4/24/2025: Solar power droughts on the rise

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Cloudy outlook for solar power? Heat, weather and pollution cause power generation shortages. Credit: Piergiuliano Chesi

AGU News

Protecting the global scientific enterprise
AGU is gathering stories of impact to share with leaders and policy makers. We particularly want to hear from AGU members outside the United States to make the critical case that threats to the scientific enterprise are interconnected and global. [share your story] [message from AGU leaders]

U.S. Federal Administration Science Tracker
Keep up with major and minor changes to science policies from the Trump administration with a handy chart from AGU’s Eos magazine. The tracker is sortable by date and one of four categories relevant to Earth and space scientists. Every item in the tracker includes a one-sentence “what happened” explanation and a link to a story from Eos or another trusted source. [U.S. Science Policy Tracker] 

AGU leadership available at the European Geophysical Union meeting
President Brandon Jones and Interim ED & CEO Janice Lachance will be on site at EGU in Vienna next week and available for interviews. Email [email protected] to connect.

Featured Research

Climate-fueled droughts trouble Africa’s Great Green Wall
The African Union launched the African Great Green Wall initiative in 2007 to hold back expansion of the Sahara into the Sahel. Knowledge of long-term weather patterns informs management of the region. An examination of rain and drought from 1950 to 2022 finds a rising drought trend which accelerated in the mid-nineties, when severe droughts hit the northern parts of the region. [JGR Biogeosciences study]

150,000 years of geomagnetism from eastern equatorial Africa
A 129-meter core of sediments from the bed of Lake Chala, a crater lake near Mt. Kilimanjaro, records changes in Earth’s magnetic field and environment over much of human prehistory. Comparable to ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, the new core is the longest geomagnetic record from continental Africa. [Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems study]

Earthworms not necessarily the bad guys of Arctic carbon story
Earthworms are burrowing into Arctic ecosystems where icesheets once eradicated them. What does the arrival of these voracious soil detritovores mean for tundra carbon reservoirs? It’s complicated, new research found. In experiments, meadows lost soil carbon while heath gained. But earthworm presence encouraged more root biomass in both vegetation types resulting in a net carbon wash for the meadow and gain for heath. [JRG Biogeosciences study]

Isolated wetlands are carbon-storing powerhouses
Non-floodplain wetlands may account for more than half the world’s wetlands and store about twice the carbon of wetlands connected to frequently flooded streams, rivers, and lake areas. [Earth’s Future study]

Compost and biochar could boost carbon sequestration by crushed rock
Crushed rock additives may also help decrease soil emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and methane.[Eos research spotlight][AGU Advances study]

Solar power shortages are on the rise
More communities are relying on solar power as a source of renewable energy, but increasing demand, light-blocking pollution and climate change threaten its reliability with “solar droughts.” [Eos research spotlight][Geophysical Research Letters study]

320 million years of polar wander
A new quantitative assessment of the wanderings of Earth’s axis of spin from the Carboniferous to today rules out previous suggestions of sudden shifts, but finds oscillations of up to 20 degrees. [Eos editors’ highlight][AGU Advances study]

4/17/2025: Strong solar flare disrupts air traffic visibility

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An ultraviolet image of the Sun colorized teal against a black background shows the hottest

An solar flare classed X3.3 erupted on 9 February 2024, seen in extreme ultraviolet. Credit: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Featured Research

Solar flare fritzed satellite tracking of aircraft
To avoid collisions, pilots and air traffic controllers rely on a network of global navigation satellites. But the network is susceptible to heavy weather in space. A strong solar flare on 9 February 2024 caused gaps and position errors in data broadcasts of aircraft identity and location. Researchers describe the event and offer solutions. [Space Weather study]

Weird weather in North Atlantic impacts tropical Pacific tuna catch
A new study explains how spring water temperatures in the North Atlantic can make waves in the autumn yellowfin tuna population, far away in the Pacific warm pool. A pattern of unusual sea surface temperatures called the North Atlantic Tripole is associated with 8.3% larger catch in its positive phase and 16.9% smaller catch in its negative phase. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Can the world’s cargo ships meet carbon targets?
The U.N.’s International Maritime Organization member (IMO) countries (absent the United States) agreed Friday to levy carbon fees encouraging adoption of cleaner fuels. International shipping conveys over 80% of global trade by volume and emits an estimated 3% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Surveyed experts predict the industry can hit the IMO’s 2030 carbon targets with operational improvements. Longer term gains will require alternative fuels. [Earth’s Future study][UBC press release]

When ice ages end, ocean circulation fine-tunes ocean heat
New Antarctic ice core data bolster model predictions of ocean heat content during glacials and interglacials. [research spotlight][Geophysical Research Letters study]

Martian magmas live long and prosper
Marsquakes detected by the InSight rover at Cerberus Fossae may be volcanic.[Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets study][Editors’ highlight]

 

 

4/10/2025: Corals grow in cold water where methane seeps

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Photograph: Dry tundra grass crumbles where it meets the Arctic ocean. Permafrost is visible in the soil of broken edges. Grey sky in background and grey water to the right.

Coastal bluffs at Drew Point, on Alaska’s coastal plain, can erode 20 meters per year. As soil melts, storm waves may bite abrupt and unpredictable chunks out of the coastline.
Credit: U.S. Geological Survey.

Featured Research

Coldwater corals thrive near methane cold seeps
Most corals live in sunny, oxygen-rich waters off tropical coasts. But in the dark, cold, low-oxygen depths of Norway’s Hola trough, corals coexist with methane cold seeps bubbling up from gas hydrates frozen in the ocean floor. A new study suggests a “delicate equilibrium” of diverse microbial life, dissolved organic carbon and biochemical mechanisms associated with the seeps in the low oxygen depths benefit the corals. Further warming could release a burst of methane, upsetting that balance. [Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences study]

Storms will eat Alaska’s Arctic coastal tundra in increasingly unpredictable bites
New research from Point Hope, Alaska, finds large land losses are inevitable on the Arctic coastal plain along Alaska’s north coast. Predictable yearly coastal retreat will shift to sudden losses from extreme storms as thawing soil makes coastlines more vulnerable to waves and rising seas. Remote coastal Inupiat communities may need to step up timelines for adaptation or relocation. [Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface study]

Sailors’ historical accounts key to rare, glowing “milky seas”
Satellites have caught the mysterious milky waters lighting more than 100,000 square kilometers of open ocean, but the phenomenon is so rare that only a single scientific expedition has encountered it, leaving scientists in the dark about when, where and why it happens — and if the leading bacterial suspect, Vibrio harveyi, is the true source of the eerie glow. A new global database assembles 400 years of eyewitness accounts with the aim of predicting future bioluminescent blooms.[Earth and Space Science study][CSU press release]

“Thirstwaves” are the new climate threat for US crops
Like heat waves, these can damage crops and ecosystems and increase pressure on water resources. New research shows they’re becoming more severe. [Eos research spotlight][Earth’s Future study]

Restoring preindustrial CO2 levels won’t bring back all Arctic sea ice. This may make North Atlantic winter weather weird.
Incomplete Arctic sea ice recovery results in equatorward-shifted winter jets. The North Atlantic jet shift is particularly uncertain due to the ocean circulation acting as an additional driver. [Eos Editors’ highlight][Geophysical Research Letters study]

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4/2/2025: The rivers that science says shouldn’t exist

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In a new paper, scientists call the Casiquiare River (running north to south in the center of this image), which connects the Orinoco River (running east to west) with the Rio Negro, “the hydrologic equivalent of a wormhole between two galaxies.” Credit: Coordenação-Geral de Observação da Terra/INPE, CC BY-SA 2.0

Featured Research

The rivers that science says shouldn’t exist
At first glance, these waterways — flowing two ways, draining to two oceans — make little hydrologic sense. A new review article details why they are the way they are. [Eos research spotlight][Water Resources Research study]

Earth’s rotational pole could wander 27 meters under high-emission scenario
As ice melts and water masses shift around Earth, the planet’s rotational pole moves. By 2100 under a high-emissions scenario, the pole could wander 27 meters from where it was in 1900, with change driven largely by Greenland and Antarctic ice melt, a new study finds. It would wander about 12 meters in a low-emissions scenario. [Geophysical Research Letters study][see also: groundwater pumping nudged Earth’s spin]

More than 80% of Canada’s 2023 wildfires burned over permafrost
Canada’s 2023 record-breaking wildfire season was driven by extremely dry conditions with below-average rainfall. More than 80 percent of those fires burned on top of land with permafrost and will likely speed up permafrost thaw, releasing carbon, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Smartphone heat safety apps underestimate wet-bulb temperatures
Wet-bulb temperature is an important indicator for the safety of outdoor work and sports. Some smartphone applications offer estimates of wet-bulb temps and suggest modifications to activities, but these estimates are often cooler than on-site sensors, especially during the hottest periods, a new study reveals.  [GeoHealth study]

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3/26/2025: Blackbirds play key role in North American West Nile spread

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Blackbirds such as red-winged blackbirds and grackles carry West Nile virus as they migrate, spreading the disease across North America, a new GeoHealth study reports. Credit: Niklas Hamann/unsplash

AGU News

AGU journal editors are committed to scientific publishing free from political interference
In an editorial published today, Editors-in-Chief of AGU publications reaffirm their commitment to excellence, inclusion, and the independence of Earth and space science research. They condemn any form of censorship or coercion that attempts to limit or condition the activity and output of Earth and space scientists, including removal of data, curtailing of research funding, and restrictions to research activities. They will continue to champion rigorous peer review, equitable participation, and policies that protect scientific integrity. [AGU Advances opinion] 

One week left to submit to our Journalism Awards!
Submit your own work or nominate others’ Earth and space science stories. We have one award for features and one for short-turnaround news stories; work must have been first published in 2024. Entries from all countries are encouraged. Deadline: 31 March. Send questions to [email protected]. [award information][submit here]

Featured Research 

Blackbirds play key role in spreading West Nile virus in North America 
Mosquitoes can spread West Nile virus to humans, but they can also infect birds, who then carry the disease along flyways. Previous research focused on migratory birds, but large groups of blackbirds can contribute to virus spread as well, a new study finds. [GeoHealth study][see also: unusual species of wild birds are spreading bird flu] 

Aluminum from falling satellites change atmospheric temps, wind speeds
When satellites fall from orbit, they burn up in the atmosphere and release pollution, including aerosolized aluminum. New modeling of pollution from satellite reentry estimates about 11,000 US tons of aluminum oxide will be released by year by 2040, leading to mesospheric heating and changes in wind speeds. [JGR Atmospheres study][see also: plummeting Starlink satellites could jeopardize ozone hole recovery] 

Earth’s rotational axis could shift 27 meters by 2100 thanks to ice melt
The point around which the Earth rotates changes over time in response to various factors, including the distribution of water and ice mass on Earth’s surface. By 2100, this rotational axis could be up to 27 meters (89 feet) from where it was in 1900 as a result of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet melt and changes in water on land, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Sustainable-certified aquaculture farms can still pollute
Net-pen aquaculture is an efficient way to raise fish, which can help local economies. But they can contribute significant volumes of pollutants, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Even aquaculture setups that are certified sustainable release unhealthy amounts of N and P, a new case study in Honduras finds. [Earth’s Future study] 

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3/19/2025: Martian dust will be a health hazard for astronauts

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A global Martian dust storm in summer 2018 blocked sunlight on the planet for weeks. Curiosity’s Mast Camera captured the storm’s advance in these images from June to September. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/York University

AGU News

Two weeks left to submit to our Journalism Awards!
Submit your own work or nominate others’ Earth and space science stories. We have one award for features and one for short-turnaround news stories; work must have been first published in 2024. Entries from all countries are encouraged. Deadline: 31 March. Send questions to [email protected]. [award information][submit here]

Featured Research

Martian dust will be a health hazard for astronauts
Prolonged exposure to the Red Planet’s regolith, which contains carcinogens and toxic metals, could pose respiratory threats and increase chronic disease risk. [GeoHealth study][Eos research spotlight]

Hailstones send heavy metals back to Earth
Hailstones from more heavily populated — and polluted — parts of China had higher concentrations of heavy metals than those in more rural regions, a new study finds. The metals primarily come from traffic emissions. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

More than a million premature deaths due to biofuel burning
Burning solid biofuels, such as wood and animal waste, creates air pollution that can cause health problems or death. Although burning biofuels is less common than it used to be, globally it caused between 1.1 and 1.4 million premature annual deaths in 2000-2019, a new study finds. That is roughly twice as high as previous estimates. [GeoHealth study]

New assessment of landslide risk across Europe
Many landslide risk assessments are at local or regional scales, limiting knowledge of large-scale patterns and drivers of this hazard. A first-of-its-kind study analyzes daytime and nighttime landslide risk across the European continent and maps threats to human settlements and agriculture. [Reviews of Geophysics study][explore the risk map]

The Middle East’s first comprehensive carbon budget
The first greenhouse gas budget for Central and West Asia, comprising 24 countries, was just published. Iran was the top emitter, and the top 10 countries emitted 84% of the region’s greenhouse gases. [Global Biogeochemical Cycles study][Eos research spotlight]

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3/12/2025: Soil microbes can consume much of the methane leaking from old oil, gas wells

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A natural gas well. Credit: wikimedia

AGU News

Eos launches ‘Research & Developments’ to keep up with rapid policy changes
AGU’s magazine Eos has launched a new blog, “Research & Developments,” to keep up with the onslaught of changes in U.S. science policy and funding. Eos reporters will provide timely, brief updates and critical context for law and policy changes that impact science and scientists. [check it out]

Featured Research

Microbes eat up methane leaking from abandoned oil and gas wells
Decommissioned oil and gas wells can release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Microbes that naturally occur in soils can efficiently remove methane before it reaches the atmosphere, suggesting soil could be used as a nature-based solution to well leaks, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Brake wear adds dangerous antimony to city air
The metal antimony can harm human health, but its sources in urban environments are not well known. Brake wear and waste incineration are the major antimony sources in Wuhan, China, a new study finds. The findings can guide regulation and public health measures. [JGR Atmospheres study]

Opinion: Formalizing the Anthropocene would “align the Earth sciences with reality”
In 2024, the International Union of Geological Sciences rejected a proposal to formally define the Anthropocene as an epoch. But the Earth “clearly no longer operates in a ‘Holocene mode,’” and formalizing the Anthropocene would recognize this critical shift, scientists argue in a new editorial. Such recognition, they state, would “acknowledge the facts” and “align the Earth sciences… with reality.” [AGU Advances commentary]

“Mega-pool” salt marshes are expanding in Maine, threatening carbon storage
Salt marshes provide critical habitat and ecosystem services, and their health rests in the balance between vegetation and pools of standing water. Pool growth can degrade habitat and limit carbon cycling. Maine’s 12 largest salt marshes expanded by about 16% from 2009 to 2021, with growth largely driven by the expansion of “mega pools.” The findings will guide marsh restoration projects. [JGR Earth Surface study]

Food insecurity linked to heart disease, diabetes in the US
A lack of consistent access to food increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, according to a new study of health and food deserts in the U.S. The tie is particularly strong in the South. [GeoHealth study][Eos research spotlight]

Higher ozone levels tied to heart attack risk
Higher levels of ozone pollution were associated with increased rates of some types of heart attack 4-5 days after the pollution, a new study finds. The correlation was stronger in non-Hispanic Black patients than white patients, and the association remained significant even at ozone levels lower than WHO guidelines. [GeoHealth study][Eos research spotlight]

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3/5/2025: Two degrees of warming would double Greenland’s rain

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A wildfire burns in South Carolina in 2016. Credit: US National Guard

AGU News

AGU joins suit supporting fired federal scientists
AGU has joined as a plaintiff in a lawsuit before the United States District Court, Northern District of California, arguing that the firings of probationary employees in agencies across the federal government directed by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management were illegal. It argues downstream impacts of reduced federal scientific expertise and funding on research have harmed the economy, public health, environment, and national security. [read the full statement]

The state of science: “Ushering in a dark age of retreat”
AGU responds to President Trump’s speech Tuesday night. “At the moment, the state of our science is not strong, but the resolve of our community in Earth and space sciences to restore and renew it is.” [read the full statement]

Experts available to comment on importance of US climate science
AGU last week issued a statement stressing the importance of climate science for ensuring a secure, prosperous future for the country and for the world. Federal firings and funding cuts threaten the next generation of scientists and risk undoing critical progress made in climate research and mitigation. Email [email protected] for help finding expert sources willing to speak with the media about climate science. [read the full statement]

Featured Research

Research roundup: The changing wildfire climate in the southeast US
Hundreds of wildfires are burning in the Carolinas and Georgia. These studies may be useful for reporters covering the fires. [growth of woody veg drives SE US wildfires][wildfires are on the rise in the eastern US][how smoke impacted vulnerable populations in N.C.’s 2016 fires]

Two degrees of warming would double Greenland’s rain
If temperatures in Greenland rise to 2.3°C above the historical average, the amount of precipitation falling as rain there would double, while 10°C of warming would cause half the island’s precipitation to fall as rain, a new study finds. Rain accelerates the ice sheet’s mass loss, while snow can help decelerate loss. [Geophysical Research Letters study][see also: atmospheric rivers can dump enough snow to replenish some of Greenland’s ice loss]

Even mild warming will bring 10 times more atmospheric rivers to western US
Atmospheric rivers can cause destructive flooding and frequently hit the western U.S. In mild warming, extreme atmospheric rivers will hit the West Coast nearly 10 times more frequently by the end of the century, a new modeling study reports. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

The thirstiest crops in the US
Corn and alfalfa agriculture account for about two-fifths of the country’s annual “blue” crop water consumption, a new study finds. About 10% of irrigated croplands in the U.S. account for more than 90% of the volume of irrigation water. Corn and soybeans are prominent in the East, while alfalfa and hay dominate the West. [Water Resources Research study]

Oceans are warming, but evaporating less
Recent research documented a slowdown in the accumulation of water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere in recent decades. Despite rising sea surface temperatures, marine evaporation (a key source of water vapor) has decreased, primarily because of “wind stilling,” a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

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2/26/2025: Only low-emissions pathways will keep Antarctica cold

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Credit: NASA GSFC

AGU News

Nominate work for AGU’s 2025 Journalism Awards
The deadline for our News and Features awards is 31 March 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Email us at [email protected] with questions about submissions and eligibility. [media advisory][information for News and Features awards][SUBMIT HERE]

Featured Research

Only low-emissions pathways will keep Antarctica cold
Only the lowest-emissions scenario could keep Antarctica under the critical 2 degrees Celsius warming mark by 2100, new models show. Warming will continue to increase melt in Antarctica, which will contribute to global sea level rise, highlighting the importance of climate policies to meet emissions goals. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Hudson Bay sea ice broke up a month early in spring 2024
Sea ice in Canada’s Hudson Bay in 2024 broke up 31 days earlier than the historical record, leading to record-low sea ice extent that was exceptionally lower than the historical average, a new study finds. Sea ice retreated six times faster than in the historical period, leading to record-high sea surface temperatures and exceptionally long marine heat waves. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Tracing the causes of Brazil’s disastrous 2024 floods
Severe flooding in southern Brazil (May 2024) claimed nearly 200 lives and displaced more than 600,000 people. The floodwaters were around 1.5 billion cubic meters, a new study finds. The flooding was caused by a heatwave that blocked a cold front, leading to record-breaking rainfall. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Ancient city of Alexandria is collapsing
Building collapses in the 3,000-year-old port city of Alexandria, today the most densely populated urban area in the southern Mediterranean, increased 10-fold in the last 20 years, a new study finds. Nearly 300 buildings have collapsed, and at least 7,000 more are at risk. Seawater intrusion and erosion drive the collapses there and threaten buildings similarly throughout the Mediterranean. [Earth’s Future study][USC press release]

A slowdown of seafloor spreading may have sunk sea levels
Between 15 million and 6 million years ago, a drop in ocean crust production may have lowered sea level by 26 to 32 meters. The slowdown could have led to climate cooling, which could further lower sea level. [Eos research spotlight][Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems study]

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2/19/2025: Ozone pollution tied to heart attack risk

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Smog in Los Angeles. Credit: Ron Reiring/flickr

AGU News

Nominate work for AGU’s 2025 Journalism Awards
The deadline for our News and Features awards is 31 March 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Email us at [email protected] with questions about submissions and eligibility. [media advisory][information for News and Features awards][SUBMIT HERE]

Featured Research

Ozone pollution tied to heart attack risk
Even short-term exposure to ozone pollution may lead to increased risk of heart attack in individuals 18-55, a new study finds. Black patients were more likely to be negatively impacted. [GeoHealth study]

How much water is the massive Mu Us Desert restoration using?
The Mu Us Desert in northwestern China was historically an arid steppe, but climate change and human activities caused desertification to spread in the mid-1900s. Ecological restoration efforts have been ongoing for decades, and some of those efforts might be using less water than previous estimates said, a new study found. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Biomass burning is blackening Himalayan glaciers
Black carbon warms the atmosphere and melts ice. In the Himalayas, fossil fuel combustion contributes most black carbon, but biomass burning has been adding more in recent decades, a new study finds. Years with droughts, particularly El Niño years, saw more black carbon from biomass burning. [Geophysical Research Letters study]

Jupiter’s moon Callisto is likely an ocean world
The planet’s second-largest moon probably hosts a vast, salty ocean under its icy shell, according to a new study. The ocean could be tens of kilometers deep. [Eos research spotlight][AGU Advances study]

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