57+ min ago (804+ words) The solar system's oddball planet has some pretty odd moons, too. The first infrared spectra of Uranus's small inner moons, which will be presented on 18 December at the 2025 AGU Annual Meeting in New Orleans, have shown that their surfaces are much redder, much darker, and more water-poor than the larger moons orbiting far from the planet. "We were trying to see how these properties varied across the rings and moons," said Matt Hedman, a planetary scientist at the University of Idaho in Moscow and a coauthor on the research. "We didn't have a lot of information about their spectra before because they're hard to observe." The new observations also revealed that some moons were not quite where they should have been, highlighting how much more astronomers have to learn about the dynamics of the Uranian system. Many of the more…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (405+ words) Glacial runoff, which carries sediments produced by the relentless grinding of ice on the bedrock below, is an important source of trace metal micronutrients in the ocean. These nutrients, in turn, are essential for phytoplankton growth, which sustains the marine food web and plays a major role in absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The retreating Northwestern Glacier's erosive action has moved far inland. As its sediments are transported to the ocean by fluvial waters, they are chemically altered, transformed into less reactive compounds. By the time the runoff reaches the fjord, Forsch said, "it's lost a lot of its nutritious value just by sitting there, chemically weathering." But that's not the whole story. In absolute terms, the amount of bioavailable metals was similar in both fjords because the overall volume of sediment in the retreating glacier's fjord was higher. Even if…...

1+ hour, 11+ min ago (373+ words) This is an authorized translation of an Eos article. Esta es una traducci'n al espa'ol autorizada de un art'culo de Eos. Acre es el estado m's al oeste de Brasil, colinda con Per" y Bolivia y es parte de la Amazonia Legal. En Acre, cuatro brigadas de incendios profesionales con 68 bomberos de tiempo completo operan en tres municipalidades y un 'rea protegida. Una brigada voluntaria tambi'n opera en la ciudad m's grande, que tambi'n es la capital, Rio Branco. Con cerca de 14 millones de hect'reas de bosque que patrullar, estos grupos apenas pueden cubrir una fracci'n del territorio de Acre. Toda la integraci'n sucede en el Cuarto de Situaciones de CIGMA, donde cient'ficos y analistas eval"an alertas de incendio en vivo, niveles de los r'os, lluvia, 'ndices de sequ'a y otra cantidad de datos. "Todos los mapas para la…...

1+ hour, 24+ min ago (542+ words) [Diagram from the study.]A new review shows how rising demand, shrinking supplies, and policy decisions together shape when groundwater use peaks and what can be done to avoid long-term depletion. [Diagram from the study.] Editors" Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU"s journal editors. Groundwater supports billions of people, but many regions are removing it from aquifers faster than nature can refill them. Bhalla et al. [2025] examine the concept of "peak groundwater, the moment when use reaches its maximum and begins to decline due to physical, economic, or policy limits. The authors trace how climate pressures, population growth, and management choices interact to determine when those limits arrive. They show that peak groundwater is not only a physical threshold but also a social and institutional one, shaped by how communities plan for scarcity. The review offers a…...

21+ hour, 18+ min ago (534+ words) In Antarctica, however, rare formations known as blue ice areas may offer a distinct look into that deep past. These areas, which make up barely 1% of the continent, form where strong winds strip away surface snow. Not all blue ice areas contain very old ice, but sometimes the slow movement of the ice sheet preserves ancient layers. The Allan Hills region, situated on the edge of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, is one such blue ice area. Here researchers have discovered ice up to 6 million years old'the oldest yet found. Their study of the ice, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, revealed that parts of it formed during periods far warmer than today'times when sea levels were higher and open forests and grasslands covered much of the planet. "The advantage of…...

22+ hour, 28+ min ago (193+ words) [Graphic showing best practices for engaging with frontline communities.]A new perspective from community-based organizations explains how scientists, funders, and other supporters can collaborate ethically and effectively while respecting community identities and priorities. [Graphic showing best practices for engaging with frontline communities.] Editors" Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU"s journal editors. Frontline communities are commonly described as groups most affected by environmental and social challenges. Marston et al. [2025] offer a broader definition based on the experiences of community-based organizations that directly serve these communities. Drawing on surveys, interviews, and text analysis, the authors show that "frontline" refers not only to vulnerability but also to active leadership, resistance, and cultural strength. The study finds that community-based organizations want support that respects their self-determination and avoids imposing outside definitions of success. They also emphasize the need for respectful, two-way…...

1+ day, 7+ hour ago (245+ words) Over the weekend, Planet captured near-perfect images of the Mae Moh Mine landslide in Thailand. Last week, I posted a set of Planet satellite images that captured most of the 4 November 2025 landslide at Mae Moh Mine in Thailand. However, there was considerable cloud in the imagery, which prevented a full understanding of the landslide. Over the last few days, near perfect conditions have allowed a full, cloud-free image to be captured by Planet:- This image is a composite of two sets captured on 22 and 23 November 2025. The crown of the landslider is on the west side, with the failure moving towards the east. I think there are twof interesting aspects to this landslide. The first is the light coloured material in the upper part of the landslide " this is the mine waste that was being deposited shortly before the failure. It…...

3+ day, 19+ hour ago (337+ words) [A satellite image shows dark sand deposits near the south pole of Mars. The shape formed by the deposits is reminiscent of an angel with outstretched wings with a large heart under its right wing.]A "very large roll" of a radar instrument offers new insight into a highly reflective area near the Martian south pole. [A satellite image shows dark sand deposits near the south pole of Mars. The shape formed by the deposits is reminiscent of an angel with outstretched wings with a large heart under its right wing.] Source: Geophysical Research Letters Ancient Mars boasted abundant water, but the cold and dry conditions of today make liquid water on the Red Planet seem far less probable. However, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) detected strong radar reflections from a 20-kilometer-wide area over the…...

4+ day, 49+ min ago (592+ words) Shackleford Banks is an 8-mile-long barrier island off the coast of North Carolina made up of sandy beaches, marshes, and maritime forests. There are no vacation rentals, boardwalks, or seafood restaurants serving the residents of Shackleford Banks. That's because the residents are more than 100 wild horses that call the sandy dunes of this island home. In the new study, researchers monitored surface and groundwater levels and conductivity'a proxy measurement for salinity because higher conductivity values mean saltier water'in six water sources (two ponds, one groundwater seep, and three dig sites) located across the island. "Barrier islands often develop a freshwater lens in the subsurface that floats on top of the denser, saltier water," Sirianni said. "By monitoring water level and water conductivity, we can, over time, see whether the freshwater lens is shrinking, growing, or getting saltier, which tells us…...

4+ day, 1+ hour ago (186+ words) [Map from the study.]Faults don't just form'they respond, resist, and reshape the crustal narrative. [Map from the study.] Editors" Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU"s journal editors. Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth Continental extension often unfolds in multiple deformation phases, where earlier faults steer the geometry and behavior of later ones. In a new study, Liu et al. [2025] explore the complexity of fault interaction by analogue modeling. The models reveal how shifts in stress'from biaxial to triaxial and back'govern the evolution of the fault network. In the triaxial phase, faults from the earlier biaxial phase are reactivated and new conjugate faults appear. When stress shifts back to biaxial, older faults may become inactive or partly reactivated. Stress conditions determine whether old faults block or guide the growth of new ones. Their modeling results are…...