Centennial Collection:
1. Microbes Rain Down from Above, to the Tune of the Seasons
Every time snow or rain falls, it brings with it microbes from high in the atmosphere. Could those microbes have a seasonal signal, just like the plants on the land below?
https://eos.org/articles/microbes-rain-down-from-above-to-the-tune-of-the-seasons
Climate Change:
1. Rooftop Gardens Make Use of the Air We Breathe Below
Growing plants near building air vents may help them grow better, while reducing the carbon emissions from the people exhaling inside.
https://eos.org/articles/rooftop-gardens-make-use-of-the-air-we-breathe-below
2. Launching an Accessible Archive of Environmental Data
A new digital archive enables community use of terrestrial and subsurface ecosystem data sets.
https://eos.org/project-updates/launching-an-accessible-archive-of-environmental-data
3. Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in the Mediterranean
1st National Workshop on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in the Mediterranean; Rome, Italy, 5-6 July 2018
https://eos.org/meeting-reports/climate-change-and-sea-level-rise-in-the-mediterranean
4. Leaf-Cutter Ants Boost Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Soil
Leaf-cutter ant nest openings emit up to 100,000 times more carbon dioxide than surrounding soil, a new study shows.
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/leaf-cutter-ants-boost-carbon-dioxide-emissions-from-soil
Hazards & Disasters:
1. A New Tool for Studying Volcanic Eruptions Like Kīlauea
A new study sheds light on how magma erodes the conduit it flows through.
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/a-new-tool-for-studying-volcanic-eruptions-like-kilauea
2. New Real-Time Model May Protect Astronauts from Space Radiation
Solar energetic particle events pose an acute risk to space travelers outside the protection of Earth’s magnetic field. A new initiative aims to quantify the danger.
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/new-real-time-model-may-protect-astronauts-from-space-radiation
Space & Planets:
1. NASA Space Telescope Spots Its Third Planet
A planet 3 times as large as the Earth was detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in a relatively leisurely orbit-the longest yet detected by this telescope-of 36 days.
https://eos.org/articles/nasa-space-telescope-spots-its-third-planet
2. One-Pixel Views of Earth Reveal Seasonal Changes
By averaging satellite images of the Earth down to a single pixel, researchers trace how the planet’s mean color varies over time, results that inform observations of distant exoplanets.
https://eos.org/articles/one-pixel-views-of-earth-reveal-seasonal-changes
3. Lander Gives First Look at Moon's Farside
The mission aims to explore this relatively unstudied hemisphere and learn about its age, composition, and geologic history.
https://eos.org/articles/lander-gives-first-look-at-moons-farside
4. New Horizons Sends First Looks of 2014 MU69
Explore 10 things scientists have already learned about the most distant object visited by a spacecraft from Earth.
https://eos.org/articles/new-horizons-sends-first-looks-of-2014-mu69
5. The Mars Anthropocene
The idea of sending people to Mars has captured the public imagination, but have we fully considered how our presence will alter the planet?
https://eos.org/opinions/the-mars-anthropocene
Atmospheric Sciences:
1. Icebergs Reveal Contours of the Ocean Bottom
Using satellite imagery of grounded icebergs near Greenland, researchers estimate the drafts of these ice masses and therefore water depth, measurements that shed light on future sea level rise.
https://eos.org/articles/icebergs-reveal-contours-of-the-ocean-bottom
Biogeosciences:
1. In Search of Life Under the Seafloor
A multinational research team drilled into the seafloor to see whether chemical processes in exposed shallow mantle rocks could generate nutrients to support life in the subsurface.
https://eos.org/project-updates/in-search-of-life-under-the-seafloor
2. Ant Nests Act as Carbon Dioxide Chimneys
Leaf-cutter ant nests emit thousands of times more carbon dioxide than the surrounding soils do, a new study has found.
https://eos.org/articles/ant-nests-act-as-carbon-dioxide-chimneys
3. Radionuclide Data from GEOTRACES Improve Particle Flux Estimates
New measurements of multiple radionuclides in the Atlantic Ocean offer a robust constraint on the sinking flux of particles and associated vertical fluxes of biogeochemically important elements.
https://eos.org/editor-highlights/radionuclide-data-from-geotraces-improve-particle-flux-estimates
Global Change:
1. Keeping a Watch on Seaweeds: The Forests of the World's Coasts
Planning the Implementation of a Global Long-Term Observing and Data Sharing Strategy for Macroalgal Communities; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 24-26 September 2018
https://eos.org/meeting-reports/keeping-a-watch-on-seaweeds-the-forests-of-the-worlds-coasts
Natural Hazards:
1. How Do Turbidity Currents Accelerate?
Flume experiments show that a self-reinforcing cycle can strengthen the currents responsible for transporting large amounts of sediment to the deep oceans.
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/how-do-turbidity-currents-accelerate