11/8/2023: Poorer countries pay heaviest price for climate extremes

Climate change threatens many of the world’s glaciers, including those in the Ruwenzori Mountains of Uganda. A new Earth’s Future study examines 25 glaciers from a range of environments and finds that half will be gone by 2050. Credit: Mandala Travel/flickr

AGU News

AGU launches new journal for AI and machine learning in the geosciences
On Wednesday, AGU announced the launch of the Journal of Geophysical Research: Machine Learning and Computation. The new open access journal is dedicated to research that explores data-driven and computational methodologies based on statistical analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence and mathematical models, with the aim of advancing knowledge in the Earth and space sciences. [press release]

AGU23 housing deadline on 15 November
Press registration for #AGU23 is open and will remain open during the meeting, held in San Francisco and online 11-15 December 2023. Book hotels at the conference rate by 15 November. [AGU23 press center] [AGU23 scientific program]

Press registration for Ocean Sciences 2024 is now open
Press registration for Ocean Sciences 2024 (#OSM24), held in New Orleans and online from 18-23 February 2024, is now open. [media advisory][OSM24 press center]

Featured research

Poorer countries pay heaviest price for climate extremes
Twenty percent of the world’s poorest population has experienced a significant increase in drought-to-downpour events, with some regions enduring a nearly 50% rise in exposure over a 30-year period. These drastic swings have grown in intensity and frequency with climate change and may exacerbate inequalities in an increasingly warmer world. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Half of these glaciers will disappear by 2050
A new study explores how climate change will impact 25 glaciers around the world, representative of regions with different climate conditions and sensitivities. Nearly half will disappear by 2050 due to widespread warming and drying, despite a trend towards wetter climates in some locations. [Earth’s Future research]

Slow earthquakes detectable with single seismic station
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami were preceded by two slow-moving quakes along the Japan Trench. These “slow slip” events have been well studied in recent years and are now easily detectable in areas with dense observational networks. For regions without observation networks, a new study has developed a detection method that only requires a single seismic station. [JGR Solid Earth research]

Atmospheric instability triggers heatwaves and extreme rainfall
Thunderstorms and shifting weather fronts can cause heatwaves, which can then trigger extreme rainfall, a new study says. These downpours often lead to flash floods and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency with climate change. The extreme rainfall adds moisture that is in turn favorable for the development of storms. [JGR Atmospheres research]

Where the wild marsquakes are
A new analysis of the seismic data gathered by the InSight lander reveals that marsquakes occur across a much larger area of the planet than previously known. [JGR Planets research] [Eos Editor Highlight]


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