5/22/2024: Earth’s high mountains drying since the 1970s

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photograph of sunrise over mountain peaks. In the foreground, two people climb a scree field with cliffs to the left and a small peak to the right.

Sunrise on the Loft, Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Credit: Ryan Carpenter/NPS CC BY-ND

AGU News

WaterSciCon press registration open
Registration is open for the Water Science Conference, a collaboration of AGU and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) convening 24-27 June in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The program features the confluence of science, policy and community and sessions coupling research to applied workshops. Interested reporters and press officers should email [email protected] with credentials. [press information][scientific program][eligibility]

Featured Research

Rockies and Ethiopian Highlands most vulnerable to high elevation drying trend
The air and soil of most mountain ranges worldwide have dried significantly since the 1970s due to warming temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns driven by climate change. The Rocky Mountains and Ethiopian Highlands have seen the most critical drying, with both atmospheric and soil aridity increasing by 13% across all elevation gradients. [Earth’s Future research]

More frequent winter warm spells threaten snowpack in western US and Canada
In western North American, warms spells —three or more days of unseasonably warm temperature highs — account for 49% of snow loss in winter. The loss occurs during a small window of time, only 0.6 days on average. But climate change is projected to make winter warm spell three times more frequent in humid regions, increasing snow loss by 147%, and stressing water supplies for many communities. [Water Resources Research]

Low carbon emission pathway halves future anthropogenic mercury pollution
Burning fossil fuels, especially coal, releases mercury, a toxin with severe health consequences for people and wildlife. High carbon emissions scenarios release mercury at present-day levels through 2060. On the low emissions pathway, the mercury peak will come at 2030 and decline faster. The cost of delay is compounded by re-emission of mercury deposited on land and in oceans. [Earth’s Future research]

Nature-based carbon removal strategies most popular, least effective
To achieve net zero carbon, countries will need to remove carbon dioxide that has already been released to the atmosphere. German researchers assessed 14 carbon removal options for technological, legal and institutional readiness, economic and environmental impact, and public perception. Removal potential is small compared to the size of the problem, underlining the need to reel back emissions now.  [Earth’s Future research]

Red-light-loving bacteria could expand the search for life
Most stars in our galaxy are red dwarfs, which emit far-red light. Whether they can fuel significant oxygen-generating photosynthesis is unknown. Scientists are uncovering genes responsible for oxygenic photosynthesis in cyanobacteria to shift the search for potentially habitable worlds. [Eos news highlight][Astrobiology Science Conference abstract]

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5/16/2024: Farming seas wisely brings ecological benefits

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A new paper in Earth’s Future examines the inputs and outputs, costs and benefits of three categories of ocean farming: human fed (fish, crustaceans), sunlight fed (seaweed) and “unfed” (shellfish).
Credit: Liu et al. (2024) Earth’s Future https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003766

AGU News

WaterSciCon press registration open
Registration is open for the Water Science Conference, a collaboration of AGU and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) convening 24-27 June in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The program features the confluence of science, policy and community and sessions coupling research to applied workshops. Interested reporters and press officers should email [email protected] with credentials. [press information][scientific program][eligibility]

Featured Research

Streams lose year-round flow in California
A survey of stream gauges in dry regions of California found 13% of 158 minimally-disturbed streams had lost perennial flow — a sign of the drying influence of a warming climate. Streams burdened by human development are generally drying faster but, in some cases, regulation has made water flow perennially in previously ephemeral streams. [Water Resources Research]

Landslides mark “recent” tectonic activity on Mars
In western Arabia Terra, Mars, a long fault system shows signs of repeated activity during the last 2 billion years, a time when the Red Planet was thought to have little tectonic activity. Four landslides of different ages tumble to the crater floor, triggered by tectonic processes that shorten the crust, thrusting up a chunk of the surface and creating a scarp up to 700 meters high. The total displacement would require about 3,300 marsquakes of the magnitude observed in the modern era, the researchers calculated. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Farming the seas wisely has ecological benefits
Mariculture employing seaweed rafts, deep fish cages and shellfish rafts, hanging cages, and bottom sowing could turn ecological burdens into benefits with strategic selection of species, technology and location. Case studies off the coast of China, the largest mariculture producer, demonstrate combining approaches can mitigate water contamination from intensive fish farming – and feed a lot of people. [Earth’s Future research][special issue on Environmental Constraints to Increasing Complexity in the Biosphere]

Auroras signal more oxygen on Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede
in 2021, the Juno spacecraft passed within 1,053 kilometers of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, getting a close look at the flow of plasma and charged particles between the massive magnetosphere of the planet and the moon. All of that electron inflow from Jupiter excites a UV aurora in the thin atmosphere of the moon, suggesting it holds 10 times more oxygen than previously calculated, and that a unique oxygen-generation process may be in effect on the solar system’s icy moons. [JGR Planets research]

Alerting communities to hyperlocalized urban flooding
A high-accuracy, low-cost sensor network may change the way urban floods are detected and monitored. [Eos research spotlight][Water Resources Research]

The secret to mimicking natural faults? Plexiglass and Teflon
Researchers found an effective way to produce natural fault behavior in the laboratory. [Eos research spotlight] [Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth research]

Tiny satellites can provide significant information about space
Students and faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder use CubeSats to learn more about the near-Earth environment. [Eos research spotlight][AGU Advances research]

A new scheme to empower global air-conditioning energy modeling
An explicit air-conditioning adoption scheme and a global dataset improve urban energy demand modeling and unlock exciting capabilities in Earth system models. [Eos editors’ highlight][Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems research]

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5/09/2024: Peak melt for Everest’s East Rongbuk Glacier expected by 2060

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Photograph of rocks and ice fins in foreground; mountain in the background against blue sky and high clouds.

Ice pinnacles on the East Rongbuk Glacier with Mount Everest (also known by its Tibetan name Qomolangma or Nepali Sagarmatha) in the background.
Credit: Mark Horrell CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

AGU News

AGU announces Kristen Averyt, Ph.D., as new EVP, Science
Averyt joins AGU from the Executive Office of the President, Council on Environmental Quality, where she served as Director for Drought and Western Resilience. [press release]

Astrobiology Science Conference 2024 – this week!
Check out a new commentary revisiting the potential for life on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus and related meeting sessions presented or chaired by the authors:

Press registration remains open through Friday, 10 May and grants access to session recordings viewable after the conference ends. To register, email [email protected] with your credentials. [media advisory and tips]

Solar Storms
Large geomagnetic storms are forecast for the weekend, emerging from a sunspot rivaling the source of the famous 1859 Carrington Event. Here’s some of the latest AGU science on space weather impacts:

Featured Research

Moisture trains deliver big snow to Antarctic ice sheet interiors
Spaceborne radar shows moisture arriving in atmospheric river-like systems at the southern continent, followed by extraordinary snowfall events over the Amundsen Sea, Ice Shelf and deep into the interior of the ice sheet. [JGR Atmospheres research]

Meltwater from Everest’s East Rongbuk climbing route will peak by 2060
Climbers on Everest’s northeast ridge route from Tibet follow the East Rongbuk Glacier to Camp 1 at the North Col. Researchers picked the relatively well-measured East Rongbuk to improve modeling of ice dynamics and predictions of future change for glacier “water towers” that supply critical water needs for mountain communities. The glacier will continually lose mass this century, the study found, with annual meltwater volume peaking around 2060 if high greenhouse gas emissions continue.  [Earth’s Future research]

Can ice melt on the surface of present-day Mars?
Unlikely, according to new research that applies recent advances in modeling turbulent air flow on Earth to the Red Planet to estimate how fast ice sublimates to gas on the cold surface — and if any conditions would allow for liquid water. The model has applications to simulating surface conditions on earth Earth, Titan, or exoplanets. [JGR Planets research]

How mantle movements shape Earth’s surface
Two new data sets help researchers tease apart the influences of plate tectonics and mantle movement on surface topography. [Eos research spotlight][JGR Solid Earth research]

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5/01/2024: Climate change slows forest regrowth after wildfires

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Photograph: burned skeletons of trees on mountain slope against a partially cloudy sky.

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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4/24/2024: Carbon neutrality would significantly curb climate inequality

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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

Planet versus Plastics: an AGU Special Collection
Earth Day may have come and gone, but plastics are a year-long problem. This special collection showcases research on how to measure and monitor plastics as they move around the oceans and atmosphere. It also explores the myriad impacts plastics can have on human and environmental health. [browse the special collection]

Reaching carbon neutrality would significantly reduce climate inequality
Climate extremes, such as heatwaves, droughts and heavy precipitation, cause physical damage and decrease public health. Achieving carbon neutrality by the late 21st century, following an intermediate emissions pathway, could reduce the number of people exposed to extreme rainfall and heat by about 90%. Benefits would be particularly strong in Africa and Asia, which have large populations. [Earth’s Future research]

Climate change could stretch Atlantic hurricane season by a month
Warmer sea-surface temperatures in the springtime Atlantic paired with a La Nina in the autumn drive earlier starts and later ends, respectively, to the Atlantic hurricane season, a new study finds. Such conditions could lead to longer hurricane seasons, with a model estimating 27 to 41 days’ gain. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Atmospheric rivers to dominate extreme precipitation in US Northeast
The densely populated northeastern United States has experienced the most rapid increase in the frequency of extreme rainfall within the country in recent decades, with both tropical cyclones and atmospheric rivers as major events. That trend is likely to continue, with atmospheric rivers taking over as the dominant cause of extreme rainfall events, a new study finds. [Earth’s Future research]

Health impacts of wildfire and prescribed burns along the West Coast
Three new studies examine smoke exposure and resulting health impacts in California, Oregon and Washington. Together, these present a view of how different smoke sources disproportionately impact various communities in the three states, which could help improve state-level fire and public health planning.

  • Schollaert et al. present the first analysis of smoke exposure from wildfire, prescribed burns and agricultural fires from 2014 to 2020 across the three states and found Native American communities had higher exposure to wildfire particulate matter in all three states. [GeoHealth research]
  • Looking at zip code-level health outcomes from smoke exposure, Do et al. found California communities with higher proportions of Black and Pacific Islander populations face poorer outcomes from fire-derived particulate matter exposure. [GeoHealth research]
  • And Rosenberg et al. explore how prescribed burns, while decreasing wildfire risk, could increase the health burden from low-level but frequent smoke exposures in California. [Earth’s Future research]

The world’s lakes aren’t healthy. Treat them like human patients, these scientists say.
Lakes can face a slew of issues — pollution, evaporation, invasions — that may become chronic, but it can be difficult to identify, frame and treat those problems because lakes are often interconnected and trans-boundary ecosystems. Using human health terminology and anthropomorphic thinking could help improve understanding and motivate action, scientists propose. [Earth’s Future research][Eos research spotlight]

4/17/2024: Low-lying Tuvalu to face “half-island floods” every 5 years by 2060

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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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4/10/2024: Hot oceans and strong winds shrank 2023 Antarctic sea ice

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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. 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  

Hot oceans and strong winds shrank 2023 Antarctic sea ice
The 2023 Antarctic sea ice extent maximum on 7 September was the smallest observed since the satellite era began: about 17 million square kilometers. This was due to warm upper ocean water and strong winds that impeded sea ice development, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters research] 

Great Basin snowfall can’t make up for aridification
The Great Basin in the western United States has been losing groundwater increasingly quickly. Even during heavy snowfall years, when snowmelt can replenish some groundwater, total water storage has been dropping. This is partly due to increased evaporation rates as temperatures warm, a new study finds. [Geophysical Research Letters research] 

Cutting emissions could reverse European drought trends
New models of a world in which greenhouse gas concentrations and temperatures are no longer rising find that the decline in summer rainfall in Europe, which has persisted in recent years, could be reversed. The pattern is strongest for northern Europe and the Mediterranean. [Geophysical Research Letters research] 

Marine heatwave helped create mega-hail event in Spain
In August 2022, hailstones up to 12 centimeters in diameter struck Spain. New modeling shows that a marine heatwave, caused by anthropogenic climate change, led to conditions favorable for the formation of such an extreme hailstorm. [Geophysical Research Letters research] 

Simulation suggests “great Caribbean quake” 600 years ago
Geologists have debated what caused flooding that left corals mysteriously stranded inland on the British Virgin Islands 600 years ago. New simulations explore two possible culprits: a large hurricane and a tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake north of Puerto Rico. A tsunami fits their models better. [JGR Solid Earth research] 

Curiosity Rover could be stirring up methane from Martian soils
The Mars Curiosity Rover’s roving and drilling may be breaking up the hardened, salty soils that seal methane in the ground. That could explain the brief, localized methane spikes the rover’s instruments have been detecting. [JGR Planets research][Eos editor’s highlight] 

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4/3/2024: Waves are getting taller because of climate change

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Anthropogenic climate change is impacting wave heights around the world, with waves in the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean growing the most, a new study in Geophysical Research Letters finds. Credit: Frederik Rosar/unsplash

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]

Celebrate the total solar eclipse with AGU
Join us before the eclipse on Monday, 8 April, for a TESS Pre-Eclipse Live Broadcast at 11 – 11:45 am CDT, featuring panelists Mike Liemohn, University of Michigan; Nicholeen Viall, NASA PUNCH Mission Scientist; and Fallon Konow, Georgia State University, University of Rome Sapienza. Don’t miss out on this stellar event streaming across our social media channels: Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn & YouTube. [watch the livestream here] [TESS website][scientific program][press site]

Featured Research

Waves are getting taller because of human-induced climate change
The world’s waves got a little bit taller on average from 1961 to 2020, a new study reveals. Waves in the Arctic and Southern Oceans saw the most growth, largely because the loss of sea-ice means more open water, which increases the distance wind has to build up waves. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Gulf of Mexico dead zones are getting more acidic
The northern Gulf of Mexico experiences low oxygen zones, or “dead”
zones, that are ecologically and economically damaging. Now, the first
multi-decade study of pH reconstruction (1986-2019) finds that the summer dead zones also experience acidification driven by climate change; the acidification is projected to worsen over time. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Data availability limits research on health impacts of wildfire smoke
Climate change is making wildfires more common and intense, and understanding health impacts from wildfire smoke is critical for public health. A new review of research on wildfire smoke exposures and health outcomes finds that while data on smoke exposure are widely available in real-time, data on health outcomes are delayed. This creates a barrier in robustly linking wildfire exposure to health outcomes at state and larger scales. [GeoHealth research]

Locusts drive people to cities, reduce agricultural output in eastern Africa
Locust swarms can quickly devastate crops, reducing food supply and increasing the cost of living. A new model examines how locust swarms can prompt people to abandon agriculture and move to urban areas, limiting food supply while increasing food demand in urban areas. [Earth’s Future research]

Wildfire smoke slows ponderosa pine photosynthesis
Wildfire smoke can impact photosynthesis by decreasing sunlight, but a new study reveals that as smoke interacts with ponderosa pine needles, it changes how the leaves physically take in and emit gases, slowing photosynthesis. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Human activities threaten microbial life in cryptic subterranean estuaries
Subterranean estuaries are where terrestrial groundwater and seawater mix. These underground environments have been studied relatively little, and now, a new study profiles the microbes living in these unique environments and uses lab experiments to explore how human activities could alter the microbes’ demographics, with consequences for water quality. [JGR Biogeosciences research][Eos editor’s highlight]

3/27/2024: Lightning does strike twice in these hotspots

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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.

 

3/20/2024: Colorado River Basin historically drought-stricken; warming may amplify

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Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. Credit: David Lusvardi/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

Research roundup: Reykjanes geology and eruptive history
The coastal town of Grindavík on the peninsula of Reykjanes in Iceland faces yet another eruption, dig into some recent and foundational research on Reykjanes’ tectonic and volcanic history. [Kinematics of the Reykjanes Ridge][Variations in Volcanism and Tectonics Along the Hotspot-Influenced Reykjanes Ridge][Detailed tectonic evolution of the Reykjanes Ridge during the past 15 Ma]

Colorado River Basin historically drought-stricken; warming may amplify
The Colorado River has a long history of naturally occurring droughts, and a new study reports more dry spells than previously known over the past 2000 years. Tree-ring records of streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin from 1 CE onward and modern streamflow values reveal that 12 of 51 droughts over that period were worse than the 2000-2021 megadrought. Warming is likely to exacerbate the Basin’s natural wet-dry cycles. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Green space can help mental health, but access and location matter
Green space, or areas with vegetation, can help alleviate mental health issues, but access to and quality of green space varies geographically and across the urban-rural divide. A new study of youth mental health and green space in North Carolina finds youth in (sub)urban areas would benefit most from added green space, while youth in rural areas may benefit more from increased accessibility to existing greenspace. [GeoHealth research]

Scientists track down elusive record of strongest observed solar flare
The strongest solar flare in observed history was “the Carrington event” in 1859. Strong solar flares can leave fingerprints in carbon isotopes, but scientists didn’t find the isotopic signature for the Carrington event in mid-latitude trees. A new study finally finds a carbon signature in high-latitude trees, prompting questions of why only high-latitude trees had captured this important signal. [Geophysical Research Letters research]

Where and how sea-level rise threatens coastal areas and communities
To better understand how sea-level rise threatens coastal areas, scientists propose a new indicator to estimate the risk of coastal flooding under climate change. [Eos editor’s highlight][AGU Advances 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.