One hundred fifty years ago, the explorer and scientist argued that the West needed smart development. Now the fast-growing region is playing catch-up.
history
Posted inNews
Historic Solutions to Sea Level Rise May Help Modern Communities
Earthen mounds helped ancient Dutch settlers thrive in coastal flood zones. Could historical engineering help us fight against rising seas?
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New Book Examines the Legacy of Apollo
As the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing nears, a new book looks back on the race to the Moon.
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Podcast: When the Sahara Was Green
Past climate change likely motivated human migrations.
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European Contact with the Americas May Have Triggered Global Cooling
The loss of precontact agricultural communities to genocide and disease may have led to massive reforestation, a dip in carbon dioxide, and one of the coldest snaps of the Little Ice Age.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A 192,000-Year Record of Northwest African Fire History
Biomarker analyses from an offshore sediment core suggest that increased fire occurrence around 55,000 years ago coincided with increased fuel loads and human settlement in this region.
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Scientists Discover Evidence of Long “Ocean Memory”
Measurements from a 19th century scientific expedition have revealed that the deep Pacific waters are cooling from lower global temperatures centuries ago.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Meteorological Culprits Behind Strange and Deadly Floods
A new study examines how unusual meteorology interacted with topography and other local conditions to generate some of the most devastating floods in American history.
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The Akkadian Empire—Felled by Dust?
Chemical measurements of a stalagmite from a cave in Iran reveal a large uptick in dust activity in northern Mesopotamia roughly 4,200 years ago, coincident with the decline of the Akkadian Empire.
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Podcast: How the Cold War Drove Atmospheric Science
In the first episode of a special series, AGU’s Third Pod from the Sun traces a path from nuclear fallout detectors to modern-day meteorology instruments.