American Geophysical Union

Incorporating crushed volcanic rocks into agricultural fields can significantly contribute to carbon dioxide reduction, with tropical regions offering the most promise for this climate mitigation strategy. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Adding crushed volcanic rocks to agricultural fields can both improve the soil and suck down carbon dioxide. Doing so in the hot, humid tropics would be most efficient, a new study finds.Enhanced rock weathering makes use of a natural geologic process to store carbon long-termApplying 10 tons of…

The Seattle fault zone, a network of shallow faults threatening the Puget Sound region, has a new origin story based on a study published in Tectonics that suggests its formation around 55 million years ago due to tectonic deformation. This study, revealing ancient volcanic island interactions with the North American plate, aims to enhance hazard modeling for the densely populated area.Magnetic evidence indicates that the dangerous Seattle fault zone may have originated from the continent’s edge splitting in half over 50…

Reforestation in the eastern U.S. has been shown to mitigate regional warming trends, with research highlighting forests’ significant cooling effects on both land and air temperatures. This underscores the potential of reforestation as a tool for climate adaptation and mitigation.Much of the U.S. warmed during the 20th century, but the eastern part of the country remained mysteriously cool. The recovery of forests could explain why.Widespread 20th-century reforestation in the eastern United States helped counter rising…

It was, Dante…

An artist’s rendition of Titan’s landscape features a hazy atmosphere, dark dunes, and mirror-smooth lakes and seas that resemble Earth’s. On these bodies of liquid hydrocarbons, new research suggests that the appearance of “magic islands” may be caused by floating organic solids. Credit: NASA/JPL Saturn’s largest moon rains and snows ethane, methane, and fancier organic compounds. On the ground, accumulated chunks may calve like glaciers at the edges of the moon’s methane lakes, forming ephemeral, floating “magic…

New findings suggest early humans arrived in North America earlier than 13,000 years ago, possibly using a “sea ice highway” along the Pacific Coast. This theory, supported by paleoclimate data, challenges traditional migration theories and underscores the adaptability of early humans. Credit: SciTechDaily.comNew research suggests some early Americans may have traveled on winter sea ice down the coast from Beringia as long as 24,000 years ago.One of the hottest debates in archeology is how and when humans first arrived in…

A new study reveals the significant environmental impact of bitcoin mining on a global scale. The research shows how the energy mix of different countries defines their environmental footprint in bitcoin mining. It finds that bitcoin mining’s energy consumption is massive, with considerable carbon, water, and land footprints. The study highlights the varying impacts across countries, with China and the U.S. being the most affected. It underscores the hidden costs of new technologies and aims to inform decision-making…

Recent research indicates that parts of the central and eastern United States may still be experiencing aftershocks from significant 19th-century earthquakes. The study analyzed seismic data from three historic quakes, concluding that some modern seismic activity in these areas could be long-lived aftershocks, mixed with background seismicity.Aftershocks follow large earthquakes — sometimes for weeks, other times for decades. But in the U.S., some areas may be experiencing shocks from centuries-old events.In the 1800s,…

…