Space debris is becoming an increasingly urgent issue, but it’s not the only resource-related challenge that humanity faces.



In recent times, the concept of tapping into the ocean's wealth for materials required for electric vehicles, laptops, and other gadgets has come under intense scrutiny.



In the midst of this fiery debate, decisions are yet to be reached regarding the future of seabed mining. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-moon-a-new-frontier">The Moon: A new frontier</h2>



The debates and decisions in connection with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/potential-impacts-of-deep-seabed-mining-are-not-yet-understood/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seabed mining</a> could play a fundamental role in determining how we approach lunar mining and ensure the future sustainability of human activities in space. But seabed mining isn't the only area that could influence our space-bound activities.



As we navigate through our cosmic neighborhood, engaging in space traffic management, space debris removal, and the mitigation of space junk in Earth's orbit could pave the way for a cleaner and more sustainable future in space.



It's a call for humanity to learn from past mistakes and strive towards a more responsible and sustainable path when it comes to our ventures in outer space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-space-debris-dilemma">Space debris dilemma</h2>



The growing problem of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/treaty-needed-to-protect-earth-from-space-debris/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">space debris in Earth's orbit</a> is of serious concern. An increasing number of countries now support initiatives such as space traffic management and active debris control, as highlighted in the recent UN ‘Summit on the Future.’



Yet, without action from the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (<a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/copuos/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN COPUOS</a>), we risk making certain orbits completely unsuitable for use in future.



This issue is further complicated by the deployment of massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/see-the-satellite-constellations-posing-risks-to-night-sky-observations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">satellite constellations</a> by various countries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-of-addressing-space-debris">Challenges of addressing space debris</h2>



At present, there are more than 40,500 space debris objects larger than 10 cm in orbit around Earth, and over 1.1 million objects larger than 1 cm.



Each significant collision between objects in orbit can result in between 2,000 and 3,000 new pieces of debris.



Efforts to address this challenge include collision avoidance systems and active debris removal. However, the continuous launch of large satellite constellations by multiple nations further <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-debris-may-create-a-future-with-no-internet-or-astronaut-missions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">congests orbital space</a>, intensifying the issue further.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-toward-a-global-solution">Looking toward a global solution</h2>



To help deal with this, ongoing discussions within UN COPUOS are targeting a global approach to space traffic management, with agencies like <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>, JAXA, Roscosmos, and ESA considering how this can be achieved.



Currently, the COPUOS guidelines are recommended but aren't mandatory or enforced. This is primarily due to the reluctance of states to limit their space usage freedom, with some considering mandatory procedures as premature.



The lack of regulation has created a legal void that is certainly cause for concern. To address this, NASA drafted the Artemis Accords in 2020, as a companion to the Artemis mission to return to the Moon.



The Accord's Section 12 explicitly urges signatories to limit space debris for the lunar exploration project. It aligns with Article IX of the <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Outer Space Treaty</a>, which demands states:



“… pursue studies of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose…”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-the-space-debris-discussion">Expanding the space debris discussion</h2>



Leading space exploration nations, including the U.S., India, China, Russia, Japan, and the ESA, have launched satellites to scope out the Moon.



With no cleanup strategies in place after these materials are sent, the issue of space debris extends beyond Earth's atmosphere and into lunar orbit. 



As ambitious plans are underway for lunar settlements, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-aims-to-build-a-train-on-the-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moon resource mining</a>, and various security and military activities, we need provisions for the clean-up and disposal of space objects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-from-our-mistakes">Learning from our mistakes</h2>



By observing our experiences with Earth pollution, space debris, and potential ocean floor mining, we are in a position to understand the possible adverse consequences of such activities.



We must not overlook the pollution and potential consequences that our actions on the Moon and Mars could generate. 



The call today is for binding rules to protect the orbits of Earth, Moon, and Mars from space debris contamination. Initiatives need to be formulated for effective, sustainable, and equitable international regulation that governs any space mining operations.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/space-technologies/articles/10.3389/frspt.2024.1499486/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Space Technologies</a>.



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Moon mining and space debris: Will we repeat Earth's mistakes?

Space debris is becoming an increasingly urgent issue, but it’s not the only resource-related challenge that humanity faces. In recent times, the concept of tapping into the ocean's wealth for materials required for electric vehicles, laptops, and other gadgets has come under intense scrutiny. In the midst of this fiery debate, decisions are yet to be reached regarding the future of seabed mining. The Moon: A new frontier The debates and decisions in connection with seabed mining could play a fundamental role in determining how we approach...

The deep oceans span more than half the globe and their frigid depths have long been known to contain vast, untapped deposits of prized minerals. These treasures of the abyss, however, have always been out of reach to miners.
But now, the era of deep sea mining appears to be dawning fueled by technological advances in robotics and dwindling land-based deposits. Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold and the rare-earth elements vital in manufacturing smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor thousands of meters (yards) beneath the waves.
With authorities at the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority issuing exploration contracts, alarmed conservationists are warning that the deep ocean's fragile biodiversity must be protected and not nearly enough is known about the risks of extracting minerals from seabeds.
"The pace of activity has increased dramatically over the last five years," said Michael Lodge, deputy secretary-general of the obscure U.N. body in Kingston that acts as a global steward of the deep seafloor and is tasked with regulating this new mining frontier. "We're seeing the private sector invest in a big way."
The U.N. agency, known by its initials ISA, presides over seabed outside the exclusive territorial waters of individual countries. So far, it has issued 27 exploration contracts, the large majority of them since 2011. The 15-year contracts allow for mineral prospecting on over 1 million square kilometers (over 390,000 sq. miles) of seabed in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Governments and private companies have been moving so rapidly to stake claims and assess deposits that insiders forecast that commercial deep-sea mining could start within the next five years using robotic collectors equipped with cameras and sonar sensors along with pipe systems that can siphon crushed minerals to ships.
During a gathering this month in Jamaica of representatives from nearly 170 member states, ISA has started drafting a framework to regulate commercial exploitation of seafloor metals and minerals. The session ended Friday.
A group of international scientists, in a July 9 article in the journal Science, urged ISA to temporarily halt authorization of new mining contracts until networks of "marine protected areas" are established around areas targeted for mining.
"We owe it to future generations to ensure that we think before we act and gain a thorough understanding of the potential impacts of mining in the deep sea before any mining is permitted," said Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, which sent observers to ISA's 21st session in Kingston.
But despite the warnings, in recent days ISA authorized its latest exploration contract, a 72,745 square kilometer (28,087 sq. mile) permit in the Pacific to China Minmetals Corp., sponsored by Beijing. China now has the most permits from the U.N. body with four.
ISA was launched in 1994 and operates under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The only major maritime power that has not ratified the convention is the United States, where lawmakers have argued it could impinge on U.S. economic and military sovereignty. The Department of the Interior has granted exploration licenses in the Pacific to Lockheed Martin Corp., a U.S. company that has also partnered with the United Kingdom, an ISA member, by setting up a deep-sea mining subsidiary there.
So far, most of ISA's contracts have been issued for the deep abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, a sprawling area of the Pacific Ocean off Mexico and the U.S. At depths of 4,000 to 6,000 meters, it is known to be rich in nodules containing copper, cobalt, manganese and significant concentrations of rare-earth elements. As part of an environmental plan, ISA has set aside nine areas in this zone, prohibiting them to contractors.
Other coveted exploration areas contain copper-rich sulphides formed around hydrothermal vents and black cobalt crusts created along the slopes of seamounts and volcanic mountain ranges. These biologically complex areas are found in the Western Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. ISA literature estimates that one site could provide up to 25 percent of the annual global market for cobalt.
"The concentrations of minerals that you find in the seabed are very much richer than what's left on land. So demand is only going to increase," Lodge said.
Douglas McCauley, an ecologist and conservation biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said seabed mining and other industrial activities like ocean-based power generation and farming indicates that mankind is on the cusp of launching a "marine industrial revolution."
Current proposals for the oceans over the next several decades "look uncomfortably similar to what we did to land in the 1700s and 1800s," he said, adding that the onset of the land-based industrialization was associated with a spike in animal extinction rates.
But there are basic things humanity can do to approach seabed mining intelligently, he said. First, learn what biodiversity is down there before we mine. Second, go slowly on exploitation contracts and study the impacts of this mining as it is happening. Third, set up systems of protected areas before, not after, mining starts.
"The terrestrial industrial revolution happened before we had the tools to manage goals for development and goals for sustaining biodiversity. You can't really blame people in the 1700s for the damage they did to the environment..." he said. "But we certainly are to blame if we don't do seabed mining properly."
---
David McFadden on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/dmcfadd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/dmcfadd</a>
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Next Environmental Issue? Deep Sea Mining

The deep oceans span more than half the globe and...

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary Rodham Clinton is detailing new energy plan in Iowa to address climate change. She calls global warming one of the "most urgent threats of our time."
But she's still not taking a position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=democratic&amp;cvid=853c3c467ca94439835c43cedb331e3a&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Democratic</a> presidential contender is proposing that every home in the United States be powered by renewable sources by 2027. Her plan calls for installation of 500 million solar panels over four years.
Clinton laid out clean-energy ideas during a tour of a regional bus station in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
When asked about the Keystone XL oil pipeline opposed by environmental activists, she would not comment except to say she wants a State Department review of the project to run its course.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says climate change is real and people are "just not paying attention" if they don't acknowledge it.
Addressing this issue Sunday, Clinton touted a program that would combat climate change at least in part by changing the tax code to promote renewable energy.
"This is not complicated folks," the former secretary of state told more than 200 people at Iowa State University. "I'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/research-confirms-that-covid-19-enters-the-brain/"> brain</a>. And I know we're facing huge problem."
Climate change has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential primary, where Clinton is the heavy favorite. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
Clinton was scheduled to discuss the plan in detail during a public event in Des Moines Monday morning.
Billionaire Tom Steyer has led an effort to promote the issue. The California-based Steyer hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in May.
Clinton proposes, through tax incentives, to increase the amount of power derived from renewable sources to support every home in the United States within 10 years.
For instance, Clinton said she supports renewing the wind energy tax credit as part of over time shifting the U.S. energy system from one based on fossil fuels.
"We need to get the incentives fixed in our tax system which as you know are too heavily weighted toward fossil fuels," Clinton said during a day of campaigning in central Iowa.
Clinton also hinted that her plans would impose changes on the coal industry, though she also pledged the government's help for workers to make the transition.
"We can make a transition over time from a fossil fuel economy, predominantly, to a clean renewable energy economy, predominantly," Clinton said later during an event at a central Iowa rural home.
Weaning the country off of coal is a tricky political position in key places on the political battleground map. Southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania are regions of states that have been pivotal in recent elections. And they remain the home of key coal-producing areas.
Crediting coal-miners for having "created an industrial revolution," Clinton said "it is important that we help them transition to a new economy."
Clinton's plan also includes the goal of installing 500 million solar panels within four years.
It would also increase capacity to the nation's power grid with a combination of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.
The plan's estimated cost is about $60 billion over 10 years, and would be paid for by eliminating tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, also seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, noted Sunday that he unveiled a climate change plan in Iowa that addresses not just consumer energy use, but industrial and transportation, as well.
As governor, O'Malley doubled Maryland's renewable fuel production, and reduced greenhouse gases in the state by 10 percent during his two terms.
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Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary...

Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining. A small city of tents, trailers and thousands of visitors appears almost every August in the Utah desert to watch cars, motorcycles and anything with wheels rocket across gleaming white sheets of salt at speeds of 400 mph.
But wet weather has forced the cancellation of Speed Week for the second straight year and revived a debate about whether nearby mining is depleting the Bonneville <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/great-salt-lake-in-northern-utah/">Salt</a> Flats of their precious resource.
Racers say they have worried for decades that mining is draining an aquifer that helps replenish the flats each year, leaving smaller amounts of the smooth, hard salt that makes for a nearly glass-like surface for cars hurtling across the landscape. Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining
Federal land managers who oversee the flats say they don't have any evidence that the salt is being depleted and point to the anomaly of heavy rains around the time of the event this year and last year.
"The main international racetrack used to be 13 miles in length," said Stuart Gosswein with Save the Salt, a group of race aficionados that has raised the alarm. "Now we can't even find 7 miles."
The white, treeless landscape rimmed by purple mountains has served as a backdrop for films like "Independence Day," countless car commercials, TV shows and photo shoots. The flats, composed almost entirely of common table salt, have also attracted racers for more than 100 years with the hope that the hard, smooth track will help them beat the clock.
It's where David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins set an endurance record in 1940 with his vehicle, the "Mormon Meteor." It's also where New Zealand racer Burt Munro set speed records on his modified bike, including a 1967 record of 183.58 mph, which still stands today. The feat was later depicted in the 2005 Anthony Hopkins movie, "The World's Fastest Indian" - also filmed at the flats.
The annual Speed Week race in late summer is the largest annual racing event, drawing hundreds of teams and filling restaurants and hotel rooms in the nearby border cities of Wendover, Utah, and West Wendover, Nevada, with spectators and pit crews.
Wendover Mayor Mike Crawford, who owns an auto-parts shop in town, said the decision by race organizers to cancel this year's event while it is still weeks away will be a bigger economic blow than last year, when a monsoon storm left standing water on the track on the eve of the race. The event's organizer, the Southern California Timing Association, canceled the 2014 event after racers and fans had already arrived at their hotels.
"Nobody's going to go out of business, nobody's going to lay off people," Crawford said. But "it gives you a little bit of cushion to go through the winter, which is slow in Wendover."
Over six decades, organizers have canceled the race periodically due to weather. Before last year, the last time it was scuttled was in the 1990s.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the flats, doesn't believe the flats are shrinking but is still requiring the mining company to pump brine onto the flats every winter and launch a detailed study of the salt crust later this year. Both are requirements of the company's permit issued in 2012, said Kevin Oliver, the manager of the BLM's west desert district.
Driving or racing doesn't damage the salt as long as the flats are dry and hard, according to the BLM.
Gosswein said his Save the Salt coalition doesn't want to wait for another study of the salt crust. They want to truck in dry salt to thicken the flats and are pressuring Utah's congressional delegation over management of the area.
"This thing has been studied to death," Gosswein said. "It's time to do something."
Timing association president Bill Lattin said he's seen the salt thick and thin over the 40-plus years he's been coming to Bonneville, but he's never seen as much mud covering the course as there is this year, with the spread not even sparing enough decent salt for organizers to scrape out a short 3-mile course.
Lattin suspects the brine that's pumped over the flats with the hope of rebuilding salt levels each year has instead trapped and pickled mud dumped from earlier storms, leaving the salt thin and rough.
Racers may be able to make up their time trials at an abbreviated event later this year, but it's entirely up to Mother Nature, he said.
"Man can't heal the salt the way it is. It needs time to just collect more salt, have more rain and do what it does naturally," Lattin said.
---
Follow Michelle L. Price at <a href="https://twitter.com/michellelprice" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/michellelprice</a> .
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Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining

Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining. A small city of tents,...

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary Rodham Clinton is detailing new energy plan in Iowa to address climate change. She calls global warming one of the "most urgent threats of our time."
But she's still not taking a position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The Democratic presidential contender is proposing that every home in the United States be powered by renewable sources by 2027. Her plan calls for installation of 500 million solar panels over four years.
Clinton laid out clean-energy ideas during a tour of a regional bus station in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday.
When asked about the Keystone XL <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-soils-are-collapsing-under-rising-temperatures/">oil</a> pipeline opposed by environmental activists, she would not comment except to say she wants a State Department review of the project to run its course.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says climate change is real and people are "just not paying attention" if they don't acknowledge it.
Addressing this issue Sunday, Clinton touted a program that would combat climate change at least in part by changing the tax code to promote renewable energy.
"This is not complicated folks," the former secretary of state told more than 200 people at Iowa State University. "I'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a brain. And I know we're facing huge problem."
Climate change has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential primary, where Clinton is the heavy favorite.
Clinton was scheduled to discuss the plan in detail during a public event in Des Moines Monday morning.
Billionaire Tom Steyer has led an effort to promote the issue. The California-based Steyer hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in May. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
Clinton proposes, through tax incentives, to increase the amount of power derived from renewable sources to support every home in the United States within 10 years.
For instance, Clinton said she supports renewing the wind energy tax credit as part of over time shifting the U.S. energy system from one based on fossil fuels.
"We need to get the incentives fixed in our tax system which as you know are too heavily weighted toward fossil fuels," Clinton said during a day of campaigning in central Iowa.
Clinton also hinted that her plans would impose changes on the coal industry, though she also pledged the government's help for workers to make the transition.
"We can make a transition over time from a fossil fuel economy, predominantly, to a clean renewable energy economy, predominantly," Clinton said later during an event at a central Iowa rural home.
Weaning the country off of coal is a tricky political position in key places on the political battleground map. Southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania are regions of states that have been pivotal in recent elections. And they remain the home of key coal-producing areas.
Crediting coal-miners for having "created an industrial revolution," Clinton said "it is important that we help them transition to a new economy."
Clinton's plan also includes the goal of installing 500 million solar panels within four years.
It would also increase capacity to the nation's power grid with a combination of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.
The plan's estimated cost is about $60 billion over 10 years, and would be paid for by eliminating tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, also seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, noted Sunday that he unveiled a climate change plan in Iowa that addresses not just consumer energy use, but industrial and transportation, as well.
As governor, O'Malley doubled Maryland's renewable fuel production, and reduced greenhouse gases in the state by 10 percent during his two terms.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

 Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary...

Mexico Seaweed

Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches.Authorities on Mexico's Caribbean coast said Monday they are redoubling efforts to remove tons of sargassum seaweed surge that has been washing ashore in recent weeks.
The state government of Quintana Roo, where the resort of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mexico-struggles-to-clean-huge-seaweed-surge-from-cancun-beaches-2/">Cancun i</a>s located, said there have been no reports of tourists cancelling visits because of the problem.
Gov. Roberto Borge said the seaweed removal efforts will focus on much of the coast, from Holbox in the north down past Tulum to the south. Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches
Photos issued by the Cancun city government show piles of brown seaweed on some normally pristine white beaches. By last week, the city said it had raked or shoveled up 500 cubic meters of sargassum.
Borge said the cause of the invasion is still unknown, though it could be due to high levels of nutrients in ocean water or changes in ocean temperatures, currents or wind patterns.
Authorities have to be careful, because there are two groups of visitors they don't want to disturb with overly aggressive removal efforts: nesting sea turtles that return to the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Caribbean&amp;cvid=85980c2a66cd47e49cc74800e604c2ce&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Caribbean</a> beaches to lay their eggs, and tourists.
Borge said the effort would take care not to cause erosion on the beaches, which has been a problem in Cancun in the past.
The government announced the formation of a task force of naval and environmental authorities to study the problem. Authorities are also researching ways to use or dispose of the seaweed mounds.
Sargassum is an algae that grows in the Sargasso Sea, a large body of warm water in the mid-Atlantic.
Officials in the Caribbean island of Barbados have also struggled with seaweed washing ashore, and large piles of sargassum washed up on the shore in Galveston, Texas, in 2014 after drifting into the Gulf of Mexico.
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Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches

Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches.Authorities...

First US Offshore Wind Farm Should Boost The Industry. Construction has begun off Rhode Island's coast on the nation's first offshore wind farm, a milestone that federal and state officials say will help the fledgling U.S. industry surge ahead.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said Monday that lenders, regulators and stakeholders can now see a path forward.
"It's great to witness a pioneering moment in U.S. history," she said during a boat tour of the site. "We are learning from this in what we do elsewhere. I think it will help the country understand the potential that exists here."First US Offshore Wind <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/using-a-real-world-laboratory-to-resolve-cheetah-farmer-conflict/">Farm</a> Should Boost The Industry
Deepwater Wind is building a five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island, which it expects to power 17,000 homes as early as next year. It began attaching the first of the steel foundations to the ocean floor Sunday. The first one touching the seabed is known in the industry as the "first steel in the water."
Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said it was a "spectacular" moment. The company took officials and project supporters to the site by boat Monday to celebrate.
They saw the first of two steel pieces for the first foundation in the water. It has four legs and braces like a stool and rises about 30 feet above the waterline. An installation barge with a large crane was next to it, and two barges carrying additional foundation components were nearby. The foundations will be installed by mid-September, Grybowski said.
The wind farm should be operational in the third quarter of 2016, Grybowski said. Deepwater Wind also plans to build a wind farm of at least 200 turbines between Block Island and Martha's Vineyard.
"We want to build more and larger offshore wind projects, up and down the East Coast," Grybowski said.
Gov. Gina Raimondo said Rhode Island is a leader in a fast-growing industry that is creating jobs.
"It's the beginning of something great in Rhode Island," Raimondo said.
The offshore wind industry is far more advanced in Europe. Developers and industry experts say it has been slow to start in the U.S. because of regulatory hurdles, opposition from fossil fuel interests and the trials and tribulations of doing something for the first time.
Cape Wind received approval five years ago to build the nation's first offshore wind farm, a 130-turbine project off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That project stalled after opponents challenged it in court.
While there have been setbacks, Jewell said the federal government has now sold nine leases for offshore wind projects in federal waters. The government is poised to auction a new lease off New Jersey this year and is assessing potential sites off multiple states. The Block Island wind farm is in state waters.
"This is an important first step, important momentum. A lot is happening across the country," said Abigail Ross Hopper, director if the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
One hurdle, however, is that the renewable energy industry has to fight, regularly, to keep the tax credits and incentives it has, while the well-established oil and gas industry has tax credits it no longer needs, Jewell said. She said that should change.
Several environmental leaders also made the trip. Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said it was overwhelming to see the start of construction.
"To see it in American waters fills me with patriotic pride," he said. "This idea that we could create a new industry and tens of thousands of jobs, spur manufacturing and protect wildlife, it's just an incredible opportunity."
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First US Offshore Wind Farm Should Boost The Industry

First US Offshore Wind Farm Should Boost The Industry. Construction...

Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise Threat. First-ever detailed estimate from geological drilling shows US capital faces half-foot drop by 2100

New research confirms that the land under the Chesapeake Bay is sinking rapidly and projects that Washington, D.C., could drop by six or more inches in the next century--adding to the problems of sea-level rise.

This falling land will exacerbate the flooding that the nation's capital faces from rising ocean waters due to a warming climate and melting ice sheets--accelerating the threat to the region's monuments, roads, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/some-cat-owners-care-about-their-pets-impact-on-wildlife-conservation/">wildlife</a> refuges, and military installations. Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise Threat

For sixty years, tide gauges have shown that sea level in the Chesapeake is rising at twice the global average rate and faster than elsewhere on the East Coast. And geologists have hypothesized for several decades that land in this area, pushed up by the weight of a pre-historic ice sheet to the north, has been settling back down since the ice melted.

The new study--based on extensive drilling in the coastal plain of Maryland--confirms this hypothesis, and provides a firm estimate of how quickly this drop is happening. Additionally, the researchers' detailed field data make clear that the land sinking around Washington is not primarily driven by human influence, such as groundwater withdrawals, but instead is a long-term geological process that will continue unabated for tens of thousands of years, independent from human land use or climate change.

The new research was conducted by a team of geologists from the University of Vermont, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other institutions. The results were presented online July 27 in the journal GSA Today.

GEOLOGICAL WATERBED

Washington's woes come from what geologists call "forebulge collapse." During the last ice age, a mile-high North American ice sheet, that stretched as far south as Long Island, N.Y., piled so much weight on the Earth that underlying mantle rock flowed slowly outward, away from the ice. In response, the land surface to the south, under the Chesapeake Bay region, bulged up. Then, about 20,000 years ago, the ice sheet began melting away, allowing the forebulge to sink again.

"It's a bit like sitting on one side of a water bed filled with very thick honey," explains Ben DeJong, the lead author on the new study, who conducted the research as a doctoral student at UVM's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources with support from the U.S. Geological Survey, "then the other side goes up. But when you stand, the bulge comes down again."

The new research provides the first high-resolution data from the same latitude as Washington, D.C., DeJong said, of how this forebulge has subsided--and will continue to. "Until recently, the age of the thing was really poorly constrained," he said.

To design the study, DeJong and others drilled seventy boreholes, many up to a hundred feet deep, in and around the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, near Washington, on the Chesapeake's eastern shore. Then he examined layers of sediment in these deep cores, using a suite of techniques to calculate the age of the sand, other rocks, and organic matter in each layer.

Combining this data with high-resolution LiDAR and GPS map data allowed the team--that included scientists from UVM, the US Geological Survey, Utah State University, Berkeley Geochronology Center, and Imperial College, London--to create a detailed 3D portrait of both the current and previous post-glacial geological periods in the Chesapeake, stretching back several million years. This longer view gives the geologists confidence that they have a "bullet-proof" model, DeJong says, showing that the region today is early in a period of land subsidence that will last for millennia.

WET FEET

"Right now is the time to start making preparations," said DeJong. "Six extra inches of water really matters in this part of the world," he says--adding urgency to the models of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that project roughly one to three or more feet of global sea-level rise by 2100 from global warming.

"It's ironic that the nation's capital--the place least responsive to the dangers of climate change--is sitting in one of the worst spots it could be in terms of this land subsidence," said Paul Bierman, a UVM geologist and the senior author on the new paper. "Will the Congress just sit there with their feet getting ever wetter? What's next, forebulge denial?"

---

<a href="http://www.uvm.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Vermont</a>

Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise Threat

Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise...

Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits. A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to relax some limits it set on smokestack emissions that cross state lines and taint downwind areas with air pollution from power plants.
At the same time, the court upheld the EPA's right to impose the clean-air standards, rejecting an argument by states and industry groups that the rule was overly burdensome.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit orders the EPA to redo sulfur-dioxide and nitrogen-oxide standards for 13 states, mostly in the South and Midwest, that contribute to soot and smog along the East Coast.
Texas and South Carolina would see limits for both forms of pollution adjusted, while new limits for either sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide would be set in 11 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
The ruling follows a Supreme Court decision last year upholding the so-called Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which blocks states from adding to air pollution in other states.
The April 2014 ruling was an important victory for the Obama administration and capped a decades-long effort by the EPA to ensure that states are good neighbors and don't contribute to pollution problems elsewhere. Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits
Industry groups and many of the affected states have cast the rule as an attempt to step on states' rights and shut down aging coal-fired power plants as part of what many Republicans call a "war on coal" by the Obama administration.
An EPA spokeswoman said the agency was pleased that the court decision keeps the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule in place "so that it continues to achieve important public health protections."
The EPA remains committed to working with states and power companies as it moves to implement the rule, spokeswoman Melissa Harrison said. "We are reviewing the decision and will determine any appropriate further course of action once our review is complete," she said.
The Supreme Court said the EPA, under the Clean Air Act, can implement federal plans in states that do not adequately control downwind pollution. But the court also ruled that the EPA can consider the cost of pollution controls and does not have to require states to reduce pollution by the precise amount they send to downwind states.
The appeals court, in its ruling, said the EPA's rule imposed overly strict limits on the 13 upwind states. As a practical matter, the limits would result in downwind states "overachieving" air quality standards for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, the court said.
Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, an environmental advocacy group, scoffed at the idea that the EPA rule was overly strict.
"The reality is we need more pollution control of power plants, not less," he said, noting that the pollution standards used by the EPA were developed in the 1990s.
"The targets involved in this case are so outmoded that they are almost irrelevant," O'Donnell said.
"We know in reality that these power plants are going to have to clean up even more to meet modern standards," O'Donnell added, referring to new EPA rules on soot and smog expected in the next few months.
The EPA says the Cross-State Pollution Rule would cost power-plant operators about $800 million a year. Those investments would be far outweighed by the hundreds of billions of dollars in health-care savings from cleaner air, the agency said. The rule could prevent more than 30,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of illnesses each year, the EPA said.
---
Follow Matthew Daly: <a href="http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC</a>
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Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits

Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits. A federal appeals...

Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some Fish. It's midday and the white bucket balanced on the rocky shore at Mountha Uppasay's feet holds five or six white bass, moving sluggishly in the water she scooped from the Des Moines River.
She and her husband, who are immigrants from Laos, have been fishing since shortly after dawn and plan to catch enough to make a tasty stew to share with their children and grandchildren. Asked about possible health issues with the fish, Uppasay flashes a surprised look and says, "They're all safe." Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some Fish
She's right, to a point. The bass are nutritious, but they probably contain dangerous mercury levels, a toxic substance especially harmful to pregnant women and children that collects in varying levels in most fish throughout the country. Limiting consumption, particularly for those in the higher risk groups, is recommended.
Uppasay's lack of awareness appears to be shared by many anglers who fish in rivers and lakes near urban areas, and it illustrates how many government-issued health warnings about fish fail to reach those who most need to hear them: low-income families and immigrants, some of whom fish daily or weekly for their family meals.
Most health advisories are posted directly on packages, like tobacco and alcohol, or displayed on billboard or TV ads. Iowa, like most states, posts information on its websites, and that's where the warnings stop.
"People are starving for information," said Joanna Burger, an ecologist at Rutgers University who has worked in several states to help minimize the problem. "People want the information, but they want to be given it in a way to make their own risk decisions."
Mercury, which occurs naturally in fish, seeps into waterways everywhere, with some local hotspots scattered across the country linked to coal-burning power plants, old mines or industries.
Studies show that up to 10 percent of women of child-bearing age have mercury levels that exceed federal standards. Mercury can be devastating for the neurological development of fetuses and children. For adults, longer-term problems include vision loss and difficulty walking.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says adults can eat as much as they want of some fish, but for many species the agency recommends only a serving or two a week, less for pregnant women or children. The stricter limits are suggested for predator species like white bass - fish that eat other fish - and older, larger fish more likely to exceed 0.47 parts of mercury per million.
Environmental officials agree that immigrants and low-income people dominate many urban riverbanks and lakes where fish are likely to have higher levels.
Tong Vang, who works as a community liaison in Minnesota, said Southeast Asians in the upper Midwest are especially devoted to fishing and have an affinity for white bass, a fish similar to kinds they ate in their homeland.
Vang said he thinks many in the community have not heard the warnings or don't take them seriously.
"Some people are stubborn," Vang said.
Though mercury levels can vary, some of the most popular fish in a region can be the riskiest.
In Pennsylvania, fishermen line the banks of the Susquehanna River near York, where a top attraction is flathead catfish that can grow to 50 pounds or more.
Michael Helfrich, leader of a conservation group on the Lower Susquehanna, said he sees many immigrants casting lines.
"They don't understand that bigger is not better," he said.
On Alabama's Coosa River, volunteers have been interviewing anglers to learn how often they fish and what they catch. In an area with double-digit poverty levels, people rely on largemouth spotted bass and catfish, both predator fish, and other varieties for dinner.
"A lot of people have no idea that there is any kind of contamination in fish," said Justinn Overton, executive director of the Coosa Riverkeeper conservation group. "It just breaks my heart. The river is part of our community in Alabama."
Experts don't want to discourage people from eating fish, which contains omega-3 fatty acids that are beneficial for the heart. Still, they believe governments should do more to inform anglers about simple ways to lessen dangers. Popular low-risk fish that can be eaten frequently include sunfish, crappie and perch.
In California, especially San Francisco Bay and parts of the Sacramento River, health information is being posted in fishing areas. Parks officials in Akron, Ohio, are explaining guidelines at Asian community events and circulating advisories in four languages.
"We want people to come to the park. We want people to fish," but to understand health guidelines, said parks director Mike Johnson.
But word hasn't arrived yet for many Hmong immigrants who frequent the Des Moines River.
On this steamy summer day, several dozen anglers toss lines into the water while their families relax on blankets shaded by trees behind them.
Boun Lovan, who works for a marble installation company, said he fishes for white bass and walleye two or three times a week. For him and his family, the more he catches, the better.
"A lot of people like fish better than red meat," he said.
---
Follow Scott McFetridge at: <a href="https://twitter.com/smcfetridge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/smcfetridge</a> .
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Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some Fish

Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some...

Environmental Activists Rappel Off Oregon Bridge To Stop Shell Oil Icebreaker. Environmental activists rappelled off Portland's tallest bridge early Wednesday in an effort to stop a Shell Oil icebreaker from leaving the city.
Thirteen protesters dangled from the St. Johns Bridge while another 13 remained on the bridge as lookouts. Greenpeace USA executive director Annie Leonard said the activists have enough water and food to last for days, and can hoist themselves to allow other marine traffic to pass. Environmental Activists Rappel Off <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/unequal-treatment-protestors/">Oregon</a> Bridge To Stop Shell Oil Icebreaker
The Royal Dutch Shell PLC icebreaker Fennica arrived in Portland for repairs last week. The vessel was damaged earlier this month in the Aleutian Islands when it struck an underwater obstruction, tearing a gash in its hull.
The icebreaker is a vital part of Shell's exploration and spill-response plan off Alaska's northwest coast. It protects Shell's fleet from ice and carries equipment that can stop gushing oil.
Opponents of Arctic drilling worry that the area's remoteness and rough conditions will hamper cleanup efforts should a spill occur.
"These climbers hanging on the bridge really are at this point the last thing standing between Shell's plan to drill in the Arctic and the Arctic," Leonard said.
Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said in an email the Fennica will return to Alaska once final preparations are complete.
"As for the activities of the day, we respect the choice that anyone might make to protest based on Shell's Arctic aspirations; we just ask that they do so safely and within the boundaries of the law," Smith wrote.
Environmental groups had wanted the Obama administration to reject permits sought by Shell to drill in the Chukchi Sea because of the absence of the icebreaker.
The government, however, gave Shell approval to begin limited exploratory oil drilling, with conditions. Shell can only drill the top sections of wells because the company doesn't have critical emergency response equipment on site to cap a well in case of a leak. That equipment is aboard the Fennica.
Activists hope any delay will give the Obama administration time to reconsider granting the final permit. They also want to use up days in the short window for summer drilling.
"Shell's under enormous pressure to get this thing back up there," Leonard said.
Supporters of arctic drilling say it can be conducted safely with existing technologies and that future production will help sustain the country's energy needs and limit reliance on imports.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/the-complex-behavior-of-melting-ice-sheets/">Arctic</a> offshore reserves in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas at 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Sgt. Pete Simpson, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman, said officers were monitoring the protest and no arrests had been made. The bridge remained open to vehicles, but pedestrians were told to stay off.
---
Follow Steven DuBois at <a href="http://twitter.com/pdxdub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/pdxdub</a>
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Environmental Activists Rappel Off Oregon Bridge

Environmental Activists Rappel Off Oregon Bridge To Stop Shell Oil...

Researchers Tag Sources Of Soot To Find Where They Land. Source of soot that is warming Tibetan Plateau ID'd

Using a climate model that can tag sources of soot from different global regions and can track where it lands on the Tibetan Plateau, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/research-confirms-that-covid-19-enters-the-brain/">researchers</a> have determined which areas around the plateau contribute the most soot -- and where. The model can also suggest the most effective way to reduce soot on the plateau, easing the amount of warming the region undergoes. Researchers Tag Sources Of Soot To Find Where They Land

The work, which appeared in Atmospheric Chemistry and <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=physics&amp;cvid=416ff4430548467e99f3bf31692e12ba&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Physics</a> in June, shows that soot pollution on and above the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau area warms the region enough to contribute to earlier snowmelt and shrinking glaciers. A major source of water, such changes could affect the people living there. The study might help policy makers target pollution reduction efforts by pinpointing the sources that make the biggest difference when cut.

"If we really want to address the issue of soot on the Tibetan Plateau," said Yun Qian, a study co-author at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, "we need to know where we should start."

Overall, the work shows that, of worldwide sources, India's wildfires, cooking fuel and fossil fuel burning contribute the most soot to the mountain range and plateau region, followed by fossil fuel burning in China and other East Asian countries.

However, the work also zooms in on regions of the plateau. In this close up, India contributes the greatest amount of soot to the most regions, especially the Himalayas and the central Plateau. China contributes the most soot to the northeast Plateau. Finally, sources in central Asia, the Middle East and Tibet are only important to the northwest Plateau.

The researchers identified where the soot went and also determined how much warming it caused there. In addition to confirming previous work that soot causes net warming over the entire Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau region, one area stood out. Soot increased the amount of warming on the snowy northwest Plateau in the spring by more than 10 times the annual average of the entire plateau.

"Soot on snow in the northwest plateau causes more warming than all other sources in the area," said corresponding author Hailong Wang, an atmospheric scientist at PNNL. "It's bigger than the effect of greenhouse gases and soot in the atmosphere. The strong heating caused by soot on snow and in the atmosphere can change air circulation over the Plateau, leading to a broader impact on climate."

Third pole

Often called the Third Pole due to how much ice and snow accumulates there, the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau are the source of major rivers in nearby countries and changes to them can affect the largest populations in China and India. The mass of frozen water also contributes to the global climate, which is changing as Earth's temperature rises.

Although earlier work showed soot's warming effect over the whole region, the researchers wanted to pinpoint what kind of sources contribute. The team looked specifically at fossil fuel sources, biofuel and biomass sources of soot. For example, people in the surrounding countries use much wood, grass and agricultural wastes to cook with, which the team categorized as biofuel.

To track the soot, the team developed a new way to tag the soot particles emitted from individual sources within a climate model. The method had advantages over other source-attribution methods, which either don't completely isolate contributions from particular sources or require running the model many times to turn the sources off and on one at a time. Researchers Tag Sources Of Soot To Find Where They Land

Essentially, the team "dyed" 16 sources of soot in a well-known climate model called the Community Atmosphere Model version 5, also known as CAM5. After running the model, the team compared the model's results to actual soot data taken from seven sites in the Tibetan Plateau/Himalayan region and to satellite data of snow cover to see how well it represented soot and snowfall. The model performed well, and taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the model, the team focused on the soot.

While the soot tracker showed where the soot fell or where it hovered in the air above ground, the tracker also showed the path the soot took to its ending position.

"We got a vertical and horizontal view of the pathways," said Wang. "Not only where the soot came from, but also how the air moves it, and how much got removed on its path."

Soot scooting boogie

By zooming in on the plateau, the scientists got a great bit of detail, more than would have shown up on a global map. In the close up, the majority of soot that arrives in the Himalayas and the central Plateau comes from biofuel and fossil fuel burning in India; soot arriving in the northeast Plateau in all seasons and the southeast Plateau in the summer come from fossil fuel and biomass burning in China. In the northwest Plateau, emissions from central Asia and the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=middle+east&amp;cvid=1c23f33f3bff4e318037eb52db1114ee&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Middle East</a> also contribute significantly.

Running the computer model in this way not only showed which source sent the most soot over, but also can determine which source would make the biggest impact if emissions are cut. The soot destination that changed the most was the northwest Plateau by cuts in central Asia's fossil fuel burning. Cuts in South Asia can effectively reduce the soot level on the entire plateau, especially in the Himalayas.

"The model can be used to test how efficient it would be to cut any particular amount of worldwide emissions," said Wang. "For example, if we wanted to cut global emissions by an eighth, our results can tell us where to cut from to make the biggest reduction on the Tibetan Plateau."

The authors suggest this type of research could be helpful to policymakers interested in reducing the effects of climate change at the Third Pole.
###
This work was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Science, China Scholarship Fund, National Basic Research Program of China. Computing experiments used DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's NERSC computing resources, a DOE Office of Science user facility.

Reference: R. Zhang, H. Wang, Y. Qian, P. J. Rasch, R. C. Easter, P.-L. Ma, B. Singh, J. Huang, and Q. Fu. Quantifying sources, transport, deposition, and radiative forcing of black carbon over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 15, 6205-6223, June 8, 2015, doi:10.5194/acp-15-6205-2015.

Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,300 staff and has an annual budget of more than $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. As the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

---

<a href="http://www.pnnl.gov/news" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pacific Northwest National Laboratory</a>

Researchers Tag Sources Of Soot To Find Where They Land

Researchers Tag Sources Of Soot To Find Where They Land....

Environmentalists Protest Pacific Partnership Trade Pact In Maui. About 400 protesters blew conch shells on a Hawaii beach to demonstrate against a trade agreement being negotiated by ministers from 12 Pacific Rim nations.
The demonstrators blew into their shells in unison on Wednesday on the sand in front of the Westin Maui resort on Kaanapali Beach, where ministers were meeting this week to discuss the Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact. Environmentalists Protest <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/noumea-in-the-south-pacific-archipelago-of-new-caledonia/">Pacific</a> Partnership Trade Pact In Maui
Protest organizers say the trade agreement would benefit a few major corporations while sacrificing protections for public health, the environment, local jobs and indigenous rights.
"It's pilau, pilau, pilau," said veteran Hawaii activist Walter Ritte, using the Hawaiian word for rotten.
A former agriculture minister from Japan, Masahiko Yamada, shared how he had been fighting the agreement back home for the past five years. He led the crowd in chants of "Stop TPP" and "gambaro" or "Let's do it" in <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=japan&amp;cvid=261a931f8ca74a3589fbee7b4abb828b&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Japanese</a>.
The agreement would lower tariffs and other trade barriers while setting labor and environmental standards for its participants. The Obama administration said the pact would boost U.S. economic growth and help keep high-quality jobs in the country by increasing exports.
The protesters blew conch shells because to Native Hawaiians have used the shell's sound to let people know something important was to occur, said event organizer Trinette Furtado.
"Today is a call to attention, to join together against this attempt to put profits over people," Furtado said in a statement.
Organizers believe they set a new world record for the number of people blowing conch shells at one time. They documented the event to submit to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Marti Townsend, director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii, said the state has some of the strongest environmental laws in the world, but they would be "gutted" if the agreement is adopted.
"We are calling on elected leaders around the world, all 12 countries, to recognize that the public interest in this situation is higher than the corporate interest," Townsend said.
The 12 nations negotiating the pact are: the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Environmentalists Protest Pacific Partnership Trade Pact In Maui

Environmentalists Protest Pacific Partnership Trade Pact In Maui. About 400...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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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

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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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?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" 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.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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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

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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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



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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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...