According to a predictive model developed by a CNRS researcher and his European colleagues, the microalgae present in peat bogs could offset up to 14% of future CO2 emissions, thanks to their photosynthetic activity. This conclusion was reached by basing the work on in situ experiments and the various predictive scenarios established by the IPCC.
A team of researchers is making final preparations for a trip to Mount Everest in Nepal next month to explore why the ice of one of the mountain's most iconic glaciers is so close to the melting point.
NPL and MSL in New Zealand successfully detected a multitude of earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean using a pioneering detection technique.
Most of the United States' major climate regulations are underpinned by one important document: It's called the endangerment finding, and it concludes that greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to human health and welfare.
Key agreements in the "Law of the River," which encompasses more than 100 years of regulations, laws, court decisions and more focused on managing the Colorado River, are set to expire next year. First established in 1922 as the Colorado River Compact, the guidelines split water management and allocation among seven states.
SummaryWe determine detailed 3-D velocity and anisotropy models of the crust beneath the central segment of the Tanlu fault zone (TLFZ) in east China using hand-picked arrival times of direct waves (Pg, Sg), refracted waves (Pn, Sn), and the Moho reflected waves (PmP and SmS) of local earthquakes recorded at 55 portable seismic stations of our newly deployed TanluArray and 45 Chinese provincial stations. Our results show that the pattern of seismic velocity and anisotropy is in good agreement with surface geological and tectonic features in the study region. Along the TLFZ, obvious low-velocity (low-V) anomalies are visible in the lower crust in the north of the Cangni fault, whereas high-velocity (high-V) anomalies appear in the upper and middle crust. The 1668 Tancheng earthquake (M8.5) and small-to-moderate earthquakes occurred in the high-V zones but underlain by low-V anomalies. The low-V zones may reflect significant effects of fluids derived from hot and wet upwelling flow in the big mantle wedge. Under the Suqian seismic gap, low-V anomalies are clearly imaged in the middle crust, whereas high-V anomalies appear in the lower crust, suggesting the absence of fluids in the deep crust, which could explain why few earthquakes occurred there. The fast velocity direction (FVD) of P-wave azimuthal anisotropy changes with depth. The FVD is parallel with the TLFZ strike in the upper crust in and around the TLFZ, reflecting the strike-slip features of the fault zone. Our results provide new seismic constraints on the structure and tectonic evolution of the TLFZ.
SummaryThe Tjörnes Fracture Zone in North Iceland is one of two transform zones in Iceland capable of generating earthquakes of magnitude ∼7. More than 150 years have passed since the last two major earthquakes occurred on the Húsavík-Flatey fault, one of the two main transform structures within the Tjörnes Fracture Zone. Given the seismic hazard posed to Húsavík and adjacent coastal communities, accurately determining the slip rate and locking depth of this fault is crucial for a robust earthquake hazard and risk assessment. In this study, we significantly expand the existing GNSS dataset for the Tjörnes Fracture Zone by incorporating more than a decade of additional data and doubling the number of stations. This expansion not only improves the spatial coverage of the network, but also refines the station velocities. We present an updated interseismic velocity field for North Iceland and implement a backslip model with nine dislocation segments to describe the plate boundary deformation. Additionally, we include a point pressure source for the ongoing broad uplift signal in the study area. Our findings indicate a locking depth of $7.3\substack{+0.9 -0.7}$ km and an average slip rate of 6.9 ± 0.2 mm/yr for the Húsavík-Flatey fault. With our updated approach, we can narrow down model parameter constraints from previous studies and thereby provide an enhanced understanding of the earthquake potential of this region.
The risk of damaging flooding from a major tsunami may be greater than many realized along stretches of California's renowned coastline, state officials say, further reinforcing the need for residents to take note if they live in or visit hazardous areas.
New geological data has given more insight into the rate and magnitude of global sea level rise following the last ice age, about 11,700 years ago. This information is of great importance to understand the impact global warming has had on the ice caps and on sea level rise.
The mantle transition zone (MTZ), which occurs 410–670 kilometers below Earth's surface, may store several oceans' worth of water. This water, which is carried to such depths by subducting tectonic slabs, is stored in minerals like ringwoodite and wadsleyite.
Between 18,000 and 11,000 years ago, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere suddenly shot up. This caused rapid global warming, the mass melting of glaciers, and the end of the last ice age.
Successful test results of a new machine learning (ML) technique developed at Georgia Tech could help communities prepare for extreme weather and coastal flooding. The approach could also be applied to other models that predict how natural systems impact society.
The term greenhouse gas often brings carbon dioxide (CO2) to mind, and rightly so, as it is a key contributor to rising global temperatures. However, a more potent pollutant and greenhouse gas that often gets overlooked is nitrous oxide (N2O). Molecule for molecule, N2O is 300 times stronger than CO2 and is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than expected.
SummaryUsing the published paleoseismological trenching data for 16 faults in Central Italy, we compile a new database of surface faulting earthquakes, having a quite stationary temporal distribution since 6000 BCE. By applying a probabilistic aggregation method, we correlate the event ages from distinct trenches on each fault, to construct all possible individual fault rupture scenarios, consistent with geological constraints. These inferred fault time histories are the basis for both individual fault and regional seismic hazard evaluation. We found that the mean recurrence time of each fault goes from about 1 to 4 thousand years for individual faults, whereas the value at regional scale is close to 120 yrs. The small size of individual fault data samples does not allow us to infer straightforward information on the fault temporal behavior, but only to evaluate the reliability of a chosen occurrence model for each fault. Therefore, hazard assessment is carried out by including the uncertainties related to both ages and probability distribution of the inter-event times. We find that both these have a large impact on the probabilities of next rupture for individual faults: these depend on basic features of the temporal model and on the relation between the elapsed time and the mean interevent time. At a regional scale, we cannot exclude the simplest possible model, i.e. the poissonian behavior, that provides quite stable probabilities of future events, close to 27% in the next 50 years.
Between Hawaii and California, trash swirls in giant ocean currents, caught up in the infamous, Texas-sized Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This is just one of many found across the globe. Efforts to clear the patch with sweeping nets may be well-intentioned, but the financial and environmental costs of fuel make them controversial.
Guided by the lived experiences of community partners, Northwestern University scientists have simulated the effects of zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption on future air quality for the greater Chicago area.
Public officials designing seawalls, levees and other safeguards against rising seas can save money if their solutions are flexible, adapting to sea-level increases over time, according to an analysis by scientists at Rutgers and Princeton universities.
Publication date: Available online 5 March 2025
Source: Advances in Space Research
Author(s): Badr-Eddine Boudriki Semlali, Carlos Molina, Hyuk Park, Adriano Camps
Publication date: Available online 5 March 2025
Source: Advances in Space Research
Author(s): Shang Tian, Xiaotong Zhu, Han Zhang, Hongwei Guo, Zijie Zhang, Jinhui Jeanne Huang
Publication date: Available online 5 March 2025
Source: Advances in Space Research
Author(s): Ershen Wang, Tengli Yu, Xinhui Sun, Pingping Qu, Tingyu Chen, Xuebao Hong, Song Xu, Zexin Liu
