A study published on April 15 in the journal
Frontiers in Forests and Global Change presents evidence that only about three percent of Earth’s land ecosystems remain untouched by human activity.
The analysis focuses on large swaths of land, about 3,860 square miles each, to account for the amount of habitat required by wide-ranging species. The study takes into account three measures of ecological integrity: habitat intactness, which is how human activity has affected the land; faunal intactness, which looks at species loss; and functional intactness, which focuses on species loss among animals that contribute to the health of an ecosystem.
by Theresa Machemer/Smithsonianmag.com
On Monday, a sightseeing helicopter in Iceland spotted the Fagradalsfjall volcano’s newest fissure spewing steam and lava, the Associated Press reports.
The Icelandic Department of Emergency Management immediately directed volcano-watching tourists to evacuate the area as scientists evaluated the danger. Local authorities announced on Tuesday that eruption-viewing areas would reopen at 6 a.m. local time on April 7.
The eruption at Fagradalsfjall began on March 19. It marked the volcano’s first eruption in about 6,000 years and southwest Iceland’s first eruption in 800 years. Thousands of visitors have trekked out to the two craters to watch the lava flow despite freezing temperatures. (Some scientists even took the opportunity to cook hotdogs on the cooling lava, Michele Debczak reports for
Mars Used to Have Water: Where Did It Go? – Veterans Today | Military Foreign Affairs Policy Journal for Clandestine Services veteranstoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from veteranstoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
by Theresa Machemer/Smithsonianmag.com
On March 11 at 2:46 p.m., residents across Japan observed a moment of silence to remember the thousands of people killed or lost when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country just one decade ago, Donican Lam reports for
Kyodo News. The 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed 15,900 people, and subsequent deaths from illness and suicide linked to the disaster totaled 3,775. Today, about 2,500 people are still considered missing.
Anniversary memorial services in Japan were largely cancelled last year amid the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the country recognized the date with a national memorial service in Tokyo, as well as local memorials in affected regions. The ten-year anniversary also offers a milestone to revisit the progress of rebuilding the areas affected by the tsunami, including Fukushima, where the 50-foot-tall wave caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Perseverance Rover: Mission Mars Sample Return – Veterans Today | Military Foreign Affairs Policy Journal for Clandestine Services veteranstoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from veteranstoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.