A team in central China has done something simple and bold, they directly dated dinosaur eggs instead of the rocks around them. The eggshell calcite from the Qinglongshan site yielded an age of 85.91 ± 1.74 million years.



This matters because it turns eggs from interesting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/">fossils</a> into reliable timestamps for life on land during the Late Cretaceous, a time of shifting climates and ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-eggshells-dated">Dinosaur eggshells dated</h2>



The fossils come from Qinglongshan in the Yunyang Basin of Hubei Province, where thousands of intact eggs rest in stacked layers with little distortion.&nbsp;



“We show that these dinosaur eggs were deposited roughly 85 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period,” said <a href="https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/3140051/overview" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Bi Zhao</a>, from the Hubei Institute of Geosciences (<a href="https://en.cug.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HIG</a>).



The group used carbonate <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/zircon-u-pb-dating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U-Pb dating</a> on eggshell material, measuring uranium and lead atoms to calculate time since the shell formed. 



In their tests, the radiogenic signal sits in biogenic calcite, the carbonate built by the egg-laying animal, which behaved as a semi-closed system for uranium uptake after burial.



The <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1638838/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> relied on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/laser-ablation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laser ablation</a>, a micro laser that vaporizes pinpoint spots of carbonate which are then analyzed by a mass spectrometer for uranium and lead ratios.&nbsp;



The resulting age is not from ash fall or nearby minerals, it is from the eggshell itself, which frees researchers from indirect age constraints that can mislead if volcanic layers formed earlier or later than the nest horizon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-carbonate-u-pb-works">How carbonate U-Pb works</h2>



Uranium isotopes in carbonates decay into lead at known, constant rates, and the proportion of parent to daughter isotopes reveals elapsed time. 



Cross checks, like repeated spots in different shell areas and agreement between fragments, keep the numbers honest, and the reported uncertainty of ± 1.74 million years reflects instrument precision and sample scatter, not guesswork.



Indirect <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1367912012005019" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">approaches</a> have anchored many Asian egg sites by dating interbedded tuffs, for example zircon based SIMS ages from the Tiantai Basin that bracket egg layers in the Laijia and Chichengshan formations at roughly 96 to 99 million years and 91 to 94 million years. 



That prior dating set a framework that eggshell ages can now refine where ash is missing.



Carbonate geochronology has matured fast, with careful comparisons between uranium thorium and U-Pb techniques on the same samples showing strong consistency over wide timescales. 



That broader look at geochronology <a href="https://gchron.copernicus.org/articles/7/335/2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">methods</a> helps explain why a tiny eggshell can carry a credible age.



The study team also separated signals, finding consistent ages from biogenic carbonates, and noisy or unusable signals from late pore filling calcite, a reminder that not all carbonates are equal for keeping time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-eggshell-site">Dinosaur eggshell site</h2>



The Qinglongshan reserve preserves egg clutches in red siltstones and sandstones, with many eggs still three dimensional and minimally deformed, a rare condition that helps both taphonomy and dating. 



The sampled clutch belonged to an oblate style of egg typical of the family <a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dendrobatidae/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dendroolithidae</a>, which is known for highly porous shells.



Those Yunyang eggs have been assigned to Placoolithus tumiaolingensis by <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app63/app005232018.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> that cleaned up the taxonomy and emphasized the diagnostic shell microstructure. That classification anchors the site in a broader Chinese record of dendroolithid eggs.



Porous eggshell architecture affects gas exchange and incubation, and the microstructure varies in ways that may reflect nesting style in a semi arid fluvial landscape. 



The new age puts those choices in a tight slice of time, late Coniacian to early Santonian, rather than a vague Late Cretaceous window.



Thousands of eggs across stacked horizons also open the door to building a basin scale timeline where shell ages from different levels track local ecological change, sedimentation rates, and any shifts in the nesting fauna.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/dinosaur-eggs_dating-method_china_credit-Bi-Zhao_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/dinosaur-eggs_dating-method_china_credit-Bi-Zhao_1s.webp" alt="Egg clutch sampled for chronological studies. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao" class="wp-image-1985991"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Egg clutch sampled for chronological studies. Click image to enlarge. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-climate-context">Dinosaur climate context</h2>



Marine records indicate the Late Cretaceous did not stay uniformly hot. 



One North Atlantic sea surface temperature <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24937202/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">record</a> shows a drop of about 7 degrees Celsius (12.6 degrees Fahrenheit), from around 35 degrees to below 28 degrees, between the earliest Campanian and the Maastrichtian.



Independent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18187651/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> from oxygen isotopes suggests brief glaciation episodes punctuated parts of the mid Cretaceous greenhouse, showing that climate could swing even when the world was generally warm. 



Inland Asia would have felt those shifts in precipitation, seasonality, and vegetation.



Pinned ages on terrestrial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-extinction-theories-are-challenged-by-new-research/">fossils</a> let scientists ask tighter questions about whether nesting density changed across cooler intervals or whether certain egg types rose or fell with climate. 



The eggshell ages at Qinglongshan now give one fixed point for such tests, and more layers can add the sequence needed to see patterns.



Cause and effect claims are premature at a single site, but a direct eggshell chronology makes it practical to compare neighboring basins and see whether bird and non avian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-sized-baby-dinosaur-unearthed-after-166-million-years/">dinosaur</a> nesting moved, paused, or persisted during regional climate transitions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next">What comes next</h2>



The team plans to sample eggs from additional horizons at Qinglongshan, then from basins to the north and south, to build a regional timeline that can be compared with dated marine and volcanic records. 



That will clarify which changes are local quirks and which ones reflect broader environmental forcing across East Asia.



Applying the same protocol to eggs in the Xixia, Jiaolai, and Nanxiong basins would close large age gaps where ash beds are absent. 



Those basins have different egg assemblages, so a uniform clock could test migration ideas and turnover hypotheses without assuming rock ages transfer cleanly between sites.



Direct dinosaur eggshell dating also complements existing zircon frameworks rather than replacing them, since both tools answer different parts of the age question. 



Zircons pin eruptive or depositional moments for ash, while eggshells date the biological event of nesting, and together they can resolve the tempo of life on land.



With better <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-ground-dwellers-survived-the-asteroid-impact-that-killed-the-dinosaurs/">timescales</a>, small details like pore geometry, clutch spacing, and shell thickness will be tied to environmental context, not guesswork. 



That is how a few careful ages can turn a crowded egg hillside into a precise chronicle of Late Cretaceous life in central China.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1638838/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>.



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These dinosaur eggs tell an incredible story from 85 million years ago

A team in central China has done something simple and bold, they directly dated dinosaur eggs instead of the rocks around them. The eggshell calcite from the Qinglongshan site yielded an age of 85.91 ± 1.74 million years. This matters because it turns eggs from interesting fossils into reliable timestamps for life on land during the Late Cretaceous, a time of shifting climates and ecosystems. Dinosaur eggshells dated The fossils come from Qinglongshan in the Yunyang Basin of Hubei Province, where thousands of intact eggs rest in...

New research has revealed that spider monkeys change the pitch of their calls if they’re separated from their groups.

Agile and strong, spider monkeys spend a good portion of their lives climbing and swinging from branches and trees in the rain forests of Central and South America. 

Spider monkeys are known for their Tarzan-like maneuvers as well as their loud screeches, whinnies, and vocal calls. They are also extremely social and live in groups of 24 to 36.

When a member of the group strays out of sight, spider monkeys use specific whinnies to communicate with the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/monkeys-loners-nature-isolation/">isolated group member</a>, and these whinnies can vary in pitch. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.dpz.eu/en/home.html">German Primate Center</a> hypothesized that isolated spider monkeys lowered the pitch of their whinnies to help relocate their group and vice versa. 

To test this, the researchers monitored 27 female and eight male adult black-handed spider monkeys in the Lacandona Rainforest in Mexico. 

The team recorded the monkeys’ calls with microphones, and a spider monkey was considered isolated if they were more than 40 meters from the group. Over a five-month period, the researchers recorded 566 whinnies from 35 monkeys. 

After analyzing the calls, the researchers discovered that isolated spider monkeys produced lower frequency whinnies compared to calls made in a group. 

Lower frequencies travel longer distances so lowering the pitch may help improve a lost individual's chances of reconnecting with its group, the researchers say. 

Members within the group were also quick to respond to lower frequency calls from isolated spider monkeys. 

The results of the study show that spider monkeys do, in fact, lower their calls when they are separated from their group. The full findings of the study were published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0213914">PLOS ONE. </a>

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Spider monkeys lower the pitch of their calls if separated from the group

New research has revealed that spider monkeys change the pitch...

Scientists at <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">The University of British Columbia</a> are describing the very first organism ever found that can produce chlorophyll yet does not participate in photosynthesis. The organism has been given the name corallicolid because it is found in 70 percent of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/corals-survive-bleaching-resilient/">corals</a> around the world and may ultimately help experts to protect them.

“This is the second most abundant cohabitant of coral on the planet and it hasn't been seen until now,” said study co-author Patrick Keeling. “This organism poses completely new biochemical questions. It looks like a parasite, and it's definitely not photosynthetic. But it still makes chlorophyll.”

Chlorophyll is the green pigment that allows plants to absorb energy from sunlight during photosynthesis.

“Having chlorophyll without photosynthesis is actually very dangerous because chlorophyll is very good at capturing energy, but without photosynthesis to release the energy slowly it is like living with a bomb in your cells,” explained Keeling.

Corallicolids can be found in the gastric cavity of a variety of reef-building corals, as well as black corals, fan corals, mushroom corals, and anemones. They are part of a vast group of parasites, also known as apicomplexans, that have a cellular compartment called a plastid where photosynthesis takes place.

While coral reefs were known to contain several apicomplexans, the most common one was being overlooked. Corallicolids were not only found to have a plastid, but were surprisingly found to contain all four plastid genes used in chlorophyll production.

[caption id="attachment_1870714" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/coral.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1870714" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/coral.jpeg" alt="" width="650" height="433" /></a> Researchers examining corals underwater. Image Credit: Varsha Mathur[/caption]

“It's quite a head scratcher,” said study lead author Waldan Kwong. “We don't know why these organisms are holding on to these photosynthesis genes. There's some novel biology going on here, something we haven't seen before.”

The researchers hope that a better understanding of corallicolids will provide new insights into coral habitats and how to preserve them.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Patrick Keeling Lab, UBC

First organism found that can produce chlorophyll without photosynthesis

Scientists at The University of British Columbia are describing the...

The benefits of having a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/pets-can-tell-time/">pet</a> are usually not lost on those who own one – whether it’s a dog or cat, or even a less common pet that comes with scales or feathers. And according to a new national poll, pets of all shapes and sizes can also help older adults cope with mental and physical health issues.

The findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging – conducted by the<a href="https://ihpi.umich.edu/"> University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation</a> – showed that 55 percent of adults ages 50 to 80 have a pet, and roughly three-quarters of these pet owners claim that their animals help reduce their stress, as well as give them a sense of purpose. Additionally, two-thirds of pet owners said that their pet helps them stay physically active.

“We have long known that pets are a common and naturally occurring source of support,” says Cathleen Connell, Ph.D., a professor at the <a href="https://sph.umich.edu/">U-M School of Public Health</a>. “Although the benefits of pets are significant, social connections and activities with friends and family are also key to quality of life across the lifespan. Helping older adults find low cost ways to support pet ownership while not sacrificing other important relationships and priorities is an investment in overall mental and physical health.” 

Although the poll showed that owning a pet can be a positive influence in the lives of older adults, there are still some concerns. Some people may put their animals’ needs before their own health, and 18 percent said that having a pet puts a strain on their budget.

“More activity, through dog walking or other aspects of pet care, is almost always a good thing for older adults,” explains Preeti Malani, M.D., the poll director who has training in caring for older adults. “But the risk of falls is real for many, and six percent of those in our poll said they had fallen or injured themselves due to a pet. At the same time, given the importance of pets to many people, the loss of a pet can deal a very real psychological blow that providers, family and friends should be attuned to.” 

Malani believes that physicians and other health care providers should ask older adults about the role of pets in their lives. 

“Later life is often a time when people have more freedom to travel, and a long list of things they want to do with their free time, and sometimes having a pet can get in the way,” says Mary Janevic, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant research scientist at the U-M School of Public Health. “For people living on a fixed income, expenses related to health care for pets, and especially pets that have chronic health issues, can be a struggle. Older adults can also develop health problems or disabilities that make pet care difficult.”

But despite these concerns, many poll respondents indicated the companionship and social connection benefits of pet ownership. Over half said that they own a pet specifically to have a companion, and even more said they let their pets sleep in bed with them. Sixty-five percent of pet owners also said that having a pet helps them connect with other people as well. 

“Relationships with pets tend to be less complicated than those with humans, and pets are often a source of great enjoyment,” says Janevic. “They also provide older adults with a sense of being needed and loved.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pets help older adults deal with health problems, but there are drawbacks

The benefits of having a pet are usually not lost...

In an unprecedented event, an Australian lizard has laid three eggs before giving birth to a live baby weeks later from the same pregnancy. The three-toed skink is a rare “bimodally reproductive” species, in which some females lay eggs and others give birth to live babies. Until now, however, no <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dorsal-fin-arms-legs/">vertebrate</a> has ever been observed to do both in one litter.

Study lead author Dr. Camilla Whittington is an evolutionary biologist at the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a>.

“It is a very unusual discovery,” said Dr. Whittington. “We were studying the genetics of these skinks when we noticed one of the live-bearing females lay three eggs. Several weeks later she gave birth to another baby. Seeing that baby was a very exciting moment!”

The small lizards are native to the east coast of Australia. Those located in the northern highlands of New South Wales usually give birth to live young, while those located in and around Sydney lay eggs.

According to Dr. Whittington, there are at least 150 evolutionary transitions from egg-laying to live-bearing in vertebrates.

“The earliest vertebrates were egg-layers, but over thousands of years, developing embryos in some species were held inside the body for longer, until some animals began to give live birth. People mostly think about humans and other mammals giving birth. But there are many species of reptile that give birth, too.”

Dr. Whittington said that the unusual observation of both egg laying and live birth in a single litter shows that the three-toed skink is an ideal model for understanding pregnancy. 

“It makes Australia one of the best places in the world to study the evolution of live birth, because we can watch evolution in action,” said Dr. Whittington. “Put in the context of evolutionary biology, being able to switch between laying eggs and giving live birth could allow animals to hedge their bets according to environmental conditions.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Nadav Pezaro, Haifa University for the University of Sydney

Lizard produces both eggs and a live birth from the same pregnancy

In an unprecedented event, an Australian lizard has laid three...

You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but it turns out you can train a cow to use a litter box. 

Henk Hanskamp, a Dutch inventor and businessman, has developed a “cow toilet” that collects cow urine, and it’s an innovative device that could help limit the amount of ammonia that enters the environment from farms. 

A single cow toilet collects around 26 to 35 pints of cow pee from a single cow every day, and according to Hanscamp, his inventions could cut the amount of ammonia emissions produced by cows by half. 

Since cow ammonia emissions account for around 49 percent of all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farms-have-become-a-major-source-of-air-pollution/">ammonia emissions from agriculture</a>, finding ways to tackle ammonia and other cattle-specific emissions is crucial to agriculture sustainability and mitigating atmospheric greenhouse gases. 

Cows and other livestock are not the only sources of ammonia emissions, but high concentrations of ammonia are dangerous to human health and wellbeing. 

Ammonia has been linked to haze and eutrophication which is when water is enriched with nutrients from agricultural and waste runoff and causes dangerous algae blooms. When algae blooms occur, it limits the amount of oxygen for other aquatic species. 

Hanskamp hopes to have the cow toilet market ready by 2020, but as of now, the device is being tested in farms in the Netherlands. 

“We are tackling the problem at the source,” Hanskamp told the <a href="https://www.afp.com/en">Agence France-Presse</a>. “A cow is never going to be completely clean, but you can teach them to go to the toilet.”

The device is a box that is placed behind the cow during feeding. After the cow is done eating, the device stimulates a nerve that causes the cow to urinate. However, some of the cows have become so well trained and used to the litter box that they urinate without having their nerve stimulated.

Besides limiting emissions, Hamskamp also says that the device helps keep cowpens clean and dry. 

In the US last year, the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">Food and Drug Administration </a>(FDA) approved a drug called <a href="https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/FDAInBrief/ucm625209.htm">Experior </a>which, when fed to beef cattle, reduces the number of ammonia emissions from the animal’s waste. 

The drug has been deemed safe by the FDA, but if Hanskamp’s litter box method proves successful and becomes available to international markets, it might be an easier and less invasive way to get the same desirable results without drug intervention. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

New ‘cow toilets’ could help reduce emissions from livestock

You may not be able to teach an old dog...

Tiger geckos, a genus of 19 gecko species native to Vietnam, China, and Japan, are at risk of extinction, mainly due to being sold in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/popular-exotic-pets-dumped/">exotic pet trade</a>. 

Despite their declining numbers, very little is known about the tiger gecko’s conservation status and few protections if any exist to prevent them from being sold as pets. 

In a new study, researchers from Germany and Vietnam assessed tiger gecko populations, some from species that have never before been monitored, and tracked geckos as they were collected and sold both locally and internationally. 

The study, published in the journal Nature Conservation, provides an overview of the tiger geckos and how trade threatens populations and could soon lead to their extinction. 

The results call for immediate management and protection to conserve the species. Currently, only eight species of tiger gecko are listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered by the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/iucn-red-list-threatened-species-test-single-page">International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List </a>(IUCN Red List).

“Tiger geckos are neither sufficiently protected by law nor part of conservation programmes, due to the lack of substantial knowledge on the species conservation status and probably due to the general lack of public as well as political interest in biodiversity conservation,” the researchers said. “To date, exact impacts of trade on the species cannot be identified, as data of legal trade are only recorded for species listed in the CITES Appendices.” 

The researchers surveyed five tiger gecko species in Vietnam and made a note of local traders that had captured or bought wild tiger geckos. Tiger geckos congregate in small populations and are often isolated to just one area where they were initially found. 

For example, the Cat Ba Tiger Gecko is only found on Cat Ba Island and a few islands in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, and there are only around 120 individuals left in the species. 

Pet trading and habitat destruction have significantly reduced these isolated populations.

The five species of gecko were found in local pet shops but also in markets in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Sometimes, the researchers found advertisements for the animals on Facebook. 

The researchers say that all tiger gecko species need to be included in the <a href="https://www.cites.org/eng/disc/text.php">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora</a> (CITES) to help monitor populations and limit trade. 

The researchers also recommend an official assessment of each tiger gecko species for the IUCN Red List and that breeding programs need to be introduced to help boost populations. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a><a href="https://www.earth.com/">, Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Mona van Schingen

Exotic pet trade may send the tiger gecko into extinction

Tiger geckos, a genus of 19 gecko species native to...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that male crickets age more slowly when they are surrounded by plenty of females. Even though the entire lifespan of a field cricket only lasts about 90 days, the researchers determined that the insects still experience age-related physical decline. 

The investigation compared years when male and females were evenly distributed to years when there were twice as many females. The study revealed that when females were abundant, the rate of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/women-live-longer-men-why/">male mortality</a> associated with age was reduced by around 50 percent.

“The leading theory for why animals fall apart as we get old is that we use up our energy on reproduction instead of maintaining our bodies,” said Dr. Rolando Rodríguez-Muñoz. “If this theory is right, we would expect that when males have to compete more vigorously, they should age faster.”

“We studied a population of crickets in a Spanish meadow where years vary in the relative numbers of males and females. As predicted, males in years with more competition aged faster.”

Age-related decline was measured by how much the males chirped, a behavior used to attract females and to deter other potential male mates. In addition to becoming more frail, males experienced a rapid decline in chirping during years with equal numbers of males and females. When females outnumbered the males, however, there was no decline.

“Our study shows that even male insects pay the costs of reproductive competition in later life,” said Professor Tom Tregenza. “It seems that battling with rivals is more of a drain on males than mating with more females.”

“The declines that organisms experience as they age are a consequence of how they use their resources earlier in their lives. For males, life is easier when females are more plentiful.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Wildcrickets.org

Male crickets age more slowly with plenty of females around

A new study from the University of Exeter has found...

Illuminated city buildings present a major <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/led-lights-birds-collisions-planes/">collision risk for birds</a> that migrate at night. Now, a new study has found that birds who use chirps called flight calls to help navigate are more likely to collide with lighted buildings compared to other migrating birds that don’t produce such calls.

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> and relied on decades of data from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> in Chicago.

While flight calls can be useful to help migrating birds stay on course, the results of the study show that these calls may be inadvertently luring more birds to their death when some migrating birds become disoriented and head towards sources of artificial light.

“Nocturnal flight calls likely evolved to facilitate collective decision-making among birds during navigation, but this same social behavior may now exacerbate vulnerability to a widespread anthropogenic disturbance: artificial light from buildings,” said Benjamin Winger, the first author of the study.

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Monitoring efforts in cities like Chicago and Cleveland have helped reduce instances of bird collisions, but this study shows that bird calls as a collision risk factor have been overlooked and that more can still be done in cities to limit bird deaths.

“To date, we have not mined the potential information that flight calls could provide to advance our understanding of how nocturnally migrating birds make decisions and orient in difficult situations," said Andrew Farnsworth, a co-author of the research. “This work heralds a new direction in the integration of data on collisions, species distributions and behavior ecology for understanding nocturnal bird migration.”

The researchers analyzed data on 70,000 nighttime songbird collisions in Chicago and Cleveland dating back to 1978.

The data was collected from Field Museum researchers and volunteers in Chicago and Cleveland and included information on 93 species of birds.

For the study, the researchers focused on the relationship between high-frequency flight calls from songbirds like warblers, sparrows, and thrush and nighttime collisions.

The majority of bird species in the collision database were songbirds that use flight calls. There were far fewer collisions involving birds that didn’t use calls while flying.

“Our paper provides some of the strongest published evidence on the effect of artificial light on bird collisions in urban areas, though this relationship has been known anecdotally for a long time,” said Benjamin Wing, the first author of the study. “This relationship may spawn a vicious cycle of increased mortality rates if disoriented individuals lead other migrating individuals to sources of artificial light.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Birds that use flight calls are more likely to crash into buildings

Illuminated city buildings present a major collision risk for birds...

A new study led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.zsl.org/">Zoological Society of London</a> is warning that the genetic diversity of African lions has declined substantially since the late 19th century, leaving the animals more susceptible to reduced fitness and resilience. In the KAZA region, up to 17 percent of genetic variation has been lost among lions since 1895.

“The dramatic population decline of the African lion has made the protection of the remaining populations and the improvement of gene flow between populations of the utmost importance and has led to a number of transboundary conservation initiatives, such as the Kavango–Zambezi transfrontier conservation area (KAZA),” wrote the study authors. 

“The size of the KAZA region and its ability to support a large number of lion prides, results in it being considered one of the few remaining strongholds for the lion population.”

A drop in genetic diversity means that the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/rhino-poachers-killed-lions/">lions</a> will be less capable of handling changes in their environment.

“If you lose some of those populations, or they’re not mixing, you’re going to lose the overall population’s ability to withstand change. It could be climate change, it could be disease. It’s the ability to withstand the unknown,” study lead author Simon Dures told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a>.

Many of the lions that were killed in the KAZA region by a 19th-century British hunter, Frederick Selous, ended up at the Natural History Museum in London. The team used 27 of these samples to compare the DNA to modern lions. 


“The rapid decline observed in allelic richness and the highest levels of genetic differentiation coincide with the arrival of the first western settlers in 1890 and the subsequent rise of the colonial presence in the region after the end of the Matabele Wars in 1897,” said Dures.

“Furthermore, modern firearms became more prevalent following European settlement and predators were often persecuted as vermin, which likely contributed to the earlier decline of lions in the study region.’

“While the timing of genetic decline and colonial settlement is compelling enough to suggest causation, the evidence is not conclusive.”


According to the study authors, the findings emphasize the need for improved connectivity between protected areas in order to prevent further loss of genetic diversity in the region.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14724642">Diversity and Distributions</a>.
--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

African lions are losing their genetic diversity and resilience

A new study led by researchers at the Zoological Society...

An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/">University of Warwick</a> has sequenced and analyzed the genome of the milkweed bug. The study is providing new insight into the diet and colors of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/insects-extinct-century/">insects</a>. 

The Hemiptera are a diverse insect order, with between 50,000 to 80,000 species including the milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus.


“Milkweed bugs are a great species to study,” said lead investigator and species coordinator Kristen Panfilio. “They have served as a research model for ecology, metabolism, development, and genetics since the mid-twentieth century, in part because they are very easy to keep. In fact, the strain we sequenced for the genome project is also used in school classrooms, as the bugs are a beautiful red-orange and black colour throughout their life cycles.”

Milkweed is a toxic food source, and the insect’s bright red-orange color serves as a warning to predators that the bugs would taste bad. This is the same coloration seen in monarch butterflies, which share the same food source. The researchers found that the bugs and butterflies have different enzymes for handling essential amino acids.

“Having worked on wing development for over fifteen years, it is exciting that we now have access to the genome to fully analyze some of these very complex genes,” said study co-author Deniz Erezyilmaz.

[caption id="attachment_1870647" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/adult-milkweed-bug.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870647" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/adult-milkweed-bug.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="479" /></a> Adult milkweed bug, Image Credit: Jena Johnson[/caption]

The researchers also determined that species with highly specialized liquid diets tend to lose certain metabolic enzymes along with the range of their smell and taste receptors. By contrast, the milkweed bug retains a much fuller collection of sensory proteins. 

Furthermore, the genome analysis revealed that milkweed bugs and some of their relatives such as the stink bug have newly acquired genes from bacteria, some of which provide enzymes that help them digest the tough cellulose found in plant tissues. According to the researchers, knowing which genes support an invasive species' diet can help in developing pest management strategies. 

“As genome sequencing projects continue to venture out into the wider array of insect and animal diversity, knowledge of gene properties in larger genomes will be increasingly important,” said study co-author Robert Waterhouse.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/">Genome Biology</a>.
--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Deniz Erezyilmaz

Milkweed bug genome analysis reveals secrets of insect diets

An international team of researchers led by the University of...

Scientists have recently identified three new genus groups and one new species of wood-boring clams. Beyond the finding that this family tree is larger and more diverse than what was previously known, the experts noted that the clams play an important role in cleaning up the wood that accumulates in the bottom of the ocean. 

As tiny <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/clams-worms-high-methane/">clams</a> bore into waterlogged wood on the seafloor, they eat the shavings with help from special bacteria in their gills. This makes them some of the only animals on the planet that eat wood. According to the study, the creatures then live the rest of their lives with their heads down in the holes they dug, using tube-like organs called siphons to pull in water and extract oxygen from it. 

Study lead author Janet Voight is an associate curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>.

[caption id="attachment_1870637" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/How-tiny-clams-play-an-important-role-in-keeping-ecosystems-healthy.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1870637" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/How-tiny-clams-play-an-important-role-in-keeping-ecosystems-healthy.jpeg" alt="" width="650" height="487" /></a> Image Credit: Image Credit: Angelo Bernardino and Paulo Sumida[/caption]

“There's not just one tree-cleaner-upper in the ocean, they're really diverse,” said Voight. “Imagine living at the bottom of the ocean as a tiny swimming clam; you either have to find a sunken piece of wood or die. You wouldn't think there'd be that many kinds of clams doing this. But we've now found that there are six different groups, called genera, and around sixty different species.”

While studying the DNA of deep-sea wood-eating clams, the researchers determined that there are at least six different genera that make up the family. Three of these genera are being described for the first time, as well as one previously unknown species. Even though the clams are tiny, they can settle in massive numbers and greatly improve the health of their deep-sea ecosystems. 

“We have no idea how much wood is at the bottom of the ocean, but there's probably a lot more than we think,” said Voight. “After big storms, we estimate that millions of tons of wood are washed out to sea. What if these clams weren't there to help eat it? Think how long it would take the wood to rot. The clams contribute to the cycling of carbon, they play an integral part in making the wood into something that the other animals at the bottom of the ocean can get energy from. It could even affect sea level rise. It blows me away.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mollus">Journal of Molluscan Studies</a>.
--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How tiny clams play an important role in keeping ecosystems healthy

Scientists have recently identified three new genus groups and one...

In their research to determine why so many <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fungal-disease-mass-amphibian-extinction/">amphibian</a> species are dying out, scientists at the <a href="https://www.wlv.ac.uk/">University of Wolverhampton</a> and <a href="https://www.salford.ac.uk/">University of Salford</a> are asking for your help. The researchers are attempting to gather as much data as possible from publicly provided toad samples – in the form of either mouth swabs of living animals or toe-tips from dead toads.

“We are really interested in having as many people from across the UK helping to collect as many genetic samples as possible,” Rémi Martin, a PhD candidate conducting the research, told <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/">The Times</a>. “These samples can be in the form of ‘toe-tips’ from toads killed on roads or buccal swabs from live toads. If people want to get involved, then they should email us and we will send out a sampling pack.”

Their research is being conducted in partnership with <a href="http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/">Amphibian and Reptile Conservation</a> (ARC). 

“We will use the data to look at how genetic diversity in toad populations may have changed over time or by area, how this may be affecting some populations in the modern landscape, and how declines might be addressed through conservation,” Dr. John Wilkinson, the supervisor of this research who also works for the ARC, told <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/">The Times</a>. “Samples from all populations are useful but we would be particularly interested in sites with some history – that is, known not to have declined or known to have been through a decline already.”

A recent study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> found that 90 amphibian species have already died out as a result of a single deadly fungal disease. This disease, known as Chytrid fungus disease, is caused by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochyrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The fungus kills amphibians by damaging their skin, destroying their immune systems, and even causing heart failure. It is believed to be responsible for killing off hundreds of amphibian species, and could potentially be a threat to one-third of the world’s frogs and salamanders.

So if you want to help out our amphibian friends in the face of this fearless fungus, get in touch with the ARC and keep your eyes peeled for toads to sample.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How you can help frogs by cutting off their toes (after they’re dead)

In their research to determine why so many amphibian species...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



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



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

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Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.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



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...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&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> 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.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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