Eels move in ways that seem to ignore the rules most vertebrates live by. They swim with flowing body waves, they can scoot across wet ground, and they often keep going even when the spinal cord is cut. 



According to a new paper, two simple body signals, stretch and pressure, help explain how that is possible.



Those signals are not fancy. Stretch tells the body how much each segment bends, and pressure reports forces on the skin from water or from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-new-eel-species-with-fang-like-teeth/">objects</a>. 



When these signals are fed into the spinal circuits that set a basic rhythm for movement, the eel’s whole body keeps time without micromanagement from the brain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-eel-movement">Secrets of eel movement</h2>



Kotaro Yasui is an assistant professor at Tohoku University’s Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (<a href="https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FRIS</a>) and lead author of the study



“Our findings will help design highly adaptive robots capable of navigating complex and unpredictable environments,” noted Professor Yasui.



Most vertebrates walk or swim thanks to networks in the spinal cord called central pattern generator <a href="https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/introneuroscience1/chapter/central-pattern-generators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">circuits</a>. 



These circuits can produce rhythmic muscle commands on their own, then shape that rhythm using feedback from the body. That is why the same overall plan can show up in animals as different as fish, salamanders, and mice.



Eels add a twist by leaning hard on two kinds of sensory input. Proprioception is internal sensing of stretch that tells a segment where it is in the cycle. Exteroception is sensing from outside the body, including water pressure on the sides of the fish or contact with a surface. 



Stretch sensitive neurons like the classic lamprey edge cells have long shown how such bending <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-our-power-our-planet/">signals</a> can tune the spinal rhythm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flexible-robot-mimics-eel-movement">Flexible robot mimics eel movement </h2>



Yasui’s team built a mathematical model in which each body segment has a small local oscillator that produces a timing signal. They wired in two feedback loops, one for stretch and one for pressure, so the oscillators would be tugged into step by what the body feels.



The researchers tested the controller in two settings. First, they used computer simulations that generated body movements and force patterns. Then, they tried it on a physical eel-like robot made of flexible segments and equipped with skin-level sensors.



The same controller worked in both settings, and it produced stable swimming quickly, without central commands to lock the segments together.



The stretch loop had a special job. It sped up the time it took for a smooth traveling wave to appear from random starting positions. It also helped the body hold a strong stride once the pattern settled, even though that gain could cost a little <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-what-were-really-fighting-for/">energy</a> because the joints work harder during sharper turns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spinal-rhythm-and-sensory-feedback">Spinal rhythm and sensory feedback</h2>



The team asked a simple question. If the controller swims well, can it also crawl on land when the ground is dotted with obstacles? They ran the robot through a peg field where pushing and bracing matter more than glide.



Stretch feedback made the difference. With stretch only, the robot found traction on the pegs and made steady headway. 



Pressure alone did not help in that setting, which fits earlier <a href="https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/acg/publications/Pace_%26_Gibb_2011.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> showing that elongated fishes such as ropefish change their kinematics across water and land in specific ways, with long, slow, high amplitude body waves on land.



The results suggest continuity rather than a clean break between swimming and crawling in these fishes. 



The same spinal rhythm and sensory feedback can drive both swimming and crawling, as long as the environment provides the right reaction forces. The fish doesn’t need a separate land-based neural controller to move



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-spinal-injuries-teach-us">What spinal injuries teach us</h2>



The most striking tests involved spinal cord transection. The group measured swimming in live American eels before and after a complete cut around the middle of the body, then matched those tests with simulation and robot runs using the same controller.&nbsp;



The movement behind the injury kept a similar frequency and phase as the movement in front of it, which echoes decades old <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11744256/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> that eels can recover coordinated swimming after transection as regrowth advances.



In the model, that coordination did not need signals from the brain. It emerged when the local oscillators had some built-in tendency to tick on their own, and when stretch and pressure loops were strong enough. 



The body above the cut tugged the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-secretly-reshape-landscapes-in-powerful-ways/">body</a> below the cut into the same rhythm through passive motion and local sensing.



That simple recipe explains why eels can move immediately after injury while many amphibians and mammals cannot. If the posterior spinal cord cannot oscillate on its own, or if the feedback pathways are too weak, the two halves fall out of step and the body stalls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eel-movement-robots-and-evolution">Eel movement, robots, and evolution</h2>



Robots that move without legs need to live with uncertainty. Water currents change, floors are cluttered, and obstacles shift. Prior <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abf6354" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> has shown that proprioceptive feedback can entrain undulatory robots into reliable patterns despite turbulence and noise.



This study adds pressure sensing on the skin to that recipe and shows how a simple stretch rule helps robots use clutter for propulsion. That means eel-like machines could search pipes, navigate earthquake rubble, or inspect tanks without complex top down control.



There is also a story about evolution here. If a swimming controller can produce useful crawling when the environment offers something to push against, early vertebrates may have needed adjustments more than a full rewrite to move onto land. Flexible circuits and strong local feedback could have carried a lot of that load.



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



Biologists can now test specific predictions in the lab. For example, they can look for descending stretch pathways that echo the model’s anterior to posterior copy rule, and they can probe how pressure sensors along the skin tune rhythm in moving fish.



Engineers can search for energy savings by blending stretch rules that boost stride with rules that prevent excessive bending. They can also explore how to route around damaged links in a robot by letting neighboring segments pull each other back into rhythm.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2422248122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Spinal secrets: What eels reveal about the origins of movement

Eels move in ways that seem to ignore the rules most vertebrates live by. They swim with flowing body waves, they can scoot across wet ground, and they often keep going even when the spinal cord is cut. According to a new paper, two simple body signals, stretch and pressure, help explain how that is possible. Those signals are not fancy. Stretch tells the body how much each segment bends, and pressure reports forces on the skin from water or from objects. When these signals are fed...

Residents living near two national parks in Panama support jaguar conservation, but they’re a little shaky on how they can help, according to a new survey.

The survey measured the attitudes of residents living near the Cerro Hoya and Darién National Parks in Panama. Survey participants were generally worried about the futures of both parks, and residents near Darién didn’t feel the park – Panama’s largest – is adequately protected.

But the survey also found that residents’ feelings about the jaguars that make their homes in both parks were more positive among educated respondents and land owners.

"Attitudes of stakeholder groups are especially important to consider, as they can significantly affect policy, thus making the foundations of carnivore management as social and political as they are scientific," the study found.

The survey team, made up of Ricardo Moreno and Ninon Meyer of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/yaguarapty/">Fundación Yaguará Panama</a> and Clayton Neilsen, Jessica Fort, and Andrew Carver from <a href="http://siu.edu/">Southern Illinois University</a>, interviewed 139 people living in nearly 30 rural communities around the two parks.

The team surveyed residents over 18 who demonstrated the ability to identify jaguars and other large cats that lived in the parks. They focused on cattle ranchers and landowners who might be most affected by the wild cats. Due to the parameters of their survey, the participants skewed male.

They found that the residents were interested in preserving the parks and jaguar conservation, but that they were also in favor of policies that would harm the jaguar populations in both parks.

For example, from 1989 to 2014, around 230 jaguars are estimated to have been killed by humans in Panama. More than 95 percent of those kills were in retaliation for attacks on cattle and other livestock, the research team said.

Residents near the parks also favored building more roads through the wild lands, but those roads could split up jaguar populations, encourage poaching and illegal mining, and lead to other activities that could harm the big cats, the researchers said.

"According to our study, there is more human-jaguar conflict in Darién National Park, probably because communities are near larger tracts of unbroken forest, which is much better jaguar habitat," Moreno said. "Ironically, the respondents' ideas about roads into the parks are likely to increase this conflict and make effective park management significantly more challenging."

Other general findings of the survey:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">More women than men said they’d prefer to see the jaguars gone from the parks.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">About a third of survey participants near Cerro Hoya National Park admitted to hunting within the park in the past year, though their prey was the collared peccary, not jaguars.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Seven participants reported being affected by jaguars preying on domestic livestock.</li>
</ul>
The researchers found, however, that some of the survey participants were open to exploring methods for protecting their livestock that wouldn’t harm the local jaguar population. Improved community outreach and education about jaguar conservation could give residents more positive attitudes toward their feline neighbors, the researchers said.

The study has been published in the conservation journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/factors-influencing-local-attitudes-and-perceptions-regarding-jaguars-panthera-onca-and-national-park-conservation-in-panama/50B40CA76D388808E50C780CBA3A762D">Oryx</a>.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Ricardo Moreno, <a href="http://www.stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a>

Jaguar conservation requires the right attitude

Residents living near two national parks in Panama support jaguar...

A rare find off the coast Taiwan in the Southern Taiwan Strait is gaining worldwide interest. A Pacific spadenose shark measuring just a little over 1.5 feet and weighing only 12 ounces was caught up in a fishing trawl in January 2017.

When the shark was taken to Xiamen, China and examined by scientists from<a href="http://en.xmu.edu.cn/"> Xiamen University</a>, it was discovered that the shark had both male and female reproductive organs and the genitals were fully formed.

It is one of the rarest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-shaped-airplanes-zeppelins/">shark</a> discoveries to date, as intersexuality in sharks is possible but rare, though the organs are usually only partially formed. 

Several species of fish are able to switch genders, but sharks develop their reproductive organs before birth. 

However, some sharks have been observed giving birth asexually, and perhaps intersexuality played a role in those instances. 

“They can give birth without mating—like virgin birth,” said Dr. Chris Lowe, a scientist from <a href="http://www.calstatela.edu/">California State University</a> in an interview with<a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/rare-intersex-shark-the-first-of-its-kind/"> Haikai Magazine</a>. “The question is: why? We just don’t know enough about shark biology to be able to answer those questions.”

According to Lowe, intersexuality may result in a shark giving birth to a clone of itself, explaining the “virgin birth” phenomenon. 

The likely cause of the unique intersexuality of the shark is genetic. 

There are concerns that contaminated and polluted waters are causing malformations and irregularities in marine wildlife but although rarely spotted, intersexuality is naturally possible in certain species. 

The find is certainly a boon to marine scientists and shark experts looking to understand how certain species develop dual reproductive organs and what underlying genetic and outside factors are at work to cause the rare condition.

[caption id="attachment_989961" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/shark-found.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-989961" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/shark-found-300x185.png" alt="" width="300" height="185" /></a> Image Credit: Wikimedia[/caption]

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Shark found with both male and female reproductive organs

A rare find off the coast Taiwan in the Southern...

On December 25th, construction workers in China uncovered a treasure trove of preserved dinosaur eggs that date back to the Cretaceous period. 

The Christmas discovery was made in the Ghanzou region of Dayu County, China, while explosives were being used on the construction site of a new middle school.  

The workers noticed clusters of oval stones and black shards in the newly cleared debris, dirt, and rocks and halted construction immediately. 

The police were notified, and the construction site was sealed off while experts from the Dayu County Museum were brought in to confirm the findings and transport the eggs back to the museum where they could be examined further. 

The construction workers had unknowingly unearthed a collection of 30 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-fossil-racist-nazi-science/">dinosaur</a> eggs which archaeologists say are 130 million years old. 

Eggshells, the black debris that construction workers had first noticed, were also found with the fossilized eggs. 

These are not the first fossils found in the Ghanzou region, as the area is known as the “hometown of dinosaurs.” 

Ghanzou is especially known for its oviraptorid dinosaur fossils, and according to a study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05016-6">Scientific Reports</a>, the region has one of the richest sources of oviraptorosaurian fossils in the world. 

Several new species of oviraptors have been discovered there and named after the region over the past several years.

The new fossil eggs will be studied at the local museum and added to Ghanzou’s rich collection of dinosaur finds. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: People’s Daily Online/Chinanews

Fossilized dinosaur eggs found at construction site in China

On December 25th, construction workers in China uncovered a treasure...

An upcoming <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a> documentary will explore what the legendary Tyrannosaurus Rex was really like. The Real T.rex With Chris Packham claims that the prehistoric creature was not accurately depicted by early scientists or in films.

Tyrannosaurus Rex was an enormous dinosaur, with the most complete specimen measuring about 40 feet in length and between 15 and 20 feet in height. The massive animal had strong and powerful hind legs and the largest known teeth, which were about eight inches in length.

Despite the fact that T-Rex is the most well-known of all the dinosaurs, paleontologists are now reporting that popular images of the beast are not entirely realistic.

Scientists have determined that T-Rex had some characteristics that resembled birds more than reptiles, such as black, spiky feathers. Because the creature did not require the feathers for insulation, experts on the film concluded that it had “a light patching of feathery bristles strategically placed for social display.”

Paleontologists also believe that T-Rex likely had colored markings around its eyes, which may have been used for mating or identification. The experts drew this conclusion from unusual markings on the animal's skull and also considered similar markings on other predatory birds.

Although T-Rex has been portrayed as having a tremendous and powerful roar, the documentary suggests otherwise. Film host Chris Packham teams up with Julia Clarke, a professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas</a>, to explore the possibility that dinosaurs actually sounded more like birds and reptiles than large predators.

“The most chilling noises in the natural world today come from predators, the howl of the wolf, the roar of the tiger, but experts now doubt that T-Rex sounded anything like them,” said Packham.

CT scans of a fossilized <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tyrannosaurus-rex-big-run/">T-Rex</a> skull indicate that the intimidating animal released low rumbling sounds that could travel long distances.

“It’s such a low frequency that you wouldn’t have just heard it, you would have felt it too,” said Packham. “There is a sort of primal fear that is associated with sounds like that.”

“The Real T.rex with Chris Packham” will air on BBC2 January 2nd.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>/Gordon Welters

Documentary reveals what the Tyrannosaurus Rex really looked like

An upcoming BBC documentary will explore what the legendary Tyrannosaurus...

An annual review by the <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/">National Trust</a> has found that “haywire seasons” are confusing for wildlife. The conservation agency explains that new weather patterns are helpful to some species yet harmful to others.

Ecologist and conservationist Matthew Oates has been at the National Trust since 1990. Oates pointed out that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-california-climate-change/">climate change</a> is narrowing the divide between winter and summer.

“At times, it feels like the seasons are becoming less distinctive, and that makes it extremely difficult to predict how nature will react,” said Oates. 

“Certain species are good at adapting, which is great, whereas others are struggling – some of them badly. We need to give wildlife the space, time and, where necessary, the support it needs, not only to survive, but to thrive.”

After 10 years of research, the experts are noticing certain patterns. Winters are milder, and summers are often stormier and wetter. Spring is arriving too early, and wildflowers, bees, and other species are emerging too soon as well.

“The impact on wildlife has been enormous, and at a time when many species are declining sharply as farming as other land uses intensify,” said Oates.

Oates explained that this “blurring of the seasons” means that new measures are needed to support habitats and their wildlife as they learn to cope with climate change.

“It’s hard to put any single event down to climate change but overall impact is quite staggering,” said Oates.

“It’s not just on land, it’s sea, it’s the ocean warming and what turns up here on our shores, Portuguese man o’ war, jellyfish, bluefin tuna, minke whales, which also suggests it’s not just a terrestrial issue.”

Oates is recommending that citizens adopt local monitoring strategies to keep scientists informed on what changes are taking place in their own backyards.

Experts at the National Trust say they will do everything they can to reverse population declines in nature. The organization plans to dedicate 62,000 acres of land to wildlife conservation by 2025.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Unusual, blurred seasons are confusing wildlife across the globe

An annual review by the National Trust has found that...

A team of researchers from the <a href="http://lyon-university.org/">University of Lyon</a> in France set out to determine how dogs respond to human speech. The experts are reporting that puppies love when people direct a type of “baby talk" at them and may even begin understanding some human words through these types of interaction, while older dogs appear to be indifferent.

To examine how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-chocolate-poisoning-christmas/">dogs</a> react to the way that humans speak, the experts first recorded the voices of 30 women as they looked at photographs of dogs and spoke to the images. The women were exposed to pictures of both puppies and older dogs, and were also directed to repeat the passage to a person.

The script read, “Hi! Hello cutie! Who’s a good boy? Come here! Good boy! Yes! Come here sweetie pie! What a good boy!” 

The scientists compared the women's speech when it was directed at humans to when it was directed at dogs. It came as no surprise that the women had spoken in distinctive, high-pitched, musical tones to the animals,  but not to the humans. The women spoke at an even higher pitch when looking at puppy photos.

The researchers played the voice recordings  for 10 puppies and 10 adult dogs at a New York City animal shelter and filmed their responses. 

The documentation revealed that nine of the puppies reacted strongly to the voices, barking and approaching the loudspeaker even when the recording had been made for an older dog. Some of the puppies bent down toward the sound of the voices in a play bow, which is a pose that shows a puppy is in a playful mood.

Study lead author Nicolas Mathevon explained that the younger dogs most likely consider dog-directed speech as “an invitation to play.” The puppies were not nearly as excited by the recordings of the women speaking to other humans, however. 

As far as the adult dogs observed for the analysis, it made no difference if they were hearing speech which was directed at puppies, older dogs, or humans. “They had a quick look at the speaker, and then ignored it,” said Mathevon.

Further investigation is needed to determine if the dog-directed speech means something to the puppies that is not yet understand or whether it helps them to learn human words.

The study is published in the <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Puppies love when we talk to them, older dogs aren’t as into it

A team of researchers from the University of Lyon in...

The life of a salmon is not an easy one. Salmon make cyclical migrations, spawning in freshwater streams and migrating to the oceans, only to return to their hatching grounds several years later. 

It’s a life cycle that covers hundreds of miles, but with California’s recent drought, thousands of Chinook salmon may never back it back to their hatchery. 

In 2014 and 2015, California’s five-year drought put a strain on Chinook salmon migration and hatchery managers decided to drive the salmon to the ocean. The salmon made their 280 mile migration carried in tanker trucks. 

It was a tough decision to make at the time, either risk the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salmon-industry-sea-lice-problem/">salmon</a> not making their migrations or risk the salmon never coming back. 

Now, the Coleman hatchery that decided to truck their salmon to the ocean are facing severely depleted numbers of adult salmon able to spawn at their hatching grounds. 

According to the <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article191351274.html">Sacramento Bee</a>, in a normal year 143,000 salmon make their way back to the hatchery, but in 2017, there were only 3,000 adults who made the voyage back. 

The reason behind the loss is that because the fish were not able to migrate naturally, they became disoriented and couldn’t navigate their way back.

Some of the Coleman hatchery salmon did make their way to another hatchery, and those eggs were transported back to Coleman, but the hatchery is still millions short of their goals for fertilized eggs. 

Salmon are important to the ecosystem, providing a crucial source of food for many predators, and are also important to many state economies, including California. 

Time will tell if this loss affects future generations, or if dry conditions will make truck runs or alternative methods of moving salmon a necessity. 

As it stands, salmon and salmon hatcheries are crucial, and the strain put on salmon migration through dams, drought, overfishing, and human activities is threatening many species of salmon. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

California hatchery loses thousands of salmon after drought

The life of a salmon is not an easy one....

Researchers in Argentina have successfully manipulated the gene sequences of cloned horses to create a new breed that is physically superior. The “super horse” was engineered to have improved endurance and stamina, and should be able to run faster and jump higher than other racehorses.

Scientists at the <a href="http://www.kheiron-biotech.com/">Kheiron Biotech</a> laboratory used a powerful gene editing tool known as Crispr to target specific regions of DNA for alteration. In particular, they manipulated the myostatin gene sequence which limits skeletal muscle growth. Suppressing the myostatin gene allows the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/horses-read-posture-humans/">horses</a> to develop more muscle mass.

The experts managed to produce healthy embryos using this technique, and will implant the embryos into surrogate mothers at some point in the next two years. This means that the world's first super horse may be born as early as 2019.

Daniel Sammartino is the founder of Kheiron Biotech, which is a facility that specializes in equine cloning. 

“This technology brings additional progress in horse breeding,” said Sammartino. “It could be possible to achieve better horses in less time.”


In 2013, Kheiron Biotech produced the first clone of a polo pony in Latin America, and the technique has rapidly advanced in the time that followed. The company claims that it is now accomplishing the same level of healthy births generated by traditional breeding methods.

The work at Kheiron is intended to “accelerate genetic evolution in sports animals.” There are currently no regulations in place that would prevent the faster and stronger “super horses” from competing in major sporting events, including The Olympics.

“Our next real challenge is not only to export our technology, but fundamentally develop these scientific advances in other animal species for multiple purposes,” said Sammartino.

The details of the work will be published next month in the journal <a href="https://www.genome.gov/10004765/CloningEmbryonic-Stem-Cells">Cloning and Stem Cells</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists are genetically engineering a superior race horse

Researchers in Argentina have successfully manipulated the gene sequences of...

Researchers have collected and published the best scientific research on preventing coral-eating Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) outbreaks. The book will be a critical resource for informing management across the Indo-Pacific of COTS outbreaks.

The new publication, "Biology, Ecology and Management of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish," documents over 30 years of COTS research. The book explores scientific advances and emerging opportunities for targeted research.

The book is written by Professor Morgan Pratchett of <a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/">James Cook University</a> and Dr. Sven Uthicke of the <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/">Australian Institute of Marine Science</a>, who are both world-renowned experts.

Professor Pratchett has researched COTS for the past two decades, and his work has greatly contributed to understanding both the causes and impacts of these outbreaks. He describes the COTS outbreaks as being “akin to locusts” and explained that there is still a lot to learn on the subject.

“Outbreaks occur on many reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific, including the Great Barrier Reef, and contribute to the widespread degradation of these valuable ecosystems,” said Professor Pratchett.

“Despite significant research on the biology and ecology of COTS, there are still some considerable knowledge gaps and opportunities for important discoveries. More than a thousand research papers have been written about these animals, reflecting the ecological impact and management concern surrounding COTS outbreaks."

Dr. Uthicke is a biologist and geneticist, and his work is focused on the development of new genetic tools to examine the early life-history of <a href="https://www.earth.com/animals/crown-of-thorns-starfish-acanthaster-planci/">COTS</a>. He said that researchers must embrace advancing technologies and opportunities to gain insight into COTS biology and behavior.

“We must focus on key questions that will improve management effectiveness in reducing the frequency and likelihood of outbreaks, if not preventing them altogether,” said Dr. Uthicke. 

"There is still a lot we do not know about these starfish and effective management is conditional upon improved knowledge of their biology, especially during the very early life stages, when the starfish are extremely small and very cryptic."

"Biology, Ecology and Management of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish" is published in the open access journal <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity">Diversity</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Crown-Of-Thorns starfish outbreaks damage coral reefs

Researchers have collected and published the best scientific research on...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/">University of Toronto</a> have described the first known hybrid bird species of the Amazon rainforest. A series of evaluations and genetic tests confirmed that the golden-crowned manakin is, in fact, a hybrid species.

Associate professor Jason Weir is an expert on the biodiversity of New World birds and senior author of the study.

"While hybrid plant species are very common, hybrid species among vertebrates are exceedingly rare," explained Weir.

A hybrid species is developed when two species mate to produce a hybrid population, which is unable to interbreed with the parental species. In this particular case, the two parents are the snow-capped manakin and the opal-crowned manakin. 

Over the course of two separate trips to Brazil, the research team gathered genetic and feather samples. This enabled them to sequence a large portion of the new bird’s genome. 

After examining over 16,000 genetic markers, the researchers determined that 20 percent of the genome came from the snowy-crowned manakin while 80 percent of the inheritance was from the opal-crowned manakin.

Using a technique called coalescent modelling,  the team managed to establish that the golden-crowned split off from its parental species around 180,000 years ago when the two parental species originally mated. 

The experts also determined that both parental species diverged from a common ancestor about 300,000 years ago, meaning that all three species are relatively new. 

"Most Amazon bird species diverged from their most recent relative around 1.5 to 4 million years ago, so these are all young birds by comparison" said Weir.


The golden-crowned manakin lives in an area of the south-central <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mining-deforestation-amazon-rainforest/">Amazon Rainforest</a> that is largely separated from areas where snow-capped and opal-crowned live by wide rivers that the hybrid species will not seem to cross. 

Weir explained that the species likely survived due to this geographical isolation from its parental species, when a past ice age caused the rainforest to shrink and wide rivers to form.

"Without geographic isolation, it's very likely this would never have happened because you don't see the hybrids evolving as separate species in other areas where both parental species meet,” said Weir.

The study will be published in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</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: University of Toronto Scarborough

First-ever hybrid bird species in the Amazon revealed

Researchers from the University of Toronto have described the first...

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to end the inhumane act of puppy farming. The proposed legislation will outlaw the sale of puppies without their mother present, and will mandate that the sale of a dog can only be made by licensed dog breeders.

“It is all too easy to be moved by images online or adverts in the local Press advertising newborn puppies looking for a home for Christmas,” said Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

“But what we don’t see is all too often a sad history of mistreatment and malpractice. That is why we are looking at how we can go further to crack down on unscrupulous breeders so pet owners will have no doubt their new dogs have had the right start in life.”

Interbreeding and unhealthy kennel conditions can cause major health issues in dogs, including psychological problems and hereditary defects. In a puppy farm, the animals are commercially bred. The puppies are separated from their mothers and kept in unsanitary conditions.

In the United States alone, there are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills, both licensed and unlicensed, that sell over 2,000,000 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-chocolate-poisoning-christmas/">puppies</a> a year. 

The Prime Minister's proposed guidelines would help to put an end to the suffering of tens of thousands of dogs.

“The arrival of a happy, healthy puppy, as I know myself, is a memorable time for a family – but it’s absolutely right we do everything we can to eradicate animal cruelty from our society,” said May.

“Any unscrupulous mistreatment of animals is disturbing – so in our drive to achieve the highest animal welfare standards in the world, we continually look at what more can be done.

The Prime Minister said that the proposals made by her administration are an important step in the right direction. The reforms will eradicate the sale of sick, underage puppies and the breeding of unhealthy dogs. 

The Prime Minister also intends to address puppy smuggling and the regulation of online sales. 

“In our drive to achieve the highest animal welfare standards in the world, we will continually look at what more can be done,” said the Prime Minister.

The legislation could be passed as soon as early 2018.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

UK Prime Minister aims to eliminate puppy mills

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to end the...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/remote-sensing-oil-palm-industry/">Oil palm</a> plantations wreak havoc on forest habitats, but the popularity of palm oil in everything from foods to cosmetics makes conservation policy difficult to regulate or put in place.

Mass deforestation has occurred to make way for oil palm plantations, as the fruit of oil palm trees are where palm oil comes from. 

New research has found that on top of habitat degradation, oil palm plantations also have a surprising effect on boar populations. 

A two-decade-long study, conducted by an international team of researchers led by the <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">Nanyang Technological University, Singapore</a> (NTU Singapore), found that oil palm plantations provide an easily accessed, rich source of food for wild boars and macaque monkeys. 

This, in turn, causes drastic increases in populations and the surrounding forests are irreversibly damaged. 

The researchers found that saplings and small trees near plantations were reduced by more than half because boar mothers harvest the plants for nests. 

“When oil palms start fruiting, wild boars quickly aggregate to feed in the plantations,” said Dr. Matthew Luskin, a member of the research team. “The abundant food allows them to reproduce, causing a massive surge in their population in the nearby forest. The biggest subsequent effect this leads to is when pregnant wild boars build nests, as this clears vegetation from the forest floor.” 

At first, the researchers were puzzled at the loss of habitat, but after years of field studies, it was obvious that oil palm plantations have a wide-reaching effect not previously realized. 

Future studies are needed to understand the long-term effects of plantations beyond deforestation, and because of how many plantations there are in Southeast Asia, the impact could be devastating. 

The researchers note the need for conservation policy and regulations in order to combat these effects. 

“Through impactful studies on the effect of agricultural expansion and wildlife population, we hope to provide insights for countries and policymakers who seek to protect our environment for future generations better,” said Fidel Costa, an associate professor and Acting Chair of NTU's Asian School of the Environment.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Oil palm plantations damage ecosystems in a number of ways

Oil palm plantations wreak havoc on forest habitats, but the...

<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.

<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://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







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.

<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://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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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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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

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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"

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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

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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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