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The Amazon rainforest is famous for storing massive amounts of carbon in its trees and soils, helping regulate the global climate. Yet a paper published in New Phytologist shows that one of South America's largest carbon-storing ecosystems exists in an often-overlooked grassy savanna: the Cerrado in Brazil.

Before rain begins to fall, scientists and engineers can predict where a storm might cause flooding thanks to advanced modeling and digital simulations that help guide billion-dollar decisions involving infrastructure design, emergency response, land-use planning, insurance, agriculture, water quality, and public safety.

SummaryFrom late-December 2024 to mid-March 2025, a 50-km-long dyke intrusion triggered over 300 earthquakes (magnitude 4 to 5.9) between Fentale and Dofen volcanoes along the Northern Main Ethiopian Rift. Dyke intrusions periodically occur along the Fentale-Dofen magmatic segment and are an expression of ongoing rift extension. Preliminary analyses using interferometric synthetic aperture radar revealed extensive ground deformation (up to 60 cm), which closely matched the temporal and spatial evolution of surface manifestations and earthquake locations from global catalogs. While global catalogs are critical for real-time monitoring, the precision of locations in remote and or sparsely instrumented regions can be low. In this investigation, we present surface-wave relocation results of the dyking episode that began near Fentale volcano in December 2024. We estimate relative locations using differential travel times measured from regional-to-teleseismic distance surface-wave observations of earthquakes reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Relative relocations reduce the initial region of diffuse seismicity to a 50-km-long narrow band bounding the strike of surface manifestations and the zone of maximum surface deformation. We demonstrate the precision of surface-wave relocations over incremental time periods, capturing the progression of dyking from seismic onset through seismic migration and caldera subsidence. Results showcase the utility of surface-wave relocations in the characterization of dyking episodes and provide complementary insights into the current understanding of the Fentale-Dofen volcanic plumbing system.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming weather prediction, enabling forecasts that once required hours of supercomputing time to run in just minutes. But as AI tools play an expanding role in high-stakes hazard modeling, researchers at Rice University say an essential question remains: Do AI-generated storms behave realistically?

Two new studies conclude that stabilizing long-term climate risks will require sustained net-negative carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for centuries. Approaching the problem from distinct perspectives—legal and technological feasibility on the one hand, and economic optimization under uncertainty on the other—the research converges on a consistent message: reaching net zero is not enough.

Publication date: Available online 5 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): Shagun Aggarwal, Andrew Dempster, Jason Held

Publication date: Available online 5 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): Chenguang Liu, Jianghong Sun, Tongyu Li, Ruonan Deng, Yan Zhang, Zhongxi Ning, Daren YU

Publication date: Available online 5 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): L.F. Chernogor, M.Yu. Tkachenko

Publication date: Available online 4 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): Alexander A. Massoud, Anthony A. Abubakar, Fabiano S. Rodrigues, Karim M. Kuyeng, Marcos Inoñán, Danny E. Scipión

Publication date: Available online 4 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): Pinar Civicioglu, Erkan Besdok, Gurkan Aksu

Publication date: Available online 4 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): Li Hanxu, Chen Shaojie, Ma Yueyuan, Wu Hao, Li Chonghui, Liu Zihao, Ruan Conghai

Publication date: Available online 4 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): Teppei Takemoto, Hideaki Miyamoto, Yuta Shimizu

Publication date: Available online 4 March 2026

Source: Advances in Space Research

Author(s): Xinyi Huang, Md Sahat Mahmud, Yiping Jiang, Rong Yang

From the rice paddies of South Asia to the wheat fields of northern China, summer monsoon rains sustain the livelihoods of billions. Yet these vital rains fluctuate dramatically from decade to decade—a variability that has long puzzled climate scientists.

Forests were growing on the now-submerged landmass of Doggerland thousands of years earlier than previously believed, according to a major new sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) study led by the University of Warwick. The findings suggest that Doggerland may have provided a surprisingly hospitable refuge for plants, animals, and potentially humans, thousands of years before forests became widespread across Britain and northern Europe.

The tidal environment of mangrove forests serves as nurseries for many fish species. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have measured carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in 23 of the world's mangrove areas. The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, sends out a warning that these ecosystems are increasingly threatened as sea temperatures continue to rise.

A research team led by Professor Jonghun Kam from POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has revealed that typhoons are a critical factor in mitigating global droughts by simulating a scenario where typhoon-induced precipitation is removed. The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, delivers the message that "imagining a world without typhoons is the starting point for understanding future droughts."

Californians have long dealt with wildfire smoke as a seasonal fact of life, but those fires have become more intense and frequent, raising the profile of wildfire smoke as a public health issue. Now, a study led by researchers at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography finds that the time between multi-day smoke events is shrinking—leaving communities with less time to recover before smoke returns.

By 2050, up to half the world's urban population will face water scarcity. A new model of water supply, demand, and policies in a drought-prone city of 7 million in India shows how policies could prevent the poor from bearing the heaviest burden.

An article published recently in Nature Geoscience warns that Antarctica's ice masses have begun to experience a process scientists call "Greenlandification." The term refers to the unprecedented retreat of Greenland's outlet glaciers and longer surface melt seasons.