Concrete, used in everything from streets to skyscrapers, needs sand, often mined from active rivers in developing countries with little oversight. Researchers can now use satellites to keep watch.
Southeast Asia
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Fires Lit for Agriculture Boost Air Pollution in Southeast Asia
Reducing fires lit for agricultural management and deforestation, which unduly affect poorer populations, could help prevent 59,000 premature deaths per year.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
SE Asia Peatlands Subsidence Tied to Drainage Density
Human-made channelization significantly accelerates peat decomposition and drives ground-surface deformation in tropical wetlands.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
What Causes Centennial Changes in the Indonesian Throughflow?
Transient long-term changes in the strength of the Indonesian Throughflow are unexpectedly linked to circulation changes in the remote high-latitude North Atlantic.
Posted inNews
Will Rising Temperatures Make Rice Too Toxic?
Greenhouse experiments reveal how higher temperatures act to elevate arsenic levels in rice and may help focus efforts to solve a crisis threatening food systems around the world.
Posted inNews
A Golden Opportunity to Save Shwedagon Pagoda’s Acclaimed Dome
The dome is replaced every 5 years, and researchers are studying how to make the gold more durable.
Posted inNews
Pollution over Southeast Asia May Threaten Ozone Health
Emissions of short-lived chlorine-based chemicals that deplete ozone are increasing worldwide. But over some regions of Asia, these chemicals may be on a fast track to the ozone layer.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Improving Indian Summer Monsoon Prediction
A new study analyzes temperature and moisture variations in different layers of the atmosphere to improve forecasting of Indian summer monsoon precipitation patterns.
Posted inNews
Dengue Fever Epidemics Linked with El Niño, Study Says
High temperatures associated with the recurring global climate pattern foster mosquito-friendly conditions that may accelerate transmission of the virus.