New research shows that rivers are the main road for all the plastic pollution that gets into the ocean, including microplastics.
Hazards & Disasters
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What Wildfire Smoke Tells Us About Nuclear Winter
A cloud of smoke from 2017 Canadian wildfires was so huge that it self-lofted and stayed in the atmosphere for 8 months. Scientists used it as an example for climate simulations of nuclear warfare.
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Climate Change Pressures Land and Food Resources, Report Warns
There is a window of time to act now before threats increase further and solutions become less effective, a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states.
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This Bridge Monitors the Environment and Harnesses Tidal Energy
The “smart” Memorial Bridge spanning the Piscataqua is outfitted with a tidal turbine and more than 40 sensors.
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Meteotsunami Spotted for the First Time in the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, a region with high-end resorts and oil-related infrastructure dotting its shorelines, was hit in 2017 by weather-induced waves that rolled roughly a kilometer inland.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Landslide Activity Ramps Up With Extreme Rainfall
An increase in activity of hundreds of slow-moving landslides during extreme wet conditions in California provides insights into the landscape response to ongoing climate change.
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Alexander R. “Mac” McBirney (1924–2019)
This former West Point graduate and coffee grower transformed igneous petrology and volcanology.
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The Toxic Legacy of DDT Lives On in Remote Canadian Lakes
DDT and its breakdown products permeate lake sediments decades after the pesticide was banned.
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Looking Straight at the Sun
Thanks to some crucial calibrations, the world’s biggest solar telescope will have a clearer view of the Sun.
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How Satellite Data Improve Earthquake Monitoring
Case studies from around the world illustrate the power of geodetic data in earthquake monitoring.