A recent study cautions that the Karoo, a potential target for shale gas exploration, might not be as seismologically calm as it appears.
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Changes in Sea Ice Microstructure Could Affect Climate Models
Granular sea ice needs to be twice as porous as columnar ice to allow water to flow through it—up to 10% brine by volume.
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A New Approach Can Better Predict Debris Flow Hazards Years After Fires
USGS hazard maps don’t always reflect real landslide risk in the years after wildfires. Fine-tuning assessments of vegetation recovery could help.
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The Fiery Tornadoes That Could Mop Up Oil Spills
More than 15 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, researchers are still searching for new ways to tackle disastrous spills. Some are looking to flaming twisters.
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Scientists Find Thousands of Cubic Kilometers of Magma Hiding Beneath Tuscany
We already know what’s Under the Tuscan Sun. Now, a technique called ambient noise tomography has allowed researchers to see deep under the Tuscan crust.
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Mongolian Mountains Rose When the Crust Bounced Back
A plate folded, the lithosphere sank, and up popped a mountain range.
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Vegetation Moves Upslope Across the Himalayas
The vegetation line in places like Nepal and Bhutan is shifting upward by meters per year, with implications for how water moves through the planet’s “Third Pole.”
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Low Snow in Eurasia Linked to Wildfires in California
Scientists found that low autumn snow levels in western Eurasia are associated with dry, warm winters in California, increasing the Golden State’s wildfire risk.
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Have We Been Focusing on the Wrong Ocean Pollutants? This Study Maps What We’ve Been Missing
A global analysis of more than 2,300 seawater samples found that largely unmonitored industrial compounds are widespread across oceans and may be changing crucial biological and carbon cycling processes.
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Tree Lines Are Migrating. Some Up, Some Down.
Between 2000 and 2020, 42% of tree lines around the world crept upward, largely because of climate change. But 25% moved downhill, seemingly because of factors such as land use changes and wildfires.