Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy.



This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yellowstone-aspens-and-elk">Yellowstone, aspens, and elk</h2>



In the 1920s, people <a href="https://www.yellowstone.org/wolf-project/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eliminated wolves in Yellowstone</a>. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right thing to do.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/from-wolves-to-dogs-did-domestication-begin-without-human-help/">Without wolves</a>, elk herds grew very large. Elk love to eat aspen shoots - the tender young growth is highly palatable to them.



For roughly 70 years, elk browsed aspen sprouts down to stub height, and the trees couldn't grow. 



If you had walked through Yellowstone in the 1980s, you would have seen many tiny aspen shoots covering the ground, but almost no young trees gaining height. 



The forest's regeneration was stalled. Old trees died, and no new ones replaced them.



In 1995 and 1996, park managers reintroduced wolves into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/">Yellowstone Park ecosystem</a>. Scientists hoped and wondered whether this would change anything for the trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-aspen-matter-to-yellowstone">Why aspen matter to Yellowstone</h2>



Aspen groves provide habitat for many species. Birds nest in them. Beavers eat the bark and use the wood for dams. Butterflies and moths lay eggs on the leaves. 



Their canopy admits enough light for wildflowers and shrubs to grow beneath. When it rains, aspen groves hold water in the soil better than some other forest types.



In short, when aspen return, dozens of other species benefit. More trees support more insects, which in turn support more birds, enriching the ecosystem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-checking-the-trees-three-decades-later">Checking the trees three decades later</h2>



<a href="https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/users/luke-painter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luke Painter</a>, an ecologist at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a>, sought clear answers. His team returned to 87 aspen stands across Yellowstone that scientists had previously surveyed. 



They measured thousands of young trees, looked for bite marks, and counted how many stems were tall enough that elk could no longer reach the tips.



About a third of these stands now have many tall young aspens pushing toward the canopy. 



"About 26 of the 87 aspen stands we examined had large numbers of tall saplings throughout, a remarkable change from the 1990s when surveys found none at all," Painter said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-wolves-matter-to-yellowstone-aspens">Why wolves matter to Yellowstone aspens</h2>



Breaking it all down, the conclusions of this study are pretty simple. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-move-pups-across-mountains-to-adapt-to-climate-pressure/">Wolves hunt elk</a>. When wolves came back, two things happened. First, elk numbers declined from unusually high levels. Second, elk changed their behavior. They spent less time in the same areas feeding.



With fewer elk and shorter feeding bouts, more aspen shoots survived long enough to exceed the browsing zone - about six to seven feet high. 



Once a sapling reaches that height, elk cannot easily reach the growing tip. The tree continues to grow.



"The reintroduction of large carnivores has initiated a recovery process that had been shut down for decades," Painter explained.



Scientists call this a <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/trophic-cascades-across-diverse-plant-ecosystems-80060347/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trophic cascade</a> - when adding or removing one species causes changes that ripple through the whole system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-places-recover-others-don-t">Some places recover, others don't</h2>



Unfortunately, not every aspen stand has recovered yet. Some valleys still have many short, heavily browsed shoots, because it's not only elk eating them anymore. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstones-iconic-bison-have-merged-into-a-single-herd/">Bison herds have grown</a>, and bison browse on aspen as well. They are strong enough to break young trees. 



"Increasing numbers of bison may be emerging as a new constraint to aspen in some areas," Painter confirmed.



Additionally, winter snow depth varies; droughts stress trees; bears and mountain lions also hunt elk; and hunting outside the park influences elk distribution. 



All of these factors interact, which is why some sites show strong recovery, others show moderate recovery, and a few have changed very little.



The key pattern is that places with many tall saplings experience little browsing, and aspen groves that remain popular eating grounds today stay short. 



This fact is the strongest indication that tree recovery is linked directly to wolf presence, not solely to weather or soil conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-proof-in-the-measurements">Proof in the measurements</h2>



Painter's team did not rely on casual observation. They used the same methods as earlier researchers, measuring the same plots. 



They counted recruitment - when young trees surpass browsing height and begin progressing toward maturity. This measure is crucial. Sprouts are insufficient if they never grow; without recruitment, the forest cannot replace itself.



The results are robust. After being stalled for most of a century, Yellowstone's aspens are increasing in height. In recovering stands today, you will see saplings - six, eight, or ten feet tall - that were not present in the 1990s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-yellowstone-s-aspens">The future of Yellowstone's aspens</h2>



"This is a remarkable case of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-viruses-found-in-yellowstones-hot-springs-may-be-near-the-root-of-all-life-on-earth/">ecological restoration</a>," Painter concluded. "Wolf reintroduction is yielding long-term ecological changes contributing to increased biodiversity and habitat diversity."



Trees grow slowly, so even with wolves restored, it will take decades for these young aspens to form a full-grown forest. 



Some areas might never fully recover if bison numbers continue to rise or if the climate becomes too hot and dry.



Thanks to the work of Painter and his team, scientists are now certain that restoring the Yellowstone predator has restarted aspen forest regeneration. Not everywhere and not perfectly, but enough to be measured, creating hope for the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112725004499?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.



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Yellowstone's aspen trees are growing again thanks to the reintroduction of wolves

Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy. This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns. Yellowstone, aspens, and elk In the 1920s, people eliminated wolves in Yellowstone. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right...

Long before Earth formed its first continents, Jupiter was already the colossus that would shape the solar system. 



The newborn gas giant’s immense gravity sculpted the swirling disk of gas and dust around the infant Sun, carving gaps, nudging smaller worlds into stable orbits, and locking in the broad structure we see today. Yet the planet’s early history has been hard to pin down. 



A new study provides the clearest picture so far of Jupiter’s primordial size, spin, and magnetic power - and in doing so sheds light on the wider story of how our planetary neighborhood emerged.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jupiter-the-solar-system-s-engineer">Jupiter: The solar system’s engineer</h2>



Konstantin Batygin of <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caltech</a> and Fred C. Adams of the <a href="https://umich.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Michigan</a> describe Jupiter’s gravity as the solar system’s “architect.” 



Once the planet reached critical mass, its pull shaped everything from Mercury’s tight path around the Sun to the icy debris fields beyond Neptune.



Knowing exactly when and how Jupiter bulked up therefore helps researchers explain why the solar system is arranged the way it is.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jupiter-s-earliest-moments">Jupiter's earliest moments</h2>



Most attempts to reconstruct that history rely on complex simulations that track how a rocky embryo accretes gas, an exercise sensitive to assumptions about nebular chemistry, heat, and turbulence.



Batygin and Adams took a different tack. They focused on a moment about 3.8 million years after the first solid grains, called calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions, condensed in the proto-solar nebula.



By then, the Sun’s surrounding gas was dissipating, and Jupiter had finished most of its growth. The key evidence, they realized, lay not in Jupiter itself but in the tiny moons <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amalthea-jupiter-tiny-moon-captured-juno-spacecraft/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amalthea</a> and Thebe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-from-two-small-moons">Clues from two small moons</h2>



Amalthea and Thebe orbit even closer to Jupiter than the volcanic moon Io. Both follow slightly tilted paths - tiny wobbles that carry a record of the planet’s once-larger girth.



Batygin and Adams analyzed those inclinations using the laws of celestial mechanics. They calculated that early Jupiter’s radius was about twice its current size, giving it a swollen volume equivalent to more than 2,000 Earths.



This bloated state resembles the “puffy” juvenile <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-gas-planets-are-cosmic-wrecking-balls-that-wreak-havoc-in-habitable-zones/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gas giants</a> now being spotted around young stars, providing a neat bridge between extrasolar findings and our own system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-supercharged-young-jupiter">A supercharged young Jupiter</h2>



The same calculations reveal an astonishing magnetic field. In its youth, Jupiter’s dynamo would have generated magnetism roughly 50 times stronger than the field measured by NASA’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/juno-reveals-dancing-cyclones-on-jupiter-and-magma-on-its-fiery-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Juno</a> spacecraft today.



Such power implies a fiercely boiling metallic-hydrogen interior and an even faster spin rate than Jupiter’s already rapid 10-hour day.



“It’s astonishing that even after 4.5 billion years, enough clues remain to let us reconstruct Jupiter’s physical state at the dawn of its existence,” Adams said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-puzzle-of-early-planet-formation">The puzzle of early planet formation</h2>



Timing matters because the end of the nebular phase is locked in the solar system’s architecture. After solar radiation cleared hydrogen and helium, giant planets stopped growing and their migration through the solar system slowed. 



The small bodies that would become asteroids and comets then settled into their niches. Capturing Jupiter’s properties at that exact juncture gives modelers a firm boundary condition for future simulations.



“Our ultimate goal is to understand where we come from, and pinning down the early phases of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-formation-new-insights-mechanics-physics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planet formation</a> is essential to solving the puzzle,” Batygin said. “This brings us closer to understanding how not only Jupiter but the entire solar system took shape.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beating-the-usual-uncertainties">Beating the usual uncertainties</h2>



Crucially, the team’s method sidesteps the biggest unknowns in standard formation models: gas opacity, accretion rates, and the elusive mass of Jupiter’s rocky-icy core.



Instead, they used directly measurable quantities - the orbital tilts of the inner moons and the conservation of angular momentum. 



That approach gives an “independent constraint” that any successful theory of Jupiter’s origin now has to match.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jupiter-may-have-altered-other-planets">Jupiter may have altered other planets</h2>



Current consensus holds that gas giants form via core accretion: once a protoplanet amasses about ten Earth masses of rock and ice, it gravitationally sucks in a vast envelope of hydrogen and helium.



Caltech’s Dave Stevenson helped pioneer that idea. The new findings support the model but refine its timeline and physical parameters, showing that Jupiter remained inflated for several million years before cooling and contracting to its present size.



That window may have been long enough for the planet to alter the paths of Saturn, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/claim-uranus-and-neptune-have-oceans-5000-miles-deep/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uranus, and Neptune</a>, and to fling countless icy bodies into the outer reaches where the Oort Cloud now dwells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-of-the-solar-system">Evolution of the solar system</h2>



Batygin is the first to admit that the very first moments - how and where the giant’s initial core formed - are still murky. Nonetheless, the study nails down what the planet looked like at the most critical transition in solar history.



“What we’ve established here is a valuable benchmark,” he said. “A point from which we can more confidently reconstruct the evolution of our solar system.”



By decoding the faint gravitational fingerprints left on two tiny moons, astronomers have opened a window onto the early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-announce-evidence-suggesting-that-our-solar-system-has-nine-planets-again/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solar system</a>. 



That window reveals a young Jupiter twice its current size, wrapped in a magnetic cocoon fifty times stronger than today’s. It was steering the chaos of the proto-planetary disk toward the ordered family of worlds we now call home.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02512-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Astronomy</a>.



Image Credit: K. Batygin



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Jupiter’s past: How the young gas giant shaped our solar system

Long before Earth formed its first continents, Jupiter was already...

Many spice enthusiasts have experienced the rush of biting into a spicy dish, only to realize it is far more intense than expected. Everyone has their own threshold for heat, and chili peppers tend to push those boundaries.



Lately, scientists have been looking for ways to dial down that tongue-tingling burn without compromising flavor. 



Devin Peterson, professor of food science and technology, is part of a team at <a href="https://www.osu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Ohio State University</a> behind a project exploring new chili pepper <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweetener-erythritol-sugar-substitute-linked-to-blood-clots-heart-disease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">compounds</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-natural-molecules-reduce-pepper-heat">Natural molecules reduce pepper heat</h2>



The researchers measured how different peppers stack up on the <a href="https://www.alimentarium.org/en/story/scoville-scale" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scoville scale</a>, which compares spice levels across varieties. They tested 10 pepper cultivars and then ran multiple evaluations to see if certain molecules were interfering with the typical burn.



Additional chemical analysis singled out compounds that seemed to reduce perceived pungency, even when each pepper was expected to produce similar heat. Subsequent taste tests highlighted three specific molecules: <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Capsianoside-I" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Capsianoside I</a>, <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Roseoside" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roseoside</a>, and <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Gingerglycolipid-A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gingerglycolipid A</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-compounds-could-help-control-spice-in-food">Compounds could help control spice in food</h2>



“If you’re at home and you’ve ordered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/potatoes-are-an-unexpected-ally-for-heart-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cuisine</a> that has spice to it that’s a little too hot for some tastes, you can just sprinkle on a form of chili pepper that has got these suppressant agents in them that will dial it down,” said Peterson.&nbsp;



One compound was capable of tempering the sensation of chili peppers without masking their overall taste. Researchers believe this could lead to an anti-spice product that people can store at home.&nbsp;



“I think the idea of using a natural material as an anti-spice, especially for somebody with kids, would have value as a household ingredient,” noted Peterson.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mild-chili-peppers-with-less-burn">Mild chili peppers with less burn</h2>



Food can bring joy, but intense chili pepper heat can overwhelm some diners. With newly identified molecules, it may be possible to produce peppers that cater to diverse preferences.



Another angle is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5260/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TRPV1 receptor</a> activation, which triggers pain signals after exposure to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263570067_Peppers_Vegetable_and_Spice_Capsicums_2nd_edition_by_Paul_W_Bosland_and_Eric_J_Votava" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Capsaicin</a>. Researchers see potential in the heat-suppressing agents to manage discomfort without causing that sharp burning feeling.



Farmers might benefit from peppers designed for moderate spice while retaining the peppers’ signature flavors. Tailoring certain traits can broaden the range of peppers on the market.



Hybrid approaches may also enrich the pepper profile with heat-reducing components. This could help chefs who want that iconic flavor with a milder punch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heat-blockers-may-also-ease-pain">Heat blockers may also ease pain</h2>



The results shine a light on how complex pungency can be. Beyond two famous compounds, the subtle interplay among other agents holds fresh opportunities for product innovation.



Scientists plan to expand their work to see how these suppressors behave in other foods. The initial evidence indicates that they could apply to broader contexts.



<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3169333/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Studies</a> show that capsaicin-based creams can ease aches. The presence of less irritating molecules might open paths for pain relief without intense irritation.



Some people avoid strong treatments because of side effects, so a gentler compound could be good news. Supporters see this as a pathway to more comfortable solutions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mild-chili-peppers-retain-old-traits">Mild chili peppers retain old traits</h2>



Peppers supply more than just heat. They are packed with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-coffee-is-missing-these-five-brain-boosting-spices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">taste</a>, aroma, and color that enhance many recipes.



Investigations into these hidden molecules show that it is possible to keep the appealing aspects of peppers while limiting the discomfort. Cooks may gain a wider range of meal options.



Consumers vary in their spice tolerance. Some crave the challenge, while others stick to mild flavors.



Developers can cater to both ends of the spectrum by blending different peppers. This idea could transform mealtimes for families with mixed preferences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-balancing-spice-with-choice">Balancing spice with choice</h2>



Though the science is still growing, these findings have stirred up talk about possible commercial goods. Adaptations might appear in grocery aisles, letting individuals adjust heat levels to suit their mood.



The group behind this work sees it as part of a broader shift toward customizable food experiences. They believe comfort and taste can co-exist.



Restaurants could eventually adopt the idea, offering optional add-ons that reduce spice after a dish is served. It would mean more flexibility when trying bold flavors.



Staying open to these innovative uses of mild chili peppers may change the way people approach spicy foods. Differences in taste should never limit anyone’s enjoyment of a shared meal.



The study is published in the <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c01448" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry</a>.



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Mild chili peppers may be the 'anti-spice' we've been looking for

Many spice enthusiasts have experienced the rush of biting into...

Lake Tahoe sits high in the Sierra Nevada, straddling the border of California and Nevada. For more than half a century, researchers have tracked its temperature, chemistry and clarity.



In 2006, scientists at the <a href="https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center</a> added a new line of surveillance. The team installed precise sensors that measure how far <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-use-sunlight-to-capture-carbon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sunlight</a> of different colors, including energetic UV rays, can travel through the Lake Tahoe's water column.



Eighteen years of those measurements, analyzed with colleagues at <a href="https://miamioh.edu/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Miami University</a> and <a href="https://www.ulaval.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Laval University,</a> now reveal startling swings in underwater UV exposure that mirror the region’s increasingly extreme climate jolts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-sunlight-beneath-lake-tahoe">Measuring sunlight beneath Lake Tahoe</h2>



Scientists visited the lake every two weeks and lowered a multichannel radiometer that records UV-B (305 nm), UV-A (320 nm and 380 nm) and visible light used by plants for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-foundation-of-life-is-at-risk-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">photosynthesis</a> (PAR, 400–700 nm).



Researchers calculated the depth at which only one percent of the surface light remains - a yardstick for how deeply each wavelength penetrates. 



Between 2006 and 2023, that one-percent depth for 320 nm UV light sometimes reached more than 95 meters in drought summers, yet barely 10 meters in the wettest springs.



The experts found up to a 100-fold difference in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ozone-hole-exposes-wildlife-to-harmful-uv-radiation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UV radiation</a> between a wet and a dry year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-drought-removes-the-sunscreen"><a></a>When drought removes the sunscreen</h2>



Lake Tahoe’s water is famously clear because it holds very little dissolved organic matter and few suspended particles. Those substances behave like a natural sunscreen: they absorb or scatter incoming UV.



During years of exceptional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-now-the-driving-force-behind-droughts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">drought</a>, streamflow slackens and the lake receives scant deliveries of colored dissolved organic matter or fine mineral grains. As a result, more UV light slices through the water.



Shohei Watanabe, an associate project scientist with the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, is the lead author of the study. “It’s a bit like reducing the lake’s sunscreen, making it susceptible to severe sunburn,” he said.



In contrast, during winters and springs dominated by powerful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/consecutive-atmospheric-rivers-cause-far-more-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">atmospheric river</a> storms, torrents of runoff flush soil and organic stains into the lake. That cloudier mix limits UV penetration, drawing the effective sunscreen closer to the surface.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sunlight-shapes-lake-life">Sunlight shapes lake life</h2>



UV rays are the most energetic part of sunlight. At modest doses they help sterilize surface waters, break down dissolved carbon compounds, and keep certain invasive fish at bay. 



In excess, however, UV rays damage DNA, inhibit photosynthesis, and alter the behavior of tiny crustaceans that feed fish.



The Tahoe study shows that the ratio of UV to the visible light plants need (PAR) also changes sharply with the climate rhythm, shifting ecological balances throughout the food web.



Because clear alpine and polar lakes share Lake Tahoe’s optical character, the team warns that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lakes-are-warming-toward-the-point-of-no-return/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clear-water lakes</a> are likely to experience increasingly large fluctuations in underwater UV and spectral irradiance. These shifts are expected to intensify as precipitation extremes become more frequent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monitoring-underwater-radiation">Monitoring underwater radiation </h2>



The researchers found that UV transparency tracks regional hydrology more sensitively than traditional clarity measures such as the Secchi disk.



In Lake Tahoe, the depth at which a white disk disappears to the eye changed far less between wet and dry years than the UV measurements did. That makes underwater light a potential early-warning signal for managers watching for climate-driven disturbances. 



Thus, monitoring underwater radiation can serve as a sentinel. It alerts authorities to water quality, fisheries, and recreation stresses long before they appear at the surface.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-trends-and-local-impacts">Global trends and local impacts</h2>



Maintaining an unbroken observational line was crucial. “To understand what’s really happening in nature, the long-term dataset is quite important,” Watanabe said. “One or two years of data couldn’t reveal this kind of huge fluctuation related to climatic perturbations.”



The record also shows how global trends translate into local impacts. A future of alternating megadroughts and deluges could cause Tahoe and other clear lakes to swing between extremes. 



Some years may bring hyper-sterilizing UV pulses, while others may see UV-muted, nutrient-rich waters that fuel algal blooms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-the-clarity-of-lakes">Protecting the clarity of lakes</h2>



The findings stress curbing erosion and runoff of fine sediments and colored organics to protect Lake Tahoe’s clarity. These measures can help restore Lake Tahoe’s natural UV and sunlight sunscreen, even during wet years.



At the same time, understanding that drought may expose deeper layers to damaging radiation could influence habitat protection for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plankton-at-risk-global-warming-threatens-the-oceans-lifeline/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plankton</a>, juvenile fish, and amphibians.



The study blends painstaking fieldwork with a simple message: climate change does not just warm lakes; it changes the color and character of the light that reaches their depths. 



In Lake Tahoe’s shifting shades of ultraviolet, scientists can read both the scars of recent droughts and the fingerprints of storms still to come.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lol2.70021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Limnology and Oceanography Letters</a>.



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Climate extremes alter how sunlight travels through clear lakes

Lake Tahoe sits high in the Sierra Nevada, straddling the...

About 85 million years ago, when dinosaurs still walked the Earth, the ocean that covered parts of what is now Vancouver Island was home to many types of long-necked marine reptiles called elasmosaurs - a family of marine reptiles that fell under the broader group known as plesiosaurs.



In 2002, scientists discovered the first fossil of one of these creatures in a rock layer known as the Haslam Formation. Since the original discovery, more bones have turned up, including a nearly complete skeleton of a young animal.



Thanks to these finds, researchers from <a href="https://www.marshall.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marshall University</a>, alongside colleagues in Canada and Chile, have confirmed that this fossil, along with bones from two others, belong to a brand-new genus and species of elasmosaur that they named Traskasaura sandrae.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-traskasaura-sandrae-is-special">Why Traskasaura sandrae is special</h2>



What makes Traskasaura so fascinating is the strange way it blends features from both ancient and more advanced versions of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-ever-marine-reptile-ichthyotitan-severnensis-discovered-by-11-year-old-girl/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine reptiles</a>. Its jaw and neck look a lot like what you’d see in older elasmosaurs, with big teeth and a long string of neck bones. 



But parts of its shoulders and flippers seem more modern - closer to those of the newer species in its family. It’s kind of like finding an old car with a futuristic dashboard inside.



"When I first saw the fossils and realized they represented a new taxon, I thought it might be related to other plesiosaurs from the Antarctic," explained Professor F. Robin O’Keefe, the study's lead author.



Even though it shares some advanced features, it turns out Traskasaura sandrae didn’t evolve from those more modern elasmosaurs. Instead, it developed similar traits on its own path - what scientists call convergent evolution. 



"My Chilean colleague Rodrigo Otero thought differently, and he was right; Traskasaura is a strange, convergently evolved, fascinating beast.”



When researchers placed it in the family tree, it landed closer to the earlier branches, meaning it's more primitive overall, but with some clever upgrades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fearsome-marine-predator">Fearsome marine predator</h2>



Measuring around 12 meters (39 feet) in length and boasting a neck made up of at least 50 bones, Traskasaura sandrae was unlike any other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/research-ship-finds-palau-nautilus-sea-creature-untouched-since-dinosaur-times/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sea creature</a> of its time.



Its teeth were sharp, strong, and thick - perfect tools for crushing prey. Researchers believe these features indicate a unique hunting behavior.



Rather than attacking from below or the side, Traskasaura likely descended from above, using its downward swimming ability to ambush prey.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/elasmosaurs_Traskasaura-sandrae_late-cretaceous_credit-Robert-O-Clark_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/elasmosaurs_Traskasaura-sandrae_late-cretaceous_credit-Robert-O-Clark_1s.webp" alt="Two individuals of Traskasaura sandrae hunt the ammonite Pachydiscus in the northern Pacific during the Late Cretaceous. Traskasaura sandrae, named today in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology, was declared the Provincial Fossil of British Columbia in 2023. Credit: Robert O. Clark" class="wp-image-1971333"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Two individuals of Traskasaura sandrae hunt the ammonite Pachydiscus in the northern Pacific during the Late Cretaceous. Traskasaura sandrae, named today in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology, was declared the Provincial Fossil of British Columbia. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Robert O. Clark</figcaption></figure>



The team also proposed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ammonites-extinction-was-complex-not-inevitable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ammonites</a> - shell-covered marine animals that were common in the area - may have been on the menu. 



These would have been a suitable prey since Traskasaura's robust teeth were ideal for crushing ammonite shells, according Professor O’Keefe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-traskasaura-sandrae-s-scientific-journey">Traskasaura sandrae's scientific journey</h2>



Although the species has only now been formally named, its fossils have been part of scientific and public life for years.



The first specimen from the <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sepm/jsedres/article-abstract/52/3/975/97637/The-Haslam-Formation-a-late-Santonian-early" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Haslam Formation</a> was uncovered in 1988 by Michael and Heather Trask, along the banks of the Puntledge River. Since then, two more fossilized individuals have been recovered from the same area.



The original 1988 fossil was initially described in 2002 but wasn't immediately classified as being in a new genus. The evidence wasn’t strong enough at the time - there simply weren’t enough clear, distinct features in the adult skeleton. 



That changed when a new, well-preserved juvenile skeleton was found. This new discovery gave scientists the confidence to identify and officially name the genus and species.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/elasmosaurs_Traskasaura-sandrae_museum-fossil-display_credit-Robert-O-Clark_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/elasmosaurs_Traskasaura-sandrae_museum-fossil-display_credit-Robert-O-Clark_1s.webp" alt="Museum display of Traskasaura sandrae. Credit: The Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Center, Courtenay, British Columbia" class="wp-image-1971335"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Museum display of Traskasaura sandrae. Click image to enlarge. Credit: The Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Center, Courtenay, British Columbia</figcaption></figure>



“The scientific confusion concerning this taxon is understandable,” O’Keefe continued. “It has a very odd mix of primitive and derived traits. The shoulder, in particular, is unlike any other plesiosaur I have ever seen, and I have seen a few.”



In 2018, the fossils gained wider fame when they were selected as the Provincial Fossil of British Columbia, following a public poll. They now reside on public display at the <a href="https://www.courtenaymuseum.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Courtenay and District Museum and Palaeontology Centre</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pride-of-british-columbia">Pride of British Columbia</h2>



The genus name Traskasaura honors the discoverers, Michael and Heather Trask. This is combined with "saura" which is derived from the Greek word for lizard.



The species name sandrae pays tribute to Sandra Lee O’Keefe, who is remembered by the authors as a valiant warrior in the fight against breast cancer.



“Fittingly, a region known for its rich marine life today was host to strange and wonderful marine reptiles in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-lizards-were-thriving-during-the-age-of-dinosaurs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Age of Dinosaurs</a>, Professor O'Keefe concluded.”



To sum it all up, Traskasaura sandrae brings a long-standing mystery to an end and gives British Columbia a marine reptile it can truly call its own. 



After decades of uncertainty, thanks to a remarkable juvenile fossil and a team of international scientists, this ancient sea creature finally has a name, a story, and a place in the prehistoric spotlight.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2025.2489938" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Systematic Palaeontology</a>.



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Scientists identify a 'very odd' new sea monster, unlike any previously known

About 85 million years ago, when dinosaurs still walked the...

Coastal beaches can look calm, but they are brimming with life and activity. Many of these sandy environments are at risk as they become trapped between rising seas and bustling human developments.



Scientists warn that these shorelines are losing their natural breathing room, and this leads to problems for people and wildlife. The new findings highlight how a lack of space along <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saltwater-intrusion-threatens-coastal-groundwater-supplies-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coasts</a> threatens everything from habitat preservation to freshwater availability.



Narrow beaches mean less space for dunes to form, limiting the ecosystem services they provide. This reality was described by coastal ecologist Eva Lansu from the <a href="https://www.rug.nl/?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Groningen</a>, who examined how close buildings tend to be to the sea worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-squeeze-leaves-no-space-for-dunes">Coastal squeeze leaves no space for dunes</h2>



On average, the first roads or buildings appear about 0.25 miles from the high tide line, which leaves <a href="https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/squeezed-sands-human-footprints-in-coastal-lands" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">little space</a> for dunes to shift inland. Over time, waves and storms can wear down these sandy stretches, and there is nowhere for them to go.



“This <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-cities-will-spend-over-3-trillion-dollars-damages-from-sea-level-rise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coastal</a> squeeze is not only a problem for biodiversity, it also affects our defense against flooding and our drinking water supply,” said Lansu. 



The growing strain on coastal ecosystems has sparked urgent questions about how to protect these zones without hindering economic interests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-coastal-biodiversity-matters">Why coastal biodiversity matters</h2>



Healthy dunes act as <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/the-ecology-of-sandy-shores/mclachlan/978-0-12-809467-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">natural barriers</a> that absorb storm impact, filter groundwater, and stabilize shorelines. They also support countless tiny organisms and plants that keep coastal systems in balance.



Beach plants, insects, and birds rely on these zones for food and shelter. These interactions benefit humans too, since coastal vegetation can help slow erosion, enhance tourism, and provide a natural line of defense.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-squeeze-in-a-growing-population">Coastal squeeze in a growing population</h2>



Global population trends make the coastal squeeze worse. About <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12859" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one in three</a> people live within 30 miles of a coast, with many moving closer for jobs, housing, and recreation.



As more people settle near the ocean, land use decisions often prioritize short-term development over long-term sustainability. This demand increases pressure on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-level-warnings-what-coastal-cities-must-prepare-for/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">natural</a> areas and limits the space needed for dunes to thrive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-squeezed-beaches-harm-plants">How squeezed beaches harm plants</h2>



One <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228923255_Restoration_of_Dune_Mobility_in_The_Netherlands" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> found that a biodiverse dune area in the Netherlands requires about 2.36 miles of width, yet actual dunes there often measure only around 0.62 miles. This shortfall puts plant diversity at just over half of its potential.



Many areas face pressure from roads, holiday resorts, and seawalls. These structures keep creeping closer, reducing the range for plants and animals that are sensitive to movement of sand.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-water-resources">Protecting water resources</h2>



People often forget that dunes are critical for drinking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salt-marshes-are-enormously-valuable-for-coastal-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water</a> supply. Groundwater flows through these sandy soils, where impurities can be filtered before reaching wells or reservoirs.



Frequent storms and rising tides can contaminate freshwater sources with saltwater. When dunes are compressed by nearby developments, they lose some of their capacity to protect these underground resources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-innovative-coastal-management">Innovative coastal management </h2>



Efforts in the Netherlands show that adding new sand to the shoreline can create space for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179121000992" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">embryonic dunes</a> to form, boosting biodiversity and resilience. The <a href="https://www.ecoshape.org/en/pilots/the-delfland-sand-engine-4/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sand Motor project</a> near the village of Monster, carried out in 2011, helped illustrate how innovative coastal management can work.



Some <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260423757_A_New_Alternative_to_Saving_Our_Beaches_from_Sea-Level_Rise_The_Sand_Engine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experts</a> see these expansions as a better solution than erecting large barriers. They argue that a thriving coastal ecosystem is more adaptive to future changes than fixed walls or dams.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eco-friendly-solutions-are-more-enduring">Eco-friendly solutions are more enduring </h2>



Other coastal regions have begun to explore greener strategies that respect natural sediment shifts and plant growth. These approaches balance economic activities like tourism with the long-term health of beaches.



Groups that manage these landscapes often involve local communities to maintain vegetation and reduce erosion. This cooperation can lead to solutions that are less expensive, less disruptive, and ultimately more enduring.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preventing-the-coastal-squeeze">Preventing the coastal squeeze</h2>



Researchers highlight the need for long-term spatial planning that protects coastal zones from being walled in. Allowing dunes and wetlands to move naturally is seen as an investment in future sustainability.



Overbuilt shores could face more severe flooding and water shortages in the decades ahead. Early action can prevent irreversible damage and safeguard the natural areas that benefit everyone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-balancing-nature-and-economy">Balancing nature and economy</h2>



Regular monitoring of sandy shorelines helps decision-makers see how quickly changes occur. Scientists also encourage stronger policies that limit development near the water and protect these fragile habitats.



Success stories from around the world show that restoration efforts can bring back lost biodiversity. When done carefully, it becomes possible to keep both nature and local economies thriving.



Coastal lands do far more than enhance a postcard view. They stand at the crossroads between human progress and natural resilience, showing us that a balanced approach can keep shorelines alive and well.



The study is published in <a href="https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/squeezed-sands-human-footprints-in-coastal-lands" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Groningen</a>.



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Coastal growth squeezes beaches, threatening flood protection

Coastal beaches can look calm, but they are brimming with...

From grounding airliners to fertilizing distant oceans, volcanic eruptions are known for dramatic effects. Yet one influence has remained elusive: the way ash lofted into the upper atmosphere changes the delicate ice clouds that blanket the planet’s high altitudes.



A new investigation led by <a href="https://www.llnl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory</a> (LLNL) closes that gap. It reveals that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prehistoric-homo-sapiens-stone-tools-preserved-volcanic-ash-grotta-di-castelcivita/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">volcanic ash</a> grains from powerful eruptions do more than just drift. They actively reshape the microphysical structure of cirrus clouds, altering how Earth absorbs and releases heat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volcanic-ash-and-cloud-formation">Volcanic ash and cloud formation </h2>



The research team analyzed ten years of observations captured by <a href="https://eospso.nasa.gov/missions/cloudsat" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA’s CloudSat</a> satellite radar and its companion <a href="https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/project/CALIPSO" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CALIPSO lidar</a>. These instruments measure ice crystal size and count, and map the height of ash-filled plumes inside <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clouds-also-fuel-arctic-warming-not-just-carbon-emissions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clouds.</a> 



The experts compared months before and after three well-documented mid-latitude eruptions - Kasatochi in Alaska (2008), Sarychev in Russia’s Kuril Islands (2009), and Calbuco in Chile (2015). This comparison allowed the scientists to tease out the fingerprint of volcanic particles on cirrus formation.



“Our research helps close a significant knowledge gap about whether and how volcanic eruptions influence cloud formation,” said lead author Lin Lin, a scientist at LLNL. Other aerosols like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sahara-desert-dust-storms-carry-harmful-bacteria-and-fungi-around-the-globe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dust</a> or pollution rise slowly or stay low, making their effects harder to isolate. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cloudy-chaos-was-expected">Cloudy chaos was expected</h2>



Before looking at the data, the team expected to see cloudy scenes packed with many small ice particles, assuming that the extra ash grains would offer more surfaces on which ice could form.



“At the beginning of the study, we did expect clouds affected by volcanic eruptions to look different from natural clouds, but not in the way we ultimately found,” Lin said.



She and her colleagues were surprised to discover that ash-rich plumes produced the opposite pattern: the satellite record showed cirrus composed of fewer but markedly larger crystals. Clouds also became more frequent in the altitude band where the ash circulated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volcanic-ash-changes-ice">Volcanic ash changes ice</h2>



Why would adding particles decrease the number of ice shards? The answer lies in how ice nucleates.



In a pristine, extremely cold parcel of air, liquid droplets can freeze spontaneously once temperatures drop below about –38 °C, a process called homogeneous nucleation. Volcanic ash changes the script by providing gritty mineral surfaces. 



These surfaces encourage water molecules to align into an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unexpected-beauty-revealed-in-ice-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ice</a> lattice at warmer temperatures and lower humidity through heterogeneous nucleation.



Because that freezing starts earlier, just a handful of ash grains can swoop up most of the available water vapor, starving the air of moisture before additional crystals can form. The result is a small population of oversized, slowly settling ice particles.



“The results completely overturned our original expectations,” Lin explained. “We anticipated that volcanic aerosols would lead to an increase in the number of ice crystals in clouds. But to our surprise, the data showed the opposite.”



She added that adapting the analysis to match the unexpected outcome - rather than clinging to the initial theory - was a challenge and a joy. “Letting go of our initial idea and developing a new explanation based on unexpected findings was both the hardest and most rewarding part of the process.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volcanic-ash-alters-earth-s-climate">Volcanic ash alters Earth's climate</h2>



Cirrus clouds are thin, wispy blankets that let in most incoming sunlight yet trap infrared radiation heading back to space, exerting a net warming influence. Clouds with fewer, bigger crystals tend to be more transparent to infrared heat, potentially cooling the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fading-clouds-are-accelerating-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate</a>.



Volcanic ash may thin cirrus clouds, offsetting some short-term warming from sunlight-reflecting sulphate aerosols released during eruptions. Determining which influence dominates will require climate models to track ash as a distinct type of ice-nucleating particle - something many current models do not yet do.



The findings matter beyond volcanic episodes. Ash grains share chemical similarities with desert dust, a common aerosol in the upper troposphere. If dust creates sparse-crystal cirrus, it may subtly shift the greenhouse effect over dusty areas like the Sahara outflow.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cloud-data-helps-flight-safety">Cloud data helps flight safety</h2>



Understanding how ash reshapes cirrus also has practical payoffs. Aviation maps focus on ash mass, but cloud changes can hinder satellite detection and long-range plume tracking.



For climate researchers, the study supplies a rare set of satellite-verified numbers to test how future models handle heterogeneous ice nucleation in ash-rich layers.



The LLNL team is already turning to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ocean-warming-four-times-faster-than-global-average/">Arctic</a>, where mineral dust and soot mingle above the pack ice. If northern cirrus respond similarly, changes in heat trapping could accelerate or slow polar warming.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-waiting-for-the-next-eruption"><a></a>Waiting for the next eruption</h2>



Large stratospheric eruptions are infrequent, but each one offers a fresh laboratory in the sky. With improved sensors now flying and more sophisticated retrieval techniques, the next event will allow scientists to verify whether the ash-cirrus link holds in different meteorological settings.



Until then, the decade-long record examined here provides the clearest demonstration that volcanic ash “slices” into the atmosphere in ways that reverberate through cloud physics and, ultimately, Earth’s climate.



The study shows eruptions spread giant ice crystals, linking geology, weather, and Earth’s energy balance in a surprising way.



As Lin puts it, the work reminds us that unexpected discoveries often “overturn our original expectations” - and that science advances when researchers are willing to follow the evidence, even when it clouds their initial view.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads0572" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Fire and ice: Volcanic ash plays a surprising role in cloud formation

From grounding airliners to fertilizing distant oceans, volcanic eruptions are...

Emotions have always been tricky. People often second-guess how others feel, and even well-trained professionals can miss signs of frustration or sadness. 



Now, a new study suggests that artificial intelligence (<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-ai-could-protect-millions-of-people-from-vision-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AI</a>) and large language models (LLMs) might be better at reading the room than many humans.



The work was led by the University of Geneva (<a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNIGE</a>) and the University of Bern (<a href="https://www.unibe.ch/index_eng.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UniBE</a>). One of the key investigators was Dr. Katja Schlegel, a lecturer in the Division of Personality Psychology, Differential Psychology, and Assessment at the Institute of Psychology at UniBE.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-models-and-emotion-quizzes">AI models and emotion quizzes </h2>



The research team worked with six generative AIs, including ChatGPT, to see how well they could handle <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6546921/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotional intelligence</a> questions. 



Each question asked for the most effective <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-robot-interaction-are-we-prepared-for-the-ethical-challenges/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reaction</a> to a particular scenario, where someone was caught up in negative feelings. A real-world example might be deciding whether to talk to a supervisor about a stolen idea or keep quiet and stay resentful.



“This suggests that these AI systems not only understand emotions, but also grasp what it means to behave with emotional intelligence,” noted Dr. Marcello Mortillaro, senior scientist at UNIGE’s Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA).



The team discovered that these AIs answered correctly more often than typical human participants.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-proves-its-emotional-intelligence">AI proves its emotional intelligence </h2>



Those working on the project reported that the participating AIs earned an accuracy rate of around 81 percent. Previous studies had placed the human average at 56% in the same tests.



Each AI was given prompts describing situations where someone was sad, worried, annoyed, or otherwise emotionally off balance, and they chose the best coping strategy from multiple-choice answers.



The researchers were surprised by how consistent these performance levels were. Even when the same question was posed multiple times, the AIs picked the most emotionally sound course of action.



“They proved to be as reliable, clear and realistic as the original tests, which had taken years to develop,” noted Dr. Schlegel. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-creating-emotional-intelligence-tests">Creating emotional intelligence tests</h2>



The next step involved asking ChatGPT-4 to whip up brand-new emotional intelligence tests from scratch. The system produced fresh <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chick-emotions-shed-new-light-on-animal-welfare/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">scenarios</a> and answer sets faster than any typical human-led process.&nbsp;



Over 400 individuals tried these computer-generated quizzes. The researchers found that participants rated them as valid and coherent. 



There were minor differences in content variety, but these new questionnaires held up well in test comparisons.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practical-uses-in-daily-life">Practical uses in daily life</h2>



This exploration suggests a potential future where AI-based tutoring and personal development tools include emotional coaching. 



Guidance counselors, team-building specialists, and leadership trainers might lean on these systems to create group exercises for conflict resolution. A user could receive direct suggestions for handling tense conversations with co-workers or relatives.



This does not mean AI is about to replace human interaction. Many situations still call for a personal touch. However, the data show that computers can be surprisingly efficient at mapping <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-helps-humans-have-20-minute-conversation-with-humpback-whale-named-twain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">feelings</a> and recommending balanced approaches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-lacks-the-ability-to-feel">AI lacks the ability to feel</h2>



Despite its strong performance on emotional intelligence tests, AI still lacks the ability to truly feel anything. 



Emotional intelligence in humans includes not just choosing the right response, but sensing tone, body language, and context in real-time interactions, factors AI can’t fully interpret or replicate. 



Even a perfect answer on a test doesn’t mean the AI could read the room during a live conversation or adjust based on shifting moods.



There’s also the issue of transparency. These models don’t tell us how they arrive at their answers. When it gets a question right, we don’t know if it’s following emotional logic or just regurgitating patterns it has seen. 



That makes it hard to build trust in high-stakes areas like mental health care or mediation, where understanding emotions isn’t just useful, it’s essential.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-capturing-universal-emotions">Capturing universal emotions</h2>



Social robots and virtual coaches have been around for years, but they used to rely on simpler models that scanned facial expressions or voice tones. 



Now, with massive text databases and more <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&amp;type=pdf&amp;doi=ce8008cce8e8b8c40d4d3c5c667ecf9cbeac9fb1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advanced language processing</a>, AI can respond to emotional cues based on extensive learned patterns.



Some experts say these machines might keep evolving. Others warn that cultural nuances can confuse AI, because emotional norms differ by region and background. Despite that, many see a benefit in using software that captures the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26357337/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">universal aspects</a> of stress, sadness, or joy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-can-t-replace-human-empathy">AI can't replace human empathy</h2>



Just because AI can pick the right answers doesn’t mean it should act on them without supervision. Emotionally intelligent behavior still needs a human filter, especially when the stakes are high. 



Whether it’s advising a student in distress or guiding workplace decisions, people must remain in control of how these tools are applied.



There’s also the risk of over-reliance. If users start trusting AI more than their own judgment, or begin offloading sensitive decisions to it entirely, that could dull emotional growth and accountability. 



Experts warn that while AI can support learning, it should never replace human empathy or relational wisdom.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-may-help-in-emotional-decisions">AI may help in emotional decisions</h2>



The study sheds light on how AI systems might one day collaborate with humans in education, training, and mediating disputes. 



Their knack for spotting the <a href="https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/2302/2302.02083v1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">best course of action</a> in emotional dilemmas raises questions about how we can use them in coaching, therapy, and everyday life.



Time will tell if these systems keep improving or if there’s a plateau in how much they can mimic our own self-awareness. What is certain is that they have already shown a knack for matching, and even surpassing, many folks in emotional understanding.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-025-00258-x#citeas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Communications Psychology</a>.



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AI shows better emotional intelligence than humans

Emotions have always been tricky. People often second-guess how others...

Major depressive disorder is a serious mental health condition that can disrupt daily functioning. Roughly 10 percent of U.S. adults experience it at any given time.



Furthermore, a higher portion (around 20 percent) will deal with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15061154/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MDD symptoms</a> at some point during their lifetime. Standard antidepressants prove ineffective for 30 percent, leaving many without a clear <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-the-hidden-casualty-of-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solution</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-ketamine-treatment-works">How ketamine treatment works</h2>



Ketamine has emerged as a fast-acting approach for certain individuals with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-and-the-internet-who-benefits-and-who-suffers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a>. It often shows results in hours rather than the usual weeks required by traditional antidepressants.



Despite its benefits, repeat infusions are often necessary. That can raise concerns about possible side effects or addiction.



A fresh perspective comes from Dr. Lisa Monteggia of <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vanderbilt University</a>. She collaborated with Dr. Ege Kavalali to examine ways to prolong ketamine’s effect from about a week to around two months.



The experts aimed to see how a particular signaling pathway known as <a href="https://geneglobe.qiagen.com/us/knowledge/pathways/erk-mapk-signaling" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ERK</a> is involved in ketamine’s powerful impact. They tested whether ramping up ERK activity could lock in those antidepressant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/151-million-americans-have-mental-health-disorders-linked-to-leaded-gasoline/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">effects</a> for a longer stretch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prolonging-the-antidepressant-effects">Prolonging the antidepressant effects</h2>



The researchers used a compound called BCI to block a protein phosphatase that normally curbs ERK. By inhibiting this <a href="https://www.neb.com/en-us/applications/protein-analysis-and-tools/protein-phosphatases-and-kinases" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phosphatase</a>, they boosted ERK’s activity and extended ketamine’s influence.



“The antidepressant-like behavioral effects of acute ketamine treatment were extended by DUSP6 inhibition for up to 2 months,” noted Zhenzhong Ma, who led the study. 



The team found that a single dose of ketamine, when combined with this approach, offered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/outdoor-classes-improve-childrens-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">benefits</a> that lasted far beyond the usual timeframe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fewer-ketamine-treatments-fewer-risks">Fewer ketamine treatments, fewer risks</h2>



Repeated ketamine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/surprising-mental-health-benefits-of-living-near-green-spaces/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">infusions</a> can become a hassle for patients. This extended approach may spare people from multiple hospital visits, limiting risks tied to frequent dosing.



There’s also hope that fewer infusions can reduce issues like disconnection from reality. Some worry about the chance of dependence, so lengthening ketamine’s effectiveness with minimal dosing could be a game-changer.



“The premise of this study was based on a testable mechanistic model that we developed that accounts for ketamine’s rapid antidepressant action,” said Dr. Monteggia. According to the researchers, improved timing matters in how ketamine triggers rapid relief.&nbsp;



The research highlights ketamine’s ability to set off changes at <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526047/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">synapses</a> that correlate with less severe depression symptoms. When those synapses keep functioning well for longer, relief can hang around without repeated treatments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-forward-with-caution">Moving forward with caution</h2>



Despite the encouraging findings, there are practical hurdles before this strategy can move from the lab to patient care. 



The compound BCI might not be safe for human use in its current form, so the quest is on for related molecules that produce a similar outcome.



Scientists also face a complex puzzle when dealing with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539894/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neurotransmitters</a> and other signaling elements that influence mood. Pinpointing targets that amplify ketamine’s benefits without adding serious side effects remains a top priority.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-dose-lasting-relief">One dose, lasting relief</h2>



Studies exploring ways to keep a single dose of ketamine effective for longer could reshape depression treatment. Researchers believe that sustaining the therapeutic window might deliver more stable relief, though further tests are crucial.



By fine-tuning the proteins involved in these pathways, doctors may one day reduce or remove the need for regular infusions. For many, this concept offers hope of a more manageable treatment that maintains mental well-being over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-on-existing-knowledge">Building on existing knowledge</h2>



Other investigations have pointed to different molecules that enhance the effect of ketamine’s fast-acting properties. Researchers are working to confirm whether combining strategies could lead to even longer periods of relief.



Some believe that therapy personalized to each person’s unique brain chemistry will eventually be the norm. 



As science uncovers these intricate pathways, the door stays open for new interventions that stretch benefits without adding burdens.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-shift-in-mental-health-care">A shift in mental health care</h2>



Major depressive disorder imposes a severe burden, but new approaches offer a sense of possibility. Extending ketamine’s effect from a brief window to several weeks could transform how depression is managed.



The researchers emphasize that nobody should experiment with ketamine outside of a clinical program. It remains a controlled substance that demands careful administration and vigilant monitoring.



Excitement about prolonged relief does not minimize the serious nature of depression. Researchers continue to keep safety at the forefront, aiming for personalized treatments that balance effectiveness with patient well-being.



For those grappling with MDD, each new study sparks cautious optimism about better outcomes. Although many steps remain, this discovery marks a valuable moment in the conversation around depression treatment.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb6748" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Ketamine treatment may now last months instead of weeks

Major depressive disorder is a serious mental health condition that...

Climate change is often seen through numbers: temperature charts, sea-level rise, or CO₂ levels. But behind these graphs are children - especially in places like Kenya - living the real consequences of a warming world.



While floods and droughts destroy crops and homes, a deeper, quieter harm spreads. Young adolescents, aged 10 to 14, are facing sexual exploitation, gender-based violence, school dropout, and early pregnancy. The crisis is not just <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-extremes-in-2024-what-have-we-learned/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental</a>. It is deeply social, deeply human.



A recent study reveals the urgent need to address this issue. Conducted across six diverse and climate-affected regions in Kenya - Mathare, Kisumu, Isiolo, Naivasha, Kilifi, and the Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement - the study offers an intimate, multi-layered look into how resource insecurities are pushing youth, especially girls, into harm’s way.



“Climate change isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s an urgent public health emergency for young adolescents,” said lead author Dr. Carmen Logie of the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Toronto</a>. Her team collaborated with Kenyan organizations and worked directly with adolescents and community elders to gather these insights.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-poverty-and-climate-harm-children">Poverty and climate harm children</h2>



The effects of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2024-confirmed-as-earths-hottest-year-in-recorded-history/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate</a> change are not felt equally. In Kenya, droughts and heavy rains worsen existing poverty and create daily struggles for food, water, and safe sanitation. These insecurities shape how young people live, learn, and survive. 



For adolescents already in a critical developmental stage, the stakes are higher. The study explains how missing food, water, or menstrual products isn’t just inconvenient - it can be life-altering.



Using focus groups, walk-along interviews, and participatory mapping, the researchers documented how adolescents navigate these challenges. The team discovered that resource shortages, fueled by climate extremes, lead to missed school days, risky sexual exchanges, or dropping out entirely.



“Girls told us about the shame of not having clean clothes or menstrual supplies, and how it led them to stay home from school or enter exploitative relationships just to meet basic needs,” said study co-author Aryssa Hasham.



The testimonies point to a disturbing climate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-is-accelerating-beyond-control-as-co2-levels-rise/">trend</a>: when basic dignity is denied, a child faces dangerous choices.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hunger-puts-children-in-risky-situations">Hunger puts children in risky situations</h2>



Hunger is not just a physical pain - it drives choices. Many children in the study shared stories of skipping meals and being left to find food on their own.



For boys, this often meant running away from home and ending up on the streets. For girls, it often meant entering relationships with older men in exchange for a meal or money.



“There are the children who drop out of school and go loitering. They will tell you things like: ‘We have no money for school uniform, no money for school fees, no money for food, so what do you want me to do?’” said an elder woman in Isiolo.



The gendered patterns are stark. While boys escape, girls negotiate. Some accounts spoke of girls as young as 12 entering relationships just to get 20 shillings for food. 



“The girls will skip school and go to a man’s house - a man old enough to be their father or grandfather,” explained an elder from Mathare. "Just 20 shillings ($0.15 USD) to buy chips and that’s enough to keep her going to satisfy her hunger.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-endangers-child-safety">Climate change endangers child safety</h2>



Water insecurity was another major concern. During droughts, families had to travel long distances to collect water. During floods, dirty runoff contaminated every available source. Girls, in particular, faced unique challenges. Bathing, cleaning, or fetching water became dangerous acts.



“They can’t shower because they don’t have water, and so they sell themselves so they get water,” said one young girl in Mathare. These weren’t rare situations. Participants from every site described how girls were attacked at water points or lured into exploitation by vendors or older boys.



“When it comes to rape of the girl child, cases are much higher, especially in the rainy season,” said a male elder from Mathare. “She must find shelter and wait. When the rain stops, it can be late at night… she finds heinous guy groups who will abduct her, take her to some shack and rape her there.”



Water insecurity also had indirect effects. Without water to wash uniforms or bathe, girls would skip school. 



Others, embarrassed or afraid, avoided public spaces altogether. Infrastructure damage during floods made schools physically unreachable. Together, these issues led to academic failure and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-records-shatter-2024-set-to-be-hottest-year-ever/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social</a> isolation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-crisis-of-sanitation">The crisis of sanitation</h2>



If water was a source of risk, sanitation was no safer. The study documents broken, unsafe, or overcrowded toilet and shower facilities. Girls described being watched or filmed while bathing. Others feared being harassed near public toilets, especially at night.



“You’ll just be minding your business taking your shower, and then a boy passes by peeping in on you,” said one girl during a participatory workshop. “Later on, that boy will come telling you things like, ‘Hey! You know I saw you naked in the bathroom today.’”



Some girls avoided using toilets at all, which harmed their health. Others saved these visits for nighttime at school, when they felt slightly safer. The lack of clean, secure facilities also meant many missed school during menstruation. And the absence of menstrual products made things worse.



“A girl will feel she has crossed over into adulthood after the time of her first period,” said a Mathare elder. “She may not have the means to buy pads, so she will look for them. This may be through a boy she knows or through an older man.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-pressure-and-child-pregnancy">Climate pressure and child pregnancy</h2>



These intersecting risks are pushing young girls into early pregnancies and exposing them to sexually transmitted infections. Adolescents described how seemingly small acts - like accepting sweets or soda - led to pregnancy.



During the COVID-19 pandemic, these issues worsened. Children spent more time at home, out of school, and more exposed to exploitative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/we-are-in-a-race-against-time-to-save-our-food-supply-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environments</a>.



“There’s been a lot of things that have surprised us. A child as young as eight, let alone 10 years, could get pregnant,” said a male elder from Isiolo. “The worst was during Covid.”



In some cases, families encouraged child marriage as a way out. One girl said, “Some girls choose to get married so as to deal with such situations as food shortage and hunger.” Others were lured with something as small as a mandazi or a soda. Poverty turned basic desires into major threats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-all-these-problems-connect">How all these problems connect</h2>



To clarify these connections, the researchers created a conceptual model. It shows how climate events like flooding or drought trigger resource insecurities, which then lead to specific SRH harms. 



The pathways include missed school, transactional sex, sexual violence, and ultimately, early pregnancy or STIs.



The team grouped these threats by type: food, water, and sanitation. Each path shows how environmental stress can ripple through personal, social, and institutional systems. This model is both evidence-backed and rooted in real narratives from adolescents and elders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-action-can-protect-children">Climate action can protect children</h2>



The authors make a clear case: young adolescents must not be ignored in climate response strategies. Their unique needs, especially those of girls, require urgent and tailored programs.



“We must act quickly to develop climate-informed, adolescent-centred, and gender-transformative programs,” said Dr. Julia Kagunda of Elim Trust. These solutions must go beyond short-term aid. They must rebuild systems - schools, clinics, toilets, support services - with resilience and equity in mind.



Programs must tackle root causes: poverty, gender inequality, and lack of safe infrastructure. Menstrual hygiene interventions, school feeding programs, and safe water access are just the start. The study’s findings also suggest involving boys in violence prevention and education.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-crisis-that-needs-urgent-attention">A crisis that needs urgent attention</h2>



Kenya’s young adolescents are living through a silent emergency. Their needs are specific, urgent, and currently overlooked. The climate crisis is already here - and for these children, it is not abstract. It is hunger, it is shame, it is danger.



What they need is not pity. They need clean water, safe toilets, food security, and dignity. They need education and protection. The study makes clear that these needs won’t wait. Climate justice must include them.



The full report from <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/5/e016637" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BMJ Global Health</a> offers a roadmap for how governments, NGOs, and communities can respond. It is not just about weather - it is about the future of Kenya’s children. And the time to act is now.



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Climate disasters are fueling a child exploitation crisis

Climate change is often seen through numbers: temperature charts, sea-level...

Neskowin,Beach,Oregon,2000,Year,Old,Fossilized,Spruce,Trees,Known

Imagine two huge puzzle pieces of the Earth's outer shell slowly pushing against each other under the ocean. One piece is sliding underneath the other - this is called a subduction zone, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone is one of the most dangerous regions on Earth.



When subduction zones get stuck and then suddenly slip, it can cause a huge earthquake. These kinds of earthquakes happen along special cracks called megathrust faults.



Scientists know that in this specific region of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/violent-earthquake-threat-in-the-pacific-northwest-revealed-in-tree-rings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">West Coast fault</a> in the U.S., massive earthquakes happened in the past, and they could happen again at any time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dangers-of-the-cascadia-subduction-zone">Dangers of the Cascadia Subduction Zone</h2>



Coastal communities from northern California to British Columbia live atop the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which spans about 600 miles offshore, where the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/axial-seamount-large-underwater-volcano-off-us-coast-will-likely-erupt-in-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Juan de Fuca plate</a> creeps eastward beneath North America.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-seafloor-holes-pockmarks-evenly-spaced-and-distributed-defy-explanation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Though the movement is slow</a> - barely the width of a fingernail each year - the stress it stores can unleash earthquakes strong enough to rattle skylines and send 100-foot tsunamis racing toward shore. 



Geologists calculate that a full-length Cascadia rupture would release more energy in minutes than all human activity consumes in a year.



Geologic records show these giant events arrive roughly every 500 years, give or take a couple of hundred. The last one struck on January 26, 1700, long before skyscrapers and pipelines lined the coast. 



Tree rings, coastal marsh sediments, and stories passed down by Indigenous communities all record the sudden drop of land and arrival of waves that night.



Modern scientists want to know whether the next rupture will run the length of the fault or stop at unseen boundaries, because that difference separates an alarming disaster from a catastrophic one.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-listening-to-the-earth-in-high-def">Listening to the Earth in high-def</h2>



In summer 2021, a 41-day expedition aboard the research vessel <a href="https://lamont.columbia.edu/research-divisions/marine-large-programs/office-marine-operations/langseth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marcus G. Langseth</a> sailed nearly the entire length of Cascadia, towing an array of powerful acoustic instruments. 



The equipment emitted low-frequency sound that penetrated dense rock, and returning echoes painted detailed images of structures more than six miles below the seabed.



“The models currently in use by public agencies were based on a limited set of old, low-quality 1980s-era data,” said Suzanne Carbotte, a marine geophysicist at Columbia University’s <a href="https://lamont.columbia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory</a>, who led the research. 



“The megathrust has a much more complex geometry than previously assumed. The study provides a new framework for earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-four-cascadia-subduction-zone-segments">Four Cascadia Subduction Zone segments</h2>



The new images reveal that the megathrust is not a single unbroken scar. Instead, at least four distinct segments lie side by side, divided by buried faults that slice toward the coastline. 



Each segment shows its own slope, thickness of sediment, and patterns of cracks that either speed or slow a rupture. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/West-Coast-Fault_Cascadia-Subduction-Zone_geology-map_credit-UVictoria_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/West-Coast-Fault_Cascadia-Subduction-Zone_geology-map_credit-UVictoria_1s.webp" alt="Survey coverage and tectonic framework of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Credit: University of Victoria BC" class="wp-image-1971089"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Survey coverage and tectonic framework of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Click image to enlarge. Credit: University of Victoria BC</figcaption></figure>



These crosswise barriers can dampen shaking by blocking a break or, in the worst case, fail and let the fault unzip in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-triggered-landslide-and-tsunami-vibrated-earth-for-9-days/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one enormous event</a>.



“We can’t say that this definitely means only single segments will rupture, or that definitely the whole thing will go at once,” said Harold Tobin, a geophysicist at the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Washington</a> and co-author of the study. “But this does upgrade evidence that there are segmented ruptures.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-vancouver-washington-wild-card">The Vancouver–Washington wild card</h2>



One segment demands special attention. Stretching from southern Vancouver Island to roughly the mouth of the Columbia River, it shows a remarkably smooth contact where the oceanic plate slides beneath North America. 



Smoothness leaves fewer natural speed bumps, so stress can travel farther before stalling. 



Computer models suggest that a complete break of this stretch could push shaking intensity one unit higher on the Modified Mercalli scale across Puget Sound.



In this zone, the interface also dips shallowly, which means the section capable of rupturing may extend beneath the Olympic Peninsula and closer to cities such as Seattle and Tacoma. That geometry could translate offshore motion directly into stronger shaking on land.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-japan">Lessons from Japan</h2>



When a similar fault off Japan failed on March 11, 2011, coastal defenses built for smaller quakes proved no match for the tsunami that overwhelmed Fukushima Daiichi. 



Although Cascadia has its own personality, the Japanese tragedy showed how an underappreciated segment can surprise engineers and emergency planners. 



That quake also highlighted how intertwined <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-sea-levels-threaten-groundwater-global-cities-underground-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">infrastructure failures</a> - power loss, flooded roads, and chemical spills - can magnify the human toll long after the shaking stops.



With the new Cascadia maps in hand, agencies can refine computer simulations that test bridges, hospitals, and energy corridors against plausible shaking patterns and wave heights.



Those results filter into revised building codes and the Pacific Northwest’s growing earthquake early-warning network.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earthquakes-and-tsunamis">Earthquakes and tsunamis</h2>



While the cruise captured the roughness and rock types of the seafloor, translating those details into wave forecasts will take more number-crunching. 



“As for tsunami hazard, that is still a work in progress,” said Kelin Wang, a research scientist at the <a href="https://natural-resources.canada.ca/minerals-mining/geological-survey-canada" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geological Survey of Canada</a> who was not involved in the study.



Wang’s team is already feeding the new depth profiles into models that calculate whether the seabed will lurch upward or downward during different rupture shapes. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/west-coast-fault_Cascadia-Subudction-Zone_Neskowin-ghost-forest_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/west-coast-fault_Neskowin-ghost-forest_1s.webp" alt="The Neskowin Ghost Forest on the Oregon coast. Around the year 1700, the Cascadia subduction zone unleashed a powerful magnitude 9 earthquake that caused the coastline to suddenly sink. As the ground dropped, seawater flooded in and drowned a thriving Sitka spruce forest almost instantly. The ocean buried the tree stumps in sand and mud, preserving them for centuries beneath the beach. Click image to enlarge." class="wp-image-1971091"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Neskowin Ghost Forest on the Oregon coast. Around the year 1700, the Cascadia subduction zone unleashed a powerful magnitude 9 earthquake that caused the coastline to suddenly sink. As the ground dropped, seawater flooded in and drowned a thriving Sitka spruce forest almost instantly. The ocean buried the tree stumps in sand and mud, preserving them for centuries beneath the beach. Click image to enlarge.</figcaption></figure>



A separate group will turn that motion into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/20-years-later-remembering-the-worlds-deadliest-tsunami/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tsunami projections</a>, and emergency managers will use the results to update escape routes posted on telephone poles from Brookings to Port Alberni. 



Many coastal residents practice annual evacuation drills timed with sirens every March.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cascadia-subduction-zone-preparations">Cascadia Subduction Zone preparations</h2>



No scientist can predict the day of the next Cascadia earthquake, but probabilities guide practical decisions. 



Updated hazard maps will inform where to install vertical evacuation towers, how to retrofit schools, and which stretches of highway deserve seismic upgrades first.



Residents can take simple steps today: strap water heaters, secure heavy furniture, keep an emergency kit, and learn the difference between a smartphone alert and a tsunami siren. 



By treating resilience as a routine chore rather than a distant fear, communities stand a better chance of bouncing back when the locked plates finally give way.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adl3198" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Most dangerous part of this U.S. earthquake fault identified as "one of Earth's biggest hazards"

Imagine two huge puzzle pieces of the Earth's outer shell...

For decades, scientists have been trying to explain why some lunar rocks appear to carry signs of strong magnetism, even though the moon has no magnetic field today. 



The mystery began when orbiting spacecraft detected patches of highly magnetized rock, especially on the far side of the moon. How could that be, if the moon has no global magnetic field now?



A team of scientists may finally have the answer. The study suggests that the moon’s magnetic rocks could be the result of a short-lived magnetic burst caused by an ancient asteroid impact.



This event, combined with a weak magnetic field that once existed on the moon, could have created the conditions for temporary magnetism.



To test this idea, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> conducted detailed simulations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-sudden-surge-of-magnetism">A sudden surge of magnetism</h2>



The study revealed that a large asteroid impact could have created a cloud of plasma - charged, ionized particles - around the moon. 



This cloud, according to the simulations, would have streamed around the moon and concentrated on the side opposite the impact. There, it would have interacted with and briefly boosted the moon’s weak magnetic field.



If any rocks were in that region at the time, they could have recorded this spike in magnetism before the field quickly faded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-temporary-magnetism-on-the-moon">Temporary magnetism on the moon</h2>



Interestingly, one of the moon’s biggest impact sites - the Imbrium basin - is located on the near side. Its exact opposite point, on the far side near the south pole, is where scientists have detected strongly magnetized rocks. 



The study suggests the Imbrium impact could be the very event that created the conditions for this temporary magnetism.



Isaac Narrett is a graduate student in the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) and the study's lead author.



“There are large parts of lunar magnetism that are still unexplained,” said Narrett. "But the majority of the strong magnetic fields that are measured by orbiting spacecraft can be explained by this process - especially on the far side of the moon.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-the-source-of-lunar-magnetism">Rethinking the source of lunar magnetism</h2>



For a long time, scientists believed the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-finally-learn-what-is-inside-moons-interior-solid-inner-core/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moon</a> may have once generated its own global magnetic field through a “dynamo” - a process involving a molten, churning core, like the one Earth uses to maintain its magnetic field.



But the moon’s core is small, and any such dynamo would have been weak. It didn’t seem strong enough to account for the highly magnetized rocks seen on the far side.



Other scientists had explored the idea of a plasma-generating impact. A 2020 study simulated whether a solar magnetic field, boosted by an asteroid impact, could have produced the observed magnetism. That idea didn’t hold up - the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/origin-of-the-suns-magnetic-field-discovered-after-400-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sun’s magnetic field</a> at the moon’s distance was too weak to matter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-a-new-hypothesis">Testing a new hypothesis </h2>



This time, the researchers changed the starting point. Instead of focusing on the sun, they assumed the moon had a dynamo-generated magnetic field of its own - about one microtesla in strength, or roughly 50 times weaker than Earth’s field today.



The team simulated a massive impact like the one that formed the Imbrium basin. This impact would have vaporized a large amount of surface material, creating a plasma cloud.



Collaborators at the University of Michigan developed a code to simulate how that cloud would move and interact with the moon’s magnetic field.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-impact-and-shockwaves">The power of impact and shockwaves</h2>



The simulations revealed that the plasma would partly escape into space, but some of it would wrap around the moon and converge on the far side. There, it would briefly intensify the moon’s weak magnetic field. This enhancement would last for only about 40 minutes.



Would that be enough time for the rocks to remember the magnetism? Apparently, yes - thanks to another side effect of the impact. The researchers found that a shockwave from the collision would travel through the moon like a seismic wave and reach the far side.



This pressure wave would disturb the rocks’ electrons - which align with magnetic fields - just as the field peaked. As the rocks settled, their electrons would lock into this stronger magnetic alignment.



“It’s as if you throw a 52-card deck in the air, in a magnetic field, and each card has a compass needle,” said study co-author Benjamin Weiss. “When the cards settle back to the ground, they do so in a new orientation. That’s essentially the magnetization process.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-the-moon-s-magnetized-rocks">Studying the moon's magnetized rocks</h2>



The team believes this chain of events - a weak lunar dynamo, a large impact, plasma generation, and a shockwave - could explain many of the magnetized <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-rocks-may-unlock-secrets-of-the-moons-magnetic-history/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rocks on the moon</a>, particularly those on the far side.



One way to confirm the idea is by collecting rock samples from that region and checking for signs of both shock and strong magnetism. This might happen soon. The rocks are near the lunar south pole, where NASA’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/artemis-launch-a-new-era-of-lunar-exploration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Artemis</a> program is planning future missions.



“For several decades, there’s been sort of a conundrum over the moon’s magnetism - is it from impacts or is it from a dynamo? And here we’re saying, it’s a little bit of both," noted study co-author Rona Oran. "And it’s a testable hypothesis, which is nice.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr7401" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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What happened to the moon’s magnetism? Scientists may finally have the answer

For decades, scientists have been trying to explain why some...

Wildfires have been a dominant ecological force in Southern forests for millennia, shaping longleaf pine ecosystems, wiregrass savannas, and oak-hickory uplands. Yet the way fire moves through the landscape is changing, and so are the lives and livelihoods that lie in its path.



A new assessment from the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/">USDA Forest Service</a>, produced with the Southern Group of State Foresters, takes a close look at how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preparing-for-disaster-raising-awareness-to-reduce-wildfire-risks/">wildfire risk</a> may evolve across the southeastern United States between now and the middle of the century. It also explores what land managers can do to stay ahead of the flames.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-today-s-fire-danger-zones">Today's fire danger zones</h2>



Research ecologist Lars Pomara and his colleagues began by modeling current hazards in every county from Virginia to Texas.



The team considered two kinds of danger to people: direct exposure to flames and indirect exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-making-wildfire-smoke-more-deadly/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">smoke</a>, which can travel far beyond a fire line.



The researchers also analyzed the likelihood that high-intensity burns could release vast stores of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-co2-emissions-from-forest-fires-have-surged-by-60-percent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carbon</a> from living trees and soil, as well as the risk that ash and erosion could impair watersheds supplying drinking water.



The resulting maps reveal a patchwork of vulnerabilities. Fast-growing coastal counties, for example, already face some of the highest combined threats because new subdivisions press up against fire-prone pine plantations.



Mountain valleys in the southern Appalachians and Ozarks look safer at first glance, but many of their steep slopes are covered in dense fuel thanks to decades of fire suppression.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fire-outlook-to-2050">Fire outlook to 2050</h2>



After capturing the baseline, the team explored several plausible futures. These included hotter or milder climates, changing rural populations, and forests either actively managed with fire or left to grow dense.



Even in mild scenarios, parts of the Southeastern Coastal Plain face greater wildfire risk by the 2050s. Under hotter, drier projections, patterns in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama began to resemble the fire regimes of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/texas-could-face-the-worst-drought-conditions-in-1000-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">West Texas</a> today.



Population trends amplify those ecological shifts. The South is the fastest-growing region of the United States, and many newcomers favor wooded lots on the urban fringe.



As houses spread into what scientists call the wildland-urban interface, straightforward brush fires can turn into multi-million-dollar emergencies almost overnight. The report warns that people are likely to become more exposed to dangerous fires and smoke as these interfaces expand.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fire-as-friend-and-foe">Fire as friend and foe</h2>



At the center of the analysis lies an apparent contradiction: the best tool for preventing catastrophic wildfire is more fire. 



Many southern ecosystems rely on regular, low-intensity burns to recycle nutrients and allow sunlight to reach the forest floor. These fires also prevent the buildup of leaves, twigs, and saplings that can turn a lightning strike into a destructive crown fire.



That is why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/controlled-fires-can-help-us-save-grasslands-from-disappearing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prescribed burning</a> - carefully planned and executed by trained crews - features prominently in every management strategy the authors tested.



When fire isn’t safe, mechanical thinning and fire-smart planning can help reduce wildfire risk. In densely populated counties, the researchers found that combining fuel treatments with defensible-space ordinances around homes could significantly reduce structure loss. This holds true even under hotter future climate scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-to-focus-limited-resources">Where to focus limited resources</h2>



Because budgets and personnel are limited, the report layers its risk maps with maps of potential payoffs from fuel reduction. The goal is to target efforts where they protect the most people, key watersheds, or carbon reserves per acre treated.



“Anyone who is working in the Southeast in conservation or forest management needs to be able to prioritize work and point their resources at the places where they see opportunities to get the most efficient and effective work done, including wildfire risk management,” Pomara said.



A triage mindset is essential, the authors note, as climate change may shrink the safe window for prescribed burns. Warmer springs and falls can extend the natural fire season; summer humidity, once a reliable brake on flames, may no longer suffice.



Forest conditions, too, are shifting. Blight-killed red bay stands along the coast and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/droughts-and-fires-diminish-forests-carbon-storage-ability/">drought</a>-stressed pines in the Piedmont both add to regional fuel loads.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-western-neighbors">Lessons from western neighbors</h2>



One eye-catching conclusion is that by mid-century, conditions in much of the Southeast could resemble those in Texas and parts of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/american-southwest-megadrought-is-the-worst-in-12-centuries/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southwest</a>. These regions are already hotter, windier, and more fire-adapted.



That realization invites cross-regional learning. Western crews have developed techniques for large-scale burns, smoke modeling, and community evacuation planning. These skills could be invaluable as the South enters its own era of increased wildfire activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-southern-forests">Changing southern forests</h2>



The wildfire outlook is the third report in the Southern Forest Outlook series, following earlier studies on timber markets and water supply. Each chapter powers an interactive map where users can explore local wildfire projections and access risk-management resources.



“Forest management will be challenged in coming decades to confront the threats posed by wildfire while sustaining the positive roles of fire in southern forests,” Pomara said.



His team’s work implies that the challenge is daunting but not impossible. Where prescribed fire is used and mechanical thinning fills the gaps, forest health can be maintained. When communities also reduce ignition risks, the South can better protect both people and property.



By highlighting both hotspots of future danger and corridors of opportunity, the report offers a roadmap for action. The flames of tomorrow are not yet burning, and with strategic effort today, many of them never will.



The full Forest Service report can be found <a href="https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/69155" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.



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Wildfire risk is rapidly rising across the southern U.S.

Wildfires have been a dominant ecological force in Southern forests...

<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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</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.

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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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter 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/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...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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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"

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