Research alert: Study finds that school-based online surveillance companies monitor students 24/7

University of California - San Diego

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A recent study from researchers at University of California San Diego is the first detailed assessment of companies offering school-based online surveillance services such as social media monitoring, student communications monitoring and online activity monitoring to middle and high schools. Schools pay for the services directly or may request federal grant funding to cover the costs. 

Originally intended to support students’ mental health and prevent adverse school events, such as school shootings, the study found that school-based online surveillance companies are extensively monitoring students’ digital behavior, both during and outside of school hours, often using artificial intelligence (AI) with little human oversight or transparency. The study did not delve into success metrics on the original intention of these companies.

The research team identified 14 companies actively marketing online surveillance services frequently beyond school-issued devices and outside of school premises, raising concerns about privacy, equity and oversight.

Key findings include:

• 86% of companies monitor students 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, not just during school hours.

• 71% use AI for automated flagging of “concerning activity;” only 43% use human review teams. The definition of “concerning activity” was not generally clearly defined by the companies but typically appeared to include topics such as suicidal ideation and violence.

• 93% monitor school-issued devices; 36% also claim to monitor student-owned phones and computers but did not clarify if they monitor all activity on students’ personal devices.

• 29% generate student “risk scores” based on online behavior, which can be viewed at the student, classroom or school level.

Companies cited a variety of ways they gain access to student digital activity, including browser plug-ins, API integrations and device software. Further, the study found that companies rarely disclose pricing or performance data, and public-facing information is often vague or incomplete. Many companies collect and flag sensitive data, including students’ private messages and search histories. Some provide dashboards to administrators, after-hours alert systems and even direct crisis intervention, such as contacting law enforcement. However, most companies offer little to no public information about their algorithms, potential error rates or bias mitigation strategies.

The authors suggest that further research is needed on the prevalence of monitoring adoption across U.S. schools as well as how teachers and school administrators respond to alerts provided by the monitoring.

The study was published on July 8, 2025, in Journal of Medical Internet Research and was led by Cinnamon S. Bloss, Ph.D., professor at the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and the director of the Center for Empathy and Technology, situated within the UC San Diego Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion. Alison O’Daffer, student in the San Diego State University - UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in clinical psychology, is the first author of the study.

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Journal

Journal of Medical Internet Research

DOI

10.2196/71998 

 

International “State of the Climate” report confirms record-high greenhouse gases, global temperatures, global sea level, and ocean heat in 2024

American Meteorological Society

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Geographical distribution of selected notable climate anomalies and events in 2024. (Fig. 1.1 in The State of the Climate in 2024.)

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Credit: "The State of the Climate in 2024" (c) American Meteorological Society, 2025

According to the 35th annual State of the Climate report, greenhouse gas concentrations, the global temperature across land and oceans, global sea level, and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2024, and glaciers lost the most ice of any year on record.

The international review of the world’s climate, published by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), is based this year on contributions from 589 scientists in 58 countries. For decades, the State of the Climate has provided the most comprehensive annual update on Earth’s climate⁠ — illuminating not only key indicators like global CO2 but also notable weather events, regional phenomena, and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments located on land, water, and ice, as well as in space.

“The State of the Climate report is an annual scientific landmark,” says American Meteorological Society President David J. Stensrud. “It is a truly global effort, in which hundreds of researchers from universities, government agencies, and more come together to provide a careful, rigorously peer-reviewed report on our planet’s climate. High-quality observations and findings from all over the world are incorporated, underscoring the vital importance of observations to monitor, and climate science to understand, our environment. The results affirm the reality of our changing climate, with 2024 global temperatures reaching record highs."  

Notable findings from the international report include:

• Earth’s greenhouse gas concentrations were the highest on record. Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide ⁠— Earth’s major atmospheric greenhouse gases⁠ — once again reached record-high concentrations in 2024. The globally averaged CO2 level reached 422.8±0.1 parts per million, a 52% increase from the pre-industrial level of ~278 ppm. Annual growth in global mean CO2 has increased from 0.6±0.1 ppm yr−1 in the early 1960s to an average of 2.4 ppm yr−1 during 2011–20. The growth from 2023 to 2024 was 3.4 ppm, equal with 2015/16 as the highest in the record since the 1960s.

• Record temperatures were notable across the globe. A new annual global surface temperature record was set for the second year in a row, with records dating back as far as the mid-1800s. A range of scientific analyses indicate that the annual global surface temperature was 1.13 to 1.30 degrees F (0.63 to 0.72 degrees C) above the 1991–2020 average. A strong El Niño that began in mid-2023 and ended in boreal spring 2024 contributed to the record warmth. The last time two consecutive years reached a new global surface temperature record was in 2015 and 2016, when a strong El Niño developed during the latter half of 2015 and dissipated by May 2016. All six major global temperature datasets used for analysis in the report agree that the last 10 years (2015–24) were the 10 warmest on record. 

• The water cycle continued to intensify. Higher global temperatures impacted the water cycle. Water evaporation from land in the Northern Hemisphere reached one of the highest annual values on record. The global atmosphere contained the largest amount of water vapor on record, with over one-fifth of the globe recording their highest values in 2024. This far exceeded 2023, where only one-tenth of the globe experienced record-high values of total column water vapor. Precipitation was globally high; 2024 was the third-wettest year since records began in 1983. Extreme rainfall, as characterized by the annual maximum daily rainfall over land, was the wettest on record. In April, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates recorded 9.8 in (250 mm) of rain in 24 hours — nearly three times its annual average.

• El Niño conditions contributed to record-high sea surface temperatures. Strong El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that emerged by the end of 2023 continued into early 2024, with neutral conditions returning in boreal spring. Daily globally averaged sea surface temperatures were at record-high levels from the beginning of 2024 until late June. The mean annual global sea surface temperature in 2024 was a record high, surpassing the previous record of 2023 by 0.11 of a degree F (0.06 of a degree C). Approximately 91% of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine heatwave in 2023, which is defined as sea surface temperatures in the warmest 10% of all recorded data in a particular location for at least five days. Only 26% of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine cold spell. The ocean experienced a record-high global average of 100 marine heatwave days and a new record low of nine marine cold spell days.

• Ocean heat and global sea level were the highest on record. Over the past half-century, the oceans have stored more than 90% of the excess energy trapped in Earth’s system by greenhouse gases and other factors. The global ocean heat content, measured from the ocean’s surface to a depth of 2000 m (approximately 6561 ft), continued to increase, and reached new record highs in 2024. Global mean sea level was a record high for the 13th consecutive year, reaching about 4.0 in (105.8 mm) above the average for 1993 when satellite altimetry measurements began. Warming oceans have contributed an average of 1.5±0.3 mm to the rise per year since 2005, while melt from ice sheets and glaciers have contributed an average of 2.1±0.4 mm during that same period.

• The Arctic saw near-record warmth. The Arctic had its second-warmest year in the 125-year record, with autumn (October to December) having been record warm. During the summer, an intense August heatwave brought all-time record-high temperatures to parts of the northwest North American Arctic, and record-high August monthly mean temperatures at Svalbard Airport reached more than 52°F (11°C). In September, temperatures above 86°F (30°C) were observed in Norway, marking the latest time of the year in the observational record that such high temperatures have occurred there. During the 2023/24 snow season, there were large differences in how long snow remained on the ground, from the shortest to date in the twenty-first century over parts of Canada to at or near the longest in this century in parts of the Nordic and Asian Arctic. The Arctic maximum sea ice extent in 2024 was the second smallest in the 46-year satellite record, while the minimum sea ice extent was the sixth smallest. 

• Antarctica saw continued low sea ice. Following record lows in 2023, net sea ice extent was larger than last year but continued to be well below average during much of 2024. The Antarctic daily minimum and maximum sea ice extents for the year were each the second lowest on record behind 2023, marking a continuation of low and record-low sea ice extent since 2016.

• Glaciers around the world continued to melt. For the second consecutive year, all 58 global reference glaciers across five continents lost mass in 2024, resulting in the greatest average ice loss in the 55-year record. In South America, Venezuela became the first Andes country to register the loss of all glaciers. In Colombia, the Conejeras Glacier was declared extinct, joining the list of glaciers that have disappeared in recent years. 

• Tropical cyclone activity was below average, but storms still set records around the globe. A total of 82 named tropical cyclones were observed during the Northern and Southern Hemispheres’ storm seasons, below the 1991–2020 average of 87 and equal to the number recorded in 2023. Many storms made landfall and some caused major damage. Hurricane Helene brought destruction from Florida to the southern Appalachian Mountains. The storm caused devastating record flooding that contributed to over 200 deaths, the most in the United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Milton impacted Florida’s Gulf Coast just 12 days after Helene affected the region, marking the shortest time between major (Category 3 or higher) hurricane landfalls in Florida. In the northwest Pacific basin, Super Typhoon Yagi became one of the most destructive storms to affect China and Vietnam in recent years, causing more than 800 fatalities.

The State of the Climate report is a peer-reviewed series published annually as a special supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The American Meteorological Society makes the full report openly available online. 

About the American Meteorological Society

The American Meteorological Society (www.ametsoc.org) advances the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society. Founded in 1919, AMS has a membership of around 12,000 professionals, students, and weather enthusiasts. AMS publishes 12 scientific journals in the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences; sponsors more than 12 conferences annually; and offers numerous programs and services to the weather, water, and climate community

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Journal

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

New research reveals the spark that ignites Mediterranean marine heatwaves

CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change

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The Mediterranean Sea is particularly susceptible to marine heatwaves – such as the record breaking 2022 heatwave which was characterized by anomalously high sea surface temperatures – due to the interplay of air-sea heat fluxes and local oceanographic processes, leading to significant impacts on marine ecosystems and coastal communities. 

A new study, led by CMCC, brings the scientific community one step closer to identifying the driving forces behind these events. Analyzing over hundreds of marine heatwave events identified through advanced satellite data and clustering analysis, the study shows that persistent subtropical ridges – intrusions of warm air from over the African continent into Europe, often informally referred to as African anticyclones – do far more than simply raise air temperatures. 

While subtropical ridges occur frequently in summer, roughly every 2 days, their persistence is what creates the critical conditions for marine heatwave formation. During marine heatwave onset, ridge occurrence becomes persistent – the high-pressure system associated with the ridge becomes stationary, disrupting the normal eastward movement of weather systems.

When these ridges settle over the Mediterranean basin for five consecutive days or more, they cause the prevailing winds to still, which then leads the sea to stop shedding heat and surface waters warm rapidly.

“Our study identifies the favourable conditions leading up to marine heatwaves and reveals that they are triggered by persistent subtropical ridges which weaken strong winds in the area,” says CMCC researcher and co-author of the study Ronan McAdam.

The findings demonstrate that 63.3%, 46.4%, and 41.3% of marine heatwaves in the Western, Central, and Eastern Mediterranean respectively occur during periods with both subtropical ridges and reduced wind conditions – a remarkable concentration considering these combined conditions only occur during 8.6% to 14.6% of all summer days.

When subtropical ridges persist for several days, the resulting decrease in wind speeds causes a substantial reduction in heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere. This heat loss accounts for over 70% of the total heat flux in affected regions, and drives the majority of the ocean temperature change. 

"It is very satisfying to identify the mechanics behind a phenomena we have been studying for years," says lead author Giulia Bonino.

Furthermore, likelihood ratios across three Mediterranean clusters – 26 events in the Western Mediterranean, 18 in the Central Mediterranean, and 14 in the Eastern Mediterranean – reveal that when a subtropical ridge and weak winds strike together, a heatwave is four to five times more likely to form. 

The discovery of this statistical relationship provides the foundation for more accurate prediction systems that could help protect vulnerable marine ecosystems and dependent industries from future extreme events. For example, in the Gulf of Lion subsurface temperatures climbed by almost 7°C over just two days during the most extreme events, illustrating the dramatic speed at which marine heatwaves can develop and the need for accurate predictions and effective responses. 

"This was a great collaboration between oceanographers and atmospheric scientists – joining expertise and passion counts," remarks co-author Ronan McAdam. By combining the subtleties of meteorology with high-resolution ocean data, the team shows that early-warning systems can move beyond temperature thresholds to embrace the physics that actually triggers an event.

With Mediterranean seas warming faster than the global average, knowing with accuracy when a marine heatwave is about to strike is essential. “Our work highlights previously unidentified processes that are essential for accurately representing Mediterranean MHWs,” says McAdam. “These results are critical to improving forecast systems and Earth system models, representing a key step toward effective early-warning and mitigation strategies in the basin.”

 

For more information:

The study's innovative approach combines hierarchical clustering analysis with ERA5 reanalysis data at high resolution to identify common patterns across the basin. The work emerges from CMCC's in-house dataset on marine heatwaves, and feeds directly into the EU Horizon ObsSea4Clim project. This work will be used to guide future developments of CMCC’s models, including the CMCC's Mediterranean Forecasting System, which is available and used by a wide range of stakeholders across the region.

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Journal

Nature Geoscience

DOI

10.1038/s41561-025-01762-9 

Article Title

Mediterranean summer marine heatwaves triggered by weaker winds under subtropical ridges

Article Publication Date

14-Aug-2025

Disclaimer: AA

New 'forever chemicals' found in whale blubber challenge our understanding of PFAS

Stockholm University

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Killer whale

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Credit: Anna Roos, Swedish Museum of Natural History

Scientists from Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural history, in collaboration with partners in Greenland and Canada, have identified a previously undocumented class of PFAS* in the blubber of killer whales.

The new study, published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, reveals the presence of five fluorotelomer sulfones—highly fluorinated, lipophilic (fat-loving) chemicals never before reported in wildlife. Unlike well studied PFAS, which typically accumulate in protein-rich tissues such as liver and blood, these new substances accumulate in fat-rich blubber.

“This is the first time that highly fluorinated PFAS have been shown to preferentially accumulate in fat,” says lead author Mélanie Lauria, formerly a doctoral student at the Department of Environmental Science at Stockholm University and currently at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG). “It challenges the long-held assumption that PFAS primarily bind to proteins and accumulate in the liver or blood. Research has so far focused on a subgroup of PFAS that is “charged” or “polar”, and therefore interact mainly with proteins. The results of this study show that we have overlooked PFAS that are neutral and can interact and accumulate in neutral fats such as blubber.”

Using advanced mass spectrometry techniques, the researchers analysed tissue samples from killer whales sampled in Greenland and Sweden. The newly identified compounds accounted for up to 75 percent of fluorine-containing substances in blubber, but were undetectable in liver tissue—evidence of their fat-loving nature.

“These findings suggest that we may be underestimating the PFAS body burden in marine mammals. Blubber can represent up to half of a marine mammal’s body mass, so neglecting fat-soluble PFAS could significantly undermine the accuracy of exposure assessments,” says co-author Jonathan Benskin, professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University.

According to the authors, monitoring efforts should be expanded to include fat-soluble PFAS in order to better understand the full extent of PFAS exposure in Arctic ecosystems.

The study raises new questions about chemical exposure in apex predators, with implications for environmental and human health—particularly in Arctic regions where marine mammals are part of traditional diets.

The research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program and supported by Indigenous communities in Greenland, who facilitated the legal sampling of whales through subsistence hunting.

*PFAS stands for poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances and is a collective term for a large group of organic compounds with a carbon chain where hydrogen atoms are completely (perfluorinated carbon chain) or partially (polyfluorinated carbon chain) replaced by fluorine atoms.

Contact:
Jonathan Benskin, Stockholm University
Phone: +4676 426 5490, E-mail jon.benskin@aces.su.se

Mélanie Lauria, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG)
Phone: +41 77 948 20 03, E-mail: melanie.lauria@eawag.ch.

More information

The article “Discovery of Fluorotelomer Sulfones in the Blubber of Greenland Killer Whales (Orcinus orca)” is published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00516
DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00516

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Journal

Environmental Science & Technology Letters

DOI

10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00516 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animal tissue samples

Article Title

“Discovery of Fluorotelomer Sulfones in the Blubber of Greenland Killer Whales (Orcinus orca)”

Teens with higher blood levels of PFAS regain more weight after bariatric surgery, study finds

Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC found that the manmade chemicals were linked to greater weight regain and increased waist circumference up to five years after surgery.

Keck School of Medicine of USC

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Adolescents who undergo bariatric surgery face a higher risk of weight regain, which can undermine treatment success and long-term health, if they have elevated blood levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) prior to the procedure, according to new USC research. PFAS are manufactured chemicals used in consumer products that accumulate in the body over time and are increasingly linked to a range of health concerns, including kidney problems, liver damage and various cancers. The findings were just published in the journal Obesity.

Bariatric surgery, a form of weight-loss surgery that alters the digestive system, is an effective treatment for severe obesity that can reduce the risk of long-term health problems such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But many people who get bariatric surgery regain significant weight over time, which can limit the procedure’s long-term health benefits. Researchers believe PFAS exposure may play a role in weight regain because the chemicals are known to disrupt endocrine and metabolic processes.

“With the growing use of weight loss interventions around the world, it’s critical for us to understand the association between PFAS and successful weight loss management, including what this means for long-term outcomes,” said Brittney Baumert, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral research fellow in population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the study’s first author.

With funding from NIH, Baumert and her colleagues conducted the first long-term study linking PFAS exposure to bariatric surgery outcomes in teens. They tracked 186 adolescents for five years, finding that those with higher PFAS blood levels before surgery regained more weight and had greater increases in waist circumference than those with lower PFAS levels. The strongest associations were observed in a class of PFAS known as sulfonic acids, which includes perfluoroctaansulfonaten (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS).

The findings could help health care providers tailor treatment plans to better serve patients, as well as offer hints about the biological mechanisms that underlie the health effects of PFAS. The study also underscores the need for stronger limits on PFAS levels in food packaging, water supplies and other sources of exposure, the researchers said.

“Our study shows a clear association between PFAS exposure and weight-related outcomes in bariatric surgery for adolescents,” Baumert said. “PFAS are a modifiable risk, which is why protective policies are so important to reduce exposure and safeguard public health—especially for vulnerable populations.”

Tracking long-term outcomes

The researchers analyzed data on 186 teens from the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) study who underwent bariatric surgery between 2007 and 2012. Before surgery, blood samples were collected from each patient and tested for levels of seven types of PFAS. Weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were measured before surgery and six months, one year, three years and five years after surgery.

To analyze the data, the researchers divided patients into three groups based on their blood PFAS concentrations: low, medium and high exposure.

Overall, patients with higher blood levels of PFOS, PFHxS and PFHpS gained more weight and had greater increases in waist circumference one to five years post-surgery, compared to patients with lower blood levels of those chemicals.

To illustrate the difference for PFOS, adolescents with a starting body weight of 328 pounds in the low exposure group regained, on average, 35.9 pounds by the five-year mark. But teens of the same weight with the highest PFOS exposure regained, on average, 46.9 pounds.

For PFHpS, teens in the highest exposure group regained weight at an average of 4.3% of their baseline bodyweight per year, compared to 2.7% per year in the lowest exposure group.

Better patient care

The study adds to the mounting evidence supporting stronger regulation of PFAS, the researchers said—particularly in public water supplies, which are the greatest source of exposure.

It also points to potential strategies for improving patient care. Bariatric surgery is costly and invasive, so understanding who is likely to benefit can help providers make informed decisions about the best course of treatment for each individual.

“We’re also interested in exploring whether PFAS exposure is relevant to other weight loss interventions," including GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Baumert said.

In addition, Baumert and her team are investigating the link between PFAS and long-term metabolic health. For example: How might PFAS exposure relate to a person’s risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)? The researchers are now analyzing those connections using data from the Teen-LABS study. 

About this research

In addition to Baumert, the study’s other authors are Elizabeth Costello, Zhenjiang Li, Sarah Rock, Sandrah P. Eckel, Max T. Aung, Rob McConnell, David V. Conti and Lida Chatzi from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California; Justin R. Ryder and Thomas Inge from Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Todd Jenkins and Stavra A. Xanthakos from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Stephanie Sisley from Baylor College of Medicine; Douglas I. Walker from the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; Nikos Stratakis from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain; Damaskini Valvi from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Scott M. Bartell from the Department of Environmental Medicine and Climate Science, University of California, Irvine; Angela L. Slitt from the College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island; Rohit Kohli from the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; and Michele A. La Merrill from the Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (R01ES030691, R01ES029944, R01ES030364, U01HG013288, P30ES007048, R01ES030691, R01ES030364, T32-ES013678, U01HG013288, P30ES007048, U01HG013288, R01ES033688, R21ES035148, P30ES023515, R01ES030691, U2CES030859, R01ES032831, P30ES007048, P2C ES033433, R01ES030364, R21ES029681, R01ES030691, R01ES030364, R01ES029944, P01CA196569, P30ES007048, R01DK128117−01A1 and P42ES027706].

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Journal

Obesity

DOI

10.1002/oby.70009 

Method of Research

Meta-analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

PFAS Exposure and Postoperative Weight Regain in Adolescents After Bariatric Surgery: Findings from the Teen-LABS Study

Article Publication Date

14-Aug-2025