This,Is,A,3d,Illustration,Of,Cosmic,Microwave,Background,,Electromagnetic

Dark energy has long been seen as the invisible force behind our Universe’s accelerating expansion. This mysterious component was thought to make up nearly 70 percent of the cosmic energy budget. A new study, however, raises a different idea: maybe the Universe is expanding in a “lumpy” manner, which means dark energy might not be needed to explain those puzzling measurements of distant supernovae.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dark-energy-and-expansion">Dark energy and expansion</h2>



For almost a century, scientists have assumed that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-evidence-suggests-that-dark-energy-comes-from-black-holes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmos</a> spreads out uniformly in every direction, with dark energy speeding up that expansion. The notion was adopted after researchers saw exploding stars, known as supernovae, appearing farther away than expected. 



When calculations showed that galaxies seemed to be drifting apart too quickly, dark energy became an easy placeholder for the unknown physics.



Professor <a href="https://profiles.canterbury.ac.nz/David-Wiltshire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Wiltshire</a> from the <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Canterbury</a> in Christchurch, New Zealand has been examining this challenge in more detail. 



His research team’s <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/537/1/L55/7926647" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of supernova light curves suggests the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mapping-the-universe-may-reveal-secrets-of-dark-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universe</a> may be more uneven than we assumed.



Their approach leads to a fresh explanation for the changes in light we see, one that focuses on how time passes differently in various gravitational conditions rather than appealing to an unseen substance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-many-have-relied-on-dark-energy">Why many have relied on dark energy</h2>



Dark energy has been tied to the so-called Lambda Cold Dark Matter model, or <a href="https://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/education/graphic_history/univ_evol.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ΛCDM model</a>. 



This model has served as the bedrock of modern cosmology for decades. Scientists had no direct means to detect or measure dark energy, so they relied on the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">apparent acceleration</a> seen in distant supernovae. They also looked to patterns in the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cosmic_Microwave_Background_CMB_radiation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cosmic Microwave Background</a>, which is often described as the faint afterglow of the Big Bang. 



Over the years, more data have hinted that there could be tension between early and recent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-could-explain-the-rapid-expansion-of-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expansion</a> rates, sparking serious questions about whether we are missing some major puzzle piece.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enter-the-timescape-model">Enter the timescape model</h2>



The new work supports something called the timescape model, which does not need dark energy to explain cosmic acceleration. Instead, it notes that local physics can vary depending on how mass is distributed. One clock drifting through a sparse region of the cosmos might tick faster than the same clock inside a galaxy packed with more gravitational pull. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dark-energy_doesnt-exist_history-of-universe-graphic_credit-NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dark-energy_doesnt-exist_history-of-universe-graphic_credit-NASA_1s.webp" alt="This graphic offers a glimpse of the history of the universe, as we currently understand it. The cosmos began expanding with the Big Bang but then around 10 billion years later it strangely began to accelerate thanks to a theoretical phenomenon termed dark energy. Credit: NASA" class="wp-image-1954661"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This graphic offers a glimpse of the history of the universe, as we currently understand it. The cosmos began expanding with the Big Bang but then around 10 billion years later it strangely began to accelerate thanks to a theoretical phenomenon termed dark energy. Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>



The team’s findings were featured in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters.



“Our findings show that we do not need dark energy to explain why the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-dark-matter-does-not-exist-and-the-universe-is-27-billion-years-old/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universe</a> appears to expand at an accelerating rate,” noted Professor David Wiltshire, who led the study. 



He sees this approach as an opportunity to rethink the way we average cosmic expansion. “The Universe’s biggest mystery could be settled by the end of the decade,” Professor Wiltshire claimed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-tension-and-the-lumpy-universe">Hubble tension and the lumpy Universe</h2>



Part of the growing dispute involves something called the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unknown-factors-are-accelerating-the-expansion-of-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble tension</a>.



<a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2020/09/aa33910-18/aa33910-18.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Measurements</a> of the early cosmos from the Cosmic Microwave Background suggest a certain rate of expansion, while observations of supernovae in the present day reveal a faster pace. This inconsistency has triggered re-examinations of old assumptions. Adding to that, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DESI</a>) has discovered that the standard ΛCDM model may not line up perfectly with some of its new high-precision data. Researchers are looking into models where dark energy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-is-ripping-the-universe-apart-but-we-arent-sure-how/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">might change over time</a>, but the timescape idea takes a different path: it challenges the uniformity assumption at its core.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-dark-energy">Rethinking dark energy </h2>



If the Universe is lumpy, with matter clumping in some regions and emptier voids in others, then local gravitational effects might skew the calculations that gave dark energy its place in cosmic theory. <a href="https://www.astro.uvic.ca/~jwillis/teaching/astr405/astr405_lecture6.pdf?utm_blank" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Traditional equations</a> used to describe expansion were first introduced almost a hundred years ago, so some researchers argue that the Universe’s complex structures were overlooked. This new study insists that a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-expansion-rate-dark-energy-measured-11-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">uniform expansion</a> might not be the full story. When you allow for different gravitational influences, dark energy becomes optional.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-ahead-to-fresh-data">Looking ahead to fresh data</h2>



Several upcoming projects are on the horizon. 



The European Space Agency’s <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Euclid</a> satellite launched in July 2023, and future missions like the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a> promise more comprehensive observations of supernovae. The timescape team believes that at least 1,000 high-quality supernova measurements could be enough to show if their approach really works. 



If timescape ideas pass these tests, the so-called “biggest mystery” might get resolved sooner than people think.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-all-of-this-mean">What does all of this mean?</h2>



To sum it all up, the Universe is more intricate than any simple map might reveal. If the <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011MNRAS.413..367S/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">timescape model</a> holds up under further scrutiny, there could be wide-ranging effects on cosmic models, especially those that rely on dark energy as a key ingredient. Astronomers, physicists, and cosmologists will be watching closely as more data come in from cutting-edge surveys and instruments. 



These results might bring clarity to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-could-explain-the-rapid-expansion-of-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble tension</a> or uncover new clues about the structure and history of everything around us.



Dark energy has been the leading explanation for cosmic acceleration for decades. Yet, if local gravitational differences and variable clock speeds can account for what we see, the door may be open to a more nuanced story of cosmic growth. There is no shortage of skepticism within the scientific community, but unexpected solutions to old puzzles are often how we expand our understanding of the Universe. 



If the timescape approach stands the test of fresh observations, future textbooks might look a little different.



The full study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/537/1/L55/7926647" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters</a>.



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Timescape: Dark energy doesn't exist, resulting in 'lumpy' universe expansion

Dark energy has long been seen as the invisible force behind our Universe’s accelerating expansion. This mysterious component was thought to make up nearly 70 percent of the cosmic energy budget.A new study, however, raises a different idea: maybe the Universe is expanding in a “lumpy” manner, which means dark energy might not be needed to explain those puzzling measurements of distant supernovae. Dark energy and expansion For almost a century, scientists have assumed that the cosmos spreads out uniformly in every direction, with dark energy speeding...

In the past history of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-production-affects-earths-natural-processes/">Earth</a> there have been times when magma from the molten mantle has flowed out into, or over, the solid crust of the planet. In the cases where these major volcanic events have led to excessive accumulations of lava, the resulting formations have been termed Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). Some LIPs have an aerial extent of a few million km2 and involve volumes of igneous rock totaling up to a million km3. Such phenomena clearly had major impacts on the geology, structure and natural environments where they occurred.&nbsp;



In addition, the formation of LIPs can be associated with significant increases in atmospheric carbon or sulfate gas emissions, which may cause either global warming or the formation of sulfuric acid and subsequent global cooling. It is no surprise then that the formation of some of the LIPs in the past 500 million years coincides in time with&nbsp;periods of rapid climatic change and with various <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_extinction">mass extinctions</a> of fauna and flora on land and in the oceans.



A new scientific study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo0866">Science Advances</a>, has now shed light on a possible cause of these major volcanic events that occurred millions of years ago. In the past, the formation of LIPs has been attributed to plumes of magma that have risen, under the influence of convection currents, through the Earth’s mantle. They have also been associated with the movements of Earth’s tectonic plates but, although there are numerous hypotheses about LIP formation, the exact causes have not yet been identified.&nbsp;



In the new study, led by scientists in the School of Natural Sciences at <a href="https://www.tcd.ie/">Trinity College Dublin</a>, chemical data was obtained from ancient mudstone deposits in Wales by drilling a borehole down to a depth of 1.5 km. Analysis of the chemical markers enabled the researchers to link two key events that occurred around 183 million years ago, during the Toarcian stage at the end of the Early Jurassic Period.&nbsp;



The team discovered that this time period coincides directly with the occurrence of the major volcanic activity that gave rise to the Karoo and Ferrar LIP’s which covered parts of what are today southern Africa and Antarctica with lava. This time was also characterized by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, by some of the most severe climatic and environmental changes ever, and by the Pliensbachian–Toarcian extinction event that affected the world’s fauna and flora.



Upon further investigation - and more importantly - the team’s tectonic plate reconstruction models helped them discover the key fundamental geological process that seemed to dictate the timing and onset of this volcanic event and others of great magnitude.



“Scientists have long thought that the onset of upwelling of molten volcanic rock, or magma, from deep in Earth’s interior, as mantle plumes, was the instigator of such volcanic activity but the new evidence shows that the normal rate of continental plate movement of several centimeters per year effectively prevents magma from penetrating Earth’s continental crust," said Professor Micha Ruhl, who led the research team.



“It seems it is only when the speed of continental plate movement slows down to near zero that magmas from mantle plumes can effectively make their way to the surface, causing major Large Igneous Province volcanic eruptions and their associated climatic perturbations and mass extinctions.”



“Crucially, further assessment shows that a reduction in continental plate movement likely controlled the onset and duration of many of the major volcanic events throughout Earth’s history, making it a fundamental process in controlling the evolution of climate and life at Earth’s surface throughout the history of this planet.”



The scientists hypothesize that a slowing of continental plate movement was the critical event that enabled magma to rise to the Earth’s surface and cause the major volcanic events that have punctuated Earth’s history. This volcanic activity, in turn, is thought to have delivered the devastating climatic and biological upheavals that led to some of the most extreme extinctions of biological life.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study of past global change events, such as in the Toarcian, allows scientists to disentangle the different processes that control the causes and consequences of global carbon cycle changes and constrain fundamental Earth system processes that control tipping points in Earth’s climate system.



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

Major volcanic events linked to the slowing of tectonic plates

In the past history of Earth there have been times...

An,Antarctica,Nature,Scene,,With,A,Group,Of,Five,Adelie

Our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-grew-larger-as-the-oceans-cooled-over-millennia/">oceans</a> have absorbed over 90 percent of carbon monoxide emissions in the last 50 years, and the Southern Ocean has taken on the most of these emissions.&nbsp;



"The Southern Ocean dominates this ocean heat uptake, due in part to the geographic set-up of the region," said study lead author Maurice Huguenin, a PhD candidate at the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a>. "Antarctica, which is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, is also surrounded by strong westerly winds."



"These winds influence how the waters absorb heat, and around Antarctica they can exert this influence while remaining uninterrupted by land masses – this is key to the Southern Ocean being responsible for pretty much all of the net global ocean heat uptake."



Huguenin explained that cold water is drawn to the ocean's surface due to the uninterrupted wind patterns near Antarctica. As water is driven to the north, it absorbs heat from the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the South Ocean won't save us from the effect of climate change and rising sea levels.



"Sea levels are rising because heat causes water to expand and ice to melt. Ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented heat stress, and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is changing," said study co-author Matthew England. "All future projections, including even the most optimistic scenarios, predict warmer oceans in the future."



"If the Southern Ocean continues to account for the vast majority of heat uptake until 2100, we might see its warmth increase by up to seven times more than what we have already seen up to today."



This increase in warmth would be felt worldwide. It would affect the Southern Ocean's food web, causing ice shelves to melt, and impact ocean currents.



The scientists hope this research encourages ongoing monitoring of the Southern Ocean, including using Argo floats, instruments that can track the ocean's temperature, even at great depths. There is also an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions.



"The less carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere, the less ocean change and sea-level rise we will lock in," said the researchers. "This can help limit the level of adaptation required by the billions of people living near the ocean, by minimising the detrimental impacts of ocean warming on both sea-level and their primary food source."



This research is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32540-5">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The Southern Ocean could become seven times hotter this century

Our oceans have absorbed over 90 percent of carbon monoxide...

Sampling near Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center shows a decline in bee populations. The results of the study, published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9190">Ecology and Evolution</a> are worrying to researchers.



“Bees are one of the most important groups of pollinators, but previous research has found troubling declines among wild bees,” said study lead author Nash Turley, a postdoctoral scholar at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>. “For example, the range and abundance of some species have shrunk substantially, especially bumble bees in North America and Europe. Tracking changes in bee biodiversity is important for developing pollinator management plans that can help sustain wild plant communities and maximize crop yields.”



The researchers intended for their study to characterize bee community changes from 2014 to 2019 (the period when they sampled bees). Bees were collected continuously from eight sampling spots near four orchards from April to October of each year.&nbsp;



“These orchards are in a landscape that has high diversity and abundance of native plants and pollinators,” said study co-author Professor David Biddinger. “Only about 8% of the landscape is active orchards, and all of them are successfully pollinated only by wild pollinators.”



Overall, 26,700 bees from five families, 30 genera and 144 species were collected, representing 33 percent of the bee species known to live in Pennsylvania. The researchers found that the composition of bees was different in almost every month. Abundance of individuals as well as species of bees increased from April to June, for instance.



These seasonal changes are important, according to study co-author Professor Margarita López-Uribe.



“These groups of bees provide unique ecological functions,” said Professor López-Uribe. “For example, many of the early emerging bee species are of critical importance for early flowering plants such as spring ephemeral wildflowers, and these bee-plant interactions may be particularly sensitive to disruptions from climate change. And many crops, such as apples and blueberries, rely on pollination by early emerging wild bees.”



Unfortunately, the researchers found that some of these bees are in decline. They determined that 26 of the bee species had stable populations over time, while 13 species showed a decline over time. This is about one-third of the species with good data.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Wild bee communities are diverse and dynamic, and little is known about what species or groups have the greatest conservation needs,” said Professor López-Uribe. “Our findings could help to quantify the effects that different aspects of environmental change have on bee communities and to identify species of conservation concern.”



Image Credit: Nash Turley/Penn State



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bee populations in Pennsylvania are on the decline

Sampling near Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center shows...

Microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi play a fundamental role in the health of tropical forest ecosystems, by breaking down dead organic matter and either using the carbon it contains or releasing it into the environment as carbon dioxide. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a>, global warming will most likely cause a significant decline in the number of species of microbes living in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/billions-of-tons-of-co2-could-be-released-from-tropical-soils/">tropical soils</a> and thus threaten rainforest biodiversity and increase carbon emissions.



Climate models estimate that the tropics could warm by two to five degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century. In an experiment on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, the researchers warmed five plots in a lowland tropical forest to investigate what would happen if tropical soils were exposed to such levels of predicted warming. After two years, they discovered that the biodiversity of microbes in the heated plots declined significantly.&nbsp;



“This research is prompting us to think differently about the way a warmer climate may affect tropical soils, which support some of the world’s richest biodiversity and are a globally important store of carbon,” said study lead author Andrew Nottingham, a forest ecologist at the University of Leeds.



“If the results that we have seen in just two years are representative of what will occur in global tropical soils, then there will be a major negative impact on the rich ecosystems they support. A major question is whether any of the microbes missing in the warmed plots played a key role in soil functioning, because we know that soil diversity is correlated with soil health. There are further likely implications for plants as tropical rainforests include associations and symbioses between microbes in the soil and the vegetation.”



According to Dr. Nottingham and his colleagues, changes in the population of microbes in warming soils will most likely affect these associations, potentially making a large number of them impossible. Thus, changes in the underground microbe community will prompt major changes in the plant communities above ground.



In addition, the scientists have also found that warming soils will emit more CO2 in the atmosphere, thus further exacerbating climate change. “The implications of these results are alarming – but by demonstrating how sensitive these ecosystems are to a warming climate, the results emphasize the urgency for conserving these biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems and to tightly limit current warming,” Dr. Nottingham concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01200-1">Nature Microbiology</a>.&nbsp;



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

Tropical soils may be deeply changed by global warming

Microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi play a fundamental role...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.univ-poitiers.fr/en/">University of Poitiers</a> has identified a new, giant species of long-extinct otter in Ethiopia that was likely the size of a modern lion. While contemporary otters weigh between four and 100 pounds, Enhydriodon omoensis weighted an estimated 440 pounds, making it the largest otter discovered until now. This creature lived between 3.5 and 2.5 million years ago, and was a fierce terrestrial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-eddies-help-marine-predators-find-food/">predator</a>.



Traditionally, otters of the genus Enhydriodon were considered to be semi-aquatic animals, feeding on a variety of species common in African freshwater environments, including mollusks, turtles, catfish, or even crocodiles. The scientists analyzed stable oxygen isotopes and carbon in the tooth enamel of the newly discovered member of this group to clarify what type of environment it was inhabiting and what was it was feeding on. Presumably, the relative values of these isotopes should have been close to those of fossil hippopotami and other semi-aquatic animals. However, the researchers were surprised to discover that this giant otter occupied quite a different habitat from its relatives, and had a different diet.



“The peculiar thing, in addition to its massive size, is that [isotopes] in its teeth suggest it was not aquatic, like all modern otters,” said study co-author Kevin Uno, a geochemist at <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>. “We found it had a diet of terrestrial animals, also differing from modern otters.” Most probably, E. omoensis was able to hunt prey that consumed a large variety of terrestrial plants, ranging from tropical grasses to vegetation from trees.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In future research, the scientists plan to sample a larger variety of African otter fossils and conduct studies of tooth enamel and the shape and structure of long bones, in order to better understand which place these gigantic creatures occupied in ancient ecosystems, and what was the cause of their extinction about 200 million years ago.



The study was published in the journal <a href="https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/fr/periodiques/comptes-rendus-palevol/21/30">Comptes Rendus Palevol</a>. In addition, the authors presented their findings in a short video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V2Oc_ihdpY&amp;t=11s&amp;ab_channel=LaboratoirePALEVOPRIM">YouTube</a>.



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

Gigantic prehistoric otter discovered in Ethiopia

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

At the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 million years ago, a massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-details-on-the-asteroid-impact-that-killed-the-dinosaurs/">asteroid</a> struck the Yucatan Peninsula in what is now Mexico, and triggered a mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, along with over 75 percent of all living species. While scientists have long known that this catastrophic impact caused devastating wildfire that contributed to this mass extinction, how and when these wildfires started remained a mystery. 



Now, an international team of researchers from Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom has found that the asteroid that hit the Earth almost instantly ignited wildfires up to thousands of kilometers from its impact zone.



“Until now it has not been clear whether the fires were caused as a direct result of the impact or subsequently, as vegetation killed by the post-impact darkness caused by the debris thrown up into the atmosphere was set ablaze by things such as lightning strikes,” said study co-author Ben Kneller, an expert in Geosciences at the <a href="https://www.abdn.ac.uk/">University of Aberdeen</a>.



By analyzing rocks dating to the time of the asteroid strike, Dr. Kneller and his colleagues discovered that some of the wildfires broke out within minutes from the impact, in areas stretching up to 2,500 kilometers from the impact crater. The wildfires that were ignited in coastal areas were short-lived, since the backwash from the mega-tsunami caused by the impact swept charred trees offshore.



An analysis of the fossilized tree barks showed that the fires had already begun by the time the trees were washed away soon after the initial impact. According to the scientists, this was either due to an enormous fireball caused by the asteroid strike, or by the heat from droplets of melted rock falling back through the atmosphere in the immediate aftermath of the impact.



“Ultimately our research confirms how and when these devastating fires were begun and paints a vivid and quite terrifying picture of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the meteorite strike,” Dr. Kneller concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17292-y">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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

Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs ignited massive wildfires

At the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 million...

An,Upward,View,Of,A,Japanese,Maple,Tree,Canopy,In

There are only three known fossil specimens of the long extinct gliding lizard named Coelurosauravus elivensis. Dated to the late Permian Period – between 260 million to 252 million years ago&nbsp;– this unusual reptile inhabited the wetlands and forests of Madagascar when conditions were temperate, warm and humid. The species is striking because of its patagium – a membranous flap of skin stretching between front and hind limbs – that enabled it to glide; this makes it the oldest known gliding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/past-climate-change-drove-the-rapid-evolution-of-reptiles/">reptile</a> in the world.&nbsp;



The three fossils were discovered between 1906 and 1907, and the species was described to science in 1926. Since then, however, scientists have debated about how exactly the patagium was supported and used, and how this lizard moved about in it environment. A team of researchers has now examined in great detail the three fossils of&nbsp;C. elivensis from Madagascar, as well as a number of related specimens, all belonging to the same reptile family (Weigeltisaurida), in order to understand more about this unusual lizard.&nbsp;



Experts from the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris (Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle) and the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe in Germany further hypothesize that this remarkable lizard most likely evolved its flying ability in response to changes in the forests of the time.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Pennsylvanian [late Carboniferous] forests, while taxonomically and vertically heterogeneous, had rather open canopy strata with spatially separated arborescent taxa resulting in little crown overlap. In contrast, Cisuralian [early Permian] forests show evidence of denser communities suggestive of more continuous canopy strata. Such change in forest structure could explain why no gliders have been reported prior to weigeltisaurids although several arboreal or scansorial amniotes have been described from Pennsylvanian and Cisuralian deposits," said study lead author Valentin Buffa, from the Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie at the French Natural History Museum.



“These dragons weren’t forged in mythological fire, they simply needed to get from place to place. As it turned out, gliding was the most efficient mode of transport and here, in this new study, we see how their morphology enabled this.”



The researchers were particularly interested in understanding how all the bits of the C. elivensis skeleton fitted together, and so they focused on the postcranial portions – the body, including the torso, limbs, and remarkable gliding apparatus, the patagium. Previous analysis of the reptile had assumed that its patagium was supported by bones that extended from the ribs, as they do in modern gliding lizards of the genus&nbsp;Draco&nbsp;that are found in Southeast Asia.



Since there was no complete specimen among the fossils, the researchers had to piece together the existing parts of the fossils in order to get a better picture of the lizard’s skeletal structure. Their thorough investigation suggested that the patagium of&nbsp;C. elivensis&nbsp;was not supported by extensions from the ribs. Instead, the approximately 29 pairs of long, rod-shaped bones that supported the gliding membrane were proposed to originate either simply from the animal’s skin and trunk musculature, or from its gastralia.



Gastralia are dermal bones found in the skin covering the stomach region of some reptiles, including the crocodilians, the tuatara and the dinosaurs. If these bones in C. elivensis were modified gastralia, they would have been positioned more towards the lower lateral surface of the body, and not towards the dorsal side as is seen in modern Draco lizards. The researchers concluded that the bony rods were flexible and that furling and unfurling of the flight membrane would probably have been controlled by the abdominal muscles.&nbsp;



Combining these findings with others derived from the bone structure observed in the fossils, the researchers came up with a more refined vision of how this agile creature moved through its arboreal habitat.



“Sharp, curved claws and compressed body form support the idea that C. elivensis was perfectly adapted to moving vertically up tree trunks. The similarity in length of the forelimbs and hind limbs further indicates that it was an expert climber – their proportional length assisted it in remaining close to the tree’s surface, preventing it from pitching and losing its balance. Its long, lean body and whiplike tail, also seen in contemporary arboreal reptiles, further supports this interpretation,” explained Valentin Buffa.



An analysis of the similarities and differences between C. elivensis&nbsp;and living gliding lizards from the genus Draco found that the fossil species was likely less efficient at gliding than modern&nbsp;Draco&nbsp;species due to its larger body size. Its estimated wing loading of around 107.9 N/m2 is 4.5 times higher than that of the&nbsp;Draco species, which would likely lead to a substantial drop in height per glide and correspond with a steep descent angle of more than 45 degrees.



“C. elivensis&nbsp;does bear a striking resemblance to the contemporary genus Draco,” said Valentin Buffa. “While its habits were likely similar to those of its modern counterpart, we do see subtle differences though.”



“Like&nbsp;Draco&nbsp;lizards,&nbsp;Coelurosauravus&nbsp;was able to grasp its patagium with its front claws, stabilize it during flight, and even adjust it, allowing for greater maneuverability. An additional joint in one finger, though, may have enhanced this capability. This may have been a necessary compensation for the lower positioning of the patagium, which likely made it more unstable.”



The research is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2022.2108713">Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</a>.



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

Changes in tree canopy supported the earliest gliding lizards

There are only three known fossil specimens of the long...

Green household consumer products are not always less toxic or more degradable than regular products, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.5435">Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry</a>. In fact, the researchers found that some green products were even more toxic than conventional formulas.



"Although it is generally assumed that green household consumer products (HCPs) contain individual compounds that are less toxic and/or more degradable than conventional HCPs, little research on this topic has been conducted," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



Many companies are creating "green" household products to reduce the environmental impacts associated with their manufacturing and disposal. Some examples of household consumer products (HCPs) that are going green include laundry detergents, all-purpose cleaners, and toothpaste.



"On a global scale, household cleaning products alone represented a market size of $221.32 billion in 2020, following an 18.2 percent increase related to demand associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been estimated that two billion kg are used annually," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Relative to other consumer products, such as pharmaceuticals, HCPs have not received as much attention regarding their potential environmental impacts. Unlike pharmaceuticals, HCPs are typically not ingested by humans and therefore do not undergo enzymatically mediated metabolic alteration."



"As a result, large quantities of household consumer products, especially cleaning products, enter the aquatic environment largely unaltered through the release of wastewater effluent and degraded sewage infrastructures."



The new study revealed that compared with conventional formulations, some formulations of green products are less toxic, some are similar, and some are even more toxic. Tests were conducted both before and after degradation of the products.



"The toxicity of green and conventional HCPs was assessed in six different HCP categories using a series of 48-h acute toxicity tests involving larvae of the estuarine daggerblade grass shrimp, Palaemons pugio, and juveniles of the freshwater cladoceran, Daphnia magna," explained the researchers.



Study co-author Austin Gray is a professor of Biological Sciences at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a>. He explained that although the study is rooted in aquatic toxicology, it has broader implications in fields related to marketing, consumer behavior, and economics.



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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

"Green" products are not always less toxic

Green household consumer products are not always less toxic or...

According to a major review study published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abn7950">Science</a>, if global temperature rises beyond 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, multiple dangerous climate tipping points would be triggered, with this risk increasing substantially with every tenth of a degree of future warming. These findings provide strong scientific support for the Paris Agreement and associated efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C, by showing that the risk of tipping points escalates beyond this level.



By synthesizing evidence for tipping points, their temperature thresholds, timescales, and impact from a comprehensive review of more than 200 scientific articles published after 2008 – when the notion of “tipping points” was first introduced in the scientific vocabulary and rigorously defined – the researchers found that human emissions have already pushed our planet into the danger zone.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that five of the sixteen tipping points currently identified may be triggered even at today’s temperatures: melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, widespread abrupt permafrost thaw, collapse of convection in the Labrador Sea, and large-scale die-offs of tropical coral reefs.



“We can see signs of destabilization already in parts of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, in permafrost regions, the Amazon rainforest, and potentially the Atlantic overturning circulation as well,” said study lead author David Armstrong McKay, a georesilience analyst at the <a href="https://www.stockholmresilience.org/">Stockholm Resilience Center</a>. “The world is already at risk of some tipping points. As global temperatures rise further, more tipping points become possible.”



According to Dr. McKay and his colleagues, the chance of crossing more tipping points could be reduced by rapidly and immediately cutting greenhouse gas emissions. However, while the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/">Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC) argued that risks of triggering climate tipping points become high at 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures and very high at 2.5-4°C, this new analysis indicates that our planet may have already left a “safe” climate state when temperatures exceeded just 1°C. Thus, even if temperatures stop rising, once the ice sheets, oceans, or rainforests have passed a threshold, they will carry on degrading for decades, even if emissions are stopped.



“The world is heading towards 2-3°C of global warming. This sets Earth on course to cross multiple dangerous tipping points that will be disastrous for people across the world. To maintain livable conditions on Earth, protect people from rising extremes, and enable stable societies, we must do everything possible to prevent crossing tipping points. Every tenth of a degree counts,” concluded study co-author Johan Rockström, the director of the <a href="https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Tipping points could be triggered without further warming

According to a major review study published in the journal...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-threatens-two-new-fish-species-with-extinction/">Deforestation</a> in tropical regions currently continues apace, despite public outcries, the efforts of concerned groups, and media attention worldwide. The clearing of forests jeopardizes plans to cut back greenhouse gas emissions, conserve biodiversity in these areas and protect the valuable ecosystem services provided by tropical forests. Although there have been renewed commitments to reduce deforestation, made for example at the climate COP26 in 2021, the drivers of deforestation are poorly understood.



A new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abm9267">Science</a> has reviewed the extent to which agricultural expansion drives deforestation in tropical regions. In the past, agriculture has been cited as driving 80 percent of deforestation, but the international team of researchers responsible for the current research say this figure is much higher.&nbsp;



“Our review makes clear that between 90 and 99 percent of all deforestation in the tropics is driven directly or indirectly by agriculture. But what surprised us was that a comparatively smaller share of the deforestation – between 45 and 65 percent –​​ results in the expansion of actual agricultural production on the deforested land. This finding is of profound importance for designing effective measures to reduce deforestation and promote sustainable rural development,” said study lead author Florence Pendrill from <a href="https://www.chalmers.se/en">Chalmers University of Technology</a>, Sweden.



The review undertaken by the researchers focused on pantropical assessments of deforestation drivers in 87 tropical and subtropical countries covering most of Latin America, Africa south of the Sahara, and South and Southeast Asia. These data were combined with national-level estimates of deforestation in 11 of the countries with the highest rates of deforestation. Their focus was on the time period between 2011 and 2015.&nbsp;



The researchers record significant obstacles to determining rates of deforestation from the literature, mostly because previous studies use a diversity of methods to measure this and even to define what is meant by deforestation. The current researchers defined deforestation as “a persistent conversion of natural forest to any other land use, such as agriculture or human settlements, or to tree plantations,” and then reviewed studies from different sources to derive estimates of the rate of deforestation that were in line with their chosen definition.



The analysis revealed that between 6.4 and 8.8 million hectares (Mha) of tropical forest were cleared for agricultural and other use each year between 2011 and 2015. However, not all of this newly cleared land actually ended up being used for productive agriculture. The researchers report a discrepancy in the region of 2.0–4.5 Mha per year between forest cleared in the name of agriculture and the presence of newly created, active agricultural lands. This is consistent with previous regional and pantropical remote sensing studies that identify large tracts of unused land following forest clearance.&nbsp;



This discrepancy is present across all three continents considered in the study, and amounts to 1.0 to 2.0 Mha per year in Latin America, 0.0 to 1.3 Mha per year in Africa, and 1.1 to 1.2 Mha per year in Asia. The reasons why cleared forests are not converted into productive agricultural land include contested land claims, unsustainable practices like growing pasture for cattle on nutrient poor soils, and the unexpected collapse of markets. In addition, forest is often cleared for speculative purposes or to strengthen claims on uninhabited land, and is then subsequently abandoned.



“A big piece of the puzzle is just how much deforestation is ‘for nothing,’”&nbsp;observed Professor Patrick Meyfroidt from UCLouvain and F.R.S.-FNRS in Belgium.&nbsp;“While agriculture is the ultimate driver, forests and other ecosystems are often cleared for land speculation that never materialized, projects that were abandoned or ill-conceived, land that proved unsuitable for cultivation, as well as due to fires that spread into forests neighboring cleared areas.”



Newly deforested land that is used for agricultural purposes is most often used for pasture development and the rearing of cattle. In addition, only a handful of consumer commodities are responsible for the majority of deforestation linked to actively producing agricultural land&nbsp;–&nbsp;these include soy, palm oil and rubber, as well as coffee, cocoa, rice, maize and cassava. Recent initiatives to halt deforestation have called for a ban on such produce that is cultivated on deforested land.



“Sector specific initiatives to combat deforestation can be invaluable, and new measures to prohibit imports of commodities linked to deforestation in consumer markets, such as those under negotiation in the EU, UK and USA represent a major step forward from largely voluntary efforts to combat deforestation to date,”&nbsp;said Dr. Toby Gardner of the Stockholm Environment Institute and Director of the supply chain transparency initiative, Trase.



“But as our study shows, strengthening forest and land-use governance in producer countries has to be the ultimate goal of any policy response. Supply chain and demand-side measures must be designed in a way that also tackles the underlying and indirect ways in which agriculture is linked to deforestation. They need to drive improvements in sustainable rural development, otherwise we can expect to see deforestation rates remaining stubbornly high in many places,”&nbsp;Dr. Gardner added.



The study’s findings point to the need for supply chain interventions to go beyond a focus on specific commodities and risk management, to help drive genuine partnerships between producer and consumer markets and governments. This needs to include strong incentive-based measures that make sustainable agriculture economically attractive, while&nbsp;disincentivizing further conversion of native vegetation and supporting the most vulnerable smallholder farmers. The authors say this should include a stronger focus on domestic markets, often the biggest drivers of demand for many commodities, including beef, and a strengthening of partnerships between companies, governments and civil society in producer jurisdictions.



Finally, the study highlights three critical gaps where a stronger evidence base is needed to better target efforts to reduce deforestation; “The first is that without a globally and temporally consistent data product on deforestation we cannot be confident about overall trends in conversion. The second is that except for oil palm and soy, we lack data on the coverage and expansion of specific commodities to know which are more important, with our understanding of global pasture and grazing lands being especially dire. The third is that we know comparatively very little indeed about tropical dry forests, and forests in Africa,” said&nbsp;Professor Martin Persson of Chalmers University&nbsp;of Technology.&nbsp;



“What is most worrying, given the urgency of the crisis is that each of these evidence gaps poses significant barriers to our ability to drive down deforestation in the most effective way – by knowing where the problems are concentrated, and understanding the success of efforts to date," said Professor Persson.



Despite these knowledge gaps and remaining uncertainties, the study stresses that a step-change in efforts is urgently needed to effectively tackle and curb deforestation and conversion of other ecosystems and to foster sustainable rural development. The Glasgow Declaration on Forests recognized the importance of jointly addressing the crises of climate and biodiversity loss and set a new level of ambition for tackling deforestation and promoting sustainable agriculture. The authors of this new study say it is paramount that we begin to see individual countries and policymakers prioritize the realization of this ambition.



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

Tropical forest land sometimes gets cleared for "nothing"

Deforestation in tropical regions currently continues apace, despite public outcries,...

Each day, approximately one quadrillion gallons of water are silently pumped by trees from their roots to the treetops – an astonishing feat accomplished by using only sunlight. While scientists have long known that it takes a huge amount of energy to lift all this liquid, what this amount is precisely remained a mystery.&nbsp;



Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California, Santa Barbara</a> has quantified for the first time the tremendous amount of power used by plants to move water through their xylem – a type of transport tissue in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alarming-number-of-european-vascular-plants-are-threatened/">vascular plants</a> – to their leaves. Their analyses revealed that, on average, it added up to 14.2 percent of the energy that plants gather through photosynthesis. This amount is comparable to the production of all humanity’s hydropower.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“It takes power to move water up through the xylem of the tree. It takes energy. We’re quantifying how much energy that is,” said study lead author Gregory Quetin, a postdoctoral researcher in Ecology at UC Santa Barbara. This energy is a surplus to what plants produce through photosynthesis. “It’s energy that’s being harvested passively from the environment, just through the tree’s structure.”



Complex plants accomplish this amazing feat with a vascular system, in which tubes called xylem bring water from the roots to the leaves, while another type of tubes, known as phloem, transport sugar produced in the leaves to the rest of the plant. “Vascular plants evolving xylem is a huge deal that allowed for trees to exist,” Dr. Quetin explained.



By contrast to those of animals, plant circulatory systems are open and powered passively, with sunlight evaporating water, which then escapes from pores into the leaves, and creates a negative pressure that pulls up the water beneath, through a process called “transpiration.” Unlike in the case of photosynthesis, the energy produced by transpiration does not need to be processed before being used.



The scientists combined a global database of plant conductance with mathematical models of sap ascent to calculate how much power plants devote to pumping water. They found that the Earth’s forests consume about 9.4 petawatt-hours per year – an amount similar to global hydropower production. Surprisingly, little of this energy is used in fighting gravity, most of it going into overcoming the resistance of plants’ stems.



Since plants vary widely in how conducive their stems are to water flow, there is still some uncertainty regarding how much energy particular plants produce. “I think this uncertainty highlights that there is still a lot we don’t know about the biogeography of plant resistance (and to a lesser extent, transpiration). This is good motivation for continued research in these areas,” Dr. Quetin concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2022JG006922">Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences</a>.&nbsp;



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

How much energy do plants use to lift water from the soil?

Each day, approximately one quadrillion gallons of water are silently...

A,Helicopter,Dropping,Water,On,A,California,Wildfire,In,Rugged

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/record-breaking-wildfire-years-are-just-getting-started/">Wildfires</a> erupting in areas such as forests, grasslands, or prairies have recently grown in frequency and intensity – most likely due to climate change – increasingly impacting a variety of ecosystems, as well as human lives. Although wildfires are often considered ecologically beneficial, they also have many negative effects, such as degradation of air quality from the smoke and pollutants released.



In a new study, experts from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/langley/">NASA Langley Research Center</a>, in collaboration with scientists from the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA), have monitored the levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) in wildfire plumes in order to better understand the effects of wildfires on air quality.&nbsp;



While CO is directly generated during wildfires, O3 is produced from precursors emitted during wildfires and depends on various factors for its production, while their presence within wildfire plumes determines the plume age. Thus, reliably assessing its concentrations is crucial for better understanding how wildfires affect the air quality, weather, and climate.



The scientists measured the atmospheric CO and O3&nbsp;levels across the continental U.S. by using a&nbsp;remote sensor called “National Airborne Sounder Testbed-Interferometer” (NAST-I) that provided both high spatial and spectral resolution.&nbsp;



“The NAST-I, onboard NASA ER-2 aircraft, covers a space large enough to monitor the wildfire plume from its origination, evolution, and transport, and provides 3D distributions of the O3&nbsp;and CO concentrations at a higher spatial resolution compared to that of satellite infrared-ultraspectral sensors,” said study lead author Daniel K. Zhou, a physical scientist at NASA.



Based on their measurements, the researchers estimated the plume age by observing the differential concentrations ratios of O3&nbsp;and CO. “Our results showed enhanced levels of CO in the evolving plume as it was transported away from the site of the fire. The plume age was associated with the plume distance in both vertical and horizontal directions,” Zhou explained.



These findings – published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.16.034522">Journal of Applied Remote Sensing</a> - provide important insights into the effects of wildfires on the atmosphere and the steps needed to mitigate their negative impact on air quality and thus public health.&nbsp;



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

Measuring the effect of wildfires on air quality

Wildfires erupting in areas such as forests, grasslands, or prairies...

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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

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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



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How the immune system responds to injury

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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