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14 August 2019
Unprecedented 2018 Bering Sea ice loss repeated in 2019
Sea ice in the Bering Sea reached record-low levels during winter 2018, thanks to persistent warm southerly winds. These conditions caused the ice to retreat to the northern reaches of the 800,000 square mile body of water. By the end of April 2018, sea ice was about 10 percent of normal. And then, much to scientists’ surprise, 2019 just missed eclipsing the record set in 2018.
7 August 2019
More intense non-tropical storms causing increased rainfall in Southeast U.S.
A new study in AGU’s journal Geophysical Research Letters examined the region’s precipitation records from 1895 to 2018. The new research found precipitation in the Southeast during the fall increased by almost 40 percent in the past century due to an increase in average daily rainfall rather than the overall number of storms.
6 August 2019
Moonquakes tumble boulders, build lunar scarps
The Apollo Moon buggies weren’t the only things rolling over the Moon’s surface in the early 1970s. New research has found that a strong moonquake in 1975 probably sent boulders tumbling down crater walls on our nearest neighbor.
5 August 2019
New study traces Io’s volcanic tides
Hundreds of volcanoes pockmark the surface of Io, the third largest of Jupiter’s 78 known moons, and the only body in our solar system other than Earth where widespread volcanism can be observed. A new study finds Io’s most powerful, persistent volcano, Loki Patera, brightens on a similar timescale to slight perturbations in Io’s orbit caused by Jupiter’s other moons, which repeat on an approximately 500-Earth-day cycle.
Geoengineering versus a volcano
Major volcanic eruptions spew ash particles into the atmosphere, which reflect some of the Sun’s radiation back into space and cool the planet. But could this effect be intentionally recreated to fight climate change? A new paper in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters investigates.
1 August 2019
Ancient plankton help researchers predict near-future climate
Temperature data inferred from plankton fossils from the Pliocene, an era with CO2 levels similar to today’s, allowed a research team to rectify discrepancies between climate models and other proxy temperature measurements.
25 July 2019
Melting ice may change shape of Arctic river deltas
Thawing ice cover and easily erodible permafrost may destabilize Arctic river deltas, according to new research. A new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters finds sea ice and permafrost both act to stabilize channels on Arctic river deltas.
24 July 2019
Scientists take high-speed video of waves to better understand sea spray
Waves crashing on seashores generate tiny droplets of water known as sea spray. Sea spray moves heat and water from the ocean to the atmosphere, but scientists are unsure which part of the wave-breaking process generates the most spray, whether it be wind shear, splashing, or the popping of air bubbles at the surface of the wave. To address this question, scientists generated breaking waves experimentally in a lab. They used a wave tank about the size of an average bowling lane to create miniature versions of plunging breakers, where the wave crest curls over itself and plunges downward.
27 June 2019
Study finds increased moisture facilitated decline in African fires in Africa
The amount of area burned across Africa declined by 18.5 percent between 2002 and 2016, according to a new study.
26 June 2019
Climate change is transforming northernmost Arctic landscapes
Isachsen, a permafrost monitoring site that sits at a latitude of 78 degrees north on the Arctic Canadian island of Ellef Ringnes, seemed like the last place that would feel the effects of climate change.
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.