Despite decades of space-based observations of the Sun, scientists still struggle to make precise predictions of the solar wind.
Research Spotlights
Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.
Surface Climate Processes Keep Earth's Energy Balance in Check
Models show that an abrupt increase in carbon dioxide emissions would trigger feedback processes that would change Earth's hydrological cycle.
Global Warming Intensifies Drought Conditions in California
The rise in global temperatures has amplified naturally occurring drought conditions in California and has increased the chance of severe droughts in the future.
Lightning "Impulses" Improve Models of Global Electrical Circuit
New simulations of how thunderstorms drive electrical currents through the Earth's atmosphere combine precision with computational speed.
New Models Explain Unexpected Magnitude of China's Wenchuan Quake
The 2008 earthquake surprised scientists, but the inclusion of new variables reveals that Earth's crust under the Sichuan Province was under more strain than previously thought.
Ice-Penetrating Radar Reveals Age of Greenland Ice Sheet Layers
First comprehensive analysis of deep radar data gives insight into the dynamics and history of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Airborne Sensor Can Track Photosynthesis Efficiency
Remote estimation of fluorescence emitted by plants can indicate variations in photosynthesis performance.
Simulating a Warmer, Drier Arctic
Field experiments examine the effect of rising temperatures and drying soils on carbon dynamics in the Arctic.
What Climate Information Is Most Useful for Predicting Floods?
Basing forecasts on data that preserve variations over space yield more reliable predictions than using standard numerical measures of climatic cycles' intensity.
Past Phosphorus Runoff Causes Present Oxygen Depletion in Lakes
Sediment cores show how phosphorus pollution in the 1950s led to current, inherited hypoxia in lakes in the Alps.
