The radar aboard the Mars Express spacecraft can generate ion beams arcing through space above the planet, which could lead to a new way of studying the plasma surrounding it.
Research Spotlights
Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Subglacial Water Can Accelerate East Antarctic Glacier Flow
Airborne radar from the Recovery Glacier system demonstrates the importance of characterizing the underlying causes of ice flow speedup to understand how glacial discharge could change in the future.
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Spruce Beetle Slows Snow Sublimation in Wyoming’s Mountains
A new study investigates changing water dynamics after a pest infestation in the Rocky Mountains.
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Ocean Warming Resumes in the Tropical Pacific
The discovery of a decadal El Niño–like state associated with shifts in the Pacific trade winds could have important implications for predicting sea level in future decades.
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How Do Main Shocks Affect Subsequent Earthquakes?
The results of a novel analysis of aftershock size distribution have important implications for more realistically assessing the seismic hazard of earthquake sequences.
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What Drives Temperature Inversions in the Mesosphere?
A study of nightglow over India reveals that gravity waves are less important than previously thought.
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A Simplified Model of Water Vapor Exchange in the Amazon
Evapotranspiration is the exchange of water vapor between land and the atmosphere, and it is hard to measure and model. A new study shows promise for its estimation over large, vegetated landscapes.
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A Better Understanding of Tropical Cyclones
A new model of how anvil clouds form could improve short-term hurricane forecasts.
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Topography and Microclimate Shape Tree Ring Growth
Wizened bristlecone pines in California reveal past climate trends, and new research shows how slight variations in landscape position drive different growth patterns in trees’ annual rings.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What’s Missing from Antarctic Ice Sheet Loss Predictions?
Accurately modeling melt rates in specific ice shelf locations is critical for forecasting how Antarctica’s ice sheet will respond to climate change.