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Tropical forests generate rainfall worth billions, study finds

Phys.org: Earth science - Tue, 02/17/2026 - 10:00

Tropical forests help to generate vast amounts of rainfall each year, adding weight to arguments for protecting them as water and climate pressures increase, say researchers. A new study led by the University of Leeds has put a monetary value on one of forests' least recognized services as a source of rainfall to surrounding regions, finding that each hectare generates 2.4 million liters of rain each year—enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Second-harmonic generation in the air-based femtosecond plasma under loose focusing

Physical Review E (Plasma physics) - Tue, 02/17/2026 - 10:00

Author(s): I. A. Nikolaeva, D. E. Shipilo, G. E. Rizaev, A. V. Koribut, T. A. Dick, D. V. Pushkarev, M. V. Levus, Ya. V. Grudtsyn, N. R. Vrublevskaya, N. A. Panov, O. G. Kosareva, L. V. Seleznev, and A. A. Ionin

We used filamentation of 940 nm, 90 fs, up to 6.5 mJ pulse to measure the spatial and spectral distributions of the second harmonic with 10−9 conversion efficiency in comparatively long focusing geometry (40 cm and 100 cm focal lengths, ≥1 cm filament), as well as spectral distributions of the secon…

[Phys. Rev. E 113, 025206] Published Tue Feb 17, 2026

The massive, developing gully at Pondok Balik in Indonesia

EOS - Tue, 02/17/2026 - 08:15

A massive gully has been developing over the last two decades at Pondok Balik. It now covers an area of over 3 hectares.

In Indonesia, a massive and rapidly developing gully is causing considerable concern. Located at Pondok Balik in Central Aceh Regency, Aceh province, this feature has been developing since 2004. Reuters has an excellent gallery of images that is worth a view. There is a really good summary of the history of this gully on The Watchers website too.

There is some nice drone footage of this feature in this SindoNews report on Youtube:-

The location of this very large gully is [4.72374, 96.73117]. This is a Google Earth image of it, captured in June 2025:-

Google Earth image from June 2025 of the massive gully at Pondok Balik in Indonesia.

By comparison, here is an image from February 2015:-

Google Earth image from February 2015 2018 of the massive gully at Pondok Balik in Indonesia.

And here is a slider to compare the two, showing the raid development of the gully:-

Google Earth images

The gully is reportedly developing in loose volcanic materials, which are prone to rapid erosion when disturbed and saturated. In Indonesia, rainfall totals are high.

There are concerns about potential damage to the road seen in the image and to high voltage electricity pylons running through the area. It is proposed to seek to manage the hazard by reinforcing the soil and managing surface and subsurface water. This will not be straightforward or cheap.

Return to The Landslide Blog homepage Text © 2026. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Amazon rainforest flipped to carbon source during 2023 extreme drought, study shows

Phys.org: Earth science - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 20:20

The Amazon rainforest is of crucial importance to the Earth's ecosystem, given its capacity to store substantial amounts of carbon in its vegetation. In 2023, the region experienced unusually high temperatures, reaching 1.5°C above the 1991–2020 average, accompanied by unusual levels of atmospheric dryness from September to November. These conditions were caused by warmer water temperatures in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that resulted in diminished moisture transport from the Atlantic to South America, and led to drought in the second half of 2023. An international research team, led by Santiago Botia at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, studied how these extreme conditions affected the Amazon rainforest's ability to absorb and store carbon.