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17 June 2020
Vulnerable carbon stores twice as high where permafrost subsidence is factored in, new research finds
Sinking terrain caused by the loss of ice and soil mass in permafrost is causing deeper thaw than previously thought and making vulnerable twice as much carbon as estimates that don’t account for this shifting ground.
6 December 2019
Peatlands release more methane when disturbed by roads
Roads built through acidic wetlands may make greenhouse gas emissions from the wetlands spike by damming natural water flow, according to a new study in AGU’s Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.
17 December 2018
Leafcutter ant colonies may be an overlooked source of carbon dioxide emissions, new study finds
Factories mass produce goods for society and many emit greenhouse gases in the process, but not all are run by humans. Some factories lie underground and are operated around the clock by tireless six-legged workers. A new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, shows leafcutter ant nests can emit carbon dioxide at a rate thousands of times higher than regular soil.
14 September 2018
Mummified penguins tell of past and future deadly weather
New research links the mummified remains of penguin chicks in Antarctica to two massive weather-related calamities that could become more commonplace with climate change.
31 July 2017
Bacteria found near abandoned mines could shed light on early Earth
Acidified water draining from abandoned mines, studied primarily as a modern environmental hazard, may offer insight into the oxygenation of Earth’s early atmosphere and development of life on other planets, according to a new study.
11 April 2017
Researchers find mushrooms may hold clues to effect of carbon dioxide on lawns
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire set out to determine how rising carbon dioxide concentrations and different climates may alter vegetation like forests, croplands, and 40 million acres of American lawns. They found that the clues may lie in an unexpected source, mushrooms.
13 September 2016
Fungi make steep slopes more stable
Fungi are fantastic. They give us beer, bread and cheese. And if those delicious reasons aren’t sufficient, then here’s another: a new study suggests some fungi can help prevent shallow landslides and surface erosion.
12 May 2016
Small headwater streams export surprising amounts of carbon out of Pacific Northwest forests
Scientists have tracked a higher-than-expected amount of carbon flowing out of a Pacific Northwest forest from month to month through a small headwater stream, suggesting that forested watersheds may not store quite as much carbon as previously thought.
17 March 2016
All good things…
by Nanci Bompey Nanci Bompey is AGU’s public information manager. She is spending a week aboard the R/V Oceanus with scientists from Oregon State University (OSU) who are studying the role that small rivers play in the productivity of the coastal ocean during the winter. Click here to read Nanci’s previous blogs from this trip. We arrived at the dock at Newport Wednesday evening, unloaded our gear from the ship …
Making it all work: the crew
Wednesday is the last day of the cruise – we are zig-zagging back along the coast and will head back to Newport tonight. I am finally getting the hang of walking and living on a continuously rocking boat, including being shuttled across the lab on a rolling office chair when there’s a big swell. I’ve also realized how many people, all working together, it takes to pull off a research cruise.
16 March 2016
Sleeping, showering and working on the ship
On Monday night, I slept for the first time on the ship while it was moving. Laying in my top bunk, swaying side to side, I could hear the water moving and waves hitting the side of the boat. The motion of the ship rocked me to sleep, but every so often the boat would rock further sideways, and I would have to brace myself so I wouldn’t fall out of the top bunk. I could also hear the CTD hitting the deck periodically while the night crew did their work.
15 March 2016
A rough ride down the Oregon coast
When you plan a research cruise in the winter in Oregon, there’s a good chance the weather will change your plans. That’s what happened to us this weekend. We were finally able to get back out on the ocean on Monday afternoon and we drove south to the Umpqua Hydrographic line – a seven-hour trip. It was a rough ride and most people spent it in their bunks or in the lounge, where books flew off the shelves when we hit particularly rough spots.
14 March 2016
Waiting for the weather to clear
On Sunday afternoon, we headed back to Newport. The scientists and crew were closely watching the weather to see when we will be able to head back on the water. The down time gives Goni and his team some time to filter water samples that were collected from the Newport Hydrographic Line on Friday. The samples are one piece of a larger project trying to figure out how small coastal rivers are influencing coastal ocean productivity during the winter.
12 March 2016
Out on the Ocean
We finally headed out on the ocean Friday morning. Unfortunately, bad weather is rolling in this weekend so we’re going to head back in Friday night. We’ll hopefully get back out on Monday. Despite only being a day trip, I still got some flavor for being on a research cruise, including feeling a little queasy around lunchtime. But I spent some time outside and I felt much better. I am, hopefully, getting my sea legs.
11 March 2016
Packing up and heading out
After a one-day delay due to bad weather, we finally headed out of Corvallis on Thursday afternoon. On the way to Newport, where the R/V Oceanus is docked, we stopped to take water samples from the Alsea River and estuary, which feed into the ocean. Miguel and his team are looking at how small rivers, like the Alsea, contribute nutrients to the coastal ocean that feed phytoplankton blooms during the winter.
8 March 2016
Embarking on a research cruise
This week I will fly to Oregon to meet up with scientists from Oregon State University and embark on my first research cruise. I will be an observer aboard the R/V Oceanus, a mid-sized research vessel owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by OSU. We will be out on the ship for a week, traveling up and down the Pacific Northwest coast, and I’ll be blogging, taking pictures and shooting video to capture both the research being done and the experience of being aboard a research ship.
