Category: Earth
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Ice cores from Earth’s highest tropical peak provide insight into climate variability
Spatial correlation field (2°×2°) between HS δ18Ocol and the October through April ERSSTs for the period 1960–2019. Only the grid cells that are statistically significant at the 95% level (p-value ≤0.05) are plotted. The white triangle denotes the location of the ice core site. Credit: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (2023). DOI: 10.1029/2023JD039006 In the…
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Iceland on high alert for volcanic eruption—what we know so far
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The Reykjanes peninsula in south-west Iceland trembled with an intense swarm of earthquakes on the afternoon of Friday November 10. Hundreds of quakes were detected on the regional networks of seismometers and several were strong enough to be felt in Reykjavik, 50 kilometers away. A civil protection alert was called warning…
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Study highlights 4 strategies to overcome barriers to prescribed fire in the west
Cooperation at prescribed and cultural fire events. (a) Veteran firefighters and novices work together on a prescribed burn at the Klamath TREX (training exchange) near Orleans, California (image credit: JN Williams). (b) A cooperative extension “burn boss” briefs Prescribed Burn Association members ahead of a burn (image credit: L Quinn-Davidson). (c) The Mexican National Forestry…
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Sand and dust storm frequency increasing in many world regions, UN warns
“The sight of rolling dark clouds of sand and dust engulfing everything in their path and turning day into night is one of nature’s most intimidating spectacles. It is a costly phenomenon that wreaks havoc everywhere from Northern and Central Asia to sub-Saharan Africa.” Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD. Credit: UNCCD Sand and dust storms…
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Some of Today’s Earthquakes May Be Aftershocks From the 1800s
Recent research indicates that parts of the central and eastern United States may still be experiencing aftershocks from significant 19th-century earthquakes. The study analyzed seismic data from three historic quakes, concluding that some modern seismic activity in these areas could be long-lived aftershocks, mixed with background seismicity. Aftershocks follow large earthquakes — sometimes for weeks,…
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Climate engineering could slow Antarctic ice loss, study says
Researchers compared net ice accumulation in Antarctica for multiple stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) scenarios and a moderate emissions scenario with no SAI to historical levels between 1990–2009. Blue indicates a net gain in ice accumulation, while red indicates a net loss. Small dots indicate regions where no significant change is projected. The time period of…
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Arctic’s Role in Rapid Global Warming
A new study by UCL researchers indicates that the Arctic’s rapid warming will lead to the global 2 °C temperature threshold being reached eight years earlier than expected. This finding, which highlights the significant impact of Arctic amplification on global climate targets, calls for increased monitoring and understanding of Arctic temperatures to refine global warming…
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Georgia, Southeast among the most at-risk from climate change, report finds
Credit: CC0 Public Domain In the high-stakes fight against climate change, the United States—and the planet—are at a moment that is both hopeful and harrowing. U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases have fallen, even as the country’s population and economy grow. Since 2018, cities in every region have ramped up their efforts to reduce emissions and…
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NASA Forecasts El Niño-Driven Flood Fury This Winter
An unusually high tide, called a King Tide, floods a highway on-ramp in Northern California in January 2023. Sea level rise and El Niños can exacerbate this type of flooding. Credit: California King Tides Project Such high-tide flooding that inundates roads and buildings along the west coast of the Americas tends to be uncommon outside…
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Quantifying the risk associated with rockfalls in the Andes
Mountain road in Chile. Credit: INRAE High mountain regions often face a multitude of natural hazards, the combined effects of which, known as “cascading hazards,” can have serious consequences for infrastructure and urban areas. However, there is a lack of tools to prevent and quantify these complex risks. That’s why researchers across several countries have…