Many decades ago, a massive star collapsed. A shockwave erupted, tearing the star apart. As this shockwave hit the star’s surface, it created a burst of intense X-rays, ultraviolet light, and a powerful light echo.



This pulse traveled across space, and 350 years later, it reached a vast region of interstellar gas and dust. This explosion lit up the surrounding material, warming it and causing it to glow in infrared light.



Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are now able to observe this glowing cosmic material in unprecedented detail. 



The infrared light echoes created by this supernova have revealed intricate structures, like the knots and whorls of wood grain. These observations have allowed scientists to map the interstellar medium in 3D for the very first time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interstellar-gas-and-dust-details">Interstellar gas and dust details</h2>



"We were pretty shocked to see this level of detail," said Jacob Jencson, principal investigator from <a href="https://www.ipac.caltech.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caltech/IPAC</a> in Pasadena. 



The telescope revealed layers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-dust-may-contain-signs-of-extraterrestrial-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar material</a>, resembling the layers of an onion.



"We think every dense, dusty region that we see, and most of the ones we don’t see, look like this on the inside. We just have never been able to look inside them before," noted Josh Peek of the <a href="https://www.stsci.edu/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Space Telescope Science Institute</a> in Baltimore.



Webb's infrared imaging is allowing scientists to peer into areas of space that were once completely concealed, uncovering a hidden cosmic landscape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-light-echoes">What are light echoes?</h2>



The light echo phenomenon occurs when a star explodes, sending light into the surrounding clumps of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-storms-can-engulf-the-entire-planet-of-mars-but-how/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar dust</a>. This light then heats up the dust, causing it to glow in an expanding pattern. 



Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/nircam/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NIRCam</a>) has been crucial in studying these light echoes, revealing their intricate expansion over just a few weeks - a remarkably fast evolution for cosmic phenomena.



The researchers have focused on a particular light echo near the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. This light echo comes from background material behind Cassiopeia A, not from the material ejected by the star’s explosion. 



NASA's retired <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spitzer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spitzer Space Telescope</a> first observed this phenomenon, but Webb’s exquisite resolution has provided a far clearer view of these cosmic echoes.



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="huBQbcgU76-4226095-12187" type="single"]</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stunning-images-from-webb">Stunning images from Webb</h2>



The most striking features in the Webb images are dense, tightly packed sheets of gas and dust. These filaments appear on scales of about 400 astronomical units - less than one-hundredth of a light-year.



“We did not know that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-storm-triggered-stunning-auroras-worldwide-october-11-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar medium</a> had structures on that small of a scale, let alone that it was sheet-like,” said Josh Peek.



These sheet-like structures might be influenced by interstellar magnetic fields. Webb's images also showcase areas resembling knots in wood grain, which could represent magnetic "islands" within the interstellar medium's more uniform magnetic fields.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3d-scan-of-the-cosmos">3D scan of the cosmos</h2>



The data collected from <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb</a> are revolutionary. "This is the astronomical equivalent of a medical CT scan," explained Armin Rest of the Space Telescope Science Institute.



"We have three slices taken at three different times, which will allow us to study the true 3D structure. It will completely change the way we study the interstellar medium."



These findings will not only enhance our understanding of the space around us, but they could also change how we approach the study of the universe's most distant and mysterious regions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-opportunities-to-study-light-echoes">Opportunities to study light echoes</h2>



In addition to these spectacular images, the team is planning to conduct spectroscopic observations using Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/mid-infrared-instrument-miri/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIRI</a>). 



"We can observe the same patch of dust before, during, and after it’s illuminated by the echo and try to look for any changes in the compositions or states of the molecules," said Jencson.



Infrared light echoes are rare events that require a unique type of supernova explosion. The upcoming Nancy Grace <a href="https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roman Space Telescope</a> is expected to provide additional opportunities to study light echoes, potentially offering new insights that Webb can explore in greater detail.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-lasting-legacy-of-webb">The lasting legacy of Webb</h2>



"Even as a star dies, its light endures - echoing across the cosmos. It's been an extraordinary three years since we launched NASA's James Webb Space Telescope," reflected NASA Administrator <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/people/nasa-administrator-bill-nelson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bill Nelson</a>.



"Every image, every discovery, shows a portrait not only of the majesty of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/international-space-station-observes-something-unknown-55-miles-above-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">universe</a> but the power of the NASA team and the promise of international partnerships.



"What a privilege it has been to oversee this monumental effort, shaped by the tireless dedication of thousands of scientists and engineers around the globe. This latest image beautifully captures the lasting legacy of Webb - a keyhole into the past and a mission that will inspire generations to come."



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC)



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Webb captures the light echoes of an exploding star

Many decades ago, a massive star collapsed. A shockwave erupted, tearing the star apart. As this shockwave hit the star’s surface, it created a burst of intense X-rays, ultraviolet light, and a powerful light echo. This pulse traveled across space, and 350 years later, it reached a vast region of interstellar gas and dust. This explosion lit up the surrounding material, warming it and causing it to glow in infrared light. Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are now able to observe this glowing cosmic...

<div>New research from <a href="http://www.ncsu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina State University</a> finds that urban warming reduces growth and photosynthesis in city trees. The researchers found that insect pests are part of the problem, but that heat itself plays a more significant role.</div>
<div>

"Earlier studies have shown that urban warming increases pest abundance in street trees," says Emily Meineke, lead author of a paper describing the work. "We wanted to know how urban warming and pest abundance affect tree growth, since trees pull carbon out of the atmosphere and convert it into biomass. This is important, because we know that high levels of atmospheric carbon play a role in climate change." Meineke did the work while a Ph.D. student at NC State. She is now a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard.

To explore this issue, researchers went to 20 pairs of willow oak trees (Quercus phellos) across Raleigh, North Carolina. At each site, one tree was treated with an oil that kills insect pests, and the second tree was left untreated. The sites were located across a variety of different urban temperatures, and air temperature was monitored at each site over the course of the experiment.

The researchers tracked the growth of all 40 trees for two years. Growth was assessed in two ways: by measuring the circumference of each tree's trunk, and by measuring how much specific branches grew on each tree. The researchers also measured each tree's photosynthesis, which is how trees capture carbon from the atmosphere and is a key marker of tree health.

The researchers found that scale insects and spider mites - well known tree pests - were more abundant at hotter sites. Specifically, they found that spider mite populations more than doubled when a site's average temperature crossed a threshold of 16.4 degrees Celsius (61.5 degrees Fahrenheit). Scale insects, however, showed a linear relationship with temperature. In other words, the hotter it got, the more scale insects there were.

The researchers also found that warming negatively affected tree photosynthesis and growth, regardless of whether pests were present.

"Trees that didn't have pests had more branch growth than trees with pests," Meineke says. "But trees at warmer sites had less trunk growth, which accounts for more tree biomass, regardless of pests."

The researchers then plugged these results into a model to determine the extent to which urban warming impacted carbon storage for all of the willow oaks in Raleigh.

"We found that urban warming reduced carbon storage by all of Raleigh's willow oaks by 12 percent, or 27 metric tons per year," Meineke says.

"We think the findings are generalizable to other tree species and other cities, especially hotter cities like Atlanta, but additional work needs to be done to determine whether that's the case," Meineke says.
###
The paper, "Urban warming reduces aboveground carbon storage," is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The paper was co-authored by Elsa Youngsteadt, an entomology research associate at NC State; Rob Dunn, a professor of applied ecology at NC State; and Steve Frank, an associate professor of entomology and plant pathology at NC State. The work was supported by the Department of the Interior's Southeast Climate Science Center, under cooperative agreement numbers G11AC20471, G13AC00405 and G15AP00153; by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, under grant number 2013-02476; and by the National Science Foundation under grants 0953390 and 1136703.

</div>

Urban warming slows tree growth and photosynthesis

New research from North Carolina State University finds that urban...

<div>Over 1 million dams exist worldwide. These structures have numerous environmental effects, and there is no shortage of research on the various ecological consequences of dams. However, the bulk of the research effort has been narrowly focused on river ecosystems. Writing in <a href="http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/biw117" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BioScience</a>, Bridget R. Deemer of the School of the Environment at Washington State University Vancouver and an international team of researchers elucidate another major threat: the release of greenhouse gases from reservoirs.</div>
<div>

Researchers first raised the possibility that dam-created reservoirs might significantly contribute to climate change some 16 years ago, but since then, efforts to pinpoint the severity of the effect have been hampered by a lack of data and inconsistent measurement techniques. Deemer and her colleagues embarked on a systematic effort to synthesize reservoir data, with three goals in mind: "(1) to generate a global estimate of greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs, (2) to identify the best predictors of these emissions, and (3) to consider the effect of methodology on emission estimates."

Their results were striking. The authors estimate a yearly release of 0.8 gigaton of carbon dioxide equivalent from reservoirs. This amounts to 1.3% of total human-caused greenhouse gas releases--a quantity that Deemer and her colleagues argue should be included in global inventories of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the authors caution: "with the current boom in global dam construction, reservoirs will represent an even larger fraction of anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in the coming years."

Although it is unlikely that dam construction will soon abate, the authors point to possible ways to alleviate greenhouse gas releases. For instance, by siting dams upstream of large inputs of pollution, managers may be able to create reservoirs with lower emissions. According to the authors, such careful siting of new reservoirs, in combination with better management of existing ones, "may help balance the positive ecosystem services that reservoirs provide against the greenhouse gas emission costs."
###
BioScience, published monthly by Oxford Journals, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). BioScience is a forum for integrating the life sciences that publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles. The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is a meta-level organization for professional scientific societies and organizations that are involved with biology. It represents nearly 160 member societies and organizations. Follow BioScience on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/BioScienceAIBS">@BioScienceAIBS</a>.

Oxford Journals is a division of Oxford University Press. Oxford Journals publishes well over 300 academic and research journals covering a broad range of subject areas, two-thirds of which are published in collaboration with learned societies and other international organizations. The division been publishing journals for more than a century, and as part of the world's oldest and largest university press, has more than 500 years of publishing expertise behind it. Follow Oxford Journals on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/OxfordJournals">@OxfordJournals</a>.

</div>

Reservoirs are a major source of greenhouse gases

Over 1 million dams exist worldwide. These structures have numerous...

Experts are hoping to stop the world's favorite fruit, the banana, from disappearing from our shops.

Fungal disease and rising costs of production threaten the supply of the most important fruit crop in the world. More than five billion bananas are purchased in Britain each year, and the UK accounts for seven per cent of the global export market.

Biologists and economists will work together to develop solutions to save banana crops from disease and help retailers cope with the impact of increased costs.

Panama disease, which kills banana plants, is spreading around the world thanks to increased trade and transport links between nations. If it spreads to more banana-producing nations there is a risk of shortages for retailers and consumers, and devastation for the millions of plantation workers, small-scale producers and their families whose livelihoods depend on the global banana trade.

Only one variety of banana, Cavendish, is internationally traded. A previous variety grown for export, Gros Michel, was eliminated by Panama disease in the 1950s. Now a new strain of the disease is spreading from Asia and threatens the production of Cavendish. If it reaches Latin America and the Caribbean supply to the EU and US could collapse. There are no alternative varieties of banana available as yet for international trade.

Biologists and economists from the University of Exeter, University of Oxford, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the NGO BananaLink, and consultancy 3Keel will work to assess the risk of “bananageddon”. They will calculate the shortages of the fruit the public and retailers can expect, the impact of climate change and disease on banana yield and supply.

Members of the research team will also undertake work to examine how to help banana plants resist fungal disease. They will work with retailers to develop new economic models of pricing bananas and examine how consumers will respond to changes in price. They will also work with public health bodies to examine the impact on people’s diets if bananas were less readily available.

The three-year project, which begins this month, has been given £1.2m of funding by partners including the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBRSC).

Dr Dan Bebber, who is leading the study, said: “We want to estimate the impact of the various biological and economic shocks on the cards for banana production, and develop strategies to reduce the impact of diseases and climate change on production.

“We believe there would be public health implications if bananas became more expensive, as people might switch to less healthy snacks, along with serious economic impacts on producers in the developing world.”

Dr Adam Staines, from the BBSRC, said: “The threat of crop diseases and the potential for one disease to wipe out an entire crop supply chain is ever increasing with globalisation, changing climates, resistance to antimicrobial agents, and reliance on a more narrow diversity of crops; and as such addressing crop diseases are a key priority area for BBSRC and the other funding partners.

“Bananas are an excellent source of nutrition for the UK and globally, and an economically important crop in many countries. By using a truly multi-disciplinary approach, this research will provide an understanding of future disease threats, work on potential new anti-fungalagents to stop these diseases, and understand the socio-economic context of disease outbreaks.”

---

<a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Exeter</a>

Saving the planet from 'bananageddon'

Experts are hoping to stop the world's favorite fruit, the banana,...

Some of the most iconic giants of the animal kingdom, such as the imperious African elephant and the majestic lion, are most vulnerable to the detrimental impact of human expansion, new research has shown.

A team of scientists, led by Lewis Bartlett from the University of Exeter, have studied the alarming extent changes to the natural environment - through activities such as farming, expansion and climate change - have on the local ecosystem.

In particular, the team studied the influence that habitat loss and fragmentation – where once great swathes of land are broken into smaller, isolated patches - can have on native wildlife.

They discovered that larger animals, such as the elephant, are more vulnerable to changes to their natural surroundings – and so be most exposed to the threat of extinction.

The research team believe the pivotal new study, which is published in the highly respected journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, could help conservationists and scientists more accurately predict the effect that human activity will have on the natural world.

Lewis Bartlett, lead author of the paper from the Centre of Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, Cornwall said: “At a time when some of our biggest and most iconic animals are facing multiple routes to extinction, every new piece of information helps. By using computer simulations – with the help of Microsoft Research’s supercomputer cluster – we’ve shown that these biggest animals are the ones most threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation”.

The team of scientists use the world-leading ‘Madingley Model’ – which can simulate all life on Earth on land and oceans – to conduct their study, focusing on a large area of the broad Kenyan plains.

The team divided the area into a series of 100 small grid sections, and studied how the area and its wildlife reacted to localised changes to the vegetation levels – for example through effects like wildfire, human expansion or over grazing.

They discovered that habitat fragmentation , caused when small ‘patches’ of vegetation are removed rather than one, larger section, has an alarmingly detrimental effect on the ability of larger animals to survive.

Furthermore, the effects of fragmentation are magnified when experienced in conjunction with a greater intensity of land change use through human activity – which in turn leads to more changes to the ecosystem.

The research team suggest that studying ecosystems across a wide expansive area, rather than individually, enables scientists to better predict the expected outcomes of such vegetation changes.

Furthermore, they believe that analyses such as this can help scientists predict what will happen if humans pursue particular activities in localised areas – and also help identify the threshold at which ecosystems would not be able to recover.

Lewis added: “We hope that being able to forecast how to meet demands for more land and space, whilst minimising the impact to ecosystems, will help achieve the best outcomes for nature and people.”

---

<a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Exeter</a>

Large animals are most vulnerable to human expansion

Some of the most iconic giants of the animal kingdom,...

<div>A popular recreational and commercial fish - the native walleye - is at risk of disappearing as invasions of the competitive, predatory smallmouth bass move into Ontario lakes, a new study from York University has found.</div>
<div>

Walleye fish populations are diminishing as climate change warms the waters allowing smallmouth bass to move into more northern Ontario lakes, competing for similar food resources and adding walleye young to their menu choices. Smallmouth bass prefer warmer water and the colder northern lakes were historically a deterrent, but that's changing.

The findings by biology Professor Sapna Sharma in York U's Faculty of Science and Thomas Van Zuiden, a recent Master's degree graduate of Sharma's who is now a data manager and statistical analyst in her lab, have important implications. As climate change facilitates smallmouth bass invasions, fisheries in the Great Lakes region are at greater risk of collapse.

"Walleye play an important role in lake-ecosystem dynamics as top predators, and are also popular angling targets for commercial and recreational fisheries," said Van Zuiden. "Climate change poses a serious threat to their survival in Ontario lakes, and our study shows that the invasion of smallmouth bass is exacerbating the problem."

Analyzing data from 722 lakes in Ontario, Van Zuiden and Sharma found that smallmouth bass prefer different environmental conditions than walleye. However, when walleye and smallmouth bass are in the same lakes, there are three times fewer walleye. Under future scenarios of climate change, the researchers predict that the co-occurrence of the two fish species may increase as much as 332 per cent by the year 2070, increasing the vulnerability of walleye populations across the province.

"The future is looking dim for walleye in Ontario lakes under climate change because of both habitat loss and competition from invading smallmouth bass," says Sharma. "As climate change continues to facilitate smallmouth bass invasions into new lakes, Canada's native fisheries, such as walleye and lake trout, are at greater risk of collapse. Our study illustrates the importance of including multiple environmental stressors in statistical models when attempting to understand changes in biodiversity."
###
The study, "Examining the effects of climate change and species invasions on Ontario walleye populations: can walleye beat the heat," is published in the October print edition of the journal Diversity and Distributions.

York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world's most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university - our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni.

</div>

Climate change and species invasions are decimating walleye populations

A popular recreational and commercial fish - the native walleye...

Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they make a tiny contribution to our planet’s protective magnetic shield. Remarkably, ESA’s Swarm satellites have not only measured this extremely faint field, but have also led to new discoveries about the electrical nature of inner Earth.

The magnetic field shields us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that bombard Earth from the Sun. Without it, the atmosphere as we know it would not exist, rendering life virtually impossible.

Scientists need to learn more about our protective field to understand many natural processes, from those occurring deep inside the planet, to weather in space caused by solar activity. This information will then yield a better understanding of why Earth’s magnetic field is weakening.

Although we know that the magnetic field originates in different parts of Earth and that each source generates magnetism of different strengths, exactly how it is generated and why it changes is not fully understood.

This is why, in 2013, ESA launched its trio of Swarm satellites.

While the mission is already shedding new light on how the field is changing, this latest result focuses on the most elusive source of magnetism: ocean tides.

When salty ocean water flows through the magnetic field, an electric current is generated and this, in turn, induces a magnetic response in the deep region below Earth’s crust – the mantle. Because this response is such a small portion of the overall field, it was always going to be a challenge to measure it from space.

[caption id="attachment_88511" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-88511" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Magnetic_field_sources_1big_esa-150x150.jpg" alt="Sources of Earth's magnetic field" width="150" height="150" /> Sources of Earth's magnetic field[/caption]

Last year, scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, showed that if it could be measured from space – never done before – it should also tell us something about Earth’s interior. However, this all remained a theory – until now.

Thanks to Swarm’s precise measurements along with those from Champ – a mission that ended in 2010 after measuring Earth’s gravity and magnetic fields for more than 10 years – scientists have not only been able to find the magnetic field generated by ocean tides but, remarkably, they have used this new information to image the electrical nature of Earth’s upper mantle 250 km below the ocean floor.

Alexander Grayver, from ETH Zurich, said, “The Swarm and Champ satellites have allowed us to distinguish between the rigid ocean ‘lithosphere’ and the more pliable ‘asthenosphere’ underneath.”

The lithosphere is the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, while the asthenosphere lies just below the lithosphere and is hotter and more fluid than the lithosphere.

“Effectively, ‘geo-electric sounding from space’, this result is a first for space exploration,” he continues.

“These new results are important for understanding plate tectonics, the theory of which argues that Earth’s lithosphere consists of rigid plates that glide on the hotter and less rigid asthenosphere that serves as a lubricant, enabling plate motion.”

Roger Haagmans, ESA’s Swarm mission scientist, explained, “It’s astonishing that the team has been able to use just two years’ worth of measurements from Swarm to determine the magnetic tidal effect from the ocean and to see how conductivity changes in the lithosphere and upper mantle.

“Their work shows that down to about 350 km below the surface, the degree to which material conducts electric currents is related to composition.

“In addition, their analysis shows a clear dependence on the tectonic setting of the ocean plate. These new results also indicate that, in the future, we could get a full 3D view of conductivity below the ocean.”

Rune Floberghagen, ESA’s Swarm mission manager, added, “We have very few ways of probing deep into the structure of our planet, but Swarm is making extremely valuable contributions to understanding Earth’s interior, which then adds to our knowledge of how Earth works as a whole system.”

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---

<a href="http://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Space Agency</a>

Oceans contribute to Earth's magnetic shield

Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they...

Several 80-million-year-old fossils found in Alabama are from a species of sea turtle that is the oldest known member of the lineage that gave rise to all modern species of sea turtles, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology worked with two relatively complete turtle skeletons, along with several smaller pieces, that are housed at Birmingham’s McWane Science Center, to unearth the evolutionary clues tying the ancient turtles to modern sea turtles, and confirm the existence of that ancient species, previously known only from a few isolated fragments.

The McWane fossils help solve a long-standing debate as to whether this animal was a unique species. They also provide insights into the evolutionary history of living species of sea turtles, including the Kemp’s Ridley, Loggerhead and the endangered Green sea turtle.

According to research published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, the fossils belong to Ctenochelys (tee-no-key-lees) acris, a marine-adapted turtle that lived in the shallow, subtropical sea that once covered most of Alabama. By dating the rock formation from which these fossils were recovered, C. acris is presumed to have lived more than 80 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous, a period of time when sea turtle diversity was at an all-time high.

“Climatic warming during the mid-Cretaceous resulted in elevated sea levels and temperatures that, in turn, provided an abundance of new niches for marine turtles to invade,” said Drew Gentry, a UAB biology doctoral student and the lead researcher on the project. “Represented today by only seven living species, sea turtles were once one of the most diverse lineages of marine reptiles. Before the cataclysm that claimed the dinosaurs, there may have been dozens of specialized species of sea turtle living in different oceanic habitats around the world.”

[caption id="attachment_88493" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-88493" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/sea-turtle-Ctenochelys-acris-illustration_1big_UAB-150x150.jpg" alt="Silhouette of Ctenochelys acris" width="150" height="150" /> Silhouette of Ctenochelys acris[/caption]

Before this research, so little fossil evidence for C. acris had been documented that most paleontologists doubted the species was real. Not only do the newly discovered fossils prove C. acris existed, they may also be a critical piece in a much larger puzzle of sea turtle evolution.

“There is strong evidence which indicates freshwater turtles may have evolved to occupy marine environments at several points in the past,” Gentry said. “But most of those lineages went extinct, making the exact origins of living or ‘true’ sea turtles somewhat of a mystery.”

Evidence gathered from the fossils of C. acris suggests the earliest ancestors of modern sea turtles may have come from the Deep South. By comparing the skeleton of C. acris with those of both extinct and living species of turtles, Gentry discovered that C. acris possessed traits of both sea turtles and their closest living turtle relatives, snapping turtles.

“This animal was a bottom-dwelling sea turtle that fed primarily on mollusks and small invertebrates,” he said. “Unlike the ‘rudder-like’ hind-limbs of today’s sea turtles, C. acris had large, powerful hind-limbs to help push it through the water, a lot like a modern-day snapping turtle.

“Data from C. acris tell us not only that marine turtles are capable of occupying specialized oceanic niches, but also that many of the sea turtles we know today may have gotten their evolutionary start as something similar to an oversized snapping turtle in what eventually became the southeastern United States.”

Studying the diversity and evolutionary history of sea turtles during previous periods of climate change can provide meaningful insights into what effects climate and environmental changes might have on modern marine turtle populations.

“An important, yet often overlooked, aspect of sea turtle research is their evolutionary history,” Gentry said. “By analyzing the remains of fossil species, we can begin to understand the origins of these animals and how they’ve adapted to different environments over time.”

The fossils that led to this research were discovered in 1986 and contributed to what was then the Red Mountain Museum. The McWane Science Center was founded in 1998 by the merger of the Red Mountain Museum and a nearby children’s museum, Discovery Place.

The paleontological and archaeological collection at McWane is one of the largest in the southeastern U.S. and houses a number of significant finds from across Alabama, including the recently announced Eotrachodon, a type of duck-billed dinosaur.

“We are always making discoveries from the specimens housed at McWane that give us new respect for the individuals who contributed to this collection,” Gentry said.

---

<a href="http://www.uab.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UAB</a>

Sea turtles originated in the United States

Several 80-million-year-old fossils found in Alabama are from a species...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">The ocean circulation that is responsible for England's mild climate appears to be slowing down. The shift is not sudden or dramatic, as in the 2004 sci-fi movie "The Day After Tomorrow," but it is a real effect that has consequences for the climates of eastern North America and Western Europe.</div>
Also unlike in that movie, and in theories of long-term climate change, these recent trends are not connected with the melting of the Arctic sea ice and buildup of freshwater near the North Pole. Instead, they seem to be connected to shifts at the southern end of the planet, according to a recent <a href="http://www.washington.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Washington</a> study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

"It doesn't work like in the movie, of course," said Kathryn Kelly, an oceanographer at the UW's Applied Physics Laboratory. "The slowdown is actually happening very gradually, but it seems to be happening like predicted: It does seem to be spinning down."

The study looked at data from satellites and ocean sensors off Miami that have tracked what's known as the Atlantic overturning circulation for more than a decade. Together they show a definite slowdown since 2004, confirming a trend suspected before then from spottier data.

Looking at other observations to determine the cause, the researchers ruled out what had been the prime suspect until now: that massive melting and freshening in the North Atlantic could stop water from sinking and put the brakes on the overturning circulation, which moves warmer water north along the ocean's surface and sends cold water southward at depths.

"It appears that this 10-year slowdown is not related to salinity," Kelly said. In fact, despite more ice melt, surface water in the Arctic is getting saltier and therefore denser, she said, because of less precipitation. "That means the slowdown could not possibly be due to salinity -- it's just backwards. The North Atlantic has actually been getting saltier."

Instead, the authors saw a surprising connection with a current around the southern tip of South Africa. In what's known as the Agulhas Current, warm Indian Ocean water flows south along the African coast and around the continent's tip toward the Atlantic, but then makes a sharp turn back to join the stormy southern circumpolar current. Warm water that escapes into the Atlantic around the cape of South Africa is known as the Agulhas Leakage. The new research shows the amount of leakage changes with the quantity of heat transported northward by the overturning circulation.

"We've found that the two are connected, but I don't think we've found that one causes the other," Kelly said. "It's more likely that whatever changed the Agulhas changed the whole system."

She believes atmospheric changes may be affecting both currents simultaneously.

"Most people have thought this current should be driven by a salinity change, but maybe it's the [Southern Ocean] winds," Kelly said.

The finding could have implications for northern European and eastern U.S. climates, and for understanding how the world's oceans carry heat from the tropics toward the poles.

"I think it changes how we think about the whole Atlantic overturning circulation, of which the Gulf Stream is a part," said co-author LuAnne Thompson, a UW professor of oceanography. "It brings back the role of the atmosphere into what's controlling the climate in the high latitudes, that it's not all driven by what's happening in the oceans."

And while a slowdown of the Gulf Stream and broader overturning circulation, for whatever reason, would bring less warm water to eastern North America and Western Europe, any effects are overwhelmed by the overall warming due to global climate change.

"So that whole concept in the movie of New York harbor freezing doesn't make any sense," Kelly said. "If the Gulf Stream doesn't carry as much heat from the tropics, it just means that the North Atlantic is not going to warm up as fast as the rest of the ocean -- it's not going to cool down."
###
The study was funded by NASA and the U.K.'s Natural Environment Research Council. Other co-authors are Kyla Drushka at the UW Applied Physics Laboratory, Dewi Le Bars at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and Elaine McDonagh at the U.K.'s University of Southampton.

&nbsp;

</div>
<div></div>

Ocean circulation in the Atlantic is slowing down

The ocean circulation that is responsible for England's mild climate...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Vertical wind shear has the ability to tear a tropical cyclone apart, but recently formed Tropical Storm Nicole in the western Atlantic Ocean is holding fast to its strength despite being battered by wind shear. The wind shear is being caused by the outflow of Hurricane Matthew that moved over western Haiti on Oct. 4 and was moving toward the Bahamas on Oct. 5.</div>
Nicole formed at 11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 4 and westerly vertical wind shear was already battering the storm at 1 p.m. EDT (17:00 UTC) when NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the western Atlantic Ocean. The visible-light image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard Aqua saw the bulk of Nicole's clouds were being pushed to the east of the center.

On Oct. 5, Forecaster Cangialosi of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted "Nicole continues to hold its strength despite strong wind shear. Satellite images show a rather robust circulation, with a small area of deep convection near the center and a larger band to the east of the center."

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Nicole was located near 24.3 degrees north latitude and 61.8 degrees west longitude. That's about 490 miles (790 km) north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was moving to the west-northwest near 6 mph (9 kph). A turn toward the northwest is expected later today, followed by a turn toward the north by late Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) east of the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 millibars.

The NHC forecast noted that Nicole is expected to remain in strong wind shear conditions caused by the outflow of Hurricane Matthew during the next few days, which should prevent the storm from strengthening. After that time, Nicole is expected to interact with a mid- to upper-level low pressure area and could acquire some subtropical cyclone characteristics over the weekend of Oct. 8 and 9.

--

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a>


</div>
<div></div>

Tropical Storm Nicole seen holding fast in the Atlantic

Vertical wind shear has the ability to tear a tropical...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Depression 22W has formed northeast of the northern Philippines and NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of the storm.</div>
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Depression 22W (TD22W) on Oct. 5 at 12:35 a.m. EDT (0435 UTC). The image showed strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation, but the center appeared somewhat elongated. That's because the storm is dealing with moderate vertical wind shear.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) Tropical Depression 22W had maximum sustained winds near 29 mph (25 knots/46 kph). It was centered near 19.7 degrees north latitude and 122.8 degrees east longitude, about 327 nautical miles north-northeast of Manila, Philippines. TD22W is moving to the northwest at 24 mph (21 knots/38 kph).

Tropical Depression 22W is forecast to track to the west-northwest over the next several days and its center is expected to move over open waters and pass between Luzon, northern Philippines and Taiwan.
###

</div>
<div>

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a>

</div>

Tropical Depression 22W forms northeast of the Philippines

Tropical Depression 22W has formed northeast of the northern Philippines...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Ocean warming is occurring at such a rapid rate that fish are searching for cooler waters to call home.</div>
A group of international scientists has new evidence that coral reef fish - which struggle to adapt to the warmer ocean temperatures brought about by global climate change - may instead opt to relocate to cooler parts of the ocean.

In experiments using a common coral reef fish, the blue-green damselfish, Chromis viridis, was acclimated to 2-4 degrees Celsius above their normal summer temperatures over a 27-week period.

"When fish have to deal with increased temperature, there are physical consequences. They need more energy to cope, and they may not be able to handle stress or reproduce or even grow," says marine scientist Jacob Johansen of <a href="http://www.utexas.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The University of Texas at Austin</a>.

Fish that were acclimated to the highest temperatures lost 30 percent of their body weight and some of them died, according to the University of Copenhagen's Adam Habary, the lead author of a study published this week in the journal Global Change Biology.

"But we found that, when given the slightest chance, fish can seek out temperatures that they've evolved to be in over thousands of years, to mitigate the impact of increasing temperatures and not sacrifice critical physiological processes," says Johansen

[caption id="attachment_88412" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-88412" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/cff2.earth-com-temp.comuploads20161004161102media.eurekalert.orgmultimedia_prodpubweb123980_web-6b8c7b56e1c718fb2dcab90183d70bb30a6fd155-8615a699e3fd3750d8dd049a4e04e7bed4fa8a87-150x150.jpg" alt="Blue-green damselfish" width="150" height="150" /> Blue-green damselfish[/caption]

Most prior research has focused on the capacity for animals to adapt to increasing temperatures, given that animals have adapted to changes in temperature in the past. However, previous adaptations happened at evolutionary timescales, about 1 degree Celsius temperature change per million years. Global climate change is occurring at a much faster rate, with sea surface temperature predicted to increase 2 to 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century.

Marine fish are faced with a tough decision. They will need to adapt or move to avoid death.

Instead of looking into how fish can adapt, the new research took a different approach by asking, what if fish moved? In fact, what if entire ecosystems were capable of moving to the cooler temperatures, toward the poles or to deeper water?

There is already evidence that many coral reef fish and pelagic fish such as tuna are moving in response to warmer ocean waters, and that this is beginning to affect global fisheries. "Our study provides a mechanistic explanation for why fish may move, and a way of testing it," Johansen says.

Picking up and moving may not be the silver bullet for some species, particularly those coral reef fish that are dependent on reefs for habitat. Corals cannot move pole-ward as fast as the temperature increases are predicted to happen, so corals and coral-dependent fish will have to adapt or move to deeper waters where living conditions are less than ideal.

In addition, ocean warming does not occur as a steady slide upward on the thermometer. It often occurs as severe and increasingly frequent heating events. "It's these transient periods that are causing the most damage," Johansen notes. This was seen earlier this year on the Great Barrier Reef, when temperatures rose as much as 4 degrees Celsius for several weeks, causing widespread coral bleaching and severe physiological stress in many fish.

Johansen and fisheries biologists from the University of Copenhagen and James Cook University collaborated on the just-published study titled "Adapt, move or die - how will tropical coral reef fishes cope with ocean warming."
###
The research was supported by Generalmajor J.F. Classen Foundation, Frøken Ellen Backe &amp; Margaret Munn Tovborg Jensens foundations as well as the Familien Muller-Geiels foundation and an ARC Super Science Fellowship and infrastructure and research allocation from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at JCU.

</div>

Ocean warming is pushing coral reef fish to cooler waters

Ocean warming is occurring at such a rapid rate that...

Hurricane Matthew made landfall in western Haiti during the morning hours of Oct. 4, and a NASA animation of NOAA's GOES-East satellite covered the monster storm.
<div>

NOAA's GOES-East satellite provides continuous imagery of the Atlantic Ocean and eastern U.S. and has been keeping a close eye on powerful Hurricane Matthew. Infrared imagery shows Matthew's movements at night, while visible imagery shows Matthew's movements during the day. At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, both infrared and visible imagery were combined into an animation from Oct. 2 to Oct. 4. The animation ends just after Hurricane Matthew made landfall on Oct. 4 near Les Anglais in western Haiti about 7 a.m. EDT (1100 UTC).

A hurricane warning is in effect for Haiti; the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma and Las Tunas; the southeastern Bahamas, including the Inaguas, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay and Ragged Island; the Central Bahamas, including Long Island, Exuma, Rum Cay, San Salvador and Cat Island; and the northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Andros Island, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island and New Providence.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Dominican Republic from Barahona westward to the border with Haiti, Jamaica, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

There are also hurricane and tropical storm watches in effect today, Oct. 4. A hurricane watch is in effect for the Cuban province of Camaguey. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the Dominican Republic from Puerto Plata westward to the border with Haiti.

On Oct. 4 at 2:10 a.m. EDT (0610 UTC), NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Matthew and analyzed the hurricane in infrared light to show temperatures. The MODIS, or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite revealed cloud top temperatures as cold or colder than minus 70 F (minus 56.6 C). NASA research indicates very cold cloud tops with the potential to generate very heavy rainfall.

At 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC) on Oct. 4 the eye of Hurricane Matthew was located inland Haiti near 18.4 degrees north latitude and 74.2 degrees west longitude. That's just 10 miles (15 km) east of Tiburon, Haiti, and about 125 miles (200 km) south of the eastern tip of Cuba.

NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Matthew was moving to the north near 9 mph (15 kph), and this general motion is expected to continue today. A turn toward the north-northwest is expected by Wednesday, Oct. 5, followed by a northwest turn Wednesday night. On the forecast track, the eye of Matthew will move near or over portions of the southeastern and central Bahamas tonight and Wednesday, and approach the northwestern Bahamas Wednesday night.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 145 mph (230 kph) with higher gusts. Matthew is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are possible during the next couple of days, but Matthew is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through at least Wednesday night.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 934 millibars.

---

For information on rainfall, storm surge, winds and updated forecasts and tracks, visit the National Hurricane Center website: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;


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Hurricane Matthew slams Haiti en route to the US

Hurricane Matthew made landfall in western Haiti during the morning...

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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

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

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (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

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" 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.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?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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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

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

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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

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" 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 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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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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

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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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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...