American Geophysical Union

A new open access paper examines the cause of loss of life for 19 people killed in the 2018 landslide at Kuranchery in Kerala in India. It concludes that nearly all of the victims suffered from blunt force injuries.

The post Landslide fatalities: an analysis of causes of loss of life appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Paths Through Science highlights the many diverse paths AGU’s scientists have charted across the disciplines within Earth and space science through interviews with professionals in government, academia, industry, and non-profit sectors. For International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, we talked to Kristin Ludwig, a staff scientist in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Natural Hazards Mission Area. Check out the full audio interview for more about Ludwig’s career path to …

The post Paths Through Science: Kristin Ludwig, Staff Scientist, USGS Natural Hazards Mission Area appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The question of the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River came from a reader of the “biggest mountains” post. I think it’s a really good question because it addresses another landscape superlative (deepest, tallest, oldest, etc.) that is claimed by several locations in the Appalachians.

The post Searching for the deepest gorge in the Appalachian Mountains appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The great albedo change of 2019 might be here. Snow is covering this part of Alaska that gets coldest in winter and warmest in summer, driving it toward the former.

The post Middle Alaska once again part of the cryosphere appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

A moderate mesoscale monocline at Watern Cove, Newfoundland, shows off multicellular animal fossils of the Ediacaran Mistaken Point Formation.

The post Friday fold: Watern Cove appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Water is one of the things that none of us can live without. Yet, it’s taken for granted in so many parts of the parts, and even in parts of the U.S. But what would happen if we ever hit day zero, or the day that the water ran out. That probably won’t happen but Paula Buchanan is here to tell us that we still need to be vigilant.

The post Special Release: Managing Emergencies in a Water World appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

On 12 September, the National Science Board (NSB) released its latest report during a well-attended briefing on Capitol Hill. As the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) governing body, the NSB plays a critical role in looking broadly at trends in the science and technology (S&T) enterprise and provides recommendations to NSF on how to invest its portfolio. The NSB’s latest set of recommendations are presented in The Skilled Technical Workforce: Crafting …

The post National Science Board highlights Skilled Technical Workforce shortage in new report appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

On Sol 2551, MAHLI will take images of the dump pile to see whether the APXS contact sensor made an imprint in the pile. Late that evening, MAHLI will image the CheMin inlet port and the wall of the drill hole using its LEDs for illumination.

The post Sols 2551-2552: Analyzing the Glen Etive 2 Drill Sample appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

We can all play a role in making a change in who represents STEM scientists in Wikipedia

The post Why Wikipedia edit-a-thons are needed, and how we can help appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The Taku Glacier is the largest outlet glacier of the Juneau Icefield in Alaska.  Taku Glacier began to advance in the mid-19th century and this continued throughout the 20th century. At first observation in the 19th century the glacier was calving in deep water in a fjord.   It advanced 5.3 km between 1890 and 1948 moving out of the fjord into the Taku River valley, see maps below (Pelto …

The post Taku Glacier, Alaska Retreat Begins: A Two Century Long Advance Reversed by Climate Change appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

I’m way behind in writing about writing, but I’ve read a decent number of books (or listened to them) over the past few months. I apologize to each of these authors for lumping all these reviews into a single blog post, but this has collectively been on the back burner for months, and I’ve decided to finally push them all out there at once. I’m going to wipe the slate …

The post Book report appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Late last week a large landslide developed on State Highway 4 between Whanganui and Raetihi in Ruapehu district of New Zealand

The post Whanganui: a large landslide on State Highway 4 in New Zealand appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The activities planned for the science block included a special ChemCam passive observation on a distant outcrop called "Bloodstone Hill," as well as a more standard ChemCam LIBS on "Berryden," one of the many pebbles seen scattered across the surface (some of which are shown in the Mastcam image above).

The post Sol 2549: A Slow Monday on Earth, but an Exhausting One on Mars appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

By Shane M Hanlon In addition to my role at AGU I’m also a Senior Producer with the science storyteller organization The Story Collider where scientists and non-scientists alike tell true, personal stories about science. We’re delighted to partner with GoMRI (Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative) for a special live event at AGU in San Francisco on Thursday, 12 December. For this show, we are seeking true, personal stories connected …

The post Tell a science story at Fall Meeting! appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing that Chris McEntee, our CEO and executive director, has informed us that she will be departing AGU at the end of the first quarter of 2020.  During her tenure, her remarkable leadership has positioned AGU as the leading voice and convener of Earth and space science globally. She has led key initiatives that have increased the relevance and value of Earth …

The post AGU CEO Announces Leadership Transition appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

In effect, the hydrogeothermal project is doing just what oil and gas exploration does–looking for and extracting desirable fluids in the subsurface. In this case, the desirable fluid is hot and readily flowing water...

The post An interesting geothermal energy prospect in the Vienna Basin…and its connection to oil and gas appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Physicist Marius Millot investigates the intimate atomic worlds of elements in order to understand the inner secrets of the largest planets in our solar system. Jupiter and its fellow gas giants Uranus, Neptune and Saturn are comprised mostly of the lightest element, hydrogen, with a dab of helium, heavier elements, and more complex molecules. But researchers want to know what lurks at the planet’s core, under all that cloud.

The post E22 – Diamond Anvils and the Heart of Jupiter appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is pleased to announce its newest Congressional Science Fellow, Dr. Katalyn Voss. Now in its 42nd year, AGU’s Congressional Science Fellow program places highly qualified and accomplished scientists, engineers, and other professionals in the office of an individual member of Congress or on a committee for a one-year assignment. Dr. Voss, who started her fellowship in September, has been placed within the office of Sen. …

The post AGU welcomes new Congressional Science Fellow, Dr. Kate Voss appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Samothraki: on a small Greek island, uncontrolled grazing of goats has led to a catastrophic increase in landslide hazard

The post Samothraki: the role of goats in increasing landslide hazard appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

From 12-13 September, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education hosted a public Workshop on the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education.   The meeting goals included learning about trends impacting higher education and discussing the Roundtable’s work to improve teaching evaluation and evidence-based instruction. Participants left not only with new ideas about how to improve student learning in STEM, but also what skills are most important for students to develop in order …

The post “Which of my skills can I still use if jobs look totally different in the future?” Takeaways from the Workshop on the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.