When waves hit vegetated dunes, waterlogged areas form in front of plants, making for sand that’s easier to wash away. But you still need plants to form dunes in the first place.
experiments
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Specious Timescales from Sedimentary Layers
Changing environments can dramatically change how quickly layers form in sedimentary rocks, leading to incorrect time estimates.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Rougher Faults May Generate More Earthquake Aftershocks
Lab experiments on pieces of granite reflect natural aftershock dynamics and highlight the role of rock roughness along a fault.
Posted inNews
Newly Discovered Salts May Exist on Icy Moons
For the first time in more than a century, scientists have identified new sodium chloride crystals. The discovery may reconcile puzzling spectroscopic images of Europa’s surface.
Posted inNews
How to Bend Lightning with a Laser Beam
For the first time, scientists have redirected lightning using a laser beam. And that’s just the start of what’s possible.
Posted inNews
Decoding the Secrets of Shifting Sediments
In the small-scale details of grain shape, researchers have found a new way to understand how sediment flows in a river, a process shaping Earth’s landscapes.
Posted inNews
Ants Aren’t Adapting to Warmer Temperatures
Foraging in hotter-than-desired temperatures could negatively affect ants’ biology and the forest ecosystems that they support.
Posted inNews
Does This Mineral Indicate Oxygen on Mars?
Manganese oxides are thought to be a signature of atmospheric oxygen. But on the Red Planet, recent results suggest they might be more of a red herring.
Posted inNews
Testing the Resilience of the Amazon
A mega-experiment in Brazil will evaluate how tropical rain forests absorb carbon as emissions increase.
Posted inENGAGE, News
Warmer Winters Keep Crops Sleepy into Spring, Hurting Yield
Annual crops go dormant during winter. Frosty temperatures cue them to wake up—but the warmer winters brought on by climate change scramble the cold signal, hurting yield.