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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Geoscience: Earthquakes
Published Wildfire smoke has a silver lining: It can help protect vulnerable tree seedlings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forest scientists studying tree regeneration have found that wildfire smoke comes with an unexpected benefit: It has a cooling capacity that can make life easier for vulnerable seedlings.
Published Complex impact of large wildfires on ozone layer dynamics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a revelation highlighting the fragile balance of our planet's atmosphere, scientists have uncovered an unexpected link between massive wildfire events and the chemistry of the ozone layer. Using satellite data and numerical modeling, the team discovered that an enormous smoke-charged vortex nearly doubles the southern hemispheric aerosol burden in the middle stratosphere of the Earth and reorders ozone depletion at different heights. This study reveals how wildfires, such as the catastrophic 2019/20 Australian bushfires, impact the stratosphere in previously unseen ways.
Published Forest carbon storage has declined across much of the Western U.S., likely due to drought and fire
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forests have been embraced as a natural climate solution, due to their ability to soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, locking it up in their trunks, branches, leaves, and roots. But a new study confirms widespread doubts about the potential for most forests in the Western US to help curb climate change. The paper analyzed trends in carbon storage across the American West from 2005 to 2019.
Published Iceland's volcano eruptions may last decades
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists predict from geochemical data that Iceland is entering a new volcanic era that will last for decades, possibly centuries. Under an hour's drive from the country's capital city, the ongoing eruptions pose considerable risks for economic disruption, and they leave evacuated communities uncertain of a possible return.
Published Wildfires increasingly threaten oil and gas drill sites, compounding potential health risks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 100,000 oil and gas wells across the western U.S. are in areas burned by wildfires in recent decades, a new study has found, and some 3 million people live next to wells that in the future could be in the path of fires worsened by climate change.
Published Fuel treatments reduce future wildfire severity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There is a common belief that prescribed burning, thinning trees, and clearing underbrush reduce risks of the severity of future fires. But is that true? A new project analyzing 40 studies where wildfire burned into different vegetation treatments, spanning 11 western states. Researchers found overwhelming evidence that in seasonally dry mixed conifer forests in the western U.S., reducing surface and ladder fuels and tree density through thinning, coupled with prescribed burning or pile burning, could reduce future wildfire severity by more than 60% relative to untreated areas.
Published Large wildfires create weather that favors more fire
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows soot from large wildfires in California traps sunlight, making days warmer and drier than they ought to be.
Published An earthquake changed the course of the Ganges: Could it happen again?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A major earthquake 2,500 years ago caused one of the largest rivers on Earth to abruptly change course, according to a new study. The previously undocumented quake rerouted the main channel of the Ganges River in what is now densely populated Bangladesh, which remains vulnerable to big quakes.
Published The rotation of Earth's inner core has slowed, new study confirms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The new study provides unambiguous evidence that the inner core began to decrease its speed around 2010, moving slower than the Earth's surface.
Published Estimating the energy of past earthquakes from brecciation in a fault zone
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the same way that the number of rings in a tree can tell us its age, the characteristics of rocks such as breccia can tell us about the history of a region. The breccia around Ichinokawa Mine (located in Ehime prefecture) are of particular interest, as the mine is located south of the Median Tectonic Line. Researchers uncovered how breccia can provide valuable evidence to estimate the energy of past earthquakes in the area.
Published New way to spot beetle-killed spruce can help forest, wildfire managers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new machine-learning system can automatically produce detailed maps from satellite data to show locations of likely beetle-killed spruce trees in Alaska, even in forests of low and moderate infestation where identification is otherwise difficult. The automated process can help forestry and wildfire managers in their decisions. That's critical as the beetle infestation spreads.
Published Cascadia Subduction Zone, one of Earth's top hazards, comes into sharper focus
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has produced the first comprehensive survey of the many complex structures beneath the seafloor in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, off British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. It is providing scientists with key insights into how future disasters may unfold.
Published Fighting fires from space in record time: How AI could prevent devastating wildfires
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are getting closer to detecting bushfires in record time, thanks to cube satellites with onboard AI now able to detect fires from space 500 times faster than traditional on-ground processing of imagery.
Published Breaking ground: Could geometry offer a new explanation for why earthquakes happen?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are adding a new wrinkle to a long-held belief about what causes earthquakes in the first place.
Published Novel mobile air monitoring technology yields greater insight into post-disaster pollution levels
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team has found that high resolution mass spectrometry could be a valuable tool for identifying and assessing air-borne contaminants produced by natural and human-made disasters.
Published Safeguarding urban infrastructure from subsidence and liquefaction risks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source During an earthquake, soil can weaken through subsidence and liquefaction. These processes can cause buildings to collapse as the soil becomes unable to support their weight. Researchers have now developed a model that predicts soil-bearing strength and thickness to identify stable construction sites and reduce structural risks. Additionally, the model can also predict other soil conditions in real-time and function as an early-warning system to identify potential hazards.
Published Aerosol pollution, greenhouse gases must be reduced simultaneously to keep forest fires in check
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If we want cleaner air, fewer forest fires, and less severe climate change, a new study shows we must reduce aerosol pollution and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide at the same time.
Published Understanding the mechanisms for local amplification of 2024 tsunamis in Iida Bay
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers uncover the unique mechanisms that resulted in severe tsunamis in Iida Bay caused by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. The recent tsunamis in Iida Bay were locally amplified due to various factors, including ocean floor topology, the shape of the coastline, the location of coastal facilities, and seismic mechanisms associated with earthquakes, report scientists.
Published Smoke covered 70% of California during biggest wildfire years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As much as 70 percent of California was covered by wildfire smoke during parts of 2020 and 2021, according to a new study.
Published 'Fossilizing' cracks in infrastructure creates sealing that can even survive earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, a team of researchers used research on fossilizing techniques to create a new method for sealing cracks and fractures in rocks and bedrock using a 'concretion-forming resin'. This innovative technique has applications in a wide range of industries, from tunnel construction to long-term underground storage of hazardous materials.