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...

While residents of coastal communities and Pacific island nations worry over how rising seas could change their lives, others are trying to find the bright side of climate change – like the UK wine industry.

If weather patterns in England, Wales and Scotland change as climate scientists are predicting, it could soon be prime real estate for vintners looking to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

A new study by <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> and <a href="http://www.laithwaiteswine.com/">Laithwaite’s Wine</a> found that rising temperatures and increased rainfall, which climatologists are suggesting could be in the UK’s future if climate change isn’t curbed. In that case Britain becomes wine country.

The researchers looked at climate models through 2100, as well as the ideal growing conditions for a number of grape varietals. These models suggest temperatures will rise by 2.2º C and rainfall could increase up to 5.6% by 2100.

According to the researchers, this would provide excellent growing conditions for Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Malbec, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot in various locations throughout the UK. There would still need to be studies of soil quality and other variables, the researchers admitted.

England’s wine industry is already growing quickly, with the number of vineyards doubling over the past 10 years.

It’s not just new possibilities in the UK wine industry – a <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v6/n7/full/nclimate2960.html">study earlier this year</a> found the effects of climate change appeared to be improving French wine.

The research is a silver lining for a climate change future that has looked stormy for the UK. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/08/potential-impacts-climate-change-uk">Computer models</a> have predicted a wet future for the country, with more winter rain, more intense downpours, and a loss of coastline due to sea levels rising. Hotter, drier summers may also become the norm, if climatologists’ predictions play out.

The researchers shared their findings through <a href="http://blog.laithwaites.co.uk/wine-climate-change-uk-margaux-margate-chateau-petrus-chateau-peckham/#.WECNG-ArLnC">Laithwaite’s blog</a> and with a number of news outlets.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change could be good news for UK wine industry

While residents of coastal communities and Pacific island nations worry...

Fruit fly fights illustrate social behavior patterns

A fruit fly fight club may sound like a terrible sequel idea, but it turns out much can be learned about social evolution by these fruit fly fights. For several months, Julia Saltz, assistant professor of biosciences at <a href="http://www.rice.edu/">Rice University</a>, observed fruit fly fights in different scenarios to determine how their aggression altered their social environment.  

Psychologists have long believed that human behavior isn’t simply a reaction to the environment we happen to fall into. Rather, people choose and create their environment through social interactions. Saltz wanted to examine how a fruit fly’s genotype affected its phenotype. In other words, how the flies’ genetic code influences social behavior. 

In a study published in the <a href="http://nature.com/">Nature</a> journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/hdy/">Heredity</a>, Saltz placed male fruit flies in different stressful situations and observed how stress altered their behavior. Using a process called social-environment construction, she moved a stressed fly into a different group for observation.

Said Saltz, "The main takeaway is that individuals' behaviors affect their social environments. In other words, when you pick your friends, it matters to you and it affects both what happens in the group and your behavior at a later time."

Due to the aggressive nature of the study, Saltz used fruit flies, in part because humans punching each other would quickly get messy. Fruit flies, however, can be easily manipulated and observed.

Saltz observed the male fruit flies for two days each, both alone and in groups of 2 to 8. She placed genetically identical fruit flies in their preferred or non-preferred environments and observed their aggression, finding that different genotypes have different group size preferences. After determining preference, she put individual males into variously sized groups.

"For day one, I put a 'genotype one' focal male with a group of flies, and a 'genotype two' with a replica group with the same sex ratio, number and genotype, reared under standard lab conditions," said Saltz. "That way, I knew the social environment was the same for both focal males. If there was something different about how the groups behaved, it had to be due to the genotype of that one extra male. Arguably, the focal male would influence the behavior of other individuals in the group, which is what we saw.”

It turned out that males in their preferred groups were attacked more often than males in non-preferred groups. 

One the second day, Saltz took the focal males into a new environment with a “naive” male and found the previous day made the focal male less aggressive. Saltz calls this “the loser effect,” in which males who lose a confrontation are subsequently less aggressive.  

"That seems to be true here,” she said. “Except that there's no good definition of losing. That's why I like to think of it as being attacked more often."

"The male actually rears up. The front two legs and part of its body go up and it slams its legs onto another male. It's not ambiguous, and a male can only lunge at one other male at a time, so you know exactly who was being aggressive and who was the recipient."

While the long-term effects are impossible to determine using fruit flies as they only live for about 70 days, Saltz hopes to use larger sets with more genotypes in future studies. 

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fruit fly fights illustrate social behavior patterns

Fruit fly fights illustrate social behavior patterns A fruit fly...

In the way that solar light can generate electricity, splitting water could also become a valuable renewable energy source.

Scientists have been able to split water for some time, but the key to making it a viable and economical energy source lies in the efficiency of the process. 

According to Professor Huijin Zhao, Director of <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/griffith-sciences/the-centre-for-clean-environment-and-energy">Griffith’s Center for Clean Environment and Energy</a> (CCEE), the answer lies in highly efficient catalysts. The process of splitting water also generates clean chemical fuel: hydrogen.

Opined Zhao, "The world is now facing five major issues for humanity: energy, environment, water, food security and public health. Global warming is ranked first and it's all resulting from burning fossil fuels because that's where carbon dioxide comes from.”

"To reduce this and to make the global temperature not rise beyond 2C you have to find clean, renewable energy and hydrogen equals clean energy. It's part of the solution – if we really can split water into two, that will be one scientific solution for the future of sustainable energy supplies."

Zhao argues hydrogen is a more advantageous fuel compared to gasoline or diesel, at least for now.

"Scientifically it's already demonstrated, it's already working, but to do this in a way that's economically viable, there's still a bit of work to do and we need government policy, general public support, and you also need those big companies to realize they should not dig up out of the ground anymore. It's not just a simple technology issue,” he said.

Professor Zhao was also recently awarded $401,000 by the <a href="http://www.arc.gov.au/linkage-projects">Australian Research Council Projects</a> for 2017 in support of his 2D-nanoporous structured high-performance gas evolution electrocatalysts. The heterogeneous electrocatalytic gas evolution reactions created by this technology could potentially be a very useful tool for clean energy production. However, such reactions tend to be less efficient, as a result of the high overpotentials caused by slow-gaseous products. High overpotentials mean higher energy consumption needed for the reaction to take place, reducing or even cancelling energy efficiency gains.

Zhao aims to address this problem by creating two-dimensional porous electrocatalysts with better gas detachment properties leading to lower overpotentials. If successful, the project could encourage the production of higher-efficiency electrocatalysts.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Splitting water into renewable energy

In the way that solar light can generate electricity, splitting...

One UK health watchdog is as annoyed by speed bumps as everyone else – though likely for different reasons. 

The <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/">National Institute for Health and Care Excellence</a> (NICE) has called for existing speed bumps to be smoothed out because, they said, motorists slowing down and then speeding back up leads to more air pollution.

NICE officials are also calling on traffic authorities to cut speed limits to 50 mph on some roadways, limit speeds to 20 mph in cities and built-up areas, and install more speed cameras.

The officials cited health hazards caused by air pollution as their motivation. Air pollution in the UK causes as many as 25,000 premature deaths each year, according to NICE, mainly due to asthma, lung disease, strokes and heart attacks. 

NICE is also recommending that parents turn off their cars instead of idling when waiting for their children after school, house builders design homes so that living rooms are farther away from roads, and a ban on new speed bumps.

The new recommendations from NICE are not legally binding.

Critics have said the recommendations would be costly to implement for drivers and businesses. Slower speed limits would also reduce access to jobs, because longer travel times would make commuting difficult. 

Data collected by the UK government shows that four in 10 councils are missing the mark when it comes to meeting safe levels of nitrogen dioxide, the major pollutant in car exhaust fumes.

After a court ruling, some cities are already expected to charge congestion fees to diesel drivers. Researchers from the <a href="http://www.bath.ac.uk/">University of Bath</a> cited diesel engines as the worst polluters, because tiny particles expelled with the exhaust fumes are linked to cancer and stroke.

NICE’s goal, officials said, is to encourage driving at a constant rate of speed rather than regularly stopping and starting, which produces more pollution. 

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Health watchdog: speed bumps cause pollution

One UK health watchdog is as annoyed by speed bumps...

The location of a Death Valley canyon full of fossilized footprints has been a closely held secret for decades. Now, paleontologists want to open up “The Barnyard” to the public. 

The canyon has been closed to all but a handful of researchers and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/">National Park Service</a> staff to protect the wide variety of animal tracks – one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world.

The fossilized footprints earned the remote canyon near the California-Nevada border its nickname.

The canyon holds preserved tracks from horses and birds, along with ancient camels, mastodons, big cats, and more. Scientists believe a large lake once attracted animals to the area, and the tracks were left in muddy ground around the body of water. 

The oldest fossilized footprints are thought to be 5 million years old. According to the researchers who have visited the canyon, the tracks are plentiful and visible in just about every part of the canyon. 

Though the park has close to a million visitors each year, only about a hundred of them are allowed to visit the Barnyard, and they must have a permit and be accompanied by a parks official.

However, paleontologist Dr. Torrey Nyborg of <a href="http://home.llu.edu/">Loma Linda University</a> and others are now calling on the National Park Service to open the canyon to visitors.

The researchers have spent four years cataloging and documenting each of the tracks in the canyon. Now, they want the public to be able to see the collection, as well as have the opportunity to volunteer to maintain the canyon as they do in other parts of the park.

<a href="https://www.nps.gov/deva/">Death Valley National Park</a> is the hottest, driest and lowest park in the national system. It encompasses 5,270 square miles of land. The Barnyard covers about five square miles within the park.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Public could soon see fossilized footprints in Death Valley

The location of a Death Valley canyon full of fossilized...

A team of scientists from the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University Of Exeter</a> have developed a new laser imaging technique that boasts 3D maps of green spaces in never-before-seen detail. The new technology photographs vegetation from above but can see from the tops of trees all the way to the ground. Previous techniques could only pick up high-resolution photos of the top surface of vegetation, and all plant life beneath had to be estimated in lower resolution. As a result, details of woodland paths, shrubs, and shorter vegetation were missing from the larger picture.

The team, led by Dr. Karen Anderson of the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/esi/">Environment and Sustainability Institute</a>, utilized a system called waveform lidar, which allows mapping over large areas, including even the smallest details beneath the trees. Anderson emphasized how the previous mapping provided an inaccurate and sometimes biased analysis of green spaces.

"Vegetation canopies are very complex three-dimensional structures, and for the first time we can now measure what lies underneath the canopy over a very large area," said Anderson. "This has great potential to be used for a range of purposes, from promoting biodiversity in urban areas to mapping easy walking routes and monitoring the health of habitats from cities to rainforests."

Scientists hope a more accurate and detailed understanding of these green spaces can be used to promote biodiversity and, in turn, improve the quality of life in urban areas.  

Said Anderson, "Amongst other things, this approach allows us to understand how these urban green spaces are connected and we can then explore them in three dimensions, for example, from a bird's point of view . . . . The data might show us how we can manage the vegetation in certain places such that it could have a disproportionate effect on improving the environment."

"It also allows us to understand the impact of private gardens on urban biodiversity. Without this, it is almost impossible to gather data on what's in...people's gardens – and we know gardens have complex structures and perform a vital function in urban environments."

A better understanding of the 3D structure of vegetation also allows for a more accurate prediction of weather and climate. A similar technology using the same laser imaging technique will be added to the International Space Station in early 2019.

New laser imaging technique sheds light on plants

A team of scientists from the University Of Exeter have...

Social subgroups are key to environmental preservation, new study shows

Upon first thought, it may seem logical that societies succeed best with complete cohesiveness and unification. But recent research suggests that the formation of social subgroups is crucial to key evolutionary movements, especially environmental conservation. 

A team of researchers at the <a href="http://www.nimbios.org/">National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis</a> (NIMBioS) set out to analyze how societies with differing social structures manage their resources. The team created a mathematical model indicating societies that over-exploited their natural resources ultimately went extinct, while those that kept a careful eye on their consumption and resources fared much better.

The team then wanted to define which factors play the most important roles in determining how environmental resources are conserved. The model showed that the formation of social subgroups made a society four times more likely to conserve their resources and survive than societies with no subgroups – no surprise to risk and complexity analysts who have said the same for decades, calling out many social researchers for their assumptions to the contrary.

Tim Waring, lead author of the study and associate professor at the <a href="https://umaine.edu/mitchellcenter/">Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and the School of Economics at the University of Maine</a>, explained that those societies that broke up into social subgroups evolved better methods of conservation because each subgroup could essentially divide and conquer. With each group focusing on a different specialization, they could learn and benefit from each other.

"Usually, we assume that everyone has to cooperate to save environmental resources, but what we found was that sustainable use of resources emerged more when societies were broken up into multiple groups, like states in the United States, or countries in Europe,” said Waring. "This between-group learning means that behaviors and institutions that help groups survive can spread among groups.”

As an example, Waring referenced the <a href="http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html">1992 Rio Earth Summit</a>, the first climate change talks held by the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a>. The conference took a top-down approach and was ultimately unsuccessful. But the <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cop21/">2015 UN Climate Change Conference</a> in Paris was generated by the efforts of smaller, grassroots movements. As such, it yielded the Paris Agreement, a massive global agreement containing specific steps meant to reduce climate change.

According to Waring, it all comes down to the ways in which humans organize and collaborate. “Part of the problem is that cooperation is harder to grow in larger groups,” he said. “But when smaller groups learn to cooperate and be sustainable, their practices can spread.”

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Social subgroups key to environmental preservation

Social subgroups are key to environmental preservation, new study shows...

A new species of tundra beetle has been found in Antarctica – but it’s been dead for millions of years.

The fossilized forewings of two different beetles were found on Beardmore Glacier, a 124-mile-long feature near the Transantarctic Mountains. They belonged to a beetle species that liked between 14 and 20 million years ago, when the southernmost continent was a lot warmer, according to Dr. Allan Ashworth of <a href="https://www.ndsu.edu/">North Dakota State University</a> and Dr. Terry Erwin of the <a href="https://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian Institution</a>.

They named the species Ball’s Antarctic tundra beetle after ground beetle expert Dr. George E. Ball, with the scientific name <a href="http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=10535">Antarctotrechus balli</a>. They don’t yet know whether the wings were functional or if the species could fly, but it’s leaving a footprint on study of the frozen continent either way.

The beetle is one of only a few insects ever found on Antarctica. Fossil impressions of wings and bodies have been found dating to the late Paleozoic and middle Mesozoic ages, and a handful of more recent insect fossils have been discovered. Ashworth and Erwin have discovered a cyclorraphan fly and listroderine weevil on Beardmore Glacier.  

Today, three species of flightless midges are the only insect life on Antarctica. The icy southern continent has very little vegetation and is very cold, making it inhospitable to bugs.

But the beetle find and the pair’s 2003 discoveries of the weevil and fly chill the notion that Antarctica has always been frozen.

When the beetle was alive, Erwin and Ashworth believe it lived along the banks of a meltwater stream, which likely had some sparse vegetation. Plant fossils associated with the beetle point to a tundra ecosystem. That tundra biome may also have provided habitat for Ashworth and Erwin’s earlier weevil and fly finds.

Though Ball’s Antarctic tundra beetle is now extinct, it seems to have some living relatives: the species Trechisibus, which live in South America, on South Georgia, a sub-Antarctic island, and on the Falkland Islands; and Tasmanorites, which live on Tasmania, an island off the south coast of Australia. 

Ashworth and Erwin described their find in the journal <a href="http://zookeys.pensoft.net/">Zookeys</a>.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tundra beetle adds to evidence Antarctica wasn't always frozen

A new species of tundra beetle has been found in...

Melting West Antarctic Shelf could put New York underwater

Warnings of rising sea levels are nothing new, but recently scientists have grown especially concerned about the melting of a key glacier in the West Antarctic Shelf  that could have catastrophic consequences for major coastal cities.

A massive rift has been forming at the base of the Pine Island Glacier, a major part of the the ice shelf that holds the West Antarctic Shelf together. As a result, ocean water is flowing in and melting the ice from the inside out. 

A team of scientists from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> led by Dr. Ian Howat began studying the rift after a large iceberg of nearly 225 square miles broke off the glacier last year. Using new image-processing software, the team noticed a large rift forming at the base in 2013. But by 2015, the rift had broken through the surface and caused the entire iceberg to break off. 

According to Howat, “It’s generally accepted that it’s no longer a question of whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will melt, it’s a question of when. This kind of rifting behavior provides another mechanism for rapid retreat of these glaciers, adding to the probability that we may see significant collapse of West Antarctica in our lifetimes.” 

The team of researchers warn that a similar effect could happen across Antarctica, and has already been seen in Greenland. 

“Rifts usually form at the margins of an ice shelf, where the ice is thin and subject to shearing that rips it apart,” said Howat. “However this latest event in the Pine Island Glacier was due to a rift that originated from the center of the ice sheet and propagated out to the margins. This implies that something weakened the center of the ice shelf, with the most likely explanation being a crevasse melted at the bedrock level by a warming ocean.”

Because the West Antarctic sits below sea level, ocean water can easily flow inland before ever being noticed. Valleys that appear on the surface of the ice are usually indicators of melting beneath.

“The really troubling thing is that there are many of these valleys further up-glacier,” added Howat. “If they are actually sites of weakness that are prone to rifting, we could potentially see more accelerated ice loss in Antarctica.” 

Should the West Antarctic Shelf actually collapse, it would cause sea levels to rise by 10 feet, causing massive flooding in low-lying major cities like New York and London. 

While global warming seems to be the most likely culprit, there is also evidence that the Antarctic Ice Shelf has historically fluctuated between periods of high and low ice cover.

Said Howat, “We’re limited in what information we can get from space, so this will mean targeting air and field campaigns to collect more detailed observations.”

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Melting West Antarctic Shelf could put New York underwater

Melting West Antarctic Shelf could put New York underwater Warnings...

Turns out that for some life forms, breathing is overrated. New geology research has offered tantalizing new evidence of the existence of life before oxygen on planet Earth.

A research team from the <a href="http://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinatti</a> led by Dr. Andrew Czaja discovered fossilized evidence of bacterial life before oxygen at two different locations in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. 

The fossils are the oldest evidence of the existence of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria that existed when the amount of oxygen on Earth was miniscule. The researchers estimated the signs of life to be about 2.52 billion years old. 

The fossilized bacteria were larger than modern bacteria, but show some similarities in structure to single-celled organisms that live today in the oxygen-lacking but sulfur-rich deep ocean.

Plenty of them lived in the area that became the fossils discovered by the research team, Czaja said. They seem to have ingested hydrogen sulfide from volcanoes – the mineral that produces a smell similar to rotten eggs – have turned it into sulfate, the researchers said.

These aren’t the same bacteria that exist today, but may have played a similar role in recycling the waste products from other organisms, the researchers said.

The fossilized bacteria also indicate that there may have been diverse life forms and complex ecosystems already evolving in the years leading up to the Great Oxygenation Event, according to Czaja. 

The event happened about 2.3 billion years ago, scientists believe, and while there are several theories, no one knows why. However, one theory is that some shallow-water bacteria – different from the deep-water samples Czaja’s team found – may have developed oxygen-producing photosynthesis.

The ancient bacteria identified by the research team would have lived more than 2 billion years before plants or trees evolved on Earth. They were discovered in slices of chert, a hard, silica rock. 

The find shows that the bacteria likely lived deep in water or mud with very little light, something scientists have suspected but were not able to confirm until now. Czaja believes the fossils found by the team were from a deep seabed. 

The researchers findings were published in the December issue of the journal <a href="http://geology.gsapubs.org/">Biology</a>.

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Evidence of life before oxygen found in ancient rocks

Turns out that for some life forms, breathing is overrated....

Plastic solar cells are now able to absorb a wider range of sunlight.

Recent scientific developments now allow plastic solar cells to compete with silicon-based solar cells in their ability to efficiently convert power. Experts are focused on increasing the net amount of photonic energies that plastic solar cells can absorb. 

Initially, it was thought that ternary solar cells could offer a possible solution. These cells have been around for some time and involve the combination of three materials to create a light-harvesting layer. But the mixing process has proven difficult to perfect, and had never quite yielded the desired results. 

Now, a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a>, led by graduate student Masoud Ghasemi, have devised a new strategy for fabricating much more efficient plastic solar cells. Ghasemi worked alongside a team of physicists led by Harald Ade, along with a team of chemists from <a href="http://www.unc.edu/">University of North Carolina</a> at Chapel Hill led by Wei You.

The team analyzed the ternary method using two absorption-matched donor polymers and a fullerene acceptor as a calorimetric tool. As predicted, the old method of mixing all three materials together and depositing them yielded a poor performance. 

Said Ghasemi, "Using thermodynamic techniques, we were able to find that this particular mixture was undergoing 'alloying,' in which the donor polymers tend to group up together and push the fullerene away. This explains why so many conventionally produced ternary cells may have low efficiency."

To solve the alloying issue, the team began mixing each polymer with fullerene separately, as opposed to all together simultaneously. This process generated two different mixtures they then laid onto the substrate, yielding sequentially cast ternary solar cells (SeCaT) which did not alloy.

"The SeCaT solar cells prevent the polymers from mixing due to their layered structure. This novel design allows fabrication of plastic solar cells with wider optical sensitivity using cheap and scalable processing steps and with reduced materials selection constraints,” said Ghasemi. “Hopefully this new method can be particularly useful for greenhouse applications toward zero energy farming, as the materials used to demonstrate our method have optical properties compatible to these applications."

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Plastic solar cells now absorb a wider range of sunlight

Plastic solar cells are now able to absorb a wider...

Marine incentives that encourage smarter use of the oceans and protect ecosystems work, according to a new analysis.

Ocean researchers from Princeton University and Oregon State University decided to take a look at incentive-based programs – both positive and negative – that focused on protecting the oceans, to see how effective they are at bringing about changes to how humans affect the oceans.

They found that marine incentives programs were linked to a number of success stories, and that positive rewards work better than negative consequences in encouraging changes in behavior.

For example, some incentives tackled overfishing. In some locations, fishing is a “race to fish” operation. When some of these areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico’s red snapper fishery, turned to rights-based fisheries – where every fisher is guaranteed a portion of the catch and limits are imposed on each boat – overfishing went down and overall profits went up. Fishers were more invested in protecting the overall health of the fishery rather than scooping up as many fish as possible.

“Debt for nature” swaps have been another success story, in which countries “pay off” some of their foreign debt by protecting ocean waters.

In other cases, U.S. corporations have moved toward only buying certified sustainable fish, while the European Union has issued warnings and sanctions against countries that overfish or engage in unregulated fishing.

While both the “carrot” and the “stick” are effective, OSU and Princeton researchers said, positive reinforcement is better at changing behavior. For example, the changes in how U.S. retailers purchase fish come from their desire to boost their image with American consumers.

The researchers hope their analysis will help governments and environmental groups create more effective programs – based on awareness and education as well as economic incentives – for protecting the ocean. 

Without those kinds of programs, the ocean is in danger, and it will affect more than just fish, they said. Marine and coastal industries and resources are worth around $3 trillion a year, and billions of people rely on the oceans for their food and livelihoods, the researchers said.

Their analysis was published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Marine incentives programs offer hope for the oceans

Marine incentives that encourage smarter use of the oceans and...

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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

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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...