Extreme water temperatures, both hot and cold, result in coral bleaching events throughout the Caribbean. Credit: G. Torda/ARC
AGU News
AGU 2023 Annual Meeting program now online
Staff, freelance and student journalists, along with press officers and institutional writers covering the conference, are eligible for free registration for AGU’s annual meeting (#AGU23), in San Francisco, CA and online 11-15 December. [program][AGU23 Press Center][Press registration and housing][Media advisories]
Research roundup: eclipse science
This Saturday, much of the western U.S. will experience an annular eclipse. What do scientists learn from such events? [eclipse curbs equatorial electrojet][nighttime ionospheric irregularities after an eclipse][eclipses can alter ozone][Triennial Earth-Sun Summit 2024]
Featured research
Extreme ocean warming and cooling result in widespread coral bleaching
In the last 40 years, marine heatwaves and cold spells have resulted in widespread coral bleaching throughout the Caribbean Sea. These events have become more frequent with climate change and are expected to heavily impact reef ecosystems. [JGR Oceans research]
Subglacial rivers melt ice shelves and impact ocean circulation
Below the Antarctic Ice Sheet, rivers carry large volumes of meltwater from the ice’s base to cavities that form beneath protruding ice shelves. A new study of The Amundsen Sea Embayment found these rivers can hasten shelf melting and have extensive impacts on ocean circulation. [JGR Oceans research]
Vegetation curbs debris flows after wildfires
Wildfires leave slopes barren and susceptible to dangerous debris flows after intense rainfall. Researchers found that in the western U.S., recovering two-thirds of an area’s vegetation can stabilize hillslopes and prevent debris flows. [Geophysical Research Letters research]
Historical aurora records reveal shortened solar cycle
Fastidious night sky observations from Korean historical texts provide novel evidence for a short, 8-year solar cycle in the Maunder Minimum, which lasted from 1645 to 1715. The departure from the typical 11-year solar cycle is an important marker for anomalous “grand” minima with exceptionally low magnetic activity, such as the Maunder. [AGU Advances research] [Eos Research Spotlight]
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