A series of proposed hydroelectric dams along the Marañón River in Peru could cause the destruction of one of its tributaries, a new Water Resources Research study finds. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/waterloo1883

AGU News

AGU24 Annual Meeting press event schedule posted 
AGU24 will be held next week in Washington, D.C. from 9-13 December. Press events this year feature AI in science, NOAA’s Arctic Report Card, Parker Solar Probe’s closest approach to the Sun, first science results from the 2024 total solar eclipse, what to do about space trash, Io’s space volcanos, and approaches to climate adaptation.  

Visit the Annual Meeting Press Center to browse the press event schedule, tips and press releases. Registration will remain open throughout the meeting, and registered press will have access to recordings through February. [register here][eligibility][AGU24 press center][meeting app] 

Featured Research 

Damming one Andean river could cause another to vanish 
The Marañón River runs from the Andes Mountains to the Amazon lowlands in Peru. New research finds plans for new hydroelectric dams along the river could cause one of the river’s tributaries, the Santiago River, to clog with sediment and disappear. The proposed dam could also dramatically change fish diversity upstream and downstream of the dams. [Water Resources Research study] 

Canada’s 2023 wildfires caused record Midwestern ozone 
Smoke from Canada’s 2023 fire season blanketed large regions of the United States. New research finds the fires rocketed surface-level ozone in the upper Midwest to the highest levels recorded since measurements began in 1995. [Geophysical Research Letters study] [CIRES press release] 

China’s forests have dramatically recovered since 2000 
China has gained 86 million hectares (approximately 213 million acres) of forest since the early 2000s, according to new research. The rate of recovery, however, has slowed by 50% since 2015. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

South Sandwich subduction zone tsunami threat could be understudied  
In August 2021, an underwater magnitude 8.1 earthquake caused a tsunami to ripple out from the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean. New research suggests that the subduction zone where the earthquake occurred should be studied more, as the tsunami reached coastlines worldwide. [JGR Oceans study] 

Reexamining the Mother’s Day geomagnetic storm 
A new study describes what happened during the biggest solar storm in decades, including the “drastic reconfiguration” of Earth’s protective magnetosphere. [Space Weather study] 

Seemingly simple climate adaptation strategy could backfire 
Reflecting sunlight can protect a neighborhood from scorching temperatures, but surrounding neighborhoods could suffer as a result. [Eos research spotlight] [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

### 

Subscribe to TWFAGU and other AGU news

Albedo geoengineering could reduce precipitation both inside and outside of the geoengineered zone, a new Geophysical Research Letters study finds. Credit: Unsplash/Chuttersnap

AGU News

AGU24 press registration 
Press registration for AGU’s Annual Meeting is open! AGU24 will be held in Washington, D.C. from 9-13 December. Complimentary registration is available for journalists, journalism students, press officers, and institutional writers covering the meeting. Registration will remain open throughout the meeting, and registered press will have access to recordings through February. [register here][eligibility][AGU24 press center] 

Featured Research 

Heatwave-drought combination events are on the rise 
Combined hot-dry events can create more extreme weather than droughts or heatwaves alone. New research finds that the frequency of heatwave-drought events in China has doubled since 1980, and that land use change and urbanization may drive up to 30% of that increase. [Earth’s Future study] 

Albedo geoengineering could make neighbors hotter 
Land radiative management is a geoengineering strategy to increase surface albedo and cool the land by reflecting sunlight. New research finds that increasing land albedo not only decreases precipitation inside of the geoengineered region, but also decreases precipitation and increases temperatures outside of the region. That could result in heat inequities should wealthier areas adopt the geoengineering technique in the future. [Geophysical Research Letters study][learn about AGU’s ethical framework for geoengineering research] 

Light, not temperature, limited ancient coral reef range 
Coral reefs thrive in warm, sunny environments. But fossil samples reveal that corals did not spread beyond 50 degrees north and south of the Equator, even when ocean temperatures were much warmer. New research finds that low winter light levels are likely what caused coral drop-offs at higher latitudes in the ancient ocean. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Hektoria glacier rapid retreat caused by ice shelf collapse 
Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier retreated 23 kilometers (14 miles) between March 2022 and August 2023. New research finds that the glacier also retreated between 2002 and 2011, and advanced between 2011 and 2022. That slow advance and retreat were both caused by changes in ocean temperatures, while the rapid 2022 retreat was caused by the collapse of underlying ice shelves. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Saltwater intrusion to spread globally 
Saltwater intrusion happens when seawater makes its way into fresh surface and groundwater. New research finds that almost 77% of coastal areas below 60 degrees north will experience saltwater intrusion by the end of the century. Sea level rise will be responsible for saltwater intrusion’s global spread, while groundwater recharge declines will account for more severe intrusion cases. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Climate change acceleration expected in vulnerable urban areas 
The world is warming overall, but high aerosol emissions have kept some cities cool by reducing solar radiation. Future pollution control could mean that those aerosols, which are harmful to human health, will be reduced. The resulting rapid temperature acceleration would most burden cities with low literacy, life expectancy and standards of living, new research finds. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Lake cold spells to decrease, shorten 
Climate change is warming lakes in the summer, but it’s also changing how cold they get in the winter. New research finds that lake cold spells shortened and decreased from 1979 to 2022, and are expected to shorten by 19 days and weaken by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the 21st century.  [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

### 

Subscribe to TWFAGU and other AGU news

Communities close to oil and gas wells had more cases of and higher mortality rates due to COVID-19 in the first half of 2020, a new GeoHealth study finds. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Antandrus

AGU News

AGU24 press registration 
Press registration for AGU’s Annual Meeting is open! AGU24 will be held in Washington, D.C. from 9-13 December. Complimentary registration is available for journalists, journalism students, press officers, and institutional writers covering the meeting. [register here][eligibility][AGU24 press center] 

Featured Research 

Proximity to oil and gas wells tied to COVID-19 risk 
Living near oil and gas drilling may affect immune system functioning, cardiovascular health and respiratory health. New research finds that communities close to oil and gas wells in California had higher case numbers and mortality rates during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. [GeoHealth study][Eos research spotlight][UC Berkeley press release] 

Atmospheric pattern linked to autumnal western wildfires 
Autumn wildfires have become more common in the western United States since 2000. New research finds that an atmospheric pattern called the West Pacific teleconnection has shifted eastward since the 1980s and could account for approximately one-third of the variation in autumn wildfires each year. [Earth’s Future study] 

Tree rings record sparse snowpack  
Groundwater records typically only go back to around 1960. A new study uses tree ring widths to identify periods of drought from 1850 to 2002 in the North American Cordillera, a series of mountain ranges that runs up the western half of the continent. The study found that groundwater droughts were mostly related to snowpack shortages. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

May 2024 geomagnetic storm was a successful test for Mexico’s space weather programs 
Over the past 10 years, the Mexican Space Weather Service and National Space Weather Laboratory have been expanding and improving their instrumentation. The strong May 2024 geomagnetic storm was their first major test, and their instruments successfully collected a range of valuable low-latitude space weather data, as a new study outlines. [Space Weather study] 

Most satellite observations of Africa are done by non-African organizations 
African countries face high rates of food insecurity, and satellites are critical for collecting data on agriculture, water, and populations. However, 90% of such observation projects are led by non-African organizations, a new study finds. That creates inequity in data collection and use, the authors argue. [Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists study] 

### 

Subscribe to TWFAGU and other AGU news

Chicago’s streets aren’t only cooled by trees. Any greenery helps beat the heat, a new Geophysical Research Letters study finds. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Bert Kaufmann

AGU News

AGU24 press registration 
Press registration for AGU’s Annual Meeting is open! AGU24 will be held in Washington, D.C. from 9-13 December. Complimentary registration is available for journalists, journalism students, press officers, and institutional writers covering the meeting. [register here][eligibility][AGU24 press center] 

Featured Research 

All greenery, not only trees, helps reduce heat in Chicago 
Tree cover is a well-established cooling mechanism for urban areas. New analysis of on-the-ground temperature measurements finds that while trees do significantly cool Chicago streets, other kinds of vegetation help bring down the heat, too. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Both indoor and outdoor air quality affected by Indonesian peat fires 
Peatland fires are common in some parts of Indonesia due to peat swamp drainage. Measurements from a network of air quality sensors reveal similar outdoor and indoor PM2.5 levels during the dry fire season, suggesting that retreating indoors may not help those suffering under poor air quality. [GeoHealth study] 

The Sun’s magnetic field helped shape distant corners of the early solar system 
Did the Sun’s magnetic field reach the far edges of the solar system three million years ago? New evidence from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu, coupled with samples from three meteorites, says that the Sun’s magnetic field could have changed how mass accreted more than 650 million miles out from the center of the solar system. [AGU Advances study] 

Air pollution tied to arthritis prevalence in China 
Air pollution is associated with a variety of poor health outcomes. A new study finds that air pollution in China is correlated with the development of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and that the effect is amplified in areas without nearby greenspace. [GeoHealth study] 

Smartphone map app accurately predicts cholera risk 
Cholera is a water-borne illness that is endemic in some countries. A new smartphone app used population, epidemiological and environmental data to inform people in a remote region of Bangladesh of their local cholera risk, accurately estimating the risk of the disease over two years. [GeoHealth study] 

How an ocean-sized lake may have formed on ancient Mars 
The catastrophic collapse of Mars’s atmosphere may have melted its polar ice cap, creating an ice-covered southern sea. [Eos research spotlight] [JGR Planets study] 

### 

Subscribe to TWFAGU and other AGU news

The Venice Lagoon takes up as much carbon as 130,000 trees each year. But the carbon sink is threatened by Venice’s anti-flooding regulations, a new Earth’s Future study finds. Credit: Unsplash/Martin Bennie

AGU News

AGU24 press registration 
Press registration for AGU’s Annual Meeting is open! AGU24 will be held in Washington, D.C. from 9-13 December. Complimentary registration is available for journalists, journalism students, press officers, and institutional writers covering the meeting. [register here][eligibility][AGU24 press center] 

Featured Research 

Venice’s salt marshes absorb huge amounts of carbon 
The Venice Lagoon is a highly disturbed salt marsh ecosystem where the Italian coast meets the Adriatic Sea. New research finds that the lagoon’s salt marshes absorb as much carbon as 130,000 trees, and that Venice’s anti-flooding regulations may be reducing the marsh’s carbon uptake by up to 30%. [Earth’s Future study] 

Boulders reveal an ancient tsunami 
In the 15th century, a tsunami hit Tongatapu Island in the western Pacific. Researchers examined the magnetic records of several boulders on the island, clearly moved by past tsunamis, and found that some of the rocks had been moved multiple times. They determined that a second tsunami, not recorded in human history, likely occurred between 3,000 years ago and the 15th century. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Global wetlands may belch 32% more methane by 2099 
Wetlands may become a major source of methane as the climate warms. New research uses machine learning models to estimate global wetland emissions toward the end of the 21st century, finding 13% to 32% increases under different climate scenarios, with hotspots in Northern Europe and around the equator. [Earth’s Future study] 

Climate warming is decreasing rice quality in China and Japan 
Climate change can alter not just crops’ quantity, but also their quality. New research finds that rice in both China and Japan has decreased in quality since the 1980s and will continue to decrease in the future as the climate warms. That could mean a decrease in rice nutritional quality and economic value. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Antarctic sea ice declines are spatially patchy 
While Arctic sea ice has been declining for decades, Antarctica’s sea ice thickness increased from 2011 to 2016, and then started to decline. New research finds that Antarctica’s ice loss has been spatially variable, and has actually thickened in some areas since 2016. [JGR Oceans study] 

Thermal cameras can measure tree water loss 
It can be difficult to measure tree transpiration rates, or how much water trees lose to the atmosphere, which can affect how scientists quantify droughts. A new study finds that temperature data from thermal cameras can be used to estimate the transpiration rates of individual trees, which could help determine which tree species in a forest are better at weathering dry periods. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Air pollution tied to gastrointestinal bleeding 
Air pollution can have unexpected health consequences. A new study finds that high particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide air pollution in Hong Kong are associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, especially in men and the elderly. [GeoHealth study] 

Helping the most vulnerable stay cool in extreme heat 
Choosing the ideal location for air-conditioned cooling centers in cities facing dangerously high temperatures takes good population data and community engagement. [Eos research spotlight] [Community Science study] 

### 

Subscribe to TWFAGU and other AGU news

Craters on Titan’s north pole may be caused by underground methane or nitrogen gas explosions, a new JGR Planets study finds. Credit: NASA

AGU News

AGU24 press registration 

Press registration for AGU’s Annual Meeting is open! AGU24 will be held in Washington, D.C. from 9-13 December. Complimentary registration is available for journalists, journalism students, press officers, and institutional writers covering the meeting. Discounted housing is available through 11 November. [register here][eligibility][AGU24 press center][hotel information] 

AGU launches framework for ethical geoengineering research
Last week, AGU announced the Ethical Framework for Climate Intervention. The report, prepared over two years under the guidance of more than 40 experts from around the world, highlights the need to center communities and ethics when undertaking research on large-scale climate interventions (geoengineering) — the consequences of which remain largely unknown. The report proposes five key principles that research, funding, and policies should consider.  

Contact [email protected] for interview requests. [Ethical Framework report][press kit][read the full press release here] 

Featured Research 

Titan’s craters may be caused by underground gas explosions 
The northern polar region of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is dotted with craters that appear to have been created by explosions. A new study finds that belowground nitrogen and methane gases may have caused the explosions, either from gas vaporization or from the breakdown of methane hydrates. [JGR Planets study] 

Global heatwave risk quintupled over the last century 
The global risk of heatwaves increased fivefold since the early 20th century, according to new research. Heatwaves have also become more intense over that period, with humid areas experiencing more intense heatwaves while dry areas tended to have more.  [Earth’s Future study] 

Grasses and shrubs are critical to moisture recycling across Africa 
Many African ecosystems rely on trees and grasses for moisture recycling. New research finds that while trees individually supply more water for precipitation than shrubs and grasses, Africa’s extensive grass and shrubland ecosystems contribute equally to the continent’s moisture cycle. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Growing risk of “record-shattering” droughts along the Yangtze River 
A severe drought struck the middle and lower sections of China’s Yangtze River in 2019, which led to major economic and agricultural losses. A new study finds that the likelihood of such a drought each year will increase from 2% (1961-2020) to 18% (2041-2100). [JGR Atmospheres study] 

Subtle coastal sinking raises storm surge risks 
New detection of millimeter-scale subsidence along vulnerable coastlines means flood risk predictions may be inaccurate. [Eos research spotlight] [JGR Earth Surface study] 

###

Subscribe to TWFAGU and other AGU news

Excess phosphorus is fueling coral-chomping crown-of-thorns starfish in the South China Sea, a new JGR Oceans study finds. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Bernard Dupont

AGU News 

AGU launches ethical framework for climate intervention

With interest growing in geoengineering as a strategy for tackling global warming, AGU has launched an ethical framework as a guide to responsible decision-making and inclusive dialogue. The report was facilitated over the last two years by AGU and advised by a global panel of more than 40 experts. The report:

• says any research into large-scale interventions in Earth’s climate system must be grounded in sound ethical principles so society can make informed choices about whether to deploy them;
• warns that the unintended consequences of large-scale deployment are largely unknown; and
• proposes five key principles that new research, funding, and policy should consider.

Contact [email protected] for interview requests. [Ethical Framework report][press kit][read the full press release here]

AGU24 press registration

Press registration for AGU’s Annual Meeting is open! AGU24 will be held in Washington, D.C. from 9-13 December. Complimentary registration is available for journalists, journalism students, press officers, and institutional writers covering the meeting. Discounted housing is available through 11 November — be sure to book before the deadline! [register here][eligibility][AGU24 press center][hotel information] 

Featured Research

South China Sea starfish takeovers linked to phosphorus surplus 
Crown-of-thorns starfish periodically overwhelm and damage coral reefs in the South China Sea, with crowds reaching up to 1,000 starfish per hectare (2.5 acres). New research identifies the starfishes’ fuel: excess phosphorus, which the starfish get from eating corals and phytoplankton before releasing it back into the ocean. [JGR Oceans study] 

Climatic origins of deadly 2023 northern India flooding  
In July 2023, widespread, heavy rainfall produced floods in most of northern India, leading to hundreds of deaths and millions of dollars of damage. A new study uses climate modeling to untangle the causes behind the catastrophe, and highlights the need for improved soil and weather monitoring in hilly northern India. [Earth and Space Science study] 

Marine heatwaves stifle phytoplankton blooms 
Phytoplankton are important primary producers that underpin the oceanic food web. New research finds that marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea reduce nutrient transport to the surface, tanking spring phytoplankton blooms by up to 70%, reducing zooplankton biomass by up to 50% and shifting the timings of both phytoplankton and zooplankton blooms. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

Low-latitude eruptions make bigger plumes 
When volcanoes erupt explosively, they create plumes that typically fall into two categories: strong “umbrella cloud” plumes, and weak “spreading” plumes. New research finds that because of wind patterns, eruption plumes closer to the equator are usually weaker plumes, while those at higher latitudes are more often umbrella clouds. [Geophysical Research Letters study] 

“Mega slumps” of thawing ground are destabilizing the Arctic
Landslide-like slumps of thawing ground damage infrastructure and degrade coastlines in the Arctic, emitting carbon as they form. A new study digs into why these slumps form and finds that seawater intrusion plays a key role. [Eos research spotlight] [JGR Earth Surface study] 

###

Subscribe to TWFAGU and other AGU news