Earthweek: Diary of a Changing World
Week ending Friday, February 23, 2024
Potassium Deficit
A new study warns that potassium, a key element needed for crops to grow, is running low in farmlands around the world, threatening food security.
Writing in the journal Nature Food, researchers from University College London say potassium is being removed from the soils during harvests more often than it is being replaced by fertilizers, leaving 20% of fields severely lacking the nutrient.
“This is an unsustainable phenomenon known as soil nutrient mining,” said lead author Will Brownlie. “Geological reserves of potash, a key component of potassium fertilizers, are concentrated in a handful of countries … making them vulnerable to supply disruptions.”
Earthquakes
The hurricane-battered Mexican resort of Acapulco was jolted by two tremors, the strongest registering magnitude 5.0.
• Earth movements were also felt in southern Texas, southern Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, northern Afghanistan, eastern Nepal, and western Myanmar.
Ocean Heat Surge
Part of the unprecedented ocean warmth that has puzzled experts over the past year includes the tropical Atlantic surface temperatures, which are now at levels typically seen in mid-July.
This is causing concern about the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season because the record heat could provide extra fuel for developing tropical systems.
The record Atlantic warmth last year helped an above-average number of named storms to form, even with the typically dampening effect of El Niño.
A new study by the University of Reading warns that the past year of recordhigh ocean temperatures could become the norm if the world heats to 3 degrees Celsius (5.3 F) above pre-industrial levels.
Rhino Return
Conservationists have returned 21 eastern black rhinos to a plateau in central Kenya, decades after they were wiped out there by poachers.
The horned animals were transferred from three wildlife parks, where they were becoming overcrowded, to the private Loisaba Conservancy.
“It’s been decades since rhinos roamed here—almost 50 years ago,” said Loisaba security manager Daniel Ole Yiankere. “Now our focus is on rejuvenating this landscape and allowing rhinos to breed, aiming to restore their population to its former splendor.”
Popo Eruption
Mexico’s restive Popocatépetl volcano spewed a massive plume of ash, water vapor and volcanic gases that could be clearly seen 30 miles to the northwest in Mexico City.
The country’s civil protection agency said the eruption produced 27 exhalations and nearly a thousand minutes of tremors.
Popocatépetl is one of the most active volcanoes in the country and is located on the borders of the states of Morelos and Puebla, as well as the state of Mexico.
Early Bloomers
Unseasonably warm weather across parts of Japan prompted many Tokyo residents to take off their jackets and enjoy some of the cherry blossoms that have emerged weeks earlier than usual.
But forecasters said the warmth would end soon, with temperatures dropping to around 37 degrees.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency predicts the cherry blossoms will start to appear en masse in Tokyo on March 18 and peak on March 30.
Cherry blossom buds are formed between the summer and autumn, become dormant in late autumn, and remain so through the winter.
Tropical Cyclones
Northwestern Australia was drenched by slowly moving Tropical Storm Lincoln. The storm strengthened after moving out to sea again, and was expected to make a second landfall on the far northwest coast.
• Tropical Storm Eleanor looped around the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and Réunion.