Celebrating Earth Day! Studies For Lower Undersea Noise Pollution And AI-Based Solutions For Honey Bees - 22nd Issue

April is Earth Month and today (April 22nd) is Earth Day! So Sierra Club has been compiling an impressive list of local, regional, nationwide, and virtual events taking place across the United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.

This American environmental organization is on a mission to emphasize that it’s easy to get involved; their Earth Day webpage allows visitors to input their zip code or state to easily find ways to connect with nature and protect the planet.

Local hikes, river clean-ups, virtual zero waste meetings, and other opportunities are listed—and the results can even be filtered so visitors can find activities and events that match their interests and availability. 

When visiting an aquarium, it’s easy to become mesmerized by the sight of schools of fish swimming around and around, undulating so close to one another that they appear to move as a single, unified organism.

In the pursuit of creating underwater vehicle designs with lower noise pollution, a fascinating study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, engineers created a high-tech simulation of schooling mackerel and determined that swimming in schools further protects fish against predators by reducing the noise they make underwater.

The study, published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, noted that:

“the team found that a school of fish moving together in just the right way was stunningly effective at noise reduction: A school of seven fish sounded like a single fish.”

According to these findings, the future of quieter undersea vehicles is already looking more promising. Holy mackerel!

Researchers, biologists, and data scientists joined forces to participate in a research project led by the University of Exeter.

Embracing AI technology, the team developed an impressive AI system that can rapidly detect the presence of Asian hornets. This invasive species of hornets, also known as yellow-legged hornets, have spread across Europe and Asia. They’ve also been spotted in some areas of the United States.

The BBC reports that Asian hornets:

“are a top predator of honey bees, decimating hives, and damaging biodiversity, with just one hornet able to kill and eat up to 50 bees a day.” VespAI is designed to detect these hornets “with nearly flawless precision, enabling a quick response to prevent their spread.”

Encouraging results from the prototype version suggest that this new technology could be adopted sooner rather than later in an effort to protect one of the world’s most crucial pollinators. 

The April 8 solar eclipse was exciting and poignant for those who donned their glasses and made their way to an area where they could observe the moon passing between the sun and the earth.

Good news for space enthusiasts and stargazers alike: NASA astronomers have reported that T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946, and they believe it will do so again this year—and it could happen any moment between now and September!

‍NASA’s website notes that “this could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity” and “once its brightness peaks, it should be visible to the unaided eye for several days and just over a week with binoculars before it dims again, possibly for another 80 years.”

This impending cosmic explosion will be visible in the constellation Corona Borealis, also known as the Northern Crown. By encouraging people to maintain an interest in the universe, NASA helps cultivate a sense of wonder and responsibility toward our own planet. A healthy environment, after all, is crucial for stargazing.