Two remarkable objects orbiting low-mass stars have been detected in our cosmic vicinity. This fascinating discovery was confirmed through observations from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft.



Gaia’s primary mission is mapping stars, so its ability to detect these unusual star companions highlights its unexpected contributions to exoplanet research. 



The newly confirmed objects, Gaia-4b and Gaia-5b, challenge existing models of planet formation around low-mass stars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stars-with-hefty-companions">Stars with hefty companions</h2>



Gaia-4b, classified as a “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-jupiter-discovered-in-the-great-bear-constellation/">Super-Jupiter</a>,” orbits the star Gaia-4 roughly 244 light-years away. Gaia-5b - considered a brown dwarf - travels around Gaia-5, located about 134 light-years from Earth.



“Gaia-4b is about twelve times more massive than Jupiter. With an orbital period of 570 days, it is a relatively cold gas giant planet,” explained Guðmundur Stefánsson, an astronomer at the University of Amsterdam.



“With a mass of around 21 Jupiters, Gaia-5b is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brown-dwarfs-detected-outside-the-milky-way-for-the-first-time/">brown dwarf</a>, more massive than a planet but too light to sustain nuclear fusion to be a star.”



Typically, such hefty objects are rarely found around low-mass stars, prompting astronomers to question traditional theories of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-formation-new-insights-mechanics-physics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planet formation</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-wobbling-stars">Mapping the wobbling stars</h2>



Since its 2013 launch, <a href="https://earth.esa.int/eogateway">ESA</a>’s Gaia spacecraft has been constructing the largest and most detailed three-dimensional map of our Milky Way, charting the positions and movements of over two billion celestial objects. 



Central to these recent findings is Gaia’s specialty: astrometry, the precise tracking of stellar motion. By repeatedly scanning the sky with dual optical telescopes, Gaia detects the minute “wobble” a star exhibits if it’s influenced by an orbiting companion. 



In contrast to the transit method - which spots planets crossing in front of a star - astrometry is best suited to identifying massive objects in wide orbits, including Super-Jupiters and brown dwarfs that might otherwise be missed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-power-of-multiple-detection-methods">Power of multiple detection methods </h2>



“Gaia was repeatedly scanning these stars, building up an increasingly detailed picture over time,” Stefánsson said.&nbsp;



“In 2022, Gaia Data Release 3 included a list of stars that appear to be moving as though pulled by an exoplanet. Using ground-based spectroscopic data and the radial velocity technique to investigate these stars, we confirmed our first planet and our first brown dwarf.”



The research highlights how multiple detection methods can together reveal new celestial bodies and clarify their nature.



<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="cgpihgb49C-4304237-12187" type="single"]</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-intriguing-companions-to-modest-stars">Intriguing companions to modest stars</h2>



In the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/two-enormous-fermi-bubbles-discovered-towering-above-and-below-our-milky-way-galaxy/">Milky Way</a>, 75% of stars fall into the low-mass category, ranging from about 10% to 65% of the Sun’s mass. It's been considered unlikely for huge gas giants or brown dwarfs to form around such stars, as smaller stars possess less material in their protoplanetary disks - material from which planets coalesce.



“About 75% of the stars in the Milky Way are low-mass stars, and when massive planets do occur around them, they cause a larger wobble and therefore a stronger astrometric signature that is easier to detect,” noted Stefánsson.



Finding Gaia-4b and Gaia-5b orbiting stars of modest mass challenges this assumption, illustrating that even limited-mass stellar environments can produce exceptionally large companions.&nbsp;



This discovery encourages astronomers to refine or reconsider current models of how planets and brown dwarfs take shape, potentially exploring alternate scenarios - like disk instability or other yet-unknown processes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-milestone-in-exoplanet-studies">A milestone in exoplanet studies</h2>



Gaia-4b’s detection marks a milestone in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exoplanet-discovery-nasa-identifies-over-5500-distant-worlds/">exoplanet</a> studies, as it was confirmed using Gaia data exclusively.&nbsp;



Historically, exoplanet candidates emerged from a combination of Gaia findings and data from its predecessor, Hipparcos. Gaia’s increasing precision, however, allows researchers to spot these signal “wobbles” without additional satellite missions.



“Gaia has seen the telltale signs of known exoplanets before, but this time Gaia revealed an entirely new extrasolar world,” said Johannes Sahlmann, Gaia Project Scientist at ESA.



This accomplishment foreshadows the impact of future Gaia data releases, particularly in 2026, when a more extensive set of observations (spanning 5.5 years) is expected.&nbsp;



Astronomers anticipate hundreds or even thousands of discoveries, including not only gas giants and brown dwarfs but also smaller, rocky planets that challenge the limits of observational methods.



“This discovery is an exciting tip-of-the-iceberg for the exoplanet discoveries we can expect from Gaia in the future,” said ESA research fellow Matthew Standing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-era-in-exoplanetary-science">A new era in exoplanetary science</h2>



As the Gaia spacecraft continues its sky-mapping mission, astronomers stand on the cusp of a golden age in exoplanet research.&nbsp;



Upcoming data releases promise to unveil a broader spectrum of planetary systems, shedding light on how giant bodies form in environments once assumed too resource-poor to support them.



By providing continuous, highly accurate measurements of stars across the galaxy, Gaia is enabling scientists to piece together the puzzle of planetary system architectures - from small, dim red dwarfs to stars much larger than our Sun.&nbsp;



The mission is bound to disrupt long-standing theories, opening the door to new questions about how diverse exoplanetary systems can be and how nature assembles them.



Ultimately, these findings serve as a reminder that our universe remains brimming with surprises.&nbsp;



Image/ Video Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/M. Marcussen



-----



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Wobbling stars reveal giant companions

Two remarkable objects orbiting low-mass stars have been detected in our cosmic vicinity. This fascinating discovery was confirmed through observations from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft. Gaia’s primary mission is mapping stars, so its ability to detect these unusual star companions highlights its unexpected contributions to exoplanet research. The newly confirmed objects, Gaia-4b and Gaia-5b, challenge existing models of planet formation around low-mass stars. Stars with hefty companions Gaia-4b, classified as a “Super-Jupiter,” orbits the star Gaia-4 roughly 244 light-years away. Gaia-5b - considered a brown dwarf - travels around...

Carbon Dioxide

Republican Congress Moves To Block Obama's Clean Power Plan. Congressional Republicans are moving to block President Barack Obama's clean power plan to force steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Ed Whitfield say they will file resolutions early this week opposing Obama's plan to impose new regulations on new and existing coal-fired plants.
The two Kentucky Republicans were expected to file the challenges filed under the little-used Congressional Review Act, which allows <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/congress-moves-again-to-prevent-obama-from-protecting-water-quality/">Congress</a> to block executive actions with simply majority votes. The maneuver is subject to a presidential veto and has rarely been successful in overturning executive branch rules.Republican Congress Moves To Block Obama's Clean Power Plan
Still, it allows opponents to set up votes calculated to embarrass the Obama administration ahead of international climate talks in Paris this fall.
Republican senators are expected to tout the congressional challenge in a series of floor speeches starting Tuesday. One notable exception is New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who became the first GOP senator to support Obama's sweeping regulation that mandates carbon emissions cuts from the nation's power plants.
Ayotte, who is locked in a difficult re-election fight, said Sunday that the Clean Power Plan would "address climate change through clean-energy solutions that will protect our environment."
New Hampshire is already well on its way to meet the plans' goals, Ayotte said, adding that she would monitor the plan to ensure it does not have an adverse impact on state energy costs.
McConnell said in a statement that the regulations being imposed under the Clean Power Plan "make it clearer than ever that the president and his administration have gone too far - and that Congress should act to stop this regulatory assault."
The administration's "crusade for ideological purity" threatens the livelihoods of coal miners and their families in Kentucky and other states, McConnell said.
"These are Kentuckians who just want to work, provide for their families and deliver the type of low-cost energy that attracts more jobs to Kentucky. And coal is what allows so many of them do all that," he said.
The congressional resolutions follow court challenges filed Friday by industry groups and states dependent on fossil fuels. The challenges from all but two of the 25 states were filed by Republicans. They deride the plan as an "unlawful power grab by Washington bureaucrats" that will kill coal mining jobs and drive up electricity costs.
The Obama administration and environmental groups counter that the rules are needed to cut carbon emissions while curbing the worst impacts of climate change and sea-level rise. They also say the plan will spur new clean-energy jobs.
The new rules require states to cut carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030, based on emissions in 2005. Each state has a customized target and is responsible for drawing up an effective plan to meet its goal.
The EPA says it has authority to enact the plan under the Clean Air Act.
Follow Matthew Daly: <a href="http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC</a>
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Republican Congress Moves To Block Obama's Clean Power Plan

Republican Congress Moves To Block Obama's Clean Power Plan. Congressional...

Ancient Permafrost Quickly Transforms To Carbon Dioxide Upon Thawing. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and key academic partners including the University of Colorado <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/western-u-s-wildfires-will-increase-the-threat-of-dangerous-debris-flows/">Boulder</a> have quantified how rapidly ancient permafrost decomposes upon thawing and how much carbon dioxide is produced in the process.

Huge stores of organic carbon in permafrost soils -- frozen for hundreds to tens of thousands of years across high northern latitudes worldwide -- are currently isolated from the modern day carbon cycle. However, if thawed by changing climate conditions, wildfire, or other disturbances, this massive carbon reservoir could decompose and be emitted as the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane, or be carried as dissolved organic carbon to streams and rivers.

"Many scientists worldwide are now investigating the complicated potential end results of thawing permafrost," said Rob Striegl, USGS scientist and study co-author. "There are critical questions to consider, such as: How much of the stored permafrost carbon might thaw in a future climate? Where will it go? And, what are the consequences for our climate and our aquatic ecosystems?"

At a newly excavated tunnel operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers near Fairbanks, Alaska, a research team from USGS, CU-Boulder and and Florida State University set out to determine how rapidly the dissolved organic carbon from ancient (about 35,000 years old) "yedoma" soils decomposes upon soil thaw and how much carbon dioxide is produced.

Yedoma is a distinct type of permafrost soil found across Alaska and Siberia that accounts for a significant portion of the permafrost soil carbon pool. These soils were deposited as wind-blown silts in the late Pleistocene age and froze soon after they were formed.

"It had previously been assumed that permafrost soil carbon this old was already degraded and not susceptible to rapid decomposition upon thaw," said Kim Wickland, the USGS scientist who led the team.

The researchers found that more than half of the dissolved organic carbon in yedoma permafrost was decomposed within one week after thawing. About 50 percent of that carbon was converted to carbon dioxide, while the rest likely became microbial biomass.

"What this study adds is that we show what makes permafrost so biodegradable," said Travis Drake, the lead author of the research. "Immediately upon thaw, microbes start using the carbon and then it is sent back into the atmosphere." Drake was both a USGS employee and a master's degree student at CU-Boulder during the investigation.

The researchers attribute this rapid decomposition to high concentrations of low molecular weight organic acids in the dissolved organic carbon, which are known to be easily degradable and are not usually present at high concentrations in other soils. Ancient Permafrost Quickly Transforms To Carbon Dioxide Upon Thawing

These rates are among the fastest permafrost decomposition rates that have been documented. It is the first study to link rapid microbial consumption of ancient permafrost soil-derived dissolved organic carbon to the production of carbon dioxide.

An important implication of the study for aquatic ecosystems is that dissolved organic carbon released by thawing yedoma permafrost will be quickly converted to carbon dioxide and emitted to the atmosphere from soils or small streams before it can be transported to major rivers or coastal regions.

---

<a href="http://www.colorado.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Colorado Boulder</a>

Ancient Permafrost Quickly Transforms To Carbon Dioxide Upon Thawing

Ancient Permafrost Quickly Transforms To Carbon Dioxide Upon Thawing. Researchers...

Coral Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously Thought. Gulf coral damage from the massive BP oil spill is more extensive than previously thought, according to a new study that revealed sick and dying corals in the rich, deep-water <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=enviorment&amp;cvid=319258dbcb644718b586066e7c29e4d0&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">environment</a> off the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi known as the Pinnacles.
Using remotely operated submarines, researchers explored the Pinnacle Reef in September 2011 and found more than 400 coral colonies were injured. <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-great-barrier-reef-has-lost-half-its-corals-in-two-decades/">Corals</a> - such as sea whips, sea fans and black corals - were covered in a scum of dead tissues and oily residue. Some showed severe damage, such as bare skeletons and missing branches.Coral Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously Thought
These colonies are found about 35 miles to 68 miles to the north of BP PLC's blown-out well, which spewed more than 130 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Previous discoveries of coral damage were found south of the BP well and in much deeper water. The coral in the Pinnacles live about 200 feet under the water surface.
The Pinnacles is a rocky outcropping on the Continental Shelf about 70 miles off the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.
The study was conducted by a team of Florida State University researchers and federal scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was also done as part of the work to assess damage from the spill, the so-called natural resources damage assessment. The study is set to be published in Deep-Sea Research, an oceanography journal.
The paper said the damaged coral showed signs of injury from an "acute, isolated event rather than ongoing natural processes." It based this conclusion on previous explorations that looked at the corals between 1997 and 1999, which found the corals were mostly healthy.
"We saw many injured colonies," said Ian MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University. He is one of the authors of the study.
He believes a much larger area of the Pinnacles most likely suffered similar damage.
"The area we have looked at so far is only the tip of the iceberg," he said.
The researchers believe oil floating over the Pinnacles was sprayed with chemical dispersants, which led to oil sinking and contaminating the reef. The paper also says a tropical storm that passed over the area during summer 2010 churned up the sea and caused oil to reach the corals.
"It is a new region and a new ecosystem showing impact," said Erik Cordes, a deep-sea marine scientist familiar with the Pinnacles Reef study. He's been involved with teams looking at coral damage closer to the site of the BP blowout.
"We'll have to monitor it over time," Cordes said.
Even though more than five years have passed since the spill, scientists are still locked in studies to figure out where the oil went and what effects it had on the Gulf ecosystem.
MacDonald said one way to protect the reef from further damage would be to designate it as a protected marine sanctuary.
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Coral Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously Thought

Coral Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously...

Coral Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously Thought. Gulf coral damage from the massive BP oil spill is more extensive than previously thought, according to a new study that revealed sick and dying corals in the rich, deep-water environment off the coasts of <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tornado-track-tuscaloosa-alabama/">Alabama</a> and Mississippi known as the Pinnacles.
Using remotely operated submarines, researchers explored the Pinnacle Reef in September 2011 and found more than 400 coral colonies were injured. Corals - such as sea whips, sea fans and black corals - were covered in a scum of dead tissues and oily residue. Some showed severe damage, such as bare skeletons and missing branches. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=coral&amp;cvid=e638910df970478fa44cf0030b081ad9&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Coral</a> Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously Thought
These colonies are found about 35 miles to 68 miles to the north of BP PLC's blown-out well, which spewed more than 130 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Previous discoveries of coral damage were found south of the BP well and in much deeper water. The coral in the Pinnacles live about 200 feet under the water surface.
The Pinnacles is a rocky outcropping on the Continental Shelf about 70 miles off the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.
The study was conducted by a team of Florida State University researchers and federal scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was also done as part of the work to assess damage from the spill, the so-called natural resources damage assessment. The study is set to be published in Deep-Sea Research, an oceanography journal.
The paper said the damaged coral showed signs of injury from an "acute, isolated event rather than ongoing natural processes." It based this conclusion on previous explorations that looked at the corals between 1997 and 1999, which found the corals were mostly healthy.
"We saw many injured colonies," said Ian MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University. He is one of the authors of the study.
He believes a much larger area of the Pinnacles most likely suffered similar damage.
"The area we have looked at so far is only the tip of the iceberg," he said.
The researchers believe oil floating over the Pinnacles was sprayed with chemical dispersants, which led to oil sinking and contaminating the reef. The paper also says a tropical storm that passed over the area during summer 2010 churned up the sea and caused oil to reach the corals.
"It is a new region and a new ecosystem showing impact," said Erik Cordes, a deep-sea marine scientist familiar with the Pinnacles Reef study. He's been involved with teams looking at coral damage closer to the site of the BP blowout.
"We'll have to monitor it over time," Cordes said.
Even though more than five years have passed since the spill, scientists are still locked in studies to figure out where the oil went and what effects it had on the Gulf ecosystem.
MacDonald said one way to protect the reef from further damage would be to designate it as a protected marine sanctuary.
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Feds: Efforts To Block Greater Sage Grouse Protection Is Dangerous. Attempts by rural Nevada counties, mining companies and others to block new U.S. policies intended to protect the greater sage grouse could backfire on the critics and ultimately force the reconsideration of a recent decision to keep the bird off the list of endangered species, federal land managers warn.
Justice Department lawyers representing three U.S. agencies say it took an unprecedented effort by officials in 11 western states from <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=california&amp;cvid=789232de7ee341cda75f43dc3068a27a&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">California</a> to the Dakotas to persuade the Fish and Wildlife Service last month to reverse its 2010 conclusion that protection of the grouse was warranted under the Endangered Species Act.
The new finding was based on assumptions that added protections in the land-planning amendments being challenged will be carried out to ensure the grouse no longer is threatened with extinction, they said in a brief filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Reno.
Any injunction blocking implementation would "diminish the protections for sage grouse ... undo four years of collaboration and could undermine FWS' finding," U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden wrote.
U.S. District Judge Miranda Du has set a hearing for Nov. 12 in Reno to consider granting a preliminary injunction blocking the amendments.
Elko and Eureka counties and others filed the lawsuit on Sept. 23 - the day after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced the listing decision. The Wyoming Stock Growers Association also is suing in federal court there, and Idaho's governor has signed onto a separate lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.
The Nevada lawsuit says the plans could run mining companies and ranchers out of business, block construction of a wind energy project that could bring Elko County $500 million and deny firefighters and law officers access to existing roads during emergencies.
Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt added his name to the lawsuit last week - over the objections of Gov. Brian Sandoval - along with Churchill, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Pershing and Washoe counties in the state.
The government, in its first formal response, says the opponents misrepresent and exaggerate the potential effects. It says they have proven no irreparable harm and are challenging prematurely the planning-level amendments that offer guidelines but render no specific decisions on individual grazing, mining or other federal permits.
"They allege speculative injuries that will come to pass, if at all, only after future site-specific decisions are made," Bogden wrote. He especially challenged claims the protections could restrict use of thousands of miles of existing roads and threaten public safety by inhibiting the travel of emergency responders.
"The amendments do not close any existing routes," Bogden wrote. "But even if they did, the agencies' regulations exempt emergency vehicles from OHV (off-highway vehicle) restrictions."
The lawsuit accuses the government of "attempting a massive management change" for more than 20 million acres of public land in Nevada without proper environmental review - nearly 3 million acres where new mining claims are prohibited for at least two years and more than 16 million acres subject to what the lawsuit calls onerous travel restrictions.
The two-year freeze on some new mining claims was triggered by Jewell's proposal last month to withdraw 10 million acres of public lands in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming under the 1872 Mining Law, which was passed then to encourage the development of lands in the western U.S.
But Bogden said the proposed withdrawal is subject to "valid existing rights and has no immediate effect on mining operations." It's subject to public comment through Dec. 23.
Likewise, nothing in the guidelines themselves would prevent <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/scientists-reconstruct-66-million-year-record-of-earths-climate/">construction</a> of the $500 million China Mountain Wind Energy Project in Elko County, he said. "Elko's County's speculation that ultimately it will not be approved is not an imminent injury," Bogden said.
The lawsuit says the government inappropriately dismissed Elko County's plan to increase livestock grazing as a way to bolster grouse habitat by slowing the growth of vegetation that fuel wildfires. But Bogden said there is "no scientific evidence to support a correlation between increased grazing and improved sage grouse habitat."Feds: Efforts To Block Greater Sage Grouse Protection Is Dangerous
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Feds: Efforts To Block Greater Sage Grouse Protection Is Dangerous

Feds: Efforts To Block Greater Sage Grouse Protection Is Dangerous....

Coral Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously ThoughtGulf coral damage from the massive BP oil spill is more extensive than previously thought, according to a new study that revealed sick and dying corals in the rich, deep-water environment off the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi known as the Pinnacles.
Using remotely operated submarines, researchers explored the Pinnacle Reef in September 2011 and found more than 400 coral colonies were injured. Corals - such as sea whips, sea fans and black corals - were covered in a scum of dead tissues and oily residue. Some showed severe damage, such as bare skeletons and missing branches. Coral Damage From BP Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Previously Thought
These colonies are found about 35 miles to 68 miles to the north of BP PLC's blown-out well, which spewed more than 130 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/experts-track-the-flow-of-nutrients-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/">Mexico i</a>n 2010. Previous discoveries of coral damage were found south of the BP well and in much deeper water. The coral in the Pinnacles live about 200 feet under the water surface.
The Pinnacles is a rocky outcropping on the Continental Shelf about 70 miles off the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.
The study was conducted by a team of Florida State University researchers and federal scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was also done as part of the work to assess damage from the spill, the so-called natural resources damage assessment. The study is set to be published in Deep-Sea Research, an oceanography journal.
The paper said the damaged coral showed signs of injury from an "acute, isolated event rather than ongoing natural processes." It based this conclusion on previous explorations that looked at the corals between 1997 and 1999, which found the corals were mostly healthy.
"We saw many injured colonies," said Ian MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University. He is one of the authors of the study.
He believes a much larger area of the Pinnacles most likely suffered similar damage.
"The area we have looked at so far is only the tip of the iceberg," he said.
The researchers believe oil floating over the Pinnacles was sprayed with chemical dispersants, which led to oil sinking and contaminating the reef. The paper also says a tropical storm that passed over the area during summer 2010 churned up the sea and caused oil to reach the corals.
"It is a new region and a new ecosystem showing impact," said Erik Cordes, a deep-sea marine scientist familiar with the Pinnacles Reef study. He's been involved with teams looking at coral damage closer to the site of the BP blowout.
"We'll have to monitor it over time," Cordes said.
Even though more than five years have passed since the spill, scientists are still locked in studies to figure out where the oil went and what effects it had on the Gulf ecosystem.
MacDonald said one way to protect the reef from further damage would be to designate it as a protected marine sanctuary.
© 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.

California Drought-Owens Valley

Water Flows Again In Los Angeles Aqueduct. Water in the Los Angeles aqueduct that helped fuel Los Angeles' growth was flowing toward the city Wednesday for the first time in six months after workers removed an earthen and concrete dam that had diverted runoff to the parched Owens Valley.
With little mountain runoff due to a historic drought, water managers made the unprecedented decision to try to meet legal obligations to keep the Owens River flowing, control dust from a dry lake bed and irrigate pastures where cattle graze instead of sending water to the city.
For those in the Owens Valley, who have a history of conflict with the metropolis hundreds of miles to the south, the plugged-up aqueduct brought relief to some and misery to others.
Cattleman Mark Lacey got a taste of both.
In the southern end of the valley this summer where the Department of Water and Power mostly fulfilled irrigation contracts, Lacey's cattle grazed amid an oasis as cool, clear water poured onto verdant fields framed by barbed wire.
About 100 miles north, where DWP cut off irrigation, the land he leases turned dry and dusty.
Lacey had to lay off some ranch hands and he trucked a third of his cattle to Nebraska and sent another third to greener pastures in Nevada and Oregon.
Like others in California's massive agriculture industry, Owens Valley ranchers are subject to complex water rights and largely dependent on snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada that looms nearby.


[caption id="attachment_2385718" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/10/28101839/la-aqueduct-dam_1big_ap.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2385718" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/10/28101839/la-aqueduct-dam_1big_ap-150x150.jpg" alt="Crews remove a temporary dam they built in the Los Angeles aqueduct" width="150" height="150" /></a> Crews remove a temporary dam they built in the Los Angeles aqueduct[/caption]
Unlike most farmers, though, they are also at the mercy of Los Angeles, which looms even larger. LA owns most of the water rights it furtively bought in the early 1900s in a widely chronicled land grab loosely recounted in the movie "Chinatown."
William Mulholland conceived the gravity-fed channel to slake the growing city's thirst and famously quipped, "There it is. Take it," as water first flowed into LA 102 years ago.
There was no such declaration Tuesday as workers used an excavator to begin dismantling the temporary dam.
The aqueduct's contribution to Los Angeles has diminished over time, given legal fights over the environment and greater reliance on the California Water Project and the Colorado River.
The 338-mile aqueduct system typically provides about a third of the city's water, it but it can supply a larger share after a wet and snowy winter, which forecasters are predicting in the months ahead because of El Nino.
The aqueduct will only account for about 3 percent of this year's water because of the drought, said aqueduct manager Jim Yannotta. The flow is being restored because irrigation season is over and legal obligations in the Owens Valley have expired for the year.
The relationship between the locals and the "the city," as LA is called in this rural patch of high desert, has been fraught with conflict that intensified this spring when the Department of Water and Power announced that the historic low snow levels would force it to shut off irrigation water.
"There's a little bit of animosity toward DWP that wasn't there a few years ago," Lacey said. "When you get desperate times, it creates heightened tension."
Ranchers had agreed to make concessions, but DWP rejected them.
After some late spring rains, the department reversed course and said it would not send water to LA, but would dam the aqueduct and keep runoff in the Owens Valley.
DWP is required by court settlements to provide water to the Owens River and dampen the desiccated Owens Lake to control unhealthy dust that has blown since its waters were siphoned south.
<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/improved-air-quality-during-lockdowns-saved-tens-of-thousands-of-lives/">Air quality</a> regulators and environmental groups agreed to take less water from DWP for dust control and habitat protection so ranchers in Inyo County could water their pastures. Ranchers in Mono County, however, lost out because there's no legal settlement protecting their water supply.
Nathan Reade, the agriculture commissioner for Inyo and Mono counties, said shutting off the spigot to everyone would have devastated the farming industry in the area. Water Flows Again In Los Angeles Aqueduct
Farm production from the two counties barely registers a blip in the state's overall farm economy, but ranching has long been a way of life in a place that provided a backdrop for westerns starring Roy Rogers, John Wayne and Gary Cooper, and featuring the pluck of the Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy.
Cattle forage on the valley floor in winter and chomp on irrigated pasture in summer. Some ranchers drive their cattle up to federal land in the mountains in summer, which is how Scott Kemp managed to keep much of his herd nourished despite water cutbacks.
The state's drought had already forced farmers to cut herd sizes. Reade estimated livestock has been reduced 40 percent to 50 percent in recent years.
Unlike row and tree crops, livestock is mobile.
Gary Giacomini, who lost most of his grazing land this summer when the Department of Water and Power cut off irrigation in Mono County, paid another rancher to let his cattle graze.
Even after reducing herd sizes significantly, ranchers have been helped by high beef prices.
Giacomini said the predicament reminded him of one of his father-in-law's sayings.
"His dad told him, 'God never intended us to have a good market and good feed at the same time,'" he said. "I guess that premise has held through the generations."
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Water Flows Again In Los Angeles Aqueduct

Water Flows Again In Los Angeles Aqueduct. Water in the...

Consistent Haze Is Reducing Solar Radiation In China. Haze due to weak winds and air pollution is reducing surface solar radiation in China, which has major consequences for the climate, the environment and the economy. These are the findings of a research report now being published in Scientific Reports. An international team of researchers including those from the University of Gothenburg is behind the study. Consistent Haze Is Reducing Solar Radiation In China

In the world as a whole, surface solar radiation has increased since 1990, although in China, it has decreased.

Slowing winds increase air pollution

In the study, long-term historical meteorological data were combined with relatively short measurements of air pollution particles in China in an innovative way to clarify interactions among the solar radiation, surface wind and air pollution.

The studies have found that lower solar surface radiation in China is due to a combination of higher air pollution in the area and lower surface winds in China. As in other areas in the northern hemisphere, the surface wind in China has been weakened in recent decades. When the wind slows down, the concentration of small particles of air pollution (aerosols) increase, which help increase haze and leads to solar dimming in the area.

"Mapping the link between solar surface radiation and air pollution is significant since the relationship is heavily masked by clouds which play a major role in affecting solar surface radiation," says Deliang Chen, Professor of Physical Meteorology at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg and co-author of the research article.

More solar dimming with slowing winds

The research reveals that the solar dimming due to air pollution increased significantly during the day in polluted areas in China, when wind speed was lower than 3.5 metres per second.

The study also shows that 20 per cent of the reduced surface solar radiation in China is due to the concentration of small particles of air pollution (aerosols), which is in turn strengthened by 20 per cent by low wind speed.

The effect of solar dimming is a lower influx of sunlight that affects photosynthesis, among other things, and has profound consequences for the climate, the environment and the economy.

"It was a successful cooperation between colleagues from the US, China and Sweden. I am happy that we succeeded in providing a quantitative estimate of the effect of air pollutant on surface solar radiation in interaction with wind," says Changgui Lin, the leading author of the article and researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg.

---

<a href="http://www.gu.se/english" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Gothenburg</a>

Consistent Haze Is Reducing Solar Radiation In China

Consistent Haze Is Reducing Solar Radiation In China. Haze due...

Consistent Haze Is Reducing Solar Radiation In China. Haze due to weak winds and air pollution is reducing surface solar radiation in China, which has major consequences for the climate, the environment and the economy. These are the findings of a research report now being published in Scientific Reports. An international team of researchers including those from the University of Gothenburg is behind the study.

In the world as a whole, surface solar radiation has increased since 1990, although in China, it has decreased.Consistent Haze Is Reducing Solar Radiation In China

Slowing winds increase air pollution

In the study, long-term historical meteorological data were combined with relatively short measurements of air pollution particles in China in an innovative way to clarify interactions among the solar radiation, surface wind and air pollution.

The studies have found that lower solar surface radiation in China is due to a combination of higher air pollution in the area and lower surface winds in China. As in other areas in the northern hemisphere, the surface wind in China has been weakened in recent decades. When the wind slows down, the concentration of small particles of air pollution (aerosols) increase, which help increase haze and leads to solar dimming in the area.

"Mapping the link between solar surface radiation and air pollution is significant since the relationship is heavily masked by clouds which play a major role in affecting solar surface radiation," says Deliang Chen, Professor of Physical Meteorology at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg and co-author of the research article.

More solar dimming with slowing winds

The research reveals that the solar dimming due to air pollution increased significantly during the day in polluted areas in China, when wind speed was lower than 3.5 metres per second.

The study also shows that 20 per cent of the reduced surface solar radiation in China is due to the concentration of small particles of air pollution (aerosols), which is in turn strengthened by 20 per cent by low wind speed.

The effect of solar dimming is a lower <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/alien-species-will-increase-by-the-thousands-over-the-next-three-decades/">influx</a> of sunlight that affects photosynthesis, among other things, and has profound consequences for the climate, the environment and the economy.

"It was a successful cooperation between colleagues from the US, China and Sweden. I am happy that we succeeded in providing a quantitative estimate of the effect of air pollutant on surface solar radiation in interaction with wind," says Changgui Lin, the leading author of the article and researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg.

---

<a href="http://www.gu.se/english" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Gothenburg</a>

<div class="section">

Study: Greenland Ice Sheet Moves More Slowly As Ice Melts Faster. It may seem counter intuitive, but satellite data suggest that part of the Greenland ice sheet moves more slowly if the surface of the ice melts faster.

Greenland is losing vast quantities of ice to the ocean, raising sea levels. Icebergs calving from the edge of the ice sheet account for around half of this loss and the other half is because of surface melt. Study: Greenland Ice Sheet Moves More Slowly As Ice Melts Faster

Once the surface of the ice melts, however, what follows is rather complex.

The Greenland ice sheet is always on the move, flowing under its own weight.

[caption id="attachment_2385739" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/10/28154521/Greenland_ice_hydrology_1big_ESA.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2385739" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/10/28154521/Greenland_ice_hydrology_1big_ESA-150x150.jpg" alt="Greenland ice hydrology" width="150" height="150" /></a> Greenland ice hydrology[/caption]

This flow towards the ocean is controlled by several factors, but how surface meltwater drains through the 3 km-thick sheet to the ground below and the effect this has on the speed of ice flow is poorly understood.

</div>
<div id="s_1" class="section">

To shed more light on what’s going on scientists from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, the Université Savoie Mont-Blanc in France and the University of Sheffield in the UK have studied 30 years of Landsat data.

They investigated if increased surface meltwater increased the flow of ice to the ocean by lubricating the bed at the base of the ice, or if increased meltwater decreased the flow by modifying the bed.

By tracking the movement of stable features such as crevasses in satellite images taken every year from 1985 to 2014, they mapped annual ice speed and compared it with meltwater produced on the surface.
<div id="s_2" class="section">

Their findings, published today in <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v526/n7575/full/nature15722.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nature</a>, show that surface melt slows the ice flow when it terminates on land<a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Melting_slows_Greenland_ice_flow" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">.</a>

[caption id="attachment_2385738" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/10/28154518/greenland-Watery_surface_1big_esa.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2385738" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/10/28154518/greenland-Watery_surface_1big_esa-150x150.jpg" alt="Watery surface" width="150" height="150" /></a> Watery surface[/caption]

In summer, snow and ice at the surface melt and the water drains to the bed of the ice sheet, lubricating the base so that the ice slides more quickly. However, the meltwater also establishes efficient drainage systems beneath the ice, draining the meltwater away.

The team found that there was a clear regional slowdown of land-terminating ice in a period when surface meltwater rose by 50%. The reduced lubrication, caused by better meltwater drainage from several years of high-melt summers, appears to be responsible for the slowdown.

</div>
<div id="s_3" class="section">

Andrew Tedstone from the University of Edinburgh said, “Our investigations suggest that the efficiency of these drainage systems is greater after summers of stronger melting.

“The melting actually reduces the lubrication at the ice sheet base during the following winter – causing winter ice flow to be slower after a warmer summer.

“The results show that since 2002, the flow of an 8000 sq km land-terminating sector of the Greenland ice sheet has slowed down despite an increase in surface melting.”

Noel Gourmelen from the University of Edinburgh added, “It is unclear how much more slowdown we will see under the current and future melting conditions. More research and observations are needed to determine this.”

Their findings suggest that further increases in melting will not cause these land-terminating margins of the ice to speed up. This knowledge will help to predict future contributions that ice sheets make to sea-level change in a warming climate.

It is clear, however, that more research is needed to understand the processes that control the speed of glaciers terminating in the ocean.

Peter Nienow, also from the University of Edinburgh, noted, “While these results may be viewed as a modicum of good news for the Greenland ice sheet, the ongoing acceleration of both glacier surface melt-volumes and ice-motion of ocean-terminating glaciers ensures that its contribution to sea level rise is likely to increase in our warming world.”

Noel Gourmelen added, “We would not have been able to do this research without the free and open access to Landsat data provided by ESA.”

---

<a href="http://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">European Space Agency</a>

</div>
</div>

Study: Greenland Ice Sheet Moves More Slowly As Ice Melts Faster

Study: Greenland Ice Sheet Moves More Slowly As Ice Melts...

Texas Is Also Suffering From Increased Threatening Wildfires. Larger, more threatening wildfires are occurring at greater rates as Texas faces lingering drought, consistent development - driven by millions of new residents and the spread of outlying suburbs - and changes in how the state's land is used.
Texas had 157,000 wildfires over a nine-year period ending in 2014, said Mark Stanford, fire chief of the Texas A&amp;M Forest Service. Nearly 80 percent of those fires raged within 2 miles of a community, he said.
"When I started, that was unheard of," Stanford said. "Wildfires were a rural problem and not really a threat to communities."
Now those threats have turned perennial amid drought and development in areas that had been mostly rural. The latest danger erupted this month when the Hidden Pines fire in Central Texas' Bastrop County burned nearly 5,000 acres and destroyed 77 buildings, including 64 homes, according to the forest service. Flames threatened another 95 homes.
The forest service responded to just one wildfire of at least 5,000 acres from 1985 to 2000, but in the last 15 years there have been fires of that size nearly every year. There were 27 fires at least that size in 2008 and 76 in 2011.
Four years ago, the Bastrop County Complex wildfire that destroyed more than 1,650 homes proved to be the most destructive in Texas history.
With the state population steadily growing - from about 21 million in 2000 to 27 million now - Stanford said a concern for public safety officials is people moving beyond the suburbs and into areas where brush, trees and other vegetation can fuel flames.
"I'm not slamming people who want their piece of Texas heaven," he said, adding that "people see the losses that have occurred and want to do something about it."
He said state programs such as community wildfire protection plans must be encouraged to minimize fire threats.
Texas' landscape has a much different appearance today compared to past decades, said Tom "Andy" Vestal, emergency services coordinator for Texas A&amp;M AgriLife Extension Service. He said it's one prone to inflating fires rather than containing them.
In Texas Hill Country, for example, much of the land used to be reserved for cattle and other animals that munched on the vegetation, Vestal said.
"Land use over the past two decades has changed enormously," he said. "There are fewer grazing animals out in those rural environments."
With the addition of housing and other developments, the vegetation is left to grow and be more vulnerable to fires.Texas Is Also Suffering From Increased Threatening Wildfires
Stanford said the state's intensive agricultural practices once did a lot to prevent large wildfires. But agriculture as an economic and land-management practice has faded in parts of Texas.
"The public generally likes to look at nature as this static picture that never changes," Stanford said. "And it's actually very dynamic."
Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/august-complex-fire-has-become-the-largest-in-californias-history/">California</a> Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said California is experiencing the same trends as Texas: more people in rural areas building among the trees, little rain and soaring temperatures that can intensify fires.
This year alone, 8,000 wildfires have spread across 825,000 acres in California. "The wildfire season here won't let up," Tolmachoff said.
She said wildfire season traditionally ran from around June to October, but has more recently expanded by more than two months.
Texas, California and other states need greater promotion of prescribed burns, said Robin Verble, an assistant professor of fire ecology at Texas Tech University. She said Texas has taken a progressive approach in allowing landowners greater latitude in using controlled burns to minimize vegetation.
"More prescribed fire means less wildfire," she said.
© 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.

Texas Is Also Suffering From Increased Threatening Wildfires

Texas Is Also Suffering From Increased Threatening Wildfires. Larger, more...

NASA's TIMED Mission Finds Unexpected Trends In Carbon Data. NASA’s TIMED mission, short for Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics, has confirmed a surprisingly fast carbon dioxide increase in Earth’s upper atmosphere, raising questions about how different layers of the atmosphere are interconnected. Even more curious—though climate models predict carbon dioxide should increase more or less equally across the globe, in its 14 years of data collection, TIMED observed a much faster increase of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-carbon-dioxide-sink/">carbon dioxide</a> above the Northern Hemisphere.

Understanding the way carbon dioxide moves throughout the atmosphere is key, both for making accurate climate models and for planning spacecraft flight paths. Though carbon dioxide raises temperatures near Earth’s surface, it actually causes cooling in the upper atmosphere, reducing air density in these outermost reaches of the atmosphere and impacting spacecraft orbits. NASA's TIMED Mission Finds Unexpected Trends In Carbon Data

This study, published in Geophysical Research Letters on Sept. 5, 2015, uses 14 years of data from a radiometer on board the TIMED satellite, the first satellite capable of making long-term measurements of carbon dioxide concentration in the upper atmosphere when it launched in 2001.

“Before TIMED, the only measurements of carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere were direct measurements from sounding rocket research flights and short-lived spaceborne sensors,” said Jia Yue, a researcher at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, and lead author on the study. “But it’s impossible to study long-term trends from snapshots.”

Carbon dioxide is being poured into the atmosphere by human activities, like the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. A 5 percent per decade increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the lower atmosphere is confirmed by some 56 years of measurements at Earth’s surface. But in the upper atmosphere, the increase in carbon dioxide concentration was observed reaching rates of 12 percent per decade around 70 miles above the surface.

Furthermore, they discovered that the carbon dioxide in these upper layers, long thought to follow the same patterns across the globe, is increasing faster over the Northern Hemisphere. Though the Northern Hemisphere produces much more carbon dioxide because of its greater land area and population, scientists expect the difference to become negligible at such great heights due to diffusion and mixing.

“It seems clear that we don’t quite understand the relationship between the lower atmosphere and the upper atmosphere,” said Diego Janches, TIMED project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We tend to separate them into different fields—lower atmosphere is Earth science, upper atmosphere is heliophysics—but we need to understand the atmosphere as a complete system.”

This study’s result also confirms a second set of data from a satellite with capabilities similar to TIMED—the Canadian Space Agency’s SciSat-1, launched in 2003. An analysis of eight years of SciSat-1 data gave the first indication of the accelerated increase of carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere.

“The support between observations by TIMED and SciSat-1—which use different remote sensing techniques to detect carbon dioxide—confirms that the quick increase is a real, physical trend, and not an artifact of any instrument or data,” said Yue.

Identifying these unexpected trends was only possible because of the long lifespan of TIMED’s radiometer, which is still operating well. The TIMED satellite, originally slated for a two-year mission ending in 2003, has been granted six extended missions. TIMED’s current mission is set to end in 2017, but scientists are hopeful that data collection will continue.

“Long-term studies are necessary to understand trends like this,” said Janches. “TIMED has lasted so long that it’s like a completely different mission—we can do entirely new science when we have long periods of continuous observation.”

NASA Goddard manages the TIMED mission for the Heliophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built the spacecraft for NASA.

Related Links
<ul>
 	<li><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/timed-10yrs.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">More information about TIMED</a></li>
</ul>

NASA's TIMED Mission Finds Unexpected Trends In Carbon Data

NASA's TIMED Mission Finds Unexpected Trends In Carbon Data. NASA’s...

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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



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

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[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



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

[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



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

[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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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

How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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