• About
  • Sections
  • Topics
    • Climate
    • Earth Science
    • Oceans
    • Space & Planets
    • Health & Ecosystems
    • Culture & Policy
    • Education & Careers
    • Opinions
  • Projects
    • ENGAGE
    • Editors’ Highlights
    • Editors’ Vox
    • Eos en Español
    • Eos 简体中文版
    • Print Archive
  • Blogs
    • Research & Developments
    • The Landslide Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Submit to Eos
  • AGU.org
  • Career Center
  • Join AGU
  • Give to AGU
  • About
  • Sections
  • Topics
    • Climate
    • Earth Science
    • Oceans
    • Space & Planets
    • Health & Ecosystems
    • Culture & Policy
    • Education & Careers
    • Opinions
  • Projects
    • ENGAGE
    • Editors’ Highlights
    • Editors’ Vox
    • Eos en Español
    • Eos 简体中文版
    • Print Archive
  • Blogs
    • Research & Developments
    • The Landslide Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Submit to Eos
Skip to content
  • AGU.org
  • Career Center
  • Join AGU
  • Give to AGU
Eos

Eos

Science News by AGU

Support Eos
Sign Up for Newsletter
  • About
  • Sections
  • Topics
    • Climate
    • Earth Science
    • Oceans
    • Space & Planets
    • Health & Ecosystems
    • Culture & Policy
    • Education & Careers
    • Opinions
  • Projects
    • ENGAGE
    • Editors’ Highlights
    • Editors’ Vox
    • Eos en Español
    • Eos 简体中文版
    • Print Archive
  • Blogs
    • Research & Developments
    • The Landslide Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Submit to Eos

Alka Tripathy-Lang

Alka Tripathy-Lang is a freelance science writer covering stories about Earth and environmental science. Alka holds a Ph.D. in geology from Arizona State University and conducted postdoctoral research at the Berkeley Geochronology Center.

A cloudy sky above a landscape of evergreens and trees lacking any leaves, a cascade of beaver ponds cuts through the forest. On the right side of one of the ponds, a moose stands with its head down, reflected in the water.
Posted inNews

Scientists EEAGER-ly Track Beavers Across Western United States

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 3 January 20233 January 2023

Efficiently tracking nature’s engineers—beavers—at the scale of entire watersheds over time is now possible, thanks to a new artificial intelligence–trained model called EEAGER.

On the right is the first stratigraphic section of the Grand Canyon, from Powell’s 1875 report, showing what would later be termed the Great Unconformity. A is the metamorphic basement—the oldest rocks that have been contorted. B is the Precambrian Grand Canyon Supergroup, which is composed of tilted sedimentary rocks that lack fossil assemblages. C indicates flat-lying Paleozoic rocks, which contain fossils marking the explosion of life. Two unconformities can be seen at x and y, with the former marking the Great Unconformity. The image on the left is a recent photograph of the Grand Canyon from Walhalla Plateau, with the red line showing the Great Unconformity. Blue lines trace the tilted layers below the famed surface, and yellow lines trace the flat-lying sedimentary rocks on top.
Posted inNews

The Great Unconformity or Great Unconformities?

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 23 December 202231 January 2023

Some scientists think the Great Unconformity was caused by Snowball Earth’s glaciations. Recent work suggests these phenomena might not be related.

Close-up of the palm leaves of Babad Lombok held together by a string threaded through a hole in each page. Each side of the palm leaves shows inscriptions in Old Javanese.
Posted inNews

Stories Scribed on Palm Leaves Help Scientists Understand Ancient Eruption

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 19 December 202219 December 2022

Deposits from the 1257 Samalas eruption may contain artifacts of an ancient kingdom, according to scientists who link volcanology studies with histories written onto palm leaves.

A map of the world centered on the Pacific Ocean, with continents in gray and oceans in white. Lines of bright colors cross the oceans and wind around continents, depicting the locations of transoceanic subsea cables.
Posted inNews

Making Underwater Cables SMART with Sensors

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 12 December 202212 December 2022

Future cables that stretch across the ocean, transmitting cat videos and financial transactions, could also contain temperature, pressure, and seismic sensors that would allow scientists to spy on the seafloor.

Three globes showing deep mantle structures in shades of red (hot structures) and blue (cold structures), with shading in each color family indicating depth. The first globe represents the mantle at 200 million years ago. The second shows the mantle at 100 million years ago. The third shows the present-day mantle. Superimposed atop the mantle structures are gray outlines of where a new model shows the continents were at each time. These globes show Asia and Australia on the left and the Pacific Ocean on the right.
Posted inNews

Billion-Year Rewind Tracks Supercontinents and Mantle Structures

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 12 October 20224 August 2023

Scientists have traced past pathways of tectonic plates back a billion years using computer models, with intriguing results. Incorporating geologic data as a check on model output, however, has proven tricky.

A blue-gray river runs through a steep mountainous terrane, with the slopes nearest the river coated in green grasses, plants, and coniferous trees.
Posted inNews

What Can Zircons Tell Us About the Evolution of Plants?

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 5 October 202218 October 2022

The versatile mineral could contain evidence of the evolution of land plants and their effect on the sedimentary system.

Photograph of an outcrop of the North American Midcontinent Rift showing dark gray rocks enclosing a light-colored rock—the target sample in this study. In the foreground stands coauthor Nick Swanson-Hysell, amid green grasses along the base of the cliff.
Posted inNews

Swinging Strength of Earth’s Magnetic Field Could Signal Inner Core Formation

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 22 August 202230 September 2022

The magnetic record stored in rocks documents the liquid core’s behavior and possibly when the inner core formed. Whether it formed half a billion or more than a billion years ago, however, is up for debate.

Sian Proctor stands in her astronaut gear shortly after Crew Dragon’s splashdown
Posted inFeatures

Sian Proctor: Community College Professor Goes to Space

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 25 July 2022

An Arizona educator finds she has the SpaceX factor to become an astronaut.

Four-paneled figure, with the upper right panel showing Today Show coverage, with both the initial question directed to the @USGSVolcanoes Twitter account from user @JayFurr, “Is it safe to roast marshmallows over volcanic vents?” and the response, “Erm…we’re going to have to say no.” The upper left panel shows CNN coverage with an image of the eruption and the headline “USGS: ‘Please don’t roast marshmallows over lava.’” The lower left panel shows MSNCB coverage, which shows only the initial tweet. The lower right panel shows MSNBC’s parody of the NBC public service announcement graphic, in which, against the background of space filled with stars, the purple words “The S’more You Know” are underlined by a yellow shooting star.
Posted inNews

Roosters, S’mores, and #EmergencyCute: A Humor-in-Crisis How-To

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 15 July 202227 March 2023

When natural hazards strike communities, we may not think science agencies should respond with humor. Researchers suggest that sometimes, however, humor can connect communities and bring smiles.

A several-story red brick building burns as several firefighters battle the blaze in the foreground.
Posted inNews

How Can Silicone Wristbands Help Firefighters?

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 8 July 202227 March 2023

Scientists are making strides in monitoring firefighters for pollutant exposure using silicone wristbands, which will become even more important as wildfires encroach on the built environment.

Posts pagination

Newer posts 1 2 3 4 5 Older posts
A view of a Washington, D.C., skyline from the Potomac River at night. The Lincoln Memorial (at left) and the Washington Monument (at right) are lit against a purple sky. Over the water of the Potomac appear the text “#AGU24 coverage from Eos.”

Features from AGU Publications

Research Spotlights

Mapping the Ocean Floor with Ancient Tides

6 May 20256 May 2025
Editors' Highlights

First Benchmarking System of Global Hydrological Models

7 May 20257 May 2025
Editors' Vox

Decoding Crop Evapotranspiration

6 May 20256 May 2025
Eos logo at left; AGU logo at right

About Eos
ENGAGE
Awards
Contact

Advertise
Submit
Career Center
Sitemap

© 2025 American Geophysical Union. All rights reserved Powered by Newspack