GOLETA, Calif. (AP) — Fueled by hot and dry weather, wildfires threatened homes in California and other Western states as crews struggled to corral flames that have scorched miles of brush and timber.

About 140 homes and ranches were considered at risk in California, where a 1,400-acre fire was tearing through coastal canyons west of Santa Barbara, scorching an area that hadn't burned in 60 years.

The chaparral was "very dry, very dead-on-the-ground fuel for the fire," said Gina DePinto, communications manager for Santa Barbara County.

About 800 firefighters struggled to reach the narrow, brush-choked coastal canyons to attack the flames. A fleet of aircraft had better luck Thursday but nightfall brought a rise in gusty, erratic "sundowner" winds that had pushed the blaze Wednesday night.

Fire official said early Friday that the blaze had calmed a bit after surging Thursday night.

For a second night, a freeway, U.S. 101, was closed in the area.

Hundreds of people were forced from campgrounds after the fire erupted Wednesday.

Charlie and Elizabeth Hatten spent the night at a shelter after a park ranger woke them as they camped at El Capitan State Beach.

"The flames looked so close. You couldn't see the moon anymore," Charlie Hatten told the Los Angeles Times.

The campgrounds remained closed but fire officials said nobody remained at the shelters Thursday.

In central New Mexico, a blaze that began Tuesday, spread across 16,000 acres by Thursday night, forcing evacuations and burning several buildings along the way. The fire blackened 25 square miles and blanketed Albuquerque, the state's largest city, in a thick haze.

The fire was expected to continue moving east and northeast and posed an imminent threat to the small community of Chilili, the Tajique area, and the Ponderosa Pine residential area, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez took to the air in a National Guard helicopter on Thursday to look over the devastation, according to a report in the Albuquerque Journal.

"This is a serious fire," Martinez said later during a news conference and an Estancia school, where the command center for the firefighters is located. "We want to make sure New Mexicans understand that."

Extremely hot and dry weather was forecast to continue into the weekend, although gusty winds should ease, fire officials said.

In east-central Arizona, progress was made against a 12-square-mile blaze that broke out Wednesday south of Show Low.

"The winds weren't as bad, and the back-burns did exactly what we wanted them to do," Navajo County Sheriff KC Clark said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

However, a small community in Navajo County remained evacuated and thousands of other residents were told to be prepared in case they had to leave.

In Nevada, a 300-acre Reno brush fire that threatened dozens of homes was 75 percent contained and crews were mostly in mop-up mode Thursday evening.

Blazes also threatened homes in Utah, where a firefighter hurt his head in a fall.

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Greenland just hit a big new record, and it isn't a good one.

Temperatures soared to 75 degrees Fahrenheit in mid-June, smashing previous temperature logs for as long as people have been keeping them.

Greenland's continent-wide ice sheet is also at its tiniest in recorded history — and the annual summer melt season has only just begun.

Some argue that Greenland's balmy new climate will spur its economy. But these photos show why that trade-off isn't worth the calamitous costs to the planet.

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April 2016 brought alarming news to climatologists: Greenland's annual melt season started two months early.

Source: Tech Insider

Weather stations recorded local temperatures as high as 38 degrees Fahrenheit, which is well above the melting point of ice.

"That would be a warm day in July, never mind April," climatologist Robert Fausto said in a statement to the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

The West is having a major heatwave, with temperatures hitting more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas.

And along with the heat are coming some damaging wildfires in southern California, New Mexico, and Arizona covering tens of thousands of acres of land and displacing hundreds of families. Firefighters are working to contain the blazes, though the continued heat wave through the weekend could complicate things. 

Check out some of the striking snapshots of the massive fires over the week. 

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In southern California, the "Sherpa Fire" broke out Wednesday afternoon around Santa Barbara. Here, a firefighter fends off flames as they come near a home in California early on Thursday morning.

The smoke has made its way over the Pacific, as seen by satellite.

As of Friday, it was covering more than 4,000 acres of land, and hundreds of homes have been evacuated so far.

Source: LA Times

Climate change is expected to have a dramatic impact on ecosystems across the world, creating winners and losers: Some species are likely to survive in a warming climate, and some simply won’t.

A new study in Science examined more than 26,000 trees across an area the size of Spain (583,000 square kilometers) and found that boreal forests in far-northern latitudes may one day act as a climate refuge for black spruce, the foundational tree of the northwoods ecosystem and the most dominant species in these forests.

Northern boreal forests make up nearly 30 percent of the planet’s forested area, and store about 20 percent of the earth’s carbon. In Canada, these boreal forests stretch over 10,000 continuous kilometers (over 6,200 miles), making them one of the world’s greatest remaining forests on the planet. They are home to a number of wildlife, including numerous migratory birds and 85 species of mammals, such as caribou, snowshoe hare, lynx, bears, and wolves. Canada’s pulpwood industry is also concentrated in these boreal forests of Quebec and the country is a world leader in the production of paper and pulpwood products (such as household tissues.)

“During this century, the northwoods will experience some of the Earth’s largest increases in temperature,” Loïc D'Orangeville, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Université du Québec à Montréal and Indiana University, said in a press release. His study looked at data from tree ring analyses that revealed that these forests’ are sensitive to changes in both temperature and precipitation.

A warming climate increases the amount of water boreal forests need to survive and, according to D’Orangeville, it is possible that only part of North America’s boreal forest will have enough water to compensate for the increase in water demand. However, moving northwards, temperatures cool and evaporation diminishes.

From their results, it looks like the 49th parallel (49 degrees north in latitude) will roughly delineate between the winners and the losers. Above the line, black spruce are going to benefit from the warming. Below, they won't. 

“The fate of this forest is important for both ecological and economic reasons," Neil Pederson, co-author and senior ecologist at the Harvard Forest, told Business Insider. "The Canadian government is already shifting forest management northwards in this region [because] they are recognizing that trees that are not economically viable today are likely going to become economically viable and important.”

Of course, predicting the future exactly is impossible, Pederson cautions. Some forests below the 49th parallel might be more resilient than expected and above the line, forests could be hit by unpredictable disasters, or “black swans” as he calls them, that could change their fate. The megafires of western Canada and Alaska this past year are examples of such unpredictable and potentially catastrophic events.

Still, the study offers a note of hope, as identifying potential havens for biodiversity is important for planning for the economic and ecological future. Now, the next step for the research is to look at other species in these forests to see if their findings hold up.

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Penguins are some of the most beloved wild animals in the world, and Adélie penguins are some some of the cutest. But these miniature creatures — a little over two feet tall and weighing between 9 and 12 pounds — might be in trouble.

A new study published today in Scientific Reports found that climate change will have a dramatic impact on the Antarctic homes of Adélie penguins. The study predicts that 30% of their population could be gone by the year 2060, and as much as 60% of the population will disappear by the end of the century.

The researchers based these predictions on satellite observations of sea surface temperature, sea ice and bare rock locations, penguin population estimates, and the various levels of warming expected over the next century by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change.

Adélie penguin colonies breed around the continent in October in rocky onshore areas, building nests with small stones. In early spring, when ice sheets began to break up, the penguins waddle over long distances (sometimes as far as 31 miles) from their nest to open water to hunt for fish.

Geological records show that these penguins have long been affected by shifts in climate for nearly 45,000 years, with the expansion and melting of glaciers affecting their distribution and breeding grounds. Previously, the melting of some glaciers was beneficial, allowing the penguins to return to rocky breeding grounds that had once been inaccessible. But these benefits of warming have now reached a tipping point.

While these little birds do not thrive when it is too cold, recent population trends suggest they also do not thrive when there is excessive warmth. Warming sea surface temperatures are likely to create conditions in which the penguins will simply not be able to rear chicks.

Researchers report that the climate change impact on the birds is likely to be site-specific, with some regions of the continents more affected than others. For example, colonies are already in decline (by almost 80%) across the West Antarctic Peninsula, which is one of the most rapidly warming places on earth. This region has had the most years with warmer than normal sea surface temperatures, called “novel climate,” and climate models predict this trend will continue in the future.

Still, there is a little hope for the Adélie penguins. Because the effects of warming climates are likely to be site specific, it is possible that there will be refugia areas, or areas that have a relatively unaltered climate. One such place is Cape Adare, a peninsula far south in East Antarctica. This suggests that the populations of penguins that survive will be concentrated in the south over the next century.

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Although this may be a foreign concept to many, eating insects is a common practice in many cultures. Insect meals could be a more environment-friendly protein source than meat. Architecture firm, Terreform ONE, has built a shelter to raise edible crickets and promote insect consumption.

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Great whites have been swimming near the coast of Cape Cod every summer since 2009. But this year, residents can use an app to track where these large sharks have been spotted. 

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy launched the app "Sharktivity" on July 1. It can be downloaded for free on iPhones. The app notifies beach goers when a shark has been spotted nearby. People can also report their own shark spottings to the app.

The president of the conservancy said the app can be used to raise public awareness and can function as a beach patrol alert. 

This summer, the first great white shark of this season was tagged on June 17 off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts. The second shark was seen on June 20 off Nauset Beach. And, if last year is any indication, the citizens of Cape Cod should expect to see more great whites as the summer progresses. 

The sharks often hunt off the coast of Cape Cod because of the area's large seal population. Last year, beaches were closed several times last season because groups of sharks were repeatedly seen approaching the shore.

But beachgoers shouldn't worry too much. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, sharks killed only six people in 2015. 

To help stave off any lurking fears you may have, though, Discovery Channel and NOAA Fisheries Service offer some helpful tips to avoid being attacked by a shark:

• Swim in groups. Sharks are more likely to attack people swimming alone.
• Avoid swimming at dawn and dusk, when sharks usually feed.
• Don't enter the water with any kind of open cut.
• Take off shiny jewelry before swimming. Jewelry looks like fish scales in the water, and it is more likely to attract sharks.
• Try not to splash. Sharks may mistake all this splashing for an injured prey (in other words, an easy meal).

While it's easy to be afraid of sharks if you've seen Steven Spielberg's 1975 thriller "Jaws," swimmers really don't have too much to worry about. And "Sharktivity" will let you know if there is a shark nearby. 

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Organic food has become increasingly popular over recent years.

A large number of restaurants and stores now offer organic food and produce. And, the organic sector grew from $3.2 billion in 2008 to $5.5 billion in 2014, according to the Organic Farming Research Foundation. 

But buying organic is not without its controversy. While its proponents claim it might be better for the environment and your health, others say its benefits are exaggerated. 

Here is a list of the claimed benefits of organic production.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines organic food production as creating a system that relies on ecosystem management, instead of external agricultural inputs, such as feed, fertilizers, plant protection products, cleaning agents, and additives.

Source: FAO

In the 1960s, Rachel Carson's released "Silent Spring," describing how the pesticide DDT was damaging the environment. The pesticide was banned in 1972 as a result. From that point inwards, organic farming became very popular because it didn't rely on pesticides at all.

Source: LiveScience

In fact, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, additives, and irradiation (a process where food is exposed to high doses of radiation to kill bacteria) all aren't allowed in organic farming.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Power was partially restored in Taiwan on Friday after a powerful typhoon slammed into the island's eastern coast with ferocious winds and torrential rains, killing two people and injuring 72.

Typhoon Nepartak made landfall early morning in Taitung county, grounding planes and fishing boats. More than 15,000 people were evacuated.

In the Philippine capital Manila and outlying provinces, government work and classes were suspended Friday as typhoon-induced monsoon rains drenched many regions. Rescuers used rubber boats to move people around in waist-high floodwaters.

By late morning, Nepartak had weakened to a medium-strength typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds of 163 kilometers (100 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 230 kph (143 mph), Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said. It was forecast to reach mainland China's Fujian province Saturday morning.

In Taiwan, about 430,000 households were affected by power cuts, but half of them had electricity restored in the afternoon.

The island's railway services also have been suspended, while more than 600 domestic and international flights were canceled on Friday.

Although the typhoon was losing power, disaster response officials said they remained concerned that the heavy rains would trigger floods and landslides in the rugged terrain.

Taiwanese authorities reported that more than 15,400 people have been evacuated from 14 counties and cities.

Nepartak is a Micronesian word for a local warrior.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

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From John D. Rockefeller to the Beverly Hillbillies, Americans have been drilling oil for over a century. All that drilling has left millions of abandoned wells pockmarking the land across the country.

Wells of course contribute to climate change when we extract the oil and burn it for fuel, but they can have an unsettling impact after they've stopped producing, too.

In fact, scientists think oil wells that have been abandoned may be a major source of methane emissions, silently poisoning our atmosphere long after they've been forgotten.

Methane is classified as a greenhouse gas because it is contributing to global warming. It actually has more potent effects than carbon dioxide does in the short term because it warms much faster in the first few decades it's released into the atmosphere. And without special tools, you can't even tell it's there: It's odorless and invisible to the naked eye.

When researchers estimate how much methane gas is polluting the planet, they calculate it two ways. In top-down analyses, they look at the total emissions coming from a particular area. Bottom-up studies measure emissions from specific sources.

But the top-down estimate always seems to be higher than the bottom-up one. That means there has to be a major source missing from the calculation.

Abandoned wells could be the source of this gap. Around 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells across the US could potentially be leaking methane into the atmosphere.

Just in Pennsylvania, a 2014 study found, abandoned wells could account for 4–7% of the total man-made methane emissions in the state.

What's more, these major sources of pollution are often totally invisible.

Briana Mordick, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Tech Insider that depending on how a company abandons a well, you may not be able to tell it was there at all.

If they cut the top off and bury it, for instance, it could be leaking to the air or underground without anyone knowing. Abandoned wells not only have the potential to poison our atmosphere; they could contaminate drinking water, too.

"Often the state may not even know where all these wells are if the records have been lost over time," she said. "You could have a well leaking, but no one knows that it's there."

The best way to plug up a well is with steel casing and cement. There is no federal standard for what companies should do with a well once they're done drilling, though, so they follow a patchwork of state laws instead.

But many of these state laws were enacted in the last few decades, meaning many wells probably didn't have to follow any standards before then. Mordick said she's even seen wells plugged with tree trunks because the steel was removed when the country needed it during World War II.

In Texas these days, most companies plug their own wells, media relations officer Ramona Nye from the state's Railroad Commission told Tech Insider in an email. If the company can't pay for it, the state plugs the well using fees collected from the oil and gas industry.

A similar program exists in Pennsylvania, but it's only scratching the surface. It doesn't come close to addressing all the retired wells that could be out there, most of which have simply been lost to history.

"Since the inception of the program, approximately 3,000 of the 12,000 identified orphan or abandoned wells have been plugged," Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection program manager Seth Pelepko said in an emailed statement. "Historical drilling estimates for the state suggest that there may be upwards of 200,000 abandoned wells that are not presently accounted for."

It's these missing abandoned wells that could really be causing a problem, because we don't even know where they are. If we can find them, we can plug them properly.

The AP reported that many of the state agencies tasked with finding and plugging these wells are under-funded, partly due to the worst oil bust in decades the industry is experiencing now.

"You could be talking about thousands or tens of thousands of wells that no longer have an owner of record that are now the state's responsibility to deal with, but they most likely don't have adequate resources to actually deal with those," Mordick said. "Then we have a potentially enormous environmental problem on our hands."

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Flight and the enormous industry built around it have changed the way we live. Today, 113 years after the Wright brothers first took to the sky, airplanes transport 37 billion passengers a year, deliver one third of the world's trade, and support 63 million jobs.

And the industry continues to expand as engines and aircraft become lighter, quicker, and quieter than ever before. This growth has set an expectation of constant improvement in aviation. But the digital technology that could have the greatest impact is only just beginning to come to market.

Digital innovation is what will bring smart machines, advanced analytics and people together. It is the internet of things at an industrial level, where sensors gather data for software analysis and decision making.

The implications for aviation are enormous.

Welcome to Digital Industry Insider

Business Insider is partnering with GE on Digital Industry Insider to explore what the intersection of digital and industry means — for business and for the wider world around us.

Our coverage begins at Farnborough International Airshow, the trade show where the latest in aviation technology is announced and implemented. As the major industry players compete for position in this new landscape, we'll be there to tell you exactly what's happening.

Here's a look at the key themes we'll be exploring at the industry’s main event.

Where digital is taking hold

Operations
Challenges: Time lost to operational issues, unplanned maintenance and inspections impose a direct cost on airlines. It’s estimated that simply sitting idle, across the tarmac or in the air, costs an operator $81 every minute.

Opportunities: Digital applications are expected to significantly reduce the incidence and expense of these issues. For example, engineers will know the maintenance required before a plane touches down as digital twins simulate the wear and tear on an aircraft’s systems and parts.

During any given flight, it’s estimated that travel time, fuel use, and flight path are 18% to 22% inefficient. –GE

Personalization

Challenges: People have come to expect continual improvements in the goods and services they purchase. In aviation, the focus for improvement is on customer experience, with over half of the world’s  airlines investing in major programs in personalization.

Opportunities: Digital applications are leading this initiative. Passengers will soon be able to track and control their luggage remotely, and flight attendants sense individual’s sleep patterns to accommodate them accordingly.

“It's all about showing the business what is possible and what the technology could do for them and their customers.” – Tim Graham, Technology Innovation and Development Manager at Virgin Atlantic

Environment

Challenges: Aircraft have dramatically improved in fuel efficiency, but not enough to keep pace with the industry’s growth. So while fuel per passenger kilometer has come down 70% since the 1960’s, and aircraft are 75% quieter today, the sheer volume of traffic is increasing environmental impacts.

Opportunities: Digital applications are already reducing the environmental impact of the industry. Pilots can follow pre-programmed landing patterns that save energy and improve safety, while airlines are analysing data to optimise routes and altitudes to reduce emissions.

An estimated one per cent reduction in jet fuel use alone could save the industry $30 billion over 15 years. –BSA

Economics

Challenges: The commercial aviation industry trades on low margins and high volume. The smallest changes affected by fuel, training, disruptions and maintenance have a disproportionate impact on the profitability of an airline.

Opportunities: The business impact of the digital improvements above are obvious; less downtime, better service and higher margins. However, these benefits will only flow to those that invest in and embrace digital technology.

37% of airlines have already allocated budget for implementing the internet of things. –SITA 2015 Airline IT Trends Survey

Follow Digital Industry Insider at Farnborough International Airshow as we explore the challenges and opportunities afforded by digital innovation.

Farnborough International Airshow Highlights
July 11–17, 2016
• The largest aircraft on the planet, the Airlander 10.

• Flying demonstrations by F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

• The world’s biggest jet engine, the GE9x.

• Billions of dollars in order commitments. 


SEE ALSO: More Digital Industry Insider

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Yellowstone is well known for its Old Faithful geyser and its stunning wildlife.

But the national park also sits atop a supervolcano, simmering just under the surface. You can see some of the evidence of its active state in the hydrothermal activity that bubbles up, including Old Faithful, which shoots water every few hours.

Supervolcanos are characterized as volcanic centers that have had eruptions that covered more than 240 cubic miles. The US has two: one at Yellowstone and another at Long Valley in California.

Yellowstone has had three major events in the past 2.1 million years, which led to the creation of the calderas, or large volcanic craters.

It has been hundreds of thousands of years since a major volcanic eruption. The last one was about 174,000 years ago, and it led to the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which extended the Yellowstone Lake.

So what would happen if it were to erupt again?

Scientists don't think Yellowstone's supervolcano would be erupting any time soon (at least not in the next thousand years). So if you're planning a trip there, you shouldn't be too concerned.

If it did erupt, it could have some pretty extreme effects on the surrounding areas.

For starters, the eruption could emit ash that would expand over 500 miles (seen below). For comparison, this map shows the area that the Mount St. Helens' 1980 eruption ash reached.

Molten lava more than 1,000 degrees oozing from an eruption might be less of a concern than the ash. The eruption would likely cover the ground with as much as 4 inches of gray ash, which could be detrimental to the crops growing in the Midwest.

Along with the ash, the supervolcano would spew a whole bunch of gasses, including sulfur dioxide, a gas that can lead to acid rain as well as global cooling as it reflects the sun away from the Earth.

The explosion likely wouldn't wipe out human life, but it certainly would be destructive, especially to the western half of the US.

In the meantime, researchers are keeping a close watch on Yellowstone to check for warning signs that an eruption might be underway.

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NOW WATCH: There’s a live supervolcano underneath Yellowstone National Park — here’s what would happen if it erupted

Being surrounded by iridescent turquoise beaches for 10 days has a way of getting you to ask the tough questions.

Questions like: Why are some beaches graced with perfectly clear water, while others seem to get stuck with the murky grey stuff?

Fortunately for those of us who live near grayish waters, the answer almost never has to do with the amount of human pollution nearby. As it happens, several factors play a role in distinguishing the sparkly, blue water of certain coasts from the dirty, puddle-like water on other beaches — from the rotation of the planet to the ingredients in the water.

Earth spins

The water in Earth's oceans moves from west to east as a result of the planet's rotation. This movement creates a phenomenon known as upwelling along certain coasts, wherein the warmer surface waters of the ocean move out to sea and are replaced by deeper, colder, sediment-rich waters.

In the Pacific Ocean — a body of water that extends from the east coast of Japan, the Philippines, and Australia all the way to the west coast of the US, western Mexico, and Chile — this has a side effect of turning some waters brownish-gray.

By contrast, the waters off the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic don't experience this kind of upwelling. Reefs and other physical structures off their coasts act as barriers, breaking the force of the moving water and dispersing its energy. So by the time waves reach the coast, they're too calm to generate the sort of water-churning patterns that stir up the waters of Santa Barbara or San Diego.

But it's not just the Bahamas or the Dominican Republic that have crystal-clear oceans, and calm waters aren't the only factor at work here. Certain bodies of water, like those off the coasts of the Philippines or Hawaii or those bordering the Turks and Caicos Islands, for example, may have lots of waves and still remain clear. In these areas, the water's clarity has more to do with what's in the water than what's around it.

It's about what's in the water

Somewhat counterintuitively, cloudy, grayish-looking water is often richer in nutrients than clear, sparkling water. That's because that murky water is typically home to more living organisms, including phytoplankton (algae) and zooplankton (jellyfish and other ocean-wandering animals), which in turn make the water appear cloudy.

Sediments play a role in this, too. Along certain coasts, finer particles like sand and silt can add to the water's murkiness since they're easily agitated and stay afloat for long periods. On the other hand, the sediments off clearer coasts may be heavier and coarser. Instead of fine sand, these sediments are often made up of things like pieces of shells and chunks of dead coral, which are often tougher to stir up.

So there you have it — some beaches may be murkier-looking than others, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're dirtier or any less worthy of enjoying!

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NOW WATCH: Don't believe this common myth about jellyfish stings

The way clouds cover the earth has dramatically changed over the last few decades, and what it means for our planet isn't very good.

Using satellite data to track cloud patterns since 1983, a new study published in Nature found that, because of climate change, cloud coverage has shifted toward the poles.

This has caused the subtropical dry zones — between 20 and 30 degrees latitude in both hemispheres — to expand. In addition, the researchers found that the cloud tops are stretching higher into the atmosphere.

Taken together, these cloud changes can accelerate the warming of the planet.

Because of the orbital relationship between the earth and the sun, there's more solar radiation in the tropic regions than at the poles, so cloud coverage in these areas is particularly important. Clouds' bright-white nature increases the planet's albedo, or the earth's ability to reflect the sun's energy and radiation back into space.

So, without those clouds over the tropics, there will be less reflection and the earth is liable to warm faster.

In addition, the rising cloud tops increase their "greenhouse effect," meaning that clouds are now trapping more warm air beneath them. This could also accelerate the warming trend of the planet.

While most climate models predicted these kinds of changes, clouds have been notoriously difficult to study because of their shape-shifting nature, and there had been some disagreement between the climate models related to how clouds would be affected.

Still, this study is further evidence that significant climate change has already begun, and that future changes could mean more warming than was previously thought.

"I guess what was surprising is that a lot of times we think of climate change as something that's going to occur in the future," Joel Norris, a climate scientist at the University of California at San Diego, told NPR. "This is happening right now, it's happened during my lifetime. It was a bit startling."

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NOW WATCH: This mystifying cloud is made of birds

A hole in Earth's ozone layer created by man-made substances could be healed by the 2050s.

Produced by Noah Friedman. Original reporting by Jessica Orwig.

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Triple-digit heat will surge into the central US next week, dominating areas from Texas to Minnesota.

"Heat will build to dangerous levels and bring the highest temperatures of the summer so far to many areas of the central United States later next week," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

The heat wave will be dangerous and could even be life-threatening if proper precautions are not taken. Pets, the elderly, children and anyone with respiratory or cardiovascular disease are most vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.

Even healthy individuals who physically exert themselves and fail to take precautions in the upcoming conditions could succumb to dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Temperatures will climb well into the 90s F with high humidity across North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky on multiple days.

Highs of 100 or higher are in store from Texas and Louisiana to South Dakota and Iowa during one or more days from next Wednesday to next Sunday.

The highest temperatures of the summer yet and the first 100-degree readings are in store for locations such as Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska, Huron, South Dakota; Little Rock, Arkansas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Nashville; Oklahoma City; St. Louis; and Dallas.

AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will average 5-10 degrees higher than the actual temperature and could be 10-20 degrees higher in some cases, especially during the midday and afternoon hours. This means that how warm it really feels outside could range between 115 and 120 in some locations for a time.

The RealFeel Temperature factors in many weather variables, when compared to the heat index, which takes into consideration only the temperature and humidity.

People should seek relief from the heat by spending time in an air-conditioned environment. If air conditioning is not available, a fan and cool showers or baths can provide some relief.

Those who must work in the heat should increase their intake of water and take breaks in the shade as much as possible.

Where hard manual labor is necessary, consider doing the task during the early mornings or during the evening in order to avoid the peak heat of the day.

Remember never to leave children or pets unattended in vehicles. Temperatures inside a vehicle, even with windows partially down, can reach lethal levels in a matter of minutes.

On average, 130 people die each year in the U.S. due to heat-related issues, according to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More people die each year from heat than cold waves, lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods or hurricanes.

On a positive note, the weather pattern will offer an excellent opportunity to hit swimming holes, lakes or pools.

While occasional thunderstorms will affect portions of the northern Plains, Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley, most areas will be free of rain. AccuWeather MinuteCast® can be of short-term assistance for planning outdoor activities.

"Later next weekend into the end of July, the core of the heat will settle westward toward the Rockies," Pastelok said.

Before the end of July, temperatures will throttle back, and thunderstorms may become more frequent in parts of the region.

"However, even with another pattern shift later in the month, temperatures may still average above normal over much of the Plains and part of the Midwest," Pastelok said.

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People in New Jersey are being treated to images of a coast that looks like something straight out of the Caribbean. The bright turquoise water is even visible from space, as you can see in the image below, from NASA's Earth Observatory, which was taken on July 6:

While it might look beautiful from space, the drastic color change pictured above is actually happening for a counterintuitive reason.

An upset in the delicate balance of life in the water has spawned the exponential growth of certain species of algae, or phytoplankton. These growth events are called phytoplankton blooms, and they can happen for a variety of reasons — some benign, others harmful.

In this case, scientists think that the bloom was caused by upwelling, an often harmless phenomenon that occurs when winds blow surface waters away from the coast and deeper, colder, and nutrient-dense waters rise up to fill the gap.

"These upwellings occur every summer and fuel large phytoplankton blooms," Oscar Schofield, a marine scientist at Rutgers University, told NASA. "Studies have suggested these summer upwelling events occur several times each summer and lead to large blooms that can discolor the water."

Scientists don't know yet if the current bloom will cause any harm, but so far it appears to be benign.

Some blooms are harmful both for the creatures that live in the water and the people who live nearby. The overgrowth of phytoplankton can deplete the oxygen in the water and cause fish and other marine species to suffocate. It can also lead to the production of toxins, which can harm both aquatic life and humans.

Last year, a summer bloom off of the coasts of New York and New Jersey grew to massive proportions. Researchers said that it was likely influenced by local pollution, such as sewage being dumped into the water.

On the West Coast, another 2015 summer phytoplankton bloom created marblelike turquoise patterns that extended from central Washington to the Oregon-California border. Marine biologists there found substantial populations of Pseudo-nitzschia, a genus of diatoms that produces domoic acid, in the waters. When concentrated in the flesh of crabs and shellfish, the acid is a neurotoxin and can cause shellfish poisoning in people.

Don't be fooled: The turquoise color of these blooms is very different from the clear waters of the Caribbean.

While the bright turquoise water you see in the images above might look like the pristine waters you see in the Caribbean, they couldn't be more different.

Somewhat counterintuitively, cloudy, grayish-looking water — like the stuff you normally see off the Jersey Shore — is actually often richer in nutrients than the clear, sparkling waters of the Caribbean. That's because that murky water is typically home to more living organisms, including phytoplankton (like the stuff seen growing exponentially in the pictures above) and zooplankton (jellyfish and other ocean-wandering animals). These organisms make the water appear cloudy.

In the Caribbean, on the other hand, there are very few nutrients in the water, which leaves the water looking sparkly and crystal-clear.

Sediments play a role in this, too. Off the coasts of California and New York, for example, finer particles like sand and silt can add to the water's murkiness since they're easily agitated and stay afloat for long periods. On the other hand, the sediments off clearer coasts may be heavier and coarser. Instead of fine sand, these sediments are often made up of things like pieces of shells and chunks of dead coral, which are often tougher to stir up.

So if you're thinking that the turquoise water off of New Jersey is a sign that the water is at all like the oceans of the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas, think again.

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NOW WATCH: Don't believe this common myth about jellyfish stings

The aviation industry is booming. The International Air Transport Association forecasts that total passenger numbers will double to 7 billion by 2034, as China overtakes the US as the world’s largest market.

It’s an incredibly rapid expansion which has significant impact on the environment. But with the acceleration of the development and adoption of clean technology (or "cleantech"), it’s a challenge that can be met.

That’s the opinion of Ron van Manen, Programme Manager at Clean Sky, who talked to Digital Industry Insider at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow.

“We need to take advantage of the window in time, because the next all-new aircraft are likely to be in the second half of the next decade. So you want to use that time to your advantage in terms of absorbing as much technology as you can,” van Manen says.

Clean Sky is a public-private partnership that operates between the European Union and the aviation sector to reduce the environmental impact of the industry. Their current Horizon 2020 program, with €8 billion in funding, is charged with increasing the uptake of cleantech in aviation.

“It is about accelerating technology maturation, so getting things to a point where you’ve de-risked it so the market can absorb the amount of investment needed to adopt it.”

Early results of the program

One of Clean Sky’s biggest projects to date is focussed on enabling wings to fly with what’s called a laminar flow, which means that there is little or no turbulence over the wing.

“This will get you a seven to ten percent fuel burn advantage compared to current technology wings, where there’s a roughness. Like water coming through a pipe, if it goes too fast it starts to bubble and fizz and you get more turbulence,” van Manen explains.

Clean Sky is working with Airbus to build and test these new wings. The technology is set for test flight in 2017, when they will take an existing aircraft, cut the wings off, put very high tolerance composite wings on, and test fly it.

The technology being developed through the program is likely to be ten years away from being in the marketplace. But it’s a patient game worth playing, according to van Manen.

“These type of projects bringing companies together to work on a single piece of technology is a huge de-risking exercise,” he explains. “So it brings the risk down to a level where you’re doing things in five years like this, and you might be taking twenty years out of the cycle, where private enterprise would be very slowly working on this. So you can accelerate cleantech.”

The three digital tools making this possible

Van Manen identifies three key digital technologies as improving and accelerating the environmental sustainability of aviation.

The first is the digitization of aircraft — or avionics — which impacts the performance through, for example, shorter routes and more accurate takeoffs and landings.

“Then if you look at digital, things are being enabled by better algorithms, better computers, better computing, digitization,” van Manen says. “Being able to simulate, as opposed to test, means you can go through a lot of simulation and then only a thin validation layer after that in the physical world.”

“You get to a point where in a very compressed timeframe, rather than going down the route of having four or five alternative configurations and running wind tunnel tests and taking data, you can look at 100 different configurations and run computer simulations over a couple of days and very quickly find what the optimum is.”

Engineers can then zoom in on those top results and take things further, significantly shortening the design cycle.

The third element is "factories 3.0," or factories of the future, which are really starting to kick in now. What we’re seeing is the robotization of production; high production rates in the aircraft industry in an economically viable and technically safe way.

“It’s becoming a game changer, this digitization, not just the robot or part assisted manufacturing, but the whole flow from the digital design through to the machine operations and manufacturing.”

And van Manen is optimistic that the pace of cleantech innovation can accelerate further as digital applications continue to improve.

“I think there’s a lot that we don’t yet know, in terms of what technology can bring.”

Learn more about GE Aviation.

This content was co-created by GE and BI Studios for Digital Industry Insider.

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Anyone who's flown on an airplane knows that delays can cause major headaches. But those delays, and the costs associated with them, are an even bigger deal for airlines. GE has created an innovative problem-solving process called FastWorks, which airlines are using to address customer issues more quickly and efficiently. We talked to GE Aviation's Phil Balagtas to understand how this process works and what effect it could have on aviation industry.

This content was co-created by GE and BI Studios for Digital Industry Insider.

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The next time you search for flights and wonder why prices seem so high (or low), consider that what you're paying for is more than just a seat. In fact, quite a lot goes into calculating ticket prices. Here's a breakdown of where your money goes.

This content was originally published on Atlas and is part of Digital Industry Insider.

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