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1 May 2012
Using science to disarm disaster
When it comes to natural hazards, early warnings and preparedness are key, federal and local government officials stressed at the American Geophysical Union’s inaugural Science Policy Conference in Washington, DC, Tuesday.
23 March 2012
Tsunami preparedness briefing on Capitol Hill stresses disaster education
A year after the tsunami that devastated the Japanese coastline, the United States still needs to ramp up its tsunami preparedness, experts say. Scientists at a March 21 Capitol Hill briefing in Washington, D.C., stressed the importance of detecting tsunamis before they reach coastlines and educating the public on tsunami dangers.
9 December 2011
Photographing lava helps measure its flow from afar – safely
Some volcanoes erupt in violent explosions – think Mount St. Helens or Vesuvius – while others ooze more gradually, spewing out lava for weeks or months at a time. The lava has the potential to engulf homes and farm fields in its path, so scientists are interested in measuring the direction, speed and distance of flows.
7 October 2011
Study shows how warm swath of ocean may keep hurricanes at sea
One hurricane season might pummel the United States, while others bypass it completely – and now scientists have gained a new understanding about why. A team of oceanographers has identified how and why the varying size of a vast body of warm ocean water to the east and south of the U.S. can affect the number of hurricanes that make U.S. landfall. With this new insight, hurricane specialists may someday be able to better predict the likelihood that storms will make landfall during a given hurricane season.
14 September 2011
Atmospheric electrons may act differently before megaquakes
Just before the recent huge earthquake in Japan, electron counts in the atmosphere high above the epicenter took a surprising turn, a new study indicates. Measurements gleaned from GPS satellites recorded more electrons in the ionosphere over the soon-to rupture fault than expected. A similar uptick occurred before extra-large quakes in Chile in 2010 and Sumatra in 2004, the researcher found.
A tantalizing question for seismologists and atmospheric scientists is whether this high-altitude electron bump, if confirmed by other studies, is a true early-warning signal for devastating earthquakes.
1 July 2010
(CORRECTED*) Gulf Gusher: Oil-spill science has advanced, but data is sparse
Since the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling platform sank on April 22, millions of gallons of oil and gas have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. As efforts to staunch the undersea flow continue, scientists (including many AGU members) are working round-the-clock to determine where the oil is going, what’s happening to it, and how it is affecting the environment. Much is unknown about what the effects will be from a spill …
9 March 2010
U.S. House of Representatives Acts to Reduce Hazards
The U.S. House of Representatives approved last week a bill that renews two important federal programs aimed at mitigating and reducing destruction from natural disasters. This legislation, H.R. 3820, the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2010, was approved on 2 March with a vote of 335-50. First, the bill renews the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), which was created in 1977. Not only is NEHRP responsible for developing …
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.