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19 April 2013
Exploring a changing coast in the face of sea level rise – Galveston, Texas
Over 80 scientists gathered at a conference here this week to share their latest research on past, current, and projected future sea level rise and to discuss how this information can be used to shape policy. Despite their diverse perspectives and expertise, one thing the scientists agreed on for sure: the rates and impacts of sea level rise are local and communities are facing a growing risk.
13 December 2012
Secret tsunamis of the South Pacific
The crumbling volcanic islands of the southern Pacific Ocean could be a major source of undocumented – and potentially dangerous – tsunamis.
6 December 2012
Ground under ancient Chilean volcano is rising fast
The Laguna del Maule volcanic field in the Chilean Andes Mountains lies in the heart of volcano country. The region is a well-known subduction zone, where the friction of one crustal plate sliding under another heats rock to form magma. But for the last 2,000 years, Laguna del Maule has been a quiet water-filled caldera. Now, scientists are recording rapid deformation of the land around the caldera, suggesting that a magma reservoir is inflating below the surface.
5 December 2012
Glacial quakes mask those warning of volcanic eruptions
Swarms of tiny, repeating earthquakes often precede volcanic unrest, as they did prior to the 1989 eruption of Alaska’s Mount Redoubt. New research at Mount Rainier in Washington state finds that glaciers produce similar low magnitude seismic shocks that are not predictive of volcanic activity, and that could be interfering with efforts to predict when a dangerous eruption is imminent.
Tsunamis in the sky
High in the sky seems like an unusual place to look for a tsunami, a natural disaster created deep beneath the ocean’s surface. But an international team of researchers is scanning the atmosphere for signs of these hazards. Looking at the sky, they say, could help scientists and emergency response agencies improve warning systems before they see any problems on land.
23 August 2012
The rare 5.8 Virginia earthquake: One year later
One year ago today, the Washington Monument – along with many other buildings in Washington, D.C. – shook as a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered near Mineral, Va., rattled the ground beneath it. Since then, experts have deemed the structure unsafe for tourists to enter and estimated that the monument suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage that will take years to repair. Despite these setbacks, the rare seismic event sparked a new era in earthquake assessment in the eastern U.S.
21 June 2012
AGU interviews astronauts in space
AGU Video: On 19 June, AGU had the unique opportunity to interview three astronauts aboard the International Space Station about what it’s like to live in orbit and study the Earth from space. Astronauts Joe Acaba (NASA), André Kuipers (ESA) and Don Pettit (NASA) answered questions about their everyday lives in orbit, the hazards of life in space and how their experiences in microgravity have affected their thoughts about our home planet. Watch the video interview here!
15 June 2012
Volcanic impacts on everyday life — circa 1600
Massive volcanic eruptions that spew sulfur-rich particles into the atmosphere can disrupt climate around the globe, leading to cooler temperatures worldwide. Researchers can track the impacts by looking at ice cores or tree rings that record summer growth, but a different approach involves scouring through historical records to see what kind of an impact these volcanic explosions had on everyday life.
11 June 2012
Potential Iceland eruption could pump acid into European airspace
A modern recurrence of an extraordinary type of volcanic eruption in Iceland could inject large quantities of hazardous gases into North Atlantic and European flight corridors, potentially for months at a time, a new study suggests. Using computer simulations, researchers are investigating the likely atmospheric effects if a “flood lava” eruption took place in Iceland today.
21 May 2012
Monitoring earthquakes with GPS could yield faster disaster response
When the March 2011 earthquake shook Japan, scientists needed about 20 minutes to conduct a full analysis. But now, researchers have found a way to shrink that critical analysis time for large earthquakes to two minutes. The speedup results from using data from GPS networks for the initial evaluation, rather than readings of seismometers.
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.