Tag: climate-change

The Federal Climate Information Website Will No Longer Be Updated

In June, the Trump administration announced that the government’s 15-year-old website, climate.gov, which was the primary source of information about climate change and science, would no longer be updated. Links to the old site redirect viewers to an address at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As of 2021, the old website was receiving 900,000 visits per month and was a trusted source of information about the climate, according to NPR. The jobs of those who authored stories, created photos, and designed materials were eliminated.

Climate change effects include wildfire, ocean acidification, desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. |  Credit: CalFire

However, as the Guardian reports, a group of climate communications experts is rebuilding the climate.gov content at climate.us through a new nonprofit. The organization will offer services about climate to others such as local governments that are trying to adapt to global warming. The website is in development, and the organization has a presence on social media accounts like BlueSky and Facebook. 

According to Rebecca Lindsey, who was the managing editor of the government’s old site, the new entity includes several of her former federal colleagues, many of whom are grieving over losing not only a job but also a vocation. Lindsey added that there is a need for content that helps people develop climate literacy. Being outside of government gives the new group new opportunities to have fun by using platforms like TikTok.

The organization has launched a crowdfunding effort and hopes to get more permanent operating support from a foundation. Lindsey said that all of the climate information released prior to July 1 is still up on a government site, but you have to know where to look for it.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is trying to rapidly hire 450 people, including some meteorologists to fill jobs that were cut by DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency. Hundreds of forecasters were cut at NOAA after Trump took office, and there were warnings that there could be dangerous consequences if weather predictions were slowed.

However, applicants for the new meteorologist positions are being asked how they would promote Trump’s agenda by identifying one or two of his executive orders that they find significant, and how they would implement them if hired. Some experts are alarmed that the ideology of a potential weather forecaster could be considered. One told the Associated Press that he questioned whether forecasts would be made better based upon someone’s ideology.

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Heat Waves Are Becoming More Frequent and Intense in Rivers

Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense across the U.S., so perhaps this summer you took a dip in a river to cool off. However, according to new research it might not have been as refreshing as it once was. 

Credit: Dillon Groves/Unsplash

A new study from Penn State found that heat waves are happening in rivers too, and they’re accelerating faster than and lasting nearly twice as long as the heat waves in the air. It’s a surprising finding, given that many rivers are fed by snowmelt and underground streams, but the team found that periods of abnormally high temperatures in rivers are becoming more common, more intense, and longer-lasting than they were 40 years ago. Lead author Li Li (李黎) wrote in The Conversation that the increased heat puts stress on aquatic ecosystems and can also raise the cost of treating drinking water. 

The team collected river data at nearly 1,500 sites in the contiguous United States between 1980 and 2022. They found that temperatures rose above 59 °F (15 °C)—a threshold that can stress many species—at 82 percent of study areas for an average of 11.6 days per year. The places where the waters warmed the fastest were in the Northeast, the Rocky Mountains, and Appalachia.

The authors say climate change is driving river heat waves, as rising air temperatures affect water conditions. Changing precipitation patterns with global warming are shrinking winter snowpacks, leaving less meltwater to support river health. Low, slow-moving water warms more easily and holds less oxygen, creating dangerous conditions for aquatic life and increasing the chances of large-scale die-offs. The study adds that human activities, such as dams and agriculture, play a secondary role in shaping how and where rivers are most vulnerable to these impacts.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/your-dogs-carbon-paw-print

Experts Say Urgent Action to Cut Water Use Is Needed in the Colorado River Basin

According to experts, water policy makers and water users in the Colorado River Basin need to get their acts together to substantially cut amounts they take from the river.

At Lees Ferry where river trips, both recreational and scientific, launch.  |  Credit: public domain

In a new analysis, six experts—Jack Schmidt, Anne Castle, John Fleck, Eric Kuhn, Kathryn Sorensen, and Katherine Tara—released a report saying that immediate action is needed, especially if this dry year is repeated next year. They estimate that consumptive use will exceed the flow of the river by no less than 3.6 million-acre feet, and the two main reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, would absorb the bulk of that shortfall, causing them to be depleted and reduced to dangerous levels. Last winter’s snowpack was miserable, and the forecast for the coming season is for less precipitation and warmer temperatures.

However, leaders in the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming, have been unable to agree with their lower basin neighbors of California, Arizona, and Nevada on how to cut water usage along the river.  The two basins have been discussing how to allocate the shortages when the current rules expire next year. The experts who wrote the report are urging the federal government to impose cutbacks along the river, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The animosity between the Upper and Lower Basins appears to have torpedoed the Trump administration’s nomination of Ted Cooke to be the commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation charged with managing the river. Cooke had been a water manager in Arizona for more than 20 years, which was viewed as disturbing in the Upper Basin states, and would make him biased in favor of the Lower Basin, according to KUNC. 

The White House asked him to withdraw his nomination, which he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was based on vitriol the likes of which he had never seen. He said that officials from Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico had urged members of Congress to oppose his nomination.

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https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/a-high-five-for-the-high-seas

They’re smaller than dust, but crucial for Earth’s climate

Microscopic plankton that regulate Earth’s climate and sustain ocean ecosystems take center stage in a new awareness campaign.

Source:Ruđer Bošković Institute

Summary:Coccolithophores, tiny planktonic architects of Earth’s climate, capture carbon, produce oxygen, and leave behind geological records that chronicle our planet’s history. European scientists are uniting to honor them with International Coccolithophore Day on October 10. Their global collaboration highlights groundbreaking research into how these microscopic organisms link ocean chemistry, climate regulation, and carbon storage. The initiative aims to raise awareness that even the smallest ocean dwellers have planetary impact.Share:

    

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Tiny Ocean Creatures Key to Climate Stability
Microscopic view of a coccolithophore (Syracosphaera pulchra), a single-celled ocean alga whose intricate calcium plates (coccoliths) play a role in the global carbon cycle. Credit: Dr. Jelena Godrijan, Ruđer Bošković Institute

Smaller than a grain of dust and shaped like minute discs, coccolithophores are microscopic ocean dwellers with an outsized influence on the planet’s climate. These tiny algae remove carbon from seawater, release oxygen, and create delicate calcite plates that eventually sink to the ocean floor. Over time, these plates form chalk and limestone layers that record Earth’s climate history. Today, five European research institutions announced a new effort to establish October 10 as International Coccolithophore Day, drawing attention to the organisms’ vital contributions to carbon regulation, oxygen production, and the health of marine ecosystems that sustain life on Earth.

The initiative is being led by the Ruđer Bošković Institute (Zagreb, Croatia), the Lyell Centre at Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, UK), NORCE Norwegian Research Centre (Bergen, Norway), Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE) at the University of Lisbon (Portugal), and the International Nannoplankton Association (INA).

A Delicate Balance Under Threat

Few people are aware of coccolithophores, yet without them, the planet’s oceans and climate would look drastically different. These single-celled algae, which contain chlorophyll, float in the sunlit layers of the sea and are coated with calcium carbonate plates known as coccoliths.

Though incredibly small, coccolithophores are among Earth’s most effective natural carbon regulators. Every year, they generate more than 1.5 billion tonnes of calcium carbonate, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in deep-sea sediments. In addition to removing carbon, they produce oxygen, nourish marine food webs, and influence the planet’s greenhouse balance.

Coccolithophores often dominate vast stretches of the ocean, but climate change is altering the temperature, chemistry, and nutrient makeup of seawater. These shifts pose serious risks to their survival—and to the stability of the ecosystems that depend on them.

Why Coccolithophores?

What makes coccolithophores stand out from other plankton is both their role in the global carbon cycle and the unique record they leave behind. “Unlike other groups, they build intricate calcium carbonate plates that not only help draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but also transport it into deep ocean sediments, where it can be locked away for millennia. This biomineralization leaves behind an exceptional geological record, allowing us to study how they’ve responded to past climate shifts and better predict their future role. In short, their dual role as carbon pumps and climate archives makes them irreplaceable in understanding and tackling climate change,” says Professor Alex Poulton of the Lyell Centre.

“They are the ocean’s invisible architects, crafting the tiny plates that become vast archives of Earth’s climate,” says Dr. Jelena Godrijan, a leading coccolithophore researcher at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. “By studying their past and current responses to changes in the ocean, we can better understand how marine ecosystems function and explore how natural processes might help us tackle climate change.”

Cutting-Edge Science: From Plankton to Planetary Processes

The launch of International Coccolithophore Day spotlights the tiny ocean plankton that quietly help regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide.

At the Lyell Centre in Scotland, the OceanCANDY team, led by Prof. Alex Poulton, studies how these plankton pull CO2 from the air and store it in the sea, and tests how warmer, more acidic oceans could alter this process. Computer forecasts compare which species do this job best, today and tomorrow.

In Norway, scientists at NORCE Research, led by Dr. Kyle Mayers and his team, track coccolithophore life stories, how they grow, who eats them, and the viruses that infect and ultimately kill them, to show how carbon moves through the ocean. Ancient DNA in seafloor mud adds a long view of past climate shifts. “Coccolithophore interactions with viruses and grazers matter,” says Dr. Kyle Mayers of NORCE. “These links shape food webs and how the ocean stores carbon.”

In Croatia, the Cocco team at the Ruđer Bošković Institute study how they shape the ocean’s carbon cycle, from the decay of organic matter to bacterial interactions that influence seawater chemistry and CO2 uptake. “In understanding coccolithophores, we’re really uncovering the living engine of the ocean’s carbon balance,” says Dr. Jelena Godrijan “Their interactions with bacteria determine how carbon moves and transforms — processes that connect the microscopic scale of plankton to the stability of our planet’s climate.”

At MARE, University of Lisbon, Dr. Catarina V. Guerreiro leads studies to trace how aerosol-driven fertilization shapes the distribution of coccolithophores across the Atlantic into the Southern Ocean, and what that means for the ocean’s carbon pumps today and in recent times. Her approach consists of combining aerosol and seawater samples with sediment records, satellite data and lab microcosms to pin down cause and effect. “We’re connecting tiny chalky organisms to planetary carbon flows,” says Dr. Guerreiro.

At INA, scientists connect living coccolithophores to their fossil record, using their microscopic plates to date rocks and trace Earth’s climate history. By refining global biostratigraphic frameworks and calibrating species’ evolutionary timelines, INA researchers transform fossils of coccolithophores into precise tools for reconstructing ancient oceans, linking modern plankton ecology with the geological record of climate change.

Why Coccolithophore Day Matters?

Designating a day for Coccolithophores may seem like a small gesture, but its advocates argue it could have a big impact. “This could contribute to changing the way we see the ocean. “We most often talk about whales, coral reefs, and ice caps, but coccolithophores are a vital part of the planet’s climate system. They remind us that the smallest organisms can have the biggest impact, and that microscopic life plays a crucial role in shaping our planet’s future, ” says Dr. Sarah Cryer from the CHALKY project and OceanCANDY team.

The campaign to establish October 10 as International Coccolithophore Day is a call to action. By highlighting the profound, yet often overlooked, role of coccolithophores, scientists want to inspire a new wave of ocean literacy, policy focus, and public engagement.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251010091548.htm

Is it ‘Zero Day’ for California Water?

Long before talk of climate change, California planned a system of canals and reservoirs to carry water to its dry areas. It’s no longer enough.

By The Conversation

U.S. News & World Report

Is it ‘Zero Day’ for California Water?

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FRESNO, CA - JULY 8: A portion (looking south) of the 152-mile Friant-Kern Canal, an aqueduct to convey water to augment agriculture irrigation on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, is viewed on July 8, 2021, thirty minutes east of Fresno, California. Due to a lack of rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada during the past two years, California is experiencing one of the driest and hottest periods of weather in recorded history, forcing municipalities and farmers in the Central Valley to rethink their uses of water. As of this date, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a water "State of Emergency" for most state counties and has asked residents to reduce their use of water by 15%. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

George Rose|Getty Images

A portion (looking south) of the 152-mile Friant-Kern Canal, an aqueduct to convey water to augment agriculture irrigation on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, is viewed on July 8, 2021, thirty minutes east of Fresno, Calif.

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By Lara B. Fowler

On Dec. 1, 2021, California triggered headlines heard around the world when officials announced how much water suppliers would be getting from the State Water Project. “California water districts to get 0% of requested supplies in an unprecedented decision,” one headline proclaimed. “No state water for California farms,” read another.

MORE: Solar Panels Over California’s Canals and Climate Payoff

The headlines suggested a comparison with the “Zero Day” announcement in Cape Town, South Africa, during a drought in 2018. That was the projected date when water would no longer be available at household taps without significant conservation. Cape Town avoided a water shutoff, barely.

While California’s announcement represents uncharted territory and is meant to promote water conservation in what is already a dry water year, there is more to the story.

California’s drought solution

California is a semi-arid state, so a dry year isn’t a surprise. But a recent state report observed that California is now in a dry pattern “interspersed with an occasional wet year.” The state suffered a three-year drought from 2007 to 2009, a five-year drought from 2012 to 2016, and now two dry years in a row; 2020 was the fifth-driest year on record, and 2021 was the second-driest.

Coming into the 2022 water year – which began Oct. 1 – the ground is dry, reservoirs are low and the prediction is for another dry year.

Over a century ago, well before climate change became evident, officials began planning ways to keep California’s growing cities and farms supplied with water. They developed a complex system of reservoirs and canals that funnel water from where it’s plentiful to where it’s needed.

Part of that system is the State Water Project.

First envisioned in 1919, the State Water Project delivers water from the relatively wetter and, at the time, less populated areas of Northern California to more populated and drier areas, mostly in Southern California. The State Water Project provides water for 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland, with about 70% for residential, municipal and industrial use and 30% for irrigation. There are 29 local water agencies – the state water contractors – that helped fund the State Water Project and in return receive water under a contract dating to the 1960s.

While the State Water Project is important to these local water agencies, it is usually not their only source of water. Nor is all water in California supplied through the State Water Project. Most water agencies have a portfolio of water supplies, which can include pumping groundwater.

What does 0% mean?

Originally, the State Water Project planned to deliver 4.2 million acre-feet of water each year. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, or enough water to cover a football field in water 1 foot deep. An average California household uses around one-half to 1 acre-foot of water per year for both indoor and outdoor use. However, contractors that distribute water from the State Water Project have historically received only part of their allocations; the long-term average is 60%, with recent years much lower.

Based on water conditions each year, the state Department of Water Resources makes an initial allocation by Dec. 1 to help these state water contractors plan. As the year progresses, the state can adjust the allocation based on additional rain or snow and the amount of water in storage reservoirs. In 2010, for example, the allocation started at 5% and was raised to 50% by June. In 2014, the allocation started at 5%, dropped to 0% and then finished at 5%.

This year is the lowest initial allocation on record. According to the state Department of Water Resources, “unprecedented drought conditions” and “reservoirs at or near historic lows” led to this year’s headline-producing 0% allocation.

READ: California Water Supply Looks Promising in 2020, State Officials Say

That’s 0% of each state water contractor’s allocation; however, the department committed to meet “unmet minimum health and safety needs.” In other words, if the contractors cannot find water from other sources, they could request up to 55 gallons per capita per day of water to “meet domestic supply, fire protection and sanitation needs.” That’s about two-thirds of what the average American uses.

The department is also prioritizing water for salinity control in the Sacramento Bay Delta area, water for endangered species, water to reserve in storage and water for additional supply allocations if the weather conditions improve.

Under the current plan, there will be no water from the State Water Project for roughly 10% of California’s irrigated land. As a result, both municipal and agricultural suppliers will be seeking to conserve water, looking elsewhere for water supplies, or not delivering water. None are easy solutions.

The problem with pumping groundwater

To weather previous droughts, many water suppliers relied on groundwater, which led to increased costs for wells, declines in groundwater levels, land subsidence and degraded water quality. California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was enacted in 2014 to help address overpumping of groundwater, but it hasn’t turned these conditions around.

Those who can afford to dig deeper wells have done so, while others have no water as their wells have gone dry. During the 2012-2016 drought, the Public Policy Institute of California found that a majority of affected households that lost water access from their wells were in “small rural communities reliant on shallow wells – many of them communities of color.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom called on residents to voluntarily conserve 15% of their water during summer 2021. Statewide reductions were only 1.8% in July but jumped to 13.2% in October. This year’s snowpack, which acts as a natural reservoir, is far below normal.

Irrigators who depend on the federal Central Valley Project are facing similar drought conditions. Imports from the Colorado River system are also limited, as this basin is also facing its first-ever shortage declaration due to drought.

MORE: Western States Maintain Best Air Quality Levels

What’s next?

As someone who has worked in California and the Western U.S. on complex water issues, I am familiar with both drought and floods and the challenges they create. However, the widespread nature of this year’s drought – in California and beyond – makes the challenge even harder.

This “zero allocation” for California’s State Water Contractors is an unprecedented early warning, and likely a sign of what’s ahead.

A recent study warned that the snowpack in Western states like California may decline by up to 45% by 2050, with low- and no-snow years becoming increasingly common. Thirty-seven cities in California have already issued moratoriums on development because of water supply concerns.

If voluntary conservation does not work, enacting mandatory conservation measures like San Jose’s tough new drought rules may be needed. The state is now weighing emergency regulations on water use, and everyone is hoping for more precipitation.

Lara B. Fowler, Senior Lecturer in Law and Assistant Director for Outreach and Engagement, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, Penn State

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-12-10/california-faces-unprecedented-water-restrictions

Ocean heatwaves are breaking Earth’s hidden climate engine

Marine heatwaves are clogging the ocean’s carbon pump, threatening its power to fight climate change.

Source:Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Summary:Marine heatwaves can jam the ocean’s natural carbon conveyor belt, preventing carbon from reaching the deep sea. Researchers studying two major heatwaves in the Gulf of Alaska found that plankton shifts caused carbon to build up near the surface instead of sinking. This disrupted the ocean’s ability to store carbon for millennia and intensified climate feedbacks. The study highlights the urgent need for continuous, collaborative ocean observation.Share:

    

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Ocean Heatwaves Break Earth’s Climate Engine
Robotic floats can continuously collect detailed data about ocean conditions. A new study led by MBARI researchers from the Global Ocean Biogeochemistry Array project—with an interdisciplinary team of collaborators—has analyzed data from floats deployed in the Gulf of Alaska and records from ship-based plankton surveys and revealed that marine heatwaves reshape ocean food webs and affect the ocean’s ability to store carbon. Credit: © 2022 MBARI

New research shows that marine heatwaves can reshape ocean food webs, which in turn can slow the transport of carbon to the deep sea and hamper the ocean’s ability to buffer against climate change. The study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications on October 6, was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from MBARI, the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, the Hakai Institute, Xiamen University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Southern Denmark, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

To explore the impacts of marine heatwaves on ocean food webs and carbon flows, the research team combined multiple datasets that tracked biological conditions in the water column in the Gulf of Alaska for more than a decade. This region experienced two successive marine heatwaves during this time, one from 2013 to 2015 known as “The Blob,” and another from 2019 to 2020.

“The ocean has a biological carbon pump, which normally acts like a conveyor belt carrying carbon from the surface to the deep ocean. This process is powered by the microscopic organisms that form the base of the ocean food web, including bacteria and plankton,” said the lead author, Mariana Bif, previously a research specialist at MBARI and now an assistant professor in the Department of Ocean Sciences at the Rosenstiel School. “For this study, we wanted to track how marine heatwaves affected those microscopic organisms to see if those impacts were connected to the amount of carbon being produced and exported to the deep ocean.”

The research team used information collected by the Global Ocean Biogeochemical (GO-BGC) Array, a collaborative initiative funded by the US National Science Foundation and led by MBARI that uses robotic floats to monitor ocean health. The GO-BGC project has deployed hundreds of autonomous biogeochemical Argo (BGC-Argo) floats, which measure ocean conditions such as temperature, salinity, nitrate, oxygen, chlorophyll, and particulate organic carbon (POC) up and down the water column every five to 10 days. The team also looked at seasonal data from ship-based surveys that tracked plankton community composition, including pigment chemistry and sequencing of the environmental DNA (eDNA) from seawater samples collected during the Line P program carried out by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The study found that marine heatwaves did impact the base of the ocean food web, and those impacts were connected to changes in the ways that carbon was cycled in the water column. However, the changes that occurred in the food web were not consistent across the two heatwaves.

Under typical conditions, plant-like phytoplankton convert carbon dioxide to organic material. These microorganisms are the foundation of the ocean food web. When they are eaten by larger animals and excreted as waste, they transform into organic carbon particles that sink from the surface through the ocean’s mesopelagic, or twilight, zone (200 to 1,000 meters, approximately 660 to 3,300 feet) and down to the deep sea. This process locks atmospheric carbon away in the ocean for thousands of years.

During the 2013-2015 heatwave, surface carbon production by photosynthetic plankton was high in the second year, but rather than sinking rapidly to the deep sea, small carbon particles piled up approximately 200 meters (roughly 660 feet) underwater.

During the 2019-2020 heatwave, there was record-high accumulation of carbon particles at the surface in the first year that could not be attributed to carbon production by phytoplankton alone. Instead, this accumulation was likely due to the recycling of carbon by marine life and the buildup of detritus waste. This pulse of carbon then sank to the twilight zone, but lingered at depths of 200 to 400 meters (roughly 660 to 1,320 feet) instead of sinking to the deep sea.

The team attributed these differences in carbon transport between the two heatwaves to changes in phytoplankton populations. These changes cascaded through the food web, leading to a rise in small grazers who do not produce fast-sinking waste particles, so carbon was retained and recycled at the surface and in the upper twilight zone rather than sinking to deeper depths.

“Our research found that these two major marine heatwaves altered plankton communities and disrupted the ocean’s biological carbon pump. The conveyor belt carrying carbon from the surface to the deep sea jammed, increasing the risk that carbon can return to the atmosphere instead of being locked away deep in the ocean,” said Bif.

This research demonstrated that not all marine heatwaves are the same. Different plankton lineages rise and fall during these warming events, underscoring the need for long-term, coordinated monitoring of the ocean’s biological and chemical conditions to accurately model the diverse, and expansive, ecological impacts of marine heatwaves.

“This research marks an exciting new chapter in ocean monitoring. To really understand how a heatwave impacts marine ecosystems and ocean processes, we need observation data from before, during, and after the event. This research included robotic floats, pigment chemistry, and genetic sequencing, all working together to tell the entire story. It’s a great example of how collaboration can help us answer key questions about the health of the ocean,” said MBARI Senior Scientist Ken Johnson, the lead principal investigator for the GO-BGC project and a coauthor of the study.

Ocean observations and models suggest that marine heatwaves have been expanding in size and intensifying over the past few decades. The ocean absorbs a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted each year, thanks to the steady stream of carbon particles sinking from the surface to the deep sea. A warmer ocean can mean less carbon locked away, which in turn can accelerate climate change. Beyond the changes to carbon transport, the shifts in plankton at the foundation of the ocean food web have cascading impacts on marine life and human industry too.

“Climate change is contributing to more frequent and intense marine heatwaves, which underscores the need for sustained, long-term ocean monitoring to understand and predict how future marine heatwaves will impact ecosystems, fisheries, and climate,” said Bif.

This work was funded by the US National Science Foundation’s GO-BGC project (NSF Award 1946578 with operational support from NSF Award 2110258), with additional support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, China National Science Foundation (grant number: 42406099), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant number: 20720240105), Danish Center for Hadal Research (Grant No. DNRF145), and Fisheries and Oceans Line P program.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251007081819.htm

Japan’s hot springs hold clues to the origins of life on Earth

These findings show how life adapted before photosynthesis reshaped the planet and may also guide the search for life on alien worlds.

Source:Institute of Science Tokyo

Summary:Billions of years ago, Earth’s atmosphere was hostile, with barely any oxygen and toxic conditions for life. Researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute studied Japan’s iron-rich hot springs, which mimic the ancient oceans, to uncover how early microbes survived. They discovered communities of bacteria that thrived on iron and tiny amounts of oxygen, forming ecosystems that recycled elements like carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur.Share:

    

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Hot Springs Hold Clues to the Origins of Life
Ancient microbes survived by harnessing iron and low oxygen levels in ecosystems resembling modern hot springs in Japan. These discoveries illuminate how life adapted during Earth’s Great Oxygenation Event and hint at possible life strategies on other planets. Credit: Shutterstock

Earth was not always the blue-green world we know today: the early Earth’s oxygen levels were about a million times lower than we now experience. There were no forests and no animals. For ancient organisms, oxygen was toxic. What did life look like at that time then? A recent study led by Fatima Li-Hau (graduate student at ELSI at the time of the research) along with the supervisor Associate Professor Shawn McGlynn (at the time of research) of the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, explores this question by examining iron-rich hot springs that mimic the chemistry of Earth’s ancient oceans around the time of one of Earth’s most dramatic changes: the oxygenation of the atmosphere. Their findings suggest that early microbial communities used iron along with oxygen released by photosynthetic microbes, for energy, revealing a transitional ecosystem where life turned a waste product of one organism into a new energy source before photosynthesis became dominant.

The Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) occurred around 2.3 billion years ago and marked the rise of atmospheric oxygen, likely triggered by green Cyanobacteria that used sunlight to split water, subsequently converting carbon dioxide into oxygen through photosynthesis. The result is that the current atmosphere is around 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with only traces of other gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, which might have played a greater role before the rise of oxygen. The GOE fundamentally changed the course of life on Earth. This high amount of oxygen allows us animals to breathe, but it also complicates life for ancient life forms, which were almost unaware of the O2 molecule. Understanding how these ancient microbes adapted to the presence of oxygen remains a major question.

To answer this, the team studied five hot springs in Japan, which are rich in varied water chemistries. Those five springs (one in Tokyo, two each in Akita and Aomori prefectures) are naturally rich in ferrous iron (Fe2+). They are rare in today’s oxygen-rich world because ferrous iron quickly reacts with oxygen and turns into an insoluble ferric iron form (Fe3+). But in these springs, the water still contains high levels of ferrous iron, low levels of oxygen, and a near-neutral pH, conditions thought to resemble parts of the early Earth’s oceans.

“These iron-rich hot springs provide a unique natural laboratory to study microbial metabolism under early Earth-like conditions during the late Archean to early Proterozoic transition, marked by the Great Oxidation Event. They help us understand how primitive microbial ecosystems may have been structured before the rise of plants, animals, or significant atmospheric oxygen,” says Shawn McGlynn, who supervised Li-Hau during her dissertation work.

In four of the five hot springs, the team found microaerophilic iron-oxidising bacteria to be the dominant microbes. These organisms thrive in low-oxygen conditions and use ferrous iron as an energy source, converting it into ferric iron. Cyanobacteria, known for producing oxygen through photosynthesis, were also present but in relatively small numbers. The only exception was one of the Akita hot springs, where non-iron-based metabolisms were surprisingly dominant.

Using metagenomic analysis, the team assembled over 200 high-quality microbial genomes and used them to analyse in detail the functions of microbes in the community. The same microbes that coupled iron and oxygen metabolism converted a toxic compound into an energy source and helped maintain conditions that allowed oxygen-sensitive anaerobes to persist. These communities carried out essential biological processes such as carbon and nitrogen cycling, and the researchers also found evidence of a partial sulfur cycle, identifying genes involved in sulfide oxidation and sulfate assimilation. Given that hot springs contained very little sulfur compounds, this was a surprising discovery. The researchers propose that this may indicate a “cryptic” sulfur cycle, where microbes recycle sulfur in complex ways that are not yet fully understood.

“Despite differences in geochemistry and microbial composition across sites, our results show that in the presence of ferrous iron and limited oxygen, communities of microaerophilic iron oxidisers, oxygenic phototrophs, and anaerobes consistently coexist and sustain remarkably similar and complete biogeochemical cycles,” says Li-Hau.

The research suggests a shift in our understanding of early ecosystems, showing that microbes may have harnessed energy from iron oxidation and oxygen produced by early phototrophs. The study proposes that, similar to these hot springs, early Earth hosted ecosystems were composed of diverse microbes, including iron-oxidising bacteria, anaerobes, and Cyanobacteria living alongside one another and modulating oxygen concentrations.

“This paper expands our understanding of microbial ecosystem function during a crucial period in Earth’s history, the transition from an anoxic, iron-rich ocean to an oxygenated biosphere at the onset of the GOE. By understanding modern analogue environments, we provide a detailed view of metabolic potentials and community composition relevant to early Earth’s conditions,” says Li-Hau.

Together, these insights deepen our understanding of life’s early evolution on Earth and have implications for the search for life on other planets with geochemical conditions similar to those of early Earth.

More information

Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) is one of Japan’s ambitious World Premiere International research centers, whose aim is to achieve progress in broadly inter-disciplinary scientific areas by inspiring the world’s greatest minds to come to Japan and collaborate on the most challenging scientific problems. ELSI’s primary aim is to address the origin and co-evolution of the Earth and life.

Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) was established on October 1, 2024, following the merger between Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), with the mission of “Advancing science and human wellbeing to create value for and with society.”

World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) was launched in 2007 by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251002074009.htm

Local News

Northfield, Minnesota warns residents of unsafe drinking water for infants

By Jason Rantala

In 2019, city officials in Northfield, Minnesota said the town’s water supply tested for high levels of manganese.

In high doses, the metal can cause memory, attention and motor skills problems for adults, and particularly impacts infants, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Earlier this year, the city scrapped plans to build a new water treatment facility because costs became too high, rising from $60 million to $83 million.

“Certainly we’re all committed to safe and healthy drinking water here in Northfield,” said Ben Martig, Northfield’s city administrator.

City officials are now advising families with infants under 1 to have them drink bottled water or to treat the water themselves, like with a reverse osmosis system.

Officials said they have been warning residents about the water quality issues for years through multiple press releases.

“We’ve talked with local providers, letting them know to notify pregnant mothers and newborn families that they should be looking at different options for their water and making sure that it is further treated,” said Justin Wagner, the city’s utilities manager.

“It’s unsafe for children under 1 and people who are pregnant, and those are important and valuable people to our community, too,” said Ward 1 City Council Member Kathleen Holmes.

She said water treatment is a city need, and costs for the project will only increase as time passes.

“This is a situation for renters who can’t put in reverse osmosis or can’t afford it,” said Holmes.

Northfield resident Levi Prinzing is the parent of an infant, but said at this point he’s more worried about the financial impacts of a new treatment facility. Prinzing also filters his water.

“I don’t think we need a new treatment plant,” said Prinzing. “The treatment plant is a lot of money and we just raised our taxes a lot.”

“We have to find a way to work together as a council and find a solution that can help bridge that gap, that we can provide safe drinking water for all residents, and hopefully reduce the financial impact or financial burden that it is on residents,” said Holmes.

The City Council may reconsider the water treatment facility in June.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/northfield-minnesotas-warns-residents-of-unsafe-drinking-water-for-infants/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

Local News

Florida’s springs face pollution, climate threats as iconic waters risk losing natural beauty

Seen from the air, a Florida freshwater spring is a bit of liquid heaven, luring humans and wildlife to enjoy its aquamarine cool. With at least 1,000 of them — more than any other state — the springs serve as beaches for large swaths of central and northwestern Florida far from the ocean, with teenagers backflipping from docks and snorkelers peering into the crystalline depths.

But these treasures are under threat from agricultural pollution, rapid development and climate change.

Florida’s fragile freshwater springs under growing strain

Some places, such as fast-growing Zephyrhills in west-central Florida, have paused some construction as it struggles to stay within limits on the drinking water it can withdraw from a vast underground aquifer. Zephyrhills is home to Crystal Springs, source of the bottled water named after the town and several other brands.

“We really had to do something,” said Steven Spina, a member of the town council. “A lot of residents thought it was a good thing. People were happy to see us take a breath.”

The Floridan Aquifer: lifeline for 90% of the state’s drinking water

Covering an estimated 100,000 square miles (250,000 square kilometers), the underground Floridan Aquifer is the source of 90% of Florida’s drinking water. Because of the porous nature of the state’s bedrock, millions of gallons of water find their way to the surface in the form of clear, clean springs that, in turn, feed into rivers.

The highest concentration of springs are in central and northern Florida, including most of the 30 “first magnitude” springs — those that discharge at least 65 million gallons of water every day. All but four of them are considered polluted.

“We just have too much pollution going into the ground and too much water coming out of the ground,” said Ryan Smart, executive director of the nonprofit Florida Springs Council. “And when you get that combination, you end up with springs that are no longer blue and vibrant and full of life.”

Runoff, farming and algae blooms choke spring ecosystems

In rural Florida, runoff from fertilizers and pesticides used in farm fields is a major part of the problem. Fertilizers containing phosphates and nitrogen promote algae blooms that can suffocate a spring. Livestock waste contributes, too.

“When that algae covers everything, then you lose all of the seagrasses. The seagrasses are the forests of the water,” Smart said. “Then you begin to lose the biodiversity. And it even puts our drinking water at risk.”

Development and tourism add pressure to Florida’s springs

Elsewhere in Florida, rampant development is the threat. With over 1,000 people moving to Florida every day, more housing subdivisions are sprouting, along with the roads, strip malls, restaurants, golf courses and everything else that comes with them.

That means more paved surfaces that keep rainwater from percolating down into the aquifer and more pollutant-laden runoff from lawn fertilizers, parking lots, ever-widening roads and sometimes septic tanks. It also means more and more people, many of whom enjoy tubing, paddleboarding, kayaking and swimming in the springs.

It gets so busy in summer at some springs located in state and local parks that entry is halted by late morning. At Ichetucknee Springs State Park north of Gainesville, the daily limit of 750 tubers on the upper river is often reached within an hour after the park opens.

Kaelin Gibbs, on vacation in June with his family from Georgia, was swimming in the Blue Hole Spring along the Ichetucknee River.

“This is simply incredible; the water is cool and clear,” said Gibbs. “We’ve been to Florida’s beaches and to Orlando. There is no comparison to how beautiful this spring is.”

But that’s in peril, said Dennis Jones, a Republican former legislator deeply involved in springs issues. He said the volume of permits being issued for water use isn’t sustainable.

“You cannot keep taking water out of the aquifer because it’s not an endless supply,” Jones said.

Mining, climate change and saltwater intrusion worsen threats

Phosphate mining has also taken a toll on springs. Their operations require a great deal of water, which reduces water pressure available for springs. Some have died almost completely from mining and other factors, including White Sulphur Springs in north Florida, which was a sacred place for Native Americans and later a tourist resort that attracted famous visitors such as Henry Ford and Theodore Roosevelt.

A more subtle threat to the health of springs involves Earth’s changing climate. It is altering rainfall patterns around the globe, threatening the balance that feeds Florida’s springs.

In addition, some springs along the coasts are facing an intrusion of salt water, according to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Four major springs are becoming increasingly brackish because of sea level rise and declining rainfall.

“As a result, freshwater vegetation has a hard time surviving in this saltier environment and unwanted vegetation moves in,” the district said in a website post.

State funding, lawsuits and grassroots activism aim to save springs

Florida spends billions every year on water quality projects, including about $800 million this year for Everglades restoration work. State funding for springs runs about $50 million a year, according to state documents.

Two state efforts at improving springs’ quality, both around a decade old, remain bottled up in court and administrative challenges. One would strengthen rules for permits to draw water from the major springs. The other would enhance rules to reduce the amount of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates that goes into springs that are considered impaired.

Jones, the former legislator, said lobbying by powerful agricultural interests and related political pressures have blocked progress on the nitrogen reduction plan that was expected to take about 20 years.

“We’ve burned up almost 10 years and they haven’t got on stage one. We got more nitrates now than when we started,” Jones said.

In Congress, U.S. Rep. Randy Fine recently filed a bill that would create a Florida Springs National Park across several counties, centered around the Ocala National Forest. Fine said in a statement the designation would protect the springs and increase funding. “Our Florida springs are something unique, not just to Florida but to the country,” Fine said.

It costs bottling companies just $115 for a permit allowing them to withdraw millions of gallons of water in perpetuity. But they do pay local taxes.

Blue Triton, the company that bottles Zephyrhills water, pays about $600,000 a year in taxes for things like schools, public safety and so forth, said Spina of the city council.

“They are one of our largest taxpayers,” he said.

Though they have challenges, Florida’s freshwater springs have energetic friends, too.

Michelle Jamesson loves the springs; she grew up swimming in one and is determined to help protect them for future generations. She volunteers for SpringsWatch Citizen Science Program, coordinating and working with other volunteers for monthly tests on the Wekiva River, north of Orlando.

They test water quality, take photos of underwater vegetation, count birds and more, seeking to spot any big changes that may require action. The Wekiva is fairly stable, she said, though it carries a lot of excess nutrients.

“The wildlife and the ecology, and all of it — it’s so full of life,” Jamesson said.

___

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-springs-water-pollution-climate-change-report/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

Chesapeake Bay pollution down, but water quality still short of goals, CBF says

By Christian Olaniran

Chesapeake Bay pollution down, but water quality still short of goals, CBF says

Pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay has dropped, but water quality remains below restoration targets, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

In 2023 nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment levels were significantly lower than the previous year, according to the CBF. Nitrogen fell 21.7%, phosphorus 26% and sediment 15.5%. These three pollutants are the leading contributors to the bay’s poor health.

The largest reductions came from the Pamunkey, Patuxent, Potomac and Susquehanna rivers. By contrast, nitrogen rose in the Appomattox, Mattaponi and Rappahannock rivers, where excess levels can trigger algae blooms that sap oxygen and threaten fish and crabs.

How pollution progress is measured

Researchers measure progress through the Bay TMDL Indicator, which uses modeled data to track how far pollution reductions move the bay toward a healthier ecosystem. To meet water quality goals, nitrogen must be cut by about 145 million pounds per year and phosphorus by about 9 million pounds.

Since 2009, projects such as tree planting, wastewater treatment upgrades and improved farming practices have reduced roughly 82 million pounds of nitrogen and 1.6 million pounds of phosphorus. 

Those efforts are expected to cut an additional 27 million pounds of nitrogen and 4 million pounds of phosphorus annually in the years ahead, according to the CBF. 

Despite these reductions, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science gave the bay a “C” in its 2024 annual report, down from a C+ the previous year. 

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources also reported last month that underwater grasses in the state’s portion of the bay declined slightly in 2024. Both measures are considered key indicators of water quality.

Restoration efforts underway

Maryland continues to invest in bay improvements. In December, nearly $400,000 in federal grants went to five Maryland-based projects focused on environmental, cultural and historical conservation in the watershed.

Oyster restoration is also progressing. Oysters filter up to 50 gallons of water per day and provide habitat for small fish, worms and other prey species.

The Chesapeake Bay Program said in July it is on track to meet its 2025 goal of restoring oyster reefs in 10 tributaries, as set by the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

Maryland’s restoration work includes Harris Creek, the Little Choptank, Tred Avon, Upper St. Mary’s and Manokin rivers. Virginia has completed restorations in its five tributaries and an additional site, while Maryland is finishing work in the Manokin.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/chesapeake-bay-pollution-water-quality-cbf-goals/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h