Australia is a continent of extremes, and researchers find that some ecosystems are better equipped than others to deal with the country's characteristic extreme climatic variation.
Research Spotlights
Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Satellites Reveal Dynamics of Suspended Mineral Particles
A case study of the Irish Sea evaluates the use of ocean color data to measure the optical properties of sedimentary particles in offshore waters.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Detecting Black Carbon in the Arctic Atmosphere
Measurements of light-absorbing carbon particles made during an Arctic research expedition could improve understanding of their effects on the Arctic climate.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Sediment Transport Sways Wetland Stability
Scientists examine the role of variables like tides and suspended sediment concentration to improve methods of evaluating coastal wetlands and how they may respond to future sea level rise.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Seismic Clues Reveal the Mechanisms Behind Iceberg Calving
Scientists combine models and video footage of iceberg calving to analyze the potential of seismology to unravel physical processes behind the breakup of ice sheets.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Soil Crusts Play a Dual Role in Desertification
Rain falling on bare soil can form a hard crust that prevents further infiltration. But do these crusts worsen land degradation or help to prevent it?
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Improved Models of Wind Flow over Mountains
A new approach for representing areas of low-lying mountains improves the simulation of atmospheric flow over gentle topography without increasing computational requirements.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Distant Rains Contributed to La Niña Ocean Warming Event
Unusually low salinity intensified a warm-water current off the coast of Western Australia in 2010–2011.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Magnetic Field Pulsations and Aurora Tightly Linked
Mysterious plasma waves from space are generating displays of aurora near Earth's poles.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Model Predicts Big Solar Proton Storms
Forecasts of dangerous solar events could buy time for astronauts en route to the Moon or Mars.