Rebecca Dzombak, Author at Eos

A tuft of switchgrass with its associated roots is displayed horizontally on a black background.

The World’s Roots Are Getting Shallower

by Rebecca Dzombak 17 November 202217 November 2022

Root-filled soils are hot spots of nutrient cycling and carbon storage. New research finds that the world has lost millions of cubic meters of rooted soil volume—and we’re on track to lose much more.

A bright red, orange, and yellow thermal image of London and the surrounding area maps hotter and cooler areas of the city. The center of the image is the city of London, which is yellow, indicating that it is hotter than surrounding suburbs, which appear in varying shades of orange and red. The suburbs tend to become cooler, and appear darker red, moving toward the edges of the image. The River Thames snakes from right to left across the center of the image. It and several water reservoirs to the left of center are black, indicating that they are much cooler than the neighboring land.

Research Spotlights

Satellites Can Accurately Take Earth’s Temperature

by Rebecca Dzombak 28 September 202228 September 2022

Satellite-based measurements of land surface temperature may prove to be an essential pairing with near-surface air temperatures to understand global warming and cooling trends.

Magnified cross section of the internal cellular structure of a young tree.

Research Spotlights

Plants Need a Lot of Power to Pump Sap

by Rebecca Dzombak 16 September 202216 September 2022

A novel calculation reveals how much power plants need to move water through their stems—and how plants gain energy from the process.

Research Spotlights

New Map of Proposed Mantle-Driven Topography Stirs the Pot

by Rebecca Dzombak 8 September 20228 September 2022

The role the deep Earth plays in creating topography is hotly debated. A new study uses subtle elevation changes around the globe as evidence that the mantle plays a key role in building topography.

Research Spotlights

Plant-Nibbling Insects May Make It Cloudier and Cooler

by Rebecca Dzombak 17 August 202217 August 2022

Insects that eat plant leaves could change the local atmosphere, but current climate models do not account for this impact.

A landscape with landslides along a steep mountain slope

Research Spotlights

Steep Mountain Slopes Have Surprisingly Long Lifetimes

by Rebecca Dzombak 14 June 2022

New models of eastern Tibetan hillsides show that steep slopes with “excess” rock last longer on average than their shallower counterparts.

A view of a swamp on Rishiri Island, with trees and water in the foreground and a snowy mountain in the background

Research Spotlights

Climate and Currents Shaped Japan’s Hunter-Gatherer Cultures

by Rebecca Dzombak 5 May 2022

New climate records from a peat bog show how two neighboring cultures responded differently to shifts in climate and ocean currents.

A wide view of snow-covered pines in mountains.

Research Spotlights

Trees Wearing Accelerometers Help Track Snowstorms

by Rebecca Dzombak 15 April 202215 April 2022

This device allows scientists to measure how much snow is trapped in canopies and predict changes to snowpack—a critical factor in annual water availability.