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This is an authorized translation of an Eos article. Esta es una traducción al español autorizada de un artículo de Eos.

Gestionar los incendios en bosques tropicales puede ser una tarea muy abrumadora: los taladores y los pirómanos comúnmente se mueven más rápido que los equipos de primera intervención, los recursos son escasos y el territorio es inmenso. En la Amazonia Brasileña, estos obstáculos aprietan a un sector ambiental que crónicamente ha recibido pocos fondos, cuyos agentes de campo enfrentan amenazas de granjeros y, cada vez más, de el crimen organizado.

En 2024, los incendios arrasaron con 30.8 millones de hectáreas en Brasil, un 79% más que en 2023. Más del 80% del área total que se quemó se encontraba dentro de la Amazonia Legal, según la plataforma de datos ambientales MapBiomas (La Amazonia Legal es una región designada por el gobierno que comprende los 9 estados que están en la cuenca del Amazonas). Debido a la escala de los incendios, en agosto de 2024, el Instituto Brasileño del Ambiente y Recursos Naturales Renovables de Brasil (IBAMA, por sus siglas en portugués) incrementó la cantidad de vigilantes a 2 227 brigadistas (bomberos), con 1 239 de ellos – más de la mitad – con base en la Amazonia Legal.

Millones de hectáreas en Acre

Acre es el estado más al oeste de Brasil, colinda con Perú y Bolivia y es parte de la Amazonia Legal. En Acre, cuatro brigadas de incendios profesionales con 68 bomberos de tiempo completo operan en tres municipalidades y un área protegida. Una brigada voluntaria también opera en la ciudad más grande, que también es la capital, Rio Branco.

Con cerca de 14 millones de hectáreas de bosque que patrullar, estos grupos apenas pueden cubrir una fracción del territorio de Acre.

Resulta que la ciencia ha sido una herramienta importante para llenar el hueco, ya que el desafío de combatir el fuego en Acre no es solo sobre la falta de grupos en el campo; también está relacionada al acceso de datos. La información ambiental de Brasil está esparcida a lo largo de varias agencias: El Instituto Nacional de Investigación Espacial (INPE, por sus siglas en portugués), agencias ambientales federales como el IBAMA y el Instituto Chico Mendes para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad, la agencia Nacional de Agua (ANA, por sus siglas en portugués), y el centro Nacional para Monitoreo y Alertas de Desastres Naturales de Brasil, así como secretarías individuales de estado, cada una trabajando con sus propias prioridades y cadencias.

Sin datos arreglados en formatos compatibles, algunos de ellos se pueden sobrelapar o contradecir. “Para saber dónde tenemos que actuar, necesitamos información calificada, tenencia de tierras, zoneamientos y puntos calientes de incendios. Sin eso, cualquier política pública para incendios o deforestación va a ser inefectiva en el Amazonas”, dijo Claudio Cavalcante, jefe del Centro para Geoprocesamiento Ambiental (CIGMA, por sus siglas en portugués), el centro geoespacial que Acre creó dentro de la Secretaría del Ambiente en 2020 para conectar la deforestación y el monitoreo de incendios con la respuesta de políticas públicas.

CIGMA ha hecho los esfuerzos de integrar los datos de todas las agencias estatales y federales de Brasil para informar a los agentes en el campo. “Hemos trabajado con estratificación de datos: deforestación [en áreas] de 1 a 5 hectáreas y luego de 10 a 50. Automatizar algunos flujos de datos ha sido un trabajo muy complejo y laborioso” añadió Cavalcante, quien formó parte de una junta con investigadores, comunicadores y expertos en políticas públicas en las oficinas centrales del CIGMA en julio.

La mirada en los datos

Toda la integración sucede en el Cuarto de Situaciones de CIGMA, donde científicos y analistas evalúan alertas de incendio en vivo, niveles de los ríos, lluvia, índices de sequía y otra cantidad de datos.

“Todos los mapas para la acción en el campo se desarrollan aquí. También preparamos los reportes y notas técnicas mensuales de la deforestación”, dijo Quelyson Souza, quien coordina el Grupo de Mando y Control Ambiental de la Secretaría Ambiental de Acre.

Quelyson Souza, quien coordina el Grupo de Comando y Control Ambiental de Acre, explica cómo las alertas de tala funcionan y cómo esos datos pueden ser integrados en las respuestas para el combate a los incendios. Crédito: Bibiana Garrido/IPAM Amazonia

El sistema de CIGMA fusiona las alertas de incendios del INPE con los datos de tenencia de tierras y zoneamiento para identificar potenciales infractores. Los datos hidrogeológicos de ANA, la agencia de agua, se actualizan cada 15 minutos y alimentan los datos de la Defensa Civil y el Departamento de Incendios del estado. Los sensores de calidad del aire detectan humo que viene de la selva dentro y fuera de los límites de Brasil.

Para el coordinador de las Operaciones de Protección Ambiental del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Acre, el Mayor Freitas Filho, los datos científicos a los que sus cuerpos tienen acceso en el campo “son esenciales para optimizar y refinar el uso de los recursos operacionales”. El departamento de incendios de Acre lidera la Operación Controlada de Incendios, la cual se enfoca en integrar los equipos de agentes militares y ambientales para combatir los incendios en la estación seca, que abarca la segunda mitad del año.

Según un informe de manejo de incendios en la selva del Amazonas publicados este mes por el Instituto de Investigación Ambiental de la Amazonia (IPAM Amazônia), Acre tiene un modelo muy efectivo para vincular datos y gobernanza que recomienda sistemas de alerta temprana e intercambio abierto de datos para que las municipalidades puedan actuar de forma rápida.

Lecciones de Acre

A pesar de los desafíos, Acre resalta como uno de los pocos estados Amazónicos donde científicos, bomberos y creadores de políticas públicas comparten un mismo cuarto.

“Es inspirador ver la evolución del Cuarto de Situación de Acre. Lo uso como un ejemplo nacional porque la acción sucede en el campo, incluso más allá de las fronteras”, dijo Liana Anderson, una investigadora de percepción remota en el INPE.

“Es mucho más difícil que nos engañen los delincuentes que quieren salirse con la suya con sus delitos medioambientales”

Mientras Brasil se prepara para albergar la COP30 (la Conferencia de Cambio Climático de las Organización de las Naciones Unidas) en Belém, científicos y tomadores de decisiones esperan que la experiencia de Acre pueda ser un ejemplo de manejo del ambiente centrado en la ciencia: las bases de datos unificadas, los paneles compartidos y la colaboración pueden convertir a la información en planeación y acción.

“Cuando tenemos una idea más clara con la información a la que tenemos acceso ahora, es mucho más difícil que nos engañen los delincuentes que quieren salirse con la suya con sus delitos medioambientales”, dijo Souza. “Es como cuando te levantas la venda de un ojo cuando estas jugando a la gallina ciega”

—Meghie Rodrigues (@meghier.bsky.social), Science Writer

Text © 2025. 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.

This translation by Anthony Ramírez-Salazar (@Anthnyy) was made possible by a partnership with Planeteando and GeoLatinas. Esta traducción fue posible gracias a una asociación con Planeteando and GeoLatinas.

Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors. Source: Earth’s Future

Groundwater supports billions of people, but many regions are removing it from aquifers faster than nature can refill them. Bhalla et al. [2025] examine the concept of “peak groundwater”, the moment when use reaches its maximum and begins to decline due to physical, economic, or policy limits. The authors trace how climate pressures, population growth, and management choices interact to determine when those limits arrive. They show that peak groundwater is not only a physical threshold but also a social and institutional one, shaped by how communities plan for scarcity.

The review offers a clear framework for recognizing early signs of stress and explores practical actions that can extend the life of aquifers. By bringing together insights across disciplines, it lays out pathways for governments, water managers, and communities to respond proactively. This synthesis offers a timely guide for protecting groundwater in an era of rising uncertainty.

Citation: Bhalla, S., Cherry, J. A., Konikow, L. F., Taylor, R. G., & Parker, B. L. (2025). Peak groundwater: Aquifer-scale limits to groundwater withdrawals. Earth’s Future, 13, e2025EF006221. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF006221

—Kelly Caylor, Editor-in-Chief, Earth’s Future

Text © 2025. 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.

Earth's ocean, the planet's life-support system, is experiencing rapid and widespread transformations that extend far below its surface. A promising international study published in Nature Climate Change reveals that vast regions of the global ocean are experiencing compound state change, with simultaneously warming, becoming saltier or fresher, losing oxygen, and acidifying—clear indicators of climate change pushing marine environments into uncharted territory.

Mountains worldwide are experiencing climate change more intensely than lowland areas, with potentially devastating consequences for billions of people who live in and/or depend on these regions, according to a major global review.

Earthquake forecasting tools powered by AI can forecast the risk of aftershocks seconds after the initial tremor, a new study suggests. The machine learning models can forecast where, and how many, aftershocks will take place following an earthquake in close to real-time, researchers say.

SummaryThree-dimensional (3-D) forward modeling of magnetotelluric (MT) data remains a computationally challenging task, particularly when accurate broadband MT responses are simulated for real-world problems that often involve complex multi-scale bathymetry and/or topography. To overcome this challenge, we developed a new efficient numerical approach for 3-D MT forward modeling that combines high-order Nédélec-type finite elements and high-order meshes, allowing us to obtain superior accuracy and account for complex material boundaries and interfaces. Despite gains in accuracy, higher-order FE solvers are often considered impractical owing to higher memory consumption and a more ill-conditioned system. To overcome these limitations, we use an iterative solver accelerated by the Low-Order-Refined (LOR) preconditioner, which uses spectrally equivalent low-order operators, rendering the complexity independent of the polynomial degree. Another key novelty is a matrix-free implementation, where the action of the high-order operator is computed efficiently without explicit matrix assembly. The low-order system is solved using an Auxiliary Space Maxwell (AMS) solver based on a multigrid solver. We demonstrate the efficiency in a series of numerical experiments. Scalability analysis on a 3-D benchmark model demonstrates that the LOR preconditioner significantly outperforms the current state-of-the-art AMS preconditioner in terms of CPU time and memory usage, especially for higher polynomial degrees. Excellent scalability is confirmed by solving a problem with up to 1.5 × 109 degrees of freedom in less than 2 minutes using 16,384 CPU cores, which is, to our knowledge, the largest 3-D MT problem reported to date. We also illustrate that high-order hexahedral meshes allow for accurate discretization of complex geometries, such as topography, with substantially fewer elements than conventional linear meshes. Finally, the capability of the integrated approach is demonstrated on a real 3-D model crossing the ocean trench in the Aleutian subduction zone. The proposed methods pave the way for more efficient and accurate 3-D MT modeling that is crucial for the inversion of complex MT data sets.

SummaryAtmospheric models are based on various types of geophysical data, including lidar and radar. Infrasounds, acoustic waves that can propagate over large distances, have not yet been used in atmospheric models, although they provide valuable information. Besides their sensitivity to atmospheric phenomena such as gravity waves, infrasound also presents the advantage of being omnipresent. Previous studies explored the use of infrasound packet arrival properties for model estimation. However, properties such as arrival times present less information than full waveforms. We aim here to investigate, for the first time, the sensitivity of a full infrasound waveform to model parameters and to use these sensitivities in an inverse problem to recover atmospheric structure. For this purpose, infrasound propagation is modeled by Euler equations (i.e. Navier-Stokes equations in the absence of attenuation effects), and discretization is carried out here using the finite-differences method. Waveform sensitivity to atmospheric parameters is computed through the adjoint method via a novel and optimized double checkpointing-based procedure and validated by comparison with a small perturbation method. As an illustration, these sensitivity kernels are computed for the idealized case of an explosion in Finland, recorded by a CTBT station. These first results demonstrate the high sensitivity of infrasound waveforms to the atmospheric perturbations generated by gravity waves. Moreover, the sensitivity kernels of infrasound waveforms allow us to recover the variations of model parameters by solving an inverse problem. To demonstrate this capability, full waveform non-linear inversions are performed using the Limited Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno method (L-BFGS): wind and sound speed profiles are inverted for a test case with idealized conditions and a synthetic dataset. These estimates of infrasound sensitivity kernels are closing a knowledge gap that allows the use of infrasound full waveforms to constrain atmospheric models.

SummaryPortland cement remains the most widely used construction material globally, valued for its well-documented properties and performance. However, its production generates substantial CO₂ emissions, mainly due to the decomposition of limestone (CaCO₃) into calcium oxide during clinker formation. In response to these environmental concerns, researchers have been actively exploring ways to lower cement’s carbon footprint and improve its sustainability. One effective strategy involves reducing the clinker content by incorporating supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). To ensure SCMs enhance performance without compromising safety, it is essential to investigate the properties of blended cements. Natural zeolites have emerged as promising SCMs. Although they do not possess inherent cementitious properties, finely ground zeolites can react with calcium hydroxide in the presence of water, contributing to strength development. This study examines the potential of natural zeolites as SCMs and utilizes the spectral induced polarization (SIP) method to monitor cement hydration and reaction mechanisms. Portland cement mortars containing 25% zeolite were prepared and compared against two reference mixes. Zeolites were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), while SIP monitoring was conducted continuously over 28 days. Our results reveal that SIP responses are influenced by the specific chemical composition of the mortar. The incorporation of SCMs alters cement chemistry, significantly influencing SIP signals. Over time, we observed an increase in the imaginary conductivity component and a decrease in the real conductivity component. SEM analysis showed the formation of new fibrous mineral habits in zeolite-blended samples, alongside a reduction in pore fluid content. These observations suggest a strong connection between SIP signals and mineralization processes, likely associated with the formation of secondary gels and calcium monosulfoaluminate. The interaction of zeolites with calcium hydroxide promotes the development of calcium aluminate hydrates, which then react with ettringite to form calcium monosulfoaluminate. These results emphasize the importance of studying SIP behavior in cement systems containing SCMs, as assumptions based on ordinary Portland cement may lead to misinterpretations. Our research underscores the potential of SIP as a valuable tool for monitoring cement hydration while offering new insights into the chemical transformations in zeolite-containing mortars. Ultimately, this work contributes to the advancement of more sustainable cement formulations, supporting environmentally responsible construction practices.

Many ecosystems on Earth are affected by pulses of activity: temperature swings between seasons, incoming and outgoing tides, the yearly advent of rainy periods. These variations can play an important role in providing nutrients and other important inputs, but climate change often makes the amplitude of these pulses more extreme, with sometimes catastrophic results.

Florida State University oceanographers have discovered a significant connection between small-scale microbial processes and ecosystem-wide dynamics, offering new insights into the mechanisms driving marine carbon storage.

Climate change is accelerating the reorganization of river-lake systems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, reshaping hydrological and ecological processes in the "Asian Water Tower."

Sixty-million-year-old rock samples from deep under the ocean have revealed how huge amounts of carbon dioxide are stored for millennia in piles of lava rubble that accumulate on the seafloor.

Tropical cyclones can unleash extensive devastation, as recent storms that swept over Jamaica and the Philippines made unmistakably clear. Accurate weather forecasts that buy more time to prepare are crucial for saving lives and are rooted in a deeper understanding of climate systems.

A University of Houston scientist has teamed with international partners to examine how Antarctica's massive glaciers are shifting and how that could predict sea level changes. Their latest collaboration offers the most precise mapping to date in Antarctica of grounding lines, the points where glaciers lift from bedrock and begin to float on the ocean.

Despite continuous efforts to evaluate and predict changes in Earth's climate, most models still struggle to accurately simulate extreme precipitation events. Models like the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phases 5 and 6 (CMIP5 and CMIP6) use fairly coarse resolution due to computing constraints, making it a little easier, faster and less expensive to run simulations, while still providing some degree of accuracy.

New study reveals burning of fossil fuels is accelerating winter rainfall changes in the UK and Europe, almost 25 years sooner than expected.

An international team of scientists and students, led by the Arctic University of Norway, and including chemists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, has announced a remarkable discovery of a venting system on the seafloor of the Arctic. This significant finding was made during the ongoing EXTREME25 expedition aboard the research vessel Kronprins Haakon.

Research led by polar scientists from Northumbria University has revealed new hope in natural environmental systems found in East Antarctica which could help mitigate the overall rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over long timescales.

Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors. Source: Community Science

Frontline communities are commonly described as groups most affected by environmental and social challenges. Marston et al. [2025] offer a broader definition based on the experiences of community-based organizations that directly serve these communities.

Drawing on surveys, interviews, and text analysis, the authors show that “frontline” refers not only to vulnerability but also to active leadership, resistance, and cultural strength. The study finds that community-based organizations want support that respects their self-determination and avoids imposing outside definitions of success. They also emphasize the need for respectful, two-way partnerships rather than top-down guidance. These insights matter because misalignment between funders and communities can weaken well-intended projects. The study provides a rare look at what frontline organizations say they truly need. Overall, it offers practical guidance for building ethical, reciprocal, and community-centered partnerships.

Citation: Marston, R., Lutz, N., Mangabat, D., Sánchez Ainsa, G., Stober, J., Brown, M., & Turner, K. M. (2025). A mixed-methods needs assessment of frontline communities: Insights for engagement and partnerships between communities and intermediary organizations. Community Science, 4, e2025CSJ000133. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025CSJ000133  

—Claire Beveridge, Editor, Community Science

Text © 2025. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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Imagining Earth millions of years ago—its landscapes, atmosphere, temperature—is challenging.

In Antarctica, however, rare formations known as blue ice areas may offer a distinct look into that deep past. These areas, which make up barely 1% of the continent, form where strong winds strip away surface snow. Not all blue ice areas contain very old ice, but sometimes the slow movement of the ice sheet preserves ancient layers.

The Allan Hills region, situated on the edge of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, is one such blue ice area. Here researchers have discovered ice up to 6 million years old—the oldest yet found.

Their study of the ice, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, revealed that parts of it formed during periods far warmer than today—times when sea levels were higher and open forests and grasslands covered much of the planet.

The Allan Hills ice cores are not continuous. The oldest continuous ice core, also extracted from Antarctica, may reach back about 1.2 million years. Scientists compare continuous cores to a video: an uninterrupted, sequential history. Blue ice samples like the ones taken from Allan Hills, on the other hand, function as scattered fragments or disassembled snapshots that capture events beyond the video’s timeline.

“The advantage of Allan Hills is how far back these snapshots extend,” said Sarah Shackleton of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and lead author of the study. “Modeling suggests the oldest possible continuous ice core in Antarctica might not go beyond 1.5 million years. To study earlier times, we need alternative samples.”

The Allan Hills project is part of the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX), which seeks to uncover the oldest possible ice records to better understand Earth’s climate history.

A Frozen Archive of Deep Time

The team, led by Shackleton and John Higgins of Princeton University, drilled 200 meters to uncover these ice fragments that trap “ancient precipitation—and, more importantly, ancient air,” Higgins explained. The researchers measured isotopes of gases (such as argon-40) to estimate the ice’s age and isotopes of water (such as oxygen-18 and deuterium) to reconstruct past climates.

According to the study, the Antarctic region cooled by about 12°C over the past 6 million years, documenting the long-term transition from a relatively mild Miocene to the relatively icy world we know today.

This record is critical because while the planet has sustained much hotter temperatures, many of its human inhabitants have not: Although the last interglacial period was warmer, we have rarely experienced the planet as warm as it is today. The past is a valuable source for identifying potential warming scenarios.

“These are pieces of a larger puzzle,” said Lidia Ferri, a glaciologist with the PARANTAR project, a research project carried out at the Universidad de Oviedo in Spain to study Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands. “We can establish cycles and identify inflection points. If the ice disappears, other factors are triggered, like changes in atmospheric dynamics and ocean currents. It’s a deeply interconnected system.”

Toward Future Climate Projections

“We use the planet’s past climate as a way to ground-truth the models we’re developing to predict what’s ahead.”

A main question posed by the new research is why past climates were so warm: Was it because concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases were higher, or were other factors at play? By studying the atmospheric remnants trapped in blue ice, the researchers hope to refine the models used to project Earth’s future.

“We use the planet’s past climate as a way to ground-truth the models we’re developing to predict what’s ahead,” Shackleton explained.

Ferri concurred, noting the value of gathering data from different time periods. “Today’s models are becoming more precise because the data is more varied,” she said. “The temperature increase predicted for the next 50 years isn’t the same as one 10,000 years ago, and this ancient data helps enrich those models.”

Despite spartan accommodations and extreme weather, researchers plan to return to Antarctica to collect more data from the PARANTAR project. Credit: Jordi Rovira

The team plans to return to Allan Hills, though Antarctic fieldwork is notoriously challenging. “We’re in a remote field camp with no permanent structures,” Higgins said. “It’s incredibly windy and completely isolated.”

—Mariana Mastache-Maldonado (@deerenoir.bsky.social), Science Writer

Citation: Mastache-Maldonado, M. (2025), New lessons from old ice: How we understand past (and future) heating, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250441. Published on 24 November 2025. Text © 2025. 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.