Blackbirds such as red-winged blackbirds and grackles carry West Nile virus as they migrate, spreading the disease across North America, a new GeoHealth study reports. Credit: Niklas Hamann/unsplash
AGU News
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Featured Research
Blackbirds play key role in spreading West Nile virus in North America
Mosquitoes can spread West Nile virus to humans, but they can also infect birds, who then carry the disease along flyways. Previous research focused on migratory birds, but large groups of blackbirds can contribute to virus spread as well, a new study finds. [GeoHealth study][see also: unusual species of wild birds are spreading bird flu]
Aluminum from falling satellites change atmospheric temps, wind speeds
When satellites fall from orbit, they burn up in the atmosphere and release pollution, including aerosolized aluminum. New modeling of pollution from satellite reentry estimates about 11,000 US tons of aluminum oxide will be released by year by 2040, leading to mesospheric heating and changes in wind speeds. [JGR Atmospheres study][see also: plummeting Starlink satellites could jeopardize ozone hole recovery]
Earth’s rotational axis could shift 27 meters by 2100 thanks to ice melt
The point around which the Earth rotates changes over time in response to various factors, including the distribution of water and ice mass on Earth’s surface. By 2100, this rotational axis could be up to 27 meters (89 feet) from where it was in 1900 as a result of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet melt and changes in water on land, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters study]
Sustainable-certified aquaculture farms can still pollute
Net-pen aquaculture is an efficient way to raise fish, which can help local economies. But they can contribute significant volumes of pollutants, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Even aquaculture setups that are certified sustainable release unhealthy amounts of N and P, a new case study in Honduras finds. [Earth’s Future study]
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