Researchers explored how lunar gravity affects the density of the thermosphere. The study could help improve the accuracy of satellite orbit predictions.
Research Spotlights
Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.
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Measuring Small-scale Changes Along a Fault as Plates Slip
A see-through plastic fault lets researchers directly measure how earthquake stresses affect fault properties.
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Changing Crustal Velocities Preceded 2011 Tohoku-oki Quake
Researchers examined the crustal deformation associated with earthquakes that occurred before the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake.
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Nearshore Internal Bores Increase Hypoxia Risk
Researchers head to the field to investigate the causes of low-oxygen waters in coastal aquatic environments.
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Measuring Solar Wind Interactions in Mars’s Exosphere
An updated analytical technique gave researchers a new look at ion cyclotron waves in Mars’s extended hydrogen exosphere.
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Manganese Deposits on Mars Suggest a Highly Oxidized Past
Data from the Curiosity rover suggest that the surface of Mars has experienced more strongly oxidizing conditions than previously thought.
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Methane Leaks from Oil and Gas Fields Detected from Space
Methane hot spots were detected in the atmosphere near North Dakota’s Bakken formation and the Eagle Ford formation in Texas after oil and gas production ramped up starting in 2009.
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Reading Backscatter from Near-shore Ocean Waves
Researchers use radar wave scattering properties of nearshore waves to studying shoreline dynamics.
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Epidemiology Can Help Predict Urban Water System Failures
How are broken water pipes like fatalities in a heat wave? Researchers look to an epidemiological model to better care for infrastructure.
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Changes in Earth’s Radiation Balance Between 1985 and 2012
A comparison of shortwave and longwave radiation in the atmosphere shows Earth’s heating rate is increasing even though temperatures are rising at a slower rate now than 30 years ago.