Because they are far less plentiful than plants and microbes, animals have typically been excluded from examinations of carbon exchange in the atmosphere. But new research shows they may have a considerable influence on carbon cycle dynamics.
Research Spotlights
Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Northern Permafrost Region Emits More Greenhouse Gases Than It Captures
Permafrost underlies a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere. A comprehensive analysis shows that the area may have shifted from a sink to a source of greenhouse gases, bringing a longtime prediction to fruition.
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Verifying the Mathematics Behind Ocean Modeling
A series of test cases designed to confirm the accuracy of ocean models could help improve our understanding of large-scale climate processes.
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Fault Maturity or Orientation: Which Matters More for Quakes?
Close examination of a 2021 earthquake on the Tibetan Plateau provides hints that, counter to prior assumptions, the influence of fault orientation can sometimes trump that of maturity.
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Africa’s Carbon Sink Capacity Is Shrinking
A new estimate of Africa’s greenhouse gas budget from 2010 to 2019 shows increasing emissions from cropland expansion, livestock, and fossil fuel use—meaning the continent may have transitioned from an overall carbon sink to a slight carbon source.
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Warming Experiment Explores Consequences of Diminished Snow
The SPRUCE ecosystem in northern Minnesota offered a setting to research exactly how a snowy environment responds to rising temperatures.
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Out With the Old, in With the Cold
A 12-meter telescope at the Arecibo Observatory gets outfitted with a wideband cryogenic system to expand its capabilities.
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Uncovering Earthquake Evidence in Azerbaijan’s Greater Caucasus Mountains
A new study unearths geological evidence that corroborates historical accounts of large earthquakes along the Kura fold-thrust belt.
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Manila Confronts Its Plastic Problem
The Philippine capital is the latest city to address rampant plastic pollution through a community-guided protocol.