A new analysis of satellite data could upend conventional wisdom about how solar storms produce their dangerous radiation—not from X-shaped mergers of magnetic field lines but from swirling vortices.
Research Spotlights
Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.
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A Mountain Range's History Preserved in Ocean Sediments
Fission track dating core samples from the Gulf of Alaska demonstrates that offshore sediments can be used to reconstruct a mountain range's changing exhumation patterns.
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Stream Network Geometry Correlates with Climate
A "big data" analysis of nearly 1 million river junctions in the contiguous United States shows that branching angles in dendritic drainages vary systematically between humid and arid regions.
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High Arctic Emissions of a Strong Greenhouse Gas
Isotope data bring scientists one step closer to revealing the microbial processes behind nitrous oxide emission in the tundra.
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Mysterious "Fairy Circles" Continue to Enchant Scientists
Researchers revisit an old theory about the ethereal patterns of vegetation that form in some arid landscapes.
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Explaining Unexpected Twists in the Sun's Magnetic Field
New research shows how the Sun's magnetic field can shift when it approaches Earth, which can throw off space weather forecasts.
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Looking Up: Taking Photos May Improve Climate Models
Snapshots of clouds taken from the ground reveal orders of magnitude more detail than satellites.
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How the Deep, Cold Currents of the Labrador Sea Affect Climate
Seventeen years of ocean current data link global atmospheric and oceanic circulation.
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What Regions Are Most at Risk for Ice Loss in East Antarctica?
Scientists model the impact of environmental warming on ice drainage basins in the less studied East Antarctica.
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Why Do Great Earthquakes Follow Each Other at Subduction Zones?
A decade of continuous GPS measurements in South America indicates that enhanced strain accumulation following a great earthquake can initiate failure along adjacent fault segments.