Debate still swirls around what killed ancient Romans during the 79 CE eruption. A study of wood charred by the event suggests a brief, but searing, flow of volcanic gas and debris.
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Are Low-Frequency Earthquakes Just Slow Slip?
Tests of seismic attenuation show fluid saturation and high pressure near a seismic source reduce high-frequency content, challenging the idea of slow slip as the cause of low-frequency earthquakes.
Posted inNews
Concientizando sobre los riesgos a las faldas de uno de los volcanes más peligrosos del mundo
A la sombra de una erupción letal en el 2021, estudiantes en Goma, República Democrática del Congo, están aprendiendo sobre futuros riesgos.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Danger in the Dust! The Hazards of Windblown Dust
Airborne dust not only causes disease, it also menaces transportation on land, sea, and air; disrupts renewable energy systems; transports pathogens and toxic substances; and poses many other hazards.
Posted inNews
Outlook: Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season Expected
Atmospheric and oceanic features are simultaneously strengthening and suppressing hurricane activity this year.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A Giant Rockslide on a Bed of Steam
Detailed observations of the giant Sevier gravity slide in Utah show that the exceedingly low basal friction required for its rapid emplacement was developed by trapped thermally pressurized fluids.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Heat Waves: A Growing Threat to Society and the Environment
With heat waves expected to worsen in the 21st century it is essential to take stock of our current understanding, knowledge gaps, and to set research priorities.
Posted inNews
Raising Hazard Awareness at the Foot of One of the World’s Most Dangerous Volcanoes
In the shadow of a deadly eruption in 2021, students in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, are learning about future hazards.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Satellite View of African Easterly Waves and Hurricane Formation
Researchers present a new analysis of surface winds and enthalpy fluxes from satellite retrievals for African easterly waves that intensify into Atlantic hurricanes.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Using Cave Formations to Investigate Ancient Wildfires
From sediment cores to speleothems, environmental archives are helping us to understand the history of wildfires.