Many people imagine Earth’s interior mantle as separate layers stacked on top of each other, like a layered cake, with each layer representing a plate. In reality, those internal zones are complex and often full of surprises.



Seismologists have relied on specific types of earthquake waves to learn about Earth's subsurface, but now a different technique is painting a far more detailed picture.



This fresh perspective has led scientists to wonder if there is hidden material in places once believed to be empty.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-earth-s-mantle-the-basics">Understanding Earth's mantle - the basics</h2>



Earth’s mantle is the thick layer of rock that lies between the planet's crust and its core. It stretches about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) deep, making up around 84% of Earth's total volume. 



The mantle is primarily composed of silicate minerals rich in iron and magnesium, and it's mostly solid, but it behaves like a thick, slow-flowing fluid over long periods of time. 



This flow is what drives the movement of tectonic plates on Earth's surface, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-we-detect-major-earthquakes-months-in-advance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">causing earthquakes</a>, volcanic eruptions, and the shifting of continents. 



Heat from the Earth’s core causes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-inner-core-rotation-is-slowing-down-making/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">convection currents</a> in the mantle, where hot material rises, cools near the crust, and then sinks back down, creating a continuous cycle. This process plays a key role in shaping the planet's surface.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tectonic-plates-in-earth-s-mantle">Tectonic plates in Earth's mantle</h2>



The discovery stems from the use of a high-resolution method called <a href="https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/1.9781560803027.entry6">full-waveform inversion</a>. Scientists use this approach to interpret every type of <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/physical/ocean-floor/layers-earth/compare-contrast-connect-seismic-waves-and-determining-earth-s-structure#">seismic wave</a> produced by earthquakes, rather than focusing on only one kind.



Because of that, they can build a more precise model of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-crust-is-dripping-under-turkey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth’s internal structures</a>.&nbsp;



After applying this method to the lower mantle, researchers saw pockets that appear to be leftover plate fragments in areas with no known history of subduction. 



Following their analysis, they were startled by just how common these hidden anomalies seemed to be.



This work was led by a team that includes doctoral student <a href="https://www.geology.ethz.ch/people/person-detail.Mjc3OTM4.TGlzdC82NjksNTE5NzQ3MzU0.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Thomas Schouten</a> from the <a href="https://www.geology.ethz.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geological Institute of ETH Zurich</a>, who collaborated with experts from the <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Institute of Technology</a>.



Their combined efforts brought fresh insights that challenge assumptions about where old tectonic plate remnants might reside in Earth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interpreting-seismic-signals">Interpreting seismic signals</h2>



To understand how researchers got here, it helps to remember how seismic waves work. When an earthquake strikes, it sends waves radiating outward in all directions.



These waves bounce, bend, and shift as they travel through the planet. In much the same way that doctors use medical imaging techniques, geophysicists measure the time these waves take to reach various seismic stations around the globe.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/earth_lower-mantle_rock-zones_mysterious-sunken-worlds_credit-ETHZ_1s.webp" alt="Using a new model, researchers uncover zones in the Earth's lower mantle where seismic waves travel slower (red) or faster (blue). The large blue zone in the western Pacific (right above the center of the image) was previously unknown. Credit: Sebastian Noe / ETH Zurich" class="wp-image-1956322"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Using a new model, researchers uncover zones in the Earth's lower mantle where seismic waves travel slower (red) or faster (blue). The large blue zone in the western Pacific (right above the center of the image) was previously unknown. Credit: Sebastian Noe / ETH Zurich</figcaption></figure>



The velocity of those signals reveals details about rock density and stiffness. In previous years, scientists relied heavily on <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article-abstract/108/5A/2894/546740/Generalized-Seismic-Phase-Detection-with-Deep?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">particular seismic phases</a>. 



But by examining all available wave data instead, new shapes and densities were identified from Earth's lower <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mantle-heat-shaped-earths-crust-3-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mantle</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-earth-s-mantle-important">Why is Earth's mantle important?</h2>



Over hundreds of millions of years, plates have formed, shifted, and sunk back into Earth’s interior. This <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/JB073i006p01959">cycling</a> plays a role in controlling phenomena like volcano formation, earthquakes, and the slow drift of continents.&nbsp;



Researchers have long known that slabs of subducted plates cluster under regions where one tectonic plate slides under another. 



So it came as a surprise when the new images revealed large slabs below oceans and continental interiors that lack a clear history of plate collisions.



That signals a possible complication in our understanding of how plates evolve and where they end up.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mysterious-plate-under-the-pacific-ocean">Mysterious plate under the Pacific Ocean</h2>



One of the biggest surprises was in a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-sunken-oceans-discovered-between-earth-core-and-mantle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">zone</a> under the western Pacific. According to current plate tectonic timelines, there is no reason for old plate fragments to be there.&nbsp;



“Apparently, such zones in the Earth's mantle are much more widespread than previously thought,” said <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-77399-2">Schouten</a>.



No geologic data points to historical subduction nearby. This indicates that the anomalies might not be chunks of plates at all, or at least not in the way scientists originally imagined.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-it-be-something-else">Could it be something else?</h2>



Scientists now face questions about the origin and nature of these structures.



Some say they may be ancient, silica-rich pockets left over from the early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-earths-mantle-shapes-surface-topography/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mantle</a>. Others suggest they might be iron-rich accumulations that have drifted over billions of years.&nbsp;



Schouten explained that the new model reveals anomalies throughout the Earth's interior, but the exact materials or plate fragments responsible for these patterns remain unclear. 



This uncertainty suggests a more diverse range of compositions in the Earth's mantle than previously understood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-steps-for-deeper-understanding">Next steps for deeper understanding</h2>



Full-waveform inversion is a promising tool for these investigations, but it offers only a view of how fast or slowly waves move through the material. 



Researchers say they need further refinement to tease out chemical and thermal differences. 



Some are turning to additional datasets, including electromagnetic signals and data from mineral physics experiments. 



Combining those methods might highlight whether these mantle “blobs” are from primordial origins, from recycled ocean crust, or from something else entirely.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-plate-tectonics">Implications for plate tectonics</h2>



If scientists confirm that more zones like these exist in Earth’s depths, they may have to adjust many theories about how heat moves through the planet. 



Such hidden zones might alter patterns of convection and the formation of mantle plumes.&nbsp;



The story of plate tectonics could also see updates, with new chapters on how plate fragments wander and transform in ways not previously documented. These discoveries remind us that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-volcanic-hotspots-are-all-connected-to-earths-interior-mantle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">geoscience</a>, like any science, is never settled.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-search-continues">The search continues</h2>



In the future, improved supercomputers may crunch even larger datasets to produce clearer images of Earth's lower mantle and its plate structures. That could resolve debates about the true nature of these mysterious anomalies.&nbsp;



By integrating various approaches - seismic, chemical, and computational - Earth scientists will keep uncovering pieces of our planet’s hidden complexity.



As Schouten’s team demonstrated, sometimes seeing the entire picture means looking beyond what we think we already know.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-77399-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

'Sunken worlds' discovered under the Pacific ocean in Earth's mantle

Many people imagine Earth’s interior mantle as separate layers stacked on top of each other, like a layered cake, with each layer representing a plate. In reality, those internal zones are complex and often full of surprises. Seismologists have relied on specific types of earthquake waves to learn about Earth's subsurface, but now a different technique is painting a far more detailed picture. This fresh perspective has led scientists to wonder if there is hidden material in places once believed to be empty. Understanding Earth's mantle -...

According to a new analysis conducted by a team of scientists from the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en/">Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research</a> (AWI) and the <a href="https://www.uni-bremen.de/">University of Bremen</a>, there is currently less <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-sea-ice-levels-are-at-their-lowest-on-record/">sea ice</a> in the Antarctic than at any time since the beginning of satellite measurements four decades ago. In early February 2023, only 2.2 million square kilometers of the Southern Ocean were covered with ice.



“On 8 February 2023, at 2.20 million square kilometers, the Antarctic sea ice extent had already dropped below the previous record minimum from 2022 (2.27 million square kilometers on 24 February 2022). Since the sea ice melting in the Antarctic will most likely continue in the second half of the month, we can’t say yet when the record low will be reached or how much more sea ice will melt between now and then,” explained Christian Haas, an expert in Sea Ice Physics at AWI.



&nbsp;“The rapid decline in sea ice over the past six years is quite remarkable, since the ice cover hardly changed at all in the thirty-five years before. It is still unclear whether what we are seeing is the beginning of a rapid end to summer sea ice in the Antarctic, or if it is merely the beginning of a new phase characterized by low but still stable sea ice cover in the summer.”



This rapid melting has progressed substantially from December 2022, particularly in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas in the West Antarctic, with the latter being currently nearly ice-free. “I have never seen such an extreme, ice-free situation here before. The continental shelf, an area the size of Germany, is now completely ice-free,” said Karsten Gohl, an AWI geophysicist leading the expedition of the research vessel Polarstern. “Though these conditions are advantageous for our vessel-based fieldwork, it is still troubling to consider how quickly this change has taken place.”



According to the experts, this intense melting may be caused by unusually high temperatures to the west and east of the Antarctic Peninsula (cc. 1.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term average). Moreover, the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is now in a strongly positive phase, intensifying the westerly winds and causing them to contract toward the Antarctic. As a result, upwelling of circumpolar deep water on the continental shelf intensifies too, promoting sea-ice retreat and the melting of ice shelves.



Currently, researchers are exploring the geological evolution of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, in order to estimate its future development in the face of rapid climate change.



More detailed analyses of Antarctica’s situation can be found at the <a href="https://www.meereisportal.de/en/">Sea Ice Portal</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Antarctic sea ice is currently the lowest ever recorded

According to a new analysis conducted by a team of...

Tracing the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-shed-new-light-on-the-origins-of-life-on-earth/">origins of life</a> on Earth has preoccupied scientists for a long time. One of the main prerequisites for the emergence of life is the abiotic production and polymerization of amino acids, which are known to be the building blocks of life. 



However, there are currently two scenarios that are debated regarding the origins of life: the first-time creation of these amino acid chains on Earth, and, on the other hand, their possible influx from space. Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.universite-lyon.fr/version-anglaise/universite-de-lyon-en-6709.kjsp">University of Lyon</a> in France and the <a href="https://www.uibk.ac.at/en/">University of Innsbruck</a> in Austria has found evidence for the second scenario.



The scientists investigated the smallest occurring amino acid, glycine, a molecule that has been repeatedly found in space during recent years. The experts discovered that small clusters of glycine molecules exhibit polymerization upon energy input, leading to a reaction within a cluster consisting of two glycine molecules, with the two amino acids becoming a dipeptide and a water molecule. In addition, the researchers also demonstrated the possible reaction of a dipeptide with a tripeptide within a cluster.



“Our study sheds light on the less likely unimolecular scenario for the formation of such amino acid chains in the extreme conditions of space,” explained study co-author Michel Farizon, an expert in Physics, Nanotechnology, and Nanosystems at the University of Lyon. “We were able to show that peptide chain growth occurs through unimolecular reactions in excited cluster ions, without the need for contact with an additional partner such as dust or ice.”



These findings thus provide evidence that the first step toward the origin of life could have in fact occurred in the harsh conditions of space. “The study is an important milestone on the route to understanding the origins of life. The results will serve as a basis for further research in this field,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.2c08248">Journal of Physical Chemistry A</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Life on Earth may have extraterrestrial origins

Tracing the origins of life on Earth has preoccupied scientists...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.emory.edu/home/index.html">Emory University</a> has found that two common wild plants can inhibit the activity of the virus causing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-find-a-receptor-that-blocks-covid-19-infection/">Covid-19</a> to infect human cells. Laboratory experiments revealed that extracts from the flowers of tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima) and the rhizomes of the eagle fern (Pteridium aquilinum)&nbsp;efficiently stopped SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells.



Since the active compounds are only present in small quantities in the plants, it would be ineffective – and even potentially dangerous – for people to attempt to treat themselves with them.&nbsp;



“It’s very early in the process, but we’re working to identify, isolate and scale up the molecules from the extracts that showed activity against the virus,” said study senior author Cassandra Quave, an associate professor of Dermatology and Human Health at Emory. “Once we have isolated the active ingredients, we plan to further test for their safety and for their long-range potential as medicines against Covid-19.”



By testing over 1,800 extracts and 18 compounds from the Quave Natural Product Library for activity against the new coronavirus, the scientists managed to identify the most promising candidates for potential treatments. 



In a first step, they devised experiments with virus-like particles (VLPs) of SARS-CoV-2 and cells programmed to overexpress ACE2 (the receptor on which the coronavirus binds to infiltrate cells) on their surface. The analyses revealed a handful of extracts that stopped viral entry, with those from the tall goldenrod and the eagle fern exhibiting the strongest blocking activity.



Additional experiments using infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus instead of VLPs confirmed these results and showed that the protective power of the plant extracts worked in the case of four Covid variants: Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma.



Further research is needed to determine the precise mechanism which enables these two extracts to block the virus from binding to the ACE2 receptor.



“We’ve shown that our natural products library is a powerful tool to help search for potential therapeutics for an emerging disease,” said study lead author Caitlin Risener, a doctoral student in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology at Emory. “Other researchers can adapt our screening method to search for other novel compounds within plants and fungi that may lead to new drugs to treat a range of pathogens.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-28303-x">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Wild plant extracts can block Covid-19 infection

A new study led by Emory University has found that...

Strawberries are one of the most accessible and popular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fruits-and-vegetables-can-reduce-adhd-symptoms/">fruits</a> in the United States. They are rich in vitamin C and a variety of other nutrients and beneficial bioactive compounds. Recently, two studies presented at the <a href="https://berryhealth.org/9th-biennial-berry-health-benefits-symposium/">9th Biennial Berry Health Benefits Symposium</a> (BHBS) in Tampa, Florida have shown that these fruits may also promote heart health and generally improve cardiometabolic health.



“The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed that a diet low in fruit is among the top three risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. To address the “fruit gap” we need to increase the amount of total fruit consumed as well as the diversity of fruit in the diet.&nbsp;Accumulating evidence in cardiometabolic health suggests that&nbsp;as little as one cup of strawberries per day may show beneficial effects,” said Britt Burton-Freeman, an expert in Healthy Aging at the <a href="https://www.iit.edu/">Illinois Institute of Technology</a>.



According to the scientists, there are many cardiometabolic benefits of strawberries, including decreased total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the so-called “bad cholesterol”), decreased oxidative stress and inflammation, decreased insulin resistance, decreased blood sugar, and increased vascular relaxation and tone.



For instance, one randomized controlled crossover <a href="about:blank">trial</a> of 33 obese adults has found that daily consumption of two-and-a-half cups of strawberries significantly improved insulin resistance and moderately improved high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles. “Our study supports the hypothesis that strawberry consumption can improve cardiometabolic risks,” explained lead investigator Arpita Basu, an associate professor of Nutrition Sciences at the <a href="https://www.unlv.edu/">University of Nevada, Las Vegas</a>.&nbsp;“Furthermore, we believe&nbsp;this evidence supports the role of strawberries in a ‘food as medicine’ approach for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adults.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



In another <a href="about:blank">study</a>, 34 adult men and women with moderate hypercholesterolemia were found to have improved vascular function one hour after strawberry intake, as indicated by flow-mediated dilation.



These findings highlight the multiple benefits of strawberries and open new paths for the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic disorders.&nbsp;



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Strawberries promote cardiometabolic health

Strawberries are one of the most accessible and popular fruits...

The process of speciation, where a new species evolves, is usually considered to be slow and to involve many different genes that affect the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-use-mobbing-behavior-to-deter-predatory-owls/">behavior</a>, physiology, ecology or even the anatomy of the evolving species. Speciation due to a mutation in a single gene that isolates an individual reproductively is considered highly unlikely. However, botanists from the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a> have recently identified just such an alteration in the genome of some species of monkeyflowers; they suggest that this led to a change in the pollinating agent and gave rise to new species.&nbsp;



Monkeyflowers (genus Mimulus) grow in harsh, mineral-rich soils where other plants do not thrive. The flowers are famously diverse in shape and color, and have been the subject of much research into the genetic origins of patterns and shades on the petals. Researchers already know that, around 5 million years ago, a monkeyflower species underwent a mutation that caused the loss of yellow pigments in the petals; instead, the mutation produced shades of pink that attracted bees as pollination agents.&nbsp;



Subsequent to this, a descendent species accumulated new mutations in a gene called YUP that had the effect of recovering the ability to form yellow pigments, and this led to the production of red flowers. The species no longer attracted bees but, instead, hummingbirds became the pollinators, thus isolating the plants with red flowers genetically and leading to the development of a new species.



UConn botanist Yaowu Yuan and postdoctoral researcher Mei Liang (currently a professor at South China Agricultural University), with collaborators from four other institutes, have now shown exactly which gene it is that changed to prevent monkeyflowers from making the yellow pigment all those years ago. Their research, published in&nbsp;the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adf1323">Science</a>, adds weight to the theory that speciation can indeed occur through changes to single genes.&nbsp;



The YUP gene in question is located in a region (locus) of the monkeyflower genome that has three new genes. These new genes are not found in species outside of this group. They are duplicates of other genes from other parts of the monkeyflower genome. In particular, YUP is a partial duplicate of a pre-existing gene that has nothing to do with producing colored pigments.



Standard genetics thought is that partial duplicate genes regulate the genes they are derived from; the researchers thought it was very unlikely that these genes would have an impact on the unrelated genes for colored pigments. Liang decided to investigate what these genes were doing anyway, against the advice of Yuan, who thought it was a waste of time.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Liang’s intuition paid off: she discovered that the YUP gene was actually targeting the plants’ master regulator of carotenoids, the pigments that make monkeyflowers, and the petals of other plants, yellow. YUP produced many small RNAs that suppressed the carotenoid gene. There are very few examples of genes that produce small RNAs affecting traits important to the creation of a new species.



“This experience really taught me how important it is not to constrain oneself with ‘conventional wisdom,’” said Yuan. Not only does YUP regulate a gene it is entirely unrelated to it, but the other two genes at this same locus also affect monkeyflower color, Yuan says. The uniqueness of these three genes, only found in a few closely related monkeyflower species, is an important clue as to how new species evolve.



“Almost every single species has unique genes,” said Yuan. These are known as ‘taxon specific’ genes because they are only found in a small group of species. “For the most part, we have no idea what these genes do."



This research shows that these taxon specific genes can be the keys to the formation of a new species. Previously, many geneticists and evolutionary biologists thought that it was changes in the expression of common genes shared by many different species that differentiated them, and that the small number of idiosyncratic genes were unlikely to be important.



“We think we understand evolution well enough to make predictions. But now we are realizing we really don’t. Evolution is just so unpredictable,” said Yuan.



His lab is now looking at how the monkeyflower genome controls the production of pigment spatially. For example, some monkeyflowers have upper petals that are entirely white, but lower petals with color. Yuan and his colleagues want to know how the plants suppress pigment only in certain parts of the flower.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Monkeyflowers prove that evolution is unpredictable

The process of speciation, where a new species evolves, is...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/93868/">Nature Conservation</a> has found that, between 2010 and 2019, the total imports of frog legs in the European Union – with Belgium the main importer, and France the main consumer - amounted to 40.7 million kilograms, which equals to nearly two billion <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-makes-wood-frogs-more-vulnerable-to-salt-pollution/">frogs</a>. These findings highlight the “inexplicable volatility” in the trade of frog legs and the extreme dependency of the EU on other countries to meet its demands.



“The international trade in frogs’ legs is a black box, whether it is the lack of species-specific trade data, which would be needed to ensure sustainability, or the large-scale mislabeling in trade and the challenges to identify species when it comes to processed, skinned, and frozen frogs’ legs,” said study lead author Mark Auliya, an expert in Herpetology at the&nbsp;<a href="https://leibniz-lib.de/en/">Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change</a> in Germany.&nbsp;



As insect predators, frogs have a critical role in many ecosystems, and, when they are driven to extinction, the use of toxic pesticides aiming to control insects increases substantially. Thus, the trade of frogs’ legs has major consequences not only for the frogs themselves, but also for ecosystem health and biodiversity in general.



While in the 1970s and 1980s India and Bangladesh were the main exporters of frogs’ legs to Europe, when their wild frog populations declined, they banned exports. Since then, Indonesia became the main supplier, and is currently facing – along with other countries such as Turkey or Albania – massive declines of large-legged frog species, causing a domino effect for biodiversity conservation.&nbsp;



“The EU is by far the world’s largest importer of frogs’ legs, and large-legged species such as the crab-eating grass frog&nbsp;(Fejervarya cancrivora), the giant Javan frog (Limnonectes macrodon), and the East Asian bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus) are in particular demand among supposed gourmets in Europe,” said study co-author Dr. Sandra Altherr, a biologist and wildlife trade expert at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.prowildlife.de/">Pro Wildlife</a>.



Although commercial frog farms, such as those recently operated in Vietnam, may seem a viable alternative that can relieve the pressure from wild frog populations, ongoing restocking of frog farms with species from the wild, along with the risk of escape of non-native species (which can lead to invasion and disease spread) remain serious environmental threats.



In addition, the scientists found no clear and reliable data on the amount of pesticide residues and other toxic substances in imported frogs’ legs. “This in itself is shocking and in view of the situation in exporting countries and the lack of transparency and management in the application of agrochemicals and veterinary medicinal substances within commercial farms, we strongly recommend that this monitoring become an urgent near-future task for importing countries,” the authors concluded.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

EU responsible for extinction of frog populations

A new study published in the journal Nature Conservation has...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects nearly 30 percent of the global population and, over time, can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. While there are no approved drug treatments or effective cures for this condition yet, previous research has shown that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-not-how-much-but-how-often-we-exercise-that-counts/">exercise</a> can improve liver fat, physical fitness, body composition, and quality of life for patients diagnosed with this disease. However, the precise “dose” of exercise to help NAFLD patients achieve clinically meaningful improvements (defined as at least a 30 percent reduction of liver fat) has remained a mystery for decades.



Now, by reviewing 14 studies with a total of 551 subjects with NAFLD who participated in randomized, controlled trials involving exercise interventions, a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has found that 150 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic activity per week can significantly reduce liver fat.



“Our findings can give physicians the confidence to prescribe exercise as a treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,” said study lead author Jonathan Stine, an associate professor of Medicine and Public Health at Penn State. “Having a target amount of physical activity to aim for will be useful for health care and exercise professionals to develop personalized approaches as they help patients modify their lifestyles and become more physically active.”



The analysis revealed that, independent of weight loss, exercise training was 3½ times more likely to reduce liver fat compared to standard clinical care. Moreover, the experts found that 39 percent of patients prescribed greater than or equal to 750 metabolic equivalents of task per week (such as 150 minute of brisk walking) achieved significant responses compared to only 26 percent of those prescribed lesser amounts of exercise.



“Exercise is a lifestyle modification, so the fact that it might match the ability of in-development therapeutics to achieve the same outcome is significant. Clinicians counseling patients with NAFLD should recommend this amount of activity to their patients. Brisk walking or light cycling for half an hour a day five times a week is just one example of a program that would meet these criteria,” Stine concluded.



The study is published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.14309/ajg.0000000000002098">The American Journal of Gastroenterology</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

150 minutes of exercise per week reduces liver fat

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects nearly 30 percent of...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> has recently discovered a protein in the human lungs that blocks <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-remains-a-global-health-emergency/">Covid-19</a> infection and thus acts as a natural protective barrier in the organism. The leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 15 (LRRC15) is an inbuilt receptor which binds to the coronavirus without passing the infection. This discovery could open new pathways for developing drugs to prevent infection or even help curing fibrosis in the lungs.



“Alongside two other groups, one at Oxford, the other at Brown and Yale in the USA, we found a new receptor in the LRRC15 protein that can stop SARS-CoV-2. We found that this new receptor acts by binding to the virus and sequestering it which reduces infection,” said study senior author Gregory Neely, a professor of Functional Genomics at Sydney.



“For me, as an immunologist, the fact that there’s this natural immune receptor that we didn’t know about, that’s lining our lungs and blocks and controls virus, that’s crazy interesting. We can now use this new receptor to design broad acting drugs that can block viral infection or even suppress lung fibrosis.”



SARS-CoV-2 infects humans by using a spike protein that binds to a specific receptor in our cells called the&nbsp;angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Since human lungs have high levels of ACE2 receptor, the virus often causes severe problems in this organ. Although, like ACE2, LRRC15 is also a receptor for the coronavirus, it does not help propagating infection, but rather sticks to the virus and immobilizes it, while preventing other vulnerable cells from becoming infected.



“We think it acts a bit like Velcro, molecular Velcro, in that it sticks to the spike of the virus and then pulls it away from the target cell types,” explained study lead author Lipin Loo, a postdoctoral fellow in RNA Therapies at Sydney.



“Basically, the virus is coated in the other part of the Velcro, and while it’s trying to get to the main receptor, it can get caught up in this mesh of LRRC15,” added co-author Matthew Waller, a PhD student at the same university.



While LRRC15 is present in many areas of the body, including lungs, skin, placenta, fibroblasts, and lymph nodes, the experts found that, after infection with SARS-CoV-2, the lungs light up with such receptors.



“When we stain the lungs of healthy tissue, we don’t see much of LRRC15, but then in Covid-19 lungs, we see much more of the protein,” Loo&nbsp;said. “We think this newly identified protein could be part of our body’s natural response to combating the infection by creating a barrier that physically separates the virus from our lung cells most sensitive to Covid-19.”



“Since this receptor can block Covid-19 infection, and at the same time activate our body’s anti-virus response, and suppress our body’s fibrosis response, this is a really important new gene. This finding can help us develop new antiviral and antifibrotic medicines to help treat pathogenic coronaviruses, and possibly other viruses or other situations where lung fibrosis occurs,” Neely concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001967">PLoS Biology</a>.



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Scientists find a receptor that blocks Covid-19 infection

A team of scientists led by the University of Sydney...

According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> in Sweden, the size of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-dragonflies-are-thriving-in-a-warmer-climate/">dragonflies</a> and damselflies varies around the globe, being generally larger in temperate areas than in the tropics – a phenomenon caused by a combination of temperature differences and the presence of predators.



The scientists compared the size of these insects in the tropics with their counterparts living in cooler, temperate regions in the north, in order to quantify geographical variation and clarify its causes. “Two hundred million years ago, these insects were larger in the tropics than in temperate climates. That trend has since reversed, however, and the opposite is now true, with larger species generally found at our northerly latitudes. We believe that this is partly caused by the evolutionary appearance of birds,” explained study lead author Erik Svensson, a biologist at Lund.



These findings suggest that, after birds emerged around 150 million years ago, they started catching more dragonflies and damselflies in the tropics, thus driving the insects northward, towards cooler regions at higher latitudes. Besides the increased prevalence of these avian predators in the tropics, the higher temperatures at low latitudes are also partly responsible for smaller body sizes in the tropics.



“We discovered that the regional bird species diversity is a stronger predictor of size than the regional temperatures, when we analyzed how these insects’ body sizes varied around the globe. As a&nbsp;whole, species are smaller in warmer climates, but the link between size and the latitude at which species live has changed since birds began to evolve,” Svensson explained.



Since it is easier for birds to catch larger insects, smaller species fare better in the presence of predators. Better understanding where and why species with different body sizes occur is highly important for clarifying the extinction risks of species with different characteristics.



“There is currently heavy focus on the climate issue and the significance of temperature in determining the risk extinction risks of species. Our results show how information about predators and body sizes are important to fully understand variation in the local, regional, and global species composition of this important insect order,” Svensson concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14544">Journal of Biogeography</a>.&nbsp;



—-



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Insect size is shaped by predators and temperature

According to a new study led by Lund University in...

Why do some people care about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-earths-thermostat-control-the-climate/">climate</a> change while others may not?&nbsp; A new study analyzes the factors that drive environmental concern to understand how we can bolster support for combating climate change.



The effects of climate change are already visible and impacting our daily lives. Yet among the European population, climate change and the environment are not a top priority. Policy decision making is key to addressing these issues, but this requires strong, public support. To encourage climate action, understanding determinants of environmental concern is key.&nbsp;



Jonas Peisker, a researcher in the <a href="https://iiasa.ac.at/">IIASA</a> Population and Just Societies Program, has investigated how environmental preferences in 206 European regions are shaped by socioeconomic, geographical, and meteorological circumstances. The goal was to collect data on various socioeconomic and environmental perspectives. 



“While previous research has only considered a few contextual influences at a time, this study allows for a comparison of their relative importance, including also factors that differ mostly between regions, such as inequality, income level, or geographical features.” said Peisker.



The study analyzed surveys conducted between 2009 and 2019 combined with measures of the regional economy, population, geography, environmental quality, and meteorological events.



Favorable economic conditions, such as a relatively high income level and low inflation, was a key factor driving environmental concern. This is likely related to the idea of a “finite pool of worry” where more immediate issues like economic security override less immediate issues like climate change.&nbsp;



Interestingly, rising energy prices lowered environmental concerns up to a certain point at which environmental concerns started to rise as well, according to the study. 



Regions with greenhouse gas-intensive industries had lower environmental concern. This is likely due to the potential effects on economic competitiveness in the transition from fossil to clean technology. Environmental factors, such as having a low-elevation coastline, also influenced environmental concern. Overall, socioeconomic context proved to be more important.&nbsp;



These results demonstrate how a more equal distribution of income and wealth can positively&nbsp; impact on the prioritization of environmental issues. Social cohesion and a just transition to carbon neutrality are key to gaining public support for environmental policy.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Climate policy and environmental protection are likely to be unpopular if they are increasing income and wealth inequality, inflation, and unemployment. Therefore, a way to support climate action could be to emphasize the co-benefits of environmental policy, for instance, positive employment effects of the transition to renewable energy sources," said Peisker.



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102636">Global Environmental Change</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

What motivates people to protect the environment?

Why do some people care about climate change while others...

Fossils are commonly studied to learn about the history of animals and their behaviors, but sometimes unexpected clues arise. One such example is a recent study conducted by the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a>. Looking at caribou antlers from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-biodiversity-will-get-a-boost-from-rising-temperatures/">Arctic</a> calving grounds, the researchers discovered that the mammals have used the same sites for over 3,000 years.&nbsp;



The study was based on the knowledge that Caribou leave behind calving records in the form of their antlers, which they shed days after giving birth. These antlers were sourced from across Candas’ Yukon all the way out Alaska. Some records included antlers from the Bronze Age that have been undisturbed in the Artic tundra for thousands of years.



Study lead author Professor Joshua Miller has been using rafts to navigate remote rivers across the tundra since 2010 when he began leading Arctic National Wildlife Refuge summer expeditions.“To walk around the landscape and pick up something that’s 3,000 years old is truly amazing," said Professor Miller.



These records represent nature’s longest overland migration, with some barren ground caribou traveling up to 800 miles to reach the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Canada’s Ivvavik National Park. It is hypothesized that these areas are favored by caribou due to their lack of predators, the prevalence of seasonal vegetation, and shelter from mosquitoes.&nbsp;



In addition to helping scientists better understand the calving process of caribou, the study has also outlined the importance of conserving these areas, which have been targeted by energy companies to exploit fossil fuels in the area. “We know this region of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been an important area for caribou for millennia,” said Professor Miller. “That should give us pause on how we think about those landscapes.”



Furthermore, the antlers dropped by female antlers contain calcium, phosphorus, and other nutrients that are important to local ecosystems, creating “nutrient sinks” which could play a local role in the area's vegetation. Professor Miller suggests that the caribou’s migration could serve as a “conveyor belt” system, bringing the mammals back to this fertilizer in a reinforcement loop.



“We think about having to dig down into the soil to find that kind of ecological history, but on the Coastal Plain, the vegetation grows extremely slowly,” explained Professor Miller. “Bones dropped by animals that lived dozens or even hundreds of generations in the past can provide really meaningful information.”



The findings of the study have been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1059456">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.&nbsp;



Image Credit: Michael Miller



—-



By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Caribou have used the same calving grounds for 3,000 years

Fossils are commonly studied to learn about the history of...

Corn,Field,With,Young,Plants,On,Fertile,Soil,,A,Closeup

Feeding the world’s population on an ongoing basis requires that farmers enrich their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/burned-soil-provides-a-feast-for-fungi-and-bacteria/">soils</a> with fertilizers. The levels of atmospheric nitrogen, along with biological nitrogen fixation, are not enough to provide adequate supplies of this element to the growing crops. Farmers add nitrogen in the form of synthetic fertilizers and manure. However, the production and use of fertilizers has environmental consequences, not least of which is the emission of certain greenhouse gases.



If we are to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases in order to limit the extent of global warming in future, we need to consider the role of fertilizer production and use. According to a new study by researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, fertilizer production and deployment accounts for five percent of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). We will also need to walk a delicate line between changing the way we use fertilizers and ensuring food security for people.&nbsp;



The study, published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00698-w">Nature Food</a>, is the first to quantify the contribution of fertilizers to global greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers calculate that one-third of the emissions arise during the industrial production of the fertilizers, while two thirds arise after the fertilizers have been spread on the fields. Their analysis found that manure and synthetic fertilizers emit the equivalent of 2.6 gigatons of carbon per year, which is more than the total from aviation and shipping combined.



“Incredibly, we don’t actually know how many chemicals we produce globally, where they end up, where and how they accumulate, how many emissions they produce, and how much waste they generate,” said co-author Dr. André Cabrera Serrenho from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering.



Serrenho and his co-author Yunhu Gao undertook the current study in order to accurately measure the total impacts of fertilizers, one of the two main products of the petrochemical industry. Of all the products made by the petrochemical industry, the vast majority – as much as 74 percent – are either plastics or fertilizers.



“In order to reduce emissions, it’s important for us to identify and prioritize any interventions we can make to make fertilizers less harmful to the environment,” said Serrenho. “But if we’re going to do that, we first need to have a clear picture of the whole lifecycle of these products. It sounds obvious, but we actually know very little about these things.”



The experts mapped the global flows of manure and synthetic fertilizers and their emissions for 2019, along all stages of the lifecycle, by reconciling the production and consumption of nitrogen fertilizers and regional emission factors across nine world regions. After completing their analysis, the researchers found that unlike many other products, the majority of emissions for fertilizers occur not during production, but during their use.



“It was surprising that this was the major source of emissions,” said Serrenho. “But only after quantifying all emissions, at every point of the lifecycle, can we then start looking at different mitigation methods to reduce emissions without a loss of productivity.”



The researchers say that carbon emissions from fertilizers urgently need to be reduced but this must be balanced against the need to produce food for the world’s populations. Earlier research has estimated that 48 percent of the global population is currently fed with crops grown using synthetic fertilizers; and the world’s population is set to increase by 20 percent before 2050. Fertilizers are thus expected to be more in demand than ever.



The Cambridge researchers outline a combination of scalable technological and policy solutions to reduce fertilizer emissions while maintaining food security. They estimate that, if such solutions could be implemented at scale, the emissions from manure and synthetic fertilizers could be reduced by as much as 80 percent, to one-fifth of current levels, without a loss of productivity.&nbsp;



For example, the synthesis of ammonia, from which all synthetic fertilizers are produced, involves the use of natural gas, coal and oil as raw materials for the industrial process. The extraction and combustion of these substances produces greenhouse gases, as do the chemical reactions along the production pathway.&nbsp;



The researchers say the most effective mitigation at the production stage would be for the industry to decarbonize heating and hydrogen production. They suggest that electrolysis could be used to supply hydrogen for ammonia synthesis, thus avoiding greenhouse gases from steam methane reforming. Additionally, fertilizers could be mixed with chemicals called nitrification inhibitors, which prevent bacteria from forming nitrous oxide. However, these chemicals are likely to make fertilizers more expensive.



“If we’re going to make fertilizers more expensive, then there needs to be some sort of financial incentive to farmers and to fertilizer companies,” said Serrenho. “Farming is an incredibly tough business as it is, and farmers aren’t currently rewarded for producing lower emissions.”



The experts listed and quantified the maximum theoretical impact of different mitigation methods – most of these are already known, but their maximum potential effect had not been quantified. Since two-thirds of emissions arise after the fertilizers have been spread on the fields, increasing the efficiency of fertilizer use is the single, most effective strategy to reduce emissions.&nbsp;



“We’re incredibly inefficient in our use of fertilizers,” said Serrenho. “We’re using far more than we need, which is economically inefficient and that’s down to farming practices. If we used fertilizer more efficiently, we would need substantially less.”&nbsp;



The researchers also looked at the mix of fertilizers used around the world, which varies by region. They say that replacing some of the fertilizers with the highest emissions, such as urea, with ammonium nitrate, worldwide, could further reduce emissions by between 20 and 30 percent. However, this would only be beneficial after decarbonizing the fertilizer industry.



“There are no perfect solutions,” said Serrenho. “We need to rethink how we produce food, and what sorts of economic incentives work best. Perhaps that means paying farmers to produce fewer emissions, perhaps that means paying more for food. We need to find the right mix of financial, technological and policy solutions to reduce emissions while keeping the world fed.”



Serrenho and Gao estimate that by implementing all the mitigations they analyzed, emissions from the fertilizer sector could be reduced by as much as 80 percent by 2050.



“Our work gives us a good idea of what’s technically possible, what’s big, and where interventions would be meaningful – it’s important that we aim interventions at what matters the most, in order to make fast and meaningful progress in reducing emissions,” said Serrenho.



—



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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.

Carbon emissions from fertilizers could be cut by 80 percent

Feeding the world’s population on an ongoing basis requires that...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



---



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...