Cedar Fire 2003 slow recovery, California
Credit: Flickr user slworking2

AGU News

Astrobiology Science Conference 2024: Press events and tipsheets now available
#AbSciCon24 is next week, and a schedule of press events and our tipsheets are now available. To register, email [email protected] with your credentials. Events are primarily online, but some events are hybrid, and talks will be recorded and viewable after the conference. [AbSciCon24 scientific program][media advisory]

Featured Research

Hot, dry conditions stymie forest recovery after wildfires
After a wildfire sweeps across a landscape, tree recovery is often critical for reestablishing ecosystems and stabilizing soils. But warmer, drier conditions in the U.S. are leading to lower tree regeneration rates after wildfires as compared to the 1980s and 1990s, a new study finds. Recovery may be depressed for five to seven years following a fire. [JGR Biogeoscience research]

Airline crew radiation exposure should be individually monitored
Commercial airlines typically fly at high altitudes, where there is more exposure to radiation, putting flight crews at higher risk. A new study measured radiation dose rates on 45 flights and found that while radiation levels did not exceed the international health standard, adding individual radiation dosimeters could improve monitoring. [Space Weather research]

Retreating glaciers cause catastrophic Himalayan hazard chain
Warming from climate change can make glaciers retreat more quickly and generate more meltwater. Such conditions can create a catastrophic chain of events: ice collapses and begins to flow downhill, accumulating water, ice and rocks. That debris flow can travel for kilometers, causing damage and instability. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Climate change fueled eastern heatwaves and western flooding in Asia
Summer 2022 brought deadly floods to western Asia, while eastern Asia sweltered through the worst extended heatwave in 70 years. An unusually strong western Pacific subtropical high caused the heat dome in the east and moisture convergence in the west, a new study finds. This pattern will likely intensify through the end of the century in this densely populated region. [Earth’s Future research]

Beneath the ice: Greenland’s geology revealed in new map
Advances in remote sensing offered an opportunity to redraw Greenland’s geologic map for the first time in 15 years. Some of the newly mapped structures offer insight into how ice flows from Greenland’s interior toward the coast. [Geophysical Research Letters research][Eos research spotlight]

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A sea wall in the low-lying island nation of Tuvalu, which faces growing flooding risks as climate change and sea level rise progress. A new Earth’s Future study models the nation’s flooding future and finds that today’s 50-year floods, covering nearly half the island, will occur once every 5 years by 2060. Credit: TCAP/UNDP

AGU News

Register for Astrobiology Science Conference 2024. It’ll be out of this world!
Join us in Providence, Rhode Island from 5-10 May for #AbSciCon24, where the international astrobiology community will share new research investigating life’s potential, from Earth’s extreme environments and distant past to our solar system’s icy moons and exoplanets. To register, email [email protected] with your credentials. [media advisory][press credentialing requirements][AbSciCon24 scientific program]

Featured Research

Tuvalu’s current 50-year floods, inundating half the island, will be ten times more likely by 2060
Low-lying island nations around the world are at high risk of inundation due to sea-level rise and storm-generated waves. One such nation is Tuvalu, in the South Pacific, which has already experienced severe flooding events and seawater intrusion. New modeling finds that climate change will make Tuvalu’s present-day “1-in-50 year floods,” covering >45% of land area, occur once every 5 years — ten times more likely. [Earth’s Future research]

Animals can be allies in carbon sequestration
Most models of the carbon cycle and carbon sequestration do not include animals, instead focusing on rocks, plants, microbes and the atmosphere. But animals affect their environments and carbon pathways, and new modeling shows that animals could play a larger role in ecosystems’ carbon cycles than previously thought. [JGR Biogeosciences research]

Climate-changed winds have made oceans less efficient at removing carbon
The oceans can take up carbon dioxide, acting as an important mitigating factor in climate change. In recent years, the oceans have been taking up more carbon as atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases increased. But without climate change, oceans — especially at high latitudes — would be taking up even more because of shifts in wind patterns, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Half of marine habitat loss will be abrupt, challenging for adaptation
Warming ocean waters, and associated loss of oxygen, can stress or kill ocean-dwelling organisms. Species that can’t adapt as quickly as conditions are changing may become extinct. A new study of marine habitat loss from 1850 to 2100 finds that abrupt, not gradual, habitat changes will lead to approximately half of the marine habitat loss over that time. Most habitat losses will be between 1950 and 2040, mainly due to sudden warming at the surface. [Earth’s Future research]

“Pour points” funnel rainfall through the forest canopy
When rain falls in a forest, it doesn’t fall evenly. A new study shows that leaves and branches can funnel water into “pour points,” where rain is concentrated and can fall to the ground at rates up to 15 times that of rainfall. [Water Resources Research research][Eos editor’s highlight]

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A mountain in the Catalonia region of Spain, where a new JGR Atmospheres study finds a hotspot of recurrent lightning strikes on high peaks. Credit: Angela Llop/flickr

AGU News

AGU Journalism Awards: deadline TONIGHT!
Don’t miss out! The deadline to nominate stories is 27 March at 11:59 p.m. ET. News and feature stories published in 2023 and focused on the Earth and space sciences are eligible. One entry per individual. [AGU journalism awards]

Register to attend the Triennial Earth-Sun Summit during the eclipse!
The Triennial Earth-Sun Summit (TESS) will be held 7-12 April in Dallas, Texas, in the path of totality. Scientific programming begins on 9 April, the day after the eclipse. To register, simply email us at [email protected]. Scientific sessions are on-site only. AGU’s housing is full. [TESS website][scientific program][press site]

Total eclipse of the Sun: The April issue of AGU’s Eos magazine is all about the eclipse. [Eos issue pdf, table of contents]

Featured Research

Lighting does strike twice in these hotspots
A new study questions the saying that “lightning never strikes twice.” Their analysis of 10 years of lightning activity in two suspected lightning hotspots, in northeastern Spain and north-central Colombia, reveals that high mountain peaks get more than their share of strikes. [JGR Atmospheres research]

Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” is acidifying rapidly
The northern Gulf of Mexico experiences a low-oxygen, high-nutrient “dead zone” in its bottom waters each summer. The first multi-decade reconstruction of pH reveals the dead zone is getting more acidic over time, in part due to ocean acidification and warming. Acidification is likely to worsen if emissions are not curbed. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

High lead levels in urban farm compost in Boston
Urban farms and gardens can be an important source of fresh, local food, improving food security, but soil and compost used can be contaminated with legacy metals such as lead. A new 15-year study of lead levels in municipal compost provided to urban farms in Boston reveals persistently elevated lead levels, even after the city switched vendors. [GeoHealth research]

Atmospheric aerosol injection side effects could warm as much as emissions
Injecting aerosols high into Earth’s atmosphere has been proposed as a mechanism for cooling the planet, with aerosol particles reflecting sunlight back into space. But uncertainties remain about what unintended effects the technique could have. Side effects from low-latitude injections could lead to as much warming as greenhouse gases could contribute, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters research][AGU-led framework for ethical climate intervention research]

Manila confronts its plastic problem
The Philippine capital is the latest city to address rampant plastic pollution through a community-guided protocol. [Eos research spotlight][Community Science research]

AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

Credit: Charles Jackson/unsplash

AGU News

Register to attend the Triennial Earth-Sun Summit during the eclipse!
The Triennial Earth-Sun Summit (TESS) will be held 7-12 April in Dallas, Texas, in the path of totality. Scientific programming begins on 9 April, the day after the eclipse. To register, simply email us at [email protected]. Scientific sessions are on-site only. AGU’s housing is full. [TESS website][scientific program]

Nominate work for AGU’s journalism awards by 27 March
The deadline to nominate your own or others’ stories for the 2024 AGU Journalism Awards is 27 March at 11:59 p.m. ET. News and feature stories published in 2023 and focused on the Earth and space sciences are eligible. Email us at [email protected] with any questions. [AGU journalism awards]

Featured Research

Warmer winters in surface ocean near Florida Keys
As oceans continue to reach record-high temperatures, understanding the drivers of warming becomes increasingly urgent. A new 150-year record of sea surface temperatures from long-lived coral species reveals that waters heated up especially during winters between 1830 and 1980, pointing to changes in the Florida current as a potential cause. [Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology research]

Marine exhaust scrubbers may actually increase pollution
Marine fuel typically has high sulfur content, which add sulfur oxides to the atmosphere when burned. That pollution can be limited by using low-sulfur fuel or, per regulations, adding a wet exhaust scrubber. Low-sulfur fuel reduces emissions, but exhaust scrubbers may actually increase the number of particles emitted, a new study finds. [JGR Atmospheres research]

Warming increases tropical cyclone intensification, flooding hazard
Tropical cyclones can quickly intensify just before making landfall, increasing the amount of rainfall and therefore raising the likelihood of dangerous floods. Warmer air will make rapid intensification more common over the next century, and cyclone-associated rainfall will greatly increase, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Marine heatwaves are choking the Chesapeake Bay
Marine heatwaves in estuaries are less well-understood than in the ocean. A new case study of marine heatwaves in the Chesapeake Bay finds the heatwaves can lead to reduced oxygen in bottom waters, threatening marine life and biogeochemical cycles. [JGR Oceans research]

Inland waters are a blind spot in greenhouse gas emissions
Researchers call for an extensive monitoring network to quantify carbon dioxide and methane released by China’s rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and ponds. [JGR Biogeosciences research][Eos research spotlight]

AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

French bottled water, 2016. Credit: Raul Pacheco-Vega, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

AGU News

Register to attend the Triennial Earth-Sun Summit during the eclipse!
The Triennial Earth-Sun Summit (TESS) will be held 7-12 April in Dallas, Texas, in the path of totality. Scientific programming begins on 9 April, the day after the eclipse. To register, simply email us at [email protected]. Scientific sessions are on-site only. AGU’s housing is full. [TESS website][scientific program]

Featured Research

Bottled water drinkers underestimate price markup over tap
In France, bottled water costs 100 times the price of tap water. But bottled water drinkers are more likely than tap drinkers to perceive this gap to be much smaller, according to a new analysis of 4,003 survey responses. [Water Resources Research]

Canadian taiga will burn hotter and more frequently this century
Warming temperatures and drying can be expected to contribute to rising fire danger and severity throughout Canada’s coniferous forests through the end of century if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, a new study based on fire trends from 1976 to 2014 and the latest climate models finds. [JGR Atmospheres research]

Solar Orbiter predicts incoming solar storms
Bursts of plasma from the Sun called coronal mass ejections can damage Earth’s satellites and electric grids. Many of these problems can be avoided with warning of incoming storms, but current models aren’t good at forecasting arrival times and severity. Data from the Solar Orbiter demonstrated for the first time how spacecraft orbiting halfway between Earth and the Sun could improve forecast accuracy and precision, predict the evolution of geomagnetic storms and provide 40 hours of advance warning. [Space Weather research]

Extreme reservoir water drawdowns, accelerated by climate change, bring environmental drawbacks
Changing climate and water demands are causing more frequent extreme swings in water levels for many lakes, especially human-made reservoirs. A case study at Beaverdam Reservoir in Virginia, USA, tracked impacts on biology, chemistry and aquatic physics during a rapid 36% volume loss over only a single month. Nutrients concentrated at the surface, feeding an algae bloom that dropped oxygen levels as the bloom died. [JGR Biogosciences research]

Urban nature is often plentiful but inaccessible
A novel research framework deepens understanding of urban nature accessibility and highlights progress toward green space goals.. [Eos research spotlight][GeoHealth research]

Preparing to meet a metal-rich asteroid
The recently launched Psyche mission will explore the eponymous asteroid and determine whether it is a fragment of a planetary core or a primordial, metal-rich body. [Editors’ highlight][AGU Advances research]

Visit the AGU Newsroom to read about the latest science from AGU’s 25 journals, get updates about our organization, register for complimentary press access to AGU journals, and find topical experts. Update your subscription preferences.

AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

Some of the fastest subsiding, or vertically sinking, places are home to large numbers of people. From figure 2 of Davydzenska et al 2024 Geophysical Research Letters https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104497

AGU News

Register to attend the Triennial Earth-Sun Summit during the eclipse!
The Triennial Earth-Sun Summit (TESS) will be held 7-12 April in Dallas, Texas, in the path of totality. Scientific programming begins on 9 April, the day after the eclipse. To register, simply email us at [email protected]. Scientific sessions are on-site only. AGU’s housing is full. [TESS website][scientific program]

Featured Research

Electricity demand spikes emissions during heat waves
Emissions from the power sector have been underestimated by nearly 35% during heat waves in some cases, according to a new study that observed pulses of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide columns over power plants from space and attributed the spike to elevated electricity use. [Earth’s Future research]

Geoengineering strategy would bring severe drought to tropical Africa
Severe and lengthy droughts brought on by continued high emissions of greenhouse gases could be softened for most of Earth’s lands by injecting sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere. Aerosols scatter incoming sunlight back to space, cooling the planet overall. But a cost may be intensifying drying in some locations, especially tropical Africa. [JGR Atmospheres research]

First global subsidence map reveals sinking problem for cities
Around the world, an estimated 5% of land, or 6.3 million square kilometers, is sinking significantly, affecting 25% of the world’s population — nearly 2 billion people. Groundwater extraction contributes to this sinking problem and land is sinking fastest in Philippines, Iran, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Uzbekistan. [Geophysical Research Letters]

Recovery of Indian summer monsoon will lag behind CO₂ removal
Warming has perturbed the regular arrival time of the Indian summer monsoon, risking food security for a billion local inhabitants. In an idealized future world in which carbon dioxide is removed from Earth’s atmosphere at the same rate humanity added it, the monsoon could return to preindustrial patterns, but heat stored in the deep oceans will delay recovery. [Earth’s Future research]

Anzali Wetland, Iran’s “ecological gem,” may dry up by 2060
More sustainable watershed management and agriculture are needed to avoid a desiccated fate. [Eos research spotlight][Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres research]

Plate boundaries may experience higher temperature and stress than we thought
Surface heat flux data shed light on conditions deep below Earth’s surface, at a tectonic plate interface where major earthquakes initiate.[Eos research spotlight] [Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems research]

Get updates about our organization, register for complimentary press access to AGU journals, and find topical experts. Update your subscription preferences.

AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.