Students and community members monitor the health of mountain water reserves, which capture and release water, evening out wet and dry periods downstream.
Opinions
The Alarming Rise of Predatory Conferences
For-profit conferences that masquerade as legitimate academic events but lack trusted selection and peer review processes are becoming more common. Here’s why that matters.
Nobel Recognition for the Roles of Complexity and Intermittency
The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists “for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems.”
Deploying Community Water Solutions with People, for People
Guiding principles and strategies for solving local water availability problems in India have emerged from collaborations involving water users, water experts, and water solutions providers.
After GRExit: Reducing Bias in Geoscience Graduate Admissions
Dropping the GRE is just a first step toward holistic admissions. To further reduce bias in applicant evaluations, the UMass-Amherst geosciences program has changed the way it assesses students.
Playing It Safe in Field Science
Researchers face many risks when working in the field. Documenting past and future accidents and safety incidents can help identify patterns and practices to keep scientists out of harm’s way.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Promoting open, inclusive, transparent, and traceable science requires that scientists revamp the ways in which we acknowledge all manner of contributions to research.
Glacial Knowledge Gaps Impede Resilience to Sea Level Rise
Changes to the support, culture, and community organization of U.S. glaciology are needed to advance understanding of glacial change and better predict rising seas and other ice loss impacts.
Deep-Sea Exploration Could Help Us Fight the Next Pandemic
Deep-ocean-dwelling microbes may hold keys to improved medical diagnostics and new drugs for fighting diseases. But we must search Earth’s most extreme habitats to find them.
Moving Beyond the Business Case for Diversity
Efforts to diversify the geosciences must evolve from transactional to transformational, emphasizing the inclusion of and equity for individuals over the benefits they bring to institutions.