A high Himalayan peak rises above a tree-covered slope. Climate warming is enabling forests to climb higher in mountainous environments, potentially destabilizing the storage of carbon in alpine soils. Credit: pehrlich on Pixabay
AGU News
Press registration is open for 2026 AGU Annual Meeting
Press registration is now open for AGU’s 2026 annual meeting in San Francisco, California, convening 7 to 11 December 2026 at the George R. Moscone Convention Center. Staff, freelance and student journalists are eligible to apply for complimentary press registration until the end of the conference on Friday, 11 December. Press officers and institutional writers covering the meeting are also eligible for press registration.
- REGISTER AS PRESS HERE
- Additional information for press can be found in the conference Press Center.
- Learn about press eligibility requirements.
Arctic Report Card 2026 finds critical support from AGU
The Arctic Report Card, the annual peer-reviewed assessment of the state of the warming Arctic, will continue under its independent editorial team with new support from the American Geophysical Union. The partnership ensures the report’s continuity following the loss of core support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The editorial team, made up of three long-serving Arctic scientists, will continue to lead the Arctic Report Card’s scientific direction and content, with AGU providing critical infrastructure, distribution and convening support. The partners expect the details of this collaboration to evolve as a longer-term governance model is developed over the coming months. [AGU press release] [Eos commentary] [Arctic Report Card website]
Featured Research
Forests are marching uphill, potentially destabilizing soil carbon where they arrive
As the climate warms, forests previously confined to lower elevations can grow ever higher in mountainous regions. By gathering soil samples high in the Bhutanese Himalaya, researchers found that as trees encroach into alpine areas, the amount of carbon durably stored in the soil drops by almost 30%. The overall decline in stable soil carbon raises concerns that the lofty new forests may not be as reliable for long-term carbon storage as the high alpine ecosystems they are replacing. [JGR Biogeosciences study]
Water likely prevented young Mars from developing plate tectonics
Even small amounts of water in Mars’ early crust — less than half a percent, by weight — would have been enough to keep Martian rocks too light and buoyant to sink below those around them, according to recent model simulations. On Earth, puzzle pieces of planetary crust slide over or under each other due to some being dense enough to sink below others, a process known as subduction-driven plate tectonics. Water doesn’t prevent subduction on Earth due to differences in the material and thermal properties of the two planets’ crusts, the researchers say. On early Mars, however, the likely presence of water on early Mars could have contributed to the lack of this phenomenon on the red planet. The finding held up across various types, temperatures, and thicknesses of Martian crust. [JGR Planets study]
Impacts can give a planet an atmosphere — or take it away
When a comet or asteroid strikes a planet’s atmosphere, two competing effects come into play. The impactor brings extraterrestrial material, including rock, water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, some of which can add gas to the atmosphere. The force of the impact, on the other hand, can eject some of the planet’s existing atmosphere. By simulating the effects of pummeling early Earth, Mars and Venus with a realistic range of impactors zipping around the solar system, researchers found an enormous range of possible outcomes. Earth’s atmosphere tended to grow, whereas Mars’ could either grow or shrink. The study confirms that impacts are a crucial source of gases for planets’ atmospheres but highlights how much work remains to understand how Earth’s atmosphere ended up just right, compared to the punishingly thick Venusian and perilously thin Martian ones. [JGR Planets study]
Drones reveal hidden hazards in Icelandic town shaken by volcanos
Since November 2023, the town of Grindavík in western Iceland has been an epicenter of volcanic activity as molten rock works its way closer to the surface. The resulting tremors and earthquakes have opened sinkholes and fractures under streets and playgrounds. Many of these hazards don’t breach the surface, rendering them effectively invisible and thus even more dangerous. For the first time, researchers have deployed a combination of on-the-ground and drone-based geophysics measurements to map out unseen pits and voids up to nine feet (three meters) wide and as far as 30 to 60 feet (10 to 20 meters) below ground. This new technique could provide near-real-time info on urban hazards during volcanic activity, protecting towns from literally falling into the ground. [Geophysical Research Letters study]
Moon soil gets more insulating as it ages
A new study has found that the oldest lunar soil — known as regolith — is two times worse at conducting heat than younger, fresher soil. The tiny fragments of rock on the moon’s surface weather constant bombardment by meteorites, cosmic rays and solar wind, which break them apart, fluff them up, and change their chemistry. With enough time, this riddles the soil with microscopic gaps filled with the vacuum of space, which works like millions of tiny insulating flasks that prevent heat from conducting from grain to grain. Since the insulating effect strengthens with soil age, infrared instruments on orbiting spacecraft can use it to map soil age Moon-wide. Based on these results, China’s Chang’e-5 mission will be landing on younger lunar soil than Chang’e-6, which will be important for interpreting the geology at each location. [JGR Planets study]
What will the future of Alaskan wildfire look like?
More and larger fires, including in areas of historically low fire activity, are likely but not a given. [Eos research spotlight] [Earth’s Future study]
The economic costs of solar storms
Though less present in the public consciousness than hurricanes and wildfires, space weather represents a real and potentially significant threat to society. [Eos research spotlight] [AGU Advances study]