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Research Spotlights

Research spotlights are plain-language summaries of recent articles published in AGU’s suite of 24 journals.

Aerial view of the San Andreas Fault in California on the Carrizo Plain
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Earthquake Statistics Vary with Fault Size

Aaron Sidder, freelance science writer by Aaron Sidder 21 October 20197 October 2022

A theoretical study explores why small earthquake sources can produce quasiperiodic sequences of identical events, whereas earthquakes on large faults are intrinsically more variable.

An instrument tower stands at the University of Michigan Biological Station, where researchers measured stable isotopic signals in water vapor amid two plots of forest.
Posted inResearch Spotlights

How Forest Structure Influences the Water Cycle

Kate Wheeling, freelance science writer by Kate Wheeling 15 October 20192 November 2021

New research looks at how changes in the arrangement of trees and canopy thickness influence the transport of water from the land surface to the atmosphere.

Locations of researchers who participated in creating the first version of the Paleoclimate Community Reporting Standard
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Standardizing the Surge of Paleoclimate Data

by E. Underwood 27 September 20195 May 2022

Researchers unveil a community-wide effort to standardize terminology and reporting requirements across paleoclimate data.

Diagrams of modeled plastic particle concentrations in the ocean after 10 simulated years, starting from an initial uniform distribution over the entire globe
Posted inResearch Spotlights

How Are Microplastics Transported to Polar Regions?

by Terri Cook 26 September 201916 September 2022

New modeling indicates that global subsurface ocean currents distribute submerged microplastics along very different routes than those traveled by floating plastic debris.

Photomicrographs showing typical subpolar (left) and polar (right) foraminiferal assemblages
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Atlantic Circulation Consistently Tied to Carbon Dioxide

by David Shultz 25 September 20192 July 2024

Past ocean surface conditions suggest that over the past 800,000 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels typically rose on millennial timescales when Atlantic overturning was weaker and vice versa.

Satellite view of the Salton Sea and surroundings in California
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Distant Quake Triggered Slow Slip on Southern San Andreas

by Terri Cook 23 September 201929 September 2021

A high-resolution map of surface displacements indicates that the 2017 Chiapas earthquake caused substantial creep along a segment of the San Andreas Fault, located 3,000 kilometers away.

Ice on the Bering Sea, which has experienced unprecedentedly low winter sea ice levels in recent years
Posted inResearch Spotlights

As Arctic Sea Ice Disappears, What Happens to Ecosystems?

Kate Wheeling, freelance science writer by Kate Wheeling 20 September 201915 November 2021

The northern Bering Sea is experiencing record-setting low winter sea ice levels, which are impacting plankton, fish, and other animals in the region.

Aerial view over the Alaskan tundra showing patches of snow, ice, and bare land
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Methane-Releasing Tundra Soils Freezing Later Each Year

Sarah Stanley, Science Writer by Sarah Stanley 18 September 201911 August 2022

Scientists find links between delayed freezing of Alaskan soils and higher atmospheric methane concentrations during the cold season.

Vinícius Mendes collects a sediment sample from a former river terrace of the Parnaíba River in Brazil.
Posted inResearch Spotlights

A New Proxy for Past Precipitation

Kate Wheeling, freelance science writer by Kate Wheeling 16 September 201910 February 2023

Researchers used luminescence signals from marine sediment cores to bolster estimates of precipitation levels on land over the past 30,000 years.

Diagram showing the subduction of the Ionian tectonic plate beneath the Tyrrhenian plate off the coast of Italy
Posted inResearch Spotlights

New Volcanic Complex Found Below the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

by Terri Cook 11 September 201920 December 2021

Researchers have identified a previously unknown volcanic-intrusive complex that originated through the melting of mantle material at the northern edge of the Ionian slab.

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Newer posts 1 … 85 86 87 88 89 … 195 Older posts
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Features from AGU Publications

Research Spotlights

Coherent, Not Chaotic, Migration in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna River

2 July 20252 July 2025
Editors' Highlights

The Mid-20th Century Winter Cooling in the Eastern U.S. Explained

3 July 20253 July 2025
Editors' Vox

Water Tracks: The Veins of Thawing Landscapes

25 June 202525 June 2025
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