As temperatures continue to rise, snow-dwelling microbes could accelerate melting and influence downstream ecosystems.
Research Spotlights
Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.
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Testing Models of Near-Space Electrical Currents
Modeling Earth’s near-space environment and its electrical currents is challenging. A new study compares how four different models stack up against observations.
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A Powerful New Tool for Research
A novel interface allows users of MATLAB and GMT, two software packages widely used by the geoscience community, to simultaneously harness the capabilities of both products.
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How Geomagnetic Storms Light Up the Geocorona
After geomagnetic storms, Earth’s corona abruptly increases in hydrogen density. For the first time, serendipitous observations have allowed researchers to investigate why.
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New Technique Could Help Scientists Track Nitrous Oxide Sources
A long-term study in Switzerland reveals the promise of a new method to determine isotopic composition of the potent greenhouse gas.
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Modeling Ocean Waves over Rocky Reefs
A field survey in Australia links rugged seafloor terrain to erosion-causing waves.
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Can Water Vapor Help Forecast When a Volcano Will Blow?
A widely used technique to monitor sulfur dioxide was tweaked to focus on water vapor at Peru’s Sabancaya Volcano. Results show that the volcano steamed up prior to its 2016 eruption.
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Where Are the Electrical Currents in the Enceladus Plume?
A plume of water ice that escapes Saturn’s moon Enceladus should be coursing with electrical currents, but data are mixed. Now simulations suggest that a sticky dust cloud may shield signals.
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How Storm Turbulence Can Spark Lightning
The turbulent pockets of air inside storms can help to build up static electricity in the atmosphere, according to a new study.
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Time, Tides, and Wandering Poles
Models of Neptune’s moon Triton reveal curious behavior in how tidal forces and mass anomalies cause the poles to reorient their location.