Do you recall those childhood days when you eagerly anticipated bedtime stories about Peter Rabbit, Toad or Ratty from The Wind in the Willows? Or the excitement that washed over you every time you opened a children's book teeming with playful, animated animals? 



Well, a new study is giving us a fresh perspective on the role of these furry, iconic characters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-children-s-books-animal-characters">Children's books animal characters</h2>



The research has shed light on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/toddlers-learn-faster-after-witnessing-impossible-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">potential influence</a> of non-human characters in children's books.



The researchers aimed to gauge how these animal characters affected children's theory of mind skills - crucial abilities which include deciphering social changes in the environment based on voice tone, word choice, or facial expressions.



They worked with over 100 children aged five to 10, each of whom were tested on their theory of mind skills after hearing stories featuring animal characters, as well as those highlighting human characters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-vs-animal-characters-in-books">Human vs. animal characters in books</h2>



The study unveiled an interesting pattern. When exposed to stories centered around human characters, an age-related progression was observed. 



Older children were consistently outperforming their younger counterparts, with 3rd grade children surpassing the researchers' expectations in tests featuring human characters.



But the revelations didn't stop there. The tests that involved animal characters threw up another surprise. 



The younger participants were able to match the scores achieved by pupils in 3rd grade, who were two years their senior. That's quite a feat for our young champions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-insight-into-children-s-development">New insight into children's development</h2>



These findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, highlight the importance of both human and non-human characters in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/outdoor-classes-improve-childrens-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">children's developmental stages</a>.



The research was led by Dr. Gray Atherton and Dr. Liam Cross from the University of Plymouth’s <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/psychology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Psychology</a>.



"Animals play a huge part of children’s stories, whether that is in books and comics or through TV and film. We wanted to test if that is down to more than simply liking the characters, and whether there are actual benefits of children learning through by watching or reading about animals and if this changes over time," said Dr. Atherton.



"Our findings showed that both human and non-human characters are important in helping children interpret the world around them, and that they play differing roles at different stages in their development. Adapting activities and lessons in nurseries and the early school years to take that into account could be hugely effective in helping to support their development."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-educators-and-parents">Implications for educators and parents</h2>



The insights gained from this study have substantial implications for educators and parents aiming to support children's cognitive and social development.



By incorporating both human and animal characters into books, educators can craft a more balanced learning environment that caters to the diverse needs of children across age groups. 



Parents, too, can enrich their children's home learning experiences by selecting a variety of stories that include both human and animal protagonists. 



This approach not only makes reading sessions more engaging but also aids in developing empathy and understanding of complex social scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



While this study provides valuable insights, it also opens avenues for further exploration. 



Future research could go deeper into the types of animal characteristics that are most effective in nurturing children's theory of mind. For instance, exploring whether anthropomorphized animals or more realistic portrayals have differing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-who-use-humor-have-better-relationships-with-their-children/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">impacts</a>. 



Similarly, cross-cultural studies could investigate whether the affinity towards animal characters holds true in diverse cultural contexts. These inquiries could refine understanding and application in educational strategies, enhancing the efficacy of storytelling as a developmental tool.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-characters-and-autism-treatment">Animal characters and autism treatment</h2>



In previous studies, Dr. Atherton and Dr. Cross examined the factors influencing the educational and social development of individuals with autism and learning difficulties.



The experts launched initiatives proving how board and online games can bolster confidence among people with autism. 



Borrowing insights from this research, the scholars now plan to dig deeper to explore if their findings could provide specific benefits to children with such conditions.



Dr. Cross envisions a significant impact of this study on individuals with autism or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-with-behavioral-issues-have-high-cortisol-levels-in-their-hair/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other conditions</a> affecting their learning. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-way-of-looking-at-animal-characters">A new way of looking at animal characters</h2>



The researchers have observed how tasks involving animal characters can result in autistic individuals performing on par with non-autistic children. 



The plan is to replicate this study with autistic children in an effort to unveil more effective ways to support them at a critical stage in their development.



In a nutshell, this study has unraveled an entirely new dimension of how we view animals in children's books. 



Those delightful animal characters do more than simply entertain; they help shape our children's minds and understanding of the world around them in their formative years.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002209652400256X?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Experimental Child Psychology</a>. 



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Animal characters boost social and emotional skills in children

Do you recall those childhood days when you eagerly anticipated bedtime stories about Peter Rabbit, Toad or Ratty from The Wind in the Willows? Or the excitement that washed over you every time you opened a children's book teeming with playful, animated animals? Well, a new study is giving us a fresh perspective on the role of these furry, iconic characters. Children's books animal characters The research has shed light on the potential influence of non-human characters in children's books. The researchers aimed to gauge how these...

<div>Early snowmelt reduces CO2 absorption in forests. Early snowmelt periods associated with a warming climate may hinder subalpine forest regulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), according to the results of a new University of Colorado Boulder study.</div>
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The findings, which were recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, predict that this shift in the timing of the snowmelt could result in a 45 percent reduction of snowmelt period forest carbon uptake by mid-century.

A separate study, also published in Geophysical Research Letters, found that earlier, slower snowmelt reduces the amount of streamflow, a phenomenon with potentially drastic consequences for agriculture, municipal water supplies and recreational opportunities in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/extra-water-colorado-river-endangered-fish/">Colorado</a> and other areas of the western U.S.

Forests located in seasonally snow-covered areas represent a key terrestrial CO2 sink thanks to the natural photosynthetic processes by which trees uptake carbon. The trees' carbon uptake is restrained during winter, but increases to peak capacity in spring when snowmelt provides sustained water input.

Working at the Niwot Ridge Ameriflux site in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, CU Boulder researchers studied 15 years' worth of snowmelt and atmospheric CO2 data to study the effects of snowmelt periods. The research found that earlier snowmelt periods triggered by climate change align with colder air temperatures, reducing the forests' ability to take CO2 out of the atmosphere.

"This study shows us that, counterintuitively, warming generally causes snow to melt during colder periods of the seasonal temperature cycle due to the effects that warming has on reducing the depth of snowpacks, which causes melt to begin earlier in the year," said Taylor Winchell, a graduate researcher in the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">INSTAAR</a>) and lead author of the study. "The colder temperatures associated with early melt reduce the trees' ability to uptake carbon during the snowmelt period, a key period for seasonal carbon uptake."

"The implications of this research are quite profound as mountains in the western U.S. are an important part of the regional cycling of carbon and water," said Noah Molotch, the director of the Center for Water Earth Science &amp; Technology (CWEST) and a co-author of both new studies. "In this regard, earlier snowmelt will reduce carbon uptake in mountain forests, weakening the ability of forests to offset increases in CO2 associated with human burning of fossil fuels."

Snowmelt also acts as a key hydrological driver for rivers and streams across the state, providing water resources to downstream communities. Previous research has suggested that the timing and rate at which snow melts can impact the amount and quality of water available for vegetation, farming, and fishing.

The researchers used a unique modeling system to study the effects of earlier snowmelt across various regions of western United States including the Cascade range, the Sierra Nevada range, the Wasatch range, and the Rocky Mountains. All of these areas see significant seasonal snow accumulation and generate water resources for downstream communities.

The study results show that earlier, slower snowmelt, triggered by warmer temperatures, reduce streamflow. These slower "trickle" melts reduce percolation in hillslope soil and allow more water to evaporate, resulting in less streamflow overall.

"Of all the regions we studied, streamflow from Colorado's Rocky Mountains is most sensitive to a change in snowmelt," says Theodore Barnhart, a graduate researcher at INSTAAR and lead author of the study. "This analysis suggests that all of the regions studied will experience a decrease in streamflow with a decrease in snowmelt rate, with some regions exhibiting more streamflow sensitivity than others."

"The recent western drought has been accompanied by a snowpack restricted to higher elevations, with a significant effect on the ski industry," says Tom Torgersen, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research. "Climate variability also leads to conditions favoring earlier and slower snowmelt, with a decreased and prolonged peak streamflow. This water flow affects mountain fishing and results in less forest growth. The effects of drought and climate variability reach far beyond farm productivity and urban water restrictions."

"Given that 60 million people in the western U.S. depend on snowmelt for their water supply, the future decline in snowmelt-derived streamflow may place additional stress on over-allocated water supplies," said Molotch.

"There is a similar theme in these two studies: 'colder forests in a warmer world' and 'slower snowmelt in a warmer world.' Both phenomena defy expectations," Molotch added. "In this regard, these studies are reshaping the way scientists and land and water managers think about climate change in mountainous regions."
###
Additional co-authors of the study "Earlier snowmelt reduces atmospheric carbon uptake in midlatitude subalpine forests" include David Barnard and Sean Burns of CU Boulder and Russell Monson of the University of Arizona. The work was funded by the NSF, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research Program.

Additional co-authors of the study "Snowmelt rate dictates streamflow" include Ben Livneh of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at CU Boulder; John Knowles and Dominik Schneider of CU Boulder; and Adrian Harpold of the University of Nevada. The work was funded by NSF, with additional assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship.

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Early snowmelt reduces CO2 absorption in forests

Early snowmelt reduces CO2 absorption in forests. Early snowmelt periods...

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<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Storm Howard and Tropical Depression Ivette. Infrared data from NASA's Terra satellite has revealed that Tropical Storm Howard is weakening quickly as it continues to move over cooler waters in the Eastern <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dust-asia-fertilizes-north-pacific/">Pacific Ocean.</a></div>
On Aug. 3 at 2:35 a.m. EDT (6:35 a.m. UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=modis&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=58793ca96fb04ccfa017ca18b8813a35&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">MODIS</a>, instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite provided infrared data on Howard. The image showed that strong thunderstorms and deep convection (rising air that forms them) continued to decrease and were limited to northwest and south of the center. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that the strongest storms had become separated from the low-level center of the storm overnight. Tropical Storm Howard and Tropical Depression Ivette

At 5 a.m. EDT (9 a.m. UTC) on Aug. 3, the center of Tropical Storm Howard was located near 20.3 degrees north latitude and 132.6 degrees west longitude. That's about 1,465 miles (2,360 km) west of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Howard was moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 kph), and this motion should continue through today. A turn toward the west is expected by Thursday. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 45 mph (75 kph) and is forecast to continue weakening. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1,005 millibars.

In the Tropical Storm Howard Discussion online at 5 a.m. EDT, National Hurricane Center forecaster Daniel Brown said, "The tropical storm should continue to weaken during the next day or so while it moves over cool water and into a drier and more stable environment. Howard is forecast to become a remnant low in 24 to 36 hours, but this could occur sooner if organized deep convection does not redevelop later today."


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Tropical Storm Howard and Tropical Depression Ivette

Tropical Storm Howard and Tropical Depression Ivette. Infrared data from...

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<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Storm Omais forms in the Northwestern Pacific. The seventh tropical cyclone of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean season formed, and infrared data from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a>'s Aqua satellite showed powerful thunderstorms persisting in the storm's center.</div>
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared temperature data of the newly developed tropical storm on Aug. 4, 2016, at 8:10 a.m. EDT (12:10 p.m. UTC). The<a href="http://www.earth.com/image/winter-caucasus-mountains-russia/"> MODIS</a> data showed cloud top temperatures of strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation as cold as minus 80 F (minus 62.2 C). Temperatures that cold indicate strong uplift in the storm and cloud tops high into the troposphere. NASA research has shown that storms with cloud tops that cold have the ability to generate heavy rain.Tropical Storm Omais forms in the Northwestern Pacific

At 11 a.m. EDT (3 p.m. UTC) on Aug. 4, Tropical Storm Omais had maximum sustained winds near 46 mph (40 knots/74 kph). The storm developed quickly from a low pressure area into a tropical storm. Omais was centered near 19.3 degrees north latitude and 146.2 degrees east longitude, about 223 nautical miles north of Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands, and farther away from Guam. Omais has tracked north-northwestward at 3.4 mph (3 knots/5.5 kph) and is expected to continue in that general direction.

NOAA's National Weather Service Office in Guam has not issued any watches or warnings associated with Omais as the storm is far to the north.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast calls for Omais to move on a northerly track and strengthen to a typhoon by Aug. 6 after passing far to the east of the island of Iwo To, Japan. It is then expected to continue tracking in a northerly direction through the northwestern Pacific Ocean.


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Tropical Storm Omais forms in the Northwestern Pacific

Tropical Storm Omais forms in the Northwestern Pacific. The seventh...

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<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical storm Earl has been intensifying as it moves through the Caribbean Sea. The GPM satellite spotted hot towers, towering thunderstorms within Earl that indicate the storm may intensify.</div>
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) now predicts that Earl will be a hurricane before it hits Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula tomorrow afternoon. Earl is predicted by NHC to remain in a light to moderate vertical wind shear environment over very warm sea surface temperatures until landfall.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or <a href="http://www.earth.com/product/low-flow-faucet-aerator-1-0-gpm-2-pack/">GPM</a> core observatory satellite passed over intensifying tropical storm Earl in the Caribbean Sea northeast of Honduras on Aug. 2, 2016 at 11:56 p.m. EDT (Aug. 3, 2016 at 0356 UTC). GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) showed that powerful storms around Earl's forming eye were dropping extremely heavy rainfall. DPR found that rain was falling at a rate of over 251 mm (9.8 inches) per hour in a band of powerful convective storms.

GPM's Radar (DPR Ku band) were used to show in 3-D the towering thunderstorms near Earl's center reaching heights of over 16 km (9.9 miles). These strong thunderstorms called "hot towers" often lead to rapid intensification in a tropical cyclone. NASA research has shown that whenever there is the presence of hot towers, the storm usually intensifies within six hours. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

On Aug. 3, 2016 a hurricane warning is in effect for Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico, southward to the Belize/Guatemala border and for the Bay Islands, Honduras. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the north coast of Honduras from Cabo Gracias a Dios westward to the Honduras/Guatemala border and north of Puerto Costa Maya to Punta Allen, Mexico.

The heavy rainfall rates seen by GPM are evident in the forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The NHC forecast noted that Earl is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 8 to 12 inches over portions of Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico through Thursday night. Very heavy rain will reach the Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz between Thursday night and Saturday morning. Isolated maximum amounts of 16 inches are possible in Belize and Mexico.

At 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Earl was located near latitude 16.8 North, longitude 85.6 West. Earl is moving toward the west near 14 mph (22 kph), and this general motion is expected to continue with some decrease in forward speed during the next 48 hours. On the forecast track, the core of Earl is expected to pass near the Honduras Bay Islands this afternoon, and then make landfall in Belize tonight or early Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 70 mph (110 kph) with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 12 hours or so, and Earl is expected to be a hurricane by the time it makes landfall along the coast of Belize.

For updated forecasts, visit NHC: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>.

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Tropical Storm Earl is intensifying

Tropical storm Earl has been intensifying as it moves through...

<div>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a> satellite animation of imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite shows the movement and landfall of Hurricane Earl near Belize City, Belize. Satellite animation shows landfall of Hurricane Earl in Belize</div>
<div>

NOAA's GOES-East satellite has been providing visible and infrared data on Hurricane Earl since its development as a tropical depression on Aug. 2. At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the NASA/NOAA GOES project combined the data into an animation that showed the movement and strengthening of Earl from Aug. 2 to Aug. 4 through the Caribbean Sea.Satellite animation shows landfall of Hurricane Earl in Belize

At 1 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016 reports from an<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/us-air-force-ignored-climate-change-warnings-at-space-fence-radar-site/"> Air Force</a> Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated Earl's maximum sustained winds increased to near 80 mph (130 kph) making it a hurricane. At 2 a.m. EDT Hurricane Earl made landfall 5 miles southwest of Belize City, Belize.

By 11 a.m. EDT on Aug. 4, Earl was inland and already 115 miles (185 km) west of Belize City and had weakened to a tropical storm. The Government of Belize has discontinued all coastal warnings. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. Interests along the southern Bay of Campeche should monitor the progress of Earl.

[ooyala code="czZjQ1NTE6j54qQy_y5M0eTKnd3Mrk8u" player_id="ce75157bc770441eaf5e849ae4d1d21f" auto="true" width="896" height="504"]

The center of Tropical Storm Earl was located well inland near 17.2 degrees north latitude and 89.9 degrees west longitude. Earl was moving toward the west near 12 mph (19 kph), and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said this general motion is expected to continue during the next couple of days. On the forecast track, NHC said Earl will continue to move across northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico tonight and Friday. The estimated minimum central pressure is 990 millibars.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts. Additional weakening is expected as the center moves over high terrain, and Earl is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by tonight.

In the NHC discussion, Forecaster Lixion Avila wrote: "Earl is already well inland over northern Guatemala, and although visible satellite images still show a vigorous circulation, the convection is rapidly decreasing. There are no wind observations near the center, but the best estimate of the initial intensity is 45 knots. Since most of the circulation of Earl is forecast to move over the high terrain of Guatemala and southeastern Mexico, rapid weakening is anticipated. Earl is expected to degenerate into a tropical depression tonight and into a remnant low in a day or so."

For additional updates, visit the NHC website at: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>.


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Satellite animation shows landfall of Hurricane Earl in Belize

A NASA satellite animation of imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite...

<div>Adaptation to climate risks: Political affiliation matters. A new study reveals that those who affiliate with the Democratic Party have different views than those who vote Republican on the following climate risks: the likelihood of floods occurring, adopting protection measures, and expectations of disaster relief from the government. The study was jointly conducted by VU University in <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/earth-space-amsterdam/">Amsterdam</a>, Utrecht University School of Economics in The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=netherlands&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=7205a2e0d6b340a2a21adb4dd802cd50&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;elv=AY3%21uAY7tbNNZGZ2yiGNjfNhatJdGhLPZsFzwUkaW6Fhj0dto0zm5*YtANFgMvQHScN2kDjckN7P0h7k*xOQw3kfGg2y%21Zv0fxBmUUqF6ItY&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">Netherlands</a>, and the Center for Risk Management and Decision Processes at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA.</div>
<div>

The study, published today in Springer's journal Climatic Change, focused on the flood risk in New York City. Data was collected through a telephonic survey conducted six months after Superstorm Sandy. It included a random sample of 1,035 homeowners with ground level property in flood-prone areas of New York City. Respondents' political affiliation was determined by what political party they voted for in the November 2012 presidential election. Adaptation to climate risks: Political affiliation matters

Key findings:
<ul>
 	<li>Democrats' perception of their probability of experiencing flood damage is significantly higher than Republicans'. They are also more likely to expect climate change to increase the flood risk they face in the future.</li>
 	<li>Democrats are also more likely to invest in individual flood protection measures.</li>
 	<li>Less than half of Democrats and a third of Republicans trust the government to address the flood risk posed in their area of residence.</li>
 	<li>50% more Democrats than Republicans in the study expect to receive federal disaster relief after a major flood.</li>
 	<li>Interestingly, given the above, the researchers find no difference in flood insurance adoption.</li>
</ul>
"We knew Republicans and Democrats in the United States often perceive the risk of climate change differently. We now know they prepare for climate disasters differently, too. This finding has important implications," report Wouter Botzen and Erwann Michel-Kerjan, who co-led the study.

The authors suggest that flood risk awareness campaigns and policies be aimed at encouraging people to adopt preparedness and risk reduction measures and to purchase adequate insurance coverage, irrespective of their political ideology. The strengthening of building codes in NYC after Superstorm Sandy is a good example of how cities can limit damage from future floods, become more resilient, and limit the need for government disaster relief.

Reference: W. Botzen, E. Michel-Kerjan, H. Kunreuther, H. De Moel and J. Aerts (2016). Political affiliation affects adaptation to climate risks: Evidence from New York City, Climatic Change. DOI 10.1007/s10584-016-1735-9


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Adaptation to climate risks: Political affiliation matters

Adaptation to climate risks: Political affiliation matters. A new study...

<div class="img-wrapper">Melting Greenland ice sheet could release frozen Cold War-era waste. Camp Century, a U.S. military base built within the Greenland Ice Sheet in 1959, doubled as a top-secret site for testing the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from the Arctic during the Cold War. When the camp was decommissioned in 1967, its infrastructure and waste were abandoned under the assumption they would be entombed forever by perpetual snowfall.</div>
But climate change has warmed the Arctic more than any other region on Earth, and a new study finds the portion of the ice sheet covering Camp Century could start to melt by the end of the century. If the ice melts, the camp's infrastructure, as well as any remaining biological, chemical and radioactive waste, could re-enter the environment and potentially disrupt nearby ecosystems, according to the study's authors. Melting Greenland ice sheet could release frozen Cold War-era waste

Determining who is responsible for cleaning up the waste could also lead to political disputes not considered before, according to the study's authors.

"Two generations ago, people were interring waste in different areas of the world, and now climate change is modifying those sites," said William Colgan, a climate and glacier scientist at York University in Toronto, Canada, and lead author of the new study. "It's a new breed of political challenge we have to think about."

The new study was published today in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

The assumption that any waste could be buried forever under ice is unrealistic, according to James White, a climate scientist at the University of Colorado in Boulder, who was not connected to the study.

"The question is whether it's going to come out in hundreds of years, in thousands of years, or in tens of thousands of years," White said. "This stuff was going to come out anyway, but what climate change did was press the gas pedal to the floor and say, 'it's going to come out a lot faster than you thought.'"

During the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cold-war-spy-images-himalayan-melt/">Cold War</a>, U.S. military attention shifted to the Arctic -- the shortest route between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. In April 1951, the U.S. and Denmark agreed to defend Greenland, a Danish territory, from Soviet attack, and the U.S. built several air bases in Greenland that year.

In 1959, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">U.S</a>. Army Corps of Engineers built Camp Century 200 kilometers (125 miles) inland from the Greenland coast. Encased completely within the ice sheet, Camp Century became known as the "city under the ice."

The camp's official purpose was to test construction techniques in the Arctic and conduct scientific research. While in operation, the camp housed 85 to 200 soldiers and was powered by a nuclear reactor. Scientists at Camp Century took ice core samples providing climate data still cited in research today, Colgan said.

The camp also provided proof of concept for a top secret program to test the feasibility of building nuclear missile launch sites close enough to reach the Soviet Union. While never built, a larger planned camp based on the concept of Camp Century would have housed a 4,000-kilometer (2,500-mile) long tunnel system underneath the ice, capable of deploying up to 600 nuclear missiles.

Although the camp was built with Denmark's approval, the missile launch program, known as Project Iceworm, was kept secret from the Danish government. Several years after the camp became operational, Project Iceworm was rejected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the camp was decommissioned. The Army Corps of Engineers removed the nuclear reaction chamber but left the camp's infrastructure and all other waste behind, assuming the ice sheet would secure them forever. In the decades since, falling snow has buried the camp roughly 35 meters (115 feet) further underneath the ice.

In the new study, Colgan and his team took an inventory of the wastes at Camp Century and ran climate model simulations to determine whether the waste will stay put in a warming Arctic. The team analyzed historical U.S. army engineering documents to determine where and how deep the wastes were buried and how much the ice cap had moved since the 1950s.

"Looking at the data, we can see right where it's buried," says Mike MacFerrin, a CIRES researcher who is co-author on the paper. MacFerrin analyzed ground-penetrating radar from NASA's Operation IceBridge aircraft to pinpoint the camp's current location and depth. "The radar shows smooth layers of snow and ice until reaching the camp. Then the signal gets messy. We don't yet have enough detail to map exactly what all is down there, but the outline is clear."

The team found the waste at Camp Century covers 55 hectares (136 acres), roughly the size of 100 football fields. They estimate the site contains 200,000 liters (53,000 gallons) of diesel fuel, enough for a car to circle the globe 80 times. Based on building materials used in the Arctic at the time, the authors speculate the site contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pollutants toxic to human health. They also estimate the site has 240,000 liters (63,000 gallons) of waste water, including sewage, along with an unknown amount of radioactive coolant from the nuclear generator.

Looking at existing business-as-usual climate projections, the team determined the wastes would not remain encased in ice forever, as was assumed by both the U.S. and Denmark when the camp was abandoned. Instead, they could melt and re-enter the environment.

"When we looked at the climate simulations, they suggested that rather than perpetual snowfall, it seems that as early as 2090, the site could transition from net snowfall to net melt," Colgan said. "Once the site transitions from net snowfall to net melt, it's only a matter of time before the wastes melt out; it becomes irreversible."

Camp Century's waste presents a significant environmental hazard, according to the study's authors. When the ice melts, pollutants could be transported to the ocean, where they could disrupt marine ecosystems, Colgan said.

Based on ice sheet observations near Camp Century but at lower elevations, the camp's waste could be exposed sooner than the study's models predict, said Jennifer Mercer, a cryospheric scientist with the National Science Foundation who specializes in operations on the Greenland Ice Sheet and who was not connected to the study.

The study does not advocate for starting remediation activities at Camp Century now. The waste is buried tens of meters below the ice, and any cleanup activities would be costly and technically challenging, Colgan said.

"It really becomes a situation of waiting until the ice sheet has melted down to almost expose the wastes that anyone should advocate for site remediation," he said.

But the new study does raise questions about who is responsible for cleaning up the waste when it is exposed. International law is clear about responsibility for preventing future hazardous waste, but ambiguous about who is liable for waste already discarded, said Jessica Green, a political scientist specializing in international environmental law at New York University who was not connected to the study. Although Camp Century was a U.S. base, it is on Danish soil, and although Greenland is a Danish territory, it is now self-governing, she said.

The implications of climate change on politically ambiguous abandoned wastes have not been considered before, according to the study's authors.

"The study identifies a big hole in the extant set of laws and rules we have to deal with environmental problems globally," Green said.

Melting Greenland ice sheet could release frozen Cold War-era waste

Melting Greenland ice sheet could release frozen Cold War-era waste....

<div>Because the oceans absorb man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, its pH declines. Effects of this chemical change on tropical coral reefs can be examined in laboratory or short-term field experiments. However, a team led by Dr. Marlene Wall, marine biologist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, chose a different approach: In the framework of the German research network BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification), they examined corals of the genus Porites, which grow at volcanic carbon dioxide vents in Papua New Guinea and have become a dominant species there.</div>
<div>

"It is very difficult to foresee if tropical corals are able to survive global climate change. These organisms are very sensitive to a rise in water temperatures, ocean acidification and pollution", explains Dr. Wall. "The natural carbon dioxide vents give us the opportunity to study the scenario of the future already today. Previous studies have shown that Porites is among the winners. But up to now, no one knew how they manage."

Porites corals keep their internal pH at a level at which they are able to produce calcium carbonate and grow despite higher carbon dioxide concentrations and lower pH in the surrounding water - a significant advantage over many other species. In this way, they have established themselves under extreme conditions. "According to our observations, the pH regulation is a key feature when it comes to surviving under a lowered pH", emphasizes Dr. Wall. The findings about pH regulation in corals are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

To better understand the ability of pH regulation, the scientific team led by Dr. Wall examined corals using the boron isotope method. For these measurements, a laser is directed at the skeletons. Material that comes off during this procedure is analysed in a mass spectrometer. The isotopic composition of boron that is included in the skeleton reveals information on the coral's internal pH. "This method gives us new insights and allows for conclusions about the physiology of the coral skeleton at the time of calcification", says Dr. Jan Fietzke, a physicist at GEOMAR and co-author of the study. "You could say we look back into the future."

For the study described in the current publication, Fietzke examined the skeleton which had been formed a few days to weeks before sampling. Comparisons with pH measurements in the surrounding water proved that the boron isotopes reflected the internal pH of the coral and that it was different from the pH of the environment - pH regulation has taken place. Based on this knowledge, cores from several decades old corals are currently being evaluated. "So we can find out when and how quickly they have acclimatized."

By looking back to the future, the researchers found out that Porites corals have a remarkable ability to level their pH for decades and thereby counteract global climate change. "But we had to learn that regulation is only possible up to a certain degree. When carbon dioxide concentrations exceed values that are expected after the year 2100, calcification and growth are lower - and even the winner reaches its limit", according to Dr. Wall. "Our results prove how important it is to combine laboratory experiments with long-term field studies and observations. Controlled laboratory experiments provide an understanding of the pH control, but only in combination with field observations, they paint a more detailed picture about possible long-term consequences."
###
Original publication:

Wall, Marlene, Fietzke, J., Schmidt, G. M., Fink, A. Hofmann, L. C., de Beer, D., Fabricius, K. E. 2016: Internal pH regulation Facilitates in situ long-term acclimation of massive corals to end-of-century carbon dioxide conditions. Scientific Reports 6: 30688, doi: 10.1038 / srep30688

BIOACID in brief:

Under the umbrella of BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification), 10 institutions examine how marine ecosystems react to ocean acidification, how this affects the food web and the exchange of material and energy in the ocean and how the changes influence the socio-economic sector. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and coordinated by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. A list of member institutions and further information can be found on the website <a href="http://www.bioacid.de/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.bioacid.de</a>

Links:

<a href="http://www.geomar.de/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.geomar.de</a> GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

<a href="http://www.bioacid.de/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.bioacid.de</a> BIOACID - Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification

<a href="http://www.fwf.ac.at/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.fwf.ac.at</a> Fund for Scientific Research (FWF)

</div>

Can coral reefs resist a declining pH in a warming world?

Because the oceans absorb man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) from the...

Anthony DeLuze keeps his ancestors' traditions alive in 21st century Hawaii by growing the staple crop taro on a suburban plot sandwiched between wings of a sprawling shopping mall.Underground <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/navy-pink-turquoise-relaxation/">Navy</a> fuel tanks worry Hawaiian farmers causing a scene.
But the aquifer that hydrates the starchy vegetables sits under 20 enormous underground fuel tanks the Navy uses to store fuel for military ships and aircraft. One tank leaked tens of thousands of gallons of jet fuel into the ground in 2014, worrying DeLuze the tanks are a threat to his farm's natural springs and well.
The aquifer also supplies a quarter of the water consumed in urban Honolulu, which includes the tourist mecca Waikiki.Underground Navy fuel tanks worry Hawaiian farmers
DeLuze and Honolulu water utility officials want the Navy to move the World War II-era tanks away from the aquifer. But the Navy views them as a vital strategic asset that would be difficult to replicate elsewhere.
Plus, the Navy says the water is safe.
"It makes no sense to me that one of the biggest aquifers on this island has fuel sitting on top of it," DeLuze said. "Anything can happen - could have an earthquake, could be a disaster, and we're screwed."
Each of the underground fuel tanks is about 25 stories tall. The tanks sit in two rows of 10 inside a hill about 3 miles from Pearl Harbor. They hold a total of about 187 million gallons of fuel, providing the military with a vital fuel reserve in the Pacific. Two are currently out of service.
Navy Region Hawaii commander Rear Adm. John Fuller said the tanks are the last fully U.S.-owned fuel stop for forces en route from the West Coast and Hawaii to Asia and the Middle East.
"If we don't have the fuel to operate the forces, then we can't be present. We can't help our friends," Fuller said.
The Navy is working on a 20-year plan, codified in a signed agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Health Department, to upgrade the 70-year-old tanks and better prevent and detect leaks.
As part of the deal, the Navy is building four new wells to monitor groundwater for contaminants by the end of the year. This will add to the 10 monitoring wells it already has. The Navy conducts quarterly and monthly testing at these wells, said Capt. Dean Tufts, commanding officer of Naval Facilities and Engineering Command, Hawaii.
"Fuel is not moving toward drinking water sources. And fuel is not in the aquifer at all," Tufts told The Associated Press in an interview.
Officials with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, the city's water utility, say its water is safe to drink. But they point to Navy studies from the '80s through the late '90s showing petroleum hydrocarbon in the rocks underneath the tanks as a sign of the tanks' risks. They're worried about the possibility of an extremely large release of fuel due to a catastrophic event, in part because the tanks are so old.
As an island state, Hawaii can't import water from a neighbor if the fuel enters the water supply, said Ernest Lau, the utility's manager and chief engineer.
"We live on an island. Every drop of pure fresh water is precious to us," Lau said. He argues a better place for the tanks is about 20 miles west at Campbell Industrial Park, where a hard rock covering insulates the aquifer below.
Honolulu could install a treatment system to remove fuel contaminants, but that would be expensive, and ratepayers would have to foot the bill unless the utility could force the federal government to pay for it, Lau said.
The utility hasn't said how much it would cost to build a treatment system. But a 2010 Navy study estimated the price for installing one for the Navy's Red Hill shaft near the tanks would be between $46 million and $51 million. The study estimated the facility would cost $6 million to $7 million a year to operate.
Part of the difficulty is the uncertainty over where the leaked petroleum is heading and where future leaks might go.
Steve Linder, manager of the underground storage tanks program at the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA"> EPA</a> region that includes Hawaii, said data doesn't indicate alarming signs of fuel in the groundwater or show an imminent threat to drinking water supply wells.
But he said more research would provide certainty and comfort.
"That's what we're looking for - getting a higher degree of understanding, a higher degree of certainty so we can make more informed decisions about what needs to happen in terms of release prevention in the future and what needs to happen in terms of mitigation of a problem that may already exist," Linder said.
© 2016 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.

Underground Navy fuel tanks worry Hawaiian farmers

Anthony DeLuze keeps his ancestors' traditions alive in 21st century...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">Tropical Storm Omais seen in infrared light. Infrared data from NASA's Aqua satellite showed powerful thunderstorms in Tropical Storm Omais are wrapping around the center as it continues to consolidate.</div>
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared temperature data of the newly developed tropical storm on Aug. 4, 2016, at 8:10 a.m. EDT (12:10 p.m. UTC). The MODIS data showed cloud top temperatures as cold as minus 80 F (minus 62.2 C) in strong thunderstorms wrapped around the center of circulation. The largest area of thunderstorms stretches from the eastern to the southern quadrants of the storm. Temperatures that cold indicate strong uplift in the storm and cloud tops high into the troposphere. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=nasa&amp;cvid=0f07c3808ecb4bc9b024c826121e77c8&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">NASA</a> research has shown that <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/thunderstorms-and-dust-invade-the-bahamas/">storms</a> with cloud tops that cold have the ability to generate heavy rain.

At 11 a.m. EDT (3 p.m. UTC) on Aug. 5, Tropical Storm Omais' maximum sustained winds increased to near 57 mph (50 knots/92 kph). The storm developed quickly from a low pressure area into a tropical storm. Omais was centered near 22.8 degrees north latitude and 147.5 degrees east longitude, about 367 nautical miles east-southeast of Iwo To island, Japan. Omais has tracked north-northeastward at 14.9 mph (13 knots/24.05.5 kph) and is expected to continue in a northerly direction. Tropical Storm Omais seen in infrared light

Omais is exptected to move on a northerly track and strengthen to a typhoon by Aug. 6 after passing far to the east of the island of Iwo To, Japan. It is then expected to continue tracking in a northerly direction through the northwestern Pacific Ocean.


</div>
<div></div>

Tropical Storm Omais seen in infrared light

Tropical Storm Omais seen in infrared light. Infrared data from...

Environmentalists sued state agencies Wednesday to halt oil well injections into a federally protected aquifer near California's Central Coast.Environmentalists sue California over oil well injections and cause a scene.
<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=california&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=2e2c7b8e2f0d4c3f8131f4797b5c15ab&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">California</a> oil and gas regulators failed to assess environmental consequences before forwarding a so-called aquifer exemption to federal officials for final approval, the Center for Biological Diversity said in the lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.
The Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources in February signed off on granting the exemption to Freeport-McMoRan Oil &amp;Gas that would allow the oil company to inject steam and oil production wastewater into an aquifer beneath rolling hills that are also home to vineyards and homes a few miles outside <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/environmentalists-sue-california-over-oil-well-injections/">Pismo Beach</a>.
The exemption is the first the state has supported since regulators acknowledged lax oversight had allowed thousands of wells to pump oilfield fluids into protected aquifers. The wells inject steam and acid to loosen oil deposits or dispose of massive amounts of briny fluid and other waste, including chemicals, that comes out of oil production wells.
Attorney Maya Golden-Krasner, who filed the suit, disputes the state's finding that the injections wouldn't pollute drinking water and wants a thorough assessment conducted of potential environmental impact. About 100 wells within a mile of the oil field provide irrigation and drinking water and many residents are concerned about chemicals getting into their water.
"We're concerned if this flies through, the state is going to end up sacrificing dozens of aquifers and the state's groundwater without analyzing the consequences," Golden-Krasner said.
The state and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have come under fire from environmental groups and internally for failing to protect underground drinking water from oilfield contamination. The state has said it is committed to either shutting down the wells or approving exemptions for them.
Department of Conservation spokesman Donald Drysdale would not comment on pending litigation, but said the state is expediting efforts to get in compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Under the water-protection act, exemptions can only be granted if an aquifer is not used for drinking water or could not be used in the future.
In approving the exemption, the state said the aquifer beneath the oil field is not a current or future water source because it produces hydrocarbons. Further, it said fluids injected were not likely to migrate beyond the aquifer.
Golden-Krasner said the analysis was inadequate and that regulators had essentially rubber-stamped what oil company experts found. She said she is concerned because the approval didn't examine the impact on the aquifer from more than 300 new wells the company plans to drill to increase production.
An oil company representative said the suit appeared to lack any legal or factual foundation and represented a misunderstanding of the California Environmental Quality Act, which it said does not apply to interagency submissions such as the exemption petition.
"The Center for Biological Diversity has a well-established pattern and practice of filing meritless lawsuits simply to harass project proponents and to advance their openly stated goal of ending all oil production in the state of California," spokesman Eric Kinneberg said in a statement. "Today's petition appears to be nothing more than a continuation of this strategy."
---
This story has been corrected to show the name of the company is Freeport-McMoRan Oil &amp;Gas, not Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
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Environmentalists sue California over oil well injections

Environmentalists sued state agencies Wednesday to halt oil well injections...

<div>
<div class="img-wrapper">On Aug. 4 at 3:20 p.m. EDT (1920 UTC), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA's</a> Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Ivette. The image showed strong storms surrounded the low-level center of circulation and a thick band of powerful thunderstorms extended south of the center, while a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/birds-fragmented-forests-costa-rica/">fragmented</a> band was north of the center. Also Tropical Storm Ivette holding steady has shown.</div>
At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on Aug. 5 the center of Tropical Storm Ivette was located near 14.5 north latitude and 129.7 west longitude. Ivette is moving toward the west near 14 mph (22 kph). The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts a turn toward the west-northwest at a slightly slower forward speed by Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts. Some slight strengthening is possible during the next day or so.Tropical Storm Ivette holding steady

The low-level center remains exposed to the west and northwest of a loosely curved band of thunderstorms, due to westerly to northwesterly shear.

NHC forecaster Daniel Brown noted, "Although the [vertical wind] shear is not very strong, it appears the small size of the cyclone and perhaps some nearby dry mid-level air in combination with the shear have prevented intensification during the past day."

In two days, cooler waters and increased wind shear are expected to weaken Ivette. NHC forecasts Ivette to become a remnant low pressure area in four or five days.

For updates on Ivette, visit the NHC website at: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov</a>.


</div>
<div></div>

Tropical Storm Ivette holding steady

On Aug. 4 at 3:20 p.m. EDT (1920 UTC), the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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