Research Spotlights Archives - Page 51 of 205

View from a research ship overlooking an expanse of fractured sea ice under a sunny sky with high clouds.

Capturing Ocean Turbulence at the Underbelly of Sea Ice

by Sarah Stanley 20 September 202220 September 2022

A specially designed instrument enabled researchers in the Arctic to measure turbulence within 1 meter of the interface where ice meets ocean.

Magnified cross section of the internal cellular structure of a young tree.

Research Spotlights

Plants Need a Lot of Power to Pump Sap

by Rebecca Dzombak 16 September 202216 September 2022

A novel calculation reveals how much power plants need to move water through their stems—and how plants gain energy from the process.

View of a lake in the distance with mud cracks in reddish soil in the foreground.

Research Spotlights

Surprise Hydrological Shifts Imperil Water Resources

by Sarah Stanley 15 September 202213 October 2022

Mounting evidence suggests the need for improved water planning strategies and revamped hydrological models.

Aerial view of a large wetland area, with part of an airplane wing in the foreground

Research Spotlights

Tropical Wetlands Emit More Methane Than Previously Thought

by Rachel Fritts 13 September 20225 October 2022

Climate models could be vastly underestimating methane emissions from the world’s tropical wetlands, according to observational surveys of wetlands in Zambia.

This photograph shows the rocky shore of a placid blue lake in front of green forested mountains. The shore is strewn with white and brown rocks and driftwood. A person dressed in black walks along the shore carrying a fishing rod, and there is a small boat visible on the left side of the image.

Research Spotlights

The Fate of a Lake After a Dramatic Mining Disaster

by Sarah Stanley 9 September 202212 October 2022

Researchers tracked long-term sediment dynamics in Canada’s Quesnel Lake following the 2014 failure of a dam that spilled record-breaking amounts of contaminated mining waste.

Research Spotlights

New Map of Proposed Mantle-Driven Topography Stirs the Pot

by Rebecca Dzombak 8 September 20224 August 2023

The role the deep Earth plays in creating topography is hotly debated. A new study uses subtle elevation changes around the globe as evidence that the mantle plays a key role in building topography.

A glacier cascades down the side of a mountain along the left side of this photograph. In the foreground is a shallow glacial lake that transitions from clear to icy blue and has numerous pebbles and smooth rocks strewn along the bottom. The sky is bright blue but shielded by low hanging clouds.

Research Spotlights

Models Oversimplify How Melting Glaciers Deform Land

by Saima May Sidik 7 September 202228 September 2022

When glaciers melt, the land below deforms. Sea level data show that widely used models oversimplify the process.

Side-by-side images show fish-eye-style photographs of a starry evening sky illuminated by different subauroral events. The left image shows a SAR arc, a reddish arc that spans the sky. Beneath the arc the sky transitions from bright green at the horizon to purple and is partially obscured by clouds. The right image shows a STEVE phenomenon. Part of the red SAR arc is still visible but is much fainter and more of a pink color than its original red. The green and purple sky is more muted in color, and more stars and the band of the Milky Way are now visible. In both images, the silhouette of some shrubs is visible.

Research Spotlights

From SAR Arc to STEVE: An Atmospheric Evolution

by Alexandra K. Scammell 6 September 20227 September 2022

A new study reports the first observation of a stable auroral red arc evolving into a strong thermal emission velocity enhancement during a geomagnetic storm.