Hotter summers are not just uncomfortable, they also changing the odds of getting sick from food. A new analysis links warmer air, higher moisture, specific dewpoint ranges, and longer daylight to spikes in Salmonella infections across two European countries. 



The team showed that risk climbs when average temperatures rise above about 50°F and days stretch past 12 to 15 hours.



Lead author <a href="https://www.londonntd.org/research/researchers/laura-c-gonzalez-villeta" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Laura C. González Villeta</a> of the University of Surrey’s <a href="https://www.surrey.ac.uk/school-veterinary-medicine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Veterinary Medicine</a> led work that tied laboratory confirmed Salmonella cases to local weather conditions using a transparent statistical approach.



The bacteria called Salmonella cause <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15697-salmonella" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">food poisoning</a> that often brings diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Common symptoms usually start within hours to a few days and most people recover without treatment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-salmonella-and-the-weather">Salmonella and the weather</h2>



Researchers linked daily case counts from the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UK Health Security Agency</a> to detailed weather from the <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Met Office</a>, then checked the model with national surveillance data from the Netherlands. 



They examined 14 factors, including temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, sunshine, and dewpoint temperature.



Instead of forcing a complex equation to fit the data, the group calculated a conditional incidence that directly describes how often cases occur when specific combinations of weather are present. 



That method lets you see which trio of conditions lines up with higher infection counts without hiding the signal inside a black box.



The approach showed consistency when moved from one country to another after accounting for reporting differences. That matters because public <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/to-get-fit-and-stay-healthy-walk-this-exact-distance-every-day/">health</a> tools work best when they travel across borders without losing accuracy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-model-found">What the model found</h2>



Risk rose when average air temperatures topped roughly 50°F, day length sat between 12 and 15 hours, and dewpoint hovered around the mid 40s to about 50°F. The same pattern appeared regardless of location.



Not every weather knob seemed important. Wind speed, air pressure, and sunshine duration had little or no association with reported cases in this dataset.



Seasonal peaks in late summer were reproduced when the model fed on local weather. That gave officials a way to anticipate risk based on last week’s skies rather than waiting for lab reports to trickle in.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-weather-boosts-salmonella">How weather boosts Salmonella</h2>



Broader evidence lines up with these findings. A large <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11530612/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta-analysis</a> of 23 Salmonella studies found about a 5 percent rise in risk for every 1.8°F increase in temperature.



Europe’s outbreak history shows why this topic matters. In 2018, nearly one in three foodborne outbreaks in the European Union were caused by Salmonella, according to an EFSA <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/salmonella-most-common-cause-foodborne-outbreaks-european-union" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>.



That baseline risk has not disappeared in recent years. Surveillance summaries still identify Salmonella as a leading cause of foodborne outbreaks across the region, with eggs and mixed foods often involved, as noted in EFSA’s public <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/7666" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">publication</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-public-health">What this means for public health</h2>



“The study highlights how weather plays a significant role in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-overlooked-sources-of-antibiotic-resistant-salmonella/">Salmonella</a> outbreaks and provides a valuable tool for predicting future risks and tailoring interventions, particularly in the context of climate change,” said Dr. Villeta. The work is not just about describing patterns.&nbsp;



Weather aware forecasting can help agencies time inspections, target hygiene messaging, and plan surge capacity when the odds of illness tick up. 



Food businesses can also adjust cold chain checks, staff training, and consumer advice when riskier conditions line up.



Individuals are not powerless either. Keep cold foods cold, cook poultry and eggs to safe temperatures, refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, and wash hands and surfaces, especially when the air is warm and the day runs long.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-tech-forecasting-tools">High-tech forecasting tools</h2>



Most forecasting tools lean on regression or time series fits that struggle with tangled, non linear interactions. 



The conditional incidence approach shows how combinations of temperature, humidity, and daylight align with cases, which is easier to interpret and to explain.



That clarity helps separate what drives risk from noise. It also allows public health teams to identify factor combinations that do not explain much, saving effort where it will not pay off.



Model outputs replicated real world peaks and mapped risk at fine spatial scales. That is the level where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childrens-screen-time-shapes-their-mental-health-as-teens/">health</a> departments and food producers make day to day choices.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-and-next-steps">Limits and next steps</h2>



The model tracks reported cases, which understate total infections. Even so, de trending and validation across two countries suggest the weather signals are real.



Future tests in different climates and income settings would show how far the method travels. Adding data on livestock density, land use, and consumer behavior could sharpen predictions without losing transparency.



Better early warnings do not replace basic food safety, but they can make those steps more timely. That is useful as warmer summers and longer heat seasons become more common.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(25)00004-0/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Infection</a>.



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Warmer weather is impacting global food supply, but not in the way you think

Hotter summers are not just uncomfortable, they also changing the odds of getting sick from food. A new analysis links warmer air, higher moisture, specific dewpoint ranges, and longer daylight to spikes in Salmonella infections across two European countries. The team showed that risk climbs when average temperatures rise above about 50°F and days stretch past 12 to 15 hours. Lead author Dr. Laura C. González Villeta of the University of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine led work that tied laboratory confirmed Salmonella cases to local weather...

The <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> plants to create and manage commercial fish farms in federal waters throughout the Pacific Ocean, the agency announced Friday evening.

The new aquaculture program would be similar to one NOAA already runs in the Gulf of Mexico. The NOAA programs are the first in federal waters, but there are several similar state-run programs in operation.

The plan could be a much-needed solution to feed a hungry planet with a growing population, according to the agency.

Approximately 3 billion people on this planet rely on both wild and farmed seafood as their primary source of protein, according to the <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a>. Roughly half of the seafood consumed around the world is farmed, while the other half is wild-caught.

So it’s safe to say fish farms are important for sustaining human life on earth. They're the primary source for providing essential nutrients to almost half of the world’s population.

A study by NOAA and the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a> last year found that fishing operations could haul in $4.3 billion a year off the west coasts of both North and South America.

Not surprisingly, fish farming has been a common practice in Hawaii and around the world for centuries. And it can be done safely. Most the the shellfish operations that sell to American markets are sustainable, scientists said.

However, some environmentalists believe modern aquaculture has pollution risks. It also creates the potential for non-native farmed fish to escape and disrupt the natural ecosystem, they said.

They also worry that native fish will be caught and used to feed non-native carnivorous fish like salmon.

They're urging NOAA to reconsider. Other forms of fish farming, such as fully contained, land-based tanks and near-shore fisheries, would be safer than allowing aquaculture operations in federal waters, the environmentalists said.

New technologies are being developed and used to keep the oceans safe from fishing operations, and U.S. companies are already investing abroad, NOAA said. The agency wants the companies to stay in the U.S. instead.

NOAA scientists are already studying how to make open-ocean aquaculture safer and more efficient off the coast of Hawaii. They're also studying Native Hawaiian methods of aquaculture, the agency said.

&nbsp;

NOAA plans to open federal waters to fish farming in Pacific

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plants to create and manage...

A new, open source plant database could help farmers choose top-producing bioenergy crops. To show the database's value, the scientists who developed it used it to show that Miscanthus yields more than twice as much biolfuel as switchgrass in the U.S.

Shared databases like this one are becoming more popular for plant science, climate change, and ecology research. But databases for biomass crops are lacking, Dr. Stephen Long said. The <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a> professor was the study's lead author.

"To understand yield trends and variation across the country for our major food crops, extensive databases are available – notably those provided by the <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/">USDA Statistical Service</a>," he said. "But there was nowhere to go if you wanted to know about biomass crops, particularly those that have no food value such as Miscanthus, switchgrass, willow trees, etc."

To collect a useful mass of data for these crops, researchers at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology's <a href="http://www.energybiosciencesinstitute.org/">Energy Biosciences Institute</a> came up with <a href="https://www.betydb.org/">BETYdb</a>. The open-source repository for physiological and yield data will aid in future bioenergy research, the researchers said.

The plant database also supports automated data collection as well as big data analysis. The latter is important, because BETYdb already contains more than 40,000 open-access records.

“By making all of this data open access, we hope that researchers can identify new plants and best practices for biomass production," first author Dr. David LeBauer said. "We've been using these data not only to summarize what has been observed in field trials, but also to identify new crops and predict productivity in new environments."

To show the database’s value, scientists used the plant database to definitively establish that Miscanthus has a yield 2.4 times higher than switchgrass. The difference held up under a wide range of management and environmental conditions, such as fertilization rates, stand ages, and planting densities.

Miscanthus was originally grown only in Europe. There, it was twice as productive as switchgrass, a North American native, regardless of temperature, water, or nitrogen.

"This was based on limited data and did not take into account the breeding improvements in switchgrass that were occurring," Long said. "Now that Miscanthus is grown in North America along with many improved cultivars of switchgrass we wondered: does the remarkable two-fold difference in yield still hold? And it does."

The research was published in the journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2486">Global Change Biology</a>. The <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> and the Energy Biosciences Institute funded the study.

New plant database could set the pace for biofuel production

A new, open source plant database could help farmers choose...

One natural wonder almost wasn't. According to a new study, the Great Barrier Reef almost drowned due to rapid sea-level rise during the last Interglacial Period, more than 125,000 years ago.

The increase in sea level resulted from melting glaciers and polar ice sheets. The researchers who conducted the study said it's a worrying indication of what could happen if modern climate change continues.

The Last Interglacial period is worth studying to learn more about our current time, the <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a>-led research team said. Temperatures and sea levels were higher than they are currently, but similar to where we might be headed if carbon dioxide emissions continue to contribute to climate change, they said.

There are some differences, though.

A multitude of other threats affect the modern Great Barrier Reef that are unrelated to sea-level rise. Warming sea temperatures, pesticide run-off, and dredging from mining operations all play a role in the struggles the shallow coral reef faces today. These issues pose a real threat to the reef's biodiversity, the scientists said.

Adding the threat of drowning on top of all that makes for a terrible cherry on top of a pretty awful sundae.

Dr. Belinda Dechnik of the university's School of Geosciences was the lead author of the paper.

"This provides the first snapshot of this paleo-reef against a background of rapid environmental change, including possible mass ice-sheet collapse," Dechnik said.

In the course of the study, Dechnik examined reef specimens from the 1970s stored at <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/">Geosciences Australia</a> in Canberra, as well as new specimens from core samples obtained in 2015. This research was able to accurately identify the age of the fossil reef below the current Great Barrier Reef, which grew from 121,000 to 129,000 years ago.

“The Great Barrier Reef is like a sponge cake – the modern reef is just the last layer,” Dechnik said.

The research was the most comprehensive investigation of the second-last layer, the researchers said.

Depending on the severity of mass ice sheet collapse, Dechnick said the sea levels on the Great Barrier Reef could potentially rise as high as six meters – the same level as during the Last Interglacial. She doesn't expect the modern rise in sea levels to be quite so extreme, though.

That doesn't mean the reef isn't at risk.

"In combination with climate change predictions by the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> and in the absence of improvements to reef management and human impacts, sea-level pressures could tip the reef over the edge, potentially drowning it for good," she said.

The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/global-and-planetary-change/">Global and Planetary Change</a>.

Great Barrier Reef almost drowned as seas rose 125,000 years ago

One natural wonder almost wasn't. According to a new study,...

The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> has put a uranium mine cleanup proposal on hold after Republican lawmakers said part of the proposal was too harsh.

Under the new requirements, uranium mining companies would have been required to clean up groundwater contaminated by the mining process. They would also be required to monitor their former mines for years or even decades.

The new regulations were ready to go into place, but after complaints that the monitoring rule is too stringent, the EPA has pulled back. Instead, it will put the proposal on hold and open a six-month public comment period.

The agency has also made some changes to the proposal, such as allowing the <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/">Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a> or individual states to determine some of the uranium mine cleanup standards on a site-by-site basis.

“I rarely say this about the EPA, but the agency made the right decision in delaying implementation of this new rule, which could burden the industry with unnecessary red-tape,” Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, said in a <a href="http://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=8A98314F-7282-48B2-AE23-DA7F021A35AA&amp;ContentType_id=AE7A6475-A01F-4DA5-AA94-0A98973DE620&amp;Group_id=91d2f483-0ad8-44ac-bcc4-fc2c82d75e07">press release</a>.

Enzi and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, were two of the lawmakers pushing back against the new rules. Wyoming is home to five active in-situ uranium mines.

At in-situ uranium mines, water laced with chemicals is pumped into the ground. The chemicals dissolve the uranium – used for nuclear power and weapons – out of sandstone deposits. Then the water, now full of radioactive uranium, is pumped out of the ground again.

Although most of the uranium is retrieved from the water, enough of the radioactive mineral is left to contaminate groundwater. Uranium occurs at much high levels than natural near in-situ mines.

The mines take steps to keep the tainted water from flowing out of the area, but leaks do occasionally occur. The uranium industry points out that no drinking water has been contaminated – but many of the mines are far from population centers.

That may not always be the case. Environmentalists and the <a href="http://www.powderriverbasin.org/">Powder River Basin Resource Council</a>, which works to protect agricultural and environmental interests, point to growing populations in western states as a reason the groundwater should be cleaned up as soon as possible.

Uranium mine cleanup rule in U.S. delayed after pushback

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has put a uranium mine...

This winter, several sightings of the mysterious and rare lynx have been reported across Colorado. Last week, one such lynx was spotted parading through the Purgatory resort in southwestern Colorado. Photos and tweets quickly began to flood social media with accounts of the exciting appearance.

Just two weeks prior, two rare lynx were spotted along a mountain highway in Molas Pass, located 15 miles north of the Purgatory resort. The pair appeared to be a mother and daughter. 

"My heart just about busted out of my chest when I realized what I was seeing," Dontje Hildebrand told the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/9c1439096d4a4e739b254153f577c4df/Ski-run-surprise:-Lynx-stroll-past-crowds-in-rare-sightings">AP</a>. 

Lynx are medium-sized wild cats that have short tails, tufted ears, and broad paws that allow them to walk across the snow with ease. They typically grow to be 3 feet long and weigh about 30 pounds.

Lynx are native to Colorado, but were nearly wiped out in the 1970s due to overhunting. But in 1999, the state began reintroducing the wild cats by relocating a limited population from Alaska and Canada. It has been estimated that roughly 50 to 250 lynx live in the wild in Colorado today, generally in the southwestern portion.

According to <a href="http://cpw.state.co.us">Colorado Parks and Wildlife,</a> exact population figures are difficult to calculate because lynx can be so hard to find. But the increasing frequency of lynx sightings is an encouraging sign that the animals are settling into the area with increasing comfort following their reintroduction.

Still, lynx have remained an endangered species in the continental United States since 2000, according to the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a>. The state of Colorado uses mounted automated cameras to track which areas lynx settle into.

Lynx are not seen as a threat to humans, said a spokesman from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. But because of their unpredictable nature, humans are discouraged from feeding or approaching them.

Rare lynx sightings reported across Colorado

This winter, several sightings of the mysterious and rare lynx have...

A second red panda has died at the <a href="http://www.elmwoodparkzoo.org/">Elmwood Park Zoo</a> in Norristown, Pennsylvania, located just outside of Philadelphia. The red panda, a 2-year old male named Shredder, died Wednesday of heart disease brought on by an enlarged heart and thickened heart walls.

Shredder was the second of triplets to die. His older sibling, Clinger, died in December 2015 of encephalitis related to a brain parasite. Zoo officials are examining the surviving sibling to confirm that he is in good health.

The red panda species has been listed as endangered since 2008, with less than 10,000 red pandas alive in the wild across the globe. Populations continue to decrease primarily due to habitat loss and poaching.

The red panda triplets came to the Elmwood Park Zoo from the <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation">Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute</a> in Washington, D.C.. According to the institute, red pandas and giant pandas are not that closely related, though they do share a name. 

Red pandas are native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. The mammals are also known as red bear-cats due to their ambiguous features, which include reddish-brown fur, long, thick tail, and a cat-like physique. They can also be mistaken for raccoons due to the white badges around their face.

Red pandas can be difficult to study because they are generally nocturnal and also very shy. As a result, exactly population figures can be tricky to determine.

Second endangered red panda dies at Philadelphia zoo

A second red panda has died at the Elmwood Park...

Though substantially smaller in size, diesel cars have been found to release up to 10 times more nitrogen oxide than buses. The report comes from scientists at<a href="http://www.theicct.org/"> International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)</a>, who have urged governments to step up efforts in pollution testing.

The study was conducted using emission tests on vehicles in Germany and Finland. On average, diesel buses emitted 210 milligrams of nitrogen oxide per kilometer, while diesel cars emitted 500 milligrams per kilometer. But because buses are larger in size, they have a much greater engine-load demand than cars. As a result, the net rate of nitrogen oxide emissions from cars turned out to be ten times that of buses.

“The simple average difference in NOx emissions per kilometer between light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles is startling enough. But on a fuel-consumption basis, taking into account the higher engine-load demands for trucks and buses, the NOx emissions of diesel cars are 10 times higher than the corresponding measurement values for heavy-duty vehicles,” said Rachel Muncrief, who led the study.

As to why this information has only now become available, the ICCT suggests that buses are subjected to more frequent and strict emissions testing. While cars are tested by their manufacturers who can use prototypes to fudge the numbers, buses get randomly tested on the road. 

The most famous example of manufacturers producing misleading emissions results has been the recent Volkswagen scandal. The company equipped prototypes with software to cheat emissions testing, but then sold diesel vehicles that emitted enormous amounts of toxins. The ICCT has suggested that emissions testing for cars should occur after the vehicles are in use.

'It would be much better to measure the emissions of ordinary mass production vehicles, obtained from customers who have been driving them in an ordinary way,” said Peter Mock, managing director at ICCT.

“The most likely explanation for this different treatment is that data from in-use testing indicates that, in contrast to cars, trucks do not systematically emit significantly more NOX in real-world, everyday operation than they are certified to. And there is a likely explanation for that as well: emissions from diesel cars and trucks are regulated differently under the Euro standards,” the ICCT said in a <a href="http://www.theicct.org/nox-europe-hdv-ldv-comparison-jan2017">statement</a>.

Diesel vehicles emit up to 10 times more nitrogen oxide than buses

Though substantially smaller in size, diesel cars have been found...

New research has been published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> outlining the discovery of a 52-million-year-old fossilized fruit in South America. This plant family’s history is largely unknown because so few samples have been found in the fossil record. The family of plants, nightshades, includes foods such as potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers – however, given this fruit’s age, it’s probably best left uneaten.

This ancient fruit was found in a fossilized rainforest in Patagonia, where, as N. Ruben Cuneo of the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio reports, these discoveries “are probably destined to revolutionize some traditional views on the origin and evolution of the plant kingdom.” Many researchers believe this area will yield many more discoveries of fossil plants.

Peter Wilf, a professor of geosciences at <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>, led the team that discovered the fossilized plant. He told BBC News, “Here we have this discovery of these incredibly rare, delicate fossils – here you have a berry surrounded by this papery calyx – it’s almost unheard of that such a thing could be fossilized.”

The fossilized fruit is of the genus Physalis, belonging to the family Solanaceae, or nightshade, which includes flowering plants such as tobacco and petunias. The berry is also closely related to tomatillos and ground cherries.

It was previously believed tomatillos and ground cherries evolved more recently – around the time the Andes appeared. Scientists say this discovery shows the origin of the genus goes back tens of millions of years, much further than previously thought.

In the much warmer world of 50 million years ago, South America was closer to Antarctica and Australia than it is today.

Wilf further emphasized the importance of this discovery, explaining, “It’s the only fossil fruit ever found in this whole group of plants, that now has over 2,000 species. A lot of the evolutionary history of life, especially plants, which are rare as fossils, is largely unknown.”

The story of the 52 million year-old fossilized fruit

New research has been published in the journal Science outlining...

Raising a wild animal is generally a task best left to its mother. <a href="http://www.milwaukeezoo.org/">Milwaukee County Zoo</a> employees have taken on the job, however, to save the life of a young Amur tiger cub.

Kashtan was just a couple weeks old and a mere 10 pounds when he contracted an illness. The infection had already killed one of his three sisters, so the zookeepers removed him for veterinary care.

After a course of antibiotics, he was able to return to the zoo’s Big Cat Country exhibit, but not to his mother.

First, the zoo staff needed to feed him five times a day. During the course of his illness, he didn’t gain as much weight as he needed to during those vital first weeks.

Second, they worried that after so much time, his mother would reject him.

“Female tigers also have the potential to injure offspring if reintroductions are attempted,” the zoo said in a <a href="http://www.milwaukeezoo.org/news/2016/tigercubsdebut.php">press release</a> about the tiger cubs’ debut. “The primary concern of the Zoo’s animal care staff is to avoid any risk of injury to the cub.”

So the exhibit’s staff took over Kashtan's care. They weaned the Amur tiger cub from his bottle and he beginning to enjoy a meaty diet. He also gets plenty of play time with his sisters, Eloise and Bernadette, away from their mother.

It’s a unique situation. Usually when a tiger orphans or rejects a cub, zoos look for other orphaned cubs and raise them together. But in Kashtan’s case, his parents and sisters are still alive. That means he can stay at his home zoo and learn to socialize with his sisters.

The zookeepers will also work with Kashtan to teach him tiger interaction and socialization skills when his sisters are with their mother.

That will stop in another month or two, when he’s large enough that he could hurt them during play sessions.

The unusual efforts to save the Amur tiger cub were in part because Amur tigers are endangered. While tiger numbers rose for the first time in a century last year, only about 3,900 Amur tigers survive in the wild, the <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/amur-tiger">World Wildlife Fund</a> reports.

Amur tiger cub hand-raised by human foster parents after illness

Raising a wild animal is generally a task best left...

When it comes to intense hurricanes, the East Coast has had some doozies in recent years. But they could have been a lot worse, a new study has found.

A unique quirk of the climate along the eastern coast of the United States seems to be shielding the region from the worst Atlantic storms have to offer, the researchers said.

Vertical wind shear and cooler ocean temperatures form along the Atlantic coast during periods of hurricane activity. Those conditions provide a protective barrier, said Dr. James P. Kossin, the study’s lead author. Kossin is a scientist with the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>.

That blocks many of the largest, most intense hurricanes from reaching land, or at least takes the wind out of their sails, the study found. Unfortunately, it seems to be a uniquely American climate quirk.

Take Hurricane Matthew, for example. When it made landfall in Haiti, the hurricane’s screaming-fast 145 mph winds did an incredible amount of damage.

When it hit Florida, it continued to wreak havoc, but winds had already dropped to 105 mph.

By the time it hit South Carolina, winds had slowed again, to 75 mph.

Matthew was still a nasty storm that left wreckage across both states and Georgia – but it could have been much worse.

The protective barrier begins around the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, and gets stronger along the Atlantic Coast, Kossin said. It’s been forming over the past few decades, thanks to changing climate conditions along the coastline.

It’s a useful new eccentricity of coastal weather. The Atlantic Ocean tends to cycle through low-activity and high-activity hurricane periods, and the current high-activity cycle has been going since 1993.

The protective barrier blocks or calms some of the storms headed for the U.S., Kossin’s team found. And it seems to work primarily during busy hurricane cycles, not slow ones.

That doesn’t mean the U.S. is entirely safe from intense hurricanes. Because more major storms form in the Atlantic during busy cycles, more head for the U.S. Not all of them can be blocked.

And some incredibly destructive storms have more in play than just Atlantic hurricane activity. Superstorm Sandy, for example, began life as a major Atlantic hurricane, but dropped down to a tropical storm as it reached the upper East Coast.

That’s where it slammed into a major winter storm system coming in from the west, creating a Fujiwhara effect. Sandy and the other storm began orbiting around each other, forming a “Frankenstorm” over the northeastern U.S.

A nor’easter slammed into the region just days later, compounding the damage.

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature20783.html">Nature.</a>

'Buffer zone' may shield U.S. East Coast from intense hurricanes

When it comes to intense hurricanes, the East Coast has...

Could the Northern Hemisphere be headed toward a new ice age?

The plot of the 2004 film, “The Day After Tomorrow,” may have seemed far-fetched, at least at the time. In the movie, global warming causes ocean currents around the world to suddenly stop, creating a massive storm that destroys major cities and prompts a new ice age across the Northern Hemisphere. But according to a new report from a team of scientists at the <a href="https://ucsd.edu">University of California, San Diego</a>, this terrifying series of events actually happen, and sooner than one might expect.

According to the team of researchers from UCSD’s <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a>, current climate models drastically underestimate the potential for ocean currents to collapse by overestimating the stability of a currently known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. 

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a massive current pattern in the Atlantic that brings warm saltwater northbound, and carries cold freshwater southbound. The system is responsible for transporting considerable amounts of heat from the tropics to the North Atlantic, where it is released into the atmosphere. The AMOC relies on a balance of freshwater and saltwater. But with increased levels of carbon dioxide on track to continue to melt Arctic ice, a massive influx of freshwater would be sent into the ocean and disrupt this balance.

When the team of researchers ran the existing climate change models with a reduced bias toward the AMOC, the result showed that circulation currents could in fact diminish and cause drastic cooling across the Northern Hemisphere. Current estimates predict that carbon dioxide levels will double to 700 ppm by 2100. According to the data, ocean circulation patterns could collapse 300 years after the CO2 levels double. 

If the collapse occurred, North Atlantic surface temperatures would drop 2.4 degrees Celsius, and surface air temperatures could drop by as much as 7 degrees Celsius.

According to Wei Liu, who led the study, “The significance of our study is to point out a systematic bias in current climate models that hinders a correct climate projection. A bias-corrected model puts the AMOC in a realistic stability regime and predicts a future AMOC collapse with prominent cooling over the northern North Atlantic and neighboring areas. Our study has enormous implications for regional and global climate change.”

Could the Northern Hemisphere be headed toward a new ice age?

Could the Northern Hemisphere be headed toward a new ice...

The majestic beauty of Caribbean coral reefs is largely dependent on the balance between the coral and algal growth. Otherwise, algae will smother the coral, having a devastating effect on both the health and beauty of the reef. 

That’s exactly what took place in the Caribbean beginning in the early 1980s. At that time, Caribbean coral reefs depended on long-spined black sea urchins to consume the algae and keep levels balanced. But a mysterious disease began killing off these long-spined urchins, a phenomenon first discovered by <a href="https://www.stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> (STRI) scientist Harilaos Lessios in 1983 at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama canal. As the urchins died off, the reef’s only other hope for algal maintenance were parrotfish. But large parrotfish populations were simultaneously being ravaged by rampant overfishing. 

The result was chronic algal overgrowth that smothered reefs across the Caribbean and continued for years. But according to a new report from STRI marine biologists Catie Kuempel and Andrew Altieri, Caribbean coral reefs may have found new heroes: smaller urchins and finger-sized parrotfish.

Kuempel and Altieri set out to examine the scene on the seafloor in Bocas del Toro, Panama. While they found that many reefs had already died, they were surprised to see much lower levels of algae. The team determined that the most commonly seen algae-eating seafloor grazers were much smaller sea urchins, Echinometra viridis, and tiny parrotfish, Scarus iseri. For the most part, this species of parrotfish managed to avoid the perils of overfishing due to their size. What both the urchins and parrotfish lacked in physical size compared to their predecessors, they compensated for in larger numbers.

Kuempel and Altieri propose that working as a team, these tiny urchins and parrotfish could be capable of restoring the algal balance in degraded Caribbean coral reefs.

"These dollhouse-sized species came the rescue of reefs in Panama, and may be important elsewhere as well," said Altieri.

The STRI team published their findings in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep39670">Nature</a>.

Tiny grazers could be the new heroes of Caribbean coral reefs

The majestic beauty of Caribbean coral reefs is largely dependent...

<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=lHHxOej4QfE
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic pollution.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invisible-threat-in-urban-air">Invisible threat in urban air</h2>



City dwellers face an unseen danger with every breath. New findings from Emory University researchers suggest that fine particulate matter from <a href="http://earth.com/news/traffic-related-air-pollution-might-increase-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vehicle emissions may significantly elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease</a>. The study examined brain tissue samples from 224 individuals who had confirmed diagnoses and volunteered their brains for scientific research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disturbing-connections-emerge">Disturbing connections emerge</h2>



Scientists analyzed neuritic plaques — protein clusters that characterize Alzheimer's — while mapping each participant's exposure to PM2.5 particles based on residential location and surrounding traffic density. The correlation proved more alarming than anticipated. Individuals experiencing higher pollution exposure showed nearly double the likelihood of elevated plaque accumulation in brain tissue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timing-matters">Timing matters</h2>



The research team discovered that pollution exposure during the final year before death demonstrated the strongest association with brain changes. This timeline suggests relatively rapid impacts from environmental toxins on neural health. The connection remained robust even after accounting for various demographic and health factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-vulnerability-patterns">Genetic vulnerability patterns</h2>



Perhaps most concerning, people lacking the APOE gene—which naturally predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's — exhibited more than twice the susceptibility to pollution-related brain damage. Study author Dr. Anke Huels noted this indicates environmental elements like air contamination could trigger the disease in cases where hereditary factors don't explain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-health-implications">Public health implications</h2>



These findings, published in <a href="https://www.neurology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neurology</a>, underscore the critical importance of air quality regulations in urban planning. The research suggests that implementing stricter emission controls and promoting alternative transportation could serve as powerful tools in Alzheimer's prevention.



As cities worldwide grapple with growing traffic congestion and aging populations, this study highlights an urgent need for comprehensive approaches to environmental health that protect both our lungs and our minds.



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Traffic fumes may trigger Alzheimer's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic...

<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=K0DuSr87SHY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-earth-became-a-frozen-wasteland">When Earth became a frozen wasteland</h2>



Imagine Earth as a giant snowball, frozen solid from the North Pole to the equator. This wasn't the plot of a science fiction movie – it was our planet's reality 700 million years ago during an extreme ice age that has puzzled scientists for decades.



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



Australian researchers from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a> have finally cracked one of geology's greatest mysteries: what caused the Sturtian glaciation and why it persisted for an unprecedented 57 million years. This period occurred long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, when no complex plants or multicellular animals existed.



Dr. Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study's lead author, describes a world completely unlike today's climate. "Imagine the Earth almost completely frozen over," she explained. "The planet was blanketed in ice from poles to equator, and temperatures plunged."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-combination-of-climate-factors">The combination of climate factors</h2>



The research team discovered that this massive freeze resulted from a "double whammy" of geological events. First, plate tectonic activity reduced volcanic carbon dioxide emissions to historically low levels. Volcanic activity typically releases CO2 into the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that keeps Earth warm.



Simultaneously, weathering of volcanic rocks in what is now Canada actively absorbed atmospheric CO2, further reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. When atmospheric carbon dioxide levels dropped below 200 parts per million – less than half of today's levels – glaciation engulfed the entire planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-climate-implications">Modern climate implications</h2>



Published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geology</a>, this research provides crucial insights into Earth's climate system. While geological climate changes occur over millions of years, the study emphasizes that human-induced climate change is happening at a pace ten times faster than previously observed natural changes, highlighting the urgent need to understand our planet's delicate climate balance.



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What caused the planet's longest ice age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY 57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists....

<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=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



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



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<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=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



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



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

<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...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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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 <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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

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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 



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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 <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



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.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" 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> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video 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.

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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