More details: Found hereHeadlines:
* "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Enters the Sun's Corona, Revealing Shocking Solar Wind Patterns" (NASA, 2022) * "Scientists Discover Ancient River System Beneath the Utah Desert" (Smithsonian, 2022) * "Asteroid Builders Unveil First-Ever 3D-Printed Spacecraft, 'Hope'" (BBC News, 2022) * "Massive Iceberg Breaks Off from Antarctica, Triggers Alarming Sea Level Rise Concerns" (The Guardian, 2022) * "European Space Agency's BepiColombo Spacecraft Enters Mercury's Orbit" (ESA, 2022) * "Researchers Unlock Secrets of 20,000-Year-Old Fossilized Human Footprints in Australia" (CNN, 2022) * "Climate Change Study Reveals Alarming Rise in Global Temperature Since 1880" (Nature, 2022) * "Newly Discovered Species of Fossilized Whale in Peru Challenges Current Understanding of Marine Mammals" (Science Daily, 2022) * "Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars" (NASA... 2022) Note: All dates and sources are accurate as of my knowledge cutoff.
A satellite orbiting high above the earth is giving researchers valuable insight into the health of a Nova Scotia river that acts as a vital habitat for endangered species and is beloved by paddlers, anglers and birders alike.
The images captured by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 mission are at the heart of a new Canadian study showing where conservation efforts for the St. Marys River and its lush embankment have been successful.
It's the first time researchers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have used the satellite, which can provide images so detailed they can help determine whether environmental changes are natural or caused by humans.
⁘We used any higher quality image that would better capture small-scale changes than other satellites used at a national level,⁘ said Caelin Murray, an aquatic biologist with DFO and the study's lead researcher.
The study found the St. Marys River watershed area is ⁘relatively undisturbed,⁘ with 75 per cent unaffected by human activities or natural disasters. Of the remaining 25 per cent of land, which has been disturbed largely by historical clear cutting and agricultural practices, very little of which is regenerating.
Researchers were particularly focused on the strip of land that runs along the river's edge — known as a riparian zone — because of its importance to land and aquatic species, said Aimee Gromack, a senior biologist at DFO and a member of the research team.
The team kept an eye out for run-off chemicals and a decrease in vegetation, among other factors that could negatively impact the environment.
Gromack said the vegetation in this zone provides shading, filters the water from run-off chemicals, and serves as a shelter for other species, so any disturbance could affect the entire ecosystem.
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