5050thth Anniversary of Earth Day Anniversary of Earth DayIn honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we need your help to protect our environment. Join scientists from around the world to better understand our planet by exploring our collection of fun facts about their research.

Did you know scientists...

Observed that Fin, Antarctic Blue and Pygmy Blue Whales have changed

the pitch of their whale songs, possibly due to climate change.8

Study poop

from bats and penguins to under-

stand the past climate and

determine the future climate.5

Fly through hurricanes

to measure the intensity of these

storms.

Study the fossil

record to see how animals adapted in response to

a warmer climate.2

Study firenados,

or clouds of fire resulting from

wildfires.1

Dive under Antarctic ice in

search of giant sea spiders to study

the phenomenon known as “polar

gigantism.”6

Measure cow farts to assess the impact of livestock

on carbon levels.3

Help sheep herders in the

Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan

adjust to warmer climate condi-

tions, enhancing the food secu-

rity of local residents.9

Discovered that certain

microbes can possibly eat oil and help with the clean up from future oil

spills.4

Restored vintage film reels from the 1970s to map

the bottom of Antarctica’s ice and

track how much has melted?7

1https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018GL0806672https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=1232523https://blogs.agu.org/geospace/2019/03/21/chemical-tracers-untangle-natural-from-agricultural-methane-emissions/4nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol2016575https://eos.org/articles/bat-guano-a-possible-new-source-for-paleoclimate-reconstructions https://eos.org/articles/penguin-poop-keeps-a-record-of-antarctic-glaciation6antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/4189/7eos.org/articles/vintage-radar-film-tracks-whats-beneath-antarctic-ice8eos.org/scientific-press/whale-songs-pitch-may-change-due-to-population-climate-changes9thrivingearthexchange.org/project/pamir-mountains-afghanistan-and-tajikistan/