The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga viewed by the Japanese weather satellite Himawari 8. At its peak, the ash plume covered an area half the size of France. Courtesy/Japan Meteorological Agency
AGU News:
Featured research:
Tonga eruption was largest explosion of 21st century:
The Jan. 15 eruption of the volcano on the island of Hunga Tonga Ha’apai sent seismic waves to monitoring stations worldwide. Researchers have used those seismic data to assess the eruption’s size, calculating its volume to be 10 cubic kilometers — the largest eruption of the century, comparable to the 1991 Pinatubo eruption. [CNRS press release] [research]
Trees wearing accelerometers help scientists track snowstorms
Knowing how tree canopies affect snowpack is a key part of predicting water availability, especially in mountainous, forested regions that supply much of the western US’ water. Scientists strapped accelerometers to conifers in Colorado to track how snow, weighing down the trees’ branches, changed how they sway in the wind. [video] [Eos research spotlight] [research]
Meteorological source of 2021 Pacific Northwest heatwave came from Alaska:
A heat wave from late June to early July 2021 caused over 1000 deaths in the Pacific Northwest U.S. A new study traces the meteorological conditions that paved the way for the heat wave to a cyclone in the Gulf of Alaska a few days’ prior. This relationship could aid in advance warning of heat waves. [research]
Hydropower dams in the Amazon could lower duration of floods, change river paths:
Hundreds of dams have been proposed in the Amazon, a contentious issue. New modeling of past and future river flow paths and flooding finds that building some of the proposed hydropower dams would alter rivers’ flow paths, as previous dams have, and could reduce flooding duration by about 10 percent around the mainstream Amazon basin. [research]
Strong tides, vanishing lakes may prove beneficial to Antarctic ice shelf:
Lakes that form on Antarctica’s ice shelves can drive vertical cracks deep within the ice, increasing the chance of ice shelf collapse and sea level rise. But new research suggests if meltwater pools and drains in just the right way, it can stabilize the fractured ice. [Penn State University press release] [research]
Researchers identify biggest threats to Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf:
A new study by scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has used computer modelling to rank the factors responsible for the Larsen C ice shelf melt according to their severity. The review is an important contribution to our understanding of the largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. [BAS press release] [research]
Hidden upwelling systems may be overlooked branches of ocean circulation:
New research suggests that overlooked upwelling systems in western boundary currents play a role in transporting nutrients, carbon, and heat in the global ocean. [Eos research spotlight] [research]
Human life on Mars? Estimating radiation risk for Martian astronauts:
New research suggests that to minimize radiation risk for human exploration of Mars, astronauts will need to dig deep for safety. [Eos editor’s highlight] [research]