Featured video
The Türkiye-Syria double earthquake: what happened underground
Earlier this year, a succession of powerful earthquakes devastated vulnerable communities along the Türkiye-Syria border. A new study used seismic records from around the world to estimate how the earthquakes evolved and found that the two massive quakes displayed an irregular rupture evolution.[Geophysical Research Letters research]
Featured research
Mars crater once hosted large lakes and rivers
Mars is currently a desert, but a recent study found that the planet’s Antoniadi crater intermittently hosted the planet’s largest thriving river and lake systems 3.7 to 2.4 billion years ago — on par with Earth’s largest lakes. This supports the idea that Mars’ early climate was punctuated with episodes of warmth and provides a compelling site for studying Mars’ potential past habitability. [JGR Planets research]
Tropical cyclones increase in China’s most vulnerable regions
From 2011 to 2020, the number of areas impacted by tropical cyclones expanded significantly more than they did from 2001 to 2010. In particular, tropical cyclones increased in Northeast China where populations have a lower capacity to prevent and mitigate disasters. [Earth and Space Science research]
Climate change and human behavior threaten Brazil’s water security
A recent study assessed more than 700 catchments in Brazil and found that 81% of them will likely experience water insecurity by 2100 because of rising temperatures, and more than half of the catchments could experience extreme water insecurity due to an expected increase in human water use. [Water Resources Research research]
Thawing permafrost will likely accelerate the erosion of large rivers
Permafrost reduces riverbank erosion by up to nine times compared to rivers in warmer regions by slowing the release of carbon and sediments. A new study finds that as rising temperatures thaw arctic permafrost, larger riverbanks could undergo rapid erosion but impacts on smaller rivers will be minimal. [JGR Earth Surface research]
Sedimentary layers can be complex clocks
Layers of sedimentary rock are often studied to recreate Earth’s history. But rocks aren’t always the most reliable historians. New research models how environmental conditions can affect how quickly sediment accumulates, which can complicate the issue for scientists who are trying to estimate the lengths of time periods in Earth’s past. [Geophysical Research Letters research] [Eos research spotlight]
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