Phys.org: Earth science

As sea levels rise, coastal groundwater is lifted closer to the ground surface while also becoming saltier and more corrosive. A recent study by Earth scientists at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa has compiled research from experts worldwide showing that in cities where there are complex networks of buried and partially buried infrastructure, interaction with this shallower and saltier groundwater exacerbates corrosion and failure of critical systems such as sewer lines, roadways, and building foundations.

University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers have developed a way to use radar to detect open water zones and other changes in Alaska's frozen rivers in the early winter. The approach can be automated to provide current hazard maps and is applicable across the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

Permafrost underlies about 14 million square kilometers of land in and around the Arctic. The top 3 meters contain an estimated 1 trillion metric tons of carbon and 55 billion metric tons of nitrogen. Historically, the northern permafrost region has been a sink for carbon, as frozen soils inhibit microbial decomposition. But rising temperatures contribute to thawing permafrost and enhance the biogeochemical activities that exacerbate climate change by releasing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).

A University of Melbourne expedition to the southernmost waters encircling Antarctica has discovered that wind drives the formation of colossal rogue waves, and that these unpredictable waves occur more frequently than scientists had previously thought—providing critical information to inform future rogue wave prediction models.

There's a reason airlines won't let you put your laptop in your checked luggage; the lithium-ion battery poses a serious fire hazard. But why? Lithium is incredibly reactive. For instance, pure lithium violently interacts with seemingly innocuous water, releasing heat and forming highly flammable hydrogen. This reactivity, however, is exactly why lithium makes a great material for batteries, and why it is a critical mineral for the green energy transition. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles. Plus, they can store energy produced by renewable resources like solar and wind.

Water levels at Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe have dropped dramatically because of the latest El Niño drought. The country's president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has declared a national disaster.

Australia's weather bureau copped harsh criticism after El Niño failed to deliver a much-vaunted dry summer in eastern Australia. Parts of northern Queensland in the path of Tropical Cyclone Jasper had a record wet December and areas of central Victoria had a record wet January. Overall, the summer was 19% wetter than average for Australia as a whole.

April showers are increasingly becoming deluges due to climate change, and May flowers will never be the same. And it's not just April; the warming of the planet is causing a year-round, worldwide trend toward more intense but less frequent rainfalls, a dynamic that will increasingly impact plants worldwide, according to a University of Maryland-led study published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.

New research led by oceanographers from the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University has shown for the first time the important role of the 'mixing down' of oxygen in maintaining healthy conditions in the deep waters around the UK and elsewhere.

In the rugged terrain of the western United States, where wildfires rage unchecked, a surprising connection emerges with the tumultuous skies of the central US. A recent study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences explores the intriguing relationship between wildfires in the West and hailstorms in the Central US.

NASA is now publicly distributing science-quality data from its newest Earth-observing satellite, providing first-of-their-kind measurements of ocean health, air quality, and the effects of a changing climate.

Over the last year, our oceans have been hotter than any time ever recorded. Our instrumental record covers the last 150 years. But based on proxy observations, we can say our oceans are now hotter than well before the rise of human civilization, very likely for at least 100,000 years.

Salt marsh restoration can mitigate flood risk and bolster community resilience to climate change in our local waterways, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports by a postdoctoral fellow with UC Santa Cruz's Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR).

Landslides typically occur under heavy rain. With the potential for increased precipitation due to climate change and a possible return to La Niña reinforcing slopes with native trees and shrubs could be an effective, economical and sustainable solution.

Soil carbon usually refers only to the organic matter component of soils, known as soil organic carbon (SOC). However, soil carbon also has an inorganic component, known as soil inorganic carbon (SIC). Solid SIC, often calcium carbonate, tends to accumulate more in arid regions with infertile soils, which has led many to believe it is not important.

In the early morning of 22 May 2021, a magnitude 7.4 quake rattled China's remote Maduo County on the Tibetan Plateau. It was the most recent in a series of nine earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or greater since 1997, and its surface rupture was twice as long as the global average for similarly sized quakes. The tremor occurred on the eastern part of the relatively immature left-lateral Jiangcuo fault system, which slips slowly, about 1 millimeter per year, and was unmapped before the quake.

Global climate models, such as the Energy Exascale Earth System Model developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, rely on many underlying equations that simulate Earth's natural processes. These include the water cycle, carbon dioxide uptake by land and water, and rates of ice melt.

As an important subduction component, altered oceanic crust (AOC) is widely distributed on the oceanic subducting slab and may contribute significantly to the chemistry of arc magmas. However, identifying this contribution in arc magmas is challenging because AOC is not as enriched in incompatible elements as sediments, nor does it have as high H2O concentrations as do serpentinites. Therefore, it is necessary to find a sensitive tracer for subducted AOC.

Concurrent occurrences of heat waves and extreme short-term sea level rises at the same coastal locations significantly increased between 1998 and 2017 when compared to the preceding 20 years, reports a study published in Communications Earth & Environment. The study also suggests that these events may be five times more likely to occur between 2025 and 2049 under a modeled high emissions scenario.

Using machine learning, researchers at Penn State have tied low-magnitude microearthquakes to the permeability of subsurface rocks beneath the Earth, a discovery that could have implications for improving geothermal energy transfer.