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7 April 2017
Scientists uncover isotopic fingerprint of nitrous oxide emissions from Arctic tundra
A new study presents, for the first time, the isotopic fingerprint of nitrous oxide produced by Arctic soils. The finding opens new avenues for predicting future trends in atmospheric nitrous oxide as well as in identifying climate change mitigation actions in the Arctic, a region that is particularly sensitive to climate change.
30 March 2017
Lightning could be sending powerful electromagnetic radiation into space
During a thunderstorm, lightning that hits the ground may be shooting powerful electromagnetic radiation skyward. At least that is the new theory from a physicist in China who specializes in laser-plasma interactions.
14 March 2017
Volcanic eruption expanded ozone hole to record size
On April 22, 2015, the Chilean volcano Calbuco erupted, spewing volcanic ash 10 kilometers (six miles) skyward. But Calbuco didn’t just tear a hole in the Earth that day. A new study suggests it also tore a hole in the sky.
13 March 2017
A perfect storm of fire and ice may have led to snowball Earth
Harvard University researchers have a new hypothesis about what caused the runaway glaciation that covered the Earth pole-to-pole in ice.
10 February 2017
Daily disturbance from upper atmosphere leaves its footprints on tropical rainfall
A team of scientists led by postdoctoral researcher Takatoshi Sakazaki, from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s International Pacific Research Center (IPRC), has analyzed satellite-based observations and computer model simulations of tropical rainfall variation throughout the day in an effort to determine the root cause of the temporal patterns. Their results, accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, show that daily tropical rainfall distribution is significantly shaped by heating of the upper atmosphere.
8 February 2017
Gas hydrate breakdown unlikely to cause massive greenhouse gas release
The breakdown of methane hydrates due to warming climate is unlikely to lead to massive amounts of methane being released to the atmosphere, according to a recent interpretive review of scientific literature.
6 February 2017
Greener cities could help urban plants endure summer heat
Urban plants offer city dwellers many benefits, such as improved health and decreased crime and pollution. And now we have even more reason to green our cities. A new study from the Water Sustainability and Climate project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison indicates that adding more greenery to the urban landscape could help urban vegetation cope better with the summer heat and a warming climate. In other words, the more plants in a city, the merrier they all are.
1 February 2017
Coal mine dust lowers spectral reflectance of Arctic snow by up to 84 percent, new study finds
Dust released by an active coal mine in Svalbard, Norway reduced the spectral reflectance of nearby snow and ice by up to 84 percent, according to new research.
25 January 2017
Weather patterns, trans-Pacific pollution cause spring ozone spikes in SW US
Late spring and early summer is when the air quality is generally good across most of the United States. But newly published research details how a common springtime weather pattern and pollution transported from Asia often conspire to create unhealthy ozone levels for the desert southwest. The new study adds to a growing body of work that explores how ozone can occasionally push some areas of the desert southwest above federal air quality standards.
13 January 2017
Scientists try to mitigate methane, from cows
There are about 33 million cattle in Mexico, where a few scientists are experimenting to concoct a cow diet that will reduce methane emissions.
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.