For the first time, scientists use GPS to measure the displacement rate of the subducting Pacific Plate near the source of disastrous shaking in 2011.
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inScience Updates
Implications of Future Changes in the Asian Monsoon's Intensity
AGU Chapman Conference on the Evolution of the Asian Monsoon and Its Impact on Landscape, Environment, and Society; Hong Kong, China, 14–18 June 2015
Posted inNews
Mercury in Rain Increasing in Western and Central United States
Despite tightening emissions rules, mercury concentrations are rising in rainfall wetting western and central regions of the United States. The pollutant may waft in from Asia, scientists speculate.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Model Improves Predictions of Shallow Landslides
An advanced, process-based model that incorporates typically neglected processes provides new insight into the complex dynamics controlling shallow landslide formation.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Massive Carbon Dioxide Stores Beneath Mammoth Mountain
Gas in rocky pores beneath the surface of California's Mammoth Mountain could fuel dangerous carbon dioxide emissions for the next 28 to 1100 years.
Posted inNews
Subtle Seismic Movements May Help Forecast Large Earthquakes
Where a plate of Earth's crust slides under another and when frequent episodes of plate slippage occur without noticeable earthquakes, large temblors will more likely strike, a new study finds.
Posted inNews
Human-Made Fires Pollute Air with Ozone Half a World Away
Fires in Africa and Southeast Asia contributed to western Pacific pollution, a study finds. Prior understanding attributed hefty levels of the harmful agent and greenhouse gas to natural processes.
Posted inNews
Scientists Discover a New Source of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
In an African region where continental crust is pulling apart and fracturing—the East African Rift zone—the area's many faults are slowly releasing a large amount of carbon dioxide.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Forecasting Eruptions at Restless Calderas
Scientists review decades of data on swarms of earthquakes, surface deformation, degassing, and microgravity changes around calderas to determine when such forms of unrest may result in eruptions.
Posted inScience Updates
The Impact of African Dust on Air Quality in the Caribbean Basin
Symposium on Airborne Dust, Climate Change, and Human Health; Miami, Florida, 19–21 May 2015