Geophysical Research Letters

We found out when the Nullarbor Plain dried out, splitting Australia's ecosystems in half

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Yet millions of years ago, many species roamed more freely between connected habitats across the continent.

Key Points: 
  • Yet millions of years ago, many species roamed more freely between connected habitats across the continent.
  • Our new research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, provides insights into ancient climate change that shaped our modern landscapes and ecosystems.

Billions of people live in drylands

    • Drylands cover almost half of Earth’s land surface and are home to around 3 billion people.
    • As the driest inhabited continent, Australia (70% is considered arid or semi-arid) also faces many challenges, including droughts and bushfires.
    • Southern Australia’s Nullarbor Plain covers an area about the size of Great Britain (roughly 200,000 square kilometres).

The drying of the Nullarbor

    • For most people, rust is something they want to avoid, as it damages our cars, fences, and steel appliances.
    • In our work, we used an iron-bearing mineral called goethite – the main part of rust – to unlock the timing of drying on the Nullarbor.
    • We found goethite in rocks some 25 metres below the Nullarbor Plain.
    • As the climate shifted, the drying changed the local ecosystems, effectively creating a wall for many species.

Splitting of the species

    • Through isolation, the drying of the Nullarbor played a key role in creating the species richness of southwest Australia.
    • Many native species are already facing or will face existential problems due to climate change and habitat degradation – including the iconic Carnaby’s cockatoo.

A history locked in minerals

    • By studying minerals formed during groundwater decline, we improve our understanding of our continent’s past and its biosphere.
    • These minerals form as a direct result of continental drying, often in sediment with fossils of interest.
    • Chris Kirkland receives funding from Australian Research Council and the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia.

Wildfires Are Increasingly Burning California’s Snowy Landscapes and Colliding with Winter Droughts to Shrink California’s Snowpack

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

The researchers found a substantial increase in wildfires burning in California’s snowy landscapes throughout 2020 and 2021, when large blazes like the Dixie, Caldor, and Creek fires concentrated in snow zones.

Key Points: 
  • The researchers found a substantial increase in wildfires burning in California’s snowy landscapes throughout 2020 and 2021, when large blazes like the Dixie, Caldor, and Creek fires concentrated in snow zones.
  • Using a 2013 midwinter dry spell as comparison, they found that similar weather in the winter of 2021-2022 led to 50% less snow cover.
  • “The Caldor fire burned in our backyard, it was so close to where we live and work.
  • Studies like this provide water managers with the tools to make more accurate predictions of the timing and magnitude of snowmelt.

Twisted Magnetic Fields Can Reveal How Protobinary Systems, Tatooine Planets Form

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 15, 2022

SOFIA saw a twisted magnetic field around a protobinary star system--a very young binary star system that is still growing. This provides a hint about how the protobinary system came to be. The findings were published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Key Points: 
  • COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Twisted magnetic fields around binary systems can reveal how the stellar system came together.
  • Circumbinary planets planets that orbit around two stars, like the fictional Star Wars planet Tatooine and its two suns exist in the Universe, and are sometimes referred to as Tatooine planets.
  • SOFIA saw a twisted magnetic field around a protobinary star system--a very young binary star system that is still growing.
  • Being able to see these magnetic fields helps decipher the formation of binary systems and, in turn, their associated Tatooine planets.

SOFIA Finds More Water in the Moon's Southern Hemisphere

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 30, 2022

This confirmation that water is indeed present outside of Permanently Shadowed Regions on the Moon's southern hemisphere allowed the researchers to begin decoding where this water comes from.

Key Points: 
  • This confirmation that water is indeed present outside of Permanently Shadowed Regions on the Moon's southern hemisphere allowed the researchers to begin decoding where this water comes from.
  • With its Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST), SOFIA can look at 6.1-micron emission features from the Moon, a wavelength of emission unique to water.
  • And by flying above 99% of the water vapor in Earth's atmosphere, SOFIA can see what ground-based telescopes cannot.
  • The SOFIA observations provide an idea of how one form of water is distributed in sunlit regions, helping to place VIPER's future measurements into a broader context.

Shadow Games: Exposing a Hidden World on the Moon

Retrieved on: 
Friday, August 26, 2022

Imagine a world where the Sun never passes overhead and, instead, forever moves in a circle along the horizon, casting long shadows that rotate across the landscape.

Key Points: 
  • Imagine a world where the Sun never passes overhead and, instead, forever moves in a circle along the horizon, casting long shadows that rotate across the landscape.
  • That world is the lunar south polar region, soon to be explored by Artemis astronauts.
  • Because the Sun hovers near the horizon, the sunken floors of impact craters in the region never see sunlight and lie in perpetual shadow.
  • Those permanently shadowed regions are incredibly cold, less than 100K (or less than -280F), and approaching absolute zero.

Latitudinal Shifts in Atlantic Tropical Cyclones: National Korea Maritime & Ocean University Study Uncovers Different Type of Climate Migration

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 6, 2022

BUSAN, South Korea, July 6, 2022  /PRNewswire/ -- Tropical cyclones (TCs) are extremely destructive weather events imperiling coastal communities. Long-term climatological changes can significantly alter the intensity and course of TCs, possibly making them more dangerous. A key factor for studying the activity of TCs and their societal impact is its lifetime maximum intensity (LMI) location, which is where a TC attains the strongest intensity of its lifetime.

Key Points: 
  • However, the LMI locations of North Atlantic TCs have shifted toward the Equator.
  • A major influence in this shift is the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)a natural variability in sea surface temperatures (SST) in the North Atlantic Ocean spanning several decades.
  • But there is limited research on how the AMO affects LMI location migration in the North Atlantic.
  • This, in turn, affects the location of origin and frequency of North Atlantic TCs, ultimately causing a shift in total LMI.

New study finds extreme, severe drought impacting the upper Colorado River basin in the second century

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 9, 2022

DENVER, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The drought currently impacting the upper Colorado River Basin is extremely severe. A new study from federal government and university scientists led by the Bureau of Reclamation and published in Geophysical Research Letters identifies a second-century drought unmatched in severity by the current drought or previously identified droughts.

Key Points: 
  • DENVER, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The drought currently impacting the upper Colorado River Basin is extremely severe.
  • "Tree-ring records are sparse back to the second century," said Connie Woodhouse, a professor at the University of Arizona and a study co-author.
  • "For future work, collection and analysis of more remnant wood can further document this second century drought," added Woodhouse.
  • The Colorado River basin is experiencing a severe 22-year drought with extensive impacts throughout the West.

NASA's Juno: Science Results Offer First 3D View of Jupiter Atmosphere

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 28, 2021

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New findings from NASA's Juno probe orbiting Jupiter provide a fuller picture of how the planet's distinctive and colorful atmospheric features offer clues about the unseen processes below its clouds. The results highlight the inner workings of the belts and zones of clouds encircling Jupiter, as well as its polar cyclones and even the Great Red Spot.

Key Points: 
  • The results highlight the inner workings of the belts and zones of clouds encircling Jupiter, as well as its polar cyclones and even the Great Red Spot.
  • Researchers published several papers on Juno's atmospheric discoveries today in the journal Science and the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
  • "Now, we're starting to put all these individual pieces together and getting our first real understanding of how Jupiter's beautiful and violent atmosphere works in 3D."
  • "Being able to complement MWR's finding on the depth gives us great confidence that future gravity experiments at Jupiter will yield equally intriguing results."