The Erigone family of asteroids are water-rich space rocks that offer a window into the solar system’s past
A family of primitive asteroids is giving astronomers a window into the past as they seek to unravel the history of these small space rocks that are believed to have once brought water to Earth.
Radioactive tritium from Fukushima found near the Southern Kuril Islands
Laboratory analyses of the first water samples obtained during the expedition of the research vessel Akademik Oparin showed elevated tritium levels in the main branch of the Kuroshio Current, which was to be expected based on the current pattern in the region, as well as elevated tritium levels in the area of the South Kuril Islands. Therefore, the goal of the new expedition is a more thorough study of the waters of the Kuril Islands and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, which is the most important fishing zone in Russia, the press service of the V. I. Ilychev Pacific Oceanological Institute (TOI) of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences told TASS.
Earthquakes continue to rage along the Pacific coast
A strong earthquake occurred off the coast of Sakhalin on August 10, a powerful earthquake occurred off the coast of Japan on August 8, and an earthquake occurred off the coast of the Southern Kuril Islands on July 30. A strong earthquake occurred in Taiwan on April 3, which was the most powerful on the island in the last 25 years.
The Arctic and Antarctica continue to melt rapidly, revealing ancient things hidden beneath the ice
The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. Ice and snow are melting, and Arctic sea ice is thinning and retreating. This means that algae living on the bottom of the sea ice are getting more sunlight, leading to an annual summer bloom once there is enough light. Erebus, located on Antarctica’s Ross Island (separated from the mainland by McMurdo Sound), is the southernmost active volcano on Earth; the second-tallest on the sixth continent, at 3,794 metres.
Global warming or Ice Age? Dangerous games of carbon dioxide
According to research by experts from the University of Colorado Boulder, more and more fresh water has been entering the Arctic Ocean over the past two decades. If this trend continues, the freshening of the North Atlantic could disrupt ocean currents, the authors of the study fear. During the last ice age, the Earth experienced the highest increase in CO2: 14 parts per million in just 55 years. Deep beneath the ice of Antarctica, a giant river system has been discovered that existed 40 million years ago.
Tropical rains have moved north and deadly thunderstorms have become more frequent
Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have found that carbon dioxide emissions will cause tropical rains to shift north in the coming decades. This will have a profound impact on agriculture and the economy of the Earth’s equatorial belt. Eastern China has seen heavy rains that have caused significant water levels in the Yangtze and other rivers, forcing the evacuation of nearly a quarter of a million people. In 2022, lightning strikes across India killed nearly 3,000 people. In Central America, continuous rainfall has killed at least 27 people in landslides and floods over the past week.
Magnetic field and sea
German zoologists have found that bottlenose dolphins are as good as sharks and other fish in their ability to sense very weak electric fields, which allows these cetaceans to use the Earth’s magnetic field for orientation in space. Underwater compasses have recorded disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field deep under water.
Global warming tipping point could trigger ice age
Temperatures in Western Europe could fall by 5 to 10 degrees Celsius over the course of the century. While this may sound good in an era of rising temperatures around the world, such a climate event would have devastating consequences for agriculture. As one climate scientist told Inside Climate News, it would be like “trying to grow potatoes in Northern Norway.” According to Slate, other places (such as Norway) will simply become too cold for human habitation.
In the Russian city of Orsk on April 5, a dam broke, 1,121 people were evacuated, including 331 children
Water continues to arrive in Orsk. At the moment, about 600 houses on nine streets are flooded. Earlier, the Orsk mayor’s office reported that a dam that protected the city from the Ural River had broken. There is a massive evacuation of people from the Old City, where several villages are located that fell into the flood zone. Temporary accommodation centers have been prepared for those evacuated from the flooded area. The mayor’s office clarified that the protective dam in the area of Orenburgskaya Street broke through. 4,258 houses and 10,987 people fall into the flood zone. The city has prepared temporary accommodation centers for 6.5 thousand places, housing 235 people, including 73 children.
New natural sources of greenhouse gases and associated climate control technologies
Layers of methane are locked under permafrost in Arctic regions, but if they were released it could cause problems for the rest of the world. Researchers also discovered intense methane emissions deep in the Baltic Sea. Methane can be a real problem for the environment. The greenhouse gas, made up of carbon and hydrogen and about 80 percent more potent than carbon dioxide, occurs naturally in sedimentary layers of the seafloor and is responsible for about 30 percent of global temperature rise.
In 18% of the regions of the planet Earth, the circulation of fresh water has been significantly disrupted as a result of human activity
A new study by an international team of scientists has concluded that aquifer depletion is affecting countries around the world and can threaten both the stability of local ecosystems and water security, with groundwater pumping causing the entire planet to tilt. Also, an international team of hydrologists and climatologists comprehensively studied the fresh water cycle on Earth and came to the conclusion that in 18% of the planet’s regions, the circulation of fresh water between rivers, ponds, lakes, other bodies of water and other environments has been significantly disrupted as a result of human activity.
Anomalous red snow fell in the Primorsky Territory
Specialists of the Scientific Center for Marine Biology named after. A.V. Zhirmunsky Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences analyzed samples and found that tens of thousands of crustaceans – representatives of zooplankton of the genera Neocalanus, Pseudocalanus, Metridia and Microcalanus – were frozen into the ice. It turned out that due to the presence of carotenoid pigments in the bodies of the crustaceans, the water turned red. The phenomenon was recorded during monitoring in the area of the Vostok Marine Biological Station in the bay of the same name. The discovered species of copepods form the basis of the zooplankton population in the bay in winter and are typical inhabitants of its open deep-sea areas, said specialists from the National Scientific Center for Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Russian station “Vostok” in Antarctica explores Lake Vostok
Lake Vostok was the last major geographical discovery on Earth, and it was made by Russia. The existence of the lake under four kilometers of ice was proven in 1994. In February 2012, for the first time in human history, as a result of drilling into the ice sheet, Russian scientists reached the surface of the subglacial Lake Vostok at a depth of 3769.3 meters. The Russian research station “Vostok” is one of the most modern and well-equipped in Antarctica, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the ceremony of putting into trial operation a new wintering complex.
Groundwater reserves are catastrophically declining
Groundwater supplies are being depleted in aquifers around the world, a new study has found, with the rate of decline accelerating over the past four decades in nearly a third of the aquifers studied. Rapid declines in water levels are most common in aquifers beneath cropland in drier regions, the largest analysis of groundwater trends shows.
75% of the world’s industrial fishing vessels are not trackable
An innovative study by Sentinel-1 and AI (European Space Agency) combining satellite data and artificial intelligence has shed light on the number of ships, wind turbines and oil platforms at sea. Shockingly, the study shows that about 75% of the world’s industrial fishing vessels were previously hidden from publicly available tracking systems. The study, published recently in the journal Nature, was conducted by Global Fishing Watch, an organization that seeks to improve ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea.
The oldest forests on Earth are over 32 million years old
Kelp forests arose on the floor of the Pacific Ocean at least 32 million years ago, not 14-15 million years ago as previously thought. This calls into question the prevailing ideas about the evolution of their inhabitants, the press service of the University of California at Berkeley reported. Researchers have found that these important oceanic ecosystems appeared in the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of the Oligocene era, over 32 million years ago. The largest kelp forests are found in cold seas (Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Nordic Seas), but in 2007 kelp forests were also discovered in tropical waters near Ecuador.
Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan announced an environmental disaster in the Caspian Sea
The water level in the Caspian Sea is rapidly decreasing; since 1996, the water level in the Caspian Sea has dropped by almost three meters. Fishing is rapidly declining, ships cannot enter the port due to shallowing. Some scientists call the situation with the Caspian shallowing catastrophic. The water level has dropped so much that shipping in the port of Makhachkala is increasingly stopped after a storm. And these days the ships are in the roadstead near Makhachkala because they cannot enter the port – the canals are covered with sand.
A wall of 17 artificial islands in the Pacific Ocean with a total length of 24 kilometers will be built around the capital of Indonesia
Jakarta, a metropolis of 10 million, is recognized as the most sinking city in the world. Every year the capital drops by 25 centimeters, and floods due to tides rise by 200 centimeters. Floods are already costing the state dearly – the disaster takes tens of billions of dollars from the government every year. According to forecasts, in the next 10 years there will be even more flooding, and by 2050 a third of the city risks being under water.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Has Its Own Flora and Fauna
Scientists have discovered more than 40 species of animals living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of man-made debris in the North Pacific Ocean. In size it is more than 900 thousand square meters. km.
The last whalers are going to stop their fishing
A moratorium on whaling, with the exception of the needs of the indigenous population of certain regions, has been in effect since 1982. But Japan, Norway and Iceland continue to harvest whales through quotas and withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission.
In the UK, crabs, lobsters and octopuses are recognized as sentient animals and are protected under animal rights law
Decapods – crabs, lobsters, shrimp and crayfish; Cephalopod cephalopods – octopuses, squids and cuttlefish – have a complex central nervous system, which is one of the key features of their ability to experience various feelings.
NASA and UNESCO plan to study up to 80 percent of the ocean floor by 2030
The US space agency’s goal is twofold: to understand the nature of the oceans that exist on other planets and to develop technologies to operate in extreme conditions. UNESCO study of the world’s oceans is important for preserving a sustainable climate and ecosystems.
Unexpected sources of ocean pollution
Decaying plastic and nutrients from cities and farms pollute the ocean as much as oil spills.
Melting glaciers reveal unknown species and meteorite remains
Glaciers are capable of preserving information about the history of the Earth, as they trap dust particles, traces of gas, microbes and plant matter from the environment.