You are browsing the archive for 2017 Fall Meeting Archives - GeoSpace.
17 January 2018
Scientists monitor volcanic gases with digital cameras to forecast eruptions
Scientists have shown for the first time that volcanoes emit distinctive pulses of gas a few hours before erupting, which could lead to real-time forecasting of dangerous volcanic eruptions that are difficult to predict, according to the researchers.
11 January 2018
Collaboration between scientists and stakeholders vital to climate readiness in Alaska
Alaskan residents rely on sustenance species like salmon, caribou, and moose, but their needs can be at odds with companies mining natural resources and conservationists. The state’s future will depend on collaboration between these various stakeholders, and scientists can help bridge the gap between these groups, according to researchers at Southern Oregon University.
9 January 2018
Elections may be a catalyst for deforestation, new research suggests
Democratic elections may be a catalyst for deforestation, according to new research. A study that examined deforestation rates during election years found that competitive elections are associated with higher rates of deforestation. The reason? Politicians are trading trees for votes, according to the researchers.
5 January 2018
Scientists sift through lunar dirt for record of early Earth’s rocks
A team of scientists are examining crushed rocks brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts for evidence of minerals that might have been formed in the presence of water to better understand the early formation of Earth. They presented the preliminary results of their work last month at the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans.
4 January 2018
Scientists help Costa Rican community manage dwindling water supply
As part of an interdisciplinary, international research team called FurturAgua, researchers from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University have developed a tool they call the Groundwater Recharge Indicator for two watersheds in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica. The Groundwater Recharge Indicator can help community leaders prepare for the dry season by providing an estimate of water availability based on rainfall during the wet season. With this new tool, authorities can implement water conservation efforts such as collecting rainwater or using surface water instead of groundwater before the dry season begins and potential droughts occur, according to the researchers.
3 January 2018
Researchers develop model that could reduce wave-induced injuries to Delaware beachgoers
Being pummeled by a large wave can quickly ruin a perfect beach day, as it may require a trip to the hospital or even worse. But researchers in Delaware have developed a new method that could predict when wave-induced injuries are most likely to occur, potentially reducing incidences of these injuries to unsuspecting beachgoers along the state’s coast, according to scientists who presented the research last month at the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans.
22 December 2017
Scientists engineer microbes to form ‘memories’ of their environment
Microbes like bacteria aren’t conscious enough to form memories, but a group of scientists in Texas developed a new way for them to do so at the genetic level. Researchers report they’ve successfully engineered microbes to report on their environments and form genetic “memories” of the event. It’s a tool that could help scientists better understand chemical cycling on Earth and how microbes share information like antibiotic resistance with one another, according to the researchers.
Promising new wildfire behavior model may aid fire managers in near real-time
Wildfires continue to scar California beyond the normal fire season in what’s been a particularly catastrophic year for natural disasters across the U.S. But a new big-data solution for predicting wildfire spread is also heating up, and it may become a useful tool in the firefighters’ arsenal, according to wildfire researchers attending the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
21 December 2017
Organic aerosols in remote areas have shorter lives than scientists assumed
Scientists find the lifetime of organic aerosols in the upper atmosphere is on the order of 10 days, far shorter than scientists previously assumed.
15 December 2017
Lava-filled blocks on Venus may indicate geological activity
A global view of some well-known deformation features on Venus’s surface may indicate it’s capable of crustal motion, and that motion might even be happening today, scientists report.
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.