For decades, scientists have been grappling with what is considered to be the most fundamental question about the cosmos: How fast is our universe expanding? 



The rate of expansion influences everything from how galaxies form to how they might one day drift apart.



Determining the expansion rate of the universe, a number called the "Hubble constant," shapes our entire understanding of the cosmos, its age, and its ultimate fate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-tension-expansion-conundrum">"Hubble tension" expansion conundrum</h2>



Unfortunately, though many brilliant minds have dedicated their lives to finding the answer to this riddle, all who have tried thus far have failed, running repeatedly into a brick wall that has come to be known as the "Hubble tension."



Adam Riess, a physicist at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University</a> in Baltimore, has been at the forefront of this debate. "With measurement errors negated, what remains is the real and exciting possibility that we have misunderstood the universe," Riess admitted.



Riess, who won a Nobel Prize for discovering that the universe's expansion is accelerating due to dark energy, has been working tirelessly to resolve what's known as the Hubble Tension.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-hubble-constant-matters">Why the Hubble constant matters</h2>



But before diving deeper, let's consider why the expansion rate -- called the Hubble constant -- is so crucial. 



Named after Edwin Hubble, who first observed that galaxies are moving away from us, this constant helps us map out the history and future of everything we see in the night sky. 



Determining it with precision has been a major goal of astronomers for decades.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_3-steps_illustration_nasa_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_3-steps_illustration_nasa_1s.webp" alt="This illustration shows the three basic steps astronomers use to calculate how fast the universe expands over time, a value called the Hubble constant. All the steps involve building a strong &quot;cosmic distance ladder,&quot; by starting with measuring accurate distances to nearby galaxies and then moving to galaxies farther and farther away. Credit: NASA" class="wp-image-1951709"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This illustration shows the three basic steps astronomers use to calculate how fast the universe expands over time, a value called the Hubble constant. All the steps involve building a strong "cosmic distance ladder," by starting with measuring accurate distances to nearby galaxies and then moving to galaxies farther and farther away. Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>



When the <a href="https://hubblesite.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble Space Telescope</a> was launched in 1990, one of its main objectives was to pin down the universe's expansion rate. 



Before Hubble, estimates of the universe's age ranged wildly from 10 to 20 billion years -- a huge uncertainty. 



Thanks to Hubble's observations of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/expansion-rate-of-the-universe-confirmed-by-jwst/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cepheid variable stars</a> -- stars that pulsate at regular intervals and serve as cosmic mileposts -- we now have a more precise age of about 13.8 billion years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-webb-telescope-to-the-rescue">Webb telescope to the rescue?</h2>



Some scientists wondered if the discrepancies in measurements were due to errors in Hubble's data. Maybe, they thought, the way Hubble measured distances had some hidden flaws. 



Then came the James Webb Space Telescope (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb</a>), launched to great fanfare as the successor to Hubble. Webb's infrared observations of Cepheids matched Hubble's optical data perfectly. 



"Combining Webb and Hubble gives us the best of both worlds. We find that the Hubble measurements remain reliable as we climb farther along the cosmic distance ladder," Riess explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-vs-webb-vs-expansion">Hubble vs. Webb vs. expansion</h2>



Despite the new data, the tension between measurements remains. The Hubble and Webb telescopes confirm one universe expansion rate, based on observations of the local universe.



Meanwhile, observations from the early universe, like those from the Planck satellite's mapping of the cosmic microwave background radiation, suggest another. 



This leaves cosmologists scratching their heads. Is there something about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-expansion-rate-dark-energy-measured-11-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fabric of space</a> we don't yet understand? Does resolving this discrepancy require new physics, or is there another explanation?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brenda-frye-tackles-hubble-and-expansion">Brenda Frye tackles Hubble and expansion</h2>



In October 2024, <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2024/10/01/webb-researchers-discover-lensed-supernova-confirm-hubble-tension/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">as reported by NASA</a>, Brenda Frye from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a> and an international team took a different approach. 



They used <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-telescope-finds-a-second-lensed-supernova-in-a-distant-galaxy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravitationally lensed supernovae</a> to measure the Hubble constant -- a method independent of previous techniques. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_galaxy-cluster-G165_supernova-H0pe_gravitational-lensing_jwst_UArizona_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hubble-constant_galaxy-cluster-G165_supernova-H0pe_gravitational-lensing_jwst_UArizona_1s.webp" alt="NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0, also known as G165, on the left shows the magnifying effect a foreground cluster can have on the distant universe beyond. The foreground cluster is 3.6 billion light-years away from Earth. The zoomed region on the right shows supernova H0pe triply imaged (labeled with white dashed circles) due to gravitational lensing. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, B. Frye (University of Arizona)" class="wp-image-1951711"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0, also known as G165, on the left shows the magnifying effect a foreground cluster can have on the distant universe beyond. The foreground cluster is 3.6 billion light-years away from Earth. The zoomed region on the right shows supernova H0pe triply imaged (labeled with white dashed circles) due to gravitational lensing. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, B. Frye (University of Arizona)</figcaption></figure>



While observing a densely populated cluster of galaxies, they noticed something unusual. "What are those three dots that weren’t there before? Could that be a supernova?" the team wondered. 



It turned out to be a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-travels-back-in-time-to-better-understand-supernovae-science/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Type Ia supernova</a>, an explosion of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/white-dwarf-stars-may-be-billions-of-years-older-than-estimated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">white dwarf star</a>, magnified and split into multiple images by the gravitational lensing effect of the intervening galaxy cluster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-gravitational-lensing">What is gravitational lensing?</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-carousel-lens-galaxy-alignment-reveals-dark-matter-secrets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gravitational lensing</a> is important to this experiment. The lens, consisting of a cluster of galaxies situated between the supernova and us, bends the supernova's light into multiple images. 



This effect not only magnifies the supernova but also allows scientists to measure the time delays between the images, providing another way to calculate the Hubble constant.



Their analyses confirmed that these dots corresponded to an exploding star with rare qualities. 



The team's work provided a Hubble constant value of 75.4 kilometers per second per megaparsec, plus 8.1 or minus 5.5. For context, one megaparsec is about 3.26 million light-years. 



"Our team’s results are impactful: The Hubble constant value matches other measurements in the local universe, and is somewhat in tension with values obtained when the universe was young," Frye concluded.



Another strikeout... add Brenda Frye to the long list of brilliant minds still probing the universe for an answer to Hubble tension.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-is-getting-sad-now-what">This is getting sad, now what?</h2>



So, where does this leave us? 



The Hubble Tension isn't going away. It might be telling us that there's new physics waiting to be discovered. 



Perhaps our understanding of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-could-explain-the-rapid-expansion-of-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark energy</a>, dark matter, or other fundamental forces needs to be revised. 



"We need to find out if we are missing something on how to connect the beginning of the universe and the present day," Riess pointed out. 



It's possible that new theories or modifications to existing ones could bridge the gap.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shaking-things-up-with-new-theories">Shaking things up with new theories</h2>



Could the solution lie in something entirely unexpected? Perhaps there's a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-matter-may-consist-of-particles-that-travel-faster-than-light/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new particle or force</a> that affects the expansion rate. Or maybe the nature of dark energy changes over time. 



Some theories even propose the existence of extra dimensions or modifications to gravity at large scales. It's also worth considering that the universe might not be uniform in all directions. 



If there are variations in the density of matter and energy across vast distances, this could affect expansion rates in ways we haven't fully accounted for. 



Maybe everyone is completely off base and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-dark-matter-does-not-exist-and-the-universe-is-27-billion-years-old/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark matter doesn't even exist</a>? Or maybe we're looking in the wrong place -- what if the answers can be found by looking for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-now-searching-for-dark-matter-inside-old-earth-rocks-minerals-crystals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark matter in rocks on Earth</a>?



One thing's for sure: the cosmos isn't giving up its secrets easily. But that's part of the thrill of science. Every answer leads to new questions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-constant-hubble-tension-mysterious-universe">Hubble constant, Hubble tension, mysterious universe</h2>



In the end, the universe is reminding us that there's still so much we don't know. The quest to figure out how fast our universe is expanding has led to some fascinating discoveries and even more intriguing questions. 



Scientists like Adam Riess and Brenda Frye have used powerful tools like the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to measure the Hubble constant with increasing precision. 



Their efforts confirm that the local universe is expanding at a certain rate, but this doesn't quite line up with measurements from the early universe.



This mismatch, known as the Hubble Tension, suggests there might be something we’re missing in our understanding of the cosmos. Maybe there are new physics to uncover, or perhaps our current models need some tweaking. 



What's clear is that the universe isn't giving up its secrets easily, and that keeps things exciting for astronomers and physicists alike.



As we look ahead, upcoming missions like NASA's <a href="https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a> and ESA's <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Euclid mission</a> offer hope for new insights. Until then, we can marvel at the fact that we're part of an ever-expanding universe that's still full of surprises.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad1ddd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.



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Webb telescope confirms: What we think we know about the universe is very wrong

For decades, scientists have been grappling with what is considered to be the most fundamental question about the cosmos: How fast is our universe expanding? The rate of expansion influences everything from how galaxies form to how they might one day drift apart. Determining the expansion rate of the universe, a number called the "Hubble constant," shapes our entire understanding of the cosmos, its age, and its ultimate fate. "Hubble tension" expansion conundrum Unfortunately, though many brilliant minds have dedicated their lives to finding the answer to...

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Scientists: California droughts are mainly controlled by wind. California droughts are mainly controlled by wind, not by the amount of evaporated moisture in the air, new research has found.

The findings were published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, on June 30. The research increases the understanding of how the water cycle is related to extreme events and could eventually help in predicting droughts and floods, said lead author Jiangfeng Wei, a research scientist at The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences.

"Ocean evaporation provides moisture for California precipitation but is not the reason for droughts there, although the ocean evaporation is slightly lower during droughts," Wei said.

The researchers analyzed 30-year data sets that recorded precipitation, ocean evaporation, surface wind speed and atmospheric pressure on and near the west coast of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/severe-fire-threat-continues-in-the-western-united-states/">United States</a>. These are all factors that influence the water cycle in California. One of the difficulties of studying the water cycle, Wei said, is that the water sources for precipitation cannot be directly observed, so the team also used a mathematical moisture-tracking method and high-resolution model simulations.

Their analysis showed that although moisture evaporated from the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=pacific&amp;cvid=d76771808401442b8e6391d0a64fd8f6&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Pacific Ocean</a> is the major source for California precipitation, the amount of water evaporated did not strongly influence precipitation in California, except in the cases of very heavy flooding. That's because the amount of water evaporated from this ocean region does not change much year by year, researchers found, and did not cause rain to occur more or less often.

"Ocean evaporation has little direct influence on California precipitation because of its relatively weak variability," Wei said.

Instead, the researchers found that disturbances in atmospheric circulation, the large-scale movement of air, have the most effect on drought because they can affect factors that will cause it to rain more or less.

The study co-authors are Qinjian Jin, a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who earned his Ph.D. at the Jackson School; Zong-Liang Yang, a professor in the Jackson School's Department of Geological Sciences; and Paul Dirmeyer, a professor at George Mason University.Scientists: California droughts are mainly controlled by wind

Most of California has been in a severe drought since 2011, although a strong El Niño in the winter of 2015 helped diminish the drought. The current drought is caused by a high-pressure system that disturbs the atmospheric circulation. The development of the high-pressure system is related to a sea surface temperature pattern in the Pacific Ocean, according to research cited by the study.

"Although this is a very rare event, the probability of this kind of high-pressure system is likely increasing with global warming," the authors said.

Yang said that the research could aid in the prediction of droughts and floods by improving scientific understanding of the intricate factors that influence rainfall the most.

"The topic is extremely timely as current and future climate change would mean more changes in extreme events such as droughts and floods," Yang said. "Understanding this asymmetric contribution of ocean evaporation to drought and flooding in California will ultimately help us make better predictions."


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Scientists: California droughts are mainly controlled by wind

Scientists: California droughts are mainly controlled by wind. California droughts...

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Unique alien microbes found living in Yellowstone National Park. A microbial partnership thriving in an acidic hot spring in Yellowstone National Park has surrendered some of its lifestyle secrets to researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Mircea Podar of ORNL's Biosciences Division led a team that isolated the archaeon Nanopusillus acidilobi, cultured these tiny microbes - just 100 to 300 billionths of a meter in size - and can now study how they interact with their host, another archaeon (Acidilobus). The relationships between these two organisms, detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications, can serve as a valuable model to study the evolution and mechanisms of more complex systems.Unique alien microbes found living in Yellowstone National Park

"This work demonstrates how organisms find ways to adapt and interact with specific organisms in a symbiotic or parasitic way to survive in hostile environments," Podar said. "By integrating knowledge from genomics, proteomics and classical microbiology, we can culture wild organisms and sometimes manipulate them for practical applications that range from energy production to medicine."

The Archaea domain consists of single-cell microorganisms that, like bacteria, have no cell nucleus or membrane-bound organelles, a sub-unit within a cell. These microbes have maintained an open environment-exposed cellular membrane, and Nanopusillus has developed a mechanism to acquire primary biosynthetic molecules from the host cell through cell-to-cell contact.

With habitats like hot pools in Yellowstone, the Nanopusillus acidilobi microbe has been particularly elusive, so this accomplishment is likely to create a stir.

One of the journal's reviewers noted that the discovery and paper provide "new exciting insights into the microbial diversity with important phylogenetic implications and thus represents a very important contribution in the archaeal/microbial diversity field."

Researchers also noted similarities between this microbe and its distant relative, the marine Nanoarchaeumm, which was cultured more than a decade ago. Through observations like this and by making comparisons over the years, scientists have been able to gain insight into structural and molecular properties of a host of novel groups of microbes.

This most recent accomplishment is especially satisfying, said Podar, who noted that it was a combination of diligence and chance and took several years.

"We discovered and cultured a novel organism from a group of organisms that people have been trying to get for over a decade, and in part that was due to prior genomic data we acquired from those organisms in Yellowstone," Podar said, adding that the microbial system "abounds in unique, remarkable physiological and genomic features."
###
Co-authors of the paper, titled "Genomics-informed isolation and characterization of a symbiotic Nanoarchaeota system from a terrestrial geothermal environment," are ORNL's Louie Wurch, Richard Giannone, Bernard Belisle, Cynthia Swift, Sagar Utturkar, Bob Hettich and Anna-Louise Reysenbach of Portland State University.

DOE's Office of Science and the National Science Foundation provided funding for this work, a collaboration with the University of Tennessee and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/royal-dutch-shell-icebreaker-leaves-portland-after-protest-3/">Portland</a> State University. Also, the Yellowstone National Park Service granted a permit to study the microbes.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE's Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit <a href="http://science.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://science.energy.gov/</a>.

Image: <a href="https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/news/images/Cistern%20Spring_0.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/news/images/Cistern%20Spring_0.jpg</a>

Cutline: Cistern Spring in Yellowstone National Park is home to the elusive archaeon Nanopusillus acidilobi.

NOTE TO EDITORS: You may read other press releases from Oak Ridge National Laboratory or learn more about the lab at <a href="http://www.ornl.gov/news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.ornl.gov/news</a>. Additional information about ORNL is available at the sites below:

Twitter - <a href="http://twitter.com/ornl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://twitter.com/ornl</a>
RSS Feeds - <a href="http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/rss_feeds.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/rss_feeds.shtml</a>
Flickr - <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakridgelab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakridgelab</a>
YouTube - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/OakRidgeNationalLab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.youtube.com/user/OakRidgeNationalLab</a>
LinkedIn - <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/companies/oak-ridge-national-laboratory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.linkedin.com/companies/oak-ridge-national-laboratory</a>
Facebook - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Oak.Ridge.National.Laboratory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.facebook.com/Oak.Ridge.National.Laboratory</a>

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Unique alien microbes found living in Yellowstone National Park

Unique alien microbes found living in Yellowstone National Park. A...

Atchafalaya Basin study calls for old methods of coastal management. Almost 90 years ago, the Mississippi River showed the world its power for destruction with the Great Flood of 1927. Now the river's power is once again on display, this time as a stabilizing force to maintain Louisiana's disappearing coastline.

Historically as the Mississippi River wandered across the Louisiana landscape, it forged different paths, abandoning previous ones. The resulting basins were supplied with fresh sediment and nutrients during flood events, a source that has dried up as the river became increasingly managed with locks and levees. However, one part of Louisiana's delta system with restored access to riverine sediment has withstood the rising waters: the Atchafalaya Basin. Atchafalaya Basin study calls for old methods of coastal management.

A recent collaborative research effort published in Sustainability Science seeks to highlight this enclave of stability against the stark reality of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hunter-fined-killing-black-bear/">Louisiana's</a> predominantly sediment-starved, sinking deltaic systems.

"The Atchafalaya Basin is one of the few coastal deltaic basins where land has emerged above mean sea level in the last four decades," said lead author Robert Twilley, LSU Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences professor and executive director of the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program.

The study allowed the team of authors to contrast these positive findings with work that began decades earlier by Sherwood "Woody" Gagliano, who was a geologist at LSU. Gagliano combined historic data with then-present day research to forecast coastal land loss for the Terrebonne Basin and surrounding areas, places where ties with the river had been severed. With the benefit of time, Twilley's team has compared Gagliano's predictions for the Terrebonne Basin with actual changes to the coast.

Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that Gagliano's predictions fell short, especially in the Terrebonne Basin. There, the Gulf of Mexico is six miles farther inland than Gagliano projected. Since 1932, the Terrebonne Basin has migrated on average 10 miles northward. And not only is the Gulf of Mexico migrating landward, but the rate at which it does is increasing - from 75 meters per year in 1973 to over 200 meters per year in 2010.

By comparison, the Gulf of Mexico has inched upward only 72 feet into the Atchafalaya Basin, where the Mississippi River is fortifying the shoreline.

"The Atchafalaya region will not see as fast an impact of relative sea-level rise as other basins because it still has the power of the river," Twilley said.

The Atchafalaya Basin is also more protected during storm surges, as there is more land in the basin. Over the past 60 years, vegetative cover expanded in the Atchafalaya Basin with forested wetlands increasing by 82 percent. Conversely, Terrebonne has lost 59 percent of these forests as saltwater has intruded. These vast stretches of open water allow greater wave formation and resulting erosion, which puts Terrebonne at an increased risk of further coastal flooding.

Louisiana struggles with the consequences of hurricanes, sea level rise, subsidence, river management, dredging and will face many more challenges in the years to come. Despite the myriad of threats, the Atchafalaya Basin still stands strong, however, which is something that needs to be considered as the 2017 Master Plan is being crafted, say the study authors.

"We need to celebrate the power of the Mississippi River to maintain a delta coast with subsidence and sea level rise," Twilley said. "That power is significant."
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Additional Link:

Co-evolution of wetland landscapes, flooding, and human settlement in the Mississippi River Delta Plain, Sustainability Science: <a href="http://www.laseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/Coevolution-Twilley-et-al-2016.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.laseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/Coevolution-Twilley-et-al-2016.pdf</a>.

Atchafalaya Basin study calls for old methods of coastal management

Atchafalaya Basin study calls for old methods of coastal management....

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The Blob and El Nino are on their way out. El Niño exerted powerful effects around the globe in the last year, eroding California beaches; driving drought in northern South America, Africa and Asia; and bringing record rain to the U.S. Pacific Northwest and southern South America. In the<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dust-asia-fertilizes-north-pacific/"> Pacific Ocean</a> off the West Coast, however, the California Current Ecosystem was already unsettled by an unusual pattern of warming popularly known as "The Blob."

New research based on ocean models and near real-time data from autonomous gliders indicates that the "The Blob" and El Niño together strongly depressed productivity off the West Coast, with The Blob driving most of the impact.

The research published in the journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016GL069716/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Geophysical Research Letters</a> by scientists from NOAA Fisheries, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California, Santa Cruz is among the first to assess the marine effects of the 2015-2016 El Niño off the West Coast of the United States.

"Last year there was a lot of speculation about the consequences of 'The Blob' and El Niño battling it out off the U.S. West Coast," said lead author Michael Jacox, of UC Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center. "We found that off California El Niño turned out to be much weaker than expected, The Blob continued to be a dominant force, and the two of them together had strongly negative impacts on marine productivity."

"Now, both The Blob and El Niño are on their way out, but in their wake lies a heavily disrupted ecosystem," Jacox said.

Unusually warm ocean temperatures that took on the name, The Blob, began affecting waters off the West Coast in late 2013. Warm conditions - whether driven by the Blob or El Niño - slow the flow of nutrients from the deep ocean, reducing the productivity of coastal ecosystems. Temperatures close to 3 degrees C (5 degrees F) above average also led to sightings of warm-water species far to the north of their typical range and likely contributed to the largest harmful algal bloom ever recorded on the West Coast last year.

"These past years have been extremely unusual off the California coast, with humpback whales closer to shore, pelagic red crabs washing up on the beaches of central California, and sportfish in higher numbers in southern California," said Elliott Hazen of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, a coauthor of the paper. "This paper reveals how broad scale warming influences the biology directly off our shores."

The research paper describes real-time monitoring of the California Current Ecosystem with the latest technology, including autonomous gliders that track undersea conditions along the West Coast. "This work reflects technological advances that now let us rapidly assess the effects of major climate disruptions and project their impacts on the ecosystem," Jacox said.

Separate but related research recently published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep27612" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Scientific Reports</a> identifies the optimal conditions for productivity in the California Current off the West Coast, which will help assess the future effects of climate change or climate variability such as El Niño. The research was authored by the same scientists at UC Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries.

"Wind has a 'goldilocks effect' on productivity in the California Current," Hazen said. "If wind is too weak, nutrients limit productivity, and if wind is too strong, productivity is moved offshore or lost to the deep ocean. Understanding how wind and nutrients drive productivity provides context for events like the Blob and El Niño, so we can better understand how the ecosystem is likely to respond."

Both papers emphasize the importance of closely monitoring West Coast marine ecosystems for the impacts of a changing climate. Although the tropical signals of El Niño were strong, the drivers - called "teleconnections" - that usually carry the El Niño pattern from the tropics to the West Coast were not as effective as in previous strong El Niños.

"Not all El Niños evolve in the same way in the tropics, nor are their impacts the same off our coast," said Steven Bograd, a research scientist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and coauthor of both papers. "Local conditions, in this case from the Blob, can modulate the way our ecosystem responds to these large scale climate events."


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The Blob and El Nino are on their way out

The Blob and El Nino are on their way out....

NASA gets a good look at Hurricane Blas Satellites eyeing powerful Hurricane Blas in the Eastern Pacific Ocean revealed a large eye as the powerful storm continued to move over open waters.

On July 4 at 20:50 UTC (4:50 p.m. EDT) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA-DOD's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Hurricane Blas that showed a developing, and cloud-filled eye. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a> gets a good look at Hurricane Blas

A visible image of Blas from NOAA's GOES-West satellite taken on July 7 at 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT) revealed the eye opened wide. GOES-West saw a large 25 to 30 nautical mile (28.7 to 34.5 mile/46.3 to 55.5 wide eye surrounded by a symmetric ring of thunderstorms. The imagery also showed little outer banding (of thunderstorms).NOAA manages the GOES satellites and the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland uses data from them to create images and animations.

Infrared satellite data from July 6 revealed that Blas is currently in over sea surface temperatures of 27 to 28 degrees Celsius (80.6 to 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit). A tropical cyclone needs sea surface temperatures of at least 26.6 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) to maintain intensity. Warmer temperatures assist in strengthening while colder temperatures help weaken a tropical system.

On Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Blas was located near latitude 15.0 degrees north and longitude 123.6 degrees west. That's about 1,045 miles (1,685 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Blas was located far from land so there were no coastal watches or warnings in effect. Blas was moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph), and this general motion is expected to continue over the next couple of days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 125 mph (205 kph) making Blas a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that slow weakening is forecast tonight and Thursday, followed by a faster rate of weakening by Friday, July 8. The estimated minimum central pressure is 956 millibars.

The NHC noted after the next day or day and a half "Blas will be moving over sea surface temperatures below 26 Celsius (78.8 Fahrenheit) which should cause a faster rate of weakening, and the cyclone is forecast to become post-tropical in about 4 days."

NASA gets a good look at Hurricane Blas

NASA gets a good look at Hurricane Blas Satellites eyeing...

Atmospheric Tomography: Mapping the contours of the atmosphere. Ice sheets, deserts, rivers, islands, coasts and oceans -- the features of Earth's surface are wildly different, spread across a vast geography. The same is true for Earth's thin film of atmosphere and the mix of gases it holds, although the details are invisible to human eyes. Pollutants emitted to the atmosphere -- soot, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides -- are dispersed over the whole globe, but remote regions are cleaner, by factors of 1000 or more, than areas near the continents. A new NASA airborne campaign aims to map the contours of the atmosphere as carefully as explorers once traced the land and oceans below. Atmospheric Tomography: Mapping the contours of the atmosphere

The Atmospheric Tomography, or ATom, mission is the first to survey the atmosphere over the oceans. Scientists aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory will journey from the North Pole south over the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand and then across to the tip of South America and north up the Atlantic Ocean to Greenland. ATom will discover how much pollution survives to the most remote corners of the earth and assess how the environment has changed as a result.

"We've had many airborne measurements of the atmosphere over land, where most pollutants are emitted, but land is only a small fraction of the planet," said Michael Prather, an atmospheric scientist and ATom's deputy project scientist at University of California Irvine. "The oceans are where a lot of chemical reactions take place, and some of the least well understood parts are hard to get to because they are so remote. With ATom we're going to measure a wide range of chemically distinct parts of the atmosphere over the most remote areas of the ocean that have not been measured before."

While the majority of the flight path takes the DC-8 over the ocean, the science team expects to see influence from human pollution that originates on land.

"Humans produce a lot of pollution, and it doesn't just disappear when it's blown off the continents. It goes somewhere," said atmospheric scientist Steve Wofsy, ATom principal investigator at Harvard University. "We know it gets diluted in the atmosphere, it gets washed out by rain, but we want to understand the processes that do that and where and how long they take."

The suite of 20 instruments aboard the DC-8 will measure airborne particles called aerosols and more than 200 gases in each sampled air patch, documenting their locations and allowing scientists to determine interactions. The science team will use ATom's collected data on the air's chemical signatures to understand where pollutants originate, and where and how quickly these climate gases react chemically and eventually disappear from the atmosphere.

ATom is particularly interested in methane, ozone and airborne particles called black carbon, which have strong effects on climate and which all have both human and natural origins. Methane and tropospheric ozone, are two greenhouse gases that linger in the atmosphere for weeks to decades--much less time than the century that carbon dioxide remains in the air. Nevertheless, the short-term effects of methane and ozone pollution today are expected to contribute almost as much as carbon dioxide to changing the climate in the coming decades.

ATom's first flight is planned for July 28, a there-and-back trip over the tropics between Palmdale, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/shasta-lake-northern-california/">California</a> and the equator. On July 31, the mission begins its around-the-world trip lasting 26 days. It's the first of four deployments that will take place over the next three years in different seasons. The data collected will be used to improve atmospheric computer models used to predict future climate conditions into the 21st century as well as to provide checks and calibration in otherwise unreachable areas for several major satellite systems, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) and Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) and the European Space Agency's TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI).

The ATom mission is funded by NASA Headquarters and overseen by the agency's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. It is one of six large airborne campaigns operating under the Earth Venture Suborbital program. ATom is led by Harvard University and managed by the Earth Science Project Office at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. The DC-8 aircraft is maintained and based at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center.

Atmospheric Tomography: Mapping the contours of the atmosphere

Atmospheric Tomography: Mapping the contours of the atmosphere. Ice sheets,...

NASA sees Tropical Depression 4E form The Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of newly formed Tropical Depression 4E in the Eastern <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dust-asia-fertilizes-north-pacific/">Pacific Ocean.</a>

On July 6, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a>-NOAA-DOD's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Tropical Depression 4E (TD4E) soon after it formed at 5 p.m. EDT about 570 miles (915 km) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. The storm appeared somewhat elongated because it was being affected by vertical wind shear.

NASA sees Tropical Depression 4E form The NHC said on July 7 passive microwave satellite data indicate a fairly well-developed mid-level circulation displaced more than 30 nautical miles north-northwest of the low-level center due to southeasterly vertical wind shear. Dry air is also affecting the system, but NHC said TD4E should move into a more favorable environment later in the day and steady strengthening is expected through day and a half.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on July 7 the center of TD4E was located near latitude 12.6 North, longitude 110.2 West. That's about 710 miles (1,145 km) south of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. The depression was moving toward the west-northwest near 8 mph (13 kph) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects a turn toward the west later in the day.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 kph) and NHC expects some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and the depression is forecast to become a tropical storm later today. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 millibars.

The storm is expected to become a tropical storm in three days and reach hurricane status thereafter. For updated forecasts, visit: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>.

NASA sees Tropical Depression 4E form

NASA sees Tropical Depression 4E form The Suomi NPP satellite...

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Tropical Depression 4E intensifies into Tropical Storm Celia. Tropical Depression 4E strengthened into a tropical storm as<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA"> NOAA'</a>s GOES-West satellite captured an early daylight image of the storm.

NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured a visible light image of Tropical Storm Celia at 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT). The National Hurricane Center said that this early first-light image showed a "ragged central dense overcast surrounded by a complex of outer bands (of thunderstorms)." The cloud pattern of the tropical depression has become better organized. The image was created by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/flash-flooding-devastates-maryland/">Maryland.</a>

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on July 8 the center of Tropical Storm Celia was located near latitude 12.6 north and longitude 112.8 west. That's about 735 miles (1,185 km) south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Celia was moving toward the west near 9 mph (15 kph) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that this motion is expected to continue with some increase in forward speed during the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph (75 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1003 millibars. Tropical Depression 4E intensifies into Tropical Storm Celia

The NHC said that Celia is forecast to be in an environment of light vertical wind shear for the next 3-4 days over the next day or two the cyclone will pass near or over an area of cooler sea surface temperatures left in the wake of Hurricane Blas. This should slow intensification during this time, but Celia is expected to intensify to hurricane strength by Sunday, July 10.

For updated forecasts, visit NHC's website: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>


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Tropical Depression 4E intensifies into Tropical Storm Celia

Tropical Depression 4E intensifies into Tropical Storm Celia. Tropical Depression...

Why is Earth's atmosphere leaking? Earth's atmosphere is leaking. Every day, around 90 tonnes of material escapes from our planet's upper atmosphere and streams out into space. Although missions such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">ESA'</a>s Cluster fleet have long been investigating this leakage, there are still many open questions. How and why is Earth losing its atmosphere – and how is this relevant in our hunt for life elsewhere in the Universe?

Given the expanse of our atmosphere, 90 tonnes per day amounts to a small leak. Earth's atmosphere weighs in at around five quadrillion (5 × 1015) tonnes, so we are in no danger of running out any time soon. However, understanding Earth's atmosphere, and how it escapes to space, is key to understanding the atmospheres of other planets, and could be crucial in our hunt for habitable planets and extraterrestrial life.Why is Earth's atmosphere leaking?

We have been exploring Earth's magnetic environment for years using satellites such as ESA's Cluster mission, a fleet of four spacecraft launched in 2000. Cluster has been continuously observing the magnetic interactions between the Sun and <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/earth-like-planet-spotted-by-kepler/">Earth</a> for over a decade and half; this longevity, combined with its multi-spacecraft capabilities and unique orbit, have made it a key player in understanding both Earth's leaking atmosphere and how our planet interacts with the surrounding Solar System.

Earth's magnetic field is complex; it extends from the interior of our planet out into space, exerting its influence over a region of space dubbed the magnetosphere.

The magnetosphere – and its inner region (the plasmasphere), a doughnut-shaped portion sitting atop our atmosphere, which co-rotates with Earth and extends to an average distance of 20 000 km – is flooded with charged particles and ions that are trapped, bouncing back and forth along field lines.

At its outer Sunward edge the magnetosphere meets the solar wind, a continuous stream of charged particles – mostly protons and electrons – flowing from the Sun. Here, our magnetic field acts like a shield, deflecting and rerouting the incoming wind as a rock would obstruct a stream of water. This analogy can be continued for the side of Earth further from the Sun – particles within the solar wind are sculpted around our planet and slowly come back together, forming an elongated tube (named the magnetotail), which contains trapped sheets of plasma and interacting field lines.

WEAKNESSES IN OUR MAGNETIC SHIELD

However, our magnetosphere shield does have its weaknesses; at Earth's poles the field lines are open, like those of a standard bar magnet (these locations are named the polar cusps). Here, solar wind particles can head inwards towards Earth, filling up the magnetosphere with energetic particles.

Just as particles can head inwards down these open polar lines, particles can also head outwards. Ions from Earth's upper atmosphere – the ionosphere, which extends to roughly 1000 km above the Earth – also flood out to fill up this region of space. Although missions such as Cluster have discovered much, the processes involved remain unclear.

[caption id="attachment_2402016" align="alignleft" width="150"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2402016" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2016/07/07162542/earth-atmosphere-leaking_1big_nasa-150x150.jpg" alt="Where does Earth's leaking atmosphere go? Credit: ESA/ATG medialab" width="150" height="150" /> Where does Earth's leaking atmosphere go? Credit: ESA/ATG medialab[/caption]

"The question of plasma transport and atmospheric loss is relevant for both planets and stars, and is an incredibly fascinating and important topic. Understanding how atmospheric matter escapes is crucial to understanding how life can develop on a planet," said Arnaud Masson, ESA's Deputy Project Scientist for the Cluster mission. "The interaction between incoming and outgoing material in Earth's magnetosphere is a hot topic at the moment; where exactly is this stuff coming from? How did it enter our patch of space?"

Initially, scientists believed Earth's magnetic environment to be filled purely with particles of solar origin. However, as early as the 1990s it was predicted that Earth's atmosphere was leaking out into the plasmasphere – something that has since turned out to be true.

Observations have shown sporadic, powerful columns of plasma, dubbed plumes, growing within the plasmasphere, travelling outwards to the edge of the magnetosphere and interacting with solar wind plasma entering the magnetosphere.

More recent studies have unambiguously confirmed another source – Earth's atmosphere is constantly leaking! Alongside the aforementioned plumes, a steady, continuous flow of material (comprising oxygen, hydrogen, and helium ions) leaves our planet's plasmasphere from the polar regions, replenishing the plasma within the magnetosphere. Cluster found proof of this wind, and has quantified its strength for both overall (reported in a paper published in 2013) and for hydrogen ions in particular (reported in 2009).

Overall, about 1 kg of material is escaping our atmosphere every second, amounting to almost 90 tonnes per day. Singling out just cold ions (light hydrogen ions, which require less energy to escape and thus possess a lower energy in the magnetosphere), the escape mass totals thousands of tonnes per year.

Cold ions are important; many satellites – Cluster excluded – cannot detect them due to their low energies, but they form a significant part of the net matter loss from Earth, and may play a key role in shaping our magnetic environment.

Solar storms and periods of heightened solar activity appear to speed up Earth's atmospheric loss significantly, by more than a factor of three. However, key questions remain: How do ions escape, and where do they originate? What processes are at play, and which is dominant?

WHERE DO THE IONS GO? AND HOW?

One of the key escape processes is thought to be centrifugal acceleration, which speeds up ions at Earth's poles as they cross the shape-shifting magnetic field lines there. These ions are shunted onto different drift trajectories, gain energy, and end up heading away from Earth into the magnetotail, where they interact with plasma and return to Earth at far higher speeds than they departed with – a kind of boomerang effect.

Such high-energy particles can pose a threat to space-based technology, so understanding them is important. Cluster has explored this process multiple times during the past decade and a half – finding it to affect heavier ions such as oxygen more than lighter ones, and also detecting strong, high-speed beams of ions rocketing back to Earth from the magnetotail nearly 100 times over the course of three years.

More recently, scientists have explored the process of magnetic reconnection, one of the most efficient physical processes by which the solar wind enters Earth's magnetosphere and accelerates plasma. In this process, plasma interacts and exchanges energy with magnetic field lines; different lines reconfigure themselves, breaking, shifting around, and forging new connections by merging with other lines, releasing huge amounts of energy in the process.

Here, the cold ions are thought to be important. We know that cold ions affect the magnetic reconnection process, for example slowing down the reconnection rate at the boundary where the solar wind meets the magnetosphere (the magnetopause), but we are still unsure of the mechanisms at play.

"In essence, we need to figure out how cold plasma ends up at the magnetopause," said Philippe Escoubet, ESA's Project Scientist for the Cluster mission. "There are a few different aspects to this; we need to know the processes involved in transporting it there, how these processes depend on the dynamic solar wind and the conditions of the magnetosphere, and where plasma is coming from in the first place – does it originate in the ionosphere, the plasmasphere, or somewhere else?"

Recently, scientists modelled and simulated Earth's magnetic environment with a focus on structures known as plasmoids and flux ropes – cylinders, tubes, and loops of plasma that become tangled up with magnetic field lines. These arise when the magnetic reconnection process occurs in the magnetotail and ejects plasmoids both towards the outer tail and towards Earth.

Cold ions may play a significant role in deciding the direction of the ejected plasmoid. These recent simulations showed a link between plasmoids heading towards Earth and heavy oxygen ions leaking out from the ionosphere – in other words, oxygen ions may reduce and quench the reconnection rates at certain points within the magnetotail that produce tailward trajectories, thus making it more favourable at other sites that instead send them Earthwards. These results agree with existing Cluster observations.

Another recent Cluster study compared the two main atmospheric escape mechanisms Earth experiences – sporadic plumes emanating through the plasmasphere, and the steady leakage of Earth's atmosphere from the ionosphere – to see how they might contribute to the population of cold ions residing at the dayside magnetopause (the magnetosphere-solar wind boundary nearest the Sun).

Both escape processes appear to depend in different ways on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the solar magnetic field that is carried out into the Solar System by the solar wind. This field moves through space in a spiralling pattern due to the rotation of the Sun, like water released from a lawn sprinkler. Depending on how the IMF is aligned, it can effectively cancel out part of Earth's magnetic field at the magnetopause, linking up and merging with our field and allowing the solar wind to stream in.

Plumes seem to occur when the IMF is oriented southward (anti-parallel to Earth's magnetic field, thus acting as mentioned above). Conversely, leaking outflows from the ionosphere occur during northward-oriented IMF. Both processes occur more strongly when the solar wind is either denser or travelling faster (thus exerting a higher dynamic pressure).

"While there is still much to learn, we've been able to make great progress here," said Masson. "These recent studies have managed to successfully link together multiple phenomena – namely the ionospheric leak, plumes from the plasmasphere, and magnetic reconnection – to paint a better picture of Earth's magnetic environment. This research required several years of ongoing observation, something we could only get with Cluster."

APPLYING WHAT WE LEARN TO OTHER PLANETS

Learning more about our own atmosphere can tell us much about our planetary neighbours – we could potentially apply such research to any astrophysical object with both an atmosphere and a magnetic field. We know that planetary atmospheres play an essential role in rendering a planet habitable or lifeless, but there remain many open questions.

Consider the diversity seen in the planets and moons of our Solar System, for example. In our small patch of the Universe we see extreme and opposite worlds: the smog-like carbon dioxide atmosphere of Venus, the much-depleted tenuous atmosphere of present-day Mars, the nitrogen-rich atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, the essentially airless Jovian moon Callisto, the oxygen-bearing atmosphere of Earth.

How do we know if these planets could support life, or whether they may once have done so? Mars, for example, is thought to have once had a thick, dense atmosphere that has been considerably stripped away over time. Although the Red Planet is unlikely to be habitable today, it may well have been so in the past.

"Understanding more about our own atmosphere will help us when it comes to other planets throughout the Universe," said Escoubet. "We need to know more. Why does Earth have an atmosphere that can support life, while other planets do not?"

Cluster is a unique mission; it comprises four spacecraft – a format that NASA recently used for their Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, launched in 2015 – which allow continuous study of Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind from multiple locations and orientations. Cluster has been operating since 2000, and in that time has compiled a wealth of information about our magnetic environment across various periods of solar and terrestrial activity.

"Additionally, Cluster's orbit is truly unique amongst all current missions; the fleet is on a polar orbit, meaning they can explore our planet's dynamic polar regions – specifically the cusps and polar caps – up close and in unprecedented detail," added Escoubet.

"Overall, long-term space missions like Cluster are helping us to understand a whole lot more about our planet, its atmosphere, and atmospheric loss in general – which in turn will help us to understand the Solar System in which we live."

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Cluster is a constellation of four spacecraft flying in formation around Earth. It is the first space mission able to study, in three dimensions, the natural physical processes occurring within and in the near vicinity of the Earth's magnetosphere. Launched in 2000, it is composed of four identical spacecraft orbiting the Earth in a pyramidal configuration, along a nominal polar orbit of 4 × 19.6 Earth radii (1 Earth radius = 6380 km). Cluster's payload consists of state-of-the-art plasma instrumentation to measure electric and magnetic fields over wide frequency ranges, and key physical parameters characterising electrons and ions from energies of near 0 eV to a few MeV. The science operations are coordinated by the Joint Science Operations Centre (JSOC) at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, United Kingdom, and implemented by ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Darmstadt, Germany.

---

<a href="http://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">European Space Agency</a>

Why is Earth's atmosphere leaking?

Why is Earth's atmosphere leaking? Earth's atmosphere is leaking. Every...

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NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites provided a visible and infrared view of Typhoon Nepartak before and during its movement over Taiwan.

The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite read cloud top temperatures in a thermal image of <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/typhoon-lingling-moves-through-the-yellow-sea/">Typhoon</a> Nepartak on July 7 at 17:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT) as it was approaching Taiwan. The infrared temperature data enables scientists to learn where the strongest storms are located within a typhoon. The colder the cloud tops, the higher they are in the troposphere and the stronger the storms. NASA data has shown that cloud tops that are as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) have the ability to generate heavy rainfall. Rainfall totals compiled by Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau confirmed high rainfall totals.NASA looks at Typhoon Nepartak over Taiwan in visible and infrared light

On July 8 at 03:10 UTC (July 7 at 11:10 p.m. EDT) the MODIS instrument aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA'</a>s Terra satellite captured a visible image of Typhoon Nepartak that showed the storm over Taiwan.

Taiwan Central Emergency Operations Center reported three deaths and 142 injuries.

At 12 p.m. EDT (1600 UTC) on July 8, 2016, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau noted several advisories in effect. Torrential Rain Advisory areas include: Nantou County Mountain Area, Chiayi County Mountain Area, Tainan City Mountain Area, Kaohsiung City, Pingtung County, Hengchun Peninsula, Hualien County Mountain Area and Taitung County Mountain Area. NASA looks at Typhoon Nepartak over Taiwan in visible and infrared light

An Extremely Heavy Rain Advisory remains in effect for the Taichung City Mountain Area, Yunlin County Mountain Area, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, Tainan City, Yilan County Mountain Area, Hualien County, Taitung County, Lanyu and Ludao Islands and Penghu County.

A Heavy Rain Advisory is in effect for the Taipei City Mountain Area, New Taipei City Mountain Area, Taoyuan City Mountain Area, Hsinchu County Mountain Area, Miaoli County Mountain Area, Taichung City, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Yilan County, Kinmen Area and Matsu Area.

At 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on July 8, 2016 Typhoon Nepartak had maximum sustained winds near 70 knots (80.5 mph/129.6 kph). The center of the storm was located near 23.3 north latitude and 119.7 east longitude, about 146 nautical mile southwest of Taipei, Taiwan. Nepartak was moving slowly across the Taiwan Strait at 4 knots (4.6 mph/7.4 kph) in a northwesterly direction.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) noted that the central circulation has been decoupled so the system is no longer stacked on top of itself. The strongest thunderstorms and flaring convection is occurring along the southern quadrant of the storm. JTWC said "Typhoon Nepartak is forecast to continue weakening in the near term due to the decoupled nature of the system, and its close proximity to land."

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau posted 24 hour accumulated rainfall above 50 mm from weather stations with as of July 7, 2016 as of 23:10 p.m. (7:10 p.m. Taiwan local time): Hualien County Fuli Township: 551.0 mm; Pingtung County Shizi Township: 487.0 mm; Hualien County Xiulin Township: 486.0 mm; Pingtung County Mudan Township: 477.0 mm; Taitung County Daren Township: 466.0 mm; Hualien County Yuli Township: 459.5 mm; Hualien County Wanrong Township: 457.5 mm; Taitung County Guanshan Township: 446.0 mm; Pingtung County Chunri Township: 444.0 mm; Hualien County Zhuoxi Township: 414.0 mm; Hualien County Fenglin Township: 402.0 mm; Pingtung County Taiwu Township: 400.0 mm; Taitung County Haiduan Township: 382.0 mm; Hualien County Guangfu Township: 378.5 mm; Hualien County Ruisui Township: 377.0 mm; Hualien County Shoufeng Township: 350.5 mm.

For updates from Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, visit: <a href="http://www.cwb.gov.tw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.cwb.gov.tw</a>.

Nepartak has crossed Taiwan and is now headed for mainland China, where it will dissipate.


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NASA looks at Typhoon Nepartak over Taiwan in visible and infrared light

NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites provided a visible and infrared...

June 2016 was hottest ever recorded in the US. America's warm, wild and costly weather broke another record with the hottest ever June, federal meteorologists say. And if that's not enough, they calculated that 2016 is flirting with the U.S. record for most billion-dollar weather disasters.
The month's average temperature in the Lower 48 states was 71.8 degrees, 3.3 degrees above normal, surpassing the Dust Bowl record set in 1933 by a couple tenths of a degree, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday. Every state in the nation was warmer than normal in June, with Utah and Arizona having their hottest Junes. June 2016 was hottest ever recorded in the US
"2016 has been hot, wet and wild for the contiguous U.S.," NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch said Thursday.
The nation had its third hottest first half of the year. June's record heat is from a combination of natural variability and long-term global warming, Crouch said. Records go back to 1895.
But there's been a wet and wild aspect of the year, too. So far, NOAA calculates that there have been eight billion-dollar weather disasters in the first half of this year, not counting the West Virginia flooding, which is still being calculated. They've been a combination of severe storms with tornadoes and heavy rains and downpours that cause damaging flooding. Seven of those have hit <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tropical-storm-imelda-brings-extreme-rainfall-to-texas/">Texas</a>.
NOAA calculates billion-dollar disasters , adjusting for inflation, to show trends in the most extreme and damaging weather. Since 1980, the U.S. has averaged five billion-dollar disasters a year, but in the last five years the country has averaged nearly 11 a year. There were eight in 2015. The record is 16 different billion-dollar disasters in 2011.
"The main lesson is that it shows us how vulnerable we are to climate change," Texas A&amp;M climate scientist Andrew Dessler said in an email. "People frequently think that, 'Oh, we'll just adapt to climate change.' But we're learning that it's going to be a lot harder than people realize to do that. How do you adapt to the amount of rain that West Virginia got?"
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June 2016 was hottest ever recorded in the US

June 2016 was hottest ever recorded in the US. America's...

Power was partially restored in Taiwan on Friday after a powerful typhoon slammed into the island's eastern coast with ferocious winds and torrential rains, killing two people and injuring 72. Super Typhoon Nepartak slams Taiwan

Typhoon Nepartak made landfall early morning in Taitung county, grounding planes and fishing boats. More than 15,000 people were evacuated. Super Typhoon Nepartak slams Taiwan

In the Philippine capital Manila and outlying provinces, government work and classes were suspended Friday as typhoon-induced <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sonoran-monsoon-blaming-climate-change/">monsoon</a> rains drenched many regions. Rescuers used rubber boats to move people around in waist-high floodwaters.

By late morning, Nepartak had weakened to a medium-strength typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds of 163 kilometers (100 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 230 kph (143 mph), Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said. It was forecast to reach mainland China's Fujian province Saturday morning.

In Taiwan, about 430,000 households were affected by power cuts, but half of them had electricity restored in the afternoon.

The island's railway services also have been suspended, while more than 600 domestic and international flights were canceled on Friday.

Although the typhoon was losing power, disaster response officials said they remained concerned that the heavy rains would trigger floods and landslides in the rugged terrain.

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan">Taiwanese</a> authorities reported that more than 15,400 people have been evacuated from 14 counties and cities.

Nepartak is a Micronesian word for a local warrior.

---

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

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Super Typhoon Nepartak slams Taiwan

Power was partially restored in Taiwan on Friday after a...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

[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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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



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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



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How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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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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...