristol, and London’s <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum</a>.&nbsp;



“Before moving to Purdue, Ryan and I were both based at SUERC, where the argon-argon isotopic analyses of the alteration minerals in Lafayette took place,” Tremblay said.&nbsp;



Their partners at SUERC and the Natural History Museum have long contributed to studying Lafayette’s complex history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dating-minerals-in-meteorites">Dating minerals in meteorites</h2>



Dating the water-altered minerals in Lafayette, and others in its class of Martian meteorites called nakhlites, has been a central focus in planetary science, as they uniquely capture moments when liquid water was present on Mars.&nbsp;



Due to complex alterations over time, previous attempts to date these minerals were plagued with uncertainties.&nbsp;



However, the team has now developed a robust dating method that could be applied to other meteorites, enhancing our understanding of when water might have been present on Mars and other planetary bodies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-planetary-science">The future of planetary science</h2>



Thanks to the Stahura Undergraduate Meteorite Fund, Tremblay and Ickert’s research on the Lafayette Meteorite will continue, with the involvement of undergraduate students in Purdue EAPS.&nbsp;



This opportunity allows students to engage in real-world planetary science, helping to reveal the intricate histories of meteoritic samples.



Tremblay and her team’s work on the Lafayette Meteorite highlights its scientific significance, revealing a complex history that ties it to Mars’ geological past.&nbsp;



Their findings not only deepen our understanding of Mars but also set a precedent for future studies that might unveil even more about the red planet’s climate history, water activity, and potential for supporting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-mars-rocks-contain-signs-of-life-scientists-call-to-bring-them-back-to-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">life</a>.



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Meteorite that struck Mars reveals when the planet had liquid water

An asteroid impact on Mars 11 million years ago sent fragments of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these pieces eventually crashed into Earth, making its way to Purdue University and becoming known as the Lafayette Meteorite.&nbsp; This rare find has been instrumental in unlocking secrets of Mars’ watery past, with new research recently published in the journal Geochemical Perspective Letters that provides insight into the timing and nature of Mars’ ancient water activity. Tracing Mars’ watery past Scientists have long known that the Lafayette...

Were Neanderthals the first interior decorators?. When thinking of Neanderthals, no-one considers them as interior decorators in fact many think of Neanderthals as unthinking, uni-browed beasts that were singularly focused on survival. Could it be that they shared something in common with Martha Stewart? Researchers believe they have found evidence that Neanderthals had an interest in home decoration.

They base their theory on the discovery of a piece of brown limestone found at an archeological dig site in Croatia. The brown stone has many interesting black markings on it and scientists think that Neanderthals may have collected it because it was beautiful.

This differs from the previous belief that Neanderthals were incapable of assigning symbolism to objects. Because the rock had not been modified in any way, researchers don’t believe it was collected to be used as a tool. While it does have a piece that was broken away, that break likely happened while the rock was being stored or transported after it was excavated around 1900.  

At the same <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fossilized-footprints-show-reptiles-rise/">dig</a> site, teams have also found <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mining-will-expand-at-alaska-bald-eagle-preserve/">eagle</a> talons that were fashioned into crude jewelry. At other sites, they’ve found shells colored with pigment. Because these items would have served no purpose as tools, it’s quite striking that Neanderthals made an effort to collect and keep them. This suggests that they had a sense of curiosity, as well as the ability to recognize beauty.

Over 1,000 items were collected from the site, but the piece of limestone went overlooked for years. It’s a subtle decoration, not as attention-getting as the 25,000-year-old cave paintings that have been discovered in what is now modern-day France. The cave paintings were made by modern day humans. By comparison, the Neanderthals who collected the piece of rock did so nearly 130,000 years ago. This rock was collected more than 100 years ago and added to the <a href="http://www.hismus.hr/en/">Croatian Natural History Museum</a> in Zagreb.

It recently attracted attention from preeminent researchers including David Frayer, a professor emeritus of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/american-alligators-6-million-years-older-previously-believed/">anthropology</a> at the University of Kansas. He reexamined the rock and wrote a paper which was published in<a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;q=Comptes+Rendus+Palevol&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oe=UTF-8"> Comptes Rendus Palevol</a>

Talking of the rock, he said: "If we were walking and picked up this rock, we would have taken it home… It is an interesting rock."

It appears we have a thing or two to learn from the first interior decorators and their style.

–

By Dawn Henderson,<a href="http://earth.com"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Credit: David Frayer, <a href="https://www.ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a>

Image credit: David Frayer, <a href="https://www.ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a>

Were Neanderthals the first interior decorators?

Were Neanderthals the first interior decorators?. When thinking of Neanderthals,...

U.S. scientists have suggested an intriguing possibility. The fossil record shows it’s possible life evolved on Earth once before, they suggested – 2.3 billion years ago and long before ancestors of modern plants and animals existed. 

The researchers, led by Dr. Michael Kipp of the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>, point to selenium fossils formed during the Lomagundi Event. During the event – which lasted anywhere from 130 million to 250 million years – Earth had a period of high oxygen levels in the air, similar to the modern atmosphere. 

Scientists don’t know why oxygen suddenly spiked on Earth, or why it dropped so drastically for millions of years.

It didn’t rise again until about 800 million years ago, when our very distant ancestors began to breathe oxygen.

“The geologic record of early Earth contains abundant evidence of low oxygen levels, and accordingly, a lack of eukaryote fossils,” the researchers wrote in their study. “The rise of oxygen to near-modern levels at the end of the Proterozoic Era is thus often cited as the trigger for the evolutionary radiation of complex life forms at this same time.” 

But new evidence the team found shows that oxygen levels during the Lomagundi Event were high enough to support eukaryotic life. Eukaryotes have more complex cells with nuclei. 

The scientists tested fossils from the Lomagundi Event period, which were sampled from what was once an ocean floor. Their goal was to determine how much oxygen was in the atmosphere during the “oxygen overshoot” the event brought to Earth.

To find out, they tested the fossils to see how much selenium they contained. Selenium can’t form without oxygen; the gas erodes other minerals, and the runoff can become selenium deposits on ocean floors and lakebeds. 

Oxygen levels were surprisingly high, at least in the ocean. That could mean life evolved more than a billion years earlier than we thought – a sort of false start, snuffed out when oxygen levels dropped again. 

“These environments could have harbored the earliest stages of eukaryotic evolution, but may have been too transient for substantial diversification to occur,” they wrote.

The researchers published their study in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/01/10/1615867114">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

Could fossils mean that life evolved on Earth once before?

U.S. scientists have suggested an intriguing possibility. The fossil record...

Leave your glass of wine unattended for a few minutes and you’ll come back to find it floating with fruit flies. If they die, you may be surprised to learn that the cause of death is drowning and not drunkenness. These tiny creatures have a high tolerance for alcohol and scientists are working to find out exactly why. 

The thing that researchers agree on is why fruit flies need to be able to metabolize large amounts of alcohol. This amazing ability allows them to feast on rotting fruit that’s often quite full of ethanol. What they’re working to figure out is how their little bodies first adapted to do this.

At first, scientists thought that a molecular change in the Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) protein was responsible for allowing D. melanogaster – or fruit flies – to process potently fermented fruit. Since ADH helps break down alcohol, this made perfect sense.

Then new evidence emerged. A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.unl.edu">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</a> used genetic engineering to look at ancient ADH protein from modern fruit flies’ ancestors. They determined that the changes that have occurred in that protein did not actually improve their ability to metabolize alcohol. 

The team published their findings in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

Kristi L. Montooth, a researcher from the <a href="https://www.unl.edu">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</a>, says that while the findings support fruit flies’ high tolerance for alcohol, they dispute the longstanding hypothesis about why. The search continues. With this one out of the running, scientists are looking into other gene sequence changes that may hold the answer. 

Researchers hope that future discoveries about alcohol tolerance in fruit flies could help reveal more about how the human body metabolizes the substance. More knowledge in this area could be good news for college students and club goers everywhere.

--

By Dawn Henderson, Earth.com Staff Writer

Scientists explore why fruit flies can drink you under the table

Leave your glass of wine unattended for a few minutes...

No sacred cows when it comes to mosquitoes and malaria. In the past, mosquito-elimination efforts in order to control malaria in places like India have focused on humans. Now, a team of researchers is studying the connection between <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mosquitoes-prefer-humans-animals/">mosquitoes</a> and cattle. 

Matthew Thomas, a professor of entomology at <a href="http://www.psu.edu">Penn State</a>, says that in some parts of India where malaria is problematic, the same type of mosquito that feeds on humans also feeds on cattle. This is important because in these places, cattle sheds are often constructed in close proximity to people’s houses. In some cases, a human home may even share a wall with a cattle shed, providing the mosquitoes with easy access to both human and cattle hosts. 

Considering both the human and the cattle players in the malaria puzzle is important, insists Jessica Waite, a postdoctoral scholar in entomology at Penn State. "Given this cattle-shed 'refuge' for mosquitoes, focusing only on humans with regard to malaria control is a bit like treating the tip of an iceberg,” she said in a news release on the study. 

Researchers carried out the study by capturing 1,774 Anopheles culicifacies and 169 Anopheles fluviatilis mosquitoes in six villages in Odisha state. This area has the highest rate of malaria infections in India. In-depth testing revealed the species of the mosquitoes, as well as what sort of hosts they had fed on. 

What does this mean for mosquito-elimination efforts? Thomas says that the study indicates that insecticide sprays and treated bed nets aren’t as effective against mosquitoes that also feed on nonhuman animals. Villages might cut down such mosquito populations by spraying cattle sheds, as well. 

These efforts could be a big step toward the World Health Organization’s goal of reducing global malaria cases by 90 percent by the year 2030. 

The study appeared in the Jan. 16 edition of <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By Dawn Henderson,<a href="http://earth.com"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

No sacred cows when it comes to mosquitoes and malaria

No sacred cows when it comes to mosquitoes and malaria....

NASA’s “then and now” Earth images reveal planet’s aging process

As people age, their faces change. It seems that the same is true of Mother Earth. In a new series of stunning Earth images, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov">NASA</a> is showing us just how much the planet has changed over the past few decades. 

NASA claims that some of the changes are due to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-new-dust-bowl/">climate change</a>, while others are due to ever-expanding urbanization. The photos reveal differences caused by natural phenomena such as sweeping floodwaters and destructive fires. 

In one set of images, viewers can see the changes that have occurred in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-india-solutions/">New Delhi</a>, India, between 1991 and 2016. Urban expansion there has packed New Delhi’s 16.49 square miles, as India’s capital has grown from 9.4 million to 25 million in the past 25 years.

The images also examine changes in Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Changes in the earth’s surface are expected over time – the current lake is all that remains of Lake Bonneville, a huge body of water that was born during an ice age 30,000 years ago. However, the changes documented in the Great Salt Lake are striking. The lake’s ice cover has shrunk by 70 percent since 1985. This has caused an overall reduction in the lake area, with low water levels becoming the norm.

The Great Salt Lake isn't the only body of water to be affected by changes that have happened over time. Cloudy skies trapping heat over Greenland have accelerated ice melt there, causing increased amounts of meltwater to run off into the seas. This increases sea levels. Although studies are still ongoing to determine the cause of the ice melt, many experts cite climate change as the trigger. 

The NASA images also examined the flux and flow of bodies of water elsewhere in the world. Bolivia’s Lake Poopó dried up, while the Ganges River in India topped its banks and caused catastrophic flooding.

No matter the cause of these changes, NASA’s before and after images of growing centers, rising waters, decreasing ice, and dried up lakes are shocking and fascinating.  

[caption id="attachment_130410" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.46.53-AM.png"><img class="wp-image-130410 size-medium" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.46.53-AM-300x143.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-46-53-am" width="300" height="143" /></a> Colorado River[/caption]

<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.47.14-AM.png"><img class="alignright wp-image-130409 size-medium" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.47.14-AM-300x140.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-47-14-am" width="300" height="140" /></a>

&nbsp;

[caption id="attachment_130412" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.54-AM.png"><img class="wp-image-130412 size-medium" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.54-AM-300x142.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-45-54-am" width="300" height="142" /></a> Greenland[/caption]

<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.46.02-AM.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-130411" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.46.02-AM-300x144.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-46-02-am" width="300" height="144" /></a>

&nbsp;

[caption id="attachment_130414" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.25-AM.png"><img class="wp-image-130414 size-medium" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.25-AM-300x138.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-45-25-am" width="300" height="138" /></a> Great Salt Lake[/caption]

<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.36-AM.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-130413" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.36-AM-300x137.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-45-36-am" width="300" height="137" /></a>

&nbsp;

[caption id="attachment_130416" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.44.55-AM.png"><img class="wp-image-130416 size-medium" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.44.55-AM-300x141.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-44-55-am" width="300" height="141" /></a> New Delhi, India[/caption]

<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.05-AM.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-130415" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-11.45.05-AM-300x141.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-11-45-05-am" width="300" height="141" /></a>

--

By Dawn Henderson, Earth.com Staff Writer

Credit <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>

Image credit <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>

NASA releases 'then and now' Earth images

NASA’s “then and now” Earth images reveal planet’s aging process...

Reopened Silk Road route swaps horses for trains. Hundreds of years ago, merchants traveled the Silk Road from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-ivory-trade-ban/">China</a> to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/european-union-celebrates-paris-agreement-climate-change/">Europe</a>, bringing silk, paper, gunpowder, and various exotic goods to trade. Today, the route is being revived with the introduction of a 7,456-mile train route from China to London. 

China’s East Wind train company is celebrating the debut of its Silk Road route that will run from Yiwu, a manufacturing town in East China, to Great Britain. It will take the train 16 days to complete the journey, and it will bring 34 carriage loaded with goods made in Yiwu.  

The new train route is expected to herald in a new era in trade relations between the UK and China. Goods sent via the train route will travel faster than if they traveled via a container ship. Train shipping is also less expensive than shipping by air. 

The East Wind from Yiwu to London will start out running once a week on a trial basis. East Wind, owned by China’s Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment, also features a route from Madrid to Spain that runs twice a week.

The Silk Road journey has always been a difficult one. It features a route that winds through treacherous mountains, around blazing deserts, and across endless miles of the Russian steppe. Before the advent of wheeled travel, merchants who ventured on the Silk Road had to have a constant supply of fresh horses to complete their journey.

Today’s Silk Road may not require fresh horses, but it does require different trains. The route pushes through Russia, Kazakstan, Belarus, Poland, Belgium, and finally France, all before it arrives in London. Because each country has different rail gauges on its train lines, the same train can’t complete the entire journey.

--

By Dawn Henderson, Earth.com Staff Writer

Reopened Silk Road route swaps horses for trains

Reopened Silk Road route swaps horses for trains. Hundreds of...

A female zebra shark in Australia has confirmed what women everywhere have long suspected: men are overrated. She did this by getting pregnant all by herself.

To be clear, her most recent pregnancy was accomplished solo. Leonie the zebra shark had a male companion from 1999 to 2012, when he was moved to a different tank. During that time, the pair gave birth to a whopping two dozen babies.

After her mate was moved, Leonie didn’t let that deter her from joining the Mommy Club yet again. She surprised her caretakers by giving birth to three baby <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/kiribati-establishes-shark-sanctuary/">sharks</a> in 2016. 

How is this possible? <a href="http://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Brisbane</a> researcher Christine Dudgeon and her colleagues have cycled through a few theories.

At first, they thought perhaps the female zebra shark was able to turn her body into a sperm bank. This would allow her to use her ex’s sperm to fertilize her eggs at will. Upon further investigation, they found that the baby sharks were only carrying one set of DNA – that of their mother. Congratulations, Leonie’s ex: you are not the father!

This means that Leonie had her babies via asexual reproduction. This is quite common in many vertebrate species such as sharks, snakes, Komodo dragons, rays, and turkeys. Where Leonie has scientists baffled is that while asexual reproduction is typical for females who have never had a male partner, it’s virtually unheard of in females who have previously mated with males. 

Animals who move from sexual to asexual reproduction is a phenomenon that will require more study. Researchers like Dudgeon believe that it’s possible that this kind of switch occurs more often than scientists realize; they just didn’t know to look for it before.

--

By Dawn Henderson, Earth.com Staff Writer

Female zebra shark reproduces without a male

A female zebra shark in Australia has confirmed what women...

As the ice crack grows, scientists hurry to move their lab 

Imagine doing work on a research station that’s in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/strong-ocean-waves-antarctic-ice/">Antarctic</a> and situated on top of the ice. Now imagine that your team discovers a large, growing ice crack. And then they discover a second one.

That’s exactly what happened at the Halley VI Research Station this winter. Home to the<a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk"> British Antarctic Survey</a>, the research station is the location where scientists first discovered the hole in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/scientists-antarctic-ozone-layer-is-healing/">ozone layer</a>. It does research on climate change, extreme space weather events, and various atmospheric phenomena. 

Scientists were aware of the first fissure and knew that a move was inevitable. It has laid dormant for over 30 years and began opening in 2012. By the next year, the pace had accelerated and the fissure began expanding at an incredible one mile per year. 

The discovery of the second fissure has sped up the moving process. It poses an immediate concern because it has appeared along a route that’s often used to deliver supplies to the base. Scientists are now working to move the research station 14 miles across the Brunt Ice Shelf. If the station stays put, it could slide into a vast chasm in the ice by 2020.

Although there is currently no risk posed to people working at the station, scientists shut it down out of an abundance of precaution. (An excellent idea when working around ice chasms.) They’ll remove all of the people stationed there before the Antarctic winter ends. It runs from March to November.

Thankfully, the Halley VI Research station was meant to be mobile. It can be broken into eight modules and moved with tractors. Director of Operations Tim Stockings says that it was created this way so that it could be moved inland if the need arose.

<a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-10.11.37-AM.png"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-130400" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-10.11.37-AM-300x180.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-10-11-37-am" width="300" height="180" /></a> <a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-10.12.25-AM.png"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-130399" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-10.12.25-AM-300x219.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-01-17-at-10-12-25-am" width="300" height="219" /></a> <a href="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-10.13.02-AM.png"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-130398" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-17-at-10.13.02-AM-300x188.png" alt="Scientists at the Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica have discovered that the station is located on a large, growing ice crack." width="300" height="188" /></a>

--

By Dawn Henderson, Earth.com Staff Writer

Photos: <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a>

Anctarctic scientists fear falling into an ice crack

As the ice crack grows, scientists hurry to move their...

Two years ago, the former prime minister of Oslo urged drivers in the city to purchase diesel cars because they emit less carbon dioxide. On Tuesday, the city council will ban <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/four-major-cities-diesel-ban/">diesel-fueled vehicles</a> from Oslo’s streets for 48 hours in an attempt to cut down on <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/a-decade-of-change-for-nitrogen-dioxide/">nitrogen dioxide</a>, another harmful gas.

While some cities like Paris have implemented occasional driving bans in order to combat smog, the Oslo ban is different in that it only targets vehicles that run on diesel. This has many drivers upset, taking to the internet to voice their displeasure and ask politicians to make up their minds. 

Mazyar Keshvari from Oslo’s populist right Progress Party thinks citizens have a right to be angry after they were encouraged to ditch their gasoline-guzzlers for diesel-fueled cars. He calls the government’s push towards diesel vehicles a “swindle of Norwegian motorists” in an interview with TV2. 

Other politicians disagree. Lan Marie Nguyen Berg, a city councillor in Greens, reminds citizens that the ban works to protect those with respiratory problems that are aggravated by CO2. This is a particular concern for small children and the elderly. These concerns aren’t unfounded: the<a href="https://www.fhi.no/en/"> Norwegian Institute of Public Health</a> reports that in Oslo, 185 people die prematurely each year due to health issues caused by air pollution. 

Despite the controversy, the ban has generated multi-party support. In 2016, a city council made up of Greens and Labour party members laid the framework for the ban. Response from citizens hasn’t been completely negative. One man took to the Facebook page of Verdens Gang, a Norwegian newspaper, to voice his support for a permanent ban on all diesel vehicles in large cities.

--

By Dawn H., Earth.com Staff Writer

Two-day ban leaves Oslo diesel drivers fuming

Two years ago, the former prime minister of Oslo urged...

Our early North American ancestors were incredibly hardcore. They found their way across the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/sea-ice-in-the-bering-strait/">Bering Strait</a> and started life on a brand new continent. And now, scientists believe they did it 10,000 years earlier than they previously thought. 

Until recently, researchers believed that early humans settled in North America sometime around 14,000 Before Present (BP). New evidence suggests that our North American ancestors may have arrived even sooner. Evidence gathered from early archeological sites now places humans in North America as early as 24,000 BP. This was around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, also known as the last ice age. 

To arrive at these numbers, scientists studied artifacts from the Bluefish Caves. This ancient archeological site is located next to the Bluefish River in Alaska. It was first excavated by Jacques Cinq-Mars, an archeologist who worked at the site between 1977 and 1987. He initially hypothesized that humans first settled the area as early as 30,000 BP – a claim that generated much controversy in scientific circles. 

Enter researchers Ariane Burke and Lauriane Bourgeon. Burke, a professor at the<a href="http://www.umontreal.ca/english/"> Université de Montréal</a> and Bourgeon, her student, analyzed bone fragments found at the site. The bones showed evidence of human activity. For instance, a preserved piece of a horse mandible revealed that someone had used a stone tool to remove the tongue.

When the scientists used radiocarbon dating to determine how old the bones were, results revealed that they originated between 23,000 and 24,000 cal BP (calibrated years Before Present). This means that the Bluefish Caves are “the earliest known site of human settlement in Canada,” says Burke. 

The area in which the Bluefish Caves are located is known as Berengia. It spans from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories all the way to Russia’s Lena River. Burke says that the people who once populated the area were isolated from “glaciers and steppes too inhospitable for human occupation to the West.” 

This allowed them to survive and eventually populate the entire continent all the way down to South America.

North American ancestors arrived sooner than originally thought

Our early North American ancestors were incredibly hardcore. They found...

The philosophy behind an eco-tourist resort is all in the name. This style of tourism focuses on environmental awareness and an appreciation of nature. It’s surprising, then, that ecotourism is one of the biggest threats to a spectacular national park in Montenegro.

Every year, environmentally-minded adventurists flock to Montenegro. It’s an increasingly popular vacation hotspot, with 1.5 visitors in 2016 alone. Eager to take advantage of the growing industry, developers have started building resorts – much to the chagrin of locals and activists who seek to protect Montenegro’s flora and fauna. 

One of the latest projects to get environmentalists up in arms is Port Skadar Lake, a 600-guest "eco-tourist resort” to be constructed in<a href="http://www.visit-montenegro.com/tourism/national-parks/lake-skadar/"> Lake Skadar National Park</a>. The government has already granted approval for the project, which broke ground last month. Developers expect the resort to be finished in 2019. 

The problem? Lake Skadar is home to a diverse population of waterbirds – over 280 species. It’s also populated by 50 different species of fish that are exclusive to its waters. The lake is currently listed as under high threat by <a href="http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-skadar-iba-montenegro">Birdlife International</a>. 

Until recently, Lake Skadar wildlife has gone largely undisturbed. The only development nearby – the Kom monastery on the tiny island of Odrinska gora – has been there since the 14th century. Activists point out that any disruption caused by meditating monks moving about the lake pales in comparison to a resort with 30 villas and a marina. 

Protesters have set up events and took to the internet to stop the resort, generating support with a petition on<a href="https://www.change.org/p/government-of-montenegro-save-skadar-lake-last-european-wilderness"> change.org</a>, a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/saveskadarlake/">Save Skadar</a> page on Facebook, and a<a href="https://twitter.com/SaveSkadarLake"> Twitter </a>account. Despite the protests, construction has begun and environmentalists worry that this is only the beginning of the destruction of this beloved lake. Despite its name, they insist that many forms of supposedly environmentally conscious eco-tourism are anything but.

Eco-tourist resort rips up a national park in Montenegro

The philosophy behind an eco-tourist resort is all in the name....

NuScale Power wants small-scale nuclear reactors to be part of the planet’s future energy portfolio. To that end, they’ve submitted designs for a small modular reactor to the <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/advanced/nuscale.html">U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a>.

Bonus: No meltdowns. At least, that’s what the small size is supposed to ensure.

The design <a href="http://www.nuscalepower.com/">NuScale Power</a> submitted is for a small modular reactor, or SMR, that can be factory-built and shipped to a destination for assembly.

On top of providing nuclear power, it can refine oil, desalinate saltwater, produce hydrogen, and more. The modular design means it can be built in a number of sizes and fit into existing power plant designs.

Each module is so small that the surface area is much larger compared to the volume than that ratio is in a traditional nuclear reactor. That design ensures heat can be siphoned off easily, and a meltdown is next to impossible.

Each of the SMRs produces about 50 megawatts of power, and they can be paired with other energy sources or put together in a “12-pack” to produce 600 mW, the company said.

The firm is the first to submit an SMR design to federal regulators. Because their design is the first, it may take some time – as long as 40 months – for it to wind its way through the approval process, if it’s approved at all.

NuScale Power has taken steps to make approval a slam-dunk, though.

The company invested more than $30 million in testing the SMR design, including building large-scale test facilities and a control room simulator so they could run through every scenario imaginable.

NuScale Power submitted more than 12,000 pages of technical and design information to the NRC to ensure regulators have everything they need to begin their review.

The SMR design has been in the works for nearly 20 years. The early research began at <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>, led by Dr. Jose Reyes, a physicist who co-founded the company and now serves as its chief technical officer.

If the NRC approves the design, NuScale has developed a teaming arrangement with the <a href="https://energy.gov/">U.S. Department of Energy</a>, the state of Utah, and <a href="https://www.energy-northwest.com/">Energy Northwest</a> to build the first <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/indian-point-3-nuclear-power-plant-shuts-down/">reactor</a> in Idaho.

—

By Kyla Cathey / Earth.com staff writer

NuScale Power designs nuclear reactor that can't melt down

NuScale Power wants small-scale nuclear reactors to be part of...

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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



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

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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



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...

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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



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?

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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



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

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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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from 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

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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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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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...