The editors of a new book describe how to characterize uncertainty in natural hazards, the incorporation of uncertainty into modeling, its contribution to better decision-making, and research needs.
Hazards & Disasters
Predictive Capability for Extreme Space Weather Events
Workshop on Modeling and Prediction of Extreme Space Weather Events; College Park, Maryland, 22–24 August 2016
Management Strategies for Sustainable Western Water
U.S. National Science Foundation Workshop: Quenching a Thirsty West; Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California, 29–30 August 2016
What Causes Rock Avalanches?
Experimental studies of frictional weakening beneath a deadly rock avalanche in China help to clarify the mechanisms that cause these devastating natural disasters.
Dam Discharge Events Alter Water Flow in an Estuary in Spain
Three-year observations suggest that increased sediment concentrations inhibit vertical transfer of momentum between water layers for more than 2 months after a high-discharge event.
What Led to the Largest Volcanic Eruption in Human History?
A mineral-dating project at the Toba caldera in Indonesia sheds light on the science of supereruptions.
For Magnetic Reconnection Energy, O—not X—Might Mark the Spot
A new analysis of satellite data could upend conventional wisdom about how solar storms produce their dangerous radiation—not from X-shaped mergers of magnetic field lines but from swirling vortices.
“Fingerprinting” Volcanic Tremors May Help Forecast Eruptions
Volcano seismic waves produce distinct tremor patterns, or "fingerprints," shared by different kinds of volcanoes.
Balloons of Lava Bubble into the Ocean from Seafloor Blisters
These peculiar features of submarine volcanic eruptions could be the result of undersea lava lakes.
Volcanic Ash Particles Hold Clues to Their History and Effects
Volcanic Ash as an Active Agent in the Earth System (VA3): Combining Models and Experiments; Hamburg, Germany, 12–13 September 2016